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Action figures are more than toys or collectibles--they are statements on race, gender, class, body positivity and more. This collection of nine new essays and one interview argues that action figures should be analyzed in the same light as books, movies, television shows and other media. Through an examination of the plastic bodies that fill our shelves and toy boxes, "Action Figure Studies" can inform the next generation of toys.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction. Posing the Question: An Action Figure Studies
Manifesto
Thirteen Ways of Looking at an Action Figure: Part One
Daniel F. Yezbick
The (Re)Resurrection of Captain Action: Will Justice Be Done?
Thomas G. Endres
Plastic Military Mythology: Hypercommercialism and Hasbro's
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
J. Richard Stevens
The Same Aisle: The Intersection of Resistance and Discipline
in Brony Fandom, or, Friendship Is Mythological
Tracy L. Bealer
Selling Girl Power in the 1980s: She-Ra and the Gendered
Dimensions of Action Figures
Keith Corson
"Seeing into the life of things": Toy Story, The Lego Movie
and the Wordsworthian Imagination
Geoff Klock
Get Your Freak On: The Monstrous Seduction in Mattel's
Monster High
Cathy Thomas
All Dolled Up: Monster High, Project MC2 and "Action" Figures
Christopher Bell
"Toys with brains": Skylanders and the Growth of the
Toys-to-Life Market
Kimberly A. Owczarski
Thirteen Ways of Looking at an Action Figure: Part Two
Daniel F. Yezbick
"I was always Wonder Woman": An Interview with
IAmElemental's Julie Kerwin
Jonathan Alexandratos
About the Contributors
Index
About the author
Jonathan Alexandratos is a playwright and essayist who lives, teaches, and writes in New York City. His plays, like his academic work, usually involve action figures and pop culture, and have been produced internationally.
