Schwarzenegger Syndrome: Politics and Celebrity in the Age of Contempt

by Gary Indiana

From the California recall circus, in which Gary Coleman, Larry Flynt, and Arianna Huffington vied with over one hundred other candidates to replace a supposedly inept governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged triumphant. How did this onetime bodybuilding champion and gay pinup, with no political experience and a string of mediocre action movies to his name, come to take over the world's fifth-largest economy? In The Schwarzenegger Syndrome , celebrated journalist and novelist Gary Indiana makes the case that this tale is a product of a mediasoaked culture in which image matters more than substance. The recall process, a parody of direct democracy, gave Schwarzenegger the chance of a lifetime. With so many candidates in the race, he certainly wasn't the most qualified, the most articulate, or the most credible―but he was the most famous. And for the majority of Californians, that was enough. A witty and biting travelogue through the intersection of celebrity culture with American political life, The Schwarzenegger Syndrome lays bare the dark implications of Schwarzenegger's rise to power in the Golden State.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

140 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Gary Hoisington, known as Gary Indiana, was an American writer, actor, artist, and cultural critic. He served as the art critic for the Village Voice weekly newspaper from 1985 to 1988. Indiana is best known for his classic American true-crime trilogy, Resentment, Three Month Fever: The Andrew Cunanan Story, and Depraved Indifference, chronicling the less permanent state of "depraved indifference" that characterized American life at the millennium's end. In the introduction to the recently re-published edition of Three Month Fever, critic Christopher Glazek has coined the phrase 'deflationary realism' to describe Indiana's writing, in contrast to the magical realism or hysterical realism of other contemporary writing.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my blog post on it:

http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...

[Rob Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

He overreaches a bit here, but no one does righteous, profane outrage like Gary Indiana. Frequently hilarious, and, of course, depressing.

[Zach Werbalowsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

nothing really ever changes in america, the same glut and love of fame that produces arnold's uber capitalist mentality to take the reins of office could be a guidebook to trump. i mean the similarities are startling and i guess it all goes back to reagan (who is quoted as saying something "facts, those silly little things", so another legendary hater of facts). it feels more like has happened and will keep happening, but as christian fundamentalist and other neo-fascist take control of it'll probably lean closer towards.... something worse, than cigar tents and ill informed politicians.