Synopses & Reviews
On the Las Vegas Strip, blockbuster casinos burst out of the desert, billboards promise andquot;hot babes,andquot; actual hot babes proffer complimentary drinks, and a million happy slot machines ring day and night. Itandrsquo;s loud and excessive, but, as the Project on Vegas demonstrates, the Strip is not a world apart. Combining written critique with more than one hundred photographs by Karen Klugman, Strip Cultures examines the politics of food and water, art and spectacle, entertainment and branding, body and sensory experience. In confronting the ordinary on Americaandrsquo;s most famous four-mile stretch of pavement, the authors reveal how the Strip concentrates and magnifies the basic truths and practices of American culture where consumerism is the stuff of life, digital surveillance annuls the right to privacy, and natureandmdash;all but destroyedandmdash;is refashioned as an element of decor.and#160;and#160;
Review
andquot;Bringing fresh perspectives to our understanding of the Las Vegas Strip, the authors offer a compelling set of observations that speak not only to the over-the-top world of the Strip, but to larger trends in American culture. They allow readers to catch a brief glimpse of another Vegas, the one occupied by those who keep the cityand#39;s economic wheels of gaming and tourism turning.andquot;
Review
andquot;Rabelais does Las Vegas.andquot;
Review
andquot;[T]he chapter on surveillance and and#39;security aestheticsand#39; is downright chilling. This study may not expose all of Las Vegasandrsquo;s secrets, but it still feels like someone pulling back the curtain for a peek at the Wizard.andquot;
Review
andquot;Strip Cultures explores all aspects of Vegas from the perspectives of art, photography and the visual, from the sensory experience to nature and technology, and brand and image. Every facet goes under the microscope, which makes for diverting reading in itself andndash; viewing this city, its culture and its bizarre mix of inhabitants for the sheer theatre it is.andquot;
Synopsis
The Project on Vegas shows how the Las Vegas Strip concentrates and magnifies American cultureandrsquo;s core truths. Among others, the Stripandrsquo;s buffets, surveillance, large scale branding and consumption, and transformation of nature reflects larger trends and practices throughout America. Includes over 100 photographs by Karen Klugman.
About the Author
The members of the Project on Vegas are Stacy M. Jameson, Instructor of Film/Media at the University of Rhode Island; Karen Klugman, photographer and Chair of the Art Department at the Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut; Jane Kuenz, Associate Professor of English at the University of Southern Maine; and Susan Willis, Associate Professor of Literature at Duke University.and#160;
Table of Contents
Introduction. Riding the Deuceand#160; 1
1. Framing Las Vegas andquot;Realityandquot;and#160; 23
2. Playing the Penny Slotsand#160; 50
3. S.I.N. Cityand#160; 70
4. sH2Owand#160; 110
5. Bread and Circusesand#160; 134
6. The Whole World on a Plateand#160; 160
7. Gaming the Sensesand#160; 184
8. Nature in Vegas: Cultivating the Brandand#160; 215
9. The Shipping Container Capital of the Worldand#160; 243
10. Ghosts of Weddings Past, Present, and Yet to Comeand#160; 290
11. Memories: Made in Chinaand#160; 322
Epilogue. Sucker Betand#160; 338
Bibliographyand#160; 359
Indexand#160; 365