The story of American superheroes cannot be told without the publisher DC and its evolving audience. During the latter 1930s and early 1940s, DC Comics assembled a catalog of superheroes that became the archetype of the genre itself: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. As DC Comics' audience and market grew throughout the decades, the company's…

Depictions of college students' alcohol use changed substantially in novels published between 1865 and 1933, years in which higher education expanded and college students became the focus of popular culture. In novels published before 1920, student drinking oscillated widely, primarily mediated by gender, socioeconomic status, and…

This article explores how storied representations of characters with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are typified in a world that is increasingly influenced by popular media. Twenty commercially published children's picture books, popular novels, mainstream television programs, and popular movies from 2006-2012 were selected using purposive,…

This paper discusses the history and effect of popular culture generally and of the adolescent formula novel specifically. Seven primary characteristics of art as popular culture are that the work is accessible, easy to understand, conventional in form, not shocking in content, expressive of common and appropriate values, relative to some element…

An interesting approach to the topic of women and literature is to see if the real working roles of women have been reflected in fiction. As delineated in novels, women are seen engaged in: (l) farm labor; (2) jobs that are extensions of their nurturing roles; (3) factory work--especially in the early textile and clothing mills; and (4) housework…