Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children [Paperback]

Henry A. Giroux (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0312239327 | ISBN-13: 978-0312239329

Continuing his ongoing social critique, Henry Giroux looks at the way corporate culture is encroaching on the lives of children by exploring three myths prevalent in our society: that the triumph of democracy is related to the triumph of the market; that children are unaffected by power and politics; and that teaching and learning are no longer linked to improving the world. Looking at childhood beauty pageants, school shootings, and the omnipresent nihilistic chic of advertising, Giroux paints a disturbing picture of the world surrounding our children. Ultimately, he turns to the work of Antonio Gramsci, Paulo Freire, and Stuart Hall for lessons on how we can reinstitute a realistic childhood for our children.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Stealing Innocence is a methodically designed portrait of the increasing elimination of childhood for modern American youth. Giroux, a prolific social critic regarding issues of the late twentieth century, analyzes the proselytizing of corporations toward children. In the first half of the book, he uses the vivid imagery of beauty pageants for young girls, the onset of the visual appeal of the "heroin chic" look by Calvin Klein and other fashion industry leaders, and corporate logo placement in the school systems. The use of secondhand sources helps Giroux prove his point that children today are overinundated with outside influences that coerce young people to face adulthood too early in their lifetimes, thereby forcing traditional childhood concerns to the wayside. In the second half of the book, he looks to social theorists Antonio Gramsci, Paolo Freire, and Stuart Hall to demonstrate the potential to return to earlier methods of raising children. Although at times Giroux's words may seem dense, his ideas and examples are clear. Julia Glynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[Stealing Innocence is] . . . a methodically designed portrait of the increasing elimination of childhood for modern American youth . . . his ideas and examples are clear." -- Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (May 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312239327
• ISBN-13: 978-0312239329
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner!, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Innocence: Youth, Corporate Power and the Politics of Culture (Hardcover)

Giroux's book furthers his study of the politics of youth culture which has been continuing through Fugitive Cultures and Channel Surfing. This new book also offers one of the most penetrating discussions of the rise of corporate culture that I have seen. The second half engages the work of Antonio Gramsci, Paulo Freire, and Stuart Hall. In my view this book is a major integration of Giroux's important early theoretical work on the politics of schooling with his more recent work on education and cultural studies. I highly recommend it for anyone involved in cultural work or cultural theory as well as teachers and teacher educators.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A disturbing yet truthful book, August 16, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stealing Innocence: Youth, Corporate Power and the Politics of Culture (Hardcover)

Even though we as American parents would be willing to blow the whistle on baby sitters who physically and emotionally harm our children, we have done nothing short of brushing the surface when it comes to pulling the plug on the most dangerous baby sitter of all-popular media. Please read this book, and take the necessary steps to loosen the grip of this menace from your child. Parents have, and always will be, the best influence on our children's reality;they should collaborate with educators on how best to remove this menace and restore childhood to its purity.

3.0 out of 5 stars very difficult to read, but very important, September 3, 2011

By 

katybird - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children (Paperback)

I read this book for a class on Democracy and Education. The book was very pertinent to the class subject matter. However, Mr. Giroux clearly wrote this book for his peers and not for general consumption. I know a large percentage of my (younger) classmates had a great deal of difficulty even finishing this book, much less writing a huge paper about it. I think that the point of the book is very important and that Mr. Giroux would reach a much larger audience if he used smaller words.

The quality of the book was fine and the delivery was fine, too.