American Pop Culture

Many books have been written about the phenomenon of American pop culture -- the shared ideas, trends, and artifacts created by mainstream society in the United States. For anyone who wants to revel in the strange and wonderful country that is America, there are thousands of web sites available that provide an exhaustive virtual tour of cultural quirkiness. Sites dedicated to particular decades such as the 60’s or the 70’s look back with fondness on the music, television shows, fashions, dance styles, art, and consumer trends of a time gone by.

Others provide observations and articles about American values and beliefs, as determined by trends in entertainment, literature, and artistic expression. Guides to popular events as they occurred years ago are detailed and exhaustive, often including links to sound files such as top-40 songs or news broadcasts, or media clips from popular movies or television shows. Sites detailing urban legends and myths delight in debunking fantastic scare stories that everyone has heard at some time or another. Other sites delve into personal observations about American pop culture, providing commentaries on topics as diverse as shopping channels, convenience stores, Twinkies, and other purely American obsessions.

Many sites are simply lists of links to other sites where you can find photographs and descriptions of roadside oddities, interesting ideas and essays, television and billboard advertisements, discussions of food and fashion trends gone by, and other hilarious and thought-provoking commentaries on various aspects of contemporary Americana. For anyone interested in learning more about the fascinating and endearing phenomenon that is American pop culture, there are countless web sites providing fodder to feed that interest.