Description
Discover the compelling insights in 'Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck,' a thought-provoking exploration of our fascination with the macabre and the darker aspects of human nature. This brand new tall rack paperback, published by Farrar Straus Giroux in 2013, delves into the universal attraction we have towards evil and tragedy. Why are we irresistibly drawn to grim spectacles, from grisly accidents to horror films? In this captivating narrative, scholar Eric G. Wilson examines our morbid curiosities through the perspectives of various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and philosophy. His research unveils the nourishing qualities of darkness, arguing that confronting death deepens our appreciation for life. With 224 pages filled with startling examples—from Susan Sontag's reflections to pop culture events—Wilson's work invites readers to embrace the dual nature of humanity. Shipping for this item is free, and delivery can take up to 6 weeks. Please note that once your order is placed, it cannot be canceled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780374533700
Format: Tall rack paperback (US)
Year: 2013
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 224
Description:
Why can't we look away?
Whether we admit it or not, we're fascinated by evil. Dark fantasies, morbid curiosities, Schadenfreude: as conventional wisdom has it, these are the symptoms of our wicked side, and we succumb to them at our own peril. But we're still compelled to look whenever we pass a grisly accident on the highway, and there's no slaking our thirst for gory entertainments like horror movies and police procedurals. What makes these spectacles so irresistible?
In Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, the scholar Eric G. Wilson sets out to discover the source of our attraction to the gruesome, drawing on the findings of biologists, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, theologians, and artists. A professor of English literature and a lifelong student of the macabre, Wilson believes there's something nourishing in darkness. To repress death is to lose the feeling of life, he writes. A closeness to death discloses our most fertile energies.
His examples are legion and startling in their diversity. Citing everything from elephant graveyards and Susan Sontag's On Photography to the Tiger Woods sex scandal and Steel Magnolias, Wilson finds heartening truths wherever he confronts death. In Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, the perverse is never far from the sublime. The result is a powerful and delightfully provocative defense of what it means to be human – for better and for worse.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780374533700
Format: Tall rack paperback (US)
Year: 2013
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 224
Description:
Why can't we look away?
Whether we admit it or not, we're fascinated by evil. Dark fantasies, morbid curiosities, Schadenfreude: as conventional wisdom has it, these are the symptoms of our wicked side, and we succumb to them at our own peril. But we're still compelled to look whenever we pass a grisly accident on the highway, and there's no slaking our thirst for gory entertainments like horror movies and police procedurals. What makes these spectacles so irresistible?
In Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, the scholar Eric G. Wilson sets out to discover the source of our attraction to the gruesome, drawing on the findings of biologists, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, theologians, and artists. A professor of English literature and a lifelong student of the macabre, Wilson believes there's something nourishing in darkness. To repress death is to lose the feeling of life, he writes. A closeness to death discloses our most fertile energies.
His examples are legion and startling in their diversity. Citing everything from elephant graveyards and Susan Sontag's On Photography to the Tiger Woods sex scandal and Steel Magnolias, Wilson finds heartening truths wherever he confronts death. In Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck, the perverse is never far from the sublime. The result is a powerful and delightfully provocative defense of what it means to be human – for better and for worse.