Cruel Optimism

English language

ISBN:
978-0-8223-5111-5
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4 stars (3 reviews)

1 edition

Reading with Berlant

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A very intricate and dense meditation on how culture and people adapt to the uncertain present, once the idealized "good life"- whether romantically, economically etc- has dissolved. I admire the ability Berlant had to weave together class analysis, psychoanalysis, affect and queer theory into a seamless whole in addition to their choice of art works to study. Like the best works of cultural criticism, the book feels like hearing the author take you on a tour of the films, books, and performances that captivate them, while witnessing a reading that connects these discrete points into a broader socio-cultural narrative of our present moment.