The Picture of Abjection: Film, Fetish, and the Nature of Difference

Synopsis

“A timely and important project that changes our understanding of the role of abjection both in cultural politics and in the structure of film.” —Ewa Ziarek, State University of New York at BuffaloTina Chanter resolves a fundamental problem in film theory by negotiating a middle path between “gaze theory” approaches to film and spectator studies or cultural theory approaches that emphasize the position of the viewer and thereby take account of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Chanter argues that abjection is the unthought ground of fetishistic theories. If the feminine has been the privileged excluded other of psychoanalytic theory, fueled by the myth of castration and the logic of disavowal, when fetishism is taken up by race theory, or cultural theory, the multiple and fluid registers of abjection are obscured. By mobilizing a theory of abjection, the book shows how the appeal to phallic, fetishistic theories continues to reify the hegemonic categories of race, class, sexuality, and gender, as if they stood as self-evident categories.“An intriguing read, especially for those who favor psychological models of criticism in film theory . . . Recommended.” —Choice

Copyright:

2008

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

392 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780253027771

Related ISBNs:

9780253219183

Publisher:

Indiana University Press

Date of Addition:

04/17/24

Copyrighted By:

Tina Chanter

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Entertainment, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Social Studies

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.