Lilie Chouliaraki

Ironic Spectator

Solidarity in the Age of Post-Humanitarianism

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This path-breaking book explores how solidarity towards vulnerable others is performed in our media environment. It argues that stories where famine is described through our own experience of dieting or or where solidarity with Africa translates into wearing a cool armband tell us about much more than the cause that they attempt to communicate. They tell us something about the ways in which we imagine the world outside ourselves.

By showing historical change in Amnesty International and Oxfam appeals, in the Live Aid and Live 8 concerts, in the advocacy of Audrey Hepburn and Angelina Jolie as well as in earthquake news on the BBC, this far-reaching book shows how solidarity has today come to be not about conviction but choice, not vision but lifestyle, not others but ourselves - turning us into the ironic spectators of other people's suffering.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley & Sons
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 248
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. Januar 2013
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 228mm x 151mm x 22mm
• Gewicht: 252g
• ISBN-13: 9780745642116
• ISBN-10: 074564211X
• Artikelnr.: 36519439

Autorenporträt

Lilie Chouliaraki is Professor of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics.

Inhaltsangabe

Figures viii Acknowledgements ix 1 Solidarity and Spectatorship 1
Introduction: 'Find your Feeling' 1 Th e instrumentalization of
humanitarianism 5 Solidarity without 'grand narratives' 9 The
technologization of communication 15 The ethics of objectivity 21
Conclusion: on this book 24 2 The Humanitarian Imaginary 26 Introduction:
communicating vulnerability 26 The theatricality of humanitarianism 27
Critiques of the theatricality of humanitarianism 36 The humanitarian
imaginary 43 Conclusion: on the performances of the imaginary 52 3 Appeals
54 Introduction: the paradox of appeals 54 The crisis of the theatre of
pity 55 The controversy around appeals 57 The reflexive styles of appealing
65 Reflexive appeals and their authenticity effects 73 Conclusion: the
ambivalence of 'cool' activism 76 4 Celebrity 78 Introduction: the
celebrity as expert performer 78 Theatre, celebrity, authenticity 79 The
celebrity controversy 83 The performativity of celebrity humanitarianism 88
'Moments' of humanitarian performance 90 Celebrity and its authenticity eff
ects 98 Conclusion: towards a utilitarian altruism 104 5 Concerts 106
Introduction: rock as ritual ceremonies 106 Aid concerts: communitas or
cynicism? 108 An analytics of ceremonial performativity: Live Aid and Live
8 114 The authenticity effects of ceremonial humanitarianism 132
Conclusion: towards a strategic morality of solidarity 136 6 News 138
Introduction: the moral appeal of news 138 The theatricality of journalism
140 The controversy around television witnessing 144 The analysis of
narrative aesthetics 149 News narratives: a typology of witnessing 153 The
authenticity eff ects of news: from narrative to database 164 Conclusion:
objectivity or therapy? 170 7 Theatricality, Irony, Solidarity 172
Introduction: the historical shifts of humanitarianism 172
Post-humanitarianism: solidarity as irony 174 Post-humanitarianism as
neoliberalism 179 Beyond irony: solidarity as agonism 188 Conclusion: on
being good 203 Notes 206 References 215 Index 232