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American Taboo
The Forbidden Words, Unspoken Rules, and Secret Morality of Popular Culture
American Taboo
The Forbidden Words, Unspoken Rules, and Secret Morality of Popular Culture
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Description
America's often-unspoken morality codes make many topics taboo in "the land of the free." This book analyzes hundreds of popular culture examples to expose how the media both avoids and alludes to how we derive pleasure from our bodies.
Flatulence … male nudity … abortion … masturbation: these are just a few of the taboo topics in the United States. What do culturally enforced silences about certain subjects say about our society—and our latent fears? This work provides a broad yet detailed overview of popular culture's most avoided topics to explain why they remain off-limits and examines how they are presented in contemporary media—or, in many cases, delicately explored using euphemism and innuendo. The author offers fascinating, in-depth analysis of the meaning behind these portrayals of a variety of both mundane and provocative taboos, and identifies how new television programs, films, and advertising campaigns intentionally violate longstanding cultural taboos to gain an edge in the marketplace.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Where and Why of Pop Culture's Hottest Buttons
The Gay Chapter: Sketching the Animated Homosexual
The Oral Sex Chapter: Cunnilingus and the Politics of the Lick
The Flatulence Chapter: Exploring Matters of the Fart
The Rude Gestures Chapter: Flicking the Channel and Flipping the Bird
The Euphemisms Chapter: Sex and Bodily Euphemisms on Screen and in Song
The Vegetarian Chapter: Introducing the Hippies, Sad Sacks, and Fundamentalists
The Alcohol Chapter: The Drunk in Film and Television
The Drugs Chapter: Advertising Mother's Little Helper
The Abortion Chapter: Back Alleys and Back Stories on Screen
The Penis Chapter: Undressing Male Nudity
The Circumcision Chapter: Capturing Cuts in Popular Culture
The Vibrator Chapter: That Buzzing Sound in Film and Television
Conclusion: The Rarely Simple Taboo Presentation
Media References
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 13 Aug 2013 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 336 |
| ISBN | 9780313399336 |
| Imprint | Praeger |
| Dimensions | 235 x 156 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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