Cultural Studies

“Entertaining proof that good sense means good theory, this book is the first to treat music TV as vision and sound. Academically, I had most fun applauding Andrew Goodwin’s elegant skewering of postmodernists; as a rock fan I was constantly startled by Goodwin’s exposes of my most deeply held prejudices. I’m now convinced; there’s much more to MTV than meets the eye.”Simon FrithThe John Logie Baird Centre“Dancing in the Distraction Factory is the best study of MTV I have read. At a time when many critics dismiss music videos either as advertisements for interchangeable commodities or as tiny, soundless movies, Goodwin manages both to analyze the business components of this new medium and also to take videos seriously as complex cultural texts involving music, visuals, stars, and much else. Dancing in the Distraction Factory is a smart book; it will have an impact on the debates surrounding popular culture, and also offers a great deal that will interest the pop music fan.”Susan McClaryMcGill University