Violence and the Limits of Representation

In an era that plays host to war, terrorism, civil unrest, and economic uncertainty, it is more vital than ever to think critically about the ways in which violence is framed, mediated and regulated through representations. This book explores the variegated forms violence can take, not only physical but abstract, emotional and virtual, and directed not only against bodies but buildings, faiths, cultures, and classes. With essays by experts in literature, film, drama, art, and philosophy, Violence and the Limits of Representation contributes to a richer understanding of violence and its effects. This collection not only offers insight into the challenges and ethical issues involved in the representation of violence but, through a concern with the socio-political contexts of violence, offers a unique set of perspectives on the conflicts and concerns of the present.

Prelims i
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgments  viii
Introduction: Violence and the Limits of Representation 1
Chapter 1. The Violence of Representation and the Representation of Violence 12
Chapter 2. Violence and Love (in Which Yoko Ono Encourages Slavoj Žižek to ‘Give Peace a Chance’) 28
Chapter 3. (Im)material Violence: Discipline and the Gaze in James Kelman’s How Late It Was, How Late 49
Chapter 4. Sadeian Women: Erotic Violence in the Surrealist Spectacle
69
Chapter 5. Demarcating Violence in the Dramaturgy of Lisa McGee’s Girls and Dolls
90
Chapter 6. ‘Skeletons of Solid Objects’: Imperial Violence in J.G. Farrell’s Empire Trilogy
112
Chapter 7. Contingent Violence: Bergson and the Comedy of Horrors in Schindler’s List 129
Chapter 8. Violence and Mediation: The Ethics of Spectatorship in the Twenty-First Century Horror Film 145
Chapter 9. Objects of Surprise: Violence, Security, and Metaphysics 161
Bibliography  179
Index  191

‘This stimulating collection provides a provocative and original exploration of representations of violence across cinema, popular music, the internet, literature, art and theatre. Through engagement with influential thinkers and artists from Roland Barthes to Slavoj i ek by way of the Marquis de Sade, Yoko Ono, Leonora Carrington and Steven Spielberg this superb anthology greatly broadens our understanding of representation not only as the cause of violence, but also as determining of our responses to it. Violence and the Limits of Representation focuses our attention in particular on the everyday presence of violence in institutions (the procedures, bureaucracy and terminology which perpetrate indifferent violence against people), our homes, ubiquitous new technologies, the built environment, security culture, and all pervasive global capital. The transdisciplinary influence of this text will be felt for years to come.’

(David Martin-Jones, Professor of Film Studies, University of Glasgow, UK)

 

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