Twilight zones : the hidden life of cultural images from Plato to O.J. / Susan Bordo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bordo, Susan, 1947- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Popular culture--United States--Psychological aspects.

Popular culture.

Consumers--United States--Attitudes.

Consumers.

Body image--United States.

Body image.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 279 p. ) ill. ;

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, California : University of California Press, [1997]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Considering everything from Nike ads, emaciated models, and surgically altered breasts to the culture wars and the O.J. Simpson trial, Susan Bordo deciphers the hidden life of cultural images and the impact they have on our lives. She builds on the provocative themes introduced in her acclaimed work Unbearable Weight--which explores the social and political underpinnings of women's obsession with bodily image--to offer a singularly readable and perceptive interpretation of our image-saturated culture. As it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between appearance and reality, she argues, we need to rehabilitate the notion that not all versions of reality are equally trustworthy. Bordo writes with deep compassion, unnerving honesty, and bracing intelligence. Looking to the body and bodily practices as a concrete arena where cultural fantasies and anxieties are played out, she examines the mystique and the reality of empowerment through cosmetic surgery. Her brilliant discussion of sexual harassment reflects on the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill controversy as well as the film Disclosure. She suggests that sexuality, although one of the mediums of harassment, is not its essence, and she calls for the recasting of harassers as bullies rather than sex fiends. Bordo also challenges the continuing marginalization of feminist thought, in particular the failure to read feminist work as cultural criticism. Finally, in a powerful and moving essay called "Missing Kitchens"--written in collaboration with her two sisters--Bordo explores notions of bodies, place, and space through a recreation of the topographies of her childhood. Throughout these essays, Bordo avoids dogma and easy caricature. Consistently, and on many levels, she demonstrates the profound relationship between our lives and our theories, our feelings and our thoughts.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Braveheart, Babe, and the Contemporary Body

RC..O.J., and Truth

Never Just Pictures

Can a Woman Harass a Man?

Bringing Body to Theory

The Feminist as Other

Missing Kitchens

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 07. Jul 2020)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780585054490

0585054495

9780520919976

0520919971

OCLC:

1163878671