2007
First Published
3.48
Average Rating
342
Number of Pages
What is pop culture? Why do we so often hate to love it and love to hate it? What makes us embrace parts of it and not others? While critics in every era have decried the media and popular culture as posing serious dangers to all facets of society, very few have tried to understand the meanings and social structures that they have created in our everyday lives. Marcel Danesi explores our human desire for meaning and the need to symbolize it in music, language, art, and other creative forms. Showing how culture "by the people, for the people" validates our common experiences, he offers a variety of perspectives to help us understand the products of popular culture, including music, movies, books, magazines, television shows, websites, advertisements, fads, celebrities, and more. As long as popular media and other cultural arenas continue to play a central role in contemporary society, so too will the conditions that sustain pop culture—even as the designation of what is popular will continually change. Intriguing and entertaining, Popular Culture taps into the fun of pop culture without making us feel guilty for enjoying it.
Avg Rating
3.48
Number of Ratings
58
5 STARS
16%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
43%
2 STARS
7%
1 STARS
3%
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Author
Marcel Danesi
Author · 28 books
Marcel Danesi (b. Marcello Danesi, 1946) is a current Professor of Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He is known for his work in language, communications, and semiotics; being Director of the Program in Semiotics and Communication Theory. He has also held positions at Rutgers University (1972), The University of Rome "La Sapienza" (1988), the Catholic University of Milan (1990), and the University of Lugano. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies and is a past-president of the Semiotic Society of America.
