We all have images that we find unwatchable, whether for ethical, political, or sensory and affective reasons. Yet what does it mean to proclaim something “unwatchable”: disturbing, revolting, poor, tedious, or literally inaccessible? With over 50 original essays by leading scholars, artists, critics, and curators, this is the first book to trace the “unwatchable” across our contemporary media environment, in which viewers encounter difficult content on various screens and platforms. Edited by
Nicholas Baer of the University of Chicago,
Maggie Hennefeld of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities,
Laura Horak, and
Gunnar Iversen, both of Carelton University,
Unwatchable (Rutgers University Press, 2019) is interesting on both an academic and popular level.