* NEW! WEB SITE: A dedicated web site, conceived by Kathryn Goodfellow of Northeastern University, features chapter guides that summarize the thematic focus of each chapter of the text and provide five to seven activities. Links to additional chapter-related online readings, including pieces from the online magazine Salon, are also featured. A guide to researching popular culture online analyzes various electronic resources - newsgroups, listservs, and online services - and their applicability to popular culture research. A "talking" model student research paper provides comments and suggestions for writing up research, and another section of popular culture links explores Web resources in television, film, music, advertising, gender issues, race and ethnicity, and censorship and free speech. Web site URL - http://longman.awl.com/goshgarian * NEW! Over 90% of the selections are new to this edition - almost all written since 1996 - on timely topics like body piercing, Xena Warrior Princess, the X-Files, gay marriage, and the approaching millenium. * NEW! Multi-genre focus includes more short stories, poetry, letters to the editor, memoirs, journal entries, movie reviews, newspaper columns, interviews, and humorous pieces. * NEW! Controversial topics are examined in paired readings from opposing points of view in the "Pro/Con" feature which closes most chapters to stimulate students to consider their own opinions on various issues. * NEW! Introduction to critical reading offers a step-by-step analysis of a sample essay to show students how to read the sections critically. * NEW! "Group Projects" encourage working collaboratively inside and outside of the classroom with a special emphasis on writing that is community oriented. * NEW! "Sequencing Assignments" ask students to make connections among the texts readings for a more critical evaluation of a subject. * Contemporary essay collection features a wide variety of provocative and engaging themes such as "Democracy, Community, and Cyberspace," "Pop Icons," "Gender Battles on the Big Screen," "Young and Criminal" and "Work: Whats In It For Me?" * Essays reflect a wide assortment of writing styles by todays best writers including numerous women and minority authors. * A gallery of advertisements calls for critical thinking about images and values in contemporary society; this edition features all new ads.

Table of Contents:
(* Material new to this edition is marked with an asterisk.) Introduction: How to Read Critically. Sample for Analysis: A No-fault Holocaust by John Leo. 1. Fashion and Flesh: The Images We Project. *The Beefcaking of America, Jill Neimark. *Three For The Stripes, Michael Fitzpatrick (student essay). *Baggy Clothes Dont Make the Man, Leonard Pitts. *The Body Myth, Rebecca Johnson. Letters to Editor of Vogue in response to The Body Myth - Anna Silver, Chantelle M. Jenkins, Carolyn Costin, Natasza and Karolina Holowatinc, A.C. *Burning Desire to be Slimmer is a Slow Suicide, Barbara Brotman. Eye of the Beholder, Grace Suh. *The Other Body: Reflections on Difference, Disability and Identity Politics, Ynestra King. *Believers in Search of Piercing Insight, D. James Romero. 2. Advertising: Feeding Our Fantasies. Spend and Save, Barbara Ehrenreich. *But First a Word from Our Sponsor, James B. Twitchell. *Hey Kids, Buy This!, David Leonhardt & Kathleen Kerwin. *Mr. Clean, Mary Tannen. *Choking on Hype, Paula Poundstone. *Snuggle Bear Must Die!, Dave Barry. *PRO/CON: Language Of Advertising: Twisting The Truth? PRO: With These Words I Can Sell You Anything, William Lutz. CON: The Language of Advertising, Charles A. ONeill (97). 10 New Sample Ads: *Mercedes-Benz, *Wonder Bra, *AT&T, *Smirnoff, *Diesel, *Don Diegos, *Air Walk, *Milk, *Clif Bar, *U.S. Army. 3. Television: Friend or Foe? *Sex and Todays Single-Minded Sitcoms, Nancy Hass. *TV Talk Shows: Freak Parades, Charles Oliver. *Watching the Eyewitless News, Elayne Rapping. *The Problem With Black T.V., Frederick L. Mckissack Jr. *Gays, Lesbians, and the Media: The Slow Road to Acceptance, Barbara Raab. *In Defense of Prime Time, Martha Bayles. *Into the Heart of Darkness, Terrence Rafferty. PRO/CON: Kill Your Television. *PRO: Turn off the TV Before it Ruins Us, David Nyhan. *CON: Remote Control: How to Raise a Media Skeptic, Susan Douglas. 4. Gender Battles on the Big Screen. *Women on the Big Screen, Elayne Rapping. *Hostages to Sexism, Leonard Pitts. *Hasta la Vista, Arnold, Margaret Talbot. *The Masculine Mystique, Susan Faludi interviews Sylvester Stallone. *Redesigning Pocahontas, Gary Edgerton & Kathy Merlock Jackson. *Silencing of the Feminine, Lynn Dornink (student essay). PRO/CON: Reviews Of "Waiting To Exhale." *PRO: Breathing Easier With A Rare Film, Dorothy Gilliam. *CON: Mock Feminism, Bell Hooks. 5. Pop Icons. *Where are the Heroes? Ed Siegel. *Heroine Worship: The Age of the Female Icon, Holly Brubach. *Princess Diana: Her True Face, Andrew Morton. *Selena: A Legend Grows, Larry Rohter. *Amelia Earhart: The Lady Vanishes, Camille Paglia. *Rare Jordan, Nelson George. *John Wayne: Americas Favorite Icon, Garry Wills. *Xena: Shes Big, Tall, Strong - and Popular, Donna Minkowitz. *Barbie Doll, Marge Piercy (poem). 6. Americas Many Cultures. *The Revolt of the Black Bourgeoisie, Leonce Gaiter. *Crimes Against Humanity, Ward Churchill. Getting to Know About You and Me, Chana Schoenberger. *Innocent and Presumed Ethnic, John Yemma. *A Puerto Rican Stew, Esmeralda Santiago. *Secrets and Anger, David Mura. *Cultural Baggage, Barbara Ehrenreich. 7. Is English-Only Spoken Here? *One Nation, One Language, One Ballot, John Silber. *Whats So American About English, Andrew Ward. *Seeking Unity in Diversity, Rolando Flores Acosta. *English Only - For the Kids Sake, Carol Jago. *Mute in an English-Only World, Chang-Rae Lee. *English Plus, Not English Only, Michael E. Dickstein. 8. Democracy, Community, and Cyberspace. *The Virtual Community, Howard Rheingold. *The Web: Infotopia or Marketplace?, Peter Mcgrath. *The Internet: If you Dont Love It, Leave It, Esther Dyson. *The Haves and the Have-Nots, Lynnnell Hancock. *Children in the Digital Age, Kathryn C. Montgomery. *The Digital Scapegoat, Bill Machrone. 9. The Family in Flux. *Oh, Those Family Values, Barbara Ehrenreich. *Relatively Speaking, Jan Borst. *Rethinking Divorce, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead. *The New Nostalgia, Rosalind C. Barnett & Caryl Rivers. *Single Mothers: A Menace to Society?, Stephanie Coontz. *On Black Fathering, Cornel West. PRO/CON: Gay Marriages. *PRO: Let Gays Marry, Andrew Sullivan. *CON: Leave Marriage Alone, William Bennett. 10. Young & Criminal. The Culture of Violence, Myriam Miedzian. *Giving Up on the Young, Mike Males And Faye Docuyanan. *Putting the Brakes on Juvenile Crime, Ralph C. Martin 2d And William D. OLeary. *Peace in the Streets, Geoffrey Canada. *Johnny, Take Your Drug Test! Ellen Goodman. PRO/CON: Punish Juvenile Offenders as Adults. *PRO: Youth Crime has Changed - And so Must the Juvenile Justice System, Tom Reilly. *CON: Cruel Punishment for Juveniles, Abbe Smith And Lael E.H. Chester. 11. Work: Whats In It For Me? *Getting Started, Paul Osterman. *Having It All?, Robert Wuthnow. *Generation Xers and their American Dream, Jennifer Singer. *Measuring Success, Renee Loth. *Theres No Place Like Work, Arlie Russell Hochschild. 12. Into the Future: America in the 21 Century. *Welcome to the Millennium, Gerald Celente. *America Remains No. 1, Ronald Steel. *Big Brother is Us, James Gleick. *Junior Comes Out Perfect, Philip Kitcher. *Race is Over, Stanley Crouch. *Mystery Date, A.M. Homes (short story). *Where Have All the Causes Gone?, Jon Meacham. *Back to the Future, Meg Greenfield. Sequencing Assignments: Making New Connections. Index of Titles and Authors.