Tattoos, Desire and Violence: Marks of Resistance in Literature, Film and Television

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McFarland, Jan 27, 2015 - Social Science - 240 pages

Whether they graphically depict an individual's or a community's beliefs, express the defiance of authority, or brand marginalized groups, tattoos are a means of interpersonal communication that dates back thousands of years. Evidence of the tattoo's place in today's popular culture is all around--in advertisements, on the stereotypical outlaw character in films and television, in supermarket machines that dispense children's wash-away tattoos, and even in the production of a tattooed Barbie doll.

This book explores the tattoo's role, primarily as an emblem of resistance and marginality, in recent literature, film, and television. The association of tattoos with victims of the Holocaust, slaves, and colonized peoples; with gangs, inmates, and other marginalized groups; and the connection of the tattoo narrative to desire and violence are discussed at length.

 

Contents

Tattoos as Narrative
1
Tattoos Desire Memory and the Flesh
13
Women Desire and Resistance in Tattoo Narratives and Culture
40
Tattooed Bodies as a Site of Struggle
65
Tattoo Stories of Gangs and Inmates
96
Marks of the Holocaust Slavery and Colonization
129
Six Whats Normal? Tattoos Dangerous Freaks Dangerous Desires
165
Conclusion
193
Notes
197
Bibliography and Filmography
211
Index
219
Copyright

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Page vii - Library and the Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations at the University of British Columbia have generously hosted me.

About the author (2015)

Karin Beeler is the English department chair at the University of Northern British Columbia in Canada. She has published in various areas of film and television studies, including screen culture for children.

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