1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910814501103321

Autore

Peariso Craig J.

Titolo

Radical theatrics : put-ons, politics, and the sixties / / Craig J. Peariso ; design by Dustin Kilgore

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Seattle, Washington ; ; London, England : , : University of Washington Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-295-80557-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (245 p.)

Disciplina

303.48/4

Soggetti

Protest movements - United States - History - 20th century

Radicalism - Social aspects - United States - History - 20th century

Radicals - United States - History - 20th century

Political activists - United States - History - 20th century

Art - Political aspects - United States - History - 20th century

United States History 1961-1969

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: Stereotypes, opposition, and "the sixties" -- Monkey theater -- "Watch out for pigs in queen's clothing" : camp and the image of radical sexuality -- "Erect strong resilient and firm" : Eldridge Cleaver and the performance of "Black" liberation -- Afterword.

Sommario/riassunto

"From burning draft cards to staging nude protests, much left-wing political activism in 1960s America was distinguished by deliberate outrageousness. This theatrical activism, aimed at the mass media and practiced by Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies, the Black Panthers, and the Gay Activists Alliance, among others, is often dismissed as naive and out of touch, or criticized for tactics condemned as silly and off-putting to the general public.  In Radical Theatrics, however, Craig Peariso argues that these over-the-top antics were far more than just the spontaneous actions of a self-indulgent radical impulse. Instead, he shows, they were well-considered aesthetic and political responses to a jaded cultural climate in which an unreflective 'tolerance' masked an unwillingness to engage with challenging ideas. Through innovative



analysis that links political protest to the art of contemporaries such as Andy Warhol, Peariso reveals how the 'put-on'--the signature activist performance of the radical left--ended up becoming a valuable American political practice, one that continues to influence contemporary radicals such as Occupy Wall Street"--From  publisher's website.