Standard Deviance

A PLAY about a man in love with a goat wins the Tony award. A primetime TV game show features a totally naked woman throwing a little football at a large screen. A mainline Protestant church encourages homeless people to live in cardboard boxes on its steps. College students consume and create pornography for credit.

Such is little more than an average week’s news in the blandly decadent America of the 21st century, and, as each new wave of bizarreness unfurls, practically the only condemnation we hear is against those who dare to be offended. Thus Anne Hendershott’s astute and useful new book, which places the current mess in historical context, is welcome and indeed long overdue.

CI

About the Author

Carol Iannone

Carol Iannone writes on literature and culture.

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A PLAY about a man in love with a goat wins the Tony award. A primetime TV game show features a totally naked woman throwing a little football at a large screen. A mainline Protestant church encourages homeless people to live in cardboard boxes on its steps. College students consume and create pornography for credit.

Such is little more than an average week’s news in the blandly decadent America of the 21st century, and, as each new wave of bizarreness unfurls, practically the only condemnation we hear is against those who dare to be offended. Thus Anne Hendershott’s astute and useful new book, which places the current mess in historical context, is welcome and indeed long overdue.