Good Taste: How What You Choose Defines Who You are
By (Author) Peter Trifonas
Icon Books
Icon Books
1st January 2004
illustrated edition
United Kingdom
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
306
Hardback
276
440g
From Ozzy Osborne to sex guides to Internet dating, Good Taste is a penetrating but accessible and delightfully esoteric cultural history of taste.
Critic and cultural philosopher Peter Trifonas explores this at once absurd and yet entirely everyday concept. Taste defines us. Our choices, from the most personal (our friends or lovers) to the most general (our politics) are all partly matters of taste. But where does taste come from Is there a true standard of taste Are we slaves to the cruel whims of fashion Or what
Good Taste is an enthralling exploration of the cultural history of an idea. In this highly enjoyable, enticing book - divided into chapters exploring cultural artefacts of absolutely all kinds - Peter Trifonas warns: you are what you choose!
Highlights include: TV chefs The Osbournes and Reality TV The Seventies fashion conspiracy Disney Toys Internet dating The history of cleavage High heels Elvis designer drugs The Simpsons The architecture of cool Neckties Ageing rock bands Conspiracy theories Pulp fiction cosmetic surgery and much, much more.
Peter Trifonas is a cultural critic and philosopher. He has written extensively on education, semiotics and philosophy and is the author of Umberto Eco and Football, also published by Icon.