Kitsch in Sync : A Consumer's Guide to Bad Taste by Peter Ward

by Peter Ward

While it commences with a somewhat weak prehistory of kitsch in the 19th century, the light style and deceptively glib analysis of this slender volume are a perfect complement to 20th-century trash culture. In what is essentially a history of mass-produced tackiness, Peter Ward provides insightful commentary on how good taste becomes officially bad when its audience changes. He also catches the sense of humor of Jeff Koons, who appears just a few pages past the Bay City Rollers, a juxtaposition I'm sure Koons would enjoy. Kitsch in Sync is worthwhile for its novel take on '80s new romantic music and for the illustrations of the postwar culture of disposable and ugly home furnishings.

Genres: Humor

Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Peter Ward is a British business and technology reporter whose reporting has taken him across the globe. Reporting from Dubai, he covered the energy sector in the Middle East before earning a degree in business journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His writing has appeared in Wired, The Atlantic, The Economist, GQ, BBC Science Focus, and Newsweek.

Reviews

[Matt Sautman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was far more excited by this book's title and cover. Outside of the introduction, I found the bulk of the work on kitsch here to feel in itself kitschy in a postmodern way that suggests intellectual laziness rather than intellectual wit. I had hoped for a fundamentally queer text, one that embraces the power of counter culture in its ability to challenge and redefine the status quo. Certainly elements of that imagined book are present here. Yet I also find myself also repulsed by some of the casual attitude towards racist depictions of non-white peoples, making me in turn question what happens when a celebration of bad tase includes not only that which celebrates the pastiche and parodies the falsity of an exclusively "high brow" culture but also commemorates racist artifacts as equally worth celebrating as a component of kitsch closer.

[Carolyn Gandouin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, my. There is so much in this book with which I disagree . . . and so much else that is just wrong.

My understanding of kitsch is that if something is in deliberate bad taste, then it's not actually kitsch - the kitsch object must be earnest in its desire to provoke a response, usually an emotional response, in its viewer.

I do not agree that Dada, the Monkees or John Waters are kitsch per se. Flying ducks yes - lobster telephones no.

The tone of this book I found smarmy, patronising and thrilled by its own wit.

The best thing about this book is its title.