Theatres of human sacrifice : from ancient ritual to screen violence / Mark Pizzato.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pizzato, Mark, 1960-

Series:

SUNY series in psychoanalysis and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Violence in motion pictures.

Violence in popular culture.

Physical Description:

ix, 265 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany, NY : State University of New York Press, [2005]

Summary:

Contemporary debates about mass media violence tend to ignore the long history of staged violence in the theatres and rituals of many culture. In Theatres of Human Sacrifice, Mark Pizzato relates the appeal and possible effects of screen violence today--in sports, movies, and television news--to specific sacrificial rites and performance conventions in ancient Greek, Aztec, and Roman culture. Using the psychoanalytic theories of Lacan, Kristeva, and ž iž ek, as well as the theatrical theories of Artaud and Brecht, the book offers insights into the ritual lures and effects of current mass media spectatorship, especially regarding the pleasures, purposes, and risks of violent display. Updating Aristotle's notion of catharsis, Pizzato identifies a sacrificial imperative within the human mind, structured by various patriarchal cultures and manifested in distinctive rites and dramas, with both positive and negative potential effects on their audiences.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-252) and index.

ISBN:

0791462595

0791462609

OCLC:

54005548