Murders and acquisitions : representations of the serial killer in popular culture; ed. by alzena ma

The 'serial killer' has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. __Murders and Acqusitions__ explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure. The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as __The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster__, the __Saw__ series, __American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI__ and __Dexter__, this electic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears. Cover HalfTitle Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgments 1 Dissecting the “Dark Passenger”: Reading Representations of the Serial Killer 2 ‘Made-up and Made-over’: Faking the Serial Killer and the Serial Killer Fake Introduction Invention Contingency 3 Serial Killing, Surveillance, and the State 4 Forced Entry: Serial Killer Pornography as a Patriarchal Paradox 5 Defining Deviance: The Rearticulation of Aileen Wuornos in Monster The portrayal of a gendered killer Beauty and the beast: Ideological lessons Conclusion 6 “LOOK AT ME”: Serial Killing, Whiteness, and (In)visibility in the Saw Series Whiteness, serial killing, and invisibility Jigsaw’s victims: An animus against non-whites Whiteness, serial killing, and the law: The case of Mark Hoffman Fall from whiteness: The case of Amanda Young Material and cultural effects of race and representation 7 Shopping and Slaying, Fucking and Flaying: Serial Consumption in American Psycho Murders and acquisitions: Serial killing, serial consumption Fine young cannibal: Consuming the self Coda 8 ‘Slash Production’: Objectifying the Serial “Kiler” in Euro-Cult Cinema Fan Production Introduction The giallo From ‘slash fiction’ to ‘slash production’ Reimagining the serial ‘kiler’ Conclusion Acknowledgments 9 Do Serial Killers Have Good Taste?1 Cultured killing Taste and terror Refinement Work, waste, and taste Taste and tone 10 Defacing the Acquisitions: A Museal-Analysis of Serial Killing Horror in Cinema Death and museums Becoming wax Art and slashing That killing feeling Defacing the subject 11 “There’s Blood on the Walls”: Serial Killing as Post-9/11 Terror in The Strangers Home(land) invasion and the (foreign) Other Lost in the 1970s: The Strangers Conclusion 12 Hunting Minds, Hunting Genes: From Profiling to Forensics in TV Serial Killer Narratives The profiler: Flawed hero of the 1990s Enter the criminalist: Trustworthy scientist The reconfiguration of serial killing: From psychology to genetics Postscript: The geneticized serial killer and new anxieties 13 Homme Fatal: Illegitimate Pleasures in Darkly Dreaming Dexter Dexter: Homme Fatal The erotics of murder/death as pornography The familiarity of Dexter Queer Dexter Comedy of manners/revenge tragedy Dexter in the context of 9/11 Dexter’s Liebestod List of Contributors Index Machine generated contents note: Acknowledgments1. Dissecting the "Dark Passenger": Reading Representations of the Serial Killer (Alzena MacDonald)2. 'Made-up and Made-over': Faking the Serial Killer and the Serial Killer Fake (Sara L. Knox)3. Serial Killing, Surveillance and the State (Alzena MacDonald)4. Forced Entry: Serial killer Pornography as a Patriarchal Paradox (Robert Cettl)5. Defining Deviance: The Rearticulation of Aileen Wuornos in Monster (Kumarini Silva and Danielle Rousseau)6. "LOOK AT ME": Serial Killing, Whiteness, and (In)visibility in the Saw Series (Mark Bernard)7. Shopping and Slaying, Fucking and Flaying: Serial Consumption in American Psycho (Christina Lee)8. 'Slash Production': Objectifying the Serial 'Killer' in Euro-Cult Cinema Fan Production (Oliver Carter)9. Do Serial Killers Have Good Taste? (Louis Bayman)10. Defacing the Acquisitions: A Museal-Analysis of Serial Killing Horror in Cinema (Janice Baker)11. "There's Blood on the Walls": Serial Killing as Post-9/11 Terror in The Strangers (Philip L.Simpson)12. Hunting Minds, Hunting Genes: From Profiling to Forensics in TV Serial Killer Narratives (Sofia Bull)13. Homme Fatal: Illegitimate Pleasures in Darkly Dreaming Dexter (David Buchbinder and Ann Elizabeth McGuire)List of ContributorsIndex. "The 'serial killer' has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. Murders and Acqusitions explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure. The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster, the Saw series, American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI and Dexter, this electic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears"-- Provided by publisher "The 'serial killer' has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. Murders and Acqusitions explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure. The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster, the Saw series, American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI and Dexter, this electic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears."--Bloomsbury Publishing "The 'serial killer' has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. Murders and Acqusitions explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure. The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster, the Saw series, American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI and Dexter, this electic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears"-- Résumé de l'éditeur The 'serial killer' has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture since the term was coined by Robert Ressler at the FBI in the mid-1970s. Murders and Acquisitions explores the social and political implications of this cultural figure. The collection argues that the often blood-chilling representations of the serial killer and serial killing offered in TV series, films, novels and fan productions function to address contemporary concerns and preoccupations. Focusing on well-known popular culture texts, such as The Wire, Kiss the Girls, Monster, the Saw series, American Psycho, The Strangers, CSI and Dexter, this eclectic anthology engages with a broad spectrum of cultural theory and performs critical textual analysis to examine the sophisticated ways the serial killer is deployed to mediate and/or work through cultural anxieties and fears.