What's natural about killing? Gender, copycat violence and Natural Born Killers.

Boyle, K.E. (2001) What's natural about killing? Gender, copycat violence and Natural Born Killers. Journal of Gender Studies, 10(3), pp. 311-321. (doi: 10.1080/09589230120086511)

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Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589230120086511

Abstract

With a lawsuit implicating Natural Born Killers in real-world violence still pending, the representation of violence in Oliver Stone's 1994 film remains a controversial issue. This article examines the gendering of violence - both in the film itself and in three of the most infamous 'copycat' cases - and demonstrates that the apparently gender-neutral term 'natural born killers' is used to disguise the normalisation of male violence on- and off-screen. While male violence is normalised, it is argued that representations of female violence emphasise transformation and undercut women's violent subjectivity through a re-positioning of women as erotic objects.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Boyle, Dr Karen
Authors: Boyle, K.E.
Subjects:P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
Journal Name:Journal of Gender Studies
ISSN:1465-3869

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