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Loading... Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Warsby Kliph Nesteroff
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There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past. Modern pundits would have us believe that Americans of a previous generation had tougher skin and seldom complained. But does this argument hold up to scrutiny? In Outrageous, celebrated cultural historian Kliph Nesteroff demonstrates that Americans have been objecting to entertainment for nearly two hundred years, sometimes rationally, often irrationally. Likewise, powerful political interests have sought to circumvent the arts using censorship, legal harassment, and outright propaganda. From Mae West through Johnny Carson, Amos 'n' Andy through Beavis and Butt-Head, Outrageous chronicles the controversies of American show business and the ongoing attempts to change what we watch, read, and listen to. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)791The arts Recreational and performing arts Public performancesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Quotes: "A leading California Republican officeholder said that the John Birch Society was "the closest thing to a totalitarian party in this country. Their aim is to get control of the Republican Party. I do not believe the Republican Party can survive this kind of thing."
"In 1968, Republican senator Mark Hatfield worried that the Paul Weyrichs of the world would one day seize his Republican Party. The Far Right has been successfully united by a well-designed, well-financed, and persistent campaign of fear. The continual fanning of this fear shows that they can no longer distinguish between fantasy and reality."
George Carlin on Andrew Dice Clay, 1990: "His targets are underdogs. Comedy has traditionally picked on people in power, people who abuse their power. Women, gays, and immigrants are, to my way of thinking, underdogs. I think his core audience is young white males who aren't sure of their manhood. Women who assert themselves and are competent are a threat to these men."
President Harry Truman, 1960: "I feel if our constitutional system fails, it will be because people got scared and turned hysterical and someone in power will demagogue them right into a police state of some kind."
Frank Zappa, 1984: "With all these fundamentalist organizations gathering up millions of dollars, you're looking at a whole nation of potential mutants who could be very harmful." ( )