How the Arabian Nights Inspired the American Dream, 1790-1935 - Hardcover

Nance, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1469614952 ISBN 13: 9781469614953

Verlag: The University of North Carolina Press, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

Páginas:360Géneros:12:HBJK:HistoryoftheAmericas12:A:TheArts12:D:012:B:012:0:0Sinopsis:Americanshavealwaysshownafascinationwiththepeople,customs,andlegendsoftheEast--witnessthepopularityofthestoriesoftheArabianNights,theperformancesofArabbellydancersandacrobats,thefeatsofturban-wearingvaudevillemagicians,andeventheanticsoffez-toppedShriners.Inthiscaptivatingvolume,SusanNanceprovidesasocialandculturalhistoryofthishighlypopulargenreofEasternizedperformanceinAmericauptotheGreatDepression.AccordingtoNance,thesetraditionsrevealhowabroadspectrumofAmericans,includingrecentimmigrantsandimpersonators,behavedasproducersandconsumersinarapidlydevelopingcapitalisteconomy.InadmirationoftheArabianNights,peoplecreativelyreenactedEasternlife,buttheseperformanceswerealsodemonstrationsofAmericansownidentities,Nanceargues.ThestoryofAladdin,madesuddenlyrichbyrubbinganoldlamp,stoodasaparticularlyaptmetaphorforhowconsumercapitalismmightbenefiteachperson.Theleisure,abundance,andcontentmentthatmanyimaginedweretypicalofEasternlifewerethesamecharacteristicsusedtodefinetheAmericandream.TherecentsuccessofDisneysAladdinmoviessuggeststhatmanyAmericansstillwelcomeaninterpretationoftheEastasasiteofincredibleriches,romance,andhappyendings.ThisabundantlyillustratedaccountisthefirstbyahistoriantoexplainwhyandhowsomanyAmericanssoughtoutsuchculturalengagementwiththeEasternworldlongbeforegeopoliticalconcernsbecameparamount._,

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Críticas:

This engaging, thoroughly researched look into an intriguing facet of US cultural identity is well worth the read.--Choice [This] is a well-researched and engaging study of a wide variety of people....The strength of the book is its dense archival research.--Journal of American Studies Deeply researched. . . . Richly drawn chapters. . . . Provides a substantial archive to complement our understanding of the American orientalist tradition.--Journal of American History Surprises with its persuasiveness and originality.--Saudi Aramco World

Reseña del editor:

Americans have always shown a fascination with the people, customs, and legends of the "East--witness the popularity of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the performances of Arab belly dancers and acrobats, the feats of turban-wearing vaudeville magicians, and even the antics of fez-topped Shriners. In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression.

According to Nance, these traditions reveal how a broad spectrum of Americans, including recent immigrants and impersonators, behaved as producers and consumers in a rapidly developing capitalist economy. In admiration of the Arabian Nights, people creatively reenacted Eastern life, but these performances were also demonstrations of Americans' own identities, Nance argues. The story of Aladdin, made suddenly rich by rubbing an old lamp, stood as a particularly apt metaphor for how consumer capitalism might benefit each person. The leisure, abundance, and contentment that many imagined were typical of Eastern life were the same characteristics used to define "the American dream."

The recent success of Disney's Aladdin movies suggests that many Americans still welcome an interpretation of the East as a site of incredible riches, romance, and happy endings. This abundantly illustrated account is the first by a historian to explain why and how so many Americans sought out such cultural engagement with the Eastern world long before geopolitical concerns became paramount.

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• Verlag: The University of North Carolina Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1469614952
• ISBN 13: 9781469614953
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 358