The perfect moment God, sex, art, and the birth of America's culture wars

"It's 1988, the final year of the Reagan presidency, and the curtain is closing on the Cold War. In the absence of external adversaries, the American public is on the precipice of war with itself. The religious right, newly ascendant and emboldened, is determined to seize control of America's future...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Butler, Isaac (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2026.
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020 |a 9781639733491  |q (hardcover) 
020 |a 1639733493  |q (hardcover) 
035 |a (OCoLC)1564121203 
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050 0 4 |a E743  |b .B885 2026 
082 0 4 |a 306.20973  |2 23 
100 1 |a Butler, Isaac,  |e author. 
245 1 4 |a The perfect moment :  |b God, sex, art, and the birth of America's culture wars /  |c Isaac Butler. 
246 3 0 |a God, sex, art, and the birth of America's culture wars 
264 1 |a New York :  |b Bloomsbury Publishing,  |c 2026. 
264 4 |c Ã2026 
300 |a xxxii, 348 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates :  |b illustrations ;  |c 25 cm 
336 |a text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a unmediated  |b n  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a volume  |b nc  |2 rdacarrier 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references and index. 
520 |a "It's 1988, the final year of the Reagan presidency, and the curtain is closing on the Cold War. In the absence of external adversaries, the American public is on the precipice of war with itself. The religious right, newly ascendant and emboldened, is determined to seize control of America's future. And the first battles will be fought over, of all things, contemporary art. In The Perfect Moment, cultural historian Isaac Butler reexamines this pivotal, misunderstood American era. Archconservatives like Jesse Helms, Pat Buchanan, and Pat Robertson fixed their sights on artists including Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Wojnarowicz, and Karen Finley, capitalizing on the provocative politics of their work to stir a nascent evangelical coalition into moral panic. It was at this moment, Butler argues, that the far right perfected the tactics it still uses today to whip its base into frenzy-from banning books and sanitizing American history, to spreading medical misinformation. All too relevant today, The Perfect Moment is an incisive and meticulously researched account of this crucial period and a stirring ode to the power of the creative spirit."--  |c Provided by publisher. 
505 0 |a Curtain speech: The American experiment at war with itself -- Ent'racte: Get the books out! -- Act I: Dirty pictures. Oh, freedom, over me -- Meet me at the foot of the cross -- The sacred and profane art machine -- The scales of our worth -- The perfect moment -- Serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value -- Bear witness -- There is no sin in Cincinnati; or, in which Dennis Barrie is fucked -- Act II: Unspeakable acts. A dog without warning -- Three trials... -- ... And a lawsuit -- The vision thing -- Soft power -- Cue the rhinoceros -- The shocking thing you do -- The grand finale -- Epilogue: Again as farce -- Curtain call. 
650 0 |a Politics and culture  |z United States  |x History. 
650 0 |a Christianity and politics  |z United States  |x History. 
650 0 |a Culture conflict  |z United States  |x History. 
650 0 |a Censorship  |z United States. 
650 0 |a Art  |x Political aspects. 
650 0 |a Conservatives  |z United States  |x History. 
651 0 |a United States  |x Politics and government  |x History. 
994 |a C0  |b PCB 
949 |a schlow  |b SANONNE  |c 306.2097 BUT  |d i  |e 39635104911093  |f 825090  |g loc  |j 07/28/2026 
999 |a 521589