Cruel Theatre of Self-Immolations: Contemporary Suicide Protests by Fire and Their Resonances in Culture

A Cruel Theatre of Self-Immolations explores contemporary protest self-burnings and their echoes across culture, with six case studies and interdisciplinary analyses of the issues that prompt these acts, such as religious discrimination, war, authoritarian regimes, and exploitation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 306 pages
Publication date: 13 December 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

A Cruel Theatre of Self-Immolations delves into the contemporary phenomenon of protest self-burnings and their resonant echoes across diverse cultures. This comprehensive book offers a conceptual framework for understanding this phenomenon, complemented by an annotated timeline of suicide protests by fire, enriched with notes on artworks inspired by or dedicated to individual cases. At its heart, the publication comprises six in-depth case studies, complemented by analytical and interpretive contributions from various artistic domains, including visual arts, film, theatre, architecture, and literature. By examining responses to these events within an interdisciplinary lens, Ziólkowski underscores the global reach of the phenomenon and conducts a comprehensive exploration of the issues that often drive these self-immolations, such as religious discrimination and harassment, the horrors of war, the brutality and indoctrination of authoritarian regimes, as well as the exploitation of the so-called subalterns and their exclusion from mainstream economic systems.

This book holds immense interest for scholars across a wide range of disciplines, including theatre and performance, visual art, religion, and politics. It provides a unique perspective on voluntary, demonstrative, and radical performances of shock and subversion, shedding light on the powerful expressions of resistance and dissent in our contemporary world.

Weight: 567g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032238456