{"product_id":"the-sky-is-falling-9781620974292","title":"The Sky Is Falling","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London), Best Book of 2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A thoughtful, entertaining, and occasionally profound critical study of the texts that entertain, move and, sometimes, shape us.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e (London)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A bold, witty, and brilliantly argued analysis of the role pop culture has played in the rise of American extremism.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cstrong\u003eRuth Reichl\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“You'll never look at your favorite movies and TV shows the same way again. And you shouldn't.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cstrong\u003eSteven Soderbergh\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA bestselling cultural journalist shows how pop culture prepared Americans to embrace extreme politics\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlmost everything has been invoked to account for Trump's victory and the rise of the alt-right, from job loss to racism to demography—everything, that is, except popular culture. In \u003cem\u003eThe Sky Is Falling\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling cultural journalist Peter Biskind dives headlong into two decades of popular culture—from superhero franchises such as the \u003cem\u003eDark Knight\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eX-Men\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003e Avengers\u003c\/em\u003e and series like \u003cem\u003eThe Walking Dead\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/em\u003e to thrillers like \u003cem\u003eHomeland\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003e24\u003c\/em\u003e—and emerges to argue that these shows are saturated with the values that are currently animating our extreme politics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere 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 this quaint ideological consensus. Many of our shows dramatize extreme circumstances—an apocalypse of one sort or another—that require extreme behavior to deal with, behavior such as revenge, torture, lying, and even the vigilante violence traditionally discouraged in mainstream entertainment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this bold, provocative, and witty investigation, Biskind shows how extreme culture now calls the shots. It has become, in effect, the new mainstream.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Biskind","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48284350775547,"sku":"9781620974292","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_780cb359-a750-4a61-8154-103d2715d026.jpg?v=1771406902","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/the-sky-is-falling-9781620974292","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}