Adam Kotsko: Why We Love Sociopaths: A Guide to Late Capitalist Television (2012)

“Argues that our fascination with cold and ruthless television characters reflects a broken social contract.

Sociopaths are pervasive in contemporary television, from high-brow drama all the way down to cartoons — and of course the news as well. From the scheming Eric Cartman of South Park to the seductive imposter Don Draper of Mad Men, cold and ruthless characters captivate us, making us wish that we could be so effective and successful. Yet why should we admire characters who get ahead by being amoral and uncaring? In his follow-up to Awkwardness, Adam Kotsko argues that the popularity of the ruthless sociopath reflects our dissatisfaction with a failed social contract, showing that we believe that the world rewards the evil and uncaring rather than the good. By analyzing characters like the serial killer star of Dexter and the cynical Dr. House, Kotsko shows that the fantasy of the sociopath distracts us from our real problems — but that we still might benefit from being a little more sociopathic.”

Publisher Zero Books, 2012
ISBN 178099091X, 9781780990910
107 pages

review (Siobhan McKeown, The Quietus)
review (Steven Poole, The Guardian)

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Marshall McLuhan, et al.: Verbi-Voco-Visual Explorations (1967)

Revised edition of Explorations magazine, No. 8 (Oct 1957).

With additional contributions by V. J. Papanek, J. B. Bessinger, Marshall McLuhan, Karl Polanyi, Carol C. Hollis, David Hogg, Jack Jones
Publisher Something Else Press, New York/Frankfurt/Villefranche-sur-Mer, 1967
61 pages
via aphasic-letters.com

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Hanna Harris (ed.): TV Like Us (2012)

Amidst the current technological and social changes, does television hold the kind of relevance it once did? TV LIKE US brings together artists, researchers and technologists working with community TV in Finland, Britain and Ireland to explore this question. The texts show that the thing called ‘television’ still holds a potent grip on our collective imaginations and that community TV is fast becoming a key player in the changing broadcasting landscape. Community television builds citizenship, tells stories and gives people a voice through DIY participation. From artist TV to open media platforms, TV LIKE US presents cases, methods and ideas behind this lively, local TV culture.

Edited by Hanna Harris with Suvi Kukkonen, Olli-Matti Nykänen and Jenni Tuovinen
Published by The Finnish Institute in London
Reaktio series, No. 2
ISBN: 978-0-9570776-1-4
152 pages
via Katarína Gatialová

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