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OverviewA conversation about who we are, where we've been, and where we might be going Popular Stories and Promised Lands enters a conversation about who we are, where we've been, and where we might be going by suggesting that possible answers to those questions can be found in the popular stories we encounter at the movies, on television, in popular magazines, and even on the funny pages. As countless scholars and popular writers have noted, those of us living in the United States find ourselves at a cultural crossroads. We are increasingly aware that the stories that once permeated life in these United States, stories that tell us that social and economic progress comes from working hard, that everyone has an equal opportunity to experience such progress, do not resonate to the degree they once did. Because many Americans have traditionally defined themselves, others, and their unique sense of place through these stories, we find ourselves displaced socially, economically, politically, and/or culturally. So, Roger Aden says, we go to places of our own making. Fans of the television series The X-Files return to the Funhouse each week for a dose of frightening fun. Fans of the weekly magazine Sports Illustrated play in the American Elysian Fields where democratic efforts at balancing work and play are valued. Fans of the movie Field of Dreams work as altruistic producers in an alternative garden spot. Grounded in the author's own experiences and reinforced by the voices of approximately two hundred additional fans of the four popular stories, this book offers a compelling case for understanding the alleged wasteland of popular culture as a fertile site of individually and communally created sacred places. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Roger C. AdenPublisher: The University of Alabama Press Imprint: The University of Alabama Press Edition: 2nd ed. Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.460kg ISBN: 9780817354725ISBN 10: 0817354727 Pages: 304 Publication Date: 30 July 2007 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock  The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsReviewsPopular culture stories - found in comic strips, TV programs, magazines, and movies - gain their popularity by evoking our desires and anxieties. Aden offers a well-constructed argument that creating a sense of place (and with it a sense of personal identity and community) serves as an important enticement for many popular cultures works.... Aden handles contemporary theory deftly [and] does an excellent job of identifying many of the tensions present in 20th-century America. - Quarterly Journal of Speech Stories encountered at the movies, on television, and in popular magazines are treated as reflections of the popular culture.... Believing that the American experience has been guided by a 'normative narrative' or 'grand narrative' that constitutes the 'American dream,' Aden holds that stories can be used to extract the 'rules' of a narrative, determine the direction, and identify conceptions of the 'promised lands' for a culture. - Critical Studies in Mass Communication "Popular culture stories - found in comic strips, TV programs, magazines, and movies - gain their popularity by evoking our desires and anxieties. Aden offers a well-constructed argument that creating a sense of place (and with it a sense of personal identity and community) serves as an important enticement for many popular cultures works.... Aden handles contemporary theory deftly [and] does an excellent job of identifying many of the tensions present in 20th-century America. - Quarterly Journal of Speech """"Stories encountered at the movies, on television, and in popular magazines are treated as reflections of the popular culture.... Believing that the American experience has been guided by a 'normative narrative' or 'grand narrative' that constitutes the 'American dream,' Aden holds that stories can be used to extract the 'rules' of a narrative, determine the direction, and identify conceptions of the 'promised lands' for a culture."""" - Critical Studies in Mass Communication" Popular culture stories - found in comic strips, TV programs, magazines, and movies - gain their popularity by evoking our desires and anxieties. Aden offers a well-constructed argument that creating a sense of place (and with it a sense of personal identity and community) serves as an important enticement for many popular cultures works.... Aden handles contemporary theory deftly [and] does an excellent job of identifying many of the tensions present in 20th-century America. - Quarterly Journal of Speech Stories encountered at the movies, on television, and in popular magazines are treated as reflections of the popular culture.... Believing that the American experience has been guided by a 'normative narrative' or 'grand narrative' that constitutes the 'American dream,' Aden holds that stories can be used to extract the 'rules' of a narrative, determine the direction, and identify conceptions of the 'promised lands' for a culture. - Critical Studies in Mass Communication Author InformationRoger C. Aden is Associate Professor of Interpersonal Communication at Ohio University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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