Resist! pays close attention to popular culture; it examines the political ramifications of Kanye West's support of Donald Trump, the significance of Aaron Sorkin's language to American political discourse, and the casting of female emotion as a political force in House of Cards and The Handmaid's Tale. In doing so, the collection traverses the formal world of 'the political' as it relates to presidential elections and referenda, while emphasising the sociocultural and political significance of popular texts which have played a critical role in exploring, critiquing and shaping culture in the twenty first century. Popular culture is often considered trivial or irrelevant to more pressing political concerns, and celebrities are often reprimanded for their forays into the political sphere. Resist! pays close attention to texts that are too often excluded when we think about politics, and explores the cultural and political fall-out of a reality TV president and a divisive public vote on increasingly connected global audiences. In examining the cultural politics of popular media, this collection is inherently interdisciplinary, and the chapters utilise methods and analysis from a range of social science and humanities disciplines. Resist! is both creative and timely, and offers a crucial examination of a fascinating and frightening political and cultural moment.
Introduction Part 1: Hashtag Activism, the Celebrity Politician and Celebrities in Politics 1. 'I miss the old Kanye': Keeping Up with Kanye, Kim and President Donald Trump, Giuliana Monteverde and Victoria McCollum 2. Unlikely Heroes? - Celebrity Activism in Times of Trump and Brexit, Sabrina Mittermeier Part 2: Political Fiction, Fictional Politicians and Unbreakable Women 3. The Good Fight: The Subtle Dance of Race, Gender, and Politics, Maria Cipriani 4. Feeling Unbreakable: TV Heroines in the Age of Trump, Jennie Carlsten Part 3: American Dystopia, Brexit Dreams and Waking Nightmares: The Cultural Politics of Horror and the Spectacle of Violence in the Brexit-Trump Era 5. In Trump's America, The Handmaid's Tale Matters More Than Ever, Stephanie Adams 6. 'Outrage is Immediate but Moviemaking Takes Time': 2018 and Horror Cinema's Direct Response to President Donald Trump, Todd K Platts and Kibiriti Majuto 7. The Media and the Normalisation of Right-Wing Violence in the age of Brexit and Trump, Jason Lee Part 4: Aesthetics of Protest: Visibility, Visual Culture and Creative Communication 8. A Sign of the Times: Humorous Slogans and Imagery in Modern Day Political Protest, Ellie Tomsett and Nathalie Weidhase 9. What Anti-Trump Protest Looks Like: Visual Analysis of Women's March, Marjon Kenis and Hedwig de Smaele 10. 'Sing an Angry Song': The Impact of Political Choirs in the UK, Barbara Henderson Part 5: Respect Existence or Expect Resistance: Identity Politics and Power in Popular American Sport 11. The Evolution: Women's Power in the Populist Politics of Monday Night Raw, Samantha Kise 12. Taking the Knee and Taking to the Streets: Narratives of Respect and Disrespect in the Black Lives Matter Movement, Elaine Crory Conclusion
