The Uses of the Past in Contemporary Western Popular Culture

The Uses of the Past in Contemporary Western Popular Culture PDF Author: Tobias Becker
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9783031547393
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the different ways in which the past remains present in Western popular culture in the twenty-first century. It combines theoretical analyses with case study-based chapters focusing on examples from Britain, the US, and Germany, among other countries. In doing so, it pushes beyond a simplistic and monolithic conception of what ‘nostalgia’ is to allow for a more nuanced and varied conceptualisation of this phenomenon, and to also incorporate other ways of understanding the invoking or inclusion of different histories within cultural objects, formats, and practices.

The Uses of the Past in Contemporary Western Popular Culture

The Uses of the Past in Contemporary Western Popular Culture PDF Author: Tobias Becker
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9783031547393
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the different ways in which the past remains present in Western popular culture in the twenty-first century. It combines theoretical analyses with case study-based chapters focusing on examples from Britain, the US, and Germany, among other countries. In doing so, it pushes beyond a simplistic and monolithic conception of what ‘nostalgia’ is to allow for a more nuanced and varied conceptualisation of this phenomenon, and to also incorporate other ways of understanding the invoking or inclusion of different histories within cultural objects, formats, and practices.

Popular Culture in American History

Popular Culture in American History PDF Author: Jim Cullen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470673656
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
The second edition of Popular Culture in American History updates the text for a contemporary readership and explores academic developments in this area of study over the last decade. Fully revised second edition with over 50 percent new material Compact and classroom-friendly format Includes the best writing on popular culture from the 1970s onwards Essays examine pivotal moments, issues, and genres in American popular culture, from the ‘penny press’ to the Internet

Contemporary Cowboys

Contemporary Cowboys PDF Author: Jerold J. Abrams
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666920185
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
This volume offers new critical insights into the increasingly mythological figure of the American cowboy and “The West” in the 21st century while seeking to explain how these components of American identity continue to fit into our shared culture narrative.

The Art of Democracy

The Art of Democracy PDF Author: Jim Cullen
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1583673784
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
"Cullen's strength comes from his understanding of how the different strands of American society intertwine in imaginative, unpredictable ways ... The shape and vitality of pop culture's next era will depend, at least in part, on commentators like Cullen." —Washington Post Book World "A thoroughly engaging look at American culture ... Cullen's articulate prose is spiced with wicked wit and he loves a good story ... Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of complex cultural forces." —Publishers Weekly "Reflecting both the strengths and weaknesses of an unusually dynamic area of historical scholarship, The Art of Democracy is one of the best surveys of the history of American popular culture." —Journal of American History "An exceptionally well-written and engrossing introduction to the nonelitist art forms of American popular culture ... Highly recommended." —Library Journal, starred review "Should be kept on hand to restore our faith in the things that matter to us." —American Studies Popular culture has been a powerful force in the United States, resonating within the society as a whole and at the same time connecting disparate and even hostile constituencies. The novels of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the theater and minstrel shows of the mid-19th century, movies and the introduction of television and computers in the 20th century are the building blocks that Jim Cullen uses to show how unique and vibrant cultural forms overcame initial resistance and enabled historically marginalized groups to gain access to the fruits of society and recognition from the mainstream. This updated edition contains a new preface and final chapter which traces the history of contemporary computing from its World War II origins as a military tool to its widespread use in the late 20th century as a tool for the masses. Cullen shows how the computer is reshaping popular culture, and how that culture retains its capacity to surprise and disturb. The highly acclaimed first edition of The Art of Democracy won the 1996 Ray and Pat Brown Award for "Best Book," presented by the Popular Culture Association.

New Westers

New Westers PDF Author: Michael L. Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
These "New Westers", Johnson reveals, line-dance and two-step, listen to Garth Brooks and George Strait, drink beer from long-neck bottles, wear clothes ordered from Sheplers, watch rodeo on ESPN, play Wild West arcade games, eat fajitas and tacos in stuccoed Mexican cafes, collect Western art and Native American crafts, and vacation in and move to the West. "New Westers" rewrite the history and biography of the West. They reimagine the West in Cowboy sagas and poetry, Native American novels, Mexican-American drama, nature writing, revisionist films, eclectic visual artwork, and neo-traditional music. They flock to movies like Thelma and Louise, Unforgiven, and Dances with Wolves, watch mini-series like Lonesome Dove, and read bestsellers like The Crossing and All The Pretty Horses. "New Westers" are men and women who may or may not have ever hitched up a horse but who crave connection with the West. At the end of a century of urbanization, technological change, and cultural confusion, they seek a more natural home, a fuller and wider sense of place, and a deeper and more colorful personal identity. They also want to revive the dream of the mythic West - but on different terms. They overrun the Old West and yet strive to preserve it, raising troubling new concerns about the differences between the mythic and the real, between traditional and contemporary cultural influences.

Continuities in Popular Culture

Continuities in Popular Culture PDF Author: Ray Broadus Browne
Publisher: Popular Press
ISBN: 9780879725938
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Examines how the past is portrayed in later popular culture now that the cyclical rhythm of folk culture has been replaced by the linear acceleration of mass society. The 16 essays discuss such topics as the American theme park, popular music, Noah Webster, girl scouts, wars from 1914 to 1991, and shamanic elements in biker culture. No index. Paper edition (unseen), $14.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Contemporary Western

Contemporary Western PDF Author: John White
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474427944
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
In this book, John White explores how films such as Open Range, True Grit and Jane Got a Gun reinforce a conservative myth of America exceptionalism; endorsing the use of extreme force in dealing with enemies and highlighting the importance of defending the homeland.

Protest, Popular Culture and Tradition in Modern and Contemporary Western Europe

Protest, Popular Culture and Tradition in Modern and Contemporary Western Europe PDF Author: Ilaria Favretto
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137507373
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Mock funerals, effigy parading, smearing with eggs and tomatoes, pot-banging and Carnival street theatre, arson and ransacking: all these seemingly archaic forms of action have been regular features of modern European protest, from the 19th to the 21st century. In a wide chronological and geographical framework, this book analyses the uses, meanings, functions and reactivations of folk imagery, behaviour and language in modern collective action. The authors examine the role of protest actors as diverse as peasants, liberal movements, nationalist and separatist parties, anarchists, workers, students, right-wing activists and the global justice movement. So-called traditional repertoires have long been described as residual and obsolete. This book challenges the conventional distinction between pre-industrial and post-1789 forms of collective action, which continues to operate as a powerful dichotomy in the understanding of protest, and casts new light on rituals and symbolic performances that, albeit poorly understood and deciphered, are integral to our protest repertoire.

Teaching the Global Middle Ages

Teaching the Global Middle Ages PDF Author: Geraldine Heng
Publisher: Modern Language Association
ISBN: 1603295194
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
While globalization is a modern phenomenon, premodern people were also interconnected in early forms of globalism, sharing merchandise, technology, languages, and stories over long distances. Looking across civilizations, this volume takes a broad view of the Middle Ages in order to foster new habits of thinking and develop a multilayered, critical sense of the past. The essays in this volume reach across disciplinary lines to bring insights from music, theater, religion, ecology, museums, and the history of disease into the literature classroom. The contributors provide guidance on texts such as the Thousand and One Nights, Sunjata, Benjamin of Tudela's Book of Travels, and the Malay Annals and on topics such as hotels, maps, and camels. They propose syllabus recommendations, present numerous digital resources, and offer engaging class activities and discussion questions. Ultimately, they provide tools that will help students evaluate popular representations of the Middle Ages and engage with the dynamics of past, present, and future world relationships.

Wanted Dead Or Alive

Wanted Dead Or Alive PDF Author: Richard Aquila
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252065279
Category : Popular culture
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Following Richard Aquila's introduction, which examines the birth and growth of the pop culture West in the context of American history, noted expects explore developments in popular western fiction, major forms of live western entertainment, trends in western movies and television shows, images of the West in popular music, and visual images of the West in popular art and advertising.