Beyond the Spectacle of Terrorism: Global Uncertainty and the Challenge of the New Media (The Radical Imagination)

by Henry A. Giroux

"Henry Giroux's essay awakens us to the ways new media proliferate and circulate images and ideas of terror that order our lives, pervert our pedagogy, delimit our democracy. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to comprehend our times, our politics, our possibilities." --David Theo Goldberg, University of California, Irvine "Henry Giroux is one of the sharpest cultural critics today. His new book is an important intervention on media and spectacles. It shows us the depth of the dark side, only to conclude that the same media may be deployed in recovery against the social fragmentation caused by fear and consumerism, which is essential to bringing the country back to the path of decency and justice." --Arif Dirlik, University of Oregon Prominent social critic Henry Giroux explores how new forms of media are challenging the very nature of politics in his most poignant and striking book to date. The emergence of the spectacle of terror as a new form of politics raises important questions about how fear and anxiety can be marketed, how terrorism can be used to recruit people in support of authoritarian causes, and how the spectacle of terrorism works in an age of injustices, deep insecurities, disembodied social relations, fragmented communities, and a growing militarization of everyday life. At the same time, the new media such as the Internet, digital camcorders, and cell phones can be used to energize sites of resistance, provide alternative public spheres, pluralize political struggles, and expand rather than close down democratic relations. Giroux considers what conditions and changes are necessary to reinvigorate democracy in light of these new challenges. Radical Imagination Series

Genres: Nonfiction

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

American cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, media studies, and critical theory.

A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University, Miami University, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Giroux has published more than 35 books and 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.

Routledge named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.

Reviews

[Tom Sulcer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent diagnosis of the rotted state of American democracy, with telling insight consistent with other critical analyses of America which highlights a dangerous trend towards authoritarianism, but offers no path to restore democracy.

Giroux's insights are on target. He writes "In the post 9/11 world, the space of shared responsibility has given way to the space of private fears; the social obligations of citizenship are now reduced to the highly individualized imperatives of consumerism..." He's right. We're afraid. And we're not citizens any more. The common bonds are broken. He says "...the citizen has been reduced to a consumer..." and this observation has been echoed in many excellent books on this subject, including "Consumed". He describes the mix of fear, government surveillance, and apathy: "...the language of the social is devalued as the call for state protection translates into the suspension of civil liberties, new and expanding networks of government surveillance, and the increasingly accepted view that dissent is un-American and aids terrorism."

Journalists such as Bill Moyers make similar observations. Giroux sees people as being excluded from politics, cynical, helpless, with less and less control over government policy. Ethics have degenerated into mere platitudes, politics have become banal, our nation has become unnecessarily militaristic -- essentially a "security state" as he describes America. He deplores a ubiquitous "screen culture."

I think Giroux is right. I think the political process is broken. Washington is corrupt. Congress is gridlocked. There's a dangerous concentration of power in the executive branch in one person -- the president -- and the usual system of checks and balances seems to have come undone. The federal system is askew -- ideally state governments should regulate their own economies, but Washington has usurped this power through numerous rulings, often encouraged by the Supreme Court. And this body of unelected justices has, in many respects, assumed a quasi-legislative role, which was never intended by the Constitution's Framers, because it has the power to strike down any law it deems unconstitutional. Washington is like a giant crashed computer, unresponsive to keystrokes, and unable to cope with serious issues such as Social Security underfunding, the specter of terrorism, financial meltdowns, global warming, corruption, lobbying running rampant, and so on.

Americans should heed Giroux but also read "The American Lie" by Benjamin Ginsberg; "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution" by Kevin R. C. Gutzman; "Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism" by myself; "Up To Our Eyeballs" by several authors; "Our Undemocratic Constitution" by Sanford Levinson; "How America Got It Right" by Bevin Alexander (a tough critique of American foreign policy despite the upbeat title). These are tough, non-partisan looks at a nation in deep denial.

While I think Giroux is right about his examination of America's woes, what I don't think he understands is that it's necessary for America to solve the problem of terrorism to restore healthy democratic process. Giroux sees that we're afraid. But what do we do? Giroux doesn't know. I do. Prevent terrorism -- and hope and confidence and vitality have a better chance of returning (along with serious structural reform of government). Another great book: "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere" by Jurgen Habermas. (Note: difficult to read, but worth it).

I think the problems are so serious that a Second Constitutional Convention is required to fix them. I have summoned this body, using my authority as a private citizen, and it will convene in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, beginning July 4th, 2009. I have chosen as my delegates only members of the political, financial, academic, and media elite, because I think these persons are the only ones capable of intelligent, rational action -- I don't think ordinary citizens have the ability any more to cause change. And I hope this elite will be motivated to fix things, because they stand the lose the most if America falls. Clearly, this excellent book by Giroux helps us understand our dilemma, but unlike my book, Giroux does not chart a course out of the mess. He's a complainer, not a fixer. America needs a new Constitution, based on the existing one but which: (1) prevents crime, tyranny, and foreign terrorism (2) restores citizenship as an active relationship between individual and government (3) brings back the federal structure where state governments have the most authority in regulating their respective economies (4) fixes the architecture of government to permit intelligent and long-range foreign policy (5) identifies movement in public (to thwart terrorism) while preserving privacy (6) de-politicizes the Supreme Court (7) limits factionalism.

An excellent book for understanding the sad state of American democracy. It's oriented more towards academics and other high-brow types. He's right to suggest that America is on a path to an alarming authoritarianism.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really accessible both in terms of presentation (bigger font, more space between lines) and vocabulary. A fair bit redundant, especially if you've read his Stormy Weather.