The Ambiguities of European Comic-book Bikers

Author: David Walton
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666965375
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
In this book, David Walton explores European comic-book biker publications as a subgenre of popular culture. Using a multidisciplinary approach, he reveals an intricate amalgam of ingenuity, irony, and highly ambiguous humor. The creative resourcefulness of the comic-book biker authors is seen to dramatize and celebrate the material existence of motorcycles and lifestyles while laughing at the foibles, inconsistencies, manias, fantasies, and practices of those characterised as motorized flâneurs. At the core of Walton’s analysis is the exploration of identity formation, marked by tensions between individualism and collective affinities, undermined by egoism and competitiveness. At the same time, Walton argues that the storylines (despite much comic invention, caricature, and exaggeration) create resonances which hold up a distorted but highly revealing mirror to the multiple subgroups of people who ride motorcycles for pleasure. The author also demonstrates how the implied biker-readers of this subgenre confront comic representations of themselves which repeatedly undermine any positive self-image they may possess. Yet the comics are also seen to offer valuable insights into much broader cultural concerns ranging from subculture, consumption habits, (in)authenticity, taste, freedom, risk, and delinquency – without forgetting other key aspects of cultural studies like class, race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ecocriticism.

Hoodlum Movies

Author: Peter Stanfield
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813599032
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
From The Wild Angels in 1966 until its conclusion in 1972, the cycle of outlaw motorcycle films contained forty-odd formulaic examples. All but one were made by independent companies that specialized in producing exploitation movies for drive-ins, neighborhood theaters, and rundown inner city theaters. Despised by critics, but welcomed by exhibitors denied first-run films, these cheaply and quickly produced movies were made to appeal to audiences of mobile youths. The films are repetitive, formulaic, and eminently forgettable, but there is a story to tell about all of the above, and it is one worth hearing. Hoodlum Movies is not only about the films, its focus is on why and how these films were made, who they were made for, and how the cycle developed through the second half of the 1960s and came to a shuddering halt in 1972.

How Outlaws Win Friends and Influence People

Author: Tereza Kuldova
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030152065
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
This book asks a critical question for our times: why do an increasing number of people support, admire and aspire to be outlaws? Outlaw motorcycle clubs have grown, spread and matured. Popular culture glamorizes them; law enforcement agencies fight them and the media vilify them. Meanwhile, the outlaw bikers exploit the current cultural and economic climate to attract new members. How Outlaws Win Friends and Influence People argues that the growth of these anti-establishment groups under neoliberalism is not coincidental, but inevitable. The book asks a critical question for our times: why do people today, in increasing numbers, support, admire and aspire to be outlaws? What needs and desires do the clubs satisfy? How do they win support and influence? Answering this is crucial if we are to successfully fight the social harms caused by these groups, as well as the harms that underlie their proliferation. Unless we understand the cultural dynamic at play here, our fight against these organizations will always take the form of a battle against the mythological Hydra: when one head is cut off, two more grow. “Tereza Kuldova is a rebel with a cause - her new book is a razor-sharp critique of stereotypical conceptions of the ‘outlaw biker’ and provides refreshing insights into their subjective life-worlds” - Daniel Briggs, author of the award-winning Dead-End Lives.

Barbarians

Author: Barrie Keeffe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474282261
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
It's 1977. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high and the pound is at an all-time low. Paul, Jan and Louis are bored, broke and demoralized by the hand that they've been dealt. How will these young lads fair with the odds stacked against them? How will they cope? Cut off from society with no-where to turn, the play resonates with a modern audience who will no doubt recognize the disaffected youth of 1970s Britain. Barrie Keeffe's tragically dark play crackles with tension throughout, building to a twisted and dramatic end. This programme text edition was published to coincide with the revival of the play by Tooting Arts Club on 3rd October 2015, staged at the former Central St Martins School of Art on the Charing Cross Road, London.

Crime, Harm and Consumerism

Author: Steve Hall
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429755104
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
This book offers a collection of cutting-edge essays on the relationship between crime, harm and consumer culture. Although consumer culture has been addressed across the social sciences, it has yet to be fully explored in criminology. The editors bring together an impressive list of authors with original ideas and a fresh perspective to this field. The collection first introduces the reader to three sets of ideas which will be especially useful to students and researchers piecing together theoretical frameworks for their studies. New concepts such as pseudo-pacification, the materialist libertine and the commodification of abstinence can be used as foundation stones for new explanatory criminological analyses in the 21st century. The collection then moves on to present case studies based on rigorous empirical work in the fields of consumption and debt, ‘outlaw’ gangs, illegal drug markets, gambling, the mentality that drives investment fraudsters and the relationship between social media and state surveillance. These case studies showcase the strength of the research skills and knowledge these scholars offer to the field of criminology. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in criminology, sociology, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the effects of consumer culture in modern society.

Chigger Hollow

Author: Ben Schneider
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 1977270018
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
Though stressed by her irrational boss at a women’s shelter, Sonya Radisson befriends battered wife Renée Mowry. The day after Sonya is unjustly fired, Renée is kidnapped by hooligans who may be linked to Renée’s estranged husband. Since authorities would misread Renée’s fishy past, Sonya launches her own search-and-rescue attempt. Gunfights and motorbike chases ensue across a labyrinth of backwoods trails. One leads to an ominous valley not meant to be found—an enigma that will lower the odds of anyone leaving the Rockies alive. But Sonya is armed to the teeth and ready to face the darkest—and perhaps final—weekend of her life. Suspense and humor run as high as the body count in this offbeat, third installment of Ben Schneider’s expertly crafted Chrome Mountain Saga.

Branding Masculinity

Author: Elizabeth C. Hirschman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131738606X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 108

Book Description
Branding Masculinity examines two ideologies of masculinity – one typifying rural agricultural areas and the other found in urban, business settings. Comparisons are made between these two current forms of masculinity and both similarities and differences are identified. Six product categories compose the Constellation of Masculinity for both groups. Hirschman selects a masculine prototype brand from each category and presents a detailed analysis of the images, language and marketing actions used to create the brand's masculinity over time. Using her method, marketers for other brands will be equipped to enhance the masculine status of their brands, as well. Branding Masculinity proposes that masculine brands are made, not born. Masculinity is an enduring cultural ideal which can be attached to a variety of products and brands by the appropriate use of symbols, icons and images. Scholars from various disciplines within the fields of branding, marketing, public relations and corporate identity will see this book as vital in continuing the academic discourse in the field. It will serve as a respected reference resource for researchers, academics, students and policy makers, alike.

Amateur Barbarians

Author: Robert Cohen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439165114
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Book Description
Acclaimed, award-winning novelist Robert Cohen delivers a bold, provocative exploration of the panic of midlife, following two men plateaued on either side of their forties and the unexpected consequences of changing course. Teddy Hastings is a New England middle school principal desperate for transcendence. Unmoored by his brother’s death and a health scare of his own, he tries to broaden his ordinary life and winds up unemployed and on the wrong side of the law. Meanwhile, Oren Pierce, a perpetual grad student from New York, abandons, somewhat to his own surprise, his search for the extraordinary and begins settling into the humble existence that Teddy seeks to escape. What comforts Oren alarms Teddy, and their paths overlap as Teddy’s quest for the unknown and unfamiliar experience takes him on a rash trip to Africa, leaving Oren to assume the trappings of his life, including Teddy’s wife Gail. Amateur Barbarians showcases a writer at the peak of his powers, tracing domestic ambivalence, the comic perils of introspection and desire, and the terror of an unlived life with Cohen’s signature wit and uncanny perception, proving yet again why he was touted by The New York Times Book Review as the “heir to Saul Bellow and Philip Roth.”

America Goes Green [3 volumes]

Author: Kim Kennedy White
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1660

Book Description
This three-volume encyclopedia explores the evolution of green ideology and eco-friendly practices in contemporary American culture, ranging from the creation of regional and national guidelines for green living to the publication of an increasing number of environmental blogs written from the layperson's perspective. Evidence of humanity's detrimental impact on the environment is mounting. As Americans, we are confronted daily with news stories, blogs, and social media commentary about the necessity of practicing green behaviors to offset environmental damage. This essential reference is a fascinating review of the issues surrounding green living, including the impact of this lifestyle on Americans' time and money, the information needed to adhere to green principles in the 21st century, and case studies and examples of successful implementation. America Goes Green: An Encyclopedia of Eco-Friendly Culture in the United States examines this gripping topic through 3 volumes organized by A–Z entries across 11 themes; state-by-state essays grouped by region; and references including primary source documents, bibliography, glossary, and green resources. This timely encyclopedia explores the development of an eco-friendly culture in America, and entries present the debates, viewpoints, and challenges of green living.

Hell's Angels

Author: Hunter S. Thompson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307826619
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
Gonzo journalist and literary roustabout Hunter S. Thompson flies with the angels—Hell’s Angels, that is—in this short work of nonfiction. “California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur. . . The Menace is loose again.” Thus begins Hunter S. Thompson’s vivid account of his experiences with California’s most notorious motorcycle gang, the Hell’s Angels. In the mid-1960s, Thompson spent almost two years living with the controversial Angels, cycling up and down the coast, reveling in the anarchic spirit of their clan, and, as befits their name, raising hell. His book successfully captures a singular moment in American history, when the biker lifestyle was first defined, and when such countercultural movements were electrifying and horrifying America. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, writes with his usual bravado, energy, and brutal honesty, and with a nuanced and incisive eye; as The New Yorker pointed out, “For all its uninhibited and sardonic humor, Thompson’s book is a thoughtful piece of work.” As illuminating now as when originally published in 1967, Hell’s Angels is a gripping portrait, and the best account we have of the truth behind an American legend.