Artificial Mythologies: A Guide to Cultural Invention

224 Pages·1997·6.56 MB·English

by  Craig J. Saper

A R T I F I C I AL
Mythologies
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A R T I F I C I AL
Mythologies
A GUIDE
TO CULTURAL
INVENTION
CRAIG J. SAFER
Foreword by Laura Kipnis
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
Copyright 1997 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
in Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2.520
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saper, Craig J.
Artificial mythologies : a guide to cultural invention / Craig J.
Saper ; foreword by Laura Kipnis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-2872-6
ISBN 0-8166-2873-4 (pbk.)
i. Popular culture in literature. 2. Aesthetics. I. Title.
PN56.P547836 1997
801—dc2o 96-8614
The University of Minnesota is an
equal-opportunity educator and employer.
To my parents
whether they like it or not
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Now perhaps comes the age of another experience: that of
unlearning, [etymologically linked to] Sapientia: no power, a little
knowledge, a little wisdom, and as much flavor as possible.
ROLAND BARTHES
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Contents
Foreword Laura Kipnis xi
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Artificial Mythologies and Invention 1
2 Mapping Television 39
3 Multiculturalism and Identity Politics
in Photography and Film 66
4 Urban Decay and the Aesthetics of Social Policy 95
5 The Role of the Public Intellectual 117
6 Family Values and Media Technology 146
7 Wonder 170
Notes 177
Index 191
IX