James Ellroy's Weird noir the deep state, parapolitics, and bad white men Eric M. Wilson

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Eric Michael, 1961- author.

Series:

Palgrave studies in crime, media and culture 2946-3920

Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture 2946-3920

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ellroy, James, 1948---Criticism and interpretation.

Ellroy, James.

Crime in literature.

Politics in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cham Palgrave Macmillan 2026

Summary:

This book attempts to link the entirety of James Ellroy's work to major political trends, both historical and contemporary, in critical theory, as a unique, compelling deep-dive. Ellroy's crime fiction provides valuable insights into current trends of a disturbing, and possibly dangerous, nature. It analyzes the contestable political, social, and moral content of Ellroy's writings through the interpretative lenses of established political and literary theorists -- in this instance,Frantz Fanon, Achille Mbembe, Paul Virilio, Carl Schmitt, and Walter Benjamin. The text assumes the form of an exegesis on the subversive potentialities of Ellroy's writings for what is understood as both the Left and the Right. But this formal exegesis is read against a second one that subliminally relates the critical interpretations of the first to certain difficult to articulate trends in the contemporary zeitgeist that have become even more pronounced following the U.S. federal election in November, 2024. It also implicitly suggests that traditional liberal democracy is ultimately incapable of resolving seemingly interminable political, social, and cultural crises within what is in essence a continental settler-colonial state. This book hopes to demonstrate the relevance of radical and cultural criminology to wider areas of contemporary political and cultural concern

Contents:

Chapter 1: The Bad White Men as the Mediators of the Deep State

Chapter 2: El Monte or, The Big Nowhere of the Bad White Men

Chapter 3: The Wonder or, the Noumena of Parapolitics

Chapter 4: The Decomposition of the Bad White Men in the Underworld USA Trilogy

Chapter 5: "Bad men in Love with Strong Women" or, the Divine Violence of the Cut-Out

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed June 3, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version :

Print version Wilson, Eric M. James Ellroy's Weird Noir

ISBN:

9783032241856

3032241855

OCLC:

1593617449

Publisher Number:

CIPO000380508

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license