Out of Sync by Sarah Rebecca Kessler

Out of Sync by Sarah Rebecca Kessler

Ventriloquism, or the art of "throwing the voice," has outdated and even unsettling connotations to many, associated with vaudeville and the nefarious talking dolls of so many horror movies. Despite this, ventriloquism remains a popular performance art, filling theaters and concert venues with audiences eager to hear puppets voice what humans, in an increasingly polarized present, want to say but feel they can't. In Out of Sync, Sarah Rebecca Kessler explores ventriloquism's persistence in, and relevance to, the contemporary moment, examining performances by recent and current practitioners such as Richard Sandfield, Nina Conti, Jeff Dunham, and Terry Fator while also tracing ventriloquism's travels across media including vinyl records, documentary films, music videos, and social media platforms such as TikTok. Kessler argues that ventriloquism and its many remediations amplify a cultural politics of synchronization that positions not just sounds and images, but voices and bodies, as more and less out of sync along the lines of race, gender, and sexuality. Looking closely at the art and its outgrowths, Out of Sync gives insight into the operations of race, gender, and sexuality as distinctly audiovisual processes.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781478034261
ISBN 10	1478034262
Title	Out of Sync
Author	Sarah Rebecca Kessler
Series	A Camera Obscura Book
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Duke University Press
Year published	2026-10-27
Number of pages	232
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.