"Popular culture" is more than just a broad term for entertainment and frivolous diversions; it is also highly relevant to our understanding of society. This exciting book is the first to offer insights into the important, but often overlooked, relationship between popular culture and social problems. Drawing on historical and topical examples, the authors apply an innovative theoretical framework to examine how facets of popular culturefrom movies and music to toys, games, billboards, bumper stickers, and braceletsshape how we think about, and respond to, social issues, such as problems of gender, sexuality, and race.
Including student features, evocative case studies, and access to online material, this book will help students explore and understand the essential connection between popular culture and social problems. Deftly combining the fun and irreverence of popular culture with critical scholarly inquiry, this timely book delivers an engaging account of how our interactions withand consumption ofpopular culture matter far more than we may think.
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About the Author:
R. J. Maratea is Visiting Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Seton Hall University.Brian Monahan is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Baldwin Wallace University.
Review:
“The best book for social problems if you want to connect with students who are immersed in popular culture.” (David Altheide, Arizona State University, emeritus)
“An original method of classifying the various ways social problems and popular culture intersect. Anyone who reads this book is likely to come away a more thoughtful consumer of all sorts of news and entertainment media.” (Joel Best, University of Delaware)
“Offering up-to-the-minute illustrations of cultural trends and accessible explanations of enduring sociological concepts, Maratea and Monahan deftly explore how corporations, politicians, advocates and activists use popular culture to shape the public’s response to social problems.” (Jared Del Rosso, University of Denver)
“A fresh perspective on the construction of social problems, not found in traditional textbooks. Students from any major will find new and applicable ways of thinking about social problems in our culture and media.” (Amie Levesque, University of Denver)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPolicy Press
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1447321588
- ISBN 13 9781447321583
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages160