Popular culture Books

Book SynopsisWhy it is a mistake to let commercial entertainment serve as America's de facto ambassador to the worldTrade Review“Bayles points to the elephant in the room that is ignored in all other discussions of public diplomacy in general and cultural diplomacy in particular: the overwhelming role of commercial mass culture. I know of no other book that shows its lopsided influence, for good or ill. An extremely intelligent mix of reporting, analysis, and policy prescription.”—Robert Asahina, author of Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad -- Robert Asahina“This is a very good book—informative, witty, and thought-provoking. Noting that America’s image abroad has been driven by American popular culture since the end of the Cold War, often with adverse results, Bayles advocates compellingly for a revival of ‘public diplomacy.’ She concludes with a set of very hands-on recommendations on how to achieve this.”—Peter L. Berger, Boston University -- Peter L. Berger“Martha Bayles takes a tough, piercing and very thoughtful look at how Americans and our culture are perceived and often misunderstood in the increasingly connected global community. She demonstrates how critical it is that our government return to vigorous public diplomacy to showcase the best of America—our deep commitment to democracy, freedom and human rights and the innate optimism and hope that is at the core of our culture.”—Nicholas Burns, Harvard University and former Under Secretary of State -- Nicholas Burns“Martha Bayles, one of America's most astute cultural critics, demonstrates in Through a Screen Darkly how the vulgarization of American popular culture has distorted the image of the United States for millions of people around the world, even as Washington has let its capacity for ‘public diplomacy’ decay. It is a lively but sobering read for anyone concerned with America's place in the world.”—Francis Fukuyama, author ofThe Origins of Political Order -- Francis Fukuyama“Through a Screen Darkly is a vivid study of the decline of American popular culture and the difficulties it has produced for us worldwide. Analyzing the public diplomacy of the Cold-War and post-Cold-War period, Martha Bayles has produced an absorbing account of the challenges stemming from our present polarization.”—Abbot Gleason, Keeney Professor of History, Emeritus, Brown University -- Abbot Gleason“Public Diplomacy is the weakest aspect of US engagement with the rest of the world. Martha Bayles here offers a well-researched explanation of why Americans are the worst propagandists in the world. This valuable book should help the American public as well as foreign policy establishment understand their country's global image problem.”—Husain Haqqani, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States -- Husain Haqqani"This is a brisk, how-policy-has-gone-wrong-and-what-to-do-about-it book, which conceals in its pages something more: a brilliant and courageous meditation on the difficulty of communication between modern and traditional societies."—Sam Schulman, Weekly Standard -- Sam Schulman * Weekly Standard *"Bayles . . . has written the freshest and most original treatment of U.S. Public Diplomacy in many years . . . A book to stimulate the professional conversation and debate that Public Diplomacy needs in a new century."—Donald M. Bishop, American Diplomacy -- Donald M. Bishop * American Diplomacy *"An author who knows her stuff and applies it level-headedly is a rare delight nowadays. Martha Bayles, in exploring how America projects its image, both favorably and unfavorably, reaches not only into the detailed modern history of American foreign relations but also into broad cultural matters, and she has a knack for prodding honestly against the weak spots."—Sarah Ruden, Books and Culture -- Sarah Ruden * Books and Culture *"The value of this book . . . stems from its mix of insights into the marketing behemoth that is the entertainment industry, combined with careful compilation of provocative anecdotes from those on the receiving end of Hollywood’s finished products. Bayles’ work makes plain the size of the challenge to America’s public diplomats and offers fresh evidence of the damage that results when correctives to skewed images of the United States are lacking overseas."—Emily T. Metzgar, Center on Public Diplomacy Blog -- Emily T. Metzgar * Center on Public Diplomacy blog *"As Bayles shows in her timely book, the decline of America’s public diplomacy efforts and institutions—which once vigorously promoted our strongest civic and political ideals—means that popular culture exports are now the main shapers of our image abroad. And when not glorifying violence, crime, or casual sex, most of these exports depict a people largely cut off from sustaining ties with family or community, completely absorbed in preening narcissim and seflish consumerism . . . Needless to say, the picture inspires neither emulation nor respect."—Jay Tolson, Hedgehog Review -- Jay Tolson * Hedgehog Review *"This is a wonderful, wonderful book. It is very much more than even its title and subtitle suggest. And it’s a great read. . ."—Kenneth D.M. Jensen, Naval War College Review -- Kenneth D. M. Jensen * Naval War College Review *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“One of the great gifts of global consciousness has been to remind Western secular culture that some art has power beyond the aesthetic. And that power is what this book, the catalog for a show at Bard Graduate Center Gallery in Manhattan (through Jan. 6), is about. It brings together objects of spiritual significance from Africa, Asia, Latin America, medieval Europe and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Each item was designed to seal a vow, ask for help or give thanks for an answered prayer. Together they demonstrate that art is alive and interactive.”—Holland Cotter, New York Times “Lavishly illustrated with colour plates, it is an absolute joy to turn pages that open up a complex expression of faith—namely, the desire on
the part of the devotee to present something to a deity either in petition or gratitude”—Christopher Colven, Art Newspaper

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Book SynopsisThe sweeping story of cartoons, comic strips and graphic novels and their century-long hold on the American imagination.Trade Review"With encyclopedic knowledge, Jeremy Dauber brilliantly excavates the story of this art form—warts and all—from its origins right up to the twenty-first century, and strikes cartoon gold. For anyone curious about a medium that’s influenced and embedded itself in every part of our culture, American Comics is an essential guidebook. If you are already a connoisseur of comics, be prepared to be enlightened anew." -- Peter Kuper, award-winning cartoonist and author of Kafkaesque and Heart of Darkness"Until now one could only dream of an engaging, analytic history encompassing the entire medium. That sounds like a job for Superman, but Jeremy Dauber has gotten there first…His perceptive, critical overview is enlivened by a jaunty style that bops from the political cartoons of Thomas Nast in the 1860s to the demise of an equally influential gadfly, Mad magazine, in 2018." -- Michael Saler - Wall Street Journal"[Dauber is] a spry, humorous storyteller… [he] suggests that the story of American comics is ‘right in the middle of its run.’ If so, this is a very readable map of where it has been." -- Teddy Jamieson - The Herald

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Book SynopsisIn The Culturally Savvy Christianhis incisive critique of contemporary culture and religionDick Staub concludes that though it is influential, American popular culture is generally superficial (diversionary, mindless, and celebrity-driven) spiritually delusional (moralistic, therapeutic, and deistic) and soulless (sustained not by art, craft, and ideas, but by the mad pursuit of profitpropped up by marketing and technology). Similarly American Christianity has devolved into its own mindless, diversionary, and celebrity-driven superficiality. Because humans are created in God''s image with spiritual, intellectual, creative, moral, and relational capacities, we long for more, yet the true seeker faces the lose-lose alternatives of a soul-numbing culture and a vacuous Christianity-lite. The renaissance we need in both faith and culture will originate in a deep spiritual renewal that restores God''s image in us and creates a new breed of culturally savvy, thoughtful creatives whTrade Review"Dick Staub has written an engaging and provocative book needed in our times…His insightful critique of popular Christianity and his numerous quotes make it a good source for sermon material or a book discussion group. He provides us with ‘slow food’ for thought." – The Rev. Canon Jonathon Jensen, The Living Church magazine (May 2009)Table of ContentsAcknowledgments. Introduction. Savvy. 1 The Popular Culture We Are In. 2 The Christianity We Are In. 3 The Story We Are In. Serious. 4 God's Deep Presence. 5 God's Transforming Presence. 6 God's Loving Presence. Skilled. 7 Countering Culture like Aliens. 8 Communicating in Culture like Ambassadors. 9 Creating Culture like Artists. Epilogue. Notes. The Author. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe first look at the philosophy behind the Iron Man comics and movies, timed for the release of Iron Man 2 in March 2010 On the surface, Iron Man appears to be a straightforward superhero, another rich guy fighting crime with fancy gadgets. But beneath the shiny armor and flashy technology lies Tony Stark, brilliant inventor and eccentric playboy, struggling to balance his desires, addictions, and relationships with his duties as the Armored Avenger. Iron Man and Philosophy explores the many philosophical issues that emerge from the essential conflicts found in the decades of Iron Man stories in comics and movies. What kind of moral compass does Tony Stark have? Is Iron Man responsible for the death of Captain America after the Marvel Universe Civil War? Should people like Stark run the world? How does Tony's alcoholism impact his performance as Iron Man, and what does it say about moral character? Ultimately, what can Iron Man teach us about the role of technTable of ContentsIron Introductions and Armored Acknowledgments. Part One The Nuts and Bolts of Tony Stark. 1 The Stark Madness of Technology (George A. Dunn). 2 The Technological Subversion of Technology: Tony Stark, Heidegger and the Subject of Resistance (Rocco Gangle). 3 The Literal Making of a Superhero (Travis N. Rieder). Part Two Wearing the Armor Responsibly. 4 Can Iron Man Atone for Tony Stark’s Wrongs? (Christopher Robichaud). 5 Did Iron Man Kill Captain America? (Mark D. White). 6 Fate at the Bottom of a Bottle: Alcohol and Tony Stark (Ron Novy). Part Three The Iron Age: Tony Stark’s Role in Society. 7 Tony Stark and "The Gospel of Wealth" (Andrew Terjesen). 8 ™ and © Stark Industries: Iron Man and Property Rights (Daniel P. Malloy). 9 Tony Stark, Philosopher King of the Future? (Tony Spanakos). Part Four The Mind Inside the Iron Man. 10 Iron Man in a Chinese Room: Does Living Armor Think? (Ron Novy). 11 Flexing His Intelligence: Tony Stark’s Brainy Brawn (Phillip S. Seng). 12 Does Tony Stark Have an Iron Will? (Mark D. White). Part Five The Virtue of an Avenger. 13. Does Tony Stark Use a Moral Compass? (Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson). 14 Flawed Heroes and Courageous Villains: Plato, Aristotle, and Iron Man on the Unity of the Virtues (Carsten Fogh Nielsen). 15 "I Have a Good Life": Iron Man and the Avenger School of Virtue (Stephanie Patterson and Brett Patterson). Part Six What It Means to Be an Iron Man. 16 Iron Man and the Problem of Progress (David Valleau Curtis). 17 Engendering Justice in Iron Man (Rebecca Housel and Gary Housel). 18 Iron Man’s Transcendent Challenge (Stephen Faller). Contributor: Avengers Assembled. Index: Topics from the S.H.I.E.L.D. File on Tony Stark/Iron Man.

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Book Synopsistwilight and Philosophy What can vampires tell us about the meaning of life? Is Edward a romantic hero or a dangerous stalker? Is Bella a feminist? Is Stephenie Meyer? How does Stephenie Meyer's Mormonism fit into the fantastical world of Twilight? Is Jacob better for Bella than Edward? The answers to these philosophical questions and more can be found inside Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality. With everything from Taoism to mind reading to the place of God in a world of vampires, this book offers some very tasty philosophy for both the living and the undead to sink their teeth into. Whether you're on Team Edward or Team Jacob, whether you loved or hated Breaking Dawn, this book is for you! To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.comTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Supernatural Humans We Can’t Live Without xi Introduction: Undead Wisdom 1 PART ONE TWILIGHT 1 You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy 7George A. Dunn 2 Dying to Eat: The Vegetarian Ethics of Twilight 25Jean Kazez 3 Can a Vampire Be a Person? 39Nicolas Michaud 4 Carlisle: More Compassionate Than a Speeding Bullet? 49Andrew Terjesen and Jenny Terjesen PART TWO NEW MOON 5 Vampire-Dämmerung: What Can Twilight Tell Us about God? 63Peter S. Fosl and Eli Fosl 6 To Bite or Not to Bite: Twilight, Immortality, and the Meaning of Life 79Brendan Shea 7 Mind Reading and Morality: The Moral Hazards of Being Edward 93Eric Silverman 8 Love and Authority among Wolves 107Sara Worley PART THREE ECLIPSE 9 Bella Swan and Sarah Palin: All the Old Myths Are Not True 121Naomi Zack 10 Vampire Love: The Second Sex Negotiates the Twenty-first Century 131Bonnie Mann 11 Edward Cullen and Bella Swan: Byronic and Feminist Heroes . . . or Not 147Abigail E. Myers 12 Undead Patriarchy and the Possibility of Love 163Leah McClimans and J. Jeremy Wisnewski 13 The “Real” Danger: Fact vs. Fiction for the Girl Audience 177Rebecca Housel PART FOUR BREAKING DAWN 14 Twilight of an Idol: Our Fatal Attraction to Vampires 193Jennifer L. McMahon 15 Bella’s Vampire Semiotics 209Dennis Knepp 16 Space, Time, and Vampire Ontology 219Philip Puszczalowski 17 For the Strength of Bella? Meyer, Vampires, and Mormonism 227Marc E. Shaw 18 The Tao of Jacob 237Rebecca Housel CONTRIBUTORS: Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing the Stars of Our Show, Humans, Vampires, and Shape-Shifters Alike 247 INDEX: For Those Who Can’t Read Minds 253

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Book SynopsisUntangle the complex web of philosophical dilemmas of Spidey and his worldin time for the release of The Amazing Spider-Man movie Since Stan Lee and Marvel introduced Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962, everyone's favorite webslinger has had a long career in comics, graphic novels, cartoons, movies, and even on Broadway. In this book some of history's most powerful philosophers help us explore the enduring questions and issues surrounding this beloved superhero: Is Peter Parker to blame for the death of his uncle? Does great power really bring great responsibility? Can Spidey champion justice and be with Mary Jane at the same time? Finding your way through this web of inquiry, you'll discover answers to these and many other thought-provoking questions. Gives you a fresh perspective and insights on Peter Parker and Spider-Man's story lines and ideas Examines important philosophical issues and questions, such as: What is it to Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE THE SPECTACULAR LIFE OF SPIDER-MAN? 1 Does Peter Parker Have a Good Life? 7 Neil Mussett 2 What Price Atonement? Peter Parker and the Infinite Debt 22 Taneli Kukkonen 3 “My Name is Peter Parker”: Unmasking the Right and the Good 37 Mark D. White PART TWO RESPONSIBILITY-MAN 4 “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”: Spider-Man, Christian Ethics, and the Problem of Evil 55 Adam Barkman 5 Does Great Power Bring Great Responsibility? Spider-Man and the Good Samaritan 70 J. Keeping 6 With Great Power Comes Great Culpability: How Blameworthy Is Spider-Man for Uncle Ben’s Death? 86 Philip Tallon PART THREE SPIDER-SENSE AND THE SELF 7 Why Is My Spider-Sense Tingling? 103 Andrew Terjesen 8 Red or Black: Perception, Identity, and Self 119 Meaghan P. Godwin 9 With Great Power: Heroism, Villainy, and Bodily Transformation 131 Mark K. Spencer PART FOUR ARACHNIDS “R” US: TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMAN, ALL TOO HUMAN 10 Transhumanism: Or, Is It Right to Make a Spider-Man? 145 Ron Novy 11 Maximum Clonage: What the Clone Saga Can Teach Us about Human Cloning 159 Jason Southworth and John Timm PART FIVE YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN 12 Justice versus Romantic Love: Can Spider-Man Champion Justice and Be with Mary Jane at the Same Time? 177 Charles Taliaferro and Tricia Little 13 Love, Friendship, and Being Spider-Man 188 Tony Spanakos 14 Spidey’s Tangled Web of Obligations: Fighting Friends and Dependents Gone Bad 200 Christopher Robichaud PART SIX THE AMAZING SPEAKING SPIDER: JOKES, STORIES, AND THE CHOICES WE MAKE 15 The Quipslinger: The Morality of Spider-Man’s Jokes 217 Daniel P. Malloy 16 The Sound and the Fury behind “One More Day” 231 Mark D. White 17 Spider-Man and the Importance of Getting Your Story Straight 243 Jonathan J. Sanford CONTRIBUTORS 257 INDEX 263

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Book SynopsisInternational in scope and more comprehensive than existing collections, A Companion to Reality Television presents a complete guide to the study of reality, factual and nonfiction television entertainment, encompassing a wide range of formats and incorporating cutting-edge work in critical, social and political theory.Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors ix Introduction 1Laurie Ouellette Part One Producing Reality: Industry, Labor, and Marketing 9 1 Mapping Commercialization in Reality Television 11June Deery 2 Reality Television and the Political Economy of Amateurism 29Andrew Ross 3 When Everyone Has Their Own Reality Show 40Mark Andrejevic 4 Cast-aways: The Plights and Pleasures of Reality Casting and Production Studies 57Vicki Mayer 5 Program Format Franchising in the Age of Reality Television 74Albert Moran Part Two Television Realities: History, Genre, and Realism 95 6 Realism and Reality Formats 97Jonathan Bignell 7 Reality TV Experiences: Audiences, Fact, and Fiction 116Annette Hill 8 From Participatory Video to Reality Television 134Daniel Marcus 9 Manufacturing “Massness”: Aesthetic Form and Industry Practice in the Reality Television Contest 155Hollis Griffin 10 God, Capitalism, and the Family Dog 171Eileen R. Meehan Part Three Dilemmas of Visibility: Identity and Difference 189 11 The Bachelorette’s Postfeminist Therapy: Transforming Women for Love 191Rachel E. Dubrofsky 12 Fractured Feminism: Articulations of Feminism, Sex, and Class by Reality TV Viewers 208Andrea L. Press 13 “It’s Been a While Since I’ve Seen, Like, Straight People”: Queer Visibility in the Age of Postnetwork Reality Television 227Joshua Gamson 14 The Wild Bunch: Men, Labor, and Reality Television 247Gareth Palmer 15 The Conundrum of Race and Reality Television 264Catherine R. Squires 16 Tan TV: Reality Television’s Postracial Delusion 283Hunter Hargraves Part Four Empowerment or Exploitation? Ordinary People and Reality Television 307 17 Reality Television and the Demotic Turn 309Graeme Turner 18 DI(t)Y, Reality-Style: The Cultural Work of Ordinary Celebrity 324Laura Grindstaff 19 Reality Television’s Construction of Ordinary People: Class-Based and Nonelitist Articulations of Ordinary People and Their Discursive Affordances 345Nico Carpentier Part Five Subjects of Reality: Making/Selling Selves and Lifestyles 367 20 Mapping the Makeover Maze: The Contours and Contradictions of Makeover Television 369Brenda Weber 21 House Hunters, Real Estate Television and Everyday Cosmopolitanism 386Mimi White 22 Life Coaches, Style Mavens, and Design Gurus: Everyday Experts on Reality Television 402Tania Lewis 23 Reality Television Celebrity: Star Consumption and Self-Production in Media Culture 421Julie A. Wilson 24 Producing “Reality”: Branded Content, Branded Selves, Precarious Futures 437Alison Hearn Part Six Affective Registers: Reality, Sentimentality, and Feeling 457 25 A Matter of Feeling: Mediated Affect in Reality Television 459Misha Kavka 26 “Walking in Another’s Shoes”: Sentimentality and Philanthropy on Reality Television 478Heather Nunn and Anita Biressi Part Seven The Politics of Reality: Global Culture, National Identity, and Public Life 499 27 Reality Television, Public Service, and Public Life: A Critical Theory Perspective 501Peter Lunt 28 Reality Talent Shows in China: Transnational Format, Affective Engagement, and the Chinese Dream 516Ling Yang 29 Reality Television from Big Brother to the Arab Uprisings: Neoliberal, Liberal, and Geopolitical Considerations 541Marwan M. Kraidy Index 557

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Book SynopsisInvestigates the emergence and meaning of the cult of death. This book links the mounting demand for images of violent death with dramatic changes in death-related social rituals. It offers a conceptual framework that connects observations of fictional worlds with real-world sociocultural practices.Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction One. The Intellectual Origins of the Cult of Death Two. The Commodification of Death Three. The Monsters and the Humans Four. Harry Potter, Tanya Grotter, and Death in the Coming-of-Age Novel Conclusion Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBased on a series of case studies of globally distributed media and their reception in different parts of the world, Imagining the Global reflects on what contemporary global culture can teach us about transnational cultural dynamics in the 21st century. It also explores how individuals’ consumption of global media shapes their imagination of both faraway places and their own local lives.

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Book SynopsisAmong other topics, individual chapters of the book focus on the redefinition of German identity in the music of Kraftwerk, Can, and Neu!; on community and conflict in the music of Amon Düül, Faust, and Ton Steine Scherben; on “cosmic music” and New Age; and on Donna Summer’s and David Bowie’s connections to Germany.Trade Review“Far too long, krautrock has been neglected as an area of study in Anglophone academia. Adelt’s study puts a welcome end to this unsatisfactory situation. His book provides an excellent overview and expertly places this remarkable period of German music in its historical as well as transnational context. Without doubt, it will serve as the standard reference on the topic.”- Uwe Schütte, Aston University, Birmingham;“Contrary to prior assessments of krautrock’s almost 50 year trajectory, Adelt does not romanticize its iconic Germanness. On the contrary, he investigates the transnational, hybrid, and crossover quality of krautrock as a discursive formation. . . . Adelt’s study traces the performative dispersal of this inversion in various forms of expressive culture, among them, communal living, spirituality, visual elements but, most importantly, sound. The result is a lively and engaged encounter with a few decades of German rock music which—instead of wanting to anchor musical production in narrow confines of nation, or in rigidified identity categories such as race, class or gender—brings forth the mobile, transformational quality of sound aesthetics, making and mirroring contemporary globalized cultural flows.”- Sabine Broeck, University of Bremen

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Book SynopsisShowcases the extent to which the archetypical storytelling exemplified by fanfiction has continuities with older forms: the communal tale-telling cultures of the past and the remix cultures of the present have much in common. Short stories that draw on franchises such as Star Trek are accompanied by short contextual and analytical essays.Trade ReviewAs someone who has taught fanfiction for years, I can say that for instructors who do not wish to deal with the thorny issues of internet fanfiction ‘in the wild’ but want to give students the opportunity to discuss and learn from it, this volume will be a boon."" - Anne Jamison, Associate Professor of Literature, University of Utah""The Fanfiction Reader is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching fan studies. This book offers students a much-needed cohesive and contextualized selection of fanfiction stories and a starting point to broach conversations about the ethics of analyzing fic in light of its growing visibility in digital culture."" - Suzanne Scott, Assistant Professor of Media Studies. University of Texas–Austin

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Book SynopsisPepsi turned pop music in commercials from novelty to normwith profound effects on both American culture and commerce

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Book SynopsisGathers the expertise of leading and emerging scholars in podcasting and digital audio to take stock of podcasting's recent history and imagine future directions for the format. Essays trace some of the less amplified histories of the format and offer discussions of some of the hurdles podcasting faces nearly twenty years into its existence.

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Book SynopsisBridges the gap between Japanese popular culture studies and game studies by encouraging a dialogue centered around Japanese-designed video games and social issues. The book examines four contemporary Japanese video games in terms of how they engage with some of Japan’s biggest social and personal issues.Trade ReviewToward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on ‘textual’ analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry."—Leo T. S. Ching, Duke UniversityTable of Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Author’s Note Introduction: Beyond 8-bit Chapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster Report Chapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in Catherine Chapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid V Chapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with You Conclusion: Toward a Gameic World References Index

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Book SynopsisMichael Foucault called sex ‘the explanation for everything, our master key.’ In Discourses of Sexuality, fourteen distinguished scholars, artists, and critics examine sexuality from a fascinating array of perspectives.

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Book SynopsisExplores current controversies and significant concerns in feminist theater and performanceTrade Review. . . continues Dolan's material feminist attack on censorship, cultural feminism, anti-theory sentiment, and realism. Dolan's intellectual thrust is so powerful, her language so precise, deliberate, and ravenous, that the very reading resembles a sexual act." —Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review"Writing in a clear and cogent style, Dolan examines current issues centering on representation, sexuality, social relations, pornography, and gender. Believing in the potential of certain performance strategies to provoke American culture to both critique and reimagine itself, she encourages 'actors and dramaturgs and critics to be multilingual in theatre studies as well as in the cultural sense.' Providing a model for such an approach, Dolan eloquently demonstrates the significance of psychoanalytic theory, a materialist approach, and deconstruction as tools-of-the-trade for her overarching feminist concerns. The collection is avowedly autobiographical, and it is Dolan's personal insights coupled with her willingness to critique her own work that give these essays much of their power and strength. . . . Dolan's writing is unabashedly exuberant." —The Drama Review"Jill Dolan's Presence and Desire is at once a chronicle of the struggles and debates that have taken place in American feminist theatre studies since the mid-1980s, a theoretical work addressing issues of representation, and a work of theatre pedagogy. Above all else, it is a portrait of a lively mind confronting, from a lesbian feminist perspective, a series of thorny issues in the theory and practice of theatre. . . . [A] rich and consistently engaging text." —Theatre Journal"This is a book that is not only immensely 'readable' but essential reading for those people who wish to gain a greater understanding of the growth of culture—and its contradictions—in twentieth-century Europe."—Theatre History Studies". . . an invaluable collection of provocative essays which explore the potential for performance strategies and theatrical representation to interrogate normative constructs of sexuality and gender. Provoking a reimagination of social relations, and claiming presence and recognition for women's bodies and desires, she embarks on a subject with interdisciplinary significance. . . . Dolan examines various aspects of the construction of gender and sexuality within theatrical performance and audience reception. Her close reading of several performance texts and her astute chronicle of historical changes within feminist thought make this book indispensable for theatre studies, women's studies, cultural studies, and lesbian studies, as well as for women who are actively involved in feminist performance. Dolan's acute elucidation of the potential political effectiveness of making alternative sexualities and scenarios of desire visible makes Presence and Desire: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, Performance most highly recommendable." —Women's Studies

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Book SynopsisReveals how depictions of disability in fiction serve an essential narrative function

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Book SynopsisFresh and provocative readings of familiar stage objects provide new ways of understanding theater, dramatic literature, and culture

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Book SynopsisBlack Cultural Traffic traces how blackness travels globally in performance, engaging the work of an international and interdisciplinary mix of scholars, critics, and practicing artists.Trade ReviewThe explosion of interest in black popular culture studies in the past fifteen years has left a significant need for a reader that reflects this new scholarly energy. Black Cultural Traffic answers that need. - Mark Anthony Neal, author of Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation

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Book SynopsisSituates the glam rock phenomenon historically and examines it as a set of performance strategies. This book explores the ways in which glam rock, while celebrating the showmanship of 1950s rock and roll, began to undermine rock's adherence to the ideology of authenticity in the late 1960s.

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Book SynopsisExploring how the vampire slayer began, this book goes further to ask why the true history of the vampire slayer has been so long ignored. It is of interest to fans of Dracula, vampire, Buffy, Anne Rice, and Anita Blake lore, and to students of anthropology, sociology, European religious history, Slavistics, and cinematic and literary history.

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Book SynopsisBased on the subject of that mysterious characteristic ""It"" - ""the easily perceived but hard-to-define quality possessed by abnormally interesting people"". This book traces the origins of ""It"" back to the period following the Restoration, persuasively linking the sex appeal of today's celebrity figures with those who lived centuries before.Trade ReviewIt showcases Roach's trademark gift of making the invisible visible across a dazzlingly broad spectrum of performance behaviors and time periods. Wittily epigrammatic (celebrity sooner or later extracts in abjection what it bestows in glamor), It gives us a fresh vocabulary for interpreting how after-images endure in cultural memory through 'the passage of exceptional personalities through the imaginative life of their tribes.' - Andrew Sofer, Boston College

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Book SynopsisBased on a series of case studies of globally distributed media and their reception in different parts of the world, Imagining the Global reflects on what contemporary global culture can teach us about transnational cultural dynamics in the 21st century. It also explores how individuals’ consumption of global media shapes their imagination of both faraway places and their own local lives.

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Book SynopsisAmong other topics, individual chapters of the book focus on the redefinition of German identity in the music of Kraftwerk, Can, and Neu!; on community and conflict in the music of Amon Düül, Faust, and Ton Steine Scherben; on “cosmic music” and New Age; and on Donna Summer’s and David Bowie’s connections to Germany.Trade Review“Far too long, krautrock has been neglected as an area of study in Anglophone academia. Adelt’s study puts a welcome end to this unsatisfactory situation. His book provides an excellent overview and expertly places this remarkable period of German music in its historical as well as transnational context. Without doubt, it will serve as the standard reference on the topic.”- Uwe Schütte, Aston University, Birmingham;“Contrary to prior assessments of krautrock’s almost 50 year trajectory, Adelt does not romanticize its iconic Germanness. On the contrary, he investigates the transnational, hybrid, and crossover quality of krautrock as a discursive formation. . . . Adelt’s study traces the performative dispersal of this inversion in various forms of expressive culture, among them, communal living, spirituality, visual elements but, most importantly, sound. The result is a lively and engaged encounter with a few decades of German rock music which—instead of wanting to anchor musical production in narrow confines of nation, or in rigidified identity categories such as race, class or gender—brings forth the mobile, transformational quality of sound aesthetics, making and mirroring contemporary globalized cultural flows.”- Sabine Broeck, University of Bremen

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Book SynopsisShowcases the extent to which the archetypical storytelling exemplified by fanfiction has continuities with older forms: the communal tale-telling cultures of the past and the remix cultures of the present have much in common. Short stories that draw on franchises such as Star Trek are accompanied by short contextual and analytical essays.Trade ReviewAs someone who has taught fanfiction for years, I can say that for instructors who do not wish to deal with the thorny issues of internet fanfiction ‘in the wild’ but want to give students the opportunity to discuss and learn from it, this volume will be a boon."" - Anne Jamison, Associate Professor of Literature, University of Utah""The Fanfiction Reader is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching fan studies. This book offers students a much-needed cohesive and contextualized selection of fanfiction stories and a starting point to broach conversations about the ethics of analyzing fic in light of its growing visibility in digital culture."" - Suzanne Scott, Assistant Professor of Media Studies. University of Texas–Austin

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisBridges the gap between Japanese popular culture studies and game studies by encouraging a dialogue centered around Japanese-designed video games and social issues. The book examines four contemporary Japanese video games in terms of how they engage with some of Japan’s biggest social and personal issues.Trade ReviewToward a Gameic World argues that video games have the potential to work through and play out social anxieties and traumatic events in contemporary Japanese society. In contradistinction from extant studies of gaming in Japan that tend to be more historical, ethnographical, and sociological, the book takes on a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on ‘textual’ analysis of video games. While embedded in the context of modern Japan, the book reflects on the larger global implications of video games as a viable genre of scholarly inquiry."—Leo T. S. Ching, Duke UniversityTable of Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Author’s Note Introduction: Beyond 8-bit Chapter 1: Limited Engagement: Virtual Earthquakes and Real-World Survival in Disaster Report Chapter 2: Distanced Engagement: Marriage and Childbirth in Catherine Chapter 3: External Engagement: Pixelated Pain and Nuclear Memory in Metal Gear Solid V Chapter 4: Connective Engagement: Social Withdrawal and Player Connections in The World Ends with You Conclusion: Toward a Gameic World References Index

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Book SynopsisExplores the traditions represented in the cultural and musical practices of the late Sixties San Francisco counterculture. This book examines primary source material to demonstrate that the San Francisco counterculture in 1966-67 displayed no interest in commitment to a cause - embracing everything in general, but nothing in particular.

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Book SynopsisThe events of 9/11 had many pundits on the left and right scrambling to declare an end to the Age of Irony. But six years on, we're as ironic as ever. This work is a reflection on irony in contemporary American culture.Trade ReviewThis is a well-written, well-argued assessment of the importance of irony in contemporary American social life, along with the nature of recent misguided attacks and, happily, a deep conviction that irony is too important in our lives to succumb. The book reflects wide reading, varied experience, and real analytical prowess. - Peter Stearns, Provost, George Mason University

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Book SynopsisFrom state-driven digital identity projects and YouTube censorship to Tinder and dating culture, from Twitter and primetime TV to Facebook and political rumours, this book focuses on concerns of representation, identity, and power while grappling with algorithmic curation and data-driven processes of production, circulation, and consumption.

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Book SynopsisScrutinizes major news coverage in the early days of the antiwar movement. This work shows in detail how the media first ignore new political developments, then select and emphasize aspects of the story that treat movements as oddities.Table of ContentsPreface to the 2003 Edition Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1. IMAGES OF A MOVEMENT 1. Preliminaries The Struggle over Images 2. Versions of SDS, Spring 1965 Discovering SDS Framing an Action, I: The Chase Manhattan Demonstration Framing an Action, II: The March on Washington to End the War in Vietnam Identifying SDS 3. SDS in the Spotlight, Fall1965 SDS in the Semi-Dark The Spotlight Switches On Making the Most of the Glare The Media, the Right, and the Administration Item: The Katzenbach Press Conference "Build, Not Burn" Developing Themes, I: The Movement Divided Developing Themes, II: The Movement Confronted Developing Themes, III: The Movement Legitimate and Illegitimate Part II. MEDIA IN THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF THE MOVEMENT 4. Organizational Crisis, 1965 The Membership Surge and Prairie Power Who Will Speak into the Microphone? The Obsolescence of the Old Guard From Community to Mass Movement Political Consequences of the Early Coverage, and Sources of 50S's Vulnerability 5. Certifying Leaders and Converting Leadership to Celebrity The Manufacture of Celebrity The Vulnerability of Ambivalent Leaders Celebrity as Resource: Pyramiding Celebrity as Career: Performing Celebrity as Trap: Abdicating Alternatives for Leadership 6. Inflating Rhetoric and Militancy 'The New Left Turns to Mood of Violence" Revolutionary Will and Action News The Aestheticizing of Violence in Films Militancy and the Movement 7. Elevating Moderate Alternatives: The Moment of Reform The Tet Crisis and American Elites Media on a Tightrope: Extraordinary Measures to Secure Moderating Frames Moratorium and Mobilization Routines and Stereotypes 8. Contracting Time and Eclipsing Context On Discontinuity and the Decontextualization of Experience The Vulnerability of a Student Movement 9. Broadcasting and Containment Part III. HEGEMONY, CRISIS, AND OPPOSITION 10. Media Routines and Political Crises Theories of the News Ideological Hegemony as a Process The Workings of Hegemony in Journalism The Limits of Hegemonic Routine 11. Seventies Going on Eighties Implications for Movements Some Recent Frames: The Treatment of Movements Against Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons Appendix on Sources and Methods The Movement The Media On Analyzing News Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisPresents the country music scene that flourished in and around Los Angeles from the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s to the early 1970s. This work explores how migrant musicians and their audiences came to gain a sense of identity through music and mass media, and to celebrate African American and Mexican American musical influences.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. BIG CITY WAYS 1. At the Crossroads of Whiteness: Antimigrant Activism, Eugenics, and Popular Culture 2. Refugees: Woody Guthrie, "Lost Angeles," and the Radicalization of Migrant Identity 3. Rhythm Kings and Riveter Queens: Race, Gender, and the Eclectic Populism of Wartime Western Swing PART II. RHINESTONES AND RANCH HOMES 4. Ballads for the Crabgrass Frontier: Suburbanization, Whiteness, and the Unmaking of Okie Musical Ethnicity 5. Playing Second Fiddle No More? Country Music, Domesticity, and the Women's Movement 6. Fightin' Sides: "Okie from Muskogee," Conservative Populism, and the Uses of Migrant Identity Reprise: Dueling Populisms: The Okie Legacy in National and Regional Country Music Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEven as Keystone Film Company brought 'lowbrow' comic traditions to the screen, the studio played a key role in reformulating those traditions for a new, cross-class audience. This book explores the dimensions of that process, arguing for a fresh understanding of working-class cultural practices within early cinematic mass culture.Trade Review"A searching and briskly authoritative history." National Post "[An] ambitious and innovative study [and] an important contribution... A wonderful analysis of the historical and cultural complexity of this key moment of modernity and one of its major industries. [It] should be compulsory to all scholars in the field." Leonardo Reviews "Essential reading for all those film historians not necessarily interested in slapstick comedy." Screening The Past "This studio history ... offers insights on the politics of early filmmaking through the sociology of laughter." Communication Booknotes QuarterlyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction PART I: "SATIRE IN OVERALLS": THE KEYSTONE FILM COMPANY AND POPULAR CULTURE 1. "The Fun Factory": Class, Comedy, and Popular Culture, 1912-1914 2. "Funny Germans" and "Funny Drunks": Clowns, Class, and Ethnicity at Keystone, 1913-1915 3. "The Impossible Attained!" Tillie's Punctured Romance and the Challenge of Feature-Length Slapstick, 1914-1915 PART II: "MORE CLEVER AND LESS VULGAR": THE KEYSTONE FILM COMPANY AND MASS CULTURE 4. "Made for the Masses with an Appeal to the Classes": Keystone, the Triangle Film Corporation, and the Failure of Highbrow Film Culture, 1915-1917 5. "Uproarious Inventions": Keystone, Modernity, and the Machine, 1915-1917 6. From "Diving Venus" to "Bathing Beauties": Reification and Feminine Spectacle, 1916-1917 Conclusion Notes Filmography Index

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Book SynopsisExamines the ways we have used and embraced Google - and the growing resistance to its expansion across the globe. This title exposes the dark side of our Google fantasies, raising red flags about issues of intellectual property and the much-touted Google Book Search.Trade Review"An important book. While a number of excellent histories about the emergence of Google have been published ... few writers have tried to take a comprehensive and critical look at the wider impact on society of Google's vast ambition 'to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.'... Vaidhyanathan's perspective as an East Coast academic outside the group-think of Silicon Valley is a valuable one. He is a clear writer with an engaging voice, and a good guide for this peek behind the wizard's curtain." San Jose Mercury News "This book is in no way an attack on Google but more like a parent asking a child, 'What do you want to do with your life?' then going through all the concerns one by one. Strongly recommended." Library Journal "Siva Vaidhyanathan ... thinks we've become far too dependent on an arrogant, barely regulated company that gathers and stored tons of personal information about us." -- Nick Eaton Seattle Post-Intelligencer "A stimulating and controversial book." Times Higher EducationTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Gospel of Google 1. Render unto Caesar: How Google Came to Rule the Web 2. Google's Ways and Means: Faith in Aptitude and Technology 3. The Googlization of Us: Universal Surveillance and Infrastructural Imperialism 4. The Googlization of the World: Prospects for a Global Public Sphere 5. The Googlization of Knowledge: The Future of Books 6. The Googlization of Memory: Information Overload, Filters, and the Fracturing of Knowledge Conclusion: The Human Knowledge Project Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisPresents the history of Japanese mass culture during the decades preceding Pearl Harbor. This work argues that the new gestures, relationship, and humor of ero-guro-nansensu (erotic grotesque nonsense) expressed a self-consciously modern ethos that challenged state ideology and expansionism.Trade Review"Leaves the reader longing to know more, and regretting that the author is no longer here to help us satisfy that wish." Japanese Studies "This is a book not just for Japan specialists, but for anyone interested in a history of cosmopolitism and modern life." Journal Royal Anthro InstTable of ContentsList of Illustrations By Way of a Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. JAPANESE MODERN TIMES Japanese Moddern within Modernity PART II. JAPANESE MODERN SITES 1. The Modern Girl as Militant (Movement on the Streets) 2. The Cafe Waitress Sang the Blues 3. Friends of the Movies (From Ero to Empire) 4. The Household Becomes Modern Life PART III. ASAKUSA--HONKY-TONK TEMPO 1. Asakusa Eroticism 2. Down-and-Out Grotesquerie 3. Modern Nonsense List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAmid the historic overturnings of 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, pop music also experienced striking changes. This title reimagines how we understand both pop music and its social context in a vibrant exploration of a year famously described as 'the end of history'.Trade Review"[A] dense, provocative, wonderfully written little book... Masterful." The Progressive "[It] is an academic book, but also one that fans of politics and pop culture would savor." -- Carlo Wolff Boston Globe "[An] extraordinary work of political aesthetics... Clover is a gifted music writer, and his descriptions are vivid, surprising and politically sharp without ever being moralistic." -- Owen Hatherley New Statesman "Astute ... [A] vivid snapshot of a tumultuous moment in pop and history." Foreword Magazine "Up close, Clover's analysis is interesting an occasionally brilliant... Rich with historical and musical insight... It's the smaller discoveries along the way that make 1989 worth your time." Bookforum "The book ... makes a valuable contribution to the efforts of all those who believe in music's importance to our lives." Journal Of Popular Music "Music and politics, drugs and society prove to be eerily congruent, and Clover's tough analysis dismantles prevailing myths while revealing even stranger truths." -- Luc Sante, author of Low Life Mother Jones "Clover is a deeply learned and hugely enthusiastic student of popular music; his readings of songs are astute, witty, and unflappable, and each works in a larger argument." Bookslut "Offers a powerful framework through which pop history can be explored." Times Higher Ed Supp (Thes) "Rewardingly ambitious. [Clover] writes with precision and loads of personality, weaving between global politics and musical genres (rave, hip-hop, grunge) with a fan's intensity." Time Out New YorkTable of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PROLOGUE INTRODUCTION: The Long 1989 PART ONE: 1989 (THE UNCONFINED UNRECKONED YEAR) 1. The Bourgeois and the Boulevard BRIDGE: da inner sound, y'all 2. The Second Summer of Love BRIDGE: I Was up above It 3. Negative Creep BRIDGE: Just a Stop down the Line 4. The Billboard Consensus PART TWO: "1989" (A SHOUT IN THE STREET) 5. The Image-Event and the Blind Spot EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES WORKS CITED INDEX

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Book SynopsisBefore the advent of cable and its hundreds of channels, before iPods and the Internet, three television networks ruled America's evenings. And for twenty-three years, Ed Sullivan, the Broadway gossip columnist turned awkward emcee, ruled Sunday nights. This title tells the saga of "The Ed Sullivan Show".Trade Review"A memory-lane extravaganza, smart, witty and finely researched." -- Howard Rosenberg San Francisco Chronicle "A fun, affectionate portrayal of the showman. A long time in coming, it's the tome that Sullivan always deserved." -- Harry Haun Playbill "A vivid, discerning portrayal of American history through the lens of popular culture." Publishers Weekly "This work is a 'don't miss' of nostalgia." -- Liz Smith Wowowow.com "Detailed portrait of Sullivan ... that ought to interest scholars of American popular culture and media history." Journal Of American History "An amusing, anecdote-rich book... It's full of 'remember when' moments ranging from the bizarre to the insulting." -- Nicholas Read The Calgary Herald "Nachman does full justice to the pathos of his subject." -- Philip Marchand National PostTable of ContentsIntroduction: Theme Music Part One. No-Talent Host Tames the One-Eyed Beast 1. Out of the Paley-ozoic Ooze 2. Battle of the Videoville Titans-Berle, Godfrey, and Sullivan 3. A Live Broadway Column Every Sunday Night 4. The $375 Extravaganza 5. Very Critical Condition 6. The Magic of Sullivision Part Two. How to Succeed in Show Business without Really Talking 7. From Small-Town Sportswriter to Manhattan Sport 8. He's Just an Ink-Stained Broadway Baby 9. Toast of the Nation 10. It's the World, on Line One 11. Sacred Sunday Rite 12. Not Quite All in the Family 13. Extended Family Part Three. Inside the Star-Making Machine 14. Herding Comedians 15. Backstage Life (and Death) 16. Give My Regards to La Scala 17. Elvis Has Entered the Building 18. Newspaper Wads at Fifty Paces-a Few Off-Camera Feuds 19. Embracing Blacks, Caving In to McCarthyism Part Four. Rescued by Rock 'n' Roll 20. The Son-in-Law Also Rises 21. "And Now-the Beatles!" 22. The Showman without a Country 23. Echoes and Afterimages Bibliography Interviews Acknowledgments Index Photographs follow page

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Book SynopsisAmerican Bandstand, one of the most popular television shows ever, broadcast from Philadelphia in the late fifties, a time when that city had become a battleground for civil rights. This book reveals how the program directed at teens discriminated against black youth and how black teens and civil rights advocates protested this discrimination.Trade Review"Reveals a hidden history of racial segregation on the United States' first television program centered on the teenage population... Provocative." Orange County Register "Well-researched, tightly-written... Impressively bright, clear, and comprehensive." History News Network "Excellent... Offers a valuable understanding of the ... melding of African Americans into the national youth culture." Choice "The study illustrates how ... nostalgic representations of the past ... can work as impediments to progress in the present." Cbq Communication Booknotes Qtly "The Nicest Kids in Town counters the (false) mythology of American Bandstand with valuable descriptions of 'forgotten' cultural productions." -- Gayle Wald, George Washington University Jrnl Of The Society For American Music (Jsam)Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Making Philadelphia Safe for "WFIL-adelphia" Television, Housing, and Defensive Localism in Bandstand's Backyard 2. They Shall Be Heard Local Television as a Civil Rights Battleground 3. The de Facto Dilemma Fighting Segregation in Philadelphia Public Schools 4. From Little Rock to Philadelphia Making de Facto School Segregation a Media Issue 5. The Rise of Rock and Roll in Philadelphia Georgie Woods, Mitch Thomas, and Dick Clark 6. "They'll Be Rockin' on Bandstand, in Philadelphia, P.A." Imagining National Youth Culture on American Bandstand 7. Remembering American Bandstand, Forgetting Segregation 8. Still Boppin' on Bandstand American Dreams, Hairspray, and American Bandstand in the 2000s Conclusion Everybody Knows about American Bandstand Notes Index

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Book SynopsisExamines the ways we have used and embraced Google - and the growing resistance to its expansion across the globe. This title exposes the dark side of our Google fantasies, raising red flags about issues of intellectual property and the much-touted Google Book Search.Trade Review"An important book. While a number of excellent histories about the emergence of Google have been published ... few writers have tried to take a comprehensive and critical look at the wider impact on society of Google's vast ambition 'to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.'... Vaidhyanathan's perspective as an East Coast academic outside the group-think of Silicon Valley is a valuable one. He is a clear writer with an engaging voice, and a good guide for this peek behind the wizard's curtain." San Jose Mercury News "This book is in no way an attack on Google but more like a parent asking a child, 'What do you want to do with your life?' then going through all the concerns one by one. Strongly recommended." Library Journal "Siva Vaidhyanathan ... thinks we've become far too dependent on an arrogant, barely regulated company that gathers and stored tons of personal information about us." -- Nick Eaton Seattle Post-Intelligencer "A stimulating and controversial book." Times Higher EducationTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Gospel of Google 1. Render unto Caesar: How Google Came to Rule the Web 2. Google’s Ways and Means: Faith in Aptitude and Technology 3. The Googlization of Us: Universal Surveillance and Infrastructural Imperialism 4. The Googlization of the World: Prospects for a Global Public Sphere 5. The Googlization of Knowledge: The Future of Books 6. The Googlization of Memory: Information Overload, Filters, and the Fracturing of Knowledge Conclusion: The Human Knowledge Project Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisFocusing on the New Orleans African American community, this title pays homage to the city, its region, and its residents, by mapping recent and often contradictory social and cultural transformations, and seeking to counter inadequate and often pejorative accounts of the people and place that give New Orleans its soul.Trade Review"[Provides] stunning insight into the day-to-day lives of the citizens of New Orleans, both before and after the storm." Critical Studies in ImprovisationTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Foundations: Plates 1--16 Section 1. New Orleans, America, Music Section 2. Reflections on Jazz Fest 2006 Hurricane Katrina: Plates 17--43 Funerals and Second Lines: Plates 44--62 Mardi Gras: Plates 63--80 Section 3. Parading against Violence Section 4. Reconstruction's Soundtrack Section 5. To Reinvent Life Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSuitable for scholars and enthusiasts, this book establishes the key role played by the L A Rebellion within the histories of cinema, Black visual culture, and postwar art in Los Angeles.Trade Review"L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema is a groundbreaking and highly readable compendium focused on the kaleidoscopic network of filmmakers based at UCLA between the 1960s and the 1990s. The collection opens up previously obscured historical pathways that deepen our knowledge of black American cinema, and should inspire further research and scholarship." Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards

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Book SynopsisThe 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. This book explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic. It is suitable for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.Trade Review"Dangerous Games presents a detailed and multi-layered history of the social realities surrounding Role Playing Games (RPGs), analyzing a complex legacy of cultural and religious epistemologies, in order to argue that the corresponding moral panic over such games is itself a form of dangerous corrupted play. . . . Overall, Dangerous Games is an important read for students and scholars of contemporary history, religion, popular culture, and mythology." * Nova Religio *"Dangerous Games is a necessary interjection into the conversation between fantasy role-playing and the hysteria over violent-themed play . . . [and] charges players to keep rolling on, and for those who question such games to reflect on what exactly they find so repugnant from an exploration of imagination and play." * Reading Religion *"Worth reading for the detailed and nuanced history of fantasy role-playing games in and of itself, the book’s supplementary focus on tragic events that were widely linked to role-playing games is engrossing. . . . But Laycock’s greatest achievement is shooting a silver bullet straight into the heart of moral, media and satanic panics by positing that society’s discomfort with role-playing games is rooted in a discomfort with imagination." * Times Higher Education *"This book deserves a place in the library of any scholar of games as cultural texts—and especially those interested in religion and games." * American Journal of Play *"This book will be useful for those who wish to explore the intersections of religion and popular culture. . . .clear and convincing." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsPreface. "You Worship Gods from Books!" Introduction. Fantasy and Reality PART I. THE HISTORY OF THE PANIC 1. The Birth of Fantasy Role-Playing Games 2. Dungeons & Dragons as Religious Phenomenon 3. Pathways into Madness: 1979--1982 4. Satanic Panic: 1982--1991 5. A World of Darkness: 1991--2001 PART II. INTERPRETING THE PANIC 6. How Role-Playing Games Create Meaning 7. How the Imagination Became Dangerous 8. Rival Fantasies Conclusion. Walking between Worlds Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTakes a comprehensive view of short-subject slapstick comedy in the early sound era. Challenging the received wisdom that sound destroyed the slapstick tradition, the author explores the slapstick short's Depression-era development against a backdrop of changes in film industry practice, comedic tastes, and moviegoing culture.Trade Review"King thus explores a series of critical questions about how cultural forms dwindle and reemerge... his work points toward a new avenue of research worth looking into when considering alternative constructions of American film history; instead of breaking down the myths that haunt much of film scholarship, the development of these very myths may reveal more about cultural consciousness." * Film Quarterly *"King’s approach is thoroughly revisionist, a genre history as grounded in the archive and the trade press as it is in the screening room, one that seeks to dramatically expand which films matter. ... Hokum! is a triumph! King demonstrates what happens in an era of expanded access to archival texts that are now more widely available on DVD, the digitization of trade press reports, and the ongoing refinement of film historiography. At the risk of ending on an unapologetically bad pun, comedy has a new King. " * Journal for Cinema and Media Studies *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations and Audiovisual Media Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. CONTEXTS 1. “The Cuckoo School”: Humor and Metropolitan Culture in 1920s America 2. “The Stigma of Slapstick”: The Short-Subject Industry and Its Imagined Public PART II. CASE HISTORIES 3. “The Spice of the Program”: Educational Pictures and the Small-Town Audience 4. “I Want Music Everywhere”: Music, Operetta, and Cultural Hierarchy at the Hal Roach Studios 5. “From the Archives of Keystone Memory”: Slapstick and Re-membrance at Columbia Pictures’ Short-Subjects Department Coda: When Comedy Was King List of Abbreviations Notes Index

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Book SynopsisSocial Movements cleverly translates the art of collective action and mobilization by excluded groups to facilitate understanding social change from below. Students learn the core components of social movements, the theory and methods used to study them, and the conditions under which they can lead to political and social transformation. This fully class-tested book is the first to be organized along the lines of the major subfields of social movement scholarshipframing, movement emergence, recruitment, and outcomesto provide comprehensive coverage in a single core text. Features include:use of real data collected in the U.S. and around the worldthe emphasis on student learning outcomescase studies that bring social movements to lifeexamples of cultural repertoires used by movements (flyers, pamphlets, event data on activist websites, illustrations by activist musicians) to mobilize a grouptopics such as immigrant rights, transnational movement for climate justice, Women's Marches, Fight for $15, Occupy Wall Street, Gun Violence, Black Lives Matter, and the mobilization of popular movements in the global South on issues of authoritarian rule and neoliberalism With this book, students deepen their understanding of movement dynamics, methods of investigation, and dominant theoretical perspectives, all while being challenged to consider their own place in relation to social movements.Trade Review"Easy to read, this extensive review of social movements will benefit new scholars to the field as well as seasoned scholars interested in the organization of more recent movements." * American Ethnologist *"The book is well written and should be accessible to most readers new to the social movements field; Almeida is adept at explaining the sometimes confusing jargon that pervades the academic literature on movements." * Social Forces *"This book is a welcome addition to the academic resources available in social work education, specifically community-based social work." * Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare *"For scholars of social movements in Latin America, this is a refreshing and valuable new textbook." * Latin American Politics and Society *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Action 2. How to Study Social Movements: Classification and Methods 3. Theories of Social Movement Mobilization 4. Social Movement Emergence: Interests, Resource Infrastructures, and Identities 5. The Framing Process 6. Individual Recruitment and Participation 7. Movement Outcomes 8. Pushing the Limits: Social Movements in the Global South Conclusion: Mounting Crises and the Pathway Forward Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThe connection between popular culture and religion is an enduring part of American life. This multifaceted collection provides greater religious diversity in its topics and addresses critical developments in the study of religion and popular culture. It also includes pedagogical tools of discussion questions and key term glossaries.Table of ContentsPreface to the Third Edition Introduction: Finding Religion in Unexpected Places Bruce David Forbes PART I. RELIGION IN POPULAR CULTURE 1. The Origin(s) of Superman: Reimagining Religion in the Man of Steel Dan W. Clanton Jr. 2. The Oriental Monk in American Popular Culture Jane Naomi Iwamura 3. Adventure Time and Sacred History: Myth and Reality in Children's Animated Cartoons Elijah Siegler 4. Monstrous Muslims: Historical Anxieties and Future Trends Sophia Rose Arjana 5. The Weight of the World: Religion and Heavy Metal Music in Four Cases Jason C. Bivins PART II. POPULAR CULTURE IN RELIGION 6. Christmas Is Like a Snowball Bruce David Forbes 7. Mipsterz: Hip, American, and Muslim Kristin M. Peterson Nabil Echchaibi 8. Megachurches, Celebrity Pastors, and the Evangelical Industrial Complex Jessica Johnson 9. People of the Picture Book: PJ Library and American Jewish Religion Rachel B. Gross 10. Meditation on the Go: Buddhist Smartphone Apps as Video Game Play Gregory Price Grieve PART III. POPULAR CULTURE AS RELIGION 11. It's About Faith in Our Future: Star Trek Fandom as Cultural Religion Michael Jindra 12. Shopping, Religion, and the Sacred "Buyosphere" Sarah McFarland Taylor 13. Losing Their Way to Salvation: Women, Weight Loss, and the Religion of Thinness Michelle M. Lelwica 14. The "Godding Up" of American Sports Joseph L. Price 15. Celebrity Worship as Parareligion: Bieber and the Beliebers Pete Ward PART IV. RELIGION AND POPULAR CULTURE IN DIALOGUE 16. Yoga in Popular Culture: Controversies and Conflicts Shreena Niketa Gandhi 17. Mirror, Mirror on Ourselves: Disney as a Site of Religio-Cultural Dialogue Stephanie Brehm and Myev Rees 18. Can Watching a Movie Be a Spiritual Experience? Robert K. Johnston 19. Rap Music and Its Message: On Interpreting the Contact between Religion and Popular Culture Anthony B. Pinn 20. Broadswords and Face Paint: Why Braveheart Still Matters Curtis D. Coats and Stewart M. Hoover Contributors Index

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