Horrible White People
Gender, Genre, and Television's Precarious Whiteness
By Jorie Lagerwey, Taylor Nygaard | Publisher: NYU Press
About the book
Examines the bleak television comedies that illustrate the obsession of the white left with its own anxiety and suffering
At the same time that right-wing political figures like Donald Trump were elected and reactionary socio-economic policies like Brexit were voted into law, representations of bleakly comic white fragility spread across television screens. American and British programming that featured the abjection of young, middle-class, liberal white people—such as Broad City, Casual, You’re the Worst, Catastrophe, Fleabag, and Transparent—proliferated to wide popular acclaim in the 2010s. Taylor Nygaard and Jorie Lagerwey track how these shows of the white left, obsessed with its own anxiety and suffering, are complicit in the rise and maintenance of the far right—particularly in the mobilization, representation, and sustenance of structural white supremacy on television.
Nygaard and Lagerwey examine a cycle of dark television comedies, the focus of which are “horrible white people,” by putting them in conversation with similar upmarket comedies from creators and casts of color like Insecure, Atlanta, Dear White People, and Master of None. Through their analysis, they demonstrate the ways these non-white-centric shows negotiate prestige TV’s dominant aesthetics of whiteness and push back against the centering of white suffering in a time of cultural crisis.
Through the lens of media analysis and feminist cultural studies, Nygaard and Lagerwey’s book opens up new ways of looking at contemporary television consumption—and the political, cultural, and social repercussions of these “horrible white people” shows, both on- and off-screen.
Editions of Horrible White People
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781479885459
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781479805358
- EBook
- ISBN 9781479805334
- EBook
- ISBN 9781479805341
Read an Excerpt
Examines the bleak television comedies that illustrate the obsession of the white left with its own anxiety and suffering
At the same time that right-wing political figures like Donald Trump were elected and reactionary socio-economic policies like Brexit were voted into law, representations of bleakly comic white fragility spread across television screens. American and British programming that featured the abjection of young, middle-class, liberal white people—such as Broad City, Casual, You’re the Worst, Catastrophe, Fleabag, and Transparent—proliferated to wide popular acclaim in the 2010s. Taylor Nygaard and Jorie Lagerwey track how these shows of the white left, obsessed with its own anxiety and suffering, are complicit in the rise and maintenance of the far right—particularly in the mobilization, representation, and sustenance of structural white supremacy on television.
Nygaard and Lagerwey examine a cycle of dark television comedies, the focus of which are “horrible white people,” by putting them in conversation with similar upmarket comedies from creators and casts of color like Insecure, Atlanta, Dear White People, and Master of None. Through their analysis, they demonstrate the ways these non-white-centric shows negotiate prestige TV’s dominant aesthetics of whiteness and push back against the centering of white suffering in a time of cultural crisis.
Through the lens of media analysis and feminist cultural studies, Nygaard and Lagerwey’s book opens up new ways of looking at contemporary television consumption—and the political, cultural, and social repercussions of these “horrible white people” shows, both on- and off-screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Horrible White People about?
Examines the bleak television comedies that illustrate the obsession of the white left with its own anxiety and suffering
At the same time that right-wing political figures like Donald Trump were elected and reactionary socio-economic policies like Brexit were voted into law, representations of bleakly comic white fragility spread across television screens. American and British programming that featured the abjection of young, middle-class, liberal white people—such as Broad City, Casual, You’re the Worst, Catastrophe, Fleabag, and Transparent—proliferated to wide popular acclaim in the 2010s. Taylor Nygaard and Jorie Lagerwey track how these shows of the white left, obsessed with its own anxiety and suffering, are complicit in the rise and maintenance of the far right—particularly in the mobilization, representation, and sustenance of structural white supremacy on television.
Nygaard and Lagerwey examine a cycle of dark television comedies, the focus of which are “horrible white people,” by putting them in conversation with similar upmarket comedies from creators and casts of color like Insecure, Atlanta, Dear White People, and Master of None. Through their analysis, they demonstrate the ways these non-white-centric shows negotiate prestige TV’s dominant aesthetics of whiteness and push back against the centering of white suffering in a time of cultural crisis.
Through the lens of media analysis and feminist cultural studies, Nygaard and Lagerwey’s book opens up new ways of looking at contemporary television consumption—and the political, cultural, and social repercussions of these “horrible white people” shows, both on- and off-screen.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Horrible White People?
Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social and ethical issues > Social discrimination and social justice
Where can I read a sample of Horrible White People?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781479885459
How long is Horrible White People and how many pages does it have?
Horrible White People has 272 page(s)
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Horrible White People?
Jorie Lagerwey, Taylor Nygaard
Who is the Publisher of the book Horrible White People?
NYU Press
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Horrible White People is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781479885459) and paperback(ISBN 9781479805358) and ebook(ISBN 9781479805334) and ebook(ISBN 9781479805341)
Where can I buy Horrible White People online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Horrible White People from below
Where can I buy Horrible White People?