Contemporary Media Culture and the Remnants of a Colonial Past

«This is a powerful, richly nuanced, evocative work; a stunning and brilliantly innovative pedagogical and theoretical intervention. It represents the most serious analysis we have to date of race, media and colonialism. Through detailed readings of the popular – ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Power Rangers’, ‘Pocahontas’ – Kent A. Ono undermines from within the lingering vestiges of a pernicious colonial mentality. He shows how current popular narratives about race, gender, sexuality, class, and nation continue to cover up a global racist politics. This new book provides ground zero – the starting place for the next generation of theorists who study nation, gender, race, American popular culture, identity, and performance in everyday life. A stunning accomplishment by one of America’s major social theorists.» (Norman K. Denzin, College of Media Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
«This book provides interdisciplinary scholars with a unique archeology of both the overt and covert colonial messages that continue to be circulated in a host of cultural mediums – from our ballparks to our television screens. His insightful study of the socially marginalized and colonially repressed opens up new vistas as he invites us to rethink the ways that entertainment industries can be linked to economic and social circuits of power and representation.» (Marouf Hasian, Professor of Communication, University of Utah)
«This is a powerful, richly nuanced, evocative work; a stunning and brilliantly innovative pedagogical and theoretical intervention. It represents the most serious analysis we have to date of race, media and colonialism. Through detailed readings of the popular – ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Power Rangers’, ‘Pocahontas’ – Kent A. Ono undermines from within the lingering vestiges of a pernicious colonial mentality. He shows how current popular narratives about race, gender, sexuality, class, and nation continue to cover up a global racist politics. This new book provides ground zero – the starting place for the next generation of theorists who study nation, gender, race, American popular culture, identity, and performance in everyday life. A stunning accomplishment by one of America’s major social theorists.» (Norman K. Denzin, College of Media Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
«This book provides interdisciplinary scholars with a unique archeology of both the overt and covert colonial messages that continue to be circulated in a host of cultural mediums – from our ballparks to our television screens. His insightful study of the socially marginalized and colonially repressed opens up new vistas as he invites us to rethink the ways that entertainment industries can be linked to economic and social circuits of power and representation.» (Marouf Hasian, Professor of Communication, University of Utah)