This book looks beyond the common label of 'Ronald Reagan's America' to chart the complex intersection of cultures in the 1980s. In doing so it provides an insightful account of the major cultural forms of 1980s America -- literature and drama; film and television; music and performance; art and photography -- and influential texts and trends of the decade: from White Noise to Wall Street, from Silicon Valley to MTV, and from Madonna to Cindy Sherman. A focused chapter considers the changing dynamics of American culture in an increasingly globalised marketplace. Key Features: * Focused case studies featuring key texts, genres, writers, artists and cultural trends * Detailed chronology of 1980s American culture * Bibliographies for each chapter * Twelve black and white illustrations
Chronology of the 1980s; Introduction: The Intellectual Context; Chapter 1: Literature and Drama; Chapter 2: Film and Television; Chapter 3: Music and Performance; Chapter 4: Art and Photography; Chapter 5: American Culture and Globalisation; Conclusion: The Cultural Legacy of the 1980s; General bibliography on 1980s American culture; Separate representative bibliographies for each chapter; Index.