The End of Dissatisfaction? by Todd Mcgowan

The End of Dissatisfaction? by Todd Mcgowan

Exploring the emergence of a societal imperative to enjoy ourselves, Todd McGowan builds on the work of such theorists as Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Z iz ek, Joan Copjec, and Theresa Brennan to argue that we are in the midst of a large-scale transformation--a shift from a society oriented around prohibition (i.e., the notion that one cannot just do as one pleases) to one oriented around enjoyment. McGowan identifies many of the social ills of American culture today as symptoms of this transformation: the sense of disconnection, the increase in aggression and violence, widespread cynicism, political apathy, incivility, and loss of meaning. Discussing these various symptoms, he examines various texts from film, literature, popular culture, and everyday life, including Toni Morrison's Paradise, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and such films as Dead Poets Society and Trigger Effect. Paradoxically, The End of Dissatisfaction? shows how the American cultural obsession with enjoying ourselves actually makes it more difficult to do so.

Todd McGowan is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Vermont and the author of The Feminine "No!": Psychoanalysis and the New Canon, also published by SUNY Press.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780791459683
ISBN 10	0791459683
Title	The End of Dissatisfaction?
Author	Todd Mcgowan
Series	Suny Series In Psychoanalysis And Culture
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	State University of New York Press
Year published	2003-11-20
Number of pages	248
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.