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Review
"The most inspiringly wicked social critic of the moment. "--Elle
The Times
'Coruscating, startling...White has identified a middle-of-the-road monster clumping through our culture...he is on the money'
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First Sentence
I've suspected for some time that there's something missing in the way we usually construct the Culture Wars. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
I've suspected for some time that there's something missing in the way we usually construct the Culture Wars. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is excellent. The argument and ideas involved get progressively better and better and I would thoroughly recommend you read it if you are remotely interested in literary theory/criticism, media or the arts. White condemns the paucity in creativity and originality of the contemporary world and does so in a fluent and concise way. This is not high brow philosophy nor is it an expletive-fuelled rant. His deconstruction of examples to prove his argument is both fascinating and extremely well crafted, and far outweighs his occasional tendency to over-emphasise his argument. Do not be misled by the "Why Americans don't think for themselves" tagline - this book is applicable to us all.
Enjoy!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a good book. It's a scathing polemic about how society simply accepts the culture that is fed to it in an unquestioning and completely submissive way. We're not pushing the boundaries of culture back, or defying them. Be it music or film or art we simply don't challenge their values, or their meanings anymore.
White states that we have killed off our imaginations and prefer to consume art rather than to actually get out there and create something ourselves. It's powerful stuff. It's the kind of book that made me want to throw away the TV and buy a set of paints.
However, the book is littered with references to US culture, some of which you may know, others which you might not. If you don't then a lot of the salient points are missed. His written style is also quite difficult. It's very conversational, but this means that it doesn't always flow. Lots of asides and sarcastic inserts. This adds a certain character to the book but can be a little confusing.
Nonetheless don't let that put you off. This is a really powerful book and I have had many minor epiphanies on my journey. It doesn't preach, it is humourous, and ultimately it makes a lot of sense. White's definitely got a point - current consumer culture is turning us into the living dead.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Simply put White argues that we are spoon fed culture whether it is music, movies or TV and we swallow it somnambulantly. White's other concern is that art is treated as a product (the way rappers are regarded, and regard themselves, as brands now seems to bear this observation out). Why should this matter? Partly, White's point is that we accept agendas or worldviews uncritically which is not desirable. His other point is that this stunts our own imagination and creative force. He further thinks that the whole process leads to everything becoming a consumable and everyone a consumer. The Middle Mind is certainly worth eye-balling. Also worth a gander is Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (A Methuen paperback).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I was unable to understand this book
I bought this book with great anticipation, having seen some very positive reviews. Indeed, as I had never previously heard of Curtis White, I must have been tipped off by someone... Read more
Published on 14 July 2008 by T. D. Welsh
better than middling
This is a good book - not least for how the author is able to allude to Adorno and other 'highbrow' critics through his conversational and engaging style. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2006 by Mr. M. J. Bowen
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