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 21
... rhetoric of Pepsi and Coca - Cola commercials . In this way , “ We Are the World ” can be perceived as part of “ an engine of global hegemony , ” presenting these American national values of democracy , freedom , and open exchange of ...
... rhetoric of Pepsi and Coca - Cola commercials . In this way , “ We Are the World ” can be perceived as part of “ an engine of global hegemony , ” presenting these American national values of democracy , freedom , and open exchange of ...
Page 22
... rhetoric of mass advertising ends up promoting an American conception of the world , thereby presenting the values of democracy , individual freedom , and choice through consumerism as seemingly universal and global ones . The World as ...
... rhetoric of mass advertising ends up promoting an American conception of the world , thereby presenting the values of democracy , individual freedom , and choice through consumerism as seemingly universal and global ones . The World as ...
Page 32
... rhetoric . Although they embody different Americas , both Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen could be turned into symbols of the American Dream , as Reagan's speeches reveal . One can argue that Reagan's political rhetoric consists ...
... rhetoric . Although they embody different Americas , both Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen could be turned into symbols of the American Dream , as Reagan's speeches reveal . One can argue that Reagan's political rhetoric consists ...
Page 33
... rhetorical and emo- tional content , for example , USA for Africa's “ We Are the World ” is quite similar to the popular 1971 “ Hilltop ” Coca - Cola commercial . This famous commercial features a multiethnic group of smiling youngsters ...
... rhetorical and emo- tional content , for example , USA for Africa's “ We Are the World ” is quite similar to the popular 1971 “ Hilltop ” Coca - Cola commercial . This famous commercial features a multiethnic group of smiling youngsters ...
Page 34
... rhetoric of American - style yet globally mediated soft - drink advertising ( promoting both Pepsi and Coca - Cola ) , but also suggest that its American character has indeed come to be perceived as universal , shared across the globe ...
... rhetoric of American - style yet globally mediated soft - drink advertising ( promoting both Pepsi and Coca - Cola ) , but also suggest that its American character has indeed come to be perceived as universal , shared across the globe ...
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