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Globalization and American Popular Culture

Fifth Edition

Lane Crothers

Now in a fully updated edition, this concise book explores the ways American movies, TV, music, fast food, sports, gaming, and fashion influence globalization. Projecting the future impact of popular culture, from both the United States and elsewhere, Crothers makes a powerful argument for its central role in shaping global politics and economies.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 328 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-1-5381-4267-7 • Hardback • March 2021 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-5381-4268-4 • Paperback • February 2021 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-4269-1 • eBook • February 2021 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Series: Globalization

Subjects: Political Science / Globalization, Political Science / International Relations / General, Social Science / Popular Culture

Courses: Political Science; American Government; Media & Public Opinion, Communication; Mass Communication; Media & Society/Popular Culture

Globalization and American Popular Culture

Fifth Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Now in a fully updated edition, this concise book explores the ways American movies, TV, music, fast food, sports, gaming, and fashion influence globalization. Projecting the future impact of popular culture, from both the United States and elsewhere, Crothers makes a powerful argument for its central role in shaping global politics and economies.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 328 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-1-5381-4267-7 • Hardback • March 2021 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-5381-4268-4 • Paperback • February 2021 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-4269-1 • eBook • February 2021 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Series: Globalization

Subjects: Political Science / Globalization, Political Science / International Relations / General, Social Science / Popular Culture

Courses: Political Science; American Government; Media & Public Opinion, Communication; Mass Communication; Media & Society/Popular Culture

Author

Lane Crothers is professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University and managing editor of the journal Populism. His books include Rage on the Right: The American Militia Movement from Ruby Ridge to Homeland Security, Second Edition.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1 Globalization and American Popular Culture
American Popular Culture and Global Politics
Grasping Globalization
Globalization’s Promise
Challenges and Complications of the Global Era
Globalization Today
Understanding Culture
“American” Culture as a Case of Culture
Popular Culture as a Case of Culture
“American” Popular Culture
Globalization, Cultural Change, and the “Problem” of American Popular Culture
Plan of the Book
Conclusion
2 “American” Popular Culture
Building the American Audiovisual Popular Culture Industry
Why Not Europe?
The American Exception
The Economic Context of the Making of American Audiovisual Popular Culture
The Cultural Context of the Making of American Audiovisual Popular Culture
How Movies, Music, and Television Became American
How Popular Music Became American
How Movies Became American
How Television Became American
American Popular Culture beyond Movies, Music, and Television
A Brief Cultural History of Coca-Cola
A Brief Cultural History of McDonald’s
A Brief Cultural History of Blue Jeans
Conclusion
3 American Popular Culture Goes Global
The Corporate Makers of Global American Audiovisual Popular Culture
Synergy and Integration in the American AV Popular Culture Industry
Franchising American Popular Culture 1
Exploring the Global Scope of American Music, Movies, and Television
American Movies Go Global
American Music Goes Global
American Television Goes Global
Understanding the Global Scope of American Fast Food, Fashion, and Sports
McDonald’s Goes Global
Coca-Cola Goes Global
The NFL Begins to Go Global
Everything, Everywhere, All the Time
Conclusion
4 American Popular Culture in the Digital Era
The Digital Revolution and American Popular Culture
American Popular Culture Goes Digital
The American Popular Culture Ecosystem in the Digital Era
Social Media and American Popular Culture
Streaming and American Popular Culture
Gaming and American Popular Culture
Intellectual Property, Digital Piracy, and American Popular Culture in the Digital Age
Conclusion
5 Global Responses to American Popular Culture
Free Trade and American Popular Culture: A Global Debate
The American Argument
The Counter-American Argument
Popular Culture in International Trade Agreements (1947–2020)
GATT/WTO
NAFTA/USMCA
The Failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
American Popular Culture in France, Iran, and Finland
France
Iran
Finland
American Popular Culture and China
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China I: The NBA
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China II: Disney
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China III: The Great Firewall of China
Conclusion
6 American Popular Culture and the Future of Globalization
Culture, Change, and Globalization Revisited
The Future(s) of Globalization and American Popular Culture
Path I: Populism and Anti-Americanism
Path II: Building Walls, Defining Borders
Path III: American Empire
Path IV: Hybridity, Globalization, and American Popular Culture
Conclusion
Glossary
Recommended Readings
Index
About the Author

Reviews

In a deeply textured and solidly researched book, Lane Crothers identifies the connections among American popular culture, the global reach of the U.S. movie industry, and the ability of films and television to transmit images, often conflicting, of the values of American society. Moreover, there is circularity in the process because the context of American popular culture can shape the content of American popular culture in films and television programs. This is an important book that contributes much to our understanding of the reach of American popular culture and the processes that create it. A must-read!

— Paula D. McClain, Duke University

To keep a survey of American popular culture amid globalization both up-to-date and coherent requires an insatiable curiosity about constantly proliferating cultural products and the critical judgment to separate ephemeral from significant. Fortunately, Lane Crothers has both. Though popular culture continues to change at the speed of light, Crothers manages to keep both his analysis and his well-chosen case studies fresh and relevant. More than previously, this edition grapples with the increasingly dark side of both globalization and the internet. Readers will find digital media centered here, along with fine new sections on gaming, COVID-19, and the porn industry. Crothers seems to know virtually everything about American popular culture—and still (mostly) enjoy it.

— David W. Stowe, Michigan State University

Globalization is such a defining force in students’ lives today that it’s often difficult for them to step back and consider it critically. Crothers’s Globalization and American Popular Culture challenges them to consider the cultural values embedded in the music, television, films, and video games they consume on a daily basis and reflect on how those values might ‘play’ on the global stage. As an accessible text that students actually enjoy reading, it’s been a fixture in my international relations theory course for years. Moreover, this new edition builds on an already strong foundation with up-to-date pop culture examples and an even sharper analytic focus.

— Jess Morrissette, Marshall University

Features

-Completely reorganized and updated
-Expanded discussion of social media and the digital interconnectedness of modern communication
-New discussion of global challengers to US dominance
-New chapter on American popular culture in a digital world
-New case study on gaming

Globalization and American Popular Culture

Fifth Edition

Lane Crothers

Globalization and American Popular Culture

Fifth Edition

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