19th century
A01=Rob Kroes
A01=Robert W. Rydell
american studies
americanization
amusement parks
Author_Rob Kroes
Author_Robert W. Rydell
Category=GTQ
Category=JBCC
Category=JBCC1
Category=NHTB
cinema
circus
civilization
cultural study
dime novels
distribution
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
europe
european
fairs
film
globalization
good life
historical
history
ideals
influence
international
literature
mail order catalogues
mass culture
movies
networks
performance
popular
production
reconstruction
relations
relationships
transnational
united states of america
values
vaudeville
Product details
- ISBN 9780226732428
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 08 Aug 2005
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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When it comes to the production and distribution of mass culture, no country in modern times has come close to rivaling the success of America. From blue jeans in central Europe to Elvis Presley's face on a Republic of Chad postage stamp, the reach of American mass culture extends into every corner of the globe. Most believe this is a twentieth-century phenomenon, but here Robert W. Rydell and Rob Kroes prove that its roots are far deeper. Buffalo Bill in Bologna reveals that the process of globalizing American mass culture began as early as the mid-nineteenth century. In fact, by the end of World War I, the United States already boasted an advanced network of culture industries that served to promote American values overseas. Rydell and Kroes narrate how the circuses, amusement parks, vaudeville, mail-order catalogs, dime novels, and movies developed after the Civil War - tools central to hastening the reconstruction of the country - actually doubled as agents of American cultural diplomacy abroad.
As symbols of America's version of the "good life," cultural products became a primary means for people around the world, especially in Europe, to reimagine both America and themselves in the context of America's growing global sphere of influence. Paying special attention to the role of the world's fairs, the exporting of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show to Europe, the release of The Birth of a Nation, and Woodrow Wilson's creation of the Committee on Public Information, Rydell and Kroes offer an absorbing tour through America's cultural expansion at the turn of the century.
Robert W. Rydell is professor of history at Montana State University. He is the author of six books, including All the World's a Fair and World of Fairs, both published by the University of Chicago Press. Rob Kroes is professor of American studies at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of eleven books, including, most recently, If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall and Us and Them: Questions of Citizenship in a Globalized World.
