Tattoos, Desire and Violence : Marks of Resistance in Literature, Film and Television

by Beeler, Karin

• ISBN13: 9780786423897
• ISBN10: 0786423897
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-11-30
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Karin Beeler is an associate professor in the English department at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, Canada. She lives in Prince George.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction: Tattoos as Narrative	1	(12)
ONE Narratives of the Self: Tattoos, Desire, Memory and the Flesh	13	(27)
TWO Illustrating the Feminine: Women, Desire, and Resistance in Tattoo Narratives and Culture	40	(25)
THREE Crimes of Passion: Tattooed Bodies as a Site of Struggle	65	(31)
FOUR Members Only: Tattoo Stories of Gangs and Inmates	96	(33)
FIVE Scars of Imprisonment and Resistance: Marks of the Holocaust, Slavery and Colonization	129	(36)
SIX What's Normal? Tattoos, Dangerous Freaks, Dangerous Desires	165	(28)
Conclusion	193	(4)
Notes	197	(14)
Bibliography and Filmography	211	(8)
Index	219