The ldquo;villainous homosexualrdquo; has long stalked Americarsquo;s cultural imagination; most explicitly in the figure of the queer murderer; a character in dozens of plays. But as societyrsquo;s understanding of homosexuality has changed; so has the significance of these controversial characters; especially when employed by LGBT theater artists themselves to explore darker fears and desires. Murder Most Queer examines the shifting meanings of murderous LGBT characters in American theater over a century; showing how these representations wrestle with and ultimately subvert notions of gay villainy.
2016-08-08 2016-08-08File Name: B00ZWQ4SP0
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Quire arrestingBy SaintRochThis book was the first one I read about Butoh; a dance form which has inspired me since I saw Sankai Juku in 1982.THe story is arresting and some of the concepts / ideas give lots of food for thought. Its a bit too dark for my own style but I was glad to get this perspective and the background to the early development of Butoh. If one is interested in Butoh it is important to get the early story; the beginning with Hijikata.9 of 11 people found the following review helpful. satisfying introductory text with poor presentationBy Eliane Lundberg-TanakaBarbers essay on Tatsumi Hijikata and his "ankoku butoh" does a fine job of situating this singularly intense artist within a larger milieu of social upheaval and literal devastation. Along the way; he unearths some shocking insights about that milieu (like the fact that some cultural outliers in wartime Japan actually *welcomed* the Allied bombing of their cities as an annihilation of the old social order and a chance to create anew) and wisely makes no attempts to retrospectively portray Hijikata as being more renowned at the time than he really was. Those who know little about the cultural origins of Butohs more extreme exponents will be caught right up to speed here; though the text can be plowed through in a days reading it manages to a set up a satisfyingly complete set of links between Hijikata and a greater 20th century avant-garde exploring madness and criminality (e.g. Genet; Artaud.)However; as is their wont; the people at Creation Books manage to cheapen the text with pointless proclamations of their stereotypical "extreme" aesthetic. I say "Creation" because Solar Books is merely another imprint run by the same parties responsible for the more renowned Creation flagship (and this book was previously published as a Creation title.) The similarity in "quality" between the two imprints is easily noticeable: cheap paper; lazy placement of photographs and hastily completed design work whose main distinguishing feature is the childish; unnecessary placement of would-be "shocking" icons. What; exactly; do menacingly hooked swastikas have to do with Hijikatas work; and why are they at the heading of each chapter in this book?All in all; Barber has done his job here; its a shame that he had to sell this to a publisher who has no idea how to aesthetically frame the work. Here is hoping that future efforts of this type will find more reputable outlets for printing and distribution.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Jennie C PortneyExcellent read. Contextualizes Hijikatas work in the post-WWII climate.
