A One-In-A-Billion Chance : The Transformative Effect of Stan Lee and Spider-Man on American Popular Culture

The body of research from scholarly sources on the history of comic books contends that Stan Lee’s original run of The Amazing Spider-Man influenced American culture in a generic sense, but little has been written on the specific ways the comic influenced popular culture. This paper details four specific ways that Stan Lee’s Spider-Man influenced American popular culture during the tumultuous decade of the 1960’s. The comic redefined the modern American hero by making a flawed character, with a tenuous grasp on the moral high ground, the protagonist. It also affirmed the newly established teenage identity in American society by depicting a teenager as a full-fledged superhero, not a sidekick. Stan Lee’s Spider-Man also pioneered the use of the comic book medium as a platform to discuss contentious national issues during the 1960’s, including civil rights, drug abuse, and the Vietnam War. Finally, the title undermined censorship in the comic book industry by daring to defy the Comics Code Authority’s prohibition on depictions of drug use. Through these four groundbreaking efforts Stan Lee and Spider-Man earned their place in the pantheon of American popular culture icons and shaped the course of American culture for decades to come

Hugo Williams, self-styled anglo-american poet

Although his poetry gives every appearance of being pre-eminently 'English', Hugo Williams claims he is an 'Anglo-American' poet. This surprising assertion rests on his enthusiastic embrace of American popular culture as well as the construction of a style out of American Imagist, "Objectivist" and Confessional strategies. Both elements of the epithet Anglo-American are examined in relation to the poet's work and in the process Williams' claim is shown to be unsustainable, yet at the same time highly revealing of currents within English literary culture

Ole’ Zip Coon is a Mighty Learned Scholar: Blackface Minstrelsy as Reflection and Foundation of American Popular Culture

The blackface minstrel show is often disregarded in both popular and professional discourse when American popular culture is being examined. Often dismissed as a unilateral, purely racist spectacle, this paper argues for a more nuanced understanding of blackface minstrelsy and its formative role in the creation of a trans-regional American culture. Through an exploration of the ways in which ethnic minorities, women, language, and histrionics were presented on the blackface minstrel stage, an understanding of the ways in which popular entertainments both reflect and create popular sentiment can be formed. As the dominant American cultural output of the 19th century, an understanding of blackface minstrelsy is integral to an understanding of the fluid and varied mores of racism, male privilege, and white privilege which linger in varying degrees to this day. This piece is intended to serve as an introduction to the ways in which 19th century Americans and their modern counterparts used and use blackface tropes to both reinforce and question the place of social hierarchies in a country founded on the premise that “all men are created equal”

American Culture: A Sociological Perspectives

The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western origin but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and Latin American people and their cultures. American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The United States is sometimes described as a "melting pot" in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture. The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world\u27s most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television. The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western culture (European) origin and form but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American people and their cultures. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Social Impacts of Popular Culture During the Vietnam War

In this paper, I will argue that popular culture is imperative to a population overcoming and learning from a time of economical, political, and social turmoil. Focusing on the Vietnam War, I will demonstrate how common it is for people to rely on popular culture for hope and education during times of crises and it is often that music, movies, or artwork are those outlets. By dissecting the messages of other popular songs recorded during the Vietnam War while also examining books like The Vietnam War and American Music written by David James and Songs of the Vietnam Conflict by James Perone, I deliver evidence on the importance of popular culture when it is needed most. In addition, I use the films produced depicting the war to demonstrate the ways pop culture can serve as a learning tool after a crisis

Video games as American popular culture

Video games have moved, possibly surpassing even movies, into a central role in American popular culture in a relatively short time, and today there is increasing evidence that the video game console –to some extent, as much as the personal computer– has emerged as a central media device through which “convergence culture” is taking place. In the world of massively multiplayer online games, new (and very real) economies and cultures have evolved with striking rapidity, while on a very different scale we see casual games like Angry Birds (2009) and Candy Crush (2012) increasingly becoming integrated into the rhythms of everyday life. Perhaps more than any other aspect of popular culture, video games have blurred the distinction between work and play; the games we play (and work at) tell us about American popular culture and where it is going

Setting Sun: Popular Culture Images of the Japanese and Japanese Americans and Public Policy

The negative, stereotypical depictions of the Japanese and Japanese Americans in American popular culture in the first half of the twentieth century were of great importance in the promulgation of the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924, the internment of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The American public had been adequately prepared to accept inaccurate representations of Japanese and Japanese Americans; therefore, there was little public outcry against these actions

The Messianic Zeal: A Case of Radical Aesthetics in Black Cultural Production

This essay examines artwork by popular artists D’Angelo, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and 2pac Shakur and compares their articulations to a larger discourse of messianic symbolism in (black) American popular culture. In this paper, messianic symbolism is a discursive chain of symbols that invoke the Black experience. Artists extend the legacy of earlier representations of black messianism by similarly representing themselves as Jews, saviors or folk heroes with a specific mission to save a world burdened by racial strife and oppression. These qualities manifest in lyrics, album covers, and other late 20th century rhetoric

Looking For Black Religions In 20th Century Comics: 1931-1993

Relationships between religion and comics are generally unexplored in the academic literature. This article provides a brief history of Black religions in comic books, cartoons, animation, and newspaper strips, looking at African American Christianity, Islam, Africana (African diaspora) religions, and folk traditions such as Hoodoo and Conjure in the 20th century. Even though the treatment of Black religions in the comics was informed by stereotypical depictions of race and religion in United States (US) popular culture, African American comics creators contested these by offering alternatives in their treatment of Black religion themes