The Other Serious
Essays for the New American Generation
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2015]
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: vii, 243 pages ; 22 cm
" The Other Serious: American Essays contains a motley assortment of reflections on the United States as anomaly. Among the many maneuvers in this collection are: A close reading of the light-obsessed "Star-Spangled Banner" alongside the gory French national anthem; an analysis of Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" (1986) as a cryptofeminist fantasy; various forms of praise for oldness, dirt, and boring things; a eulogy for the messy humanity in Richard Linklater's Slacker (1991); and reflections on awkwardness, distraction, the North-South divide, the legacy of the Enlightenment in America, and Apple's goal to make its products totally invisible. Above all, this assemblage of essays proposes a framework for approaching life in our muddled nation with a joyful seriousness"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
Introduction: A Heavy Life or a Light One -- The Glare of the Enlightenment -- The Great American Irony Binge -- The Patina of Things -- On Distraction -- The Emotive Spectacle -- Intergenerational Conversation -- Toward A Sterile Future -- Southern Niceness -- On Awkwardness -- Treat Your Country Like Your Child, Not Your Parent -- The Metaphor of Masking Tape -- You Have No Power Over Me -- The Bad Serious -- The Other Serious -- Postscript: The Lightness of the Ladybug.
Subjects:
Social values -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Civilization.
Social conditions.
Social values.
United States -- Civilization -- 21st century.
United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century.
United States.
Social values -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Civilization.
Social conditions.
Social values.
United States -- Civilization -- 21st century.
United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century.
United States.
ISBN:
9780062320353 (hbk.)
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
HEALTH Condition Wam | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |