Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Patterns of American Popular Heroism: From Roman and Biblical Roots to Modern Media

Patterns of American Popular Heroism: From Roman and Biblical Roots to Modern Media

Shoopman, James G.

Paperback

Literary CriticismGeneral SociologyGeneral United States History

ISBN10: 1476673993
ISBN13: 9781476673998
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: Oct 6 2020
Pages: 293
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.80 Width: 5.80 Depth: 8.80
Language: English

The American popular hero has deeply bipolar origins: Depending on prevailing attitudes about the use or abuse of authority, American heroes may be rooted in the traditions of the Roman conquerors of The Aeneid or of the biblical underdog warriors and prophets.

This book reviews the history of American popular culture and its heroes from the Revolutionary War and pre-Civil War women's literature to the dime novel tales of Jesse James and Buffalo Bill. Hinge-heroes like The Virginian and the Rider's of the Purple Sage paved the way for John Wayne's and Humphrey Bogart's champions of civilization, while Jimmy Stewart's scrappy rebels fought soulless bankers and cynical politicians. The 1960s and 1970s saw a wave of new renegades--the doctors of MASH and the rebel alliance of Star Wars--but early 21st Century terrorism called for the grit of world weary cops and the super-heroism of Wonder Woman and Black Panther to make the world safe.

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