A Companion to Popular Culture

Gary Burns is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University. A former President of the Popular Culture Association and former Executive Secretary of the Midwest Popular Culture Association, Professor Burns is Editor, with Thomas Kitts, of the journals Popular Music and Society and Rock Music Studies. He is the editor of two books on television and is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on popular music, music video, television, film, and other topics in popular culture studies.

Notes on Contributors viii

Part I Introduction 1

1 Introduction 3
Gary Burns

Part II Popular Culture as a Field of Study 11

2 The Historical Study of Popular Culture 13
George Lipsitz

3 Textual Criticism of Popular Culture 31
Brendan Riley

4 Ethnographic and Folkloristic Study of Popular Culture 48
Daniel S. Margolies

5 Preservation, Restoration, and Accessibility of Popular Culture Materials 63
Karen E. Whedbee

Part III Texts, Genres, and Formulas 83

6 The History and Logic of Genre Study 85
Tricia Jenkins

7 Genres and Formulas in Popular Literature 101
Gary Hoppenstand

8 Popular Music Genres 123
Marco Katz Montiel

9 Popular Genres in the Visual Arts 144
Joy Sperling

Part IV Media and Technologies 165

10 Technological Determinism 167
Rob Drew

11 Material Culture and Heritage 184
Marilyn Motz

12 Film and Television in Popular Culture 204
Chuck Berg and Ron Wilson

13 Computers and Culture 223
Paul Booth

Part V Pastimes and Practices 243

14 Food and Culture 245
Ann Hetzel Gunkel

15 Sports 265
Thomas P. Oates

16 Circuses, Carnivals, World’s Fairs and Expositions, and Theme Parks 284
Kathy Merlock Jackson

17 Humor in Popular Culture 302
Ben Urish

18 Tourism, Travel, and Transportation 322
Max J. Skidmore

Part VI Uses and Abuses 341

19 Advertising and Consumerism 343
Devon Powers

20 Fashion in Popular Culture 361
Patricia A. Cunningham

21 Popular Religion 381
Nancy A. Schaefer

22 Children’s Popular Culture 401
Angela Sorby

23 Sex and Violence 421
Jane Caputi

Part VII Politics of Culture 441

24 The Culture Industries 443
Thomas A. Discenna

25 Globalization 461
Mel van Elteren

26 The Politics of Documentary 484
Jeffrey Chown

27 Culture Jamming and Media Activism 503
Amber Day

28 Who Owns Culture? 518
Heather McIntosh

29 Culture Wars, the Academy, and Future Directions for the Study of Popular Culture 537
Michael T. Marsden

Index 550