Baring our souls : TV talk shows and the religion of recovery
- Title
- Baring our souls : TV talk shows and the religion of recovery / Kathleen S. Lowney.
- Published by
- New York : Aldine de Gruyter, [1999], ©1999.
- Author
Items in the library and off-site
Displaying 1 item
| Status | Format | Access | Call number | Item location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Format | AccessRequest in advance | Call numberPN1992.8.T3 L68 1999 | Item locationOff-site |
Details
- Description
- xii, 159 pages; 24 cm.
- Summary
- "Although TV talk shows are a recent phenomenon, their roots go back to the itinerant circuses and religious revivals of the nineteenth century. Just as circuses made their money by displaying "freaks," so today's talk shows emphasize only the deviant aspects of their guests' lives. And like the revivalists of old, talk show hosts, such as Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Montel Williams, attempt to "convert" their guests through healing powers.
- Guests who have been victimized bear witness to the pain and suffering they have endured at the hands of their victimizers. The liturgy of these salvational talk shows builds to a moment of conversion, when victimizers see the error of their ways. The hosts, victims, experts, and audience each play their part in the conversion drama that unfolds daily on the screen."--BOOK JACKET.
- "After framing the genre in this way, Dr. Lowney's book raises the essential question, conversion to what? The faith preached on talk shows is based on the principles of the Recovery Movement, among whose tenets are that care for one's self is the highest virtue and that psychological wounds that endure from childhood into adulthood create troublesome and addictive behaviors or "codependency." The only "cure" is to join a therapeutic 12-step group."--BOOK JACKET.
- "Baring Our Souls probes the roots of the genre in the religion of recovery, and holds both up to the scrutiny of sociological inquiry. This will be a welcome supplementary text in courses in social problems, media, and civil religion."--BOOK JACKET.
- Series statement
- Social problems and social issues
- Uniform title
- Social problems and social issues.
- Subject
- Contents
- 1. New Wine, Old Wineskins: Talk Shows as a Genre -- 2. Telling Tales: Testifying to Trials and Tribulations -- 3. Breaking with the Past: The Moment of Conversion -- 4. Recovery Rules: The Beliefs of Recovery Religion -- 5. From Whence Cometh "Salvation"? The Roots of Recovery Religion -- 6. Morality for Whom? Problems with Recovery Religion as Moral Code and Public Discourse.
- Owning institution
- Columbia University Libraries
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-156) and index.