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45th out of 332 books
—
149 voters
The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things
by
Barry Glassner (Goodreads Author)
In this eye-opening examination of a pathology that has swept the country, the noted sociologist Barry Glassner reveals why Americans are burdened with overblown fears. He exposes the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit from our anxieties: politicians who win elections by heightening concerns about crime and drug use even as both are declini...more
Paperback, 210 pages
Published
March 16th 2000
by Basic Books
(first published 1999)
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I couldn't even get through this book. The information was poorly organized and it just wasn't very good reading. It was recommended on Michael Moore's website a while back.
The premise of the book sounded interesting to me and Michael Moore's heart is in the right place, but the book is just utter crap. It's not for serious thinkers who are looking for something insightful and revealing about our culture.
Bad Michael, I'm disappointed in you.
The premise of the book sounded interesting to me and Michael Moore's heart is in the right place, but the book is just utter crap. It's not for serious thinkers who are looking for something insightful and revealing about our culture.
Bad Michael, I'm disappointed in you.
Tell me something I don't know. The media sensationalizes whatever they can for ratings and statistics can be twisted to show whatever someone wants them to show.
Consider the source when you get your info. Who funds them? What do they have to gain? Is there another way to read a statistic? Then, take your Paxil and crawl back into your basement bunker with your guns.
Consider the source when you get your info. Who funds them? What do they have to gain? Is there another way to read a statistic? Then, take your Paxil and crawl back into your basement bunker with your guns.
The Culture of Fear truly and aggressively insinuates that America is trapped in a culture that feeds off fear mongering by corporations, public officials, experts and mostly media personnel. Glassner brightly examines the phenomenon of fear mongering, which ultimately it creates a shallow society. Americans are brainwashed by the information provided by the media, which instinctively and distinguishably misinforms and misguides Americans. Yet, the blame doesn’t stop at the media; public officia...more
I found this book less interesting as it went on. I think this is because Glassner is making essentially the same point, albeit with well written prose, over and over again with a number of different fears to illustrate his point.
All of this is spot on, but I couldn't help feeling that he was rather stating the obvious. Personally I have a pet peeve when people blame anything on some vague force known as "the media". Problem with society? Oh, it's the media. Soccer violence? Must stem from the...more
All of this is spot on, but I couldn't help feeling that he was rather stating the obvious. Personally I have a pet peeve when people blame anything on some vague force known as "the media". Problem with society? Oh, it's the media. Soccer violence? Must stem from the...more
Sep 19, 2008
Amyelyse
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Amyelyse by:
Michael Moore
This book really opened my eyes to the manipulations of the media, and the politicians. The whole point is "Be afraid, give us money" which my BF and I say whenever we see it happening.
If you watched "Bowling for Columbine", He sites this books and suggests it, and when speaking to Marylin Manson if you had a moment of "Holy crap he has a brain," or any minor epiphany because of the points that come up in that interview segment in the movie, then you need to read this book.
Actually everyone who...more
If you watched "Bowling for Columbine", He sites this books and suggests it, and when speaking to Marylin Manson if you had a moment of "Holy crap he has a brain," or any minor epiphany because of the points that come up in that interview segment in the movie, then you need to read this book.
Actually everyone who...more
Barry wrote this book in 1999, so it a whole different social landscape of fear than we have now. However, one can see the parallels between our worlds and a somewhat belabored book could be summed up in a handful of points. Let me see if I can do this.
People begin to see the things that they fear. Perhaps, we are all hypochondriacs at some level.
I have laughed at myself at this weakness, but I think we all have it. When exposed enough to an idea (fear), we will believe it.
Trust but verify.
Sex s...more
People begin to see the things that they fear. Perhaps, we are all hypochondriacs at some level.
I have laughed at myself at this weakness, but I think we all have it. When exposed enough to an idea (fear), we will believe it.
Trust but verify.
Sex s...more
Mar 13, 2013
T. Rudacille
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Sociology majors, People studying writing subjectively versus objectively
I love the premise of this book: Taking popular media scare tactics and debunking them with facts, both statistical and otherwise. However, the execution of this premise was lacking and the political bias was obvious. In regards to the latter, I am in agreement with Glassner but still found it disconcerting to see fingers pointed at guns, government, and other metaphorical boogey-men, when he is supposed to be dismantling the fear, if you will, not advocating his political agenda.
In the beginnin...more
In the beginnin...more
Dec 06, 2008
Dennis D.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who thinks Fox News is really fair and balanced
This is a terrific non-fiction book about how special interests, news organizations, and the government manipulate the populace through fear tactics. Researching social epidemics such as airline safety, school violence and road rage (among many others), Glassner pretty effectively illustrates how we are fed a diet of fear by trumped up "experts," and people who have a stake in keeping us afraid. This second situ is what was appalling to me. If your livelihood is consulting and giving speeches ab...more
I give this 4 stars not because it was necessarily super well-written, thought it was clear and concise, but because I thought the subject matter was remarkable.
I would have never, ever picked this up as my own volition. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. These types of books never appeal to me. However, my older brother is very into economics, social studies, etc. etc. and he wanted me to read this. I found the abridged audio version, which is what I am reviewing and figured I could handle dedicating 4 d...more
I would have never, ever picked this up as my own volition. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. These types of books never appeal to me. However, my older brother is very into economics, social studies, etc. etc. and he wanted me to read this. I found the abridged audio version, which is what I am reviewing and figured I could handle dedicating 4 d...more
It's a dangerous world out there: there are things that cause people to suffer harm and death every day. Not surprisingly, most people are afraid of bad things that can happen to them. But, remarkably, the threats that are likely to actually hurt people are hardly ever the things they worry about. Why?
In this book, Glassner explores why people are afraid of things that are almost certain not to harm them, and why they are able to mostly ignore things that actually pose real threats. Sometimes, a...more
In this book, Glassner explores why people are afraid of things that are almost certain not to harm them, and why they are able to mostly ignore things that actually pose real threats. Sometimes, a...more
A Sociologist's look at how media play up easy subjects of fear: plane crashes, road rage, black men and killer moms, which distract us from the real issues we feel powerless to solve. The real issues he sees are: declining infrastructure, parents spending less time with their kids, racial intolerance and tilted playing field, massive abuse of legal drugs far outstripping abuse of illegal drugs (we talk about the one to reference the other). An example of a shocking, fearful subject is air crash...more
The premise of this book is very compelling but it very rapidly descended into bashing anything that does not support the Progressive agenda.
Conservatives come in for some very scathing attacks. And well they did/do deserve some of this the author entirely negates (with only a few sops to objectivity) their legitimate claims and comes close to calling writers, such as Dinesh D'Souza, liars. He doesn't even bother to discuss, in the context of D'Souza, that there may have been a misinterpretatio...more
Conservatives come in for some very scathing attacks. And well they did/do deserve some of this the author entirely negates (with only a few sops to objectivity) their legitimate claims and comes close to calling writers, such as Dinesh D'Souza, liars. He doesn't even bother to discuss, in the context of D'Souza, that there may have been a misinterpretatio...more
This was an interesting read. The author's premise is that Americans fear many situations needlessly, as a result of how the media give us information. Some issues you should lose LESS sleep over: school shootings; flying in planes; Halloween candy tampering; cyberpredators; children being taken by strangers. The author posits that fears promulgated by the media take our attention away from issues we feel are beyond our control, and give us something more manageable to worry about. For example,...more
I think this book is a great introduction to a more realistic idea of the largely unfounded fears and hysterias that grip the minds of many Americans and those things that really need to be focused on. The author does a great job of explaining not only that many of the things Americans worry about are unfounded, but that worrying about them is very costly in time, money, energy, and personal security, as well as bringing our focus away from legitimate problems that need to be addressed.
The book...more
The book...more
Glassner discusses the cultur of fear which is prevalent in the news media today and shows how various topics are continually presented, not for their accuracy but for their sensationalism. The problem with this is many of the stories, such as airline accidents, or middle-age heroin addicts that the media reports on are false. Scientific and statistical studies have found that on these topics the media is overplaying the anomalies. I appreciated Glassner's research and insight for clearly bringi...more
An enlightening book, Glassner uses basic statistics to prove many of the things Americans are scared of aren't as common as they appear to be and aren't worth our concerns. Likewise, he points out, many things that should scare us, like rising poverty rates, are ignored. Glassner indicates the media, both political parties, and individuals with different agendas are generally behind these scares, and leaves no one off the hook. He doesn't have a political ax to grind here.
Most of this book was...more
Most of this book was...more
The book is a little dated, but provides excellent research and insight into some of the biggest social plagues the media warned us against when I was growing up, and basically shows you what most of us going through the swine flu pandemic of 2009 already know. That the media is full of shit and feeds off of telling us what we are afraid of. It's a great read for the facts that it brings to light regarding the teen pregnancy epidemic, the crack baby epidemic, not to mention all the date rape dru...more
I can't help but feel that if you're a type of person who looks at more than point of view than this book is going to be very 'no duh' to you. That's how I felt reading it, anyway. It didn't matter that this book was written back in 1999 and focused primarily on the years 1993 - 1996; most of what Glassner was talking about were things I did when approaching news stories anyway.
While this book may be helpful to those trying to find a more middle ground in sensationalist news articles (and that'...more
While this book may be helpful to those trying to find a more middle ground in sensationalist news articles (and that'...more
As summarized on the cover, The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner attempts to explain why Americans fear the wrong things. Throughout the text, Glassner deconstructs every cultural phobia and supposed nationwide crisis of the past twenty-five years from road rage, to teen gambling, to poisoned Halloween candy to internet predators. The structure of the book does not change in that he begins each section by introducing a specific phobia or issue, then proceeds to show how the media erroneously ex...more
Glassner masterfully demonstrates the media's coercion of the American populace by highlighting the multiple linguistic methods that they employ, as well as providing the actual (factual) "rest of the story" in many occurrences that worked to instill irrational and inaccurate fear into the culture of this nation. Examples range from the urban legend of "Halloween razor blade and poison candy," to the pervasive vilification of the black man.
Special consideration should be noted regarding the prev...more
Special consideration should be noted regarding the prev...more
Glassner is a sociology professor who sets out trying to figure out why the richest, most secure nation in history is afraid of everything. He does a great job connecting things like our fear of cancer to overprotective mothering to our fear of airplane crashes. What's even more interesting is that he wrote this before 9/11, it was published in 1999. Unfortunately, though, his liberalism is pretty strong and he enjoys laying too much blame at the feet of conservatives. He also comes to the concl...more
A great example of how statistics can be manipulated to prove a point. In this case Glassner is trying to show how statistics and the media manipulate stats to create an environment of fear, but at the same time one can't help but feel that he, himself, might be manipulating the stats too. There was some interesting information shared, but most of it is out of date (the book was originally written in the 90s) and one-sided. Glassner seems to be using this book to promote several of his political...more
I gave this five stars because for what it is, its exceptional - those of us in Critical Cultural studies will find it very "duh" but it is written quite well for a less over-read audience. I'm not talking down to it - it is obviously intended on initiating the uninitiated and it accomplishes this quite well. Its incredibly easy to read for a complex subject matter and presents a compelling argument. I highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone that isn't already convinced by the argumen...more
I really like the ideas presented here, but I didn't realize this was written pre-9/11, and I would have liked to hear his thoughts on the current fear-mongering going on.
Loved this book. It's been said that an uneducated, and fearful society is the easiest to control. This book puts numbers to that. It especially incorporates the news media and their possible biases toward coverage, and the ramifications of their choices. The public's perception of things like crime, and criminals are usually in line with how the news portrays and covers it. But the news is usually disproportionately covering such topics. Fear and scary stories create interest and ratings.
That,...more
That,...more
Intresting book showing lies promoted by the news and scientist manipulated for their own benfit. The study of abotions causign cancer by 50%, using only the info that abortions have increaded over the years and so has breat cancer. Even if that study was true, ciggarettes can increase the chance of cancer by 3000%. The irrational fear of flying is humorously trumped by vending machines. It shows that the real fears we should have are heart problems and other health issues, even though it is muc...more
I thought this was an overall spot-on book, but one section made me question the rest of the research therein--namely, the section on metaphorical illnesses and the subsection on breast implants. As I have learned through my work, breast implants do cause severe autoimmune diseases, among other symptoms, and I hope that the updated version addresses newer research that has come out. I think Mr. Glassner underestimates the impact of corporate funding on supposedly independent researchers--though...more
What politics and the news really add up to. One fear campaign after another. Elections are no longer decided by rational thoughts. Whoever can scare the voting public the most wins.
Fact: Tougher prison sentences and more prisons DO NOT discourage crime.
Fact: Decreasing poverty and increasing education DOES discourage crime.
Question: Why do we vote to build more prisons and impose stiffer penalties instead of using that money to discourage crime through adequate prevention - aka reducing povert...more
Fact: Tougher prison sentences and more prisons DO NOT discourage crime.
Fact: Decreasing poverty and increasing education DOES discourage crime.
Question: Why do we vote to build more prisons and impose stiffer penalties instead of using that money to discourage crime through adequate prevention - aka reducing povert...more
One of those books that literally will change the way you view the world.
although informative and well researched... i found it to be a tad pointless.
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Barry Glassner has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. A professor of sociology at USC, Glassner lives in Los Angeles. His most recent book is THE GOSPEL OF FOOD: Everything You Think You Know About Food Is Wrong.
More about Barry Glassner...
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“Criminologists have documented that the amount of coverage a crime victim receives affects how much attention police devote to the case and the willingness of prosecutors to accept plea bargains.”
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1 person liked it
“In addition, when a neighborhood's crime victims are portrayed as victims-sympathetically and without blame, as humans rather than as statistics-people living in other parts of the city are more inclined to support social services for the area, which in turn can reduce the crime rate.”
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1 person liked it
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updated Feb 22, 2013 12:59am
Feb 22, 2013 05:52pm
Feb 23, 2013 12:53am