New Books Network Book Talk 69: American Medium, with Eyal Peretz
Jan 3, 2026
Eyal Peretz, a Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University and author of American Medium, delves into the complex idea of 'America' through the lens of film. He explores how Hollywood shapes our understanding, analyzing classics like The Godfather and Young Mr. Lincoln. Peretz discusses art's evolving role post-Renaissance, proposing that modern films reveal America's fragmented identity and unfulfilled potential. He underscores the importance of immigration scenes as critical thresholds, framing cinema as a laboratory for imagining new social structures.
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Art Becomes A World-Opening Call
- Modern art lost its sacred place yet still seeks a higher function beyond mere pleasure.
- Eyal Peretz argues art now signals a world-opening call rather than pointing to divinity.
'America' As An Empty Organizing Claim
- The United States named itself "America" to occupy an ambiguous slot between old models.
- Peretz reads that name as a claim to a new organizational demand that art helps articulate.
Art's Placelessness Reveals The World
- Modern artworks are 'transportable' and therefore function like orphans outside fixed institutions.
- That placelessness makes art uniquely positioned to reveal openings of the world.