Books with author Philip Hayward

Mermaids have been a feature of western cinema since its inception and the number of films, television series, and videos representing them has expanded exponentially since the 1980s. Making a Splash analyses texts produced within a variety of audiovisual genres. Following an overview of mermaids in western culture that draws on a range of disciplines including media studies, psychoanalysis, and post- structuralism, individual chapters provide case studies of particular engagements with the folkloric figure. From Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Little Mermaid" to the creation of Ursula, Ariel’s tentacled antagonist in Disney’s 1989 film, to aspects of mermaid vocality, physicality, agency, and sexuality in films and even representations of mermen, this work provides a definitive overview of the significance of these ancient mythical figures in 110 years of western audio-visual media.

Mermaids have been a feature of western cinema since its inception and the number of films, television series, and videos representing them has expanded exponentially since the 1980s. Making a Splash analyses texts produced within a variety of audiovisual genres. Following an overview of mermaids in western culture that draws on a range of disciplines including media studies, psychoanalysis, and post- structuralism, individual chapters provide case studies of particular engagements with the folkloric figure. From Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Little Mermaid" to the creation of Ursula, Ariel’s tentacled antagonist in Disney’s 1989 film, to aspects of mermaid vocality, physicality, agency, and sexuality in films and even representations of mermen, this work provides a definitive overview of the significance of these ancient mythical figures in 110 years of western audio-visual media.

The doctors said I had unconfirmed haemophilia.People said I was clumsy, a clown, an accident waiting to happen.They were wrong.I have endured a multiplicity of injuries including:200 stitches; a broken femur; broken bones in my feet; 3 sprained ankles; several dislocated kneecaps; ruptured knee ligaments; a broken scaphoid; traumatic bruising to my shin and a dislocated shoulder. These are the presents that EHLERS DANLOS SYNDROME bestowed upon me. At fifty eight years of age I had had enough. I lay on the floor in my garage with the fallen ladder as my companion, listening to the siren of an approaching ambulance. I thought to myself “I have to find a way to make all this stop.If I survive.”