Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Pop CultureThe pageantry of Oprah Winfrey’s daytime talk show, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola empire, Michael Jackson’s turn from the King of Pop into an iconic global recluse: American “pop” culture—and the contemporary films, television programs, and cultural objects that determine it—dominates the rest of the world through its hegemonic presence. Does that make everyone a hybridized American or do these elements find mediation within the other cultures that consume them? Fabricating the Absolute Fake applies elements of postmodern theory—Jean Baudrillard’s hyperreality and Umberto Eco’s “absolute fake”, among others—to this globally mediated American pop culture in order to examine both the phenomena itself and its appropriation in the Netherlands, as evidenced by diverse cultural icons like the Elvis-inspired crooner Lee Towers, the Moroccan-Dutch white rapper Ali B, musical tributes to an assassinated politician, and the Dutch reality soap opera scene. A fascinating exploration of how global cultures struggle to create their own “America” within a post–September 11 media culture, Fabricating the Absolute Fake reflects on what it might mean to truly take part in American popular culture. “A brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable work of cultural critique. . . . Jaap Kooijman takes seemingly exhausted concepts like “Americanization” and turns them on their head.”—Anne McCarthy, New York University |
From inside the book
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Page 31
... American flag , blue jeans , baseball , and the hometown to evoke a nostalgic image of those “ glory days ” in small - town America . The album's promotional photographs show him posing in front of an enormous American flag ( remi ...
... American flag , blue jeans , baseball , and the hometown to evoke a nostalgic image of those “ glory days ” in small - town America . The album's promotional photographs show him posing in front of an enormous American flag ( remi ...
Page 45
America in Contemporary Pop Culture Jaap Kooijman. On the other hand, however, American ... flag and the Statue of Liberty, with a soft female voiceover announcing ... American- ness and self-acclaimed universalism becomes visible. While the ...
America in Contemporary Pop Culture Jaap Kooijman. On the other hand, however, American ... flag and the Statue of Liberty, with a soft female voiceover announcing ... American- ness and self-acclaimed universalism becomes visible. While the ...
Page 49
... America under Attack ” ( 13 and 14 September 2001 ) , Dr. Phil tells the audience that “ it is not a weakness to hurt and feel and cry , and that giving blood and displaying the American flag might help to cope with the pain . “ We do ...
... America under Attack ” ( 13 and 14 September 2001 ) , Dr. Phil tells the audience that “ it is not a weakness to hurt and feel and cry , and that giving blood and displaying the American flag might help to cope with the pain . “ We do ...
Page 68
America in Contemporary Pop Culture Jaap Kooijman. American invasion of Iraq ... America to explain and often justify the politics of the American nation-state ... flag, the latter not present but implied through the cover's use of the ...
America in Contemporary Pop Culture Jaap Kooijman. American invasion of Iraq ... America to explain and often justify the politics of the American nation-state ... flag, the latter not present but implied through the cover's use of the ...
Page 69
... American flag, an image which has become iconic by now, showing her face in close-up, smiling directly into the cam- era. There are great similarities between these two covers and the Paris Match cover. In both cases, the national flag ...
... American flag, an image which has become iconic by now, showing her face in close-up, smiling directly into the cam- era. There are great similarities between these two covers and the Paris Match cover. In both cases, the national flag ...
Other editions - View all
Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Pop Culture Jaap Kooijman No preview available - 2013 |
Fabricating the absolute fake: America in contemporary pop culture Jaap Kooijman No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
Absolute Fake Adam Curry African-American Ally McBeal Ameri American Dream American flag American pop culture Amsterdam audience broadcast Bruce Springsteen celebrities close-up Coca-Cola commercial Dixie Chicks Dutch Dutch national Dutch pop culture editors emphasizes episode essay ethnic European Cinema explicit fictional film Frans & Baas genre conventions Gulf Gulf War hip-hop Hollywood hyper-Americanness hyperreality imagined America imagined community Iraq Jarhead Jean Baudrillard karaoke Americanism Katja Lange Frans Lee Towers Linda London Michael Jackson military Moroccan Moroccan-Dutch movie multicultural music video nation-state USA national identity Netherlands Oprah Winfrey Show Patricia Paay patriotism perceived Pim Fortuyn political pop song pop stars pop-cultural artifacts popular present President rapper rhetoric Rob Kroes Routledge Shouf Shouf Habibi singing star image star myth Star-Spangled Banner suggesting Super Bowl performance talk show terrorist Theo van Gogh Three Kings tion translated University Press USA for Africa viewers West Wing white Dutch Whitney Houston World York