Popular Culture Studies

Counterculture, while commonly used to describe youth-oriented movements during the 1960s, refers to any attempt to challenge or change conventional values and practices or the dominant lifestyles of the day. "American Countercultures" is the first reference work to examine the impact of countercultural movements on American social history. The set includes numerous illustrations, a topic finder, primary source documents, a bibliography and a filmography, and an index.

In the West, Japanese culture comes in the form of Power Rangers, Godzilla movies, and Sanrio products, but of course the indigenous pop culture is much richer. Rather than focus on what the rest of the world has already encountered, Mark Schilling provides an encyclopedic compendium of books, movies, music, comedians, and cultural scandals that have had the greatest impact in Japan. Thus, for the outsider, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture is an insider's guide to post-war Japan. Not content to simply catalog his entries, Schilling provides real depth and analysis in his articles, opening up Japan's rich pop heritage to the world at large.

This unique encyclopedia chronicles American Jewish popular culture, past and present in music, art, food, religion, literature, and more. Over 150 entries, written by scholars in the field, highlight topics ranging from animation and comics to Hollywood and pop psychology. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic sources to encourage further research.

U.S. culture has been profoundly impacted by contributions from Mexico and the rest of Central America, South America, and the Spanish Caribbean. These contributions and their adaptations in the United States are showcased in nearly 500 essay entries on noted people, festivities, items, terms, movements, sports, food, events, places, visual and performing arts, film, institutions, fashion, literature, organizations, the media, and much more.

The study and celebration of regionalism is becoming more and more important to an understanding of American culture, and this is the first definitive reference work on culture in its many regional manifestations within the United States. Each volume includes chapters on integral parts of regional culture, including architecture, art, ecology and environment, ethnicity, fashion, film and theater, folklore, food, language, literature, music, religion, sports, and recreation.

Each essay-length chapter covers a single form, genre, or theme of popular culture, such as comic books, computers, fashion, film, magazines, best-selling books, radio, sports, or TV.

This volume explores Arab cultural life since World War II. Chapters cover topics such as radio/TV, the press, cinema, music, theatre, popular religion, belly dance, western consumerism, sport and the Arabic language.

This exciting title in ABC-CLIO's Popular Culture in the Contemporary World series offers the nonspecialist reader the only up-to-date introduction to all facets of popular culture in China. The book begins with an introduction to understanding popular culture in China and covers mass media; print media; cinema, film, and video; the Internet; and also discusses the rise of consumption and consumerism.

Pop Culture India! Media, Arts, and Lifestyle follows the rise of modern India's pop culture world, especially since the 1980s, when relaxed censorship and economic liberalization led to an explosion in movies, music, mass media, consumerism, spiritual practices, and more.

A survey of contemporary Latin American popular culture post-1945, covering topics that range from music and film to popular festivals and fashion. Separate chapters cover music, popular cinema, mass media, theater and performance, literature, cultural heroes, religions and festivals, social movements and politics, the visual arts and architecture, sports and leisure, travel and tourism, and language.

Pop Culture Russia! introduces readers to the fascinating, often surprising, post-Soviet cultural landscape. With chapters on media, the arts, recreation, religion, and consumerism, the book offers an insightful survey of Russian mass culture from the death of Stalin in 1953 to the present, exploring the historical significance of important events and trends, as well as the social and political contexts from which they emerged.

Aimed at researchers and students, this accessible source on popular culture ranges from fast food and fitness fads to political events and literary genres. Major topics include: art, books, fashion, magazines, movies, music, politics, sports, television and many others.