Culture Rebel

You were called to be dangerous, not desperate. Connie Jakab is a force to be reckoned with. She will settle for nothing less than wholesale change—both in the way women view themselves as well as the way society suppresses their life transforming capacities. Long may her cultural rebellion last! –Alan Hirsch Author, Activist, Dreamer, and Honorary Member of the Sisterhood "Jakab had me at 'Visa bill as heart monitor'! Connie Jakab has allowed her eyes to be opened to the captivating lure of culture, and in this book your eyes will be opened as well. Warning: Don't read it if you have no intention of being challenged or changed. This journey is for the brave of heart!" –Margot Starbuck Author of The Girl in the Orange Dress, Unsqueezed and Small Things With Great Love Culture Rebel is a high-spirited and unapologetically no nonsense read. With personal story, humor, and poignant insight, Jakab reminds us all to rebel -- to throw off the tyranny of opinion of the world and fearlessly be who we are made to be. –Shayne Moore, author Global Soccer Mom and Refuse To Nothing

"With the incredible popularity of Michael Moore's books and movies, and the continuing success of anti-consumer critiques like ADBUSTERS and Naomi Klien's NO LOGO, it is hard to ignore the growing tide of resistance to the corporate-dominated world. But do these vocal opponents of the status quo offer us a real political alternative?" "In this work of cultural criticism, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter shatter the central myth of radical political, economic and cultural thinking. The idea of a counterculture, a world outside the consumer-dominated one that encompasses us, pervades everything from the anti-globalization movement to feminism and environmentalism. And the idea that mocking the system, or trying to 'jam' it so it will collapse, they argue, is not only counterproductive but has helped to create the very consumer society that radicals oppose." "In a blend of pop culture, history and philosophical analysis, Heath and Potter offer a startling, clear picture of what a concern for social justice might look like without the confusion of the counterculture obsession with being different."--Book jacket.

In this pioneering study, Hisham Aidi—an expert on globalization and social movements—takes us into the musical subcultures that have emerged among Muslim youth worldwide over the last decade. He shows how music—primarily hip-hop, but also rock, reggae, Gnawa and Andalusian—has come to express a shared Muslim consciousness in face of War on Terror policies. This remarkable phenomenon extends from the banlieues of Paris to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, from the park jams of the South Bronx to the Sufi rock bands of Pakistan. The United States and other Western governments have even tapped into these trends, using hip hop and Sufi music to de-radicalize Muslim youth abroad. Aidi situates these developments in a broader historical context, tracing longstanding connections between Islam and African-American music. Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, Rebel Music takes the pulse of a revolutionary soundtrack that spans the globe.

This uniquely interdisciplinary study of Black cultural critics Armond White and Paul Gilroy spans continents and decades of rebellion and revolution. Drawing on an eclectic mix of archival research, politics, film theory, and pop culture, Daniel McNeil examines two of the most celebrated and controversial Black thinkers working today. Thinking While Black takes us on a transatlantic journey through the radical movements that rocked against racism in 1970s Detroit and Birmingham, the rhythms of everyday life in 1980s London and New York, and the hype and hostility generated by Oscar-winning films like 12 Years a Slave. The lives and careers of White and Gilroy—along with creative contemporaries of the post–civil rights era such as Bob Marley, Toni Morrison, Stuart Hall, and Pauline Kael—should matter to anyone who craves deeper and fresher thinking about cultural industries, racism, nationalism, belonging, and identity.

In this wide-ranging and perceptive work of cultural criticism, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter shatter the most important myth that dominates much of radical political, economic, and cultural thinking. The idea of a counterculture -- a world outside of the consumer-dominated world that encompasses us -- pervades everything from the antiglobalization movement to feminism and environmentalism. And the idea that mocking or simply hoping the "system" will collapse, the authors argue, is not only counterproductive but has helped to create the very consumer society radicals oppose. In a lively blend of pop culture, history, and philosophical analysis, Heath and Potter offer a startlingly clear picture of what a concern for social justice might look like without the confusion of the counterculture obsession with being different.

Who is the iconic rebel? Is it a character from the legacy of James Dean or Clint Eastwood, or maybe a Beat Generation writer? Is it a woman? Modern pop culture and the media have distorted the notion of rebellion. Classic male rebels appear sexy, nomadic—naturally rebellious—while unorthodox women are reprimanded, made to fit unrealistic roles and body images, or mocked for their decadence and self-indulgence. In order to appreciate our legacy of female rebels—and create space for future cultural icons—the notion rebellion needs to be revaluated. From Madonna and Marilyn Monroe to the reality TV stars and hotel chain heiresses of the twenty-first century, Hellions analyzes the celebration of pop culture icons and its impact on notions of gender. Looking at these past examples, Hellions expands upon the definition of rebellion and offers a new understanding of what would be considered rebellious in the celebrity-obsessed media culture of the twenty-first century.

Many black strategies of daily resistance have been obscured--until now. Race rebels, argues Kelley, have created strategies of resistance, movements, and entire subcultures. Here, for the first time, everyday race rebels are given the historiographical attention they deserve, from the Jim Crow era to the present.

Investigates the appropriation of black popular culture as a symbol of rebellion in postwar Germany