Baring Our Souls: TV Talk Shows and the Religion of Recovery

Book Description
Television talk shows are a recent phenomenon, but their roots go back to the itinerant circuses and religious revivals of the nineteenth century. Circuses made their money by displaying "freaks," just as talk shows emphasize only the deviant aspects of their guests’ lives. And like the revivalists of old, talk show hosts attempt to convert their guests to a religion that has the power to heal. Guests who have been victimized give witness to the pain and suffering they have endured at the hands of their victimizers. Salvational talk shows build to a moment of conversion, when victimizers see the error of their ways and choose to convert. The hosts, victims, and relationship experts each play their part in the conversion drama that unfolds daily over the airways. This book questions the religion of recovery, examining the consequences for public discourse about social problems if talk shows continue to psychologize the social. At the turn of the millennium, Americans need to be able to discuss poverty or discrimination without simply blaming their victims. Salvational talk shows, which espouse the religion of recovery, make such a public discourse difficult.


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Lowney (sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice, Valdosta State U.) places modern TV talkshows in a long history of religious revivals, although in her schema, the faith preached on talk shows is based on the principles of the Recovery Movement. She argues that this individualistic movement reduces community to groups of people talking at each other, and that Americans should approach the nation's problems not through 12-step programs or media-defined public discourse, but through meaningful dialogue and a return to a truer understanding of community. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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