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

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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