African American History - Social Aspects, 20th Century American History - Social Aspects - Post World War II, United States - Ethnic & Race Relations, African Americans - General & Miscellaneous, Feminism & Feminist Theory, African Americans - Social Con
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Overview
bell hooks, one of America's leading black intellectuals, is also one of our most clear-eyed and penetrating analysts of culture. Outlaw Culture gives us hooks on many of the most important subjects of the contemporary scene, from date rape, censorship, and ideas of race and beauty, to gansta rap, the dilemmas of feminism, and the rise of black intellectuals. Using the mix of essays and sometimes highly personal dialogues for which she is well known, hooks takes on Spike Lee and Naomi Wolf, Malcolm X and Madonna, Camille Paglia, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ice Cube, and the films The Bodygaurd and The Crying Game. She speaks movingly about male violence against women, about black self-hatred, and about the ways an oppressive society creates its outlaws.Here, one of the most clear-eyed and penetrating analysts of culture and a powerful voice against oppression discusses subjects including date rape, censorship, gangsta rap, and the rise of black intellectuals. Using a mix of essays and the personal dialogues for which she is known, hooks takes on Spike Lee, Naomi Wolf, and others, as she affirms a vision of intellectual and political engagement.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Turning from teaching to topical subjects like gangsta rap, censorship, date rape and Hollywood cinema, these 21 essays will enhance City College professor and political activist hooks's (Black Looks) reputation as an astute, vigorous and freewheeling critic on matters of race, class and gender. The underlying focus in many of these short, occasional pieces (many are reprinted from magazines like Spin and Art in America) is on how some groups, particularly women of color, are marginalized both in daily life and in the cultural wars over media representations and the academic curriculum. Memorable essays touch on questions of censorship inside and outside the academy, the dearth of feminist perspectives on Malcolm X, the impact of commodity culture on political debate and the shortcomings of mainstream gender theorists Camille Paglia, Naomi Wolf and Kate Roiphe. Though formulaic at times, hooks's critical style is refreshingly brash and accessible and often inflected by personal experience. Readers may contest her politics, yet few will be unmoved by the spirit that animates these essays: a desire to rethink cultural institutions that sustain racism, sexism and other systems of political oppression. (Dec.)Library Journal
This latest collection of hooks's (Sisters of the Yam, LJ 8/93) essays does not make for comfortable reading-nor is it meant to. Cogent essays on patriarchy, violence, and racism demand that the reader reexamine familiar assumptions. The author insists that white feminists recognize that the female experience varies greatly and that class and race must therefore be used as categories of analysis. In several essays, including one on Malcolm X, she offers a feminist perspective on the position of black men in society and their attitudes toward black women. In critiques of Camille Paglia, Katie Roiphe, and Naomi Wolf, hooks describes them all as hankering back to a prefeminist time. Other essays include a discussion of violence, the myth of Columbus, and the portrayal of blacks on film. Highly recommended for collections on feminism, gender, and race.-Sharon Firestone, Ross-Blakley Law Lib., Arizona State Univ., TempeBook Details
Published
December 1, 1994
Publisher
New York : Routledge, 1994.
Pages
272
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780415908115