American Taboo: The Forbidden Words, Unspoken Rules, and Secret Morality of Popular Culture (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780313399336)

America's often-unspoken morality codes make many topics taboo in "the land of the free." This book analyzes hundreds of popular culture examples to expose how the media both avoids and alludes to how we derive pleasure from our bodies.

Flatulence ... male nudity ... abortion ... masturbation: these are just a few of the taboo topics in the United States. What do culturally enforced silences about certain subjects say about our society--and our latent fears? This work provides a broad yet detailed overview of popular culture's most avoided topics to explain why they remain off-limits and examines how they are presented in contemporary media--or, in many cases, delicately explored using euphemism and innuendo. The author offers fascinating, in-depth analysis of the meaning behind these portrayals of a variety of both mundane and provocative taboos, and identifies how new television programs, films, and advertising campaigns intentionally violate longstanding cultural taboos to gain an edge in the marketplace.

Author: Lauren Rosewarne
ISBN-10: 0313399336
ISBN-13: 9780313399336
Publisher: Praeger
Language: English
Published: 08/13/2013
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.55lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2014