Christmas, ideology and popular culture / edited by Sheila Whiteley.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Whiteley, Sheila, 1941-2015.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christmas.

Popular culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource ([ix], 222 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

How do we understand Christmas? What does it mean? This book is a lively introduction to the study of popular culture through one central case study. It explores the cultural, social and historical contexts of Christmas in the UK, USA and Australia, covering such topics as fiction, film, television, art, newspapers and magazines, war, popular music and carols. Chapters explore the ways in which the production of meaning is mediated by the social and cultural activities surrounding Christmas (watching Christmas films, television, listening or engaging with popular music and carols), its relationship to a set of basic values (the idealised construct of the family), social relationships (community), and the ways in which ideological discourses are used and mobilised, not least in times of conflict, terrorism and war. Key Features Offers an incisive account of the ways in which Christmas relates to social change, and how such recent events as 9/11 and the conflict in Iraq focus attention on traditional themes of community and family. Case studies include A Christmas Carol, Coca-colonisation and Santa Claus, Victorian cartoons and Christmas cards, Dr Who and 'Happy Christmas (War is Over)' Includes 18 B & W illustrations.

Contents:

The invention of the English Christmas / John Storey

Conspicuous consumption and festive follies : Victorian images of Christmas / Sara M. Dodd

Consumption, Coca-colonisation, cultural resistance

and Santa Claus / George McKay

Religious controversies over Christmas / Jennifer Rycenga

Christmas carols / Barry Cooper

Christmas songs : sentiments and subjectivities / Sheila Whiteley

The musical underbelly of Christmas / Freya Jarman-Ivens

Christmas and war / Christine Agius

Christmas and the media / Tara Brabazon

Christmas and the movies : frames of mind / John Mundy

Popular culture and Christmas : a nomad at home / Thom Swiss

Reflections of a Jewish childhood during Christmas / Gerry Bloustien.

Notes:

Print version record.

Restricted: Printing from this resource is governed by The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK) and UK copyright law currently in force.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Christmas, ideology and popular culture.

ISBN:

0748631879

9780748631872

1281785792

9781281785794

0748628088

9780748628087

9780748653065

0748653066

9786611785796

6611785795

OCLC:

270110461

Publisher Number:

9780748628087