Closet cosplay: Everyday expressions of science fiction and fantasy fandom among women

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Dina Smith ◽  
Casey Stannar ◽  
Jenna Tedrick Kuttruff
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
American Science ◽  
Interactionist Perspective ◽  
Social Interactionist ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Some American science fiction and fantasy (SF&F) female fans participate in Cosplay or costume play, the global practice of dressing in costume and performing fictional characters from popular culture. Cosplay is typically only socially sanctioned at conventions and other fan events, leaving fans searching for new ways to express their fandom in everyday life. Closet cosplay is one solution in which everyday clothing and accessories can be worn to express fandom. The motivations for wearing everyday fan fashion have been only briefly mentioned by other authors or studied within limited social contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to explore SF&F female fans' participation in closet cosplay as it is worn in everyday contexts. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted using a social interactionist perspective, and Sarah Thornton's concept of subcultural capital and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital. Semi-structured, online interviews were conducted with sixteen participants who wore closet cosplay related to SF&F films and/or television series, which included Star Wars, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Disney films, Harry Potter and anime fandoms like Sailor Moon (1995‐2000). The interview data were analysed using NVivo qualitative analysis software and the constant comparison method. Two themes emerged from the data: the definition of closet cosplay and motivations for wearing closet cosplay. Through examining these themes, it was evident that female SF&F fans used closet cosplay to express a salient fan identity, which enabled them to simultaneously gain subcultural capital and feminized cultural capital.

scholarly journals The sacralisation of popular culture as adolescent lived spirituality

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Apostolides
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
Fantasy Literature ◽  
Lord Of The Rings ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Film Series ◽  
Lived Theology ◽  
Sacred Canopy ◽  
Urban Fantasy

Many adolescents are drawn to the fantasy, science fiction and urban fantasy genres (movies and books), genres whose main characters include witches, wizards, vampires, ghosts, angels, demons, aliens and various other supernatural beings and events. Books and movies such as The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings (film series), Harry Potter (film series), X-Files, Twilight (film series), Star Wars (film series), and so on, are not only fervently consumed by some adolescents but have also, in some instances, been sacralised by adolescents (see Hopper 2005:116, McAvan 2012:5–10, Kirby 2013:2). In this article it will be argued that the reason for this, is that adolescents while questioning their identities and exploring their spiritualties, need a ‘safe spiritual space’ for this journey, one which may be related as something akin to what Berger termed the ‘sacred canopy’ where order can keep chaos at bay (Berger 1967: 51). This article will build on a lived theology perspective of how the divine can be experienced in the sources offered by popular culture texts that may become a ‘sacred canopy’ under which the adolescents can express their spiritual journeys.This article hopes to contribute to the facilitation of more conversations taking place amongst parents, pastors and teachers on the importance of allowing adolescents more freedom in what movies and books they are allowed to see and read. These conversations may also be employed by pastors, parents and teachers as conversation openers with adolescents who are often reluctant to open up about topics that they find difficult to discuss. Osmer and Salazar-Newton (2014:70) encourage the church to ‘think of ways it can take advantage of the interest of children and youth in fantasy literature,’ on their spiritual life journeys.

scholarly journals Imagining 9/11: Blockbuster Hollywood Cinema as Cultural Violence from 1996-2003

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brady Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
The Self ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Lord Of The Rings ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
The Relationship

<p>This thesis explores the relationship between blockbuster cinematic violence and its historical context in the period surrounding the events of September 11, 2001. It charts the trajectory of violence by showing that screen violence in successful blockbuster cinema responds to historical developments. Violence in this thesis is defined according to the tripartite definition of violence articulated by peace studies theorist Johan Galtung. In order to analyse the historical positioning of the violence in the blockbusters being analysed, tripartite violence has been fused with the diagnostic critique of cultural theorist Douglas Kellner, which “uses history to read texts and texts to read history” (Media 116). By synthesising the two theoretical frameworks in this way, the diagnostic critique becomes violence-calibrated, and can be readily deployed to discern the ways in which blockbuster screen violence engages with the historical context of the text. The texts analysed represent the top grossing film from each year from 1996 to 2003, a period selected for its political relationship to 9/11. The eight films analysed are: Independence Day, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Spider-Man, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. This thesis shows that the films from the pre-9/11 period articulate a clear “dream” of a world that is defined in binary terms with a good Self in opposition to an evil Other that is always external. The trends found in the violent dreams begin to shift with The Grinch as the relationship between the Self and Other changes, but the transformation does not fully manifest itself until the post-9/11 period when the films are marked by paranoia stemming from the repeated appearance of an Other than can pass as the Self, and ultimately a Self that behaves like the Other. While the violence that is found in the pre-9/11 films “dreams” of the Bush response to 9/11, the post-9/11 films ultimate envision a future that the War on Terror could not deliver. In the end, this thesis will develop a methodology that can be used to explore blockbuster cinematic violence in terms of the nuances that exist between the three types of violence Galtung articulates: direct, structural, and cultural.</p>

scholarly journals Imagining 9/11: Blockbuster Hollywood Cinema as Cultural Violence from 1996-2003

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brady Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Harry Potter ◽  
The Self ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Lord Of The Rings ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
The Relationship

<p>This thesis explores the relationship between blockbuster cinematic violence and its historical context in the period surrounding the events of September 11, 2001. It charts the trajectory of violence by showing that screen violence in successful blockbuster cinema responds to historical developments. Violence in this thesis is defined according to the tripartite definition of violence articulated by peace studies theorist Johan Galtung. In order to analyse the historical positioning of the violence in the blockbusters being analysed, tripartite violence has been fused with the diagnostic critique of cultural theorist Douglas Kellner, which “uses history to read texts and texts to read history” (Media 116). By synthesising the two theoretical frameworks in this way, the diagnostic critique becomes violence-calibrated, and can be readily deployed to discern the ways in which blockbuster screen violence engages with the historical context of the text. The texts analysed represent the top grossing film from each year from 1996 to 2003, a period selected for its political relationship to 9/11. The eight films analysed are: Independence Day, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Spider-Man, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. This thesis shows that the films from the pre-9/11 period articulate a clear “dream” of a world that is defined in binary terms with a good Self in opposition to an evil Other that is always external. The trends found in the violent dreams begin to shift with The Grinch as the relationship between the Self and Other changes, but the transformation does not fully manifest itself until the post-9/11 period when the films are marked by paranoia stemming from the repeated appearance of an Other than can pass as the Self, and ultimately a Self that behaves like the Other. While the violence that is found in the pre-9/11 films “dreams” of the Bush response to 9/11, the post-9/11 films ultimate envision a future that the War on Terror could not deliver. In the end, this thesis will develop a methodology that can be used to explore blockbuster cinematic violence in terms of the nuances that exist between the three types of violence Galtung articulates: direct, structural, and cultural.</p>

¿Quién soy yo? Reflexiones teórico sistémicas acerca de la indentidad individual

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
Francisco Xavier Morales
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Moral Communication ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

The problem of identity is an issue of contemporary society that is not only expressed in daily life concerns but also in discourses of politics and social movements. Nevertheless, the I and the needs of self-fulfillment usually are taken for granted. This paper offers thoughts regarding individual identity based on Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory. From this perspective, identity is not observed as a thing or as a subject, but rather as a “selfillusion” of a system of consciousness, which differentiates itself from the world, event after event, in a contingent way. As concerns the definition  of contents of self-identity, the structures of social systems define who is a person, how he or she should act, and how much esteem he or she should receive. These structures are adopted by consciousness as its own identity structures; however, some social contexts are more relevant for self-identity construction than others. Moral communication increases the probability that structure appropriation takes place, since the emotional element of identity is linked to the esteem/misesteem received by the individual from the interactions in which he or she participates.

Assessment of Risks of Corporate and Financial Security of the Region (on the Example of the Komi Republic)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 66-78
Author(s):  
M. S. Kyzyurov
Keyword(s):  
Method Comparison ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Komi Republic ◽  
Financial Security ◽  
Threshold Values ◽  
Security Risk ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Method Analysis

The article presents the author’s approach to assessing the risks of corporate and financial security of the region. The purpose of the article is to develop, substantiate and test the author’s approach to assessing and measuring risks of corporate and financial security at the meso-level. The research used methods such as indicative method, comparison method, analysis, synthesis. The paper analyzes conceptual approaches to the concept of security risk, examines the distinctive characteristics of the definition of “risk” from the concepts of “threat” and “danger”. Further, the author examines the issue of the list of main risks in the field of corporate financial security, as a result of which a risk system is proposed that includes 7 main risks, which are assessed using a methodology based on the synthesis of an indicative approach and a minimax method using a normalizing function and a 100-point scale. For each of the risks, indicators are selected, and their threshold values are justified, which are used for comparison with the actual values of indicators, on the basis of which the level of risk is measured. Approbation of the approach proposed in the article was carried out on the example of the Komi Republic. As a result of the risk diagnostics, significant risks of the corporate and financial security of the region were identified, and some recommendations were proposed for solving the problem of improving the conditions for doing business in the region. The obtained results of the work can be used by public authorities in solving the problems of public administration and monitoring the risks of the corporate and financial security of the region.

Defining Learning in Educational Leadership: Reframing the Narrative

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Myran ◽  
Ian Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Problem Posing ◽  
Scientific Management ◽  
Conceptions Of Learning ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Shape Learning ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to reframe our field’s narrative around the science of learning. We seek to (1) describe the patterns within educational leadership and administration that are conceptually tethered to scientific management and highlight the absence of clearly defined conceptions of learning, (2) provide a synthesis of the science of learning, and (3) offer a “progressive problem shift” that promotes such a reframing. Methods: An integration of theory building methods with problem posing/identification strategies is designed to deconstruct the field of educational leadership through a science of learning lens and build toward theory that is more adaptive to our goals of leading for learning. Findings: Our findings stem from the central observation that educational leadership and administration has to date produced no conceptual or explicit operational definition of learning. Lacking such a definition, the field has been vulnerable to outlooks about learning that default to assumptions notably shaped by scientific management. This is in contrast to our review of the learning sciences literature, which emphasizes that learning is dependent on the active and deliberate agency of the learner and a host of introspective outlooks and behaviors and that these individual learning characteristics are situated within complex and dynamic social contexts that serve to mediate and shape learning. Implications and Conclusions: We argue that the future of our field rests, in large measure, on our ability to address the incongruences between our field’s foundations in scientific management and the science of learning.

From an emic perspective: Exploring consent in forced marriage law

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Sowey
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Marriage Law ◽  
Forced Marriage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Emic Perspective ◽  
The Uk

Forced marriage was criminalised in Australia in March 2013, putting the issue on the agenda of policy-makers and social service providers. Increasingly, however, it is being recognised that criminal laws alone cannot address the practice; protective and preventative strategies are also needed. This paper argues that strategies to address forced marriage will be most effective if they are informed by contextualised and emic understandings of the phenomenon, that is, by the perspectives of individuals, families and communities who are directly affected by forced marriage. Primary research is required to obtain such perspectives. Research into forced marriage in Australia is still in its infancy, and primary research is almost non-existent. This paper, then, looks to primary research from the UK and other comparable Western multicultural nations, offering a critique of this body of literature before drawing out what is revealed about why marriages are forced, how marriages are forced, and what people in forced marriage situations want. The implications of criminal prosecution are then considered in light of this emic understanding. The legal definition of forced marriage hinges on the concept of consent: it is consent that distinguishes an arranged marriage from a forced one. In the UK, the notion of consent has been robustly problematised. However this is not the case in Australia at present, and this paper critiques the value of the concept of consent given the social contexts of forced marriage described above. The implications of this critique for the application of Australia’s forced marriage law are then considered. Finally, from a place of contextualised and emic understanding of forced marriage, this paper considers how protective and preventative strategies might be enhanced.

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