Popular Culture

Review
One of the strongest revisions I've seen in a textbook. It's not just an upgrade; it's a new model ready to hit the road.
-- Crag Hill, University of Oklahoma, Co-Editor of Level Land: Poems for and about the I35 Corridor.
This text gives an excellent background on where pop culture started and why, and how it has and hasn't changed over various technological mediums. It is clear and easy to follow yet challenging for undergrad students. -- Evelyn A. Clark, SUNY Oswego
This new edition has the materials I've been waiting for—particularly virtual reality and gaming. -- Genesis Downey, Owens Community College
This book is now ahead of the competition in how thoroughly it covers new, web-based media. -- Jill Twark, East Carolina University
The fifth edition of Marcel Danesi’s Popular Culture is an accessible, engaging introduction for popular culture, media and society, and sociology of the media courses. The fifth edition features updated coverage on social media and digital cultures, including those surrounding memes, video games, virtual reality, and streaming services.
Pop culture surrounds us. It infuses the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read, the clothes we wear, and the food we eat. It comes to us on our televisions, phones, computers, radio, and in every storefront and billboard we pass on the street.
Danesi delves into the social structures that create and promote pop culture, showing how it validates our common experiences. Offering a variety of perspectives on its many modes of creations and delivery, Danesi shows why pop culture will always be something we love to hate and hate to love.