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A review by colin_cox
James Baldwin and the 1980s: Witnessing the Reagan Era by Joseph Vogel
3.0
Joseph Vogel's James Baldwin and the 1980s: Witnessing the Reagan Era is a truncated yet important glimpse at what the author characterizes as an ignored and discounted period of Baldwin's life as a writer and cultural critic. However, James Baldwin and the 1980s is less of a theoretical text than I expected. Vogel's book investigates how Baldwin's work from the 1980s "directly engages with the cultural moment in which it was written" (21). In this respect, James Baldwin and the 1980s explores how we should think of Baldwin's work from this period: as a mirror.
The book's final two chapters, on Evangelical Christianity and racism in Atlanta respectably, are easily the book's best. While Chapter 2 examines the effect Reagan had on notions of masculinity (notions that, frankly, seem antiquated and restrictive 40 years later), Chapters 4 and 5 showcase Reagan's enduring impact on America's cultural and political consciousness. Nostalgia for the 80s, think of shows like Stranger Things, hides how the 80s remain with far too many of us. This extends to our beliefs, policies, and institutional norms. While searching for and longing for the 80s, we fail to recognize how it never really left us. In this way, Baldwin's work for the 1980s is more than a mirror, because according to Vogel, "His words speak to the present in ways that seem not only relevant but also prophetic" (114).
Perhaps I want more from James Baldwin and the 1980s. I want a more developed theoretical framework. I want more than five chapters. While I like, enjoy, and appreciate James Baldwin and the 1980s, I simply want more.
The book's final two chapters, on Evangelical Christianity and racism in Atlanta respectably, are easily the book's best. While Chapter 2 examines the effect Reagan had on notions of masculinity (notions that, frankly, seem antiquated and restrictive 40 years later), Chapters 4 and 5 showcase Reagan's enduring impact on America's cultural and political consciousness. Nostalgia for the 80s, think of shows like Stranger Things, hides how the 80s remain with far too many of us. This extends to our beliefs, policies, and institutional norms. While searching for and longing for the 80s, we fail to recognize how it never really left us. In this way, Baldwin's work for the 1980s is more than a mirror, because according to Vogel, "His words speak to the present in ways that seem not only relevant but also prophetic" (114).
Perhaps I want more from James Baldwin and the 1980s. I want a more developed theoretical framework. I want more than five chapters. While I like, enjoy, and appreciate James Baldwin and the 1980s, I simply want more.