Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations (Paperback)

~ bell hooks (Author) "IN my twenties, I made my first pilgrimage to Europe..." (more)
Key Phrases: individual black folks, white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, sexist thinking, United States, Spike Lee, The Crying Game (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Turning from teaching to topical subjects like gangsta rap, censorship, date rape and Hollywood cinema, these 21 essays will enhance City College professor and political activist hooks's (Black Looks) reputation as an astute, vigorous and freewheeling critic on matters of race, class and gender. The underlying focus in many of these short, occasional pieces (many are reprinted from magazines like Spin and Art in America) is on how some groups, particularly women of color, are marginalized both in daily life and in the cultural wars over media representations and the academic curriculum. Memorable essays touch on questions of censorship inside and outside the academy, the dearth of feminist perspectives on Malcolm X, the impact of commodity culture on political debate and the shortcomings of mainstream gender theorists Camille Paglia, Naomi Wolf and Kate Roiphe. Though formulaic at times, hooks's critical style is refreshingly brash and accessible and often inflected by personal experience. Readers may contest her politics, yet few will be unmoved by the spirit that animates these essays: a desire to rethink cultural institutions that sustain racism, sexism and other systems of political oppression.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This latest collection of hooks's (Sisters of the Yam, LJ 8/93) essays does not make for comfortable reading-nor is it meant to. Cogent essays on patriarchy, violence, and racism demand that the reader reexamine familiar assumptions. The author insists that white feminists recognize that the female experience varies greatly and that class and race must therefore be used as categories of analysis. In several essays, including one on Malcolm X, she offers a feminist perspective on the position of black men in society and their attitudes toward black women. In critiques of Camille Paglia, Katie Roiphe, and Naomi Wolf, hooks describes them all as hankering back to a prefeminist time. Other essays include a discussion of violence, the myth of Columbus, and the portrayal of blacks on film. Highly recommended for collections on feminism, gender, and race.
Sharon Firestone, Ross-Blakley Law Lib., Arizona State Univ., Tempe
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; First Edition edition (September 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415908116
• ISBN-13: 978-0415908115
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #704,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revolutionary, compassionate, furious, and hopeful, April 1, 1997

By A Customer

bell hooks's speaks to us, elegantly, clearly, and passionately about the culture of the margin, about disempowered people and their culture. But even more incredibly, she cuts right through crap, and fearlessly breaks things down for us, articulating truths, hopes and dreams I have never seen discussed anywhere else. bell hooks uses her keen intellect and her brilliant common sense to examine not only the materialistic and physical constraints of racist and sexist oppression, she also identifies the psychological, spiritual and emotional; individual and communal injury and trauma that is experienced. Then, she gives us hope, for revolution, for decolonization, not just of our bodies, but our minds and hearts. Reading bell hooks, for me, is like listening to an incredibly wise and gentle girlfriend, who can both hold your hand, and beat the living hell out of anyone trying to do you wrong.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! I can't wait to read more!, May 19, 2003

By	Kesha (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

bell hooks does an excellent job in exploring pop culture and its relationship to African Americans. I found all of the essays interesting but was particularly moved by Seduced by Violence No More in which I felt like I was slapped across the face. There are sections in that particular essay that read as if hooks had had a personal window into my life! Other essays that stood out to me included Crying Game meets The Body Guard, Misrepresenting the Black Underclass, and Censorship from Right to Left. I recommend this book to anyone interested in hearing a powerful direct view on pop culture and its effects.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ouch!, May 19, 2003

By	Kesha (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

bell hooks does an excellent job in exploring pop culture and its relationship to African Americans. I found all of the essays interesting but was particularly moved by Seduced by Violence No More, Crying Game meets The Body Guard, Misrepresenting the Black Underclass, and Censorship from Right to Left. I recommend this book to anyone interested in hearing a powerful direct view on pop culture and its effects.