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Description for More
Hardcover. A treatment of media's obsession with triviality. It argues that American audiences are assaulted with messages that the ordinary, and often private, aspects of our lives - family, childhood, parenting, education, food, sports, home improvement - must be showcased publicly and with extreme passion. Num Pages: 298 pages. BIC Classification: JFD. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 158 x 236 x 25. Weight in Grams: 558.
Gone are the days of enjoying life's simple pleasures for pleasure's sake. Twenty-first-century Americans are on a mission to cram every second of their earthly existence with significant accomplishments and momentous events. Even the most mundane undertaking must be approached with zeal, gusto, and expertise, or so the media persuade us to believe.
Are we capable of doing anything casually anymore?
In this first book-length treatment of media's obsession with triviality, cultural critic Ronald Bishop calls into focus the role of media in the demise of scale - the amount of effort, intensity, and significance with which we live - in contemporary culture. Bishop argues that American audiences are assaulted with messages that the ordinary, and often private, aspects of our lives - family, childhood, parenting, education, food, sports, home improvement - must be showcased publicly and with extreme passion.
Playfully mixing personal narratives with an abundance of examples from television shows, news stories, editorials, advertisements, books, and movies, Bishop demonstrates how media promote the idea that the notion of scale must be abandoned to achieve success and happiness in modern society.
Written with originality, intellectual acumen, and wit, More is a must-read for anyone obsessed with being obsessed and for others interested in media's contribution to society's out-of-scale behavior.
Are we capable of doing anything casually anymore?
In this first book-length treatment of media's obsession with triviality, cultural critic Ronald Bishop calls into focus the role of media in the demise of scale - the amount of effort, intensity, and significance with which we live - in contemporary culture. Bishop argues that American audiences are assaulted with messages that the ordinary, and often private, aspects of our lives - family, childhood, parenting, education, food, sports, home improvement - must be showcased publicly and with extreme passion.
Playfully mixing personal narratives with an abundance of examples from television shows, news stories, editorials, advertisements, books, and movies, Bishop demonstrates how media promote the idea that the notion of scale must be abandoned to achieve success and happiness in modern society.
Written with originality, intellectual acumen, and wit, More is a must-read for anyone obsessed with being obsessed and for others interested in media's contribution to society's out-of-scale behavior.
Product Details
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2011
Publisher
Baylor University Press United States
Number of pages
298
Condition
New
Number of Pages
298
Place of Publication
Waco, United States
ISBN
9781602582583
SKU
V9781602582583
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-3
About Ronald Bishop
Ronald Bishop is Professor of Communication at Drexel University. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Bishop is the author of When Play Was Play: Why Pick-Up Games Matter and Taking on the Pledge of Allegiance: The News Media and Michael Newdow's Constitutional Challenge. He lives in the greater Wilmington, Delaware area.
Reviews for More
"Bishop is an accomplished cultural critic and writer, and his wit and examples prevent the book from becoming pedantic or preachy. More suggests that when television strips away perspective, it is time to turn off the television. Highly recommended."
Choice (2012, 49:06) More is an engaging, liberal-minded rumination on what a society might lose when it allows exaggeration, spectacle, and collective distraction to become the dominant features of its public life. Bishop recognizes both the comic absurdity and the serious consequences of a popular culture without a sense of proportion."
Kevin M. Moist, Associate Professor of Communications, Penn State Altoona "From extravagant Christmas displays to showcase homes, Bishop reveals the way television has redefined our thinking so that joy is defined by extravagance and edification by a chore. More gives us much to think about."
Norma Pecora, Professor, School of Media Arts and Studies, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University "An artful examination of the interplay between the images and messages of pop culture and the most basic activities of American life. If we can't distinguish and evaluate the significance of one event over another
raising our children, what we should eat, how we entertain ourselves
how can we ever achieve the timeless values of health, balance, and meaning?"
David Wann, author of The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living and Simple Prosperity: Finding Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle [More] would make an excellent recommended text for courses in media and culture, persuasion, and journalism.
Pete Bicak
Communication and Research Trends In each chapter, [Bishop] weaves together a variety of sources into a beautiful tapestry offering a clear illustration of the difference between what a given topic really is and the message the media conveys as normative.
sowhatfaith.com Is there no 'down time' left to simply enjoy life or does it all have to be driven by a 'bucket list' up until the moment we die? Personal narratives and examples from recent news, popular television shows, books, etc. help to illustrate Bishop's point about the importance of critically evaluating one's desires and goals in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world that pushes people, politics, and lifestyles to their natural extremes. Highly recommended.
Midwest Book Review, 2011
Choice (2012, 49:06) More is an engaging, liberal-minded rumination on what a society might lose when it allows exaggeration, spectacle, and collective distraction to become the dominant features of its public life. Bishop recognizes both the comic absurdity and the serious consequences of a popular culture without a sense of proportion."
Kevin M. Moist, Associate Professor of Communications, Penn State Altoona "From extravagant Christmas displays to showcase homes, Bishop reveals the way television has redefined our thinking so that joy is defined by extravagance and edification by a chore. More gives us much to think about."
Norma Pecora, Professor, School of Media Arts and Studies, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University "An artful examination of the interplay between the images and messages of pop culture and the most basic activities of American life. If we can't distinguish and evaluate the significance of one event over another
raising our children, what we should eat, how we entertain ourselves
how can we ever achieve the timeless values of health, balance, and meaning?"
David Wann, author of The New Normal: An Agenda for Responsible Living and Simple Prosperity: Finding Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle [More] would make an excellent recommended text for courses in media and culture, persuasion, and journalism.
Pete Bicak
Communication and Research Trends In each chapter, [Bishop] weaves together a variety of sources into a beautiful tapestry offering a clear illustration of the difference between what a given topic really is and the message the media conveys as normative.
sowhatfaith.com Is there no 'down time' left to simply enjoy life or does it all have to be driven by a 'bucket list' up until the moment we die? Personal narratives and examples from recent news, popular television shows, books, etc. help to illustrate Bishop's point about the importance of critically evaluating one's desires and goals in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world that pushes people, politics, and lifestyles to their natural extremes. Highly recommended.
Midwest Book Review, 2011