{"product_id":"theory-of-the-gimmick-aesthetic-judgment-and-capitalist-form-9780674278745","title":"Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment and Capitalist Form","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChristian Gauss Award Shortlist\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the ASAP Book Prize\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Makes the case that the gimmick...is of tremendous critical value...Lies somewhere between critical theory and Sontag's best work.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Ngai exposes capitalism's tricks in her mind-blowing study of the time- and labor-saving devices we call gimmicks.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"One of the most creative humanities scholars working today...My god, it's so good.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Ngai is a keen analyst of overlooked or denigrated categories in art and life...Highly original.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e4Columns\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"It is undeniable that part of what makes Ngai's analyses of aesthetic categories so appealing...is simply her capacity to speak about them brilliantly.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBookforum\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A page turner.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eAmerican Literary History\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDeeply objectionable and yet strangely attractive, the gimmick comes in many guises: a musical hook, a financial strategy, a striptease, a novel of ideas. Above all, acclaimed theorist Sianne Ngai argues, the gimmick strikes us both as working too little (a labor-saving trick) and working too hard (a strained effort to get our attention). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen we call something a gimmick, we register misgivings that suggest broader anxieties about value, money, and time, making the gimmick a hallmark of capitalism. With wit and critical precision, Ngai explores the extravagantly impoverished gimmick across a range of examples: the fiction of Thomas Mann, Helen DeWitt, and Henry James; the video art of Stan Douglas; the theoretical writings of Stanley Cavell and Theodor Adorno. Despite its status as cheap and compromised, the gimmick emerges as a surprisingly powerful tool in this formidable contribution to aesthetic theory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-15252614\"\u003eSianne Ngai\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/06\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.16lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.22w x 1.14d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674278745\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674278747\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-PHI\"\u003ePhilosophy\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-PHI001000\"\u003eAesthetics\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-LIT\"\u003eLiterary Criticism\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-LIT006000\"\u003eSemiotics \u0026amp; Theory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-ART\"\u003eArt\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-ART009000\"\u003eCriticism \u0026amp; Theory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Belknap Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44485708054765,"sku":"9780674278745","price":28.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_5eb861f4-c7f5-4575-b90d-a6d1fd0972be.jpg?v=1700807740","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/theory-of-the-gimmick-aesthetic-judgment-and-capitalist-form-9780674278745","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}