Political Mythology and Popular Fiction

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Ernest J. Yanarella, Lee Sigelman
Bloomsbury Academic, 1988 M01 13 - 200 pages
A fascinating contribution to the scholarship of both political science and literature, this book explores eight major genres of contemporary popular fiction generally assumed to be essentially devoid of political content--children's novels, Westerns, middle-class fiction, historical novels, small-town Americana, sports novels, American war fiction, and science fiction. By uncovering the often covert mythical themes and cultural symbols hidden in the plot formulas of these works--many of them bestsellers--the essays illustrate the debt of mass-market authors to cultural and political traditions that reach back to the origins of the American Republic.

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Contents

Democracy and Community in American Childrens
39
Sports Fiction as a Genre
61
Perspectives from the Popular
81
Copyright

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