欢迎来到流行文化2.0。21世纪初,新技术与美国人对名人的痴迷结合,催生了“曝光一代”(Generation eXposure)。社交媒体技术,如MySpace、YouTube、Facebook和无数的博客,让每个人都有了发言权和公众形象,他们可以与街对面或世界各地的朋友分享。突然间,模仿布兰妮·斯皮尔斯或帕丽斯·希尔顿已经不够了,科技给了每个人一个平台,让他们可以在15分钟内成名。对自我和名人的痴迷转移了人们对国家面临的更严重挑战的注意力,包括乔治·w·布什总统的反恐战争。9/11恐怖袭击夺走了世界上最知名的建筑之一,全国一度团结一致,但海外战争严重分裂了这个国家。这个时代见证了利率降至历史低点,但后来随着国家陷入衰退,次贷成为谷歌上搜索次数最多的词汇之一。大型建筑前所未有地流行起来,突然之间,全国范围内的人们都可以购买或建造自己的麦克豪宅了——这是美国梦的一部分。虽然超大的房子和快餐变得司空见惯,但电子和交通的进步证明,好东西的包装越来越小。苹果的iPod彻底改变了人们与音乐互动的方式,混合动力车改变了人们对燃油效率的看法,因为一加仑汽油超过了3美元。 Cell phones usage ballooned in our always on society, while physically shrinking to the size of a deck of cards. Yes, me-centric Pop Culture 2.0, which the pundits predicted would some day arrive, burst onto the scene and ultimately transformed the way we interact with one another and the world around us. Chapters inside the latest volume in the American Popular Culture Through History series explore various aspects of popular culture, including advertising, literature, leisure activities, music visual arts, and travel. Supplemental resources include a timeline of important events, cost comparisons, and an extensive bibliography for further reading.