Power Plays, Power Works - Hardcover
In this work, John Fiske analyzes the cultural wars in the United States today. The terrain over which these battles are being fought is charted in a series of case studies: black talk-radio; Elvis fans; homeless men; and TV sport. Fiske is critical of the elites in the United States today, but finds an optimistic voice when reviewing the imaginative use of evasion, reflection and resistance by those who reject their authority.
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About the Author:
From Publishers Weekly:
John Fiske is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Black Hawk Hancock is an Associate Professor of Sociology at DePaul University, USA.
Fiske ( Understanding Popular Culture ) mixes case studies and theory in a jargon-laden but provoking assessment of ways in which ordinary people fight power-blocs in a society lacking a "broadly shared consensus of values and priorities." Fiske suggests, for example, that sports offers its fans a limited opportunity to know and master a field without being subject to the control of experts. Similarly, he suggests that Elvis fans find community in rejecting the official account of his death. Fiske examines the Smithsonian Institutions's 1991 look at the exploitative side of the frontier West, observing that while advocates of "high" culture hotly debate multiculturalism, popular culture has been invaded by revisionist movies like Dances with Wolves . His most interesting chapters delve into race relations, observing, for instance, the "counter-knowledge" purveyed by black-oriented radio stations, corresponding to a black experience of reality that differs from whites'. Fiske concludes that the current power-bloc still isn't ready to negotiate a new multicultural consensus, though he's hardly ready to define one himself.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVerso
- Publication date1993
- ISBN 10 0860914410
- ISBN 13 9780860914419
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages334
- Rating
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