Potboilers
Methods, Concepts and Case Studies in Popular Fiction
1st Edition
Published on 21. February 2008
228 pages
978-0-203-13161-9 (ISBN)
Description
Potboilers looks at the many forms of popular narrative - in print, film and TV. It considers the ways in they have been analysed in literary criticism, sociology, communications, media and cultural studies.
The book introduces and summarizes two decades of debate about mass-produced fictions and their position within popular culture. It assesses the methods that have been used in these debates, focussing both on narrative analysis and the communications process. It explores generic conventions, the role of commercial strategies, and the nature of the audience with reference to crime fiction, soap opera, romance and TV sitcom.
Distinctions between `high' and `low' culture have relegated many popular forms to the trash-can of `great' literature. This book takes stock of the methods and concepts used to analyse popular culture and argues for a non-elitist approach to the study of literature, film and television.
The book introduces and summarizes two decades of debate about mass-produced fictions and their position within popular culture. It assesses the methods that have been used in these debates, focussing both on narrative analysis and the communications process. It explores generic conventions, the role of commercial strategies, and the nature of the audience with reference to crime fiction, soap opera, romance and TV sitcom.
Distinctions between `high' and `low' culture have relegated many popular forms to the trash-can of `great' literature. This book takes stock of the methods and concepts used to analyse popular culture and argues for a non-elitist approach to the study of literature, film and television.
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12/1991
1st Edition
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Book
12/1991
1st Edition
Routledge
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Shipment within 15-20 days
Content
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I Concepts and methods
- 1 Approaches to popular fiction
- 2 Narrative grammar
- 3 Narrative and connotative processes
- 4 The speaking/reading subject
- 5 Narrative and ideology
- 6 Hegemony and subject position
- 7 Genre
- Part II Case studies
- 8 Crime fiction: the genre dimension
- 9 Crime fiction: film noir and gender
- 10 Soap opera, romance and femininity
- 11 Reading as a Woman
- 12 Sitcom: commercial imperatives and humour
- 13 Sitcom and social reality
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
