Karin Beeler – författare

Whether they graphically depict an individual's or a community's beliefs, express the defiance of authority, or brand marginalized groups, tattoos are a means of interpersonal communication that dates back thousands of years. Evidence of the tattoo's place in today's popular culture is all around--in advertisements, on the stereotypical outlaw character in films and television, in supermarket machines that dispense children's wash-away tattoos, and even in the production of a tattooed Barbie doll.This book explores the tattoo's role, primarily as an emblem of resistance and marginality, in recent literature, film, and television. The association of tattoos with victims of the Holocaust, slaves, and colonized peoples; with gangs, inmates, and other marginalized groups; and the connection of the tattoo narrative to desire and violence are discussed at length.

This book addresses the pervasive representation of women with unique visionary abilities in postfeminist television series and films from the 1990s to the present. These women mediate between the living and the dead or between different worlds of experience, redefining what it means to be "normal" and challenging the traditional boundary between science and the inner world of visionary, mystical experience.Part 1 includes a discussion of modern-day Cassandra figures, including the witches and other "seers" of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Charmed, Hex, and Tru Calling. Part 2 discusses modern television shows whose main characters represent a contemporary spin on Joan of Arc, including Joan of Arcadia and the short-lived Wonderfalls. Finally, Part 3 investigates female mediums and other "psychic detectives" in reality television series such as Psychic Investigators and Rescue Mediums; the popular television dramas Medium, Ghost Whisperer, and Afterlife; and contemporary films such as Ghost, The Gift, and Premonition.

Films of the past 15 years have been released in a number of formats and reflect a reconceptualization of film genres, audiences and the impact of technology on adaptation. Focusing on multiple audiences, film adaptation, nationalism, globalism and consumer culture, this collection of new essays explores how children's film can be re-examined alongside recent developments in their production. These analyses consider the effect of multimedia strategies on the child audience, the opportunities for viewer participation and the pedagogical implications of films for children. The essays also address how childhood is embedded within films and linked to various consumer contexts.

In 1998, the series "Charmed", the story created by Constance M. Burge of three sisters who discover that they are powerful witches, first aired on the WB network. The series ran for eight series and into top-rating DVDs, and has established a continuing presence as cult TV. The world of "Charmed" is distinctively one of female solidarity, with sisters Piper, Prudence, Phoebe and, with the death of Pru, half-sister Paige making up the 'power of three'. In their crusade against the demonic population of their home city of San Francisco, the Halliwell sisters have also inherited their powers and "The Book of Shadows" through the female line. The expert contributors to "Investigating 'Charmed'", all of them fans of the show, explore its nature as ground breaking TV. They debate the status of "Charmed" as third wave feminist narrative, as well as its upturning of notions of sexuality, and its creation of alternative forms of family life. The San Francisco setting is explored as is "Charmed's" brand of witchcraft and fantasy, its mythological antecedents and female heroes.Looking also at the fans' relationship to the show, as well as its novelizations, fan fiction and blogs, the book on this fantastic magical show concludes with a complete Episode Guide.

This book explores fictional representations and narrative functions of animal characters in animated and live-action film and television, examining the ways in which these representations intersect with a variety of social issues. Contributors cover a range of animal characters, from heroes to villains, across a variety of screen genres and formats, including anime, comedy, romance, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Aesthetic features of these works, along with the increased latitude that fictionalized narratives and alternative worlds provide, allow existing social issues to be brought to the forefront in order to effect change in our societies. By incorporating animal figures into media, these screen narratives have gained the ability to critique actions carried out by human beings and explore dimensions of both the human/animal connection and the intersectionality of race, culture, class, gender, and ability, ultimately teaching viewers how to become more human in our interactions with the world around us. Scholars of film studies, media studies, and animal studies will find this book of particular interest.

This book explores fictional representations and narrative functions of animal characters in animated and live-action film and television, examining the ways in which these representations intersect with a variety of social issues. Contributors cover a range of animal characters, from heroes to villains, across a variety of screen genres and formats, including anime, comedy, romance, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Aesthetic features of these works, along with the increased latitude that fictionalized narratives and alternative worlds provide, allow existing social issues to be brought to the forefront in order to effect change in our societies. By incorporating animal figures into media, these screen narratives have gained the ability to critique actions carried out by human beings and explore dimensions of both the human/animal connection and the intersectionality of race, culture, class, gender, and ability, ultimately teaching viewers how to become more human in our interactions with the world around us. Scholars of film studies, media studies, and animal studies will find this book of particular interest.