12 Cultural historian Kliph Nesteroff contextualizes a history of controversy in the entertainment industry and considers the role of culture warriors involved. History of Controversy in The Entertainment Industry By Luis Polanco I n today’s attention economy, where news media, the entertainment industry, and politicians strive to rile emotions and get the most views, the time-honored adage that “sex sells” still holds true, but should be amended to include scandal, murder, death, war, and especially outrage. In the U.S., there’s no shortage of outrage. The government wants to confiscate your guns. Immigrants not only want your jobs but they want to abduct your pets and eat them too. The woke mob wants to indoctrinate the youth through TikTok and books. These types of divisive views are often central to the cultural and political conflict in the U.S. between conservatives and liberals and is known as “The Culture Wars.” As a term, the Culture Wars came into public discourse through the American sociologist James Davison Hunter, whose 1991 book Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America focused on how these two cultural poles of conservatism and liberalism congealed around contemporary issues such as abortion, religion, and LGBTQ+ rights, among others. As a societal phenomenon, however, the culture wars have been raging since long before the ’90s, and battles over free speech and censorship have frequently played out in the realm of comedy and entertainment. In Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars (320 pgs., Abrams Press, 2023, $30), writer and cultural historian Kliph Nesteroff compiles a chronicle of controversies in the entertainment industry that goes back long before contemporary complaints about how you can’t joke about anything anymore, people are too soft, and civil liberties such as free speech are under attack. Nesteroff outlines a period that goes back nearly 200 years and offers context to the rich U.S. history of protest and censorship in response to entertainment and media. Key to his history is the involvement of political think tanks whose funds stoke the fires of the continuing culture wars. Nesteroff is the author of two previous books on comedy, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy and We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy. In his latest book, Nesteroff continues to focus on comedy, beginning with its theatrical roots in the U.S. “American show business essentially begins in the 1830s with the blackface minstrel show,” he writes. “Ever since that time, audiences have complained.” Blackface minstrelsy was justly criticized for the promotion of racial stereotypes that advanced racism and bigotry. Nesteroff also points out that in the 1800s, vaudeville was condemned and protested by religious communities for portraying vulgarity and sexuality. Sexuality continued to be a reason for controversy in the twentieth century. Nesteroff looks at the example of actress, singer, comedian, and sex symbol Mae West, who infamously said, “Censorship made me.” After a run in vaudeville that gained her a cult following, West performed on Broadway for the first time in 1926 in a play called Sex, an action-comedy about murder and corrupt policemen, in which she played a prostitute. The New York City Police Department raided the production, arrested the cast, stagehands, and stage manager for obscenity, and at trial the following year, the jury found Mae West guilty. She served ten days at a women’s workhouse. Outrageous is at its most exciting and provocative when Nesteroff discusses the role of corporate influence, political advocacy groups, think tanks, and culture warriors fueling controversy. “The most powerful corporations gave birth to the ‘think tanks,’ sophisticated propaganda outfits that worked to further corporate interest through elaborate disinformation campaigns,” Nesteroff explains. “Think tanks planted articles in magazines, editorials in newspapers, and placed their representatives on radio and television.” In his claim about the manufacturing of controversy by political interests, Nesteroff examines the part played by organizations like the John Birch Society and figures such as Paul Weyrich, the religious conservative who co-founded The Heritage Foundation. The John Birch Society was founded in 1958 by Robert W. Welch Jr. with the help of Fred Koch, the father of the Koch brothers who would themselves fund political think tanks in the present. “[The John Birch Society] attacked musicians, comedians, reporters, professors, and the Civil Rights Movement,” writes Nesteroff. He cites the examples of comedians Bob Newhart and Stan Freberg, who were targeted by the organization. In Outrageous, Nesteroff presents a compelling argument about the relationship between the entertainment industry, politics, and controversy. “[W]hile the showbiz of a hundred years ago may seem remote,” Nesteroff writes, “it is remarkable how similar the issues of the past are to the concerns of today.” Outrageous is at its most exciting and provocative when Nesteroff discusses the role of corporate influence, political advocacy groups, think tanks, and culture warriors fueling controversy. VIDEOAGE October 2024 Book Review
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