Starring Mandela and Cosby (Paperback)

During the worst years of apartheid, the most popular show on television in South Africa - among both blacks and whites - was "The Cosby Show". Why did people living under a system built on the idea that blacks were inferior and threatening flock to a show that portrayed African Americans as comfortably mainstream? Starring Mandela and Cosby takes up this paradox, revealing the surprising impact of television on racial politics. The South African government maintained a ban on television until 1976, and, according to Ron Krabill, they were right to be wary of its potential power. The medium, he contends, created a shared space for communication in a deeply divided nation that seemed destined for civil war along racial lines. At a time when it was illegal to publish images of Nelson Mandela, Bill Cosby became the most recognizable black man in the country - and, Krabill argues, his presence in the living rooms of white South Africans helped lay the groundwork for Mandela's release and ascension to power. Weaving together South Africa's political history and a social history of television, Krabill challenges conventional understandings of globalization, offering up new insights into the relationship between politics and the media.

General

Imprint:	University of Chicago Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	September 2010
First published:	September 2010
Authors:	Ron Krabill
Dimensions:	228 x 162 x 13mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	200
ISBN-13:	978-0-226-45189-3
Categories:	Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Media studies Books > Humanities > History > African history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 Books > History > African history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
LSN:	0-226-45189-5
Barcode:	9780226451893

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