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
Results 1-5 of 10
Page 16
... Katja Schuurman, and rapper Ali B. In chapter five, I explore how Dutch pop culture can function within an explicitly political context. Similar to the way American pop culture has commented on the first and second Gulf Wars and 9/11 ...
... Katja Schuurman, and rapper Ali B. In chapter five, I explore how Dutch pop culture can function within an explicitly political context. Similar to the way American pop culture has commented on the first and second Gulf Wars and 9/11 ...
Page 94
... Katja Schuurman , and Moroccan - Dutch rapper Ali B. Together , these four ex- amples of “ Americans they never were ” show different ways in which American pop culture has been translated within a Dutch pop - cultural context . Hyper ...
... Katja Schuurman , and Moroccan - Dutch rapper Ali B. Together , these four ex- amples of “ Americans they never were ” show different ways in which American pop culture has been translated within a Dutch pop - cultural context . Hyper ...
Page 100
... Katja Schuurman , and Ali B – are all related to American pop culture , albeit each in a different way . By approaching them as “ Americans they never were , ” as examples of hy- per - American absolute fakes performing karaoke ...
... Katja Schuurman , and Ali B – are all related to American pop culture , albeit each in a different way . By approaching them as “ Americans they never were , ” as examples of hy- per - American absolute fakes performing karaoke ...
Page 108
... Katja: Embodying Pop Culture The Dutch teenage romantic comedy Costa! (Johan Nijenhuis, 2001) takes place in Spain, telling the story of a group of Dutch youth who work at Costa, a trendy discothèque that primarily caters to Dutch ...
... Katja: Embodying Pop Culture The Dutch teenage romantic comedy Costa! (Johan Nijenhuis, 2001) takes place in Spain, telling the story of a group of Dutch youth who work at Costa, a trendy discothèque that primarily caters to Dutch ...
Page 109
... Katja Schuurman . Simply known as Katja , her star appeal is emphasized by her recording of the movie's main love theme , “ Lover or Friend , ” which became a big hit on the Dutch pop charts . One could even argue that it is Katja's ...
... Katja Schuurman . Simply known as Katja , her star appeal is emphasized by her recording of the movie's main love theme , “ Lover or Friend , ” which became a big hit on the Dutch pop charts . One could even argue that it is Katja's ...
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