Art cinema has always had an aura of the erotic; with the term being at times a euphemism for European films that were more explicit than their American counterparts. This focus on sexuality; whether buried or explicit; has meant a recurrence of the theme of rape; nearly as ubiquitous as in mainstream film. This anthology explores the representation of rape in art cinema. Its aim is to highlight the prevalence and multiple functions of rape in this prestigious mode of filmmaking as well as to question the meaning of its ubiquity and versatility. Rape in Art Cinema takes an interdisciplinary approach; bringing together recognized figures such as historian Joanna Burke; philosopher Ann J. Cahill; and film scholars Martin Barker; Tanya Horeck and Scott Mackenzie alongside emerging voices. It is international in scope; with contributors from Canada; the U.S. and Britain coming together to investigate the representation of rape in some of cinemas most cherished films.
#1738081 in eBooks 2012-03-31 2012-03-31File Name: B007BLO7NC
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. an engaging chronicle of Constables private lifeBy hmf22Anthony Baileys biography of John Constable is. I believe. the first full-scale biography of Constable in over a century. Bailey did a fine job of sifting through the sources and constructing a meticulous account of Constables private life. yet this book is more of a chatty chronicle than a rigorous analysis of Constables life and work. Reading it. I learned something about Constables education. his relationships with patrons and other artists. and his experience of marketing his paintings. a great deal about his relations with his siblings. children. and housecats. and more than I really wanted to know about his prolonged. tedious courtship of Maria Bicknell; yet I did not learn much more about his painting than I could have gotten from Wikipedia or Smarthistory or other readily accessible websites. The book includes color plates of some of Constables paintings. but these plates are neither dated nor keyed to the text. In fact. the selection of plates doesnt match up to the text very well--some of the paintings that are discussed in the text do not appear as illustrations. and some of the paintings that do appear on the color plates are not. as far as I could determine. discussed in the text. Flipping back and forth between the not very illuminating text and the not very well-organized or well-labeled plates got on my nerves after a while.I was also troubled by Baileys tendency to romanticize his subject. For example. when describing how Constable. aged 24. met his future wife. aged 12. for the first time. Bailey writes: "Constable was twenty-four and Maria half his age . . . He may not have recognized the spark that flashed--he might even have been horrified by any flicker of erotic impulse--but something happened; it is visible in the painting he made of young Maria apparently about this time. . . Maria at that age could not have had a conscious sense of what was to come. And yet between painter and sitter a current passed" (27). The painting--which isnt firmly dated and apparently isnt even firmly identified as a picture of Maria--shows a pretty. impish-looking young girl with her hand on her hip. The sitters personality comes across decidedly. but it seems a stretch for Bailey to deduce from this painting. and from the fact that painter and putative sitter got married about sixteen years later. that Constable was attracted to his adolescent subject when he made the painting. This is one of several places in which I felt that Bailey sensationalized his material in order to make a good story.Overall. this is an entertaining read. rich in personal information. but not a very rewarding choice for someone who seeks to understand Constable as a painter.
