Acclaimed Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin takes a fascinating look at NFL football’s emergence as a formidable cultural and political force. Ranging from the origins of football in the midst of a full-blown “crisis in masculinity” in the late 19th century to its deep associations with militarism, patriotism, and American manhood today, Zirin shows how the NFL has helped shape dominant ideas about everything from gender, race, and class to nationalism, war, and the politics of resistance. Whether you’re a football fan or not, or even a sports fan, Behind the Shield makes a powerful case that you can't understand contemporary America in all of its contradictions and crises without understanding the cultural politics — and especially the gender politics — of NFL football.
Duration: xx min
ISBN: xxxxx
Date Produced: 2020
Subtitles: English
Transcript
Discussion Guide
About Dave ZirinDave Zirin is the bestselling author of six books, the sports editor of
The Nation magazine, and the host of Sirius XM popular weekly show,
Edge of Sports Radio. His blog
The Edge of Sports is read each week by thousands of people across the country. He is also a columnist for
SLAM Magazine,
The Progressive, and
Sports Illustrated online, and his writing has appeared in numerous other publications, including the
Los Angeles Times,
The Washington Post, the
New York Daily News, and the
San Francisco Chronicle. Zirin has also brought his blend of sports and politics to multiple television programs, including ESPN's
Outside the Lines, MSNBC's
Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC's
Morning Joe, MSNBC's
The Rachel Maddow Show, and
Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. His most recent book, is the acclaimed
Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down which Christine Brennan of USA Today called "the perfect book for our time in sports." In 2011, Zirin and Dr. John Carlos co-wrote
The John Carlos Story and in 2010, Zirin published
Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love.
Shock Doctrine author Naomi Klein called
Bad Sports "an original and scathing look at how America works." Zirin is also the author of
A People's History of Sports in the United States, part of Howard Zinn's
People's History Series. In addition he has written
Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, with a foreword by Chuck D.
Sports Illustrated wrote that Terrordome is "a provocative, sometimes chilling, look at sports and society right now." His first book,
What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States, has entered its third printing.
Credits
A Media Education Foundation Production
Featuring Dave Zirin
