Freak show legacies how the cute, camp and creepy shaped modern popular culture / Gary Cross.
| Author/creator | Cross, Gary S. |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. |
| Description | 1 online resource |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost |
| Subjects |
| Abstract | "Society has long been fascinated with the freakish, shocking and strange. In this book Gary Cross shows how freakish elements have been embedded in modern popular culture over the course of the 20th century despite the evident disenchantment with this once widespread cultural outlet. Exploring how the spectacle of freakishness conflicted with genteel culture, he shows how the condemnation of the freak show by middle-class America led to a transformation and merging of genteel and freak culture through the cute, the camp and the creepy. Though the carnival and circus freak was marginalised by the 1960s and had largely disappeared by the 1980s, forms of freakish culture survived and today appear in reality TV, fast-paced movies, dark comedies and the popularity of tattoos. Legacies of the Irrepressible Freak will focus less on the individual 'freak' as 'the other' in society, and more on the audience for the freakish and the transformation of wonder, sensibility and sensitivity that this phenomenon entailed. It will use the phenomenon of 'the freak' to understand the transformation of American popular culture across the 20th century, identify elements of 'the freak' in popular culture both past and present, and ask how it has prevailed despite its apparent unpopularity"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Source of description | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher. |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Cross, Gary S. Freak show legacies London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. 9781350145139 |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2020056476 |
| ISBN | 9781350145153 (ePDF) |
| ISBN | 9781350145146 (epub) |
| ISBN | (hardback) |
| ISBN | (paperback) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |