Super Mad at Everything All the Time

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Two Truths

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 1-26

3. Upping the Anti’s: 50 Years of Vilifying Intellectuals, the Government, and the Media

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 27-74

4. Money + Tech = Problems: Technological Development, Financial Imperatives, and the Ensuing Media Landscape

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 75-117

5. Us vs. Them: Political Polarization and the Politicization of Everything

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 119-165

6. Negative Objectives: The Right-Wing Media Circle and Everyone Else

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 167-217

7. Consequential, Problematic and Perhaps Resolvable

   • Alison Dagnes

   Pages 219-239

8. Back Matter

   Pages 241-243

   PDF

Super Mad at Everything All the Time explores the polarization of American politics through the collapse of the space between politics and culture, as bolstered by omnipresent media. It seeks to explain this perfect storm of money, technology, and partisanship that has created two entirely separate news spheres: a small, enclosed circle for the right wing and a sprawling expanse for everyone else. This leads to two sets of facts, two narratives, and two loudly divergent political sides with extraordinary anger all around. Based on extensive interviews with leading media figures and politicos, this book traces the development of the media machine, giving suggestions on how to restore our national dialogue while defending our right to disagree agreeably.

           

          

• News Media
• Polarization
• Political Communication
• Current Events
• Partisan Media
• Tribalism
• alternative facts
• popular culture
• Technology
• Right-wing
• Left-wing
• Populism
• us politics

“Super Mad at Everything All the Time takes on the important subject of political culture, in particular, the political talk which results from the transformation of American political culture in the past several decades. While this change was the product of several factors, this book makes a compelling case that changes in media systems, broadly defined, is one of the primary factors that drove this change. While the subject is quite complex, Dagnes’ argument and writing makes the book an accessible, and importantly, highly interesting read.” (Jody Baumgartner, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, East Carolina University, USA)

“Professor Dagnes has written an essential guide for anyone interested in understanding the polarized media landscape in the age of Trump.” (Howard Polskin, President, Founder and Chief Curator, TheRighting)

“Super Mad at Everything All the Time expertly delineates the deep political divisions in the country.  But, we did not get here by accident. Dr. Dagnes provides a clear and compelling examination of the history of the how and the why that have brought us to this point in our political and media discourse. An outstanding contribution to the field.” (Danilo Yanich, Professor, Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, USA)

• Department of Political Science, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, USA

  Alison Dagnes

​Alison Dagnes is Professor of Political Science at Shippensburg University, USA. She is the author of A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political Humor (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and Politics on Demand: The Effects of 24 Hour News on American Politics. She is a former C-SPAN producer and is frequently interviewed in the national & international press about American politics and political media.

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