Dissertation•
The architectural image: space, movement and myth
22 Jul 2013-
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the role of human figures in human action: persuasive human figures Persuasive human figures Performing human figures, and performing human figures with human action.
Abstract: of human figures Persuasive human figures Performing human figures
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that violence is a necessary device in discussing gender identity, namely the production of white masculinity, which is not only symptomatic, but also constitutive, of this condition of dissociated identity.
Abstract: And if . . . a little sensual pleasure falls to my share, I feel justified in accepting it as some slight compensation for the inordinate measure of suffering . . . that has been mine for so many past years. - Freud's Dr. Schreber in Three Case Studies [Fight Club] examines violence and the roots of frustration that are causing people to reach out for such radical solutions ... . Because a culture that doesn't examine its violence is a culture in denial, which is much more dangerous. - Edward Norton (qtd. in Svetky) "First rule of Fight Club: You do not talk about Fight Club. Second rule of Fight Club: You do not talk about Fight Club." For a movie that advocates its own silence, the critical reception of 1999's Fight Club has exploded into an array of polarized discourse surrounding the film's critical yet problematic portrayal of late capitalism's obsessive push for profits and excessive consumerism, and, more importantly, the latter's damaging effects on an American masculinity gone soft. Edward Norton plays "Jack," a nameless insomniac and unfulfilled cog in the wheel of bureaucratized America who cannot seem to escape the (feminized) trappings of corporate oppression and Swedish home furnishings. In his attempt to heal himself of his malaise, Jack encounters Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, who seduces Jack into co-founding Fight Club, an underground world of rebellion and hyper-masculinity where men can reclaim their lost manhood by stripping down and pummeling each other pulpy. The club, however, quickly turns into a highly organized paramilitary group that rebels against a seemingly impersonal and feminized dominant culture by blowing up that very world. The film continues to unravel as an adrenaline-induced joyride that ultimately leaves even Jack astounded when, in the end, corporate buildings come tumbling down. The twist at the end of the film is that Jack and Tyler are the same person, two identities inhabiting the same body; Jack is revealed as an individual who suffers from the actual medical disability, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In locating the recovery of a socially disempowered manhood in a divided subject that seeks release in brute, regressive masculinity, the film suggests that violence is not only symptomatic, but also constitutive, of this condition of dissociated identity. Critics of the movie, such as Henry Giroux, find the film pedagogically irresponsible because it ostensibly encourages a male revolt against a constraining feminized culture that has hijacked men of their rugged individualism and instead has transformed them into cubicled automatons that serve the faceless world of corporate America. Moreover, Giroux argues that this transformation is not the product of feminized culture but, rather, is the result of a privatized understanding of agency. This understanding, as exemplified in Fight Club, does not seek to resolve personal dissatisfactions in the public sphere but instead suggests that agency is possible only through private and violent expressions. In contrast to these arguments, though, I feel it is possible to read Fight Club as a movie that attempts to satirically critique this phenomenon that links the problem of emasculative capitalism with violent solutions. As Suzanne Clark is keen to point out in her response to Giroux's article, is it possible that this "brilliant artistic representation of violent acts," in its disruptive way, is able to incite discourse about gender identity and violence and thus "leave ... space for some public discussion"? (419). I am inclined to agree with Clark that Fight Club is a film that attempts to open this space for us. Giroux's scathing denunciation of the film, though valid in many respects, overlooks the use of violence as a vehicle for critiquing a culture dictated largely by consumerism and commercialism, as well as exposing the contradictions of normative gender relations. My argument is that violence in Fight Club is a necessary device in discussing gender identity, namely the production of white masculinity. …
39 citations
Book•
[...]
10 Nov 2009
TL;DR: The horse in motion as shown by instantaneous photography, with a study of animal mechanics founded on anatomy and the revelations of the camera in which is demonstrated the theory of quadrupedal locomotion as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 'The horse in motion as shown by instantaneous photography, with a study of animal mechanics founded on anatomy and the revelations of the camera in which is demonstrated the theory of quadrupedal locomotion.' This book was published under the auspices of Leland Stanford, former California governor and founder of Stanford University, who wagered a friend that a race horse at full gallop would take all four feet off the ground at once. Contains 107 illustrations and photographs (including colour lithographs, heliotypes, photogravures and wood engravings after photographs by Eadweard Muybridge) demonstating the movement of horses and other animals.
38 citations
[...]
TL;DR: In this article, the authors claim that the following extract from Mr. Stanford's preface shows the exact part taken by each of those concerned in the investigations, without remuneration: "Mr. Stanford asked me if it was possible to photograph a favourite horse of his at full speed."
Abstract: IN NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 591, you notice the publication of a work entitled “The Horse in Motion,” by Dr. Stillman, and remark: “the following extract from Mr. Stanford's preface shows the exact part taken by each of those concerned in the investigations.” Will you permit me to say, if the subsequently quoted “extract” from Mr. Stanford's preface is suffered to pass uncontradicted, it will do me a great injustice and irreparable injury. At the suggestion of a gentleman, now residing in San Francisco, Mr. Stanford asked me if it was possible to photograph a favourite horse of his at full speed. I invented the means employed, submitted the result to Mr. Stanford, and accomplished the work for his private gratification, without remuneration. I subsequently suggested, invented, and patented the more elaborate system of investigation, Mr. Stanford paying the actual necessary disbursements, exclusive of the value of my time, or my personal expenses. I patented the apparatus and copyrighted the resulting photographs for my own exclusive benefit. Upon the completion of the work Mr. Stanford presented me with the apparatus. Never having asked or received any payment for the photographs, other than as mentioned, I accepted this as a voluntary gift; the apparatus under my patents being worthless for use to any one but myself. These are the facts; and on the bases of these I am preparing to assert my rights.
37 citations