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Makeover TV : Selfhood, Citizenship, and Celebrity
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Makeover TV : Selfhood, Citizenship, and Celebrity Paperback - 2009

by Brenda R. Weber

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback

Description

Duke University Press, 2009. Paperback. Very Good. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Used - Very Good
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Details

  • Title Makeover TV : Selfhood, Citizenship, and Celebrity
  • Author Brenda R. Weber
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Not Indicated
  • Condition Used - Very Good
  • Pages 344
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Duke University Press
  • Date 2009
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # G0822345684I4N10
  • ISBN 9780822345688 / 0822345684
  • Weight 1.1 lbs (0.50 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 in (23.11 x 15.24 x 2.29 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Self-realization - Social aspects - United, Self-perception - Social aspects - United
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2009012706
  • Dewey Decimal Code 791.456

From the publisher

In 2004, roughly 25 makeover-themed reality shows aired on U.S. television. By 2009, there were more than 250, from What Not to Wear and The Biggest Loser to Dog Whisperer and Pimp My Ride. In Makeover TV, Brenda R. Weber argues that whether depicting transformations of bodies, trucks, finances, relationships, kids, or homes, makeover shows posit a self achievable only in the transition from the "Before-body"--the overweight figure, the decrepit jalopy, the cluttered home--to the "After-body," one filled with confidence, coded with celebrity, and imbued with a renewed faith in the powers of meritocracy. The rationales and tactics invoked to achieve the After-body vary widely, from the patriotic to the market-based, and from talk therapy to feminist empowerment. The genre is unified by its contradictions: to uncover your "true self," you must be reinvented; to be empowered, you must surrender to experts; to be special, you must look and act like everyone else.

Based on her analysis of more than 2,500 hours of makeover TV, Weber argues that the much-desired After-body speaks to and makes legible broader cultural narratives about selfhood, citizenship, celebrity, and Americanness. Although makeovers are directed at both male and female viewers, their gendered logic requires that feminized subjects submit to the controlling expertise wielded by authorities. The genre does not tolerate ambiguity. Conventional (middle-class, white, ethnically anonymous, heterosexual) femininity is the goal of makeovers for women. When subjects are male, makeovers often compensate for perceived challenges to masculine independence by offering men narrative options for resistance or control. Foregoing a binary model of power and subjugation, Weber provides an account of makeover television that is as appreciative as it is critical. She reveals the makeover show as a rich and complicated text that expresses cultural desires and fears through narratives of selfhood.

From the rear cover

""Makeover TV" is a project of striking originality and timeliness, written by a skillful, sure critic. Brenda R. Weber's analyses are consistently subtle and penetrating."--Diane Negra, co-editor of "Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture"

Media reviews

Citations

  • Choice, 06/01/2010, Page 0
  • Publishers Weekly, 08/17/2009, Page 52

About the author

Brenda R. Weber is Associate Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.