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Uses Michael Jordan as a vehicle for viewing the broader social, economic, political, and technological concerns that frame contemporary culture.
Michael Jordan, Inc. seeks to make sense of a celebrated figure whose public existence illuminates a late capitalist order defined by the convergence of corporate and media interests. Using Michael Jordan as a vehicle for viewing the broader social, economic, political, and technological concerns that frame contemporary culture, the contributors focus on celebrity economy, corporate culture, identity politics, and the global marketplace-foundational pillars of contemporary cultural existence. They provide an introduction to late capitalism's pervasive and invasive cult of celebrity, examine the innovative corporate connections (particularly Jordan's association with Nike) largely responsible for Jordan's aggressively commodified being, excavate the cultural politics imbued within the racialized and sexualized nature of Jordan's identity, and demonstrate the global reach and influence that has accompanied the concerted commodification of Jordan by transnational corporations. This anthology represents both an intellectual expression of, and a political commitment to, the fact that Michael Jordan matters.
"This book is a very timely, far-reaching examination of one of the most popular icons of our time. The various essays cover a wide range of topics, and this should be a useful study for anyone—scholars, students, and citizens—interested in the complicated ways in which Michael Jordan has become and continues to be a household name throughout the world." — Sarah Banet-Weiser, author of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and National Identity
"There are some books in the field that examine race and sport in interesting ways, but none which looks at a phenomenon so important as Michael Jordan and in so many exciting ways." — Othello Harris, coeditor of Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States
Foreword
From Paul Robeson to Michael Jordan: Images of Race Relations and Sports
C. Keith Harrison
Introduction
Michael Jordan Matters
David L. Andrews
Part I Jordan and the Celebrity Economy
1 Representing Michael
Norman K. Denzin
2 Michael Jordan and His Uniform Number
Edward G. Armstrong
Part II Jordan and Corporate Culture
3 The Sports Spectacle, Michael Jordan, and Nike: Unholy Alliance?
Douglas Kellner
4 Nike's America / America's Michael Jordan
Cheryl L. Cole
Part III Jordan and Identity Politics
5 The Fact(s) of Michael Jordan's Blackness: Excavating a Floating Racial Signifier
David L. Andrews
6 Safe Sex Symbol?: Michael Jordan and the Politics of Representation
Mary G. McDonald
Part IV Jordan and the Global Marketplace
7 The Global Jordanscape
Ben Carrington, David L. Andrews, Steven J. Jackson, Zbigniew Mazur
8. Michael Jordan, Sneaker Commercials, and Canadian Youth Cultures
Brian Wilson, Robert Sparks
Part V Jordan and Critical Pedagogy
9 Be Like Mike?: Michael Jordan the Pedagogy of Desire
Michael Eric Dyson
10 Just Do It: What Michael Jordan Has To Teach Us
Michael Hoechsmann
Index