Screening the Nonhuman
Representations of Animal Others in the Media
Contributions by Joseph Anderton, Michael Atkinson, Fernando Pagnoni Berns, Christina Victoria Cedillo, Amber E. George, Stella Hockenhull, Anja Höing, am Husemann, Fiona Yuk-wa Law, Matthew Lerberg, César Marino, Guilherme Nothen, Sean Parson, Jennifer Polish, J. L. Schatz, Carter Soles Edited by Amber E. George, J. L. Schatz

Not available to order
Publication date:
27 April 2016Length of book:
240 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498513753
Screening the Nonhuman draws connections between how animals represented on screen translate into reality. In doing so, the book demonstrates that consuming media is not a neutral act but rather a political one. The images humans consume have real world consequences for how animals are treated as actors, as pets, and in nature. The contributors propose that altering the representations of animals can change the way humans relate to non/humans. Our hope is for humans to generate more ethical relationships with non/humans, ultimately mediating reality both in terms of fiction and non-fiction. To achieve this end, film, television, advertisements, and social media are analyzed through an intersectional lens. But the book doesn’t stop here. Each author creates counter-representational strategies that promise to unweave the assumptions that have led to the mistreatment of humans and non/humans alike.
A wonderfully insightful, provocative, and much needed book that combines critical theory, media analysis, and cultural studies with the ethics and urgency of animal liberation politics. This crossover work builds bridges between activism, academia, and the general public, and will surely inspire discussion and debate about the role of nonhuman animals in both film and society.