[Commlist] New book: The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in American Culture

Book Release Announcement

The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in American Culture (NYU Press, 
2019)


*A provocative investigation that appreciates the importance of - and 
punctures the hype around - big-time American athletics*


Jacket Description:


In an increasingly secular, fragmented, and distracted culture, nothing 
concentrates Americans quite like sports. On Sundays in September, more 
families worship at the altar of the NFL than at any church. This 
timeless, live appeal - evoking ancient religious rites - makes sport 
one of the last unifying mass rituals of our era, with huge sums of 
people all tuned into the same thing at the same moment. And the 
surrounding media spectacle is only getting bigger, brighter, and 
noisier - from “hot take” journalism formats to the creeping infestation 
of advertising to social media celebrity schemes.


More consequentially, sports are sold as an oasis of community to a 
nation deeply divided: They are escapist, apolitical, the only tie that 
binds. But because they come off as allegedly “above politics,” sports 
are able to smuggle in potent messages about inequality, patriotism, 
labor, and race to those massive audiences. And as the wider culture 
works through shifting gender roles and masculine power, those anxieties 
are also found in the experiences of female sports journalists, 
athletes, and fans and through coverage of violence by and against male 
bodies. In this way, sports perfectly encapsulate the roiling tensions 
of modern American life.


“The Power of Sports” maps and critiques the production of today’s 
lucrative, ubiquitous sports culture. Through dozens of in-depth 
interviews with leaders in sports media and journalism, as well as in 
the business and marketing of sports, “The Power of Sports” goes behind 
the scenes and tells a story of technological disruption, commercial 
overload, economic disparity, military hawkishness, #MeToo harassment, 
and the shifting ideals of manhood. In the end, despite what our myths 
of escapism might suggest, “The Power of Sports” holds up a mirror to 
America’s favorite games and reveals the lived realities of the nation 
staring right back at it.


Advance Reviews:


“Serazio digs the ball out of the dirt and fires it right on the money 
in this brilliant, entertaining, and important analysis of the games we 
love that rarely love us back. A terrific book for fans and non-fans.” - 
Robert Lipsyte, veteran New York Times sportswriter


“This is a powerful, intellectual, and vital contribution to our 
understanding of sports and sports culture. Michael Serazio walks the 
line between the scholarly and the popular with uncommon dexterity.” - 
Dave Zirin, The Nation sports editor


“This is a benchmark work: a lasting and influential volume that deals 
with major issues cast by the sociocultural shadow of sports with a 
savvy and comprehensive accessibility that could change the game as we 
know it.” - Lawrence Wenner, Communication & Sport editor


“In direct and engaging style, Serazio approaches the media spectacle of 
contemporary sports with the knowing ambivalence of the 
critical-but-sentimental fan, combining sharp critique and warm personal 
reflection. With liveliness and insight, and some smart jokes, he 
explores the many ways in which the sports-media nexus exercises power 
over identities, imaginations, politics, and consumer behavior. Rooted 
in the American culture that first nurtured sports as a staple of modern 
commerce, ‘The Power of Sports’ is a literary shot that will be heard 
around the world by readers curious to understand how sports came to be 
both secular religion and temple of Mammon.” - David Rowe, Sport, 
Culture and the Media author


Now Available Online:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1479887315/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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