Irony and Outrage, Dannagal Goldthwaite Young
Irony and Outrage, Dannagal Goldthwaite Young
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Irony and Outrage
The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States

Author: Dannagal Goldthwaite Young

Narrator: Rachel Perry

Unabridged: 10 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/20/2020


Synopsis

For almost a decade, journalists and pundits have been asking why we don't see successful examples of political satire from conservatives or of opinion talk radio from liberals. This book turns that question on its head to argue that opinion talk is the political satire of the right and political satire is the opinion programming of the left.

In Irony and Outrage, political and media psychologist Dannagal Goldthwaite Young explores the aesthetics, underlying logics, and histories of these two seemingly distinct genres, making the case that they should be thought of as the logical extensions of the psychology of the left and right, respectively. While the audiences for Sean Hannity and John Oliver come from opposing political ideologies, both are high in political interest, knowledge, and engagement, and both lack faith in many of our core democratic institutions. Young argues that the roles that these two genres play for their viewers are strikingly similar: galvanizing the opinion of the left or the right, mobilizing citizens around certain causes, and expressing a frustration with traditional news coverage while offering alternative sources of information and meaning. One key way in which they differ, however, concludes Young, is in their capacity to be exploited by special interests and political elites.

About Dannagal Goldthwaite Young

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young is a professor of communication and political science at the University of Delaware. Young is an award-winning scholar and teacher, a TED speaker, an improvisational comedian, and the author of Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrea on December 01, 2020

As always, when I repeatedly reference the book in conversations with others, it warrants 5 stars :-) Ive been very interested in the author's work, having watched a video interview online before getting this audiobook. Although I remain slightly skeptical that liberals and conservatives are fundame......more

Goodreads review by Kurt on August 14, 2022

This was a clear explanation of personality attributes and how they drive media choices, with great references. I'm getting so much value from what I learned from this book. I think it's the most useful and interesting book I've read this year.......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on January 17, 2020

As a comedy performer/teacher, this book was scientifically designed for me and it did not disappoint. Irony and Outrage tackles two giant comedy questions: Why doesn't conservative satire work? Why has Trump been such a problem for comedy? Young proposes that the same psychological traits that nudg......more

Goodreads review by Irene on February 08, 2020

Overall, Dr. Young’s thesis is compelling, and the book supports it with a broad array of original and consulted recent research from political and social psychology, as well as a solid grounding in the history of satire and “outrage” from the mid-20th century through the present. It makes that case......more

Goodreads review by David on November 24, 2024

I listened to a couple of interviews she did before getting the book. I like the thesis she presents. However, she said in an interview that she made a big effort to learn the ways of writing for a public audience, and for me, she didn't quite achieve that well. I found it more academic than it need......more