Representing the Catastrophic: Coming to Terms with “Unimaginable” Suffering and “Incomprehensible” Horror in Visual Culture

Representing the Catastrophic: Coming to Terms with "Unimaginable" Suffering and "Incomprehensible" Horror in Visual Culture





When attempting to represent a catastrophic event in history the tendency is to disavowal the event by referring to it as unimaginable, or otherwise such events are assigned to the domain of fiction or fantasy. For example, in response to 9/11 and the images of the planes flying into buildings, many responded it was like I was watching a movie. How then, when our knee-jerk response is to assign catastrophic events to the incomprehensible or the domain of utter fantasy, do we convey the reality of these events? What rhetorical strategies are at our disposal? How are catastrophic events, such as the Holocaust or Hiroshima represented, when we no longer have an immediate relationship to them? When the last survivors of these catastrophic events are gone, how will we relate to representations of these events? What rhetorical strategies will prove most useful in conveying the historical significance of these events, even when the physical traces are gone? This book addresses these questions.









List Price: $ 119.95



Price: $ 119.95



Hair-Raising: Ten Horror Stories





A collection of ten eerie tales includes the stories of a girl's best friend who hides a monstrous appetite for human beings and a boy whose perfect features make him decide to get rid of his disfigured little sister. Reprint.









List Price: $ 3.50



Price: $ 6.99







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