Synopses & Reviews
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like “evildoer,” “war on terror,” and “axis of evil” have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?
In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the “demonization”of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.
Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Review
“After reading and hearing so many epitaphs to political discourse in a polarized nation in the wake of 9/11, I take heart from Tom De Luca's and John Buell's realistic but hopeful argument for one last mighty effort to pull democracy back from the brink.”
-Bill Moyers,
Review
“Masterful! Fascinating! Unsettling! Explains why Americans regularly demonize political opponents then suggests how we might free ourselves from a long, angry legacy. This rousing book should be required reading for scholars interested in the troubled past and citizens looking to a more democratic future.”
-James A. Morone,author of Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History
Review
“In a lively and illuminating fashion, De Luca and Buell chart the politics of demonization in America, placing its temptations into correspondence with the sacrifices it imposes on democratic life.”
-William E. Connolly,author of Why I Am Not a Secularist
Review
“Mines diverse sources—newspaper columns, films, commercials, popular music, academic scholarship—offering a truly fair and balanced treatment of Democrats and Republicans, left and right, utterly refusing to demonize the demonizers. This vibrant book could not be more timely.”
-Jane Bennett,co-editor of The Politics of Moralizing
Review
“After reading and hearing so many epitaphs to political discourse in a polarized nation in the wake of 9/11, I take heart from Tom De Luca's and John Buell's realistic but hopeful argument for one last mighty effort to pull democracy back from the brink.”
“Masterful! Fascinating! Unsettling! Explains why Americans regularly demonize political opponents then suggests how we might free ourselves from a long, angry legacy. This rousing book should be required reading for scholars interested in the troubled past and citizens looking to a more democratic future.”
“In a lively and illuminating fashion, De Luca and Buell chart the politics of demonization in America, placing its temptations into correspondence with the sacrifices it imposes on democratic life.”
“Mines diverse sources—newspaper columns, films, commercials, popular music, academic scholarship—offering a truly fair and balanced treatment of Democrats and Republicans, left and right, utterly refusing to demonize the demonizers. This vibrant book could not be more timely.”
“Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! captures the power of demonization in our polarized politics, though as the authors rightly point out, this is deeply rooted in our history and political economy. Rather than give in to a diminished civic life, Tom De Luca and John Buell set out a compelling course for restoring democratic civility to politics. This should be on the short list for those who wish to ready themselves for the next battle in our culture wars.”
Review
“Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! captures the power of demonization in our polarized politics, though as the authors rightly point out, this is deeply rooted in our history and political economy. Rather than give in to a diminished civic life, Tom De Luca and John Buell set out a compelling course for restoring democratic civility to politics. This should be on the short list for those who wish to ready themselves for the next battle in our culture wars.”
-Stanley B. Greenberg,author of The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It
Review
“Media Reception Studies could be subtitled, 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Reception Studies, But Were Afraid to Ask.' Staiger presents a robust, sophisticated, and eminently readable account that will enable specialists and students alike to grasp the depth and breadth of one of the most significant areas of inquiry in the field today.“
-Barbara Klinger,Indiana University
Review
“I have been waiting for just this book. At last, someone with a deep background in reception research has brought her wisdom to bear on the state of the field. Media Reception Studies has a wonderful range, and is so clearly and incisively written that everyone from undergraduates to senior academics can get great benefit from it.”
-Martin Barker, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Review
“Staiger writes that her purpose is to provide a map of the field of reception studies, and in this she succeeds. This stuyd reveals how much ahs been done in this area and how the study of the effects of media content has evolved. The "selective" bibliography is in fact extensive,a nd the index is comoprehensive.”
-CHOICE,
Synopsis
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like evildoer, war on terror, and axis of evil have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?
In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the demonization of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.
Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
"
Synopsis
The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising over the last decade. Clinton is a liar, Gore is a pathological exaggerator, Bush is a coke-head and Kerry is a traitor. There seems to be no end to the mud-slinging accusations from both the Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, terms like evildoer, war on terror, and axis of evil have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of reckless attack caused to democracy in America? In this compelling and cogent account Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the demonization of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Focusing on recent events, from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how and why the frequency and intensity of this pernicious rhetoric has grown over the last four decades. Rather than simply lament this sad state, the authors identify the sources of this tendency and resources within American culture that can help us break the habit. Suggesting that demonization in American politics is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Synopsis
Media Reception Studies broadly surveys the past century of scholarship on the ways in which audiences make meaning out of mass media. It synthesizes in plain language social scientific, linguistic, and cultural studies approaches to film and television as communication media.
Janet Staiger traverses a broad terrain, covering the Chicago School, early psychological approaches, Soviet theory, the Frankfurt School, mass communication research and critical theory, linguistics and semiotic theory, social-psychoanalytical research, cognitive psychology, and cultural studies. She offers these theories as a set of tools for understanding the complex relationships between films and their audiences, TV shows and their viewers. She explains such questions as the behavior of fans; the implications of gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity with regard to the media; the effect of violence, horror, and sexually explicit images on viewers; and the place of memory in spectatorship.
Providing an organized and lucid introduction to a staggering amount of work, Media Reception Studies is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in understanding the effects of mass media.
About the Author
Tom De Luca is associate professor of political science at Fordham University and the author of
The Two Faces of Political Apathy. He is the 2006 Fulbright Distinguished Thomas Jefferson Chair in American Social Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
John Buell is a columnist for the Bangor Daily News and a former editor at The Progressive. He is also co-author of The End of Homework.