Popular culture and working-class taste in Britain, 1930-39 : a round of cheap diversions? / Robert James

Author: James, Robert, 1968-
Published: Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2010.
Physical Description: 1 online resource (289 pages).

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Series

Studies in Popular Culture

Language Note

English.

Contents

'The people's amusement': the growth in cinema-going and reading habits -- 'Fouling civilisation?: official attitudes towards popular film and literature -- Trade attitudes towards audience taste -- 'What made you put that rubbish on?': national trends in film popularity -- 'The appearance as an added incentive': national trends in literature popularity -- 'A very profitable enterprise': South Wales Miners' Institutes -- 'Gunmen, rustlers and a damsel in distress': working-class tastes in Derby -- 'The home of the brave"? working -class tastes in Portsmouth -- Popular film and literature: textual analyses -- Conclusion: 'giving the public what it wants'.

Summary

This book examines the relationship between class & culture in 1930s Britain. focusing on the reading & cinema-going tastes of the working classes, Robert James' landmark study combines rigorous historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual & written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this decade.

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