Media spectacle (2003)

In recent decades culture and society have become permeated by the logic of the spectacle. In his new book, ‘Media Spectacle’, Douglas Kellner helps bring developments in high-tech culture and in media-driven society into focus, producing a critical theory of the contemporary moment. The author’s case studies engage a range of spectacular forms, including: how McDonald’s fast-food chain embodies the dynamics of globalization; how Michael Jordan and Nike help illuminate global media sport culture; how the megaspectacle of the O.J. Simpson trial provides insight into the intersections of gender, race and class in contemporary US society; how TV spectacles like ‘The X-Files’ engage fears of political conspiracy, alien invasions, biotechnologies, and other current worries; how presidential politics have become a megaspectacle in an era of media culture. Kellner engages in close and detailed reading of cultural texts and events to interrogate what they tell us about contemporary reality. This book will be essential reading for students and academics working in the areas of media and cultural studies as well as the sociology of culture.