| Description |
vii, 232 pages ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-215) and index. |
| Contents |
The illusion of literacy -- The illusion of love -- The illusion of wisdom -- The illusion of happiness -- The illusion of America. |
| Summary |
Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: one, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, able to cope with complexity and to separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this "other society," comforting, reassuring images, fantasies, slogans and a celebration of violence push reality, complexity and nuance to the margins. The worse reality becomes, the less a beleaguered population wants to hear about it and the more it distracts itself with squalid pseudo-events of celebrity breakdowns, gossip and trivia. These are the debauched revels of a dying culture.--From publisher description. |
|
In the tradition of Christopher Lasch's "The Culture of Narcissism," Pulitzer Prize-winner Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate America that craves fantasy, ecstasy, and illusion. |
| Subject |
Mass media -- United States.
|
|
Popular culture -- United States.
|
| ISBN |
9781568584379 |
|
1568584377 |
|
