shopping cart
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Original Essays | June 22, 2009

Bethany Moreton: IMG Culture War on Aisle 5? Wal-Mart, Evangelicals, and "Extreme Capitalism"



"In the 'culture wars' narrative of the Republican ascendancy, this slippage represents the greatest con in recent history: while you rush to defend marriage or protect the unborn, please pay no attention to the financier behind the curtain." Continue »
  1. $19.56 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

This item may be
out of stock.

Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.
Check for Availability
Add to Wishlist


The Theming of America: American Dreams, Media Fantasies, and Themed Environments

The Theming of America: American Dreams, Media Fantasies, and Themed Environments Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

This second edition of Theming of America is an analysis of American society in which the author, Mark Gottdiener explores the nature of social change since the 1960s as reflected in the "theming" of America--from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, from the Mall of America to your local mall. Nowhere can modern Americans escape the profusion of recognizable symbols and signs attached to virtually all aspects of our culture, constantly reminding us that we are on familiar and comforting ground."Just come in, friend, and buy; make yourself at home," these symbols seem to say, thus tying our media culture and the seductions of consumerism to the production of ingeniously designed symbolic spaces. Mark Gottdiener's book is the first to explore the origins, nature, and future of themed environments in our information-overloaded world. This second edition has been revised and updated.Gottdiener begins with a brief historical account of the shifting importance of themes in the construction of built space. He then evaluates the economic basis for the increasing reliance on symbols in the marketing of commercial enterprises and analyzes contemporary trends in themed restaurants, malls, airports, theme parks, museums, and war memorials. Final chapters are devoted to examining such critical issues as the disappearance of public space, the relation between themes and mass media industries, and the future of symbolic spaces.

Synopsis:

The Theming of America explores the nature of social and cultural change in America since the 1960s — from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, from the Mall of America to your local mall. Modern Americans cannot escape the profusion of recognizable symbols and signs attached to virtually all aspects of our culture, tying our media culture and the seductions of consumerism to the production of ingeniously designed spaces. This accessible second edition has been revised and updated.

Synopsis:

This title explores the nature of social change in America since the 1960s, from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, and from mall to mall. He examines the disappearance of public space, the relation between themes and mass media industries, and the future of symbolic spaces.

About the Author

Mark Gottdiener is professor of sociology at SUNY-Buffalo and the author of a number of books, including The Theming of America (Westview Press); Las Vegas: The Social Production of an All-American City; New Forms of Consumption: Consumer, Culture, and Commodification; Postmodern Semiotics; and The Social Production of Urban Space.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780813397658
Subtitle:
American Dreams, Media Fantasies, And Themed Environments
Author:
Gottdiener, Mark
Publisher:
Westview Press
Location:
Boulder, Colo.
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Popular Culture
Subject:
Architecture
Subject:
Americana
Subject:
U.S. Architecture - General
Subject:
Popular Culture - General
Subject:
Themed environments
Subject:
Sociology - General
Edition Number:
2
Series Volume:
3326
Publication Date:
20010801
Binding:
TP
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
216
Dimensions:
8.96x5.96x.60 in. .67 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $18.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list
  2. $2.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Skellig

    David Almond
  3. $111.50 New Hardcover add to wish list
  4. $4.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    The King of Mulberry Street

    Donna Jo Napoli
  5. $12.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  6. $7.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    I Capture the Castle

    Dodie Smith
  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.