The Politics of Popular Culture: Negotiating Power, Identity, and Place - Hardcover

Nieguth, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773544704 ISBN 13: 9780773544703

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Days after the 9/11 attacks George W. Bush sought to reassure the American public that Osama bin Laden would be brought to justice, quipping that "there's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'" Bush's invocation of Wild West mythology was neither novel nor unusual - elected officials frequently tap into popular culture in order to mobilize public support for themselves and for their policies. The Politics of Popular Culture examines the relationship between popular culture and politics. It stresses that popular culture is politically important because it reflects and operates within broader socio-political conditions, can transport political ideas and ideologies, and is a site where identities and institutions are shaped, contested, and reproduced. Essays discuss film, television, music, and video games from a variety of theoretical and methodological vantage points in order to enrich our understanding of the ways in which popular culture shapes our views of political institutions, actors, and issues. Contributors include Jonah Butovsky (Brock), Gina S. Comeau (Laurentian), Danielle J. Deveau (Pop Culture Lab), Timothy Fowler (Carleton), Aurelie Lacassagne (Laurentian), Jerome Melancon (Alberta), Christian Poirier (Institut national de la recherche scientifique), Tracey Raney (Ryerson), Kelly L. Saunders (Brandon), and Shauna Wilton (Alberta).

About this title

Review:

“An interesting, varied, and necessary exploration of what popular culture means for political science, and what political science means for popular culture, especially in the Canadian context.” Gregory Millard, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

From the Author:

Tim Nieguth is associate professor of political science at Laurentian University.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0773544704
• ISBN 13: 9780773544703
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208