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Slaying the Gorgon
Slaying the Gorgon
The Rise of the Storytelling Industrial Complex
In Slaying the Gorgon, traditional storyteller and public radio producer Joe McHugh offers a fascinating and provocative look at how we tell stories in the modern age given the dynamic and transforming influence of new technologies. From the venerated saints and cathedrals of the Middle Ages to the pop stars and cineplexes of today, he explains why images and sound are increasingly supplanting the authority of the printed word, and by so doing radically altering the cultural, economic, and political landscape of the United States and the rest of the world.
ISBN# 09619943-6-5 Softcover – 5.5” x 8.5” – 205 pages
Price range: $7.99 through $16.95
Product Description
Slaying the Gorgon - The Rise of the Storytelling Industrial Complex
• What causes the political gridlock that prevents us from solving problems that threaten our very survival?
• How did the star of a television reality show become president of the United States?
• Why is the judge of a reality television show paid two hundred times more than a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
• Why is public education’s reliance on standardized tests causing some school officials and teachers to falsify test scores?
• Why are churches holding worship services in movie theaters?
• How did a battle over a microphone in 1980 change the course of world history?
• What is a "sustainable imagination,” and what happens when a society industrializes the way it tells its stories?
WUNC Interview
“A compelling commentary on how media affects history, culture, and values. Mr. McHugh’s ideas are fresh, lively, and accessible, and he provides librarians with a unique language for dealing with the competing forces in media today.”
~ Connie Williams, past president, California School Library Association
“In Slaying the Gorgon, Joe McHugh reminds us that it is only the softer, more human voice that allows us to make sense of it all. In this book of great wisdom and deep humanity, we are able to see the world both as it is, and as we wish it to be.”
~Jeffery Dvorkin, director Journalism Program, University of Toronto, and former vice-president and head of news for National Public Radio.
“Crisply written, creative, and filled with lessons that can be applied to daily life. A great read!”
~Alan Burke, superintendent K-12 education, Washinton State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
“Mythos, Logos – new lenses to discover and describe meaning in what we see, hear and read. Stories surround us, engulf us, bewitch and delight us. Stories are the most effective teaching medium ever devised. Our stories are eternal -at least the good ones. Stories help us to explain our world and our role in it. Joe McHugh I thank you.”
Charles Gompertz, Amazon.com reader
“Using brilliant and engaging examples from past history as well as the present day, Joe McHugh makes a compelling case for the need to understand the impact of 21st century media storytelling. He lifts the veil of why we are where we are today in society. This is an important work.”
Dolphinreader, amazon.com reader
