the forbidden words, unspoken rules, and secret morality of popular culture /
First Statement of Responsibility
Lauren Rosewarne.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Santa Barbara, California :
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Praeger, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC,
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
[2013]
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
xi, 323 pages ;
Dimensions
24 cm
INTERNAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES/INDEXES NOTE
Text of Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-308) and index.
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
The where and why of pop culture's hottest buttons -- The gay chapter: sketching the animated homosexual -- The oral sex chapter: cunnilingus and the politics of the lick -- The flatulence chapter: exploring matters of the fart -- The rude gestures chapter flicking the channel and flipping the bird -- The euphemisms chapter: sex and bodily euphemisms on screen and in song -- The vegetarian chapter: introducing the hippies, sad sacks, and fundamentalists -- The alcohol chapter: the drunk in film and television -- The drugs chapter: advertising mother's little helper -- The abortion chapter: back alleys and back stories on screen -- The penis chapter: undressing male nudity -- The circumcision chapter: capturing cuts in popular culture -- The vibrator chapter: that buzzing sound in film and television -- The rarely simple taboo presentation.
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Are Americans more sensitive to male or female full-frontal nudity? America's often-unspoken morality codes make many topics taboo in "the land of the free." This book analyzes hundreds of popular culture examples to expose how the media both avoids and alludes to how we derive pleasure from our bodies. Flatulence, male nudity, abortion, masturbation: these are just a few of the taboo topics in the United States. What do culturally enforced silences about certain subjects say about our society, and our latent fears? This work provides a broad yet detailed overview of popular culture's most avoided topics to explain why they remain off-limits and examines how they are presented in contemporary media, or, in many cases, delicately explored using euphemism and innuendo. The author offers fascinating, in-depth analysis of the meaning behind these portrayals of a variety of both mundane and provocative taboos, and identifies how new television programs, films, and advertising campaigns intentionally violate longstanding cultural taboos to gain an edge in the marketplace. The book: Analyzes an enormous range of popular culture examples in a lively and highly readable writing style ; Identifies and examines 12 separate taboos of the media ; Provides interdisciplinary coverage that intersects with a wide variety of subject areas, including cultural studies, philosophy, feminism, and queer culture ; Offers not only in-depth descriptions of cultural taboos but also clear explanations of why they exist ; Supplies information for general audiences as well as students and scholars of popular culture, political science, sexuality and gender studies, and sociology. From publisher's website.
TOPICAL NAME USED AS SUBJECT
Popular culture-- Moral and ethical aspects-- United States.