Sideshow U. S. A : Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination
Adams, Rachel
9780226005393
ISBN 13: 9780226005393
Publication Date: 2001
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A staple of American popular culture during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the freak show seemed to vanish after World War II. This book reveals the image of the freak show, with its combination of the grotesque, horrific and amusing specimens.
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Sideshow U.S.A: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (Paperback) (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: The University of Chicago Press, United States, 2001. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 2nd. 228 x 152 mm. Brand New Book with Free Worldwide Delivery. A staple of American popular culture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the freak show seemed to vanish after the Second World War. But as Rachel Adams reveals in "Sideshow U.S.A.," images of the freak show, with its combination of the grotesque, the horrific, and the amusing, stubbornly reappeared in literature and the arts. Freak shows, she contends, have survived because of their capacity for reinvention. Empty of any inherent meaning, the freak's body becomes a stage for playing out some of the twentieth century's most pressing social and political concerns, from debates about race, empire, and immigration, to anxiety about gender, and controversies over taste and public standards of decency. "Sideshow U.S.A." begins by revisiting the terror and fascination the original freak shows provided for their audiences, as well as exploring the motivations of those who sought fame and profit in the business of human exhibition. With this history in mind, Adams turns from live entertainment to more mediated forms of cultural expression: the films of Tod Browning, the photography of Diane Arbus, the criticism of Leslie Fiedler, and the fiction Carson McCullers, Toni Morrison, and Katherine Dunn. Taken up in these works of art and literature, the freak serves as a metaphor for fundamental questions about self and other, identity and difference, and provides a window onto a once vital form of popular culture. Adams's study concludes with a revealing look at the revival of the freak show as live performance in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Celebrated by some, the freak show's recent return is less welcome to those who have traditionally been its victims. At the beginning of a new century, Adams sees it as a form of living history, a testament to the vibrancy and inventiveness of American popular culture, as well as its capacity for cruelty and injustice. "Because of its subject matter, this interesting and complex study is provocative, as well as thought-provoking."--"Virginia Quarterly Review". Bookseller Inventory # AAC9780226005393 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 3
Book Description: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR, 2001. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New book. Shipped from US. Bookseller Inventory # IB-9780226005393 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 2
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Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 3
Book Description: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR, 2001. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New book. Shipped from US. Bookseller Inventory # IB-9780226005393 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (2nd) (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 6
Book Description: The University of Chicago Press. Paperback. Book Condition: new. BRAND NEW, Sideshow U.S.A: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (2nd), Rachel Adams, A staple of American popular culture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the freak show seemed to vanish after the Second World War. But as Rachel Adams reveals in "Sideshow U.S.A.," images of the freak show, with its combination of the grotesque, the horrific, and the amusing, stubbornly reappeared in literature and the arts. Freak shows, she contends, have survived because of their capacity for reinvention. Empty of any inherent meaning, the freak's body becomes a stage for playing out some of the twentieth century's most pressing social and political concerns, from debates about race, empire, and immigration, to anxiety about gender, and controversies over taste and public standards of decency. "Sideshow U.S.A." begins by revisiting the terror and fascination the original freak shows provided for their audiences, as well as exploring the motivations of those who sought fame and profit in the business of human exhibition. With this history in mind, Adams turns from live entertainment to more mediated forms of cultural expression: the films of Tod Browning, the photography of Diane Arbus, the criticism of Leslie Fiedler, and the fiction Carson McCullers, Toni Morrison, and Katherine Dunn. Taken up in these works of art and literature, the freak serves as a metaphor for fundamental questions about self and other, identity and difference, and provides a window onto a once vital form of popular culture. Adams's study concludes with a revealing look at the revival of the freak show as live performance in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Celebrated by some, the freak show's recent return is less welcome to those who have traditionally been its victims. At the beginning of a new century, Adams sees it as a form of living history, a testament to the vibrancy and inventiveness of American popular culture, as well as its capacity for cruelty and injustice. "Because of its subject matter, this interesting and complex study is provocative, as well as thought-provoking."--"Virginia Quarterly Review". Bookseller Inventory # B9780226005393 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 0226005399 / 0-226-00539-9) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Paperback. Book Condition: New. \N. 8.96 by 6 inches. (00296 pages) [ships from USA takes 8-14 days to Europe] edition: 0002 illustrated Lang=English accessory:NO ACCESSORY (Paperback ). Bookseller Inventory # AF0226005399 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 0226005399 / 0-226-00539-9) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 3
Book Description: Univ of Chicago Pr, 2001. Paperback. Book Condition: Brand New. 1st edition. 296 pages. 8.75x6.00x0.75 inches. In Stock. Bookseller Inventory # x-0226005399 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 0226005399 / 0-226-00539-9) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: Paperback. Book Condition: New. 2nd. 152mm x 17mm x 228mm. 296 pages. 0.422. Bookseller Inventory # 9780226005393 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U. S. A. Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: University of Chicago Press. Book Condition: Brand New. Immediate dispatch in the UK. Bookseller Inventory # AA-12-4R-336854-2 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Sideshow U. S. A. Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination (ISBN: 9780226005393) Adams, Rachel Quantity Available: 6
Book Description: University of Chicago Press. Book Condition: Brand New. Immediate dispatch in the UK. Bookseller Inventory # AC-03-5L-336773-8 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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