{"product_id":"9781588345509","title":"America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era","description":"In \u003ci\u003eAmerica Noir\u003c\/i\u003e David Cochran details how ten writers and  filmmakers challenged the social pieties prevalent during the Cold War,  such as the superiority of the American democracy, the benevolence of  free enterprise, and the sanctity of the suburban family. Rod Serling's \u003ci\u003eThe Twilight Zone\u003c\/i\u003e featured victims of vast, faceless, bureaucratic powers. Jim Thompson's noir thrillers, such as \u003ci\u003eThe Grifters\u003c\/i\u003e, portrayed the ravages of capitalism on those at the bottom of the social ladder. Patricia Highsmith, in \u003ci\u003eThe Talented Mr. Ripley\u003c\/i\u003e,  placed an amoral con man in an international setting, implicitly  questioning America's fitness as leader of the free world. Charles  Willeford's pulp novels, such as \u003ci\u003eWild Wives\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWoman Chaser\u003c\/i\u003e, depicted the family as a hotbed of violence and chaos.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese  artists pioneered a detached, ironic sensibility that radically  juxtaposed cultural references and blurred the distinctions between  “high” and “low” art. Their refusal to surrender to the pressures for  political conformity and their unflinching portrayal of the underside of  American life paved the way for the emergence of a 1960s counterculture  that forever changed the way America views itself.","brand":"Smithsonian Institution Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47137878212848,"sku":"9781588345509","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781588345509_p0.jpg?v=1763802151","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781588345509","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}