{"product_id":"9780809326563","title":"Class-Passing: Social Mobility in Film and Popular Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eOprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Roseanne Barr, Martha Stewart, and Britney Spears typify class-passers—those who claim different socioeconomic classes as their own—asserts Gwendolyn Audrey Foster in \u003ci\u003eClass-Passing: Social Mobility in Film and Popular Culture. \u003c\/i\u003eAccording to new rules of social standing in American popular culture, class is no longer defined by wealth, birth, or education. Instead, today’s notion of class reflects a socially constructed and regulated series of performed acts and gestures rooted in the cult of celebrity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn examining the quest for class mobility, Foster deftly traces class-passing through the landscape of popular films, reality television shows, advertisements, the Internet, and video games. She deconstructs the politics of celebrity, fashion, and conspicuous consumerism and analyzes class-passing as it relates to the American Dream, gender, and marriage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eClass-Passing\u003c\/i\u003e draws on dozens of examples from popular culture, from old movie classics and contemporary films to print ads and cyberspace, to illustrate how flagrant displays of wealth that were once unacceptable under the old rules of behavior are now flaunted by class-passing celebrities. From the construction worker in \u003ci\u003eWho Wants to Marry a Millionaire? \u003c\/i\u003eto the privileged socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie of\u003ci\u003e The Simple Life\u003c\/i\u003e, Foster explores the fantasy of contact between the classes. She also refers to television class-passers from \u003ci\u003eThe Apprentice, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Survivor\u003c\/i\u003e and notable class-passing achievers Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and P. Diddy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eClass-Passing\u003c\/i\u003e is a notable examination of the historical, social, and ideological shifts in expressions of class. The first serious book of its kind, \u003ci\u003eClass-Passing \u003c\/i\u003eis fresh, innovative, and invaluable for students and scholars of film, television, and popular culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Southern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031081795824,"sku":"9780809326563","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780809326563_p0.jpg?v=1763727389","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780809326563","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}