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"Twenty years after its original publication, Indecent Acts in a
Public Place is still well ahead of the curve of cultural analysis
regarding sport. Importantly, it was perhaps the first book to
bring an approach that both understood the cultural significance of
games as well as the incredible distortions of the modern
spectacle. The author of these essays (as British filmmaker Doug
Aubrey wrote at the time) was obviously an "intellectual premier
leaguer" and one of "popular culture's 'new wave' of First Division
'Mediaristocrats'" and this is still apparent despite the fact that
over these twenty years there have been several books published
which deal in a similar manner with sport (i.e., by not presuming
it is merely the province of meatheads but a subject worthy of the
same sort of cultural analysis as high art). It is apparent because
none of these other books has dealt with sport with the kind of
succinct honesty of Indecent Acts, nor with such style, constant
flashes of insight, irreverence or humour." From the introduction
by Donal McGraith In this, the 20th anniversary edition of Indecent
Acts in a Public Place, it is readily apparent why, since its
original publication, it has come to be recognized as a seminal
title in the fields of cultural studies, popular culture and gender
studies. In its four striking essays Rod Dubey challenges the idea
that sport indoctrinates men into being good corporate citizens.
Sports teams are seen as a form of men's society that excludes and
subjugates women while challenging day-to-day morality. Like the
gang, teams defend a territory and resist corporate control with
their own nebulous power structure. Sports are a reflection of
shifting definitions of masculinity and also, for the viewer,
provide the opportunity for an active gaze where male fantasies are
played out.
The Wild & The Free begins as a series of meditations about
wilderness and freedom; about the American frontier in fact and
fiction, and its promise of freedom for refugees. But then it draws
back to consider Rousseau, Zerzan and the largely negative effects
on humanity and personal freedom which stem from the advent of
agriculture. Along the way, Donal McGraith considers such topics as
'buyer's regret, ' which is evidenced by our consumerism and
attempts to convince ourselves that we have not lost something of
value. And he takes a detailed look at the film Shane whose chief
protagonist exemplifies the impossibility of personal integrity
when faced by the demands of loyalty brought about by civilization.
With his insistence on individual responsibility, Shane chooses to
become an outsider, to stand apart from the family, law and gangs
that compete for his allegiance. The Wild and the Free is a clarion
call about the trajectory of society since the advent of
agriculture, one that has led to an abdication of moral
responsibility, to ecological disaster, and to complacency with
poverty and homelessness. Donal McGraith is a writer and editor in
the politics of contemporary music and art. His essay,
'Anti-Copyright and Cassette Culture' was included in the
critically acclaimed Sound By Artists (Lander & Lexier ed.
Charivari Press Facsimile Edition, 2013). He has published several
essays in Musicworks and Sub Rosa.
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Angel Day Turning (Paperback)
Donal McGraith; Designed by Greg Thompson
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R385
R321
Discovery Miles 3 210
Save R64 (17%)
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