Cultural populism

Author: [UK] Jim McGuigan / Gui Wanshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: This book presents novel insights into the current trends and explorations in the fields of popular culture and media studies. It delves into the populist sentiments and impulses embedded in cultural studies, along with their postmodern variations, offering a sympathetic critique. It identifies a trend of complete consumerism in analysis and argues that it is an unsatisfactory method for describing the complex material environments and media that shape the entertainment and personal and political expressions of ordinary people. Through careful analysis of Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and the "Birmingham School," John Fiske, youth subculture analysis, popular television studies, and broader issues related to public communication (including advertising, art and communication policy, children's television, tabloid journalism, feminist and pornographic literature, and the LaRouche affair), Jim McGuigan uniquely advocates for a critical analysis of popular culture in a rapidly changing and contradictory society. This book serves as an introductory guide to debates about the past and present for undergraduate students, while also presenting challenging themes for graduate students, researchers, and lecturers.