Product Description

People talk so much about the bizarre that it quickly becomes routine. As the talk show circuit becomes increasingly obsessed with sexual nonconformists, many wonder if this form of representation isn't simply exploitation. This book claims that in a sense, talk shows turn everything they touch into "freak shows". But what happens when the freaks talk back? The book argues that from talk shows' lies and sensationalism emerge certain truths. The socially deviant may be featured on-air for ridicule in the public eye, but the result is empowerment through exploitation. The book illuminates the dilemmas and practicalities of media visibility.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #625240 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Engaging glimpse into the sordid world of TV talk.
As a gay man, Gamson provides an interesting perspective on LGBT issues and exposes many of the hypocritical and often contradictory themes recurrent to the shows. There are many entertaining episodes recounted, but the book is more of a unique blend of sociological and personal importance. The writing can be a bit dry at times, but it is an intertaining and thought-provoking book for gays and non-gays alike.

Gamson raises the watermark on studies of sexuality & media
Joshua Gamson is a signpost pointing hopefully to a bright new era of scholarly work on popular culture. In the past, books from university presses on everything from Barney to Barbie have either been hopelessly theoretical (usually toked out on Focault) or with the polite condescendion of an overworked television critic. With this book, Joshua Gamson has brilliantly changed the levels of the game.

Freaks Talk Back knows talk shows from the inside, outside and above. Gamson asserts that Oprah, Ricki and Donahue are meeting grounds for ideas on alternative genders, often expressing a progressive, if fleeting, level of acceptance. He underlines the ambivalence he feels as a gay man and a scholar, seeing Freaks talking to millions of homes via the talk show but doing so under the banner of freakishness.

While this might not be forceful leveling of trash TV we'd like, it is a thoughtfully developed and couragous conclusion. A sociologist, Gamson sat in on hundreds of talk shows, interviewing guests,personel, and audience to arrive at his conclusions. He includes himself in the discussion, admitting his weekness for TV trash, and his rollicking Saturday nights out in drag. Rather than indulgant, these anecdotes are refreshing, showing the author's willingness to be both intellecutally sophisticated and accessible, the true dream of quality writing on popular culture. Through humor, diligance, and self-awareness of his project's trip wires, Joshua Gamson shows us why "popular" and "scholarly" need not in front of a studio audience, screaming at each other.