Holy Bonsai Wolves: Chihuahuas and the Paris Hilton Syndrome
2019 (engelsk)Inngår i: On Dogs: An Anthology, Kendal, Cumbria: Notting Hill Editions , 2019, 1, s. 147-152Kapittel i bok, del av antologi (Fagfellevurdert)
Abstract [en]
This article examines the reasons for the Chihuahua breed’s popularity in contemporary western society by looking at two sets of data: Chihuahua handbooks and The Simple Life show, starring Paris Hilton and her Chihuahua Tinkerbell. The article argues that the Chihuahua is a holy anomaly: a creature which can be used in myths and rituals to temporarily alleviate the tension-filled binary oppositions and stereotypes inherent in a particular culture, in order to celebrate and reinforce that culture’s categories and social order. The Chihuahua – or the bonsai wolf – transcends two binary oppositions fundamental to contemporary westerners: subject/object and nature/culture. Although the Chihuahua challenges a number of related binary oppositions, it is generally dismissed as a matter for humor, low-brow entertainment or expressions of sentimentality, rendering ritual encounters with Chihuahuas harmless. The article concludes by asking: what would happen if humans actually started listening to what the Chihuahua is telling them?
sted, utgiver, år, opplag, sider
Kendal, Cumbria: Notting Hill Editions , 2019, 1. s. 147-152
Emneord [en]
animal–human relations, anomalies, binary oppositions, Chihuahuas, dichotomies, dogs, Donna Haraway, Paris Hilton, hudographies, humor, popular culture
HSV kategori
Identifikatorer
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-45961ISBN: 1912559153 (tryckt)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-45961DiVA, id: diva2:1369438
Prosjekter
Intimitetens sociala former
Forskningsfinansiär
Swedish Research Council, 421-2014-1465
Merknad
Revised and edited version of a text that previously appeared as
Redmalm, David (2014) ‘Holy Bonsai Wolves: Chihuahuas and the Paris Hilton Syndrome,’ International Journal of Cultural Studies 17(1), 93–109. (Included in dissertation).
2019-11-122019-11-122019-12-23bibliografisk kontrollert