Trauma culture : the politics of terror and loss in media and literature / E. Ann Kaplan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplan, E. Ann.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorism in motion pictures.

Disaster films--History and criticism.

Disaster films.

Psychic trauma in motion pictures.

Psychic trauma in literature.

Literature, Modern--20th century--History and criticism.

Literature, Modern.

Culture in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (204 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

It may be said that every trauma is two traumas or ten thousand-depending on the number of people involved. How one experiences and reacts to an event is unique and depends largely on one's direct or indirect positioning, personal psychic history, and individual memories. But equally important to the experience of trauma are the broader political and cultural contexts within which a catastrophe takes place and how it is "managed" by institutional forces, including the media. In Trauma Culture, E. Ann Kaplan explores the relationship between the impact of trauma on individuals and on entire cultures and nations. Arguing that humans possess a compelling need to draw meaning from personal experience and to communicate what happens to others, she examines the artistic, literary, and cinematic forms that are often used to bridge the individual and collective experience. A number of case studies, including Sigmund Freud's Moses and Monotheism, Marguerite Duras' La Douleur, Sarah Kofman's Rue Ordener, Rue Labat, Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, and Tracey Moffatt's Night Cries, reveal how empathy can be fostered without the sensationalistic element that typifies the media. From World War II to 9/11, this passionate study eloquently navigates the contentious debates surrounding trauma theory and persuasively advocates the responsible sharing and translating of catastrophe.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION: 9/11 and “Disturbing Remains”

CHAPTER 1. “Why Trauma Now?”

CHAPTER 2. Memory as Testimony in World War II

CHAPTER 3. Melodrama and Trauma

CHAPTER 4. Vicarious Trauma and “Empty” Empathy

CHAPTER 5. “Translating” Trauma in Postcolonial Contexts

CHAPTER 6. The Ethics of Witnessing

EPILOGUE: “Wounded New York”

NOTES

WORKS CITED

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jun 2020)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-179) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-13444-2

9786613807021

0-8135-4116-6

OCLC:

974671303