Carnival Culture : The Trashing of Taste in America

Examines The Changes In Publishing, Movie Making, And Television Programming Since The 1960s That Have Affected Americans' Tastes. Introduction -- Unintended Gates: The Triumph Of Vulgarity In An Age Of Show Business -- Paperbacked Culture: How Candles Became Shoes -- Peepshow America: Hollywood And Popular Taste -- Programming Television: Reflections On The Electronic Midway -- Vulgarity Victorious: The Collapse Of Cultural Hierarchy In Postmodern America. James B. Twitchell. Includes Bibliographical References (p.[275]-288) And Index. Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Untended Gates: The Triumph of Vulgarity in an Age of Show Business Chapter 2. Paperbacked Culture: How Candles Became Shoes Chapter 3. Peepshow America: Hollywood and Popular Taste Chapter 4. Programming Television: Reflections on the Electronic Midway Chapter 5. Vulgarity Victorious: The Collapse of Cultural Hierarchy in Postmodern America Works Cited Index

The first published work of the "Topical Studies in International Relations" (a series planned to show the contributions social sciences can make to the systematic study of international relations) which focuses on military history and the relationship between members of the military and diplomats.

- Washington Post Book World

Twitchell's witty, wide-ranging book exposes the changes in publishing, movie making, and TV programming since the 1960s that have wreaked havoc on American taste. Vividly dissects American entertainment.--Newsweek. 51 illustrations.

This study examines how changes in publishing, movie making and television programming since the 1960s have affected taste, particularly what is considered vulgar. The author explores the contemporary view of taste as oppressive and the reluctance to admit that anything is in bad taste. Examines how the expansion of mass culture is affecting American taste and argues that a persistent exploitation of vulgarity in American art will soon eliminate the line between kitsch and the fine arts. A lively tour de force through the litter of American culture and its level of quality in publishing, television, and the movies. When I was growing up in the 1950s I was acutely aware of a distinct aesthetic category: the vulgar.