Suppose They Gave a Culture War and No One Came

Zippergate and the Carnivalization of Politics

Bibliographic Data

ID3756928
AuthorsLauren Langman (0000-0002-2851-5220, Loyola University Chicago, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume46
Issue4
Pages501-534
Publication date2002-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/000276420223806
OpenAlexW1974714465
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited19

L'affaire Clinton, a president lured by the thong of temptress Monica, became the major media spectacle of the late '90s. Rural, Southern, conservative Christians regarded him as the symbol of the social, sexual, and civil rights revolutions of the '60s that had been an affront to their values. The attempt to remove him from office was a "culture war" in which his detractors had not understood just how far the political center of the country had moved. Given greater levels of education, more women in the workforce, and growing cosmopolitanism, the country had become more socially liberal and regarded his peccadilloes as his own business. Moreover, the rank hypocrisy of his accusers gave them little credibility. Nevertheless, as a political soap opera, its cast of characters, its sex, sin, betrayals, courtroom drama, and contrition was another step eroding the boundaries of the political and entertainment in an "amusement society

Art · Cosmopolitanism · Drama · Economic history · Entertainment · Literature · Media studies · Political culture · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spectacle · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society

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