{"product_id":"shakespeare-and-fun-the-birth-of-entertainment-value-paperback","title":"Shakespeare and Fun: The Birth of Entertainment Value - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDonald Hedrick\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this bold, original study Hedrick proposes an early modern 'entertainment value' revolution, to which Shakespeare contributed and in which he played a competitive role.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs London's nascent capitalist industry developed and the variety of entertainments proliferated, theatre contributes to the birth of entertainment value and a commercial trajectory toward what Marxist critic Adorno theorizes as 'fun, ' seen contemporaneously in LasVegasization and the election of Donald Trump to U.S. Presidency. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this innovative approach to Shakespeare's plays through their compulsory, competitive relation to other choices from London's entertainment industry, such as sex work and gaming, Hedrick recovers a coherent internal dynamic of theatre's 'pleasure enclosure' accompanying the revolutionary logic of capital's new cultural and economic extremes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Applying these relations to original, insightful readings of \u003ci\u003eA Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Taming of the Shrew, \u003c\/i\u003e Hedrick draws from cultural studies, contemporary and personal parallels, wide-ranging historical materials, and political theory. These include: the semantic shifts in keywords of pleasure, the practice of betting on actors, the psychology of paying admission \u003ci\u003ebefore \u003c\/i\u003ean entertainment, and various 'reality shows' such as contests of prose and verse. Continual insights emerge, both broad and specific: from ten 'entertainment value axioms' to Shakespeare's awareness of entertainment value's birth at moments in his late plays, marking a logic of value crisis, bubbles, and the danger of 'too much fun.'\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDonald Hedrick\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of English at Kansas State University, USA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.69 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 17, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":71744014090493,"sku":"9781350529847","price":78.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/3414\/0157\/files\/HunEkcjL7w9781350529847.webp?v=1793299909","url":"https:\/\/booktolia.com\/products\/shakespeare-and-fun-the-birth-of-entertainment-value-paperback","provider":"booktolia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}