Mainstream AIDS Theatre, the Media, and Gay Civil Rights

Making the Radical Palatable

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theatre, History & Criticism, Drama, American
Cover of the book Mainstream AIDS Theatre, the Media, and Gay Civil Rights by Jacob Juntunen, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jacob Juntunen ISBN: 9781317376507
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: January 29, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Jacob Juntunen
ISBN: 9781317376507
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: January 29, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This book* * demonstrates the political potential of mainstream theatre in the US at the end of the twentieth century, tracing ideological change over time in the reception of US mainstream plays taking HIV/AIDS as their topic from 1985 to 2000. This is the first study to combine the topics of the politics of performance, LGBT theatre, and mainstream theatre’s political potential, a juxtaposition that shows how radical ideas become mainstream, that is, how the dominant ideology changes. Using materialist semiotics and extensive archival research, Juntunen delineates the cultural history of four pivotal productions from that period—Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart (1985), Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1992), Jonathan Larson’s Rent (1996), and Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project (2000). Examining the connection between AIDS, mainstream theatre, and the media reveals key systems at work in ideological change over time during a deadly epidemic whose effects changed the nation forever. Employing media theory alongside nationalism studies and utilizing dozens of reviews for each case study, the volume demonstrates that reviews are valuable evidence of how a production was hailed by society’s ideological gatekeepers. Mixing this new use of reviews alongside textual analysis and material study—such as the theaters’ locations, architectures, merchandise, program notes, and advertising—creates an uncommonly rich description of these productions and their ideological effects. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of theatre, politics, media studies, queer theory, and US history, and to those with an interest in gay civil rights, one of the most successful social movements of the late twentieth century.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book* * demonstrates the political potential of mainstream theatre in the US at the end of the twentieth century, tracing ideological change over time in the reception of US mainstream plays taking HIV/AIDS as their topic from 1985 to 2000. This is the first study to combine the topics of the politics of performance, LGBT theatre, and mainstream theatre’s political potential, a juxtaposition that shows how radical ideas become mainstream, that is, how the dominant ideology changes. Using materialist semiotics and extensive archival research, Juntunen delineates the cultural history of four pivotal productions from that period—Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart (1985), Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1992), Jonathan Larson’s Rent (1996), and Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project (2000). Examining the connection between AIDS, mainstream theatre, and the media reveals key systems at work in ideological change over time during a deadly epidemic whose effects changed the nation forever. Employing media theory alongside nationalism studies and utilizing dozens of reviews for each case study, the volume demonstrates that reviews are valuable evidence of how a production was hailed by society’s ideological gatekeepers. Mixing this new use of reviews alongside textual analysis and material study—such as the theaters’ locations, architectures, merchandise, program notes, and advertising—creates an uncommonly rich description of these productions and their ideological effects. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of theatre, politics, media studies, queer theory, and US history, and to those with an interest in gay civil rights, one of the most successful social movements of the late twentieth century.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Facing Up to Radical Change in Universities and Colleges by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Children's Learning in Laboratory and Classroom Contexts by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Understanding Customers by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book In the Shadows of the Holocaust and Communism by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Being Alive by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book The Life of the City by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Translation Under State Control by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book The Nature of Expertise in Professional Acting by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Tourism and the Anthropocene by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Novel and Romance 1700-1800 (Routledge Revivals) by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Nuclear Power in Crisis by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Useful Toil by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Dissident Identities in the Early Modern Low Countries by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book Composing Social Identity in Written Language by Jacob Juntunen
Cover of the book The Barcelona Process by Jacob Juntunen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy