Trauma in American Popular Culture and Cult Texts, 1980-2020

The book explores how trauma has become a central paradigm in contemporary American popular culture, with a wide range of genres featuring traumatized protagonists and events. It develops original paradigms to understand trauma in popular culture, such as popular trauma texts, engagement with postmodern perspectives, competitive narration, polynarration, and skeptical scriptotherapy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 257 pages
Publication date: 14 October 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This captivating book delves into the profound impact of trauma on late twentieth- and twenty-first-century American popular culture. It has emerged as a dominant lens through which to interpret contemporary American society, reshaping our understanding of the human experience. Since the early 1980s, a diverse array of genres has witnessed an increasing prevalence of traumatized protagonists and distressing events. From the heroic struggles of traumatized superheroes in Hollywood blockbusters to the apocalyptic narratives woven into television series, trauma storytelling has taken center stage, captivating audiences worldwide. While trauma is often linked to high culture, this groundbreaking project reveals how popular culture has emerged as the most fertile ground for the representation of trauma in America. By examining a wide range of film, television, animation, video games, and cult texts, the book offers a series of innovative paradigms for understanding trauma in popular culture. These include engaging with postmodern perspectives, employing formal techniques such as "competitive narration," "polynarration," and "sceptical scriptotherapy," and exploring the trauma experienced by perpetrators within metafictional games. Through these diverse approaches, the book sheds light on the complex ways in which trauma manifests in popular media, challenging our assumptions and prompting us to reevaluate our understanding of the human condition. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of culture, trauma, and the human psyche, offering a thought-provoking and enriching exploration of our contemporary world.

Weight: 483g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031132865
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022