Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture

Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture

ISBN-10:
0813125804
ISBN-13:
9780813125800
Pub. Date:
03/19/2010
Publisher:
University Press of Kentucky
ISBN-10:
0813125804
ISBN-13:
9780813125800
Pub. Date:
03/19/2010
Publisher:
University Press of Kentucky
Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture

Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture

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Overview

The Simpsons consistently questions what is culturally acceptable, going against the grain of popular culture by showcasing controversial issues like homosexuality, animal rights, the war on terror, and religion. This subtle form of political analysis is entertaining and great for television ratings, but it also can be an effective means of changing opinions and attitudes on a large scale. To consider another example, what does Star Trek teach viewers about feminist politics? Do comedy programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live advance democracy in ways the mainstream news media cannot? Can horror films contribute to a contemporary understanding of environmentalism?

Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture explores how popular culture influences political agendas, frames audience perceptions, and changes values and ideals on both the individual and collective level. Editors Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy have assembled a top-notch team of scholars from the fields of political science, history, women's and minority studies, film and media studies, communication, music, and philosophy to investigate the full spectrum of popular culture in a democratic society.

Homer Simpson Marches on Washington examines television shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, All in the Family, The View, and The Colbert Report, as well as movies and popular music, demonstrating how covert political and social messages affect the cultural conversation in America. The contributing authors investigate a wide range of controversial topics, including gender, race, religion, class, the environment, and sexual orientation. Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, offers her own story in the book's foreword, describing the societal pressures of being the first female captain in the Star Trek franchise.

In today's fragmented society, audiences are met daily with thousands of messages competing for their attention. Homer Simpson Marches on Washington offers an entertaining and insightful look at how popular culture can break through the clutter and bring about profound changes.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813125800
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Publication date: 03/19/2010
Pages: 328
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Timothy M. Dale, assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, is coauthor of Political Thinking, Political Theory, and Civil Society. He lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Joseph J. Foy, assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin– Waukesha, is the editor of Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics through Popular Culture. He lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction: Turning Into Democratic Dissent: Oppositional Messaging in Popular Culture
Televising Revolutions: The Case for Popular Dissent in the Public Sphere
The Daily Show and the Politics of Truth
Mr. Smith Goes to the Movies: Images of Dissent in American Cinema
The Truth is Still Out There: The X-Files and 9/11
Unpacking the House: Images of Heroism Against the Regulatory State
I Learned that Prison is a Bad Place to Be: 25th Hour and Re-Imagining Incarceration
Riveted to Rosie: O'Donnell's Queer Politics and Controversial Antics on ABC's The View
Gabbin About God: Religion and Spirituality on The Simpsons
It Came from Planet Earth: Eco-Horror and the Politics of Post-Environmentalism in The Happening
Raising the Red Flag: Culture, Labor, and the Left, 1880-1920
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam: The Evolution of Protest Songs in Popular Music from Vietnam to Iraq
Hip-Hop and Representin': Power, Voice, and Identity
Things in this Country are Gonna Change Pretty Fast: Jericho as Post-9/11 Narrative
It's Not Funny 'Cause It's True: The Mainstream Media's Response to Media Satire in the Bush Years
Gender, the Final Frontier: Revisiting Star Trek: The Next Generation

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