O. J. Simpson Facts and Fictions: News Rituals in the Construction of Reality

Description

Abundant popular discourses surround the O. J. Simpson double murder case. By contrast, Darnell M. Hunt scrutinizes these very discourses in order to further our understanding of the interests underlying them. Exploring the relationships between O. J.'s trial, the social location of television viewers (their race, gender and class) and everyday consciousness of social issues, his textual and audience analyses consider the incredible allure of the trial as 'media event'. Looking beyond the obvious explanations of celebrity, scandal and voyeurism, Dr Hunt asks: why was America so obsessed by this case? why were so many people intertested in particular outcomes? and what are we to make of the apparent racial divide in attitudes about the case, as shown in the opinion polls? O. J. Simpson Facts and Fictions incorporates insights from sociology and cultural studies to examine the implications for race relations in the United States at the dawn of the new millennium.

"...illuminates the cultural media event with clarity, freshness, rigorous scholarship, and with insights that inform both black and white readers." Choice "A superb book, Hunt writes with a passionate clarity about one of the most significant cultural events of our time. His multi-dimensional analysis, his persuasive arguments and his insightful conclusions show us not only the importance of the O.J. affair itself, but also how an avowedly non-racist society keeps its racism alive and kicking. Anyone who wants to understand how race is made to operate in America, and anyone who wishes to intervene in its operations, will need to read this book and to refer to it frequently." John Fiske, University of Wisconsin, Madison "...an important scholarly examination of the various discourses related to this case." CSMC Bookends