“You’ll never look at your favorite movies and TV shows the same way again [after reading] Peter Biskind’s kaleidoscopic deep dive into the narratives of popular entertainment. And you shouldn’t.” Steven Soderbergh
Description
Almost everything has been invoked to account for Trump’s victory and the rise of alt-right, from job loss to racism to demography—everything, that is, except popular culture. In The Sky Is Falling bestselling cultural critic Peter Biskind dives headlong into two decades of popular culture—from superhero franchises such as the Dark Knight, X-Men, and the Avengers and series like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones to thrillers like Homeland and 24—and emerges to argue that these shows are saturated with the values that are currently animating our extreme politics.
Where once centrist institutions and their agents—cops and docs, soldiers and scientists, as well as educators, politicians, and “experts” of every stripe—were glorified by mainstream Hollywood, the heroes of today’s movies and TV, whether far right or far left, have overthrown the old ideological consensus. Many of our shows dramatize extreme circumstances—an apocalypse of one sort or another—that require extreme measures, such as revenge, torture, lying, and even the vigilante violence traditionally discouraged in mainstream entertainment. In this bold, provocative, and witty cultural investigation, Biskind shows how extreme culture now calls the shots. It has become, in effect, the new mainstream.
Praise
“You’ll never look at your favorite movies and TV shows the same way again [after reading] Peter Biskind’s kaleidoscopic deep dive into the narratives of popular entertainment. And you shouldn’t.” Steven Soderbergh
“Incisive analysis about ‘the power of culture to inflame our emotions’ and render reasonable debate inert.” Kirkus Reviews
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Release Date | September 11, 2018 |
| Release Date Machine | 1536624000 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Politics & Government, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All |
Author Bio
Peter Biskind is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestseller Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. He is a contributor to Vanity Fair and was formerly the executive editor of Premiere magazine.
Narrator Bio
Stephen Lang is a Tony Award–nominated actor who has made a name for himself on stages both at home and abroad. Perhaps most well-known for his role in James Cameron’s Avatar, his other film credits include The Men Who Stare at Goats, Public Enemies, Tombstone, and many more.
Overview
Almost everything has been invoked to account for Trump’s victory and the rise of alt-right, from job loss to racism to demography—everything, that is, except popular culture. In The Sky Is Falling bestselling cultural critic Peter Biskind dives headlong into two decades of popular culture—from superhero franchises such as the Dark Knight, X-Men, and the Avengers and series like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones to thrillers like Homeland and 24—and emerges to argue that these shows are saturated with the values that are currently animating our extreme politics.
Where once centrist institutions and their agents—cops and docs, soldiers and scientists, as well as educators, politicians, and “experts” of every stripe—were glorified by mainstream Hollywood, the heroes of today’s movies and TV, whether far right or far left, have overthrown the old ideological consensus. Many of our shows dramatize extreme circumstances—an apocalypse of one sort or another—that require extreme measures, such as revenge, torture, lying, and even the vigilante violence traditionally discouraged in mainstream entertainment. In this bold, provocative, and witty cultural investigation, Biskind shows how extreme culture now calls the shots. It has become, in effect, the new mainstream.
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