Bøker utgitt av Pluto Press

Everybody analyses films. Ordinary viewers, chatting on the way home afterwards. Reviewers, telling us just enough to tempt or put off. Critics, 'situating' films for us. Moralists, hunting for the (harmful) message. So what exactly is it that film academics do that's different?*BR**BR*Martin Barker and Thomas Austin provide a jargon-free, accessible and student-friendly introduction to film analysis. They begin with a discussion about audience and a detailed case-study on four conflicting analyses of Capra's It's A Wonderful Life. The authors examine a range of popular Hollywood films in a variety of genres, including Titanic, Deep Impact, Sleepless in Seattle, The Lion King, Starship Troopers and The Usual Suspects, and provide vivid demonstrations of what can and can't be achieved with close textual analysis. The book ends by proposing a list of measures for assessing the adequacy of film analyses: measures intended to lay the basis of a way of doing film analysis which goes beyond theoretically predetermined and often obscurantist assertions.*BR**BR*Explicitly rejecting much of the theoretical baggage that dogs contemporary film analysis, Barker and Austin strip the subject down to its bare essentials. The result is a provocative and timely re-examination of many of the basic tenets in film theory and analysis.

White, middle-class Americans are one of the most understudied groups in the anthropology of the United States - perhaps because of their hegemonic presence in society. This book offers the first ethnography of 'white middle-class America' from a non-native perspective. *BR**BR*Yasushi Watanabe, a Japanese anthropologist, examines two social groups in the Boston area to reveal an intimate portrait of the 'American' family. These two groups are at opposite ends of the social spectrum in terms of religious, ethnic and class backgrounds, and in terms of cultural tastes and lifestyles. The first group is upper-middle class, Anglo Saxon, Protestant, mostly Unitarian or Episcopalian - often identified as archetypical middle-class America. This is a wealthy group that includes descendants of the 'Boston Brahmins', one of America's oldest aristocratic families, closely related to Democratic hopeful John Kerry. The second group is working-class or lower middle-class, Irish Catholic, often referred to as 'Boston Irish'. *BR**BR*Informed by a wide range of social theory, The American Family is a fascinating study of family dynamics in modern America that explores how Americans construct their social realities and cultural histories, and how modern society shapes their lived experience.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a publicly funded, multi-billion dollar experiment in global resource management. It was set up in 1991 by the World Bank to fund international conventions on climate change and biodiversity. *BR**BR*Investigating the workings of this little known aid fund, Zoe Young takes a critical look at the conflicts involved, focusing on how the GEF's agenda relates to questions of globalisation, knowledge and accountability in the United States and the World Bank.*BR**BR*As our landscapes, fertility, cultures and ecosystems are being destroyed every day, Zoe Young gives a disturbing account of the complex issues that must be addressed before the world's environment can be managed more democratically - and effectively.

This book details the deplorable conditions that exist in a minority sector of international shipping operating mainly, although not exclusively, under flags of convenience. In a horrific account of human rights abuses that would be little tolerated in the countries of the ship owners, the authors demonstrate that governments often pay little attention to cases of robbery, abandonment, deprivation and even death perpetrated by these ship owners or on vessels bearing their national flag. The financial and shipping institutions that support substandard ship owners are also prepared to ignore the plight of the individual seafarer serving on the ships under their tenure.*BR**BR*The authors draw on case studies to illustrate the issues, including a perspective on Adriatic Tanker Company of Greece and examples of incompetent management and the reckless finance provisions in merchant shipping. The authors also examine the plight of seafarers' families, who are particularly vulnerable, and the legal rights of abused and abandoned seafarers. They conclude by arguing for a global governance of shipping.

This is the global culture of sci-fi

From the excesses of Puritan patriarchs to the barbarism of slavery and on into the prison-industrial complex, punishment in the US has a long and gruesome history. *BR**BR*In the post-Vietnam era, the prison population has increased tenfold and the death penalty has enjoyed a renaissance. Cruel and Unusual offers an exploration of the history of punishment as mediated in American culture. Grounding his analysis in Marxist theory, psychoanalysis and Foucault's influential work on discipline, Brian Jarvis examines a range of cultural texts, from seventeenth century execution sermons to twenty-first century prison films, to uncover the politics, economics and erotics of punishment. *BR**BR*This wide-ranging and interdisciplinary survey constructs a genealogy of cruelty through close reading of novels by Hawthorne and Melville, fictional accounts of the Rosenberg execution by Coover and Doctorow, slave narratives and prison writings by African Americans and the critically neglected genre of American prison films.

With the advent of devolution, it is clear that the British Constitution is currently undergoing a period of dynamic transformation. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were slowly united by conquest and treaty over the last 300 years, a unity which was only broken by the 1922 agreement that split Ireland in two. The last 50 years have seen the collapse of empire, and while the pull of local nationalism within the United Kingdom continues to strengthen, integrative narratives of Britishness weaken. *BR**BR*In this insightful book, Arthur Aughey outlines the changing character of the United Kingdom polity, and examines the developing debate about the meaning of the Union in the context of New Labour/New Britain. *BR**BR*In a systematic survey of historical, theoretical and political reflection on the nature of Britishness, he questions what the Union once was, what it means now and what it might become, taking into account the challenge posed by internal divisions along with the problems posed by European integration and globalisation.

A look at the politics of race in Britain over the last 50 years

Demonising Disney is nothing new. Disney films have long been synonymous with a certain conservative, patriarchal, heterosexual ideology, occupying a centre-stage position at the heart of the evil empire. Deconstructing Disney takes issue with knee-jerk polarities, overturning classical oppositions and recognising that, just as the Disney 'text' has changed, so too must the terms of critical engagement. *BR**BR*This book is a sharply focused deconstruction of the political culture - and the cultural politics - of the Disney canon in the years since the emergence of the so-called New World Order. Eleanor Byrne and Martin McQuillan offer a critical encounter with Disney which alternates between readings of individual texts and wider thematic concerns such as race, gender and sexuality, the broader context of American contemporary culture, and the global ambitions and insularity of the last great superpower. The movies discussed include The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocohontas, Snow White, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Dumbo, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Hercules and Mulan.

In the first major study of the Protestant Loyalist Orange Order in Northern Ireland, Dominic Bryan provides a detailed ethnographic and historical study of Orange Order parades. *BR**BR*He looks at the development of the parades, the history of disputes over the parades, the structure and politics of the Orange Order, the organisation of loyalist bands, the role of social class in Unionist politics - and the anthropology of ritual itself.

Focusing on the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Hamdi Hassan offers a balanced examination of the motivation of the Iraqi polity and the conditions which accelerated and facilitated the decision to invade. *BR**BR*Critical of the traditional approach of most Middle East studies, The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait offers a counterpoint to Western interpretations of this key event in the contemporary history of the Middle East.*BR**BR*Hassan examines how Saddam Hussein assessed and responded to American and Israeli intentions after the invasion, the reaction of other Arab states, and the unprecedented grassroots support for the Iraqi leadership. In this context, the author examines the social structure of Iraqi society - families, clans and regional alliances - and the importance of Ba'athism. Hassan also examines the political structure of the country, relating the identity of Arabism - the religion and language which is associated closely with the Pan Arabist ideals - to Iraqi foreign policy.

A comprehensive introductory guide for students, teachers, volunteers and NGO workers in development, World Development examines the issues surrounding development, industrialisation and globalisation.

Recent debates surrounding human security have focused on the satisfaction of human needs as the vital goal for global development. Peter Wilkin highlights the limitations of this view and argues that unless we incorporate an account of human autonomy into human security then the concept is flawed. *BR**BR*He reveals how human security is a concern with social relations that connect people in local, national and global networks of power, structured through capitalism and hierarchical inter-state systems. *BR**BR*Autonomy, as an aspect of human security, depends upon the ability of citizens to gain information about the processes that shape their lives. In this respect autonomy and communication are inherently linked and are prerequisites for the establishment of meaningful democratic systems.

A lively re-examination of the 'alien' as metaphor in film and fiction

This book is a detailed analysis of policing in Northern Ireland. Tracing its history from 1922, Ellison and Smyth portray the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) as an organisation burdened by its past as a colonial police force. *BR**BR*They analyse its perceived close relationship with unionism and why, for many nationalists, the RUC embodied the problem of the legitimacy of Northern Ireland, arguing that decisions made on the organisation, composition and ideology of policing in the early years of the state had consequences which went beyond the everyday practice of policing. *BR**BR*Examining the reorganisations of the RUC in the 1970s and 1980s, Ellison and Smyth focus on the various structural, legal and ideological components, the professionalisation of the force and the development of a coherent, if contradictory, ideology.

More than 40,000 children die daily in the developing world from avoidable sickness and disease. Tens of millions of children labour in mines, mills and sweatshops, or scavenge for a living on city streets and dumps. In the so-called developed world, children's lives are similarly blighted by drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse and violence. *BR**BR*Children of the rich are unhealthily obsessed with consumerist desires while children of the poor suffer from lack of opportunity. The global market is responsible for both of these ills.*BR**BR*In Children of Other Worlds Jeremy Seabrook examines the international exploitation of children and exposes the hypocrisy, piety and moral blindness that have informed so much of the debate in the West on the rights of the child. Seabrook insists that the whole question of protecting children's rights must take into consideration the structural abuses of humanity that are inherent in globalisation.

Between 1845 and 1852, Ireland was devastated by the 'Great Hunger' - the most severe famine in modern European history. The view widely held by historians is that the impact of the Famine on the northern province of Ulster, in particular the largely Protestant city of Belfast, was minimal. In the first book on the Famine to focus specifically on Belfast, Christine Kinealy, one of Ireland's leading historians of the period, and Gerard MacAtasney, challenge this view and offer a new interpretation.*BR**BR*Drawing on a wealth of original research, Kinealy and MacAtasney begin with an examination of society and social behaviour in Belfast prior to 1845. They then assess the official response to the crisis by the British government, the response by the Church in both England and Ireland, and the part played by the local administration in Ulster. The authors examine the impact of the cholera epidemic on Belfast in 1849-50, the city's recovery after the Famine, and the beginnings of open sectarianism among the business and landed classes of the province.

A critical guide to contemporary theories on urban regeneration

This book assesses competing modes of nation-building and nationalism through a critical reappraisal of the works of key theorists such as Benedict Anderson and Eric Hobsbawm. Exploring the processes of nation building from a variety of ethnic and social class contexts, it focuses on the contested terrain within which nationalist ideologies are often rooted. *BR**BR*Mac Laughlin offers a theoretical and empirical analysis of nation building, taking as a case study the historical connections between Ireland and Great Britain in the clash between 'big nation' historic British nationalism on the one hand, and minority Irish nationalism on the other. Locating the origins of the historic nation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Mac Laughlin emphasises the difficulties, and specificity, of minority nationalism in the nineteenth century. *BR**BR*In so doing he calls for a place-centred approach which recognises the symbolic and socio-economic significance of territory to the different scales of nation-building. Exploring the evolution of Irish Nationalism, Reimaging the Nation State also shows how minority nations can challenge the hegemony of dominant states and threaten the territorial integrity of historic nations.

Can the peoples of the Brazilian Forest survive in the modern era?

A free press is the cornerstone of democracy. Does this then give the press the right to print inaccurate material with relative impunity? Should the public have a statutory right of reply to inaccuracy in the press? And how free is the press in a world of converging technologies and crossmedia ownership? *BR**BR*Clive Soley and Tom O'Malley set the issues of press regulation in their historical context, focusing on the period after 1945. They specifically look at the history and record of the Press Council and assess the performance of the Press Complaints Commission. The book analyses the arguments surrounding attempts to improve standards by introducing statutory rights for the public, and the reasons for the failure of these initiatives. *BR**BR*Focusing on issues of principle such as accuracy, misrepresentation and privacy, the authors re-examine the ways in which debates over press freedom versus regulation illuminate the fundamental conflicts between a fully accountable press and the economic imperatives of the free market economy.*BR*

In the first accessible introduction to his work in English, Lodziak and Tatman trace the development of Gorz's political theory

An original and radically revised view of British and US foreign policy, exposing the extent to which Anglo-American interests have shaped and damaged the current world order.

Ted Honderich's Punishment is the best-known book on the justifications put forward for state punishment. *BR**BR*This enlarged and developed edition brings his writing to a new audience. With new chapters on determinism and responsibility, plus a new conclusion, the book also remains true to its original realism about almost all talk of retribution and proportionality. Honderich investigates all the commonsensical notions of why and when punishment is morally necessary, engaging with the language of public debate by politicians and other public figures. Honderich then puts forward his own argument that punishment is legitimate when it is in accord with the principle of humanity.*BR**BR*Written in a clear, sharp style and seasoned with a dry wit, this is the most important work on the reasoning behind our penal systems. It is a pleasure to read for philosophers and non-philosophers alike.

Since the 1940s, Marxist thought has blossomed in Nigeria. The history of 'Naija Marxism' is also that of the country's labour movement, its feminist movement, its social thought and political economy. It has been the mainstay of party politics in the case of illegal Marxist party formations and legal anti-feudalist forces and in the NGO sector. Long gone are the days when Marxism meant imported pamphlets and a disconnected ideology.*BR**BR*Drawn from years of research in Nigeria and elsewhere, Naija Marxisms breaks new ground in tracing the historical trajectories that leftist movements underwent since the 1940s, whilst arguing that Marxism is alive and well in Nigeria. The book brings together Nigeria's pre-eminent radical thinkers, from Usman Tar and Edwin Madunagu, who are currently espousing a Marxian political economy and providing a class-based approach in the country's mainstream media channels, to the international reach of key Nigerian Marxists, such as Mokwugo Okoye, Ikenna Nzimiro and Eskor Toyo. *BR*

Few countries provoke as much passion and controversy as Israel. What is Modern Israel? convincingly demonstrates that its founding ideology - Zionism - is anything but a simple reaction to antisemitism. Dispelling the notion that every Jew is a Zionist and therefore a natural advocate for the state of Israel, Yakov Rabkin points to the Protestant roots of Zionism, in order to explain the particular support Israel musters in the United States. *BR**BR*Drawing on many overlooked pages of history, including English, French, Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian sources, Yakov Rabkin shows that Zionism was conceived as a sharp break with Judaism and Jewish continuity. Israel's past and present must be seen in the context of European ethnic nationalism, colonial expansion and geopolitical interests, rather than as an incarnation of Biblical prophecies or a culmination of Jewish history.

The state is often regarded as an abstract and neutral bureaucratic entity. Against this common sense idea, At the Heart of the State argues that it is also a concrete reality with a morality, embodied in the work of its agents and inscribed in the issues of its time. *BR**BR*A political and moral anthropology, this book is the result of a five-year investigation conducted by ten scholars, based in France. It analyses, amongst other topics, the police, the court system, the prison apparatus, the social services and mental health facilities. Combining genealogy and ethnography, its authors show that these state institutions do not simply implement laws, rules and procedures: they mobilise values and affects, judgements and emotions. In other words, they reflect the morality of the state.

The tragic-comedic story of the cinema, art and architecture of the early 20th Century, highlighting the unlikely intersections of East and West

Shows how corruption operates through informal rules, personal connections and wider social contexts.

This is the best-selling biography of the IRA resistance fighter and hunger-striker, Bobby Sands. In this updated, new edition, Denis O'Hearn draws from a wealth of interviews with friends, comrades, fellow prisoners and prison wardens, to provide a faithful and shocking insight into life in Northern Ireland's H-Block prisons, an exploration of the motivations and thoughts of the Republican strikers and the story of one of the world's most radical, inspirational figures. *BR**BR*Following his journey from its very beginnings - an ordinary boy from a working-class background in Belfast to a highly politicised, articulate revolutionary whose death in HM Prison Maze sent reverberations around the world, Bobby Sands: Nothing But An Unfinished Song captures the atmosphere of the time and the vibrancy of the man: a militant anti-imperialist who held on to his humanity despite living through a bitter, ugly struggle.*BR*