"A collection of sharp, poignant essays that expertly blends the personal and political in an exploration of American culture through the lens of our obsession with dead women"-- In this collection of sharp, poignant essays, Bolin blends the personal and political in an exploration of American culture through the lens of our obsession with dead women. Stories, novels, movies and television programs are obsessed with women who are abused, killed, and disenfranchised. Bolin shows how women's bodies (dead and alive) are used as props to bolster men's stories. She analyzes stories of witches and werewolves, and ends by interrogating the persistent injustices real women suffer because of the portrayal of women in media. -- adopted from back cover "In this poignant collection, Alice Bolin examines iconic American works, from the essays of Joan Didion and James Baldwin to Twin Peaks, Britney Spears, and Serial, illuminating the widespread obsession with women who are abused, killed, and disenfranchised, and whose bodies (dead or alive) are used as props to bolster men's stories. With fourteen smart, accessible, thoughtful, and heartfelt essays, Bolin investigates the implications of our cultural fixations and her own role as a consumer and creator. Bolin chronicles her life in Los Angeles, dissects the noir genre, revisits her own coming-of-age, and analyzes stories of witches and werewolves, both appreciating and challenging the narratives we construct and absorb every day. Dead Girls begins by exploring the trope of dead women in fiction, and ends by interrogating the more complex dilemma of living women - both the persistent injustices they suffer and the oppression that white women help perpetuate. Reminiscent of the piercing insight of Rebecca Solnit and the critical skill of Hilton Als, Bolin constructs a sharp, incisive, and revelatory dialogue on the portrayal of women in media and their roles in our culture"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

Introduction: girls, girls, girls -- Part 1: the dead girl show. Toward a theory of a dead girl show ; Black hole ; The husband did it ; The daughter as detective -- Part 2: lost in Los Angeles. There there ; Los Angeles diary ; Lonely heart ; This place makes everyone a gambler ; The dream -- Part 3: Weird sisters. A teen witch's guide to staying alive ; And so it is ; My hypochondria ; Just us girls -- Part 4: a sentimental education. Accomplices.