social aspects

A collection of thirteen scholarly essays on professional wrestling by such writers as Roland Barthes, Henry Jenkins III, and Heather Levi.

The author examines the marketing techniques and strategies in television advertising, movies, and on the Internet that target children and attempt to convince them that the products they see are essential to their social survival.

Examines two American school shootings from the 1990s, one at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, in 1997 and the other at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1998, discussing their causes, including long-standing small-town dynamics and communication patterns, and offers solutions to the underlying problems.

Explores how decades of litigation have eroded the moral authority of teachers and principles and lead to the downslide of American education and suggests how schools can implement stricter discipline guidelines that still protect students' civil rights.

Traces the decline of language in contemporary America, arguing that everday speech has taken over formal speech in all arenas, from oratory to poetry to everyday journalism.

Presents seventeen viewpoints on various aspects of reality television, including its impact upon its participants and audiences, its relationship to social issues, and its reception around the world, and includes a bibliography and an annotated list of related organizations.

Presents seventeen essays on the rise in popularity of professional sports in America and such topics as the values professional sports reflect, diversity in sports, and the impact of America's intense interest in sports stars.

Explains how diamond smuggling in Sierra Leone has funded a brutal rebel war that has wrought havoc on the country's people; discusses connections to such groups as al-Quaeda; and measures the international diamond industry's complicity in the situation.

Traces the history of organ transplantation in the United States, and discusses how they are performed, how doctors decide who receives a new organ, and how society has dealt with the issues raised by it.

Examines the ways in which popular culture was used as a propaganda tool in uniting the citizens of the U.S. against communism, and cites books, pamphlets, articles, films, and comics created to promote anti-communist sentiment.