Product Description
Looking at popular culture from 1980 to the present, feminism appears to be "over": that is, according to popular critics we are in an era of "postfeminism" in which feminism has supposedly already achieved equality for women. Not so, says Sarah Projansky. In "Watching Rape", Projansky undermines this complacent view in her analysis of depictions of rape in US film, televsion, and independent video. Through a cultural studies analysis of such films as "Thelma and Louise", "Daughters of the Dust" and "She's Gotta Have It", and television shows like "ER", "Ally McBeal", "Beverly Hills 90210", and various made-for-TV movies, Projansky challenges the reader to see popular culture as part of our everyday lives and practices, and to view that culture critically. How have media defined rape and feminism differently over time? How do popular narratives about rape also communicate ideas about gender, race, class, nationality, and sexuality? And, what is the future of feminist politics, theory, and criticism with regard to issues of sexual violence, postfeminism, and popular media? This study addresses the relationship between rape and postfeminism.
About the Author
Sarah Projansky is assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies at the University of California, Davis and is co-editor of
Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek.
