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Medusa's Gaze: The Politics and Aesthetics of Horror in the Age of Hyperviolence

Research Project

Project/Area Number 17K18470
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Philosophy, Art, and related fields
Research InstitutionRitsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Principal Investigator

Mantello Peter  立命館アジア太平洋大学, アジア太平洋学部, 教授 (10454977)

Project Period (FY) 2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥6,240,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,440,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥600,000)
KeywordsTerror / Hashtag / Memes / Horror / Politics / Media / Virtual / Digital / Terrorism / Sacrifice / Social Media / Selfies / Sharia / Self-capture / Subjectivity / trans-individuation / extremism / networked identities / ISIS / Al Qaeda / Jihadist / horror / martyrdom / scapegoat / media / terrorism / horrorism / Jihadi Cool / Feedback Loops / Hyperviolence
Outline of Final Research Achievements

I investigated the symbiotic relationship between technology, terrorism and the politics of horror. In the 21st century, terrorists are not simply harnessing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media for logistics, propaganda and recruitment purposes. I examined the process through which new technologies are being used to represent their horrific killings for mass audience consumption, targeting both their own constituencies and their enemies. I mapped out the philosophical, cultural and political terrain of an emerging era where new technologies are not only reshaping the contours of political violence but also contributing to its increasingly sophisticated yet often horrific aestheticization.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

This project argues that traditional frameworks for understanding political violence are no longer valid since they address only the state’s and the soldiers’ point of view of battle, when increasingly, the representation of war is being co-opted by non-state combatants.

Report

(4 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (11 results)

All 2020 2019 2018 2017

All Journal Article (1 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results,  Peer Reviewed: 1 results) Presentation (6 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 4 results,  Invited: 4 results) Book (4 results)

  • [Journal Article] Breaking point: Mapping the politics of extreme otherness in right-wing media of Brexit and the Refugee Crisis2018

    • Author(s)
      Mantello, Peter and Douglas Ponton
    • Journal Title

      Forum Italicum

      Volume: 38 Pages: 12-22

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Of Selfies and Sharia2019

    • Author(s)
      Mantello Peter
    • Organizer
      13th European Pan International Studies Association
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] : Bleeding Battlefield Realism Dry: The Jihadist Imaginary and the Politics of Crowd-Sourcing2018

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Organizer
      EISA Prague 2018
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Bleeding Battlefield Realism Dry: ISIS and the Horror of Crowd-sourcing2018

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Organizer
      EISA 2018 Prague
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Jihadi Cool2017

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Organizer
      EISA 2017 BARCELONA
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Securitization of Tourism2017

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Organizer
      Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Medusa’s Gaze2017

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Organizer
      EISA 2017 BARCELONA
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Book] Medusa's Gaze: Technology, Terrorism and the Politics of Horror2020

    • Author(s)
      Mantello Peter and Douglas Ponton
    • Total Pages
      200
    • Publisher
      Routledge
    • ISBN
      9781138495951
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] Punto di Rottura : la politica dell'alterita nella retorica di destra sulla miggrazoine. Brexit e la crisis dei rifugiat in La sfida migratoria in Europa e negli USA: Politiche e modelli d'accogglienza a confront2019

    • Author(s)
      Mantello Peter and Douglas Ponton - eds Saija Marcello e Di Giacinto, Maria Rosario
    • Total Pages
      250
    • Publisher
      Edizoni distoriastudi sociali
    • ISBN
      9788899168421
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] Technology, Terrorism and the Politics of Horror2019

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Total Pages
      280
    • Publisher
      Routledge
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Book] The Challenges of Migration in North America and Europe2018

    • Author(s)
      Peter Mantello
    • Total Pages
      169
    • Publisher
      Forum Italicum Publishing, Stony Brooke NY
    • ISBN
      1893127427
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report

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Published: 2017-07-21   Modified: 2021-02-19  

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