| Too Much of a Good Thing: Mae West as Cultural Icon Contributor(s): Curry, Ramona (Author) |
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ISBN: 0816627916 ISBN-13: 9780816627912 Publisher: University of Minnesota Press OUR PRICE: $25.74 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 1996 Annotation: Before Madonna, before Marilyn, there was Mae. The impact of Mae West - through her films, attitude, and aphorisms ("Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"; "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?") - continues to reverberate through American popular culture more than fifteen years after her death. In Too Much of a Good Thing, Ramona Curry examines the interplay between West's bawdy, worldly persona and twentieth-century gender and media politics. Although West has remained an important figure, her image has fulfilled varied cultural functions. In the thirties, she was a lightning rod for debates over morality and censorship. In the seventies, the complexity of her portrayal of gender made her a controversial figure for both the gay rights and feminist movements. Curry not only analyzes the symbolic roles West has occupied, arguing that the entertainer represents a carefully orchestrated transgression of race, class, and gender expectations, she also illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions. A pithy and innovative look at what Mae West means, Too Much of a Good Thing is must reading for fans, film buffs, and anyone interested in how popular culture evolves and circulates in the United States. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Popular Culture - Biography & Autobiography |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 95025838 |
| Physical Information: 0.55" H x 5.89" W x 8.93" (0.82 lbs) 240 pages |
