Using extensive interviews, hundreds of transcripts, focus-group discussions with viewers, and his own experiences as an audience member, Joshua Gamson argues that talk shows give much-needed, high-impact public visibility to sexual nonconformists while also exacerbating all sorts of political tensions among those becoming visible. With wit and passion, Freaks Talk Back illuminates the joys, dilemmas, and practicalities of media visibility."This entertaining, accessible, sobering discussion should make every viewer sit up and ponder the effects and possibilities of America's daily talk-fest with newly sharpened eyes."—Publishers Weekly"Bold, witty. . . . There's a lot of empirical work behind this deceptively easy read, then, and it allows for the most sophisticated and complex analysis of talk shows yet."—Elayne Rapping, Women's Review of Books"Funny, well-researched, fully theorized. . . . Engaged and humane scholarship. . . . A pretty inspiring example of what talking back to the mass media can be."—Jesse Berrett, Village Voice"An extraordinarily well-researched volume, one of the most comprehensive studies of popular media to appear in this decade."—James Ledbetter, Newsday
Author(s): Joshua Gamson
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 304
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 10
1. Why I Love Trash......Page 13
2. The Monster with Two Heads......Page 39
3. Truths Told in Lies......Page 77
4. Sitting Ducks and Forbidden Fruits......Page 117
5. I Want to Be Miss Understood......Page 149
6. Flaunting It......Page 181
7. The Tight Rope of Visibility......Page 219
Appendix: Methods......Page 238
Notes......Page 252
Works Cited......Page 276
Index......Page 288