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 16
... celebrities who all can be perceived as “Americans they never were” performing karaoke Americanism, although each in a different way: singer Lee Towers, celebrity couple Adam Curry and Patricia Paay, former soap actress Katja Schuurman ...
... celebrities who all can be perceived as “Americans they never were” performing karaoke Americanism, although each in a different way: singer Lee Towers, celebrity couple Adam Curry and Patricia Paay, former soap actress Katja Schuurman ...
Page 18
... celebrity status of Baudrillard has resulted in the percep- tion that “ his theory [ is ] more pop – more spectacle than substance , ” thereby forgetting that Baudrillard indeed made pop matter : “ If this ' real ' of popular culture ...
... celebrity status of Baudrillard has resulted in the percep- tion that “ his theory [ is ] more pop – more spectacle than substance , ” thereby forgetting that Baudrillard indeed made pop matter : “ If this ' real ' of popular culture ...
Page 25
... celebrity ( perhaps even more than the musical talent of the pop stars ) to attract a wide global audience . Recognizing not only the differ- ences but also the similarities is significant for two reasons . First , as Thomas Elsaesser ...
... celebrity ( perhaps even more than the musical talent of the pop stars ) to attract a wide global audience . Recognizing not only the differ- ences but also the similarities is significant for two reasons . First , as Thomas Elsaesser ...
Page 28
... celebrities . These signatures not only convey the capital value of pop stardom ( signatures of stars are valuable com- modities in their own right ) , but also stress the individual commitment of each pop star . In this way , the pop ...
... celebrities . These signatures not only convey the capital value of pop stardom ( signatures of stars are valuable com- modities in their own right ) , but also stress the individual commitment of each pop star . In this way , the pop ...
Page 32
... celebrity instead of addressing the political reality of the African famine , but he also shows that the charity pop single , intentionally or not , is intertwined with the global marketing of American corporations . As Marcus points ...
... celebrity instead of addressing the political reality of the African famine , but he also shows that the charity pop single , intentionally or not , is intertwined with the global marketing of American corporations . As Marcus points ...
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