The Besieged Ego

The Besieged Ego critically appraises the representation, or mediation, of identity in film and television through a thorough analysis of doppelgangers and split or fragmentary characters. The prevalence of non-autonomous characters in a wide variety of film and television examples calls into question the very concept of a unified, 'knowable' identity. The form of the double, and cinematic modes and rhetorics used to denote fragmentary identity, is addressed in the book through a detailed analysis of texts drawn from a range of industrial, historical and cultural contexts. The doppelganger or double carries significant cultural meanings about what it means to be 'human' and the experience of identity as a gendered individual. The double also expresses in fictional form our problematic experience of the world as a social, and supposedly whole and autonomous, subject. The Besieged Ego therefore raises important questions about the representation of identity onscreen and concomitant issues regarding autonomy and what it means to be 'human', yet it also charts a generic account of the double onscreen. Case studies include horror, fantasy, and comedy.

'The Besieged Ego' appraises the representation of identity in contemporary film and television, focusing on doppelgangers, doubling and split or fragmentary characters. The prevalence of non-autonomous characters in a wide variety of film and television products calls into question the very concept of a unified, 'knowable' identity. The form of the double, and cinematic modes and rhetorics used to denote fragmentary identity, is addressed book through a detailed analysis of texts drawn from a range of industrial and cultural contexts, but with particular attention paid to contemporary media.

Touching on the fields of philosophy, critical theory, cultural studies, and queer theory, Pervert-Schizoid-Woman critiques the organization of Western economy, language, and desire. Author Michael Williams seeks to promote alternative frameworks for a posthumanist theory and practice of perverse selfhood and sociality. In this study, he identifies the capitalist economic system as structured by scarcity and supply/demand dynamics, discerning the paradoxical accumulation of debt as the essence of the assumed scarcity in the financial system. He also uncovers the profound isomorphism between the economics of scarcity and the castration and lack at the center of the psychoanalytic interpretation of gender, sexuality, and desire, concluding that the essential negativity in the scarcity of capitalism, the absence in the structure of language, and the castration in the network of desire are the sources of the dysfunctions in Western systems of finance, expression, and gender and sexuality.

This collection of essays and reviews represents the most significant and comprehensive writing on Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. Miola's edited work also features a comprehensive critical history, coupled with a full bibliography and photographs of major productions of the play from around the world. In the collection, there are five previously unpublished essays. The topics covered in these new essays are women in the play, the play's debt to contemporary theater, its critical and performance histories in Germany and Japan, the metrical variety of the play, and the distinctly modern perspective on the play as containing dark and disturbing elements. To compliment these new essays, the collection features significant scholarship and commentary on The Comedy of Errors that is published in obscure and difficulty accessible journals, newspapers, and other sources. This collection brings together these essays for the first time.

Zha Liangzheng (1918-1977), better known by his pen name Mu Dan, was a Chinese poet-laureate and remarkable translator. Via mutual attesting of poems and history, and with a multitude of letters, reminiscent documents and poems, A Critical Biography of Mu Dan (Zha Liangzheng): A Poet and a Translator genuinely represents the life of Mu Dan, known as a member of Jiuye School, against macroscopic academic view and broad historical backgrounds. The school of poetry marks the maturity of Chinese modernist literature and indicates the peak of the development of new poetry in China. The book reviews the glorious achievements of Mu Dan’s new poetry writings, confirms his contributions to Chinese translations of Russian poems and British romanticism poems as well as modernist poems. Moreover, the author spares no efforts to delineate numerous noticeable colonies of Chinese poets and historical figures such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Yu Youren, and Sun Liren. In the monograph, the diachronic and synchronic descriptions are both elaborate and unambiguous; and the historical narratives are both sincere and magnificent. Together with abundant and subtle emotional expressions, A Critical Biography of Mu Dan (Zha Liangzheng): A Poet and a Translator is an artistic and academic biographic monograph.

You and your ego: how to develop strong self-confidence without becoming an egotist—so you can be happy with who you are and make others love you too How can you build the healthy ego necessary to be effective in life—yet avoid the kind of egotism that makes people dislike you? Don’t worry; Dave Richo has the answers. You Are Not What You Think shows you how to navigate the tricky waters between egotism and selflessness in a way that avoids both extremes and makes you much more effective and loving. The key is to acknowledge your ego and to be kind to it, before you ultimately learn to let it go. As with all Dave’s books, this one is full of examples from mythology, psychology, and religion, with plenty of exercises and practical advice.

Japanese Horror and the Transnational Cinema of Sensations undertakes a critical reassessment of Japanese horror cinema by attending to its intermediality and transnational hybridity in relation to world horror cinema. Neither a conventional film history nor a thematic survey of Japanese horror cinema, this study offers a transnational analysis of selected films from new angles that shed light on previously ignored aspects of the genre, including sound design, framing techniques, and lighting, as well as the slow attack and long release times of J-horror’s slow-burn style, which have contributed significantly to the development of its dread-filled cinema of sensations.

The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of screen music and sound studies, addressing the ways in which music and sound interact with forms of narrative media such as television, videogames, and film. The inclusive framework of "screen music and sound" allows readers to explore the intersections and connections between various types of media and music and sound, reflecting the current state of scholarship and the future of the field. A diverse range of international scholars have contributed an impressive set of forty-six chapters that move from foundational knowledge to cutting edge topics that highlight new key areas. The companion is thematically organized into five cohesive areas of study: Issues in the Study of Screen Music and Sound—discusses the essential topics of the discipline Historical Approaches—examines periods of historical change or transition Production and Process—focuses on issues of collaboration, institutional politics, and the impact of technology and industrial practices Cultural and Aesthetic Perspectives—contextualizes an aesthetic approach within a wider framework of cultural knowledge Analyses and Methodologies—explores potential methodologies for interrogating screen music and sound Covering a wide range of topic areas drawn from musicology, sound studies, and media studies, The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides researchers and students with an effective overview of music’s role in narrative media, as well as new methodological and aesthetic insights.

This newly revised edition to The Clinical and Forensic Assessment of Psychopath: A Clinician's Guide brings new chapters on psychopathy in women, brain imaging, assessment and treatment in schools, and more, in addition to the updated original chapters. With its in-depth research on psychopathy, accumulating findings from over the past 40 years and applying them to procedures and methods, it is essential for all of those who face mental health, correctional, or court settings. This edition is an excellent resource for experienced professionals and their trainees, as well as students who need a go-to book between the research and practice on the assessing of psychopathy.