| The End of Dissatisfaction?: Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment Contributor(s): McGowan, Todd (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0791459675 ISBN-13: 9780791459676 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $90.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2003 Annotation: Exploring the emergence of a societal imperative to enjoy ourselves, Todd McGowan builds on the work of such theorists as Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zizek, Joan Copjec, and Theresa Brennan to argue that we are in the midst of a large-scale transformation--a shift from a society oriented around prohibition (i.e., the notion that one cannot just do as one pleases) to one oriented around enjoyment. McGowan identifies many of the social ills of American culture today as symptoms of this transformation: the sense of disconnection, the increase in aggression and violence, widespread cynicism, political apathy, incivility, and loss of meaning. Discussing these various symptoms, he examines various texts from film, literature, popular culture, and everyday life, including Toni Morrison's Paradise, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and such films as Dead Poets Society and Trigger Effect. Paradoxically, The End of Dissatisfaction? shows how the American cultural obsession with enjoying ourselves actually makes it more difficult to do so. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Popular Culture |
| Dewey: 306.48 |
| LCCN: 2003045839 |
| Series: Suny Psychoanalysis and Culture |
| Physical Information: 0.79" H x 6.6" W x 9.1" (1.00 lbs) 248 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Exploring the emergence of a societal imperative to enjoy ourselves, Todd McGowan builds on the work of such theorists as Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Z iz ek, Joan Copjec, and Theresa Brennan to argue that we are in the midst of a large-scale transformation--a shift from a society oriented around prohibition (i.e., the notion that one cannot just do as one pleases) to one oriented around enjoyment. McGowan identifies many of the social ills of American culture today as symptoms of this transformation: the sense of disconnection, the increase in aggression and violence, widespread cynicism, political apathy, incivility, and loss of meaning. Discussing these various symptoms, he examines various texts from film, literature, popular culture, and everyday life, including Toni Morrison's Paradise, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and such films as Dead Poets Society and Trigger Effect. Paradoxically, The End of Dissatisfaction? shows how the American cultural obsession with enjoying ourselves actually makes it more difficult to do so. |