Americans have a long history of public arguments about taste, the uses of leisure, and what is culturally appropriate in a democracy that has a strong work ethic. Michael Kammen surveys these debates as well as our changing taste preferences, especially in the past century, and the shifting perceptions that have accompanied them. Professor Kammen shows how the post-traditional popular culture that flourished after the 1880s became full-blown mass culture after World War II, in an era of unprecedented affluence and travel. He charts the influence of advertising and opinion polling; the development of standardized products, shopping centers, and mass-marketing; the separation of youth and adult culture; the gradual repudiation of the genteel tradition; and the commercialization of organized entertainment. He stresses the significance of television in the shaping of mass culture, and of consumerism in its reconfiguration over the past two decades. Focusing on our own time, Kammen discusses the use of the fluid nature of cultural taste to enlarge audiences and increase revenues, and reveals how the public role of intellectuals and cultural critics has declined as the power of corporate sponsors and promoters has risen. As a result of this diminution of cultural authority, he says, definitive pronouncements have been replaced by divergent points of view, and there is, as well, a tendency to blur fact and fiction, reality and illusion. An important commentary on the often conflicting ways Americans have understood, defined, and talked about their changing culture in the twentieth century.

Examines the changes in publishing, movie making, and television programming since the 1960s that have affected Americans' tastes.

Selected essays written over a period of fifteen years.

America is a melting pot, with a palate as diverse as its various cultures. This quality is reflected nowhere better than in our own kitchen pantries. So, what does America taste like? The Taste of America is the first and only compendium of the best food made in the U.S.A. Here, award-winning food writer and passionate eater Colman Andrews presents 250 of the best regional products from coast to coast, including Humboldt Fog Cheese, Blue Point Oysters, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Whoopie Pies, Meyer Lemons, Kreuz's Sausage, Anson Mill Grits, and more. Divided into chapters according to food type - snacks, dairy, condiments, meat, baked goods, and desserts - this anthology of edible Americana reveals each product's unique history. The Taste of America features 125 color illustrations, as well as an extensive index that details how to purchase these beloved foods.

In this original study, Thompson explores the complicated relationships between Americans and television during the 1950s, as seen and effected through popular humor. Parody and Taste in Postwar American Television Culture documents how Americans grew accustomed to understanding politics, current events, and popular culture through comedy that is simultaneously critical, commercial, and funny. Along with the rapid growth of television in the 1950s, an explosion of satire and parody took place across a wide field of American culture—in magazines, comic books, film, comedy albums, and on television itself. Taken together, these case studies don’t just analyze and theorize the production and consumption of parody and television, but force us to revisit and revise our notions of postwar "consensus" culture as well.

An examination of the rise of tabloid television and the political, cultural, and technological changes that have enabled its success.

As nutrition, food is essential, but in today’s world of excess, a good portion of the world has taken food beyond its functional definition to fine art status. From celebrity chefs to amateur food bloggers, individuals take ownership of the food they eat as a creative expression of personality, heritage, and ingenuity. Dwight Furrow examines the contemporary fascination with food and culinary arts not only as global spectacle, but also as an expression of control, authenticity, and playful creation for individuals in a homogenized, and increasingly public, world.