Spectacles of Blood – A Study of Masculinity and Violence in Postcolonial Films

This superb collection of essays illuminates the film portrayal of violence, masculinity, and power in a postcolonial context, showing how the cinema challenges, normalizes, or contests these major issues. Taking an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, drawing from literature, sociology, and media studies, the essays shed light on films about societal violence in postcolonial cultures, whether it be terrorism, suicide bombings, the underworld, organized crime, or mob violence. 

The contributors to Spectacles of Blood look at the dynamics of the representation of these issues as cinematic plots and techniques, drawing attention to the affective value of the films in generating and foregrounding the feelings invoked by the onscreen violence, and the impact of these emotions on the formation of national and cosmopolitan identity. International in scope, covering films from Europe, Asia, and Latin America, these essays enrich both literary studies and social studies with a nuanced borrowing and intermixing of their primary texts and modes of interpretation.

Swaralipi Nandi is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at Kent State University. She is also the chief copy editor of Pakistaniaat, a journal of Pakistan studies. Esha Chatterjee is an advanced PhD scholar in the Department of Sociology, Social Anthropology, and Social Work at Kansas State University.