Editorial Reviews
Book Description
"A great American institution"; "the bane of feminist ideology"; "a cornucopia of corn"; "the world's largest source of scholarship for women"--whatever the descriptor, few are neutral about the Miss America Pageant. Live from Atlantic City traces the pageant's history from its birth as pseudoevent in 1920 through its emergence as American popular culture icon. Although millions watch the pageant on television each year, Live from Atlantic City proposes that it is more than just a television show. Long before, after, and, some might argue, in spite of, television coverage, "a carnival of beauty ran riot on [Atlantic City's] famous Boardwalk." With or without the cameras, "bevies of sea nymphs," "beach peaches," and coeds have paraded up and down runways hoping to win a slice of the American dream. Indeed, long before, after, and very far away from the camera's dissecting lens, protesters have dissented, feminists picketed, and Miss America "wannabees" have frolicked on the fringes. Evidently, there's more to the pageant than meets the TV's eye. Live from Atlantic City takes the reader to times and places where no television camera has focused. Drawing upon (and sometimes debating with) primary and secondary sources, the author paints a vivid picture of life in Atlantic City during pageant week--whether that week be in 1944 or 1984. More than just chronicling events, the author also presents two opposing perspectives on the pageant: the pageant as celebration and idealization of American womanhood; the pageant as sexist, exploitative anachronism.
About the Author
A.R. Riverol received a Ph.D. in Communications from New York University. He has taught at the secondary and college levels and supervised at the district level and has conducted professional lectures and workshops from San Juan to San Francisco in various disciplines. As media critic, his acerbic pieces have appeared in North Hudson News, the Hudson Dispatch, and the media journal ETC.
Live from Atlantic City: A History of the Miss America Pageant Before, After and in Spite of Television,A. R. Riverol,Bowling Green University Popular Press,0879725583,General,History,Miss America Pageant, Atlantic,Miss America Pageant, Atlantic City, N.J.,Performing Arts / Television / General,Social Science,Social Science / Popular Culture,Sociology,Sociology - General,Atlantic City (N.J.),Beauty contests,New Jersey,Pageants,Popular Culture,Sociology Of Women,United States
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