Publication Date: 2012
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781849666718
The study investigates the cultural production of the visual iconography of popular pleasure grounds from the eighteenth century pleasure garden to the contemporary theme park. Deborah Philips identifies the literary genres, including fairy tale, gothic horror, Egyptiana and the Western which are common to carnival sites, tracing their historical transition across a range of media to become familiar icons of popular culture.Though the bricolage of narratives and imagery found in the contemporary leisure zone has been read by many as emblematic of postmodern culture, the author argues that the clash of genres and stories is less a consequence of postmodern pastiche than it is the result of a history and popular tradition of conventionalised iconography.
Table of Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- Pleasure Gardens, Great Exhibitions and Wonderlands
- Illustrations and Innovations
- Mickey Mouse Chivalry
- Fairy Tale Romance
- Monsters, Murders and Vampires
- The Riddles of the Sphinx
- Boy's Own Stories
- Treasure Islands and Blue Lagoons
- Future Imperfect
- Constructing the Frontier
- Consuming the West
- Bibliography
