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The Yellow Pages--Popular Culture

popular, a. (n.)

  1. Of, pertaining to, or consisting of the common people, or the people as a whole as distinguished from any particular class; constituted or carried on by the people.
  2. Having characteristics attributed to the common people; low, vulgar, plebeian. Obs.
  3. Intended for or suited to ordinary people. a. Adapted to the understanding or taste of ordinary people.

culture, n.

  1. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
  2. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population.
  3. The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.
  4. Intellectual and artistic activity and the works produced by it.

The serious, scholarly study of mass or popular culture is a fairly recent phenomenon, although sociologists have long found the materials with which Americans amuse themselves fascinating for what they reflect about the people and the world around them. Popular culture therefore serves as a mirror wherein society can better see itself. This directory is a handbook for study of several major areas of popular culture.


Cultural Objects:
The Electronic Journal for American Studies at the University of Virginia
RetroCRUSH
"The World's Finest Pop Culture Website"
Secret Fun Spot
Retro Culture Gallery
Popular Culture
Resources for Critical Analysis
The Authentic History Center
Primary Sources from American Popular Culture

Advertising | Animation | The Automobile | By the Decade | Children's Literature | Circuses & Outdoor Amusements | Comics | Conspiracy Theories & Urban Legends | Death | Detective & Mystery Novels | Drug Culture | Fads & Fashion | Film | Foodways | Games & Toys | Gothic Novels | Heroes & Celebrities | Jazz | Magazines & Newspapers | Popular Music & Dance | Occult & The Supernatural | Physical Fitness | Pornography/Sex | The Pulps | Radio | Popular Religion & Self-Help | Science/Fantasy Fiction | Sports | Stage Entertainment | Stereotypes & Slang | Television | Web Culture | The Western


Advertising

Advertising has been decribed as an instituion, a business, an industry, a discipline, a profession, a science, an art, and a talent. It has been defined as news, salesmanship in print, and mass communication. To look at the advertisements of a nation is to view that nation's tastes and values. Although adverising did not originate in America, this country has probably done more than any other nation to use and foster advertising. It is most likely the most persuasive form of popular culture.

Ad*Access
An image database of over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II.
The Emergence of Advertising in America 1850-1920
Presents over 9,000 images, with database information, relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials are drawn from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University.
AdCritic.com

From Creativity Magazine, this site rates television commercials, including the latest spots, Super Bowl Commercials, and Top Twenties.
Television Commercials Database

A searchable resource for TV commercials from all over the world.
Old-Time Radio Commercials

Site features soundbytes of old-time radio commercials, culled from fading memories and low-fidelity tapes, including theFirst Commercial Introduced on Radio Broadcast in 1922.
19th Century Advertising History.com
Harpweek presents a taste of the advertisements found in the pages of Harper's Weekly 1857-1872.
Medicine and Madison Avenue
A database of over 600 health-related advertisements printed between 1911 and 1958, as well as 35 selected historical documents relating to health-related advertising.
Museum of Broadcast Communications
The museum contains a wide array of broadcasting memorabilia, and an extensive publicly-available archives collection of more than 60,000 radio and television programs and commercials. It is home to the Radio Hall of Fame and maintains an exhibit of the Advertising Hall of Fame.
Krazy Ad Characters
Somehow, these goofy characters convinced us to buy their products.
Coca-Cola Television Advertisements
This Library of Congress site covers a variety of television advertisements, never-broadcast outtakes, and experimental footage reflecting the historical development of television advertising for a major commercial product.
Store Displays
1950's-1970's Grocery & Toy Store "shelf-talkers" and displays.
Newspaper & Magazine Ads
1940's-1970's:
Cereal, food, premium, comics, etc
AdFlip.com
Print Ads since 1940.
Propaganda Posters
From Barnes and Noble.com, browse American, Communist, General & Miscellaneous, Spanish Civil War, and War Bonds.
American Propaganda Posters
Posters from World War II.
Sow the Seeds of Victory!
Posters from the Food Administration During World War I from the NARA.
Powers of Persuasion
Poster Art of World War II from the NARA.

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Animation

One likely contender for the first animated cartoon made in the United States was a project of the Edison studio entitled "Enchanted Drawing," registered for copyright on November 16, 1900. During the period of 1900-1928, there was a change from a single animator into a team of complex organizations to create the animation. This organizational system was mastered by Walt Disney, who streamlined the process of cartoon manufacture and innovated the use of the story board, changing the face of animation and presenting the style of animated film that we are familiar with today.

Origins of American Animation 1900-1921
The development of early American animation is represented by this collection of 21 animated films and 2 fragments, which spans the years 1900 to 1921. The films include clay, puppet, and cut-out animation, as well as pen drawings.
Animation History Timeline
Tracks the history of animation from 1887-the present.
The Big Cartoon Database
A Searchable DataBase of Cartoon Information, Episode Guides and Crew Lists, categorized by studio.
Cartoon Research
"Dedicated To Classic Cartoons: Past, Present & Future," this site features a directory of animated features from 1937-onward and classical animated shorts categorized by studio.
Cartoon Characters
From 1960's-1970's.
Vault Disney Collection
Includes Disney History, Disney Archives, Vintage Views, a Movie Finder, and "This Week in Disney History."
50's & 60'sCommercial Animation Art
Original drawings, cels, photos from the 50's for b/w TV commericals

History of Looney Toons on Television
Site includes a history of Warner Brothers Studio and covers every show from the 1960s to the present.
Barbie: The Image of Us All
An AS @ UVA hypertext that examines Mattel's marketing and advertising techniques and their focus on cultural patterns.
"Yellow Trash"
A University of Virginia American Studies Masters Thesis that examines The Simpsons as a postmodern sitcom that retains the traditional theme of family affirmation. Includes a look at the contested family, the trajectory of the situation comedy, the rise of The Simpsons and a close reading of an episode.

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The Automobile

During the first decade of the 20th century, the automobile emerged as a commercially practical business and industrial venture. In 1901, 425 Oldsmobiles were manufactured and sold. The manufacture of Henry Ford's Model T, which began in 1908, ushered in a new era of attitudes and convictions about the motor car. By mid-century, nearly 15 million automobiles were registered in the United States; today, there are over 140 million. When the automobile first appeared, it was treated as a curiosity, a plaything for the rich and a tinkering project for those who liked to play with the mechanics. Some may argue that not much has changed.

The Museum of Automobile History
Includes an online gallery of their exhibit, which takes you through the chronology of the automobile.
This Day in Automotive History
Maintained by the history channel, this site provides tidbits of automobile history for every day of the year.
Showroom of Automotive History: The Model T
Site includes photographs of the Model T, as well as advertising and sales literature from 1908 onward.
Automobile History--This History of Cars and Engines
Site provides a chronological history of the car, a biography of famous automobile makers, a history of American roads, different makes of automobiles, and a history of automobile accessories and parts.

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By the Decade

Pop Culture by the Decade
Categorized by decade, this site features links to popular culture sites.
The Decades Project
Any & every event of the 20th century.
American Cultural History 1900-1909
From the Kingwood College Library, this site covers Art & Architecture, Books & Literature, Fashion and Fads, Music Theater, Film, & Radio.
PBS.com American Experience: America 1900
A Year in the life of America at the dawn of the 20th Century.
American Cultural History 1910-1919
From the Kingwood College Library, this site covers Art & Architecture, Books & Literature, Fashion and Fads, Music Theater, Film, & Radio.
1910-1919 Decade of the 20th Century
Links to cultural events of the decade.
The Roaring Twenties
A web directory that covers prohibition, culture, literature, entertainment, music, sports, and the black migration.
1920's

Web directory covers entire decade including Women's rights, political scandals, crimes of the century, and economic upheaval.
America in the 1920's
Check out the British perspective of America in the 1920's.
The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
A comprehensive directory that covers all facets of the 1920's & 1930's.
The AS @ UVA 1930's Project
Site covers art, film, radio, and print of the 1930's, as well as a timeline.
Documenting America: Great Depression to WWII
This Library of Congress site includes images from the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection--some of he most famous documentary photographs ever produced.
The 1940's Weblinks
Web directory of links covering American culture in the 1940's.
American Life in the 1940's
Links to sites that deal with the social aspect of the 1940's.
Rosie the Riveter
Maintained by the Rosie the Riveter Trust, this site is devoted to the women who worked on the homefront. Includes sheet music, poetry, oral history, and Rosie in the News.
The American 1950's
UPenn's alphabetized list of readings in the 1950s.
Behind the Picket Fences: America in the 1950's
Site covers social, racial, gender, economic, and cultural issues of the 1950's.
Fifties Web
Oldies Music, Classic TV, Pop History, Fads, Fashion, and Slang.
Fifties Boulevard
Material culture of the 1950s beginning in the late 40s including food, fashion, entertainment, sports and more.
The Psychedelic 60's
From the University of Virignia Library, this resour ce offers a wealth of historical information on 1960's America. Site focuses on "literary tradition and social change" with narratives and images of the Vietnam War, Beat poets, rock music, civil rights movement, Woodstock and more.
JFK/The Kennedy Assassination
This web site is dedicated to debunking the mass of misinformation and disinformation surrounding the murder of JFK.
The Sixties Project
Specialized paths for scholars, sixties survivors, and casual surfers.
YAHOO! 1960's Pop Culture Directory
Links to tons of 60's-related sites on the web, Including "Stark Raving Mod."
In The 70's
Music, Movies, Television, World Events, Fads & Fashion.
YAHOO! 1970's Pop Culture Directory
Links to tons of 70's-related sites on the web, including "The Bad As Shit Project."
Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe--The 1970's
Seventies Pop Culture Heaven.
YAHOO! 1980's Pop Culture Directory
Links to tons of 80's-related sites on the web, including "ValleyURL."
In the 80's
Music, Movies, Television, World Events, Fads & Fashion.
The Eighties Server
Oh, those crazy eighties.
The Eighties Club
Politics & Pop Culture of the 1980's.
In the 90's
Music, Movies, Television, World Events, Fads & Fashion.
A Reminiscence of the Nineties
Three teenagers look back at the events of the nineties and how they affected them. Includes the Gulf War, the death of Princess Diana, and the growth of the internet.
YAHOO! 1990's Pop Culture Directory
Links to tons of 80's-related sites on the web, including "Reasons Why the 90's Suck."

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Children's Literature

The emergence of modern children's literature is conventionally dated from the middle of the eighteenth century and credited, to John Newberry, with Pretty Little Pocket Book (1742). Americans remained dependent on British books for children until well into the nineteenth century, but in the 1820s, the spirit of literary nationalism began to stir interest in the creation of a truly American literature for children. Identify and describe the images of childhood as revealed in children's literature over time. The study of children's literature allows us to compare and contrast the images of childhood revealed in children's literature to those of philosophical, educational, and sociological theories over time, demonstrate familiarity with major archetypes and motifs of traditional children's literature, and to identify and describe the images of childhood as revealed in children's literature over time.

Social History of Children's Literature
Provides a comprehensive source for studying both the history of childhood and the history of children's literature, and placing them within the context of the history of America.
Twentieth-Century American Children's Literature
An exhibit of materials from four manuscript collections from The University of Oregon Library System.
Children's Literature, Chiefly from the 19th Century
The Collection, from the University of South Carolina, covers children's literature up through about World War I, charting the growth and transformation of books for children during the golden age of the genre in the nineteenth century.
The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairytale
This Library of Congress site studies the first totally American fantasy for children and its sequels, stage plays and musicals, movies and television shows, biographies of Baum, scholarly studies of the significance of the book and film, advertisements, and toys, games, and other Oz-related products.
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
From the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library, here is the full-text of the Lewis Carroll's Classic Children's Tale.
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
University of Virginia's hypermedia presentation of Little Women. Includes a biography of the author, a brief summary of each chapter, the full-text of the book, as well as a bibliography containing a listing of other works, biographies, and criticisms.
Beyond Nancy Drew--Girls' Literature in the Sallie Bingham Center For Women's History and Culture
An annotated bibliography of books for girls written in the last two hundred years, maintained by the Duke University Library.

Selected Children's Literature Special Collections
Provides a database of Children's Literature Special Collections on the Internet
.
Dreams of Space
Space art in children's books in the 1950's through 1970's.

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Circuses & Outdoor Amusements

In its various forms, the circus is one of the oldest forms of popular entertainment. Some scholars link the modern circus to Rome's Circus Maximus, but more commonly it is linked to the equestrian training circle of the eighteenth century, which amounted to a one-ring circus in London featuring horsemanship acts. The early American circus then, was transported from England, primarily in the form of John Bill Ricketts, a Scotsman who arrived in Philadelphia in 1793. During the first half of the nineteenth century, distinctive characteristics of the American Circus began to evolve and by 1885, virtually all American circuses had adopted the three-ring show.
The American outdoor entertainment industry evolved from European traditions--the medieval faire and carnival, and the seventeenth-century pleasure garden. Before the America Revolution, pleasure gardens could be found in major cities on the East Coast and included food, drink, music, and free variety acts. The true emergence of the American carnival and the exploitation of amusement rides and concessions is usually cited as 1893, with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Circus Web--Circuses Past & Present
Site detals the history of the circus, circus lore, and links to United States circuses.
History & Tradition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey
Includes biographies of Barnum, Bailey, and Ringlings, as well as a look at a century of circus railroading, a 1947 behind-the-scenes view, and a show history from the 100th Anniversary Program book.
Circus History Collections & Research
A directory of circus-related holdings of libraries, universities, and museums, categorized by state.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show

A University of Virginia hypertext that explores the original western spectacle.
Amusement Park Industry History
Maintained by The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), this history chronicles the amusement park industry from medieval Europe to present day.
The World's Columbian Exposition: Idea, Experience, Aftermath
This hypertextual thesis from the University of Virginia explores the 1892 Exposition through a virtual tour, investigates visitor's reactions to the Fair, and analyzes the social, political and cultural legacies of the World's Columbian Exposition.
Coney Island History Website
An image-filled project on the history of the New York amusement park that set the standard.
Defunct Amusement Parks
A collection of defunct amusement park information, searchable by state, with history and photographs.
Roller Coasters--Inventing the Scream Machine
Encylcopedia Brittanica's chronological history of the roller coaster and its inventors.
Disneyland History
A searchable interactive map that provides the history of each of Disneyland's themed "lands."
Disneyland Photo Tour
Take a tour of Disneyland in the 50's & 60's.
Themed Lands
From Storybook Land to the World's Largest Birdhouse, check out these great outdoor amusements.

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Comics

The American comic strip may have been influenced by prehistoric cave drawings, the medieval Bayeux tapestry, the eighteenth-century print series of such artists as William Hogarth, the illustrated European broadsheet, the nine-teenth century illustrated novels and children's books, or European and American humous periodicals, but it is a distinct form of expression unto itself and is primarily an American creation. Some would suggest that the first comic strip was James Swinnerston's 1895 feature for the San Fransisco Examinir, "Little Bears and Tykes." Others more commonly suggest Richard Outcault's "The Yellow Kid," who first appeared in the May, 1895 issue of the New York World. The daily and Sunday comic strips, and comic books, are part of the reading habits of millions of Americans.

Comic Art & Graffix Gallery History of Comic Art
Site chronicles the history and story of the creation of the comic art form.
Comics Research Bibliography
A n international bibliography of comic books, comic strips, animation, caricature, cartoons, bandes dessinees, and related topics. Also includes a directory of comics site links.
Comics Research Library
Comprehensive listing of comics holdings at university libraries across the country.
Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon--Exhibitions and Online Presentations
Library of Congress collections in cartoon and caricature.
Boondocks.net Political Cartoons Page
Provides a comprehensive guide to political cartoons throughout American history.
Dr. Suess Went to War
A catalog of political cartoons by Sr. Suess, maintained by the Mandeville Special Collections Library.
Uniting Mugwumps and the Masses: Puck's Role in Gilded Age Politics
Site provides a text-based & image-based study. The Text-Based section is an analysis of cartooning as well as Gilded Age political culture. The Image-Based section provides a Puck cartoon archive, as well as deconstructions of particular cartoons.
Blondie Gets Married
This Library of Congress site presents twenty-seven drawings with Exhibition Panels including Courtship, Wedding, Family, Mailman, Work, Love, Homemaking, Food, Naps, and Baths.
Monstrous Claws & Character Flaws: Masterpieces of Cartoon & Caricature at the Library of Congress
An exhibition in the Swann Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon at the Library of Congress.
Oliphant's Anthem: Pat Oliphant at the Library of Congress
Oliphant is considered among the most gifted practitioners in the history of political cartooning.
Political Cartoon Search
The biggest database of political cartoons by the best political cartoonists in the world.
New Yorker Cartoon Bank
Cartoon Prints & Cover Prints.

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Conspiracy Theories & Urban Legends

Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy Theories
Six Theories.
Pearl Harbor: Mother of All Conspiracies
"...everything that the Japanese were planning to do was known to the United States..." ARMY BOARD, 1944
Lincoln/Kennedy Assassination Coincidences
Conspiracy or Coincidence?
JFK Assassination Websites
Links to sites dealins with assassination resources.
THE PROBE
Articles concerning the assassinations of JFK, MLK, and RFK.
James Earl Ray
Detailed examination of the assassination, including King's relationship with J. Edgar Hoover, alleged conspiracies, and Ray's role.
The AIDS Conspiracy
Theories that AIDS is a government conspiracy to destroy undesirable populations.
Justice for Kurt Cobain
Was Kurt Cobain murdered?
Exit Tupac, Enter Machiavelli
The Tupac Shakur Conspiracy
Princess Diana's Death
Directory of Diana links.
September 11 Conspiracy Theory Directory
Links to common September 11 theories.
The Scooby Doo/X Files Conspiracy
Proves the X-Files is nothing more than a rip-off of the 70's hit Saturday morning cartoon, Scooby Doo.
Create Your Own Conspiracy Theory
Fill in the blanks to your very own conspiracy
Snopes.com
Urban Legends Reference Pages
How Stuff Works: Urban Legends
What they are, where they come from and why they spread so quickly.

Death

Throughout American history, popular customs have reflected general American attitudes toward death. The Puritans began early in the education of their children to establish a healthy respect for death. Two of the most popular books of Puritan New England were intended to instill in children their parents' fear: A Token For Children and The New England Primer. The importation of the Romantic movement to America at the turn of the nineteenth century led to a fascination with death and more grandiose funerary rituals. Toward the beginning of the twentieth century, there arose a dependence on the funeral home for its services, a change that physically removes the presence of death from the household, along with some of the trauma. For many Americans, death today has become an unfamiliar event as science and technology have worked to prolong life and to ease medical suffering. The study of American attitudes toward death over time provides insight into the change in American values, family systems, rituals and customs, as well as fears.

Emmeline Grangerford's Scrapbook--Death in Victorian America
A look at the Victorian American way of death through the pages of Mark Twain's character Emmeline Grangerford's scrapbook. Site explores attitudes toward death, mourning, obituaries, postmortem photography, funerary practices, and epitaphs.
Death Links
Web directory for sites covering death: cemeteries, tragedies, Dia de los Muertos, Wars, and Famous Dead.
Hair Jewelry Exhibit
From the Historic Northhampton Museum and Education Century, an exhibit on American mourning jewelry.
Morbid Outlook
Site contains nonfiction articles on death, mourning, and funerary practices.

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Detective & Mystery Novels

Mystery and detective fiction have been among the most popular fictional genres to emerge in Western literature. The roots of mystery fiction have been traced into antiquity, puzzles and narrative riddles are found in folklores of all cultures, and the search for solutions reaches beyond recorded history. Detective stories demand observation, reasoning, and imagination, allowing the reader to take part in the challenge of the protagonist. Mysteries are less specialized than detective stories and often verge on gothic. The origins of the detective story, it is generally agreed, are found in the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Subsequent writers tried to tackle the genre, with the first "classic" detective story cited as Anna Katherine Greene's "The Leavenworth Case" (1878). In the next decade, Greene was eclipsed by Arthur Conan Doyle. The classic detective stories appeared in slick magazines and hardcover novels, making its strongest appeal to the upwardly mobile middle class.

The Beginnings of the Mystery Novel
Includes timelines and author information, as well as links to detective and mystery literature sites.
Society & The Detective Novel
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute guide to Detective novels.
Mystery Time Line
From mysterynet.com
The Thrilling Detective Website
Featuring Private Eyes & Other Tough Guys and Gals, as well as print, television, and radio detectives.
The History of Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction
An essay from Case Western Reserve University
Sherlock Holmes on the Web
Everything the Web offers about Sherlock Holmes is here.
Court TV's Crime Library: Gangsters & Outlaws
Search biographies and images of your favorite bad guys.

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Drug Culture

Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History
An exhibit from the DEA, this site covers America's first drug epidemic to the return of cocaine & the rise of cartels.
Thirty Years of America's Drug War
A Chronology from PBS.org
Television from the 80's:Public Service Announcements
"You Alright? I learned it from watching you."
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
"Just Say No"
History of Hightimes
From 1970 to now, a chronology of the high times and higher times of High Times.
Hippies & Drugs
From Hippy.com
A History of Reefer Madness
The cult classic movie for partiers like you.

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Fads & Fashion

The good, the bad, and the ugly: fads and fashion have been a part of American culture from the beginning. As culture and attitudes change, fashion changes with it. A culture's clothing is revealing of its social systems, its customs, its values, and its sense of identity.

Bad Fads Museum
Browse through the fun and fascinating fashion, collectible, activity and event fads of the last 100 years.
Crazy Fads.com
Read about fads from the past 100 years: hula hoops, disco, pet rocks, goldfish swallowing, flagpole sitting, mood rings, Rubik's Cubes, 3D movies, and more.
The Costume Gallery
Online Research Library for fashion and costume, categorized by decade.
American Vintage Blues: History of Fashion
From 1900-1980, read about the clothing, accessories, hairdos, and designers of each decade of American history.
18th Century Fashion Links
From American Revolution Uniforms to Kilts, fashion of the 18th century can be found in this web directory.
Flapper Fashion Page
Descriptions and illustrations of 1920's flapper fashions.
The Pin-up Page
W eb site devoted to the pin-up girls of the 1940's and 50's.
Historical Boys Clothing
Site includes over 10,000 pages covering the history of boys' fashion and trends.
Invention of Levi's 501 Jeans
The invention of the blue jeans, from the company that started it all.

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Film

The first public audience to watch a film was December 28, 1895 in Paris, a Lumiere brothers' production that showcased moving images of scenes taken from ordinary life. The first filmmaker to successfully tell a story with film was George Melies, another Frenchman, at the turn of the century. Thomas Edison and Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903) was America's first storytelling film. The first major, long film was 1915's The Birth of a Nation, directed by David Wark Griffith, and from there, it wasn't long before the modern film industry of studio systems and star systems took hold.

The Internet Movie Database
Vast resource for EVERYTHING movie related--filmographies, facts, bloopers, photo galleries, etc.
Rotten Tomatoes
Movie Reviews and Previews
Movie Studios, Distributors and TV Stations
An alphabetical directory of studios. From IMDB.
American Film Institute
A research, preservation, and education institution that includes "100 Years Lists" and The AFI Catalog of Feature Films online while explores American films, decade by decade.
Silent Film Resources
Any and everything you'd want to find out about Silent Films, including the Stars.
REEL American History
A hypertext from Lehigh University, this project chronicles American History through its films.
American Picture Palaces
From the University of Virginia American Studies Program, a study of classic American movie theaters.
American Memory Collection: Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
From the Library of Congress, this site features links to exhibits on: "Motion Pictures 1894-1915," Early Films of San Francisco," "Films of the Westinghouse Works 1904," "The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures," and "Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film."
Gay Movie History
A chronology of the depiction of homosexuality in film.
"Skinfolks & Kinfolks"
Racial Passing in American Films 1930-1960. An AS @ UVA Master's Thesis.
New Frontiers in American Documentary Film
This AS @ UVA Master's Thesis offers a beginning point for the digital preservation and presentation of revolutionary 1930s documentary films.
Prelinger Archive
Online archive of Educational Films - don't miss A is for Atom.
Blaxploitation
Learn about Sweet Sweetback, Foxy Brown, Shaft, and other icons of this unique film genre.
Hollywood Teen Movies
From Beach Blanket Bingo to the Bratpack, this site covers all your favorite teen movies from the 1950's to today.
The 20 Worst Movie Titles in Hollywood History
"Because a film by any other name...probably has a better name."
Cult-Films
Directory of cult film classics.
Bad Movies.org
Reviews of films of dubious value, including pictures, sounds, and videos.

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Foodways

Few subjects occupy a larger place in the American consciousness than food. In both a literal and figurative sense, food serves to define individual and group identities; culturally acquired and nurtured matters of taste demark ethnic, regional, racial, and spiritual differences between Americans and different "food movements" reflect changing American ideals and focuses.

Dining Through the Decades
"100 Years of Glorious American Food"
Food History Timeline
Twentieth Century timeline of edibles and quaffables.
Teacher Resources for Food History Lessons
EVERYTHING about food--from the history of horticulture to who was the real Aunt Jemima?--as well as inventions like the juice box and facsimiles of antique cookbooks.
Open Directory--Food History
A-Z Web Directory of Food History
Not by Bread Alone: America's Culinary Heritage
Site from Cornell University explores the influences and inventions that have shaped American food habits over the past two hundred years and highlights rare books, photographs, menus, and other early documents that trace the history of gastronomy in America.
America the Bountiful
Classic American food from antiquity to the space age.
Open Directory--Fast Food
A-Z Web Directory of Fast Food, including essays from a Chick-Fil-A employee & fast food facts.
A History of the Fast Food Industry
Essay on America as Fast Food Nation: includes Fast Food & the Media and the McDonald's Take-over.
Fast Food Premiums
A look at vintage Happy Meal toys & other premiums.
Junk Food News
Your resource to junk food in America.
Directory of Snack Food Brands
Find the sites of your favorite snack food companies.
History of Frozen Food
The American Frozen Food Industry takes you on a trip through frozen food history from the 1930's to today.
History of the Grocery Store
Timeline & History.
Vintage SuperMarket Photos
See where Mama went to bring home the bacon.
Discount Stores of the 60's
White Front, Sams, etc.
Grocery Packaging
1950's-1970's.
Even the vegetables looked different...
Kids Food Packaging
Candy, cereal, drinks, cookies, pudding, etc.
, check out these crazy kids food packagings.
Cereal Boxes
1950's-1970's. Do you remember Sir Grapefellow? Nah, me neither.

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Games & Toys

Games and toys, as part of the larger topic of play, are significant in shaping individual personalities and cultures. While the use of games and toys is not limited to childhood, it is obvious that in our society these terms are gereanlly reserved for children's activities. The games and toys of colonial children were those of their British, French, Dutch, and German ancestors: tag, jumprope, leapfrog. Prosperity and changing values brought greater variety to the toy market in the eighteenth century; we can also see the emergence of ball games and indoor games in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. By the nineteenth century, an emphasis on material success can be seen with the tremendous popularity of Milton Bradley's "The Checkered Game of Life" (1860), with squares such as "wealth," "happiness," "poverty," "jail," and "suicide" making up the board. The plethora of games in the twentieth century reveals much about American culture. Since many of these games involve elements of chance as well as strategy, they may reflect a growing uncertainty about the future.

The History of Toys & Games
From the History Channel: Discover the origins of your favorite toys and games.

Colonial Activities for children
How to make Colonial toys and play Colonial games.
Victorian Games
The etiquette of card playing and games.
The History of Puzzle, Card, and Board Games
The history of the invention of your favorite games from A-Z.
The History of Toys
The history of toy balloons, Slinky, Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Hacky Sack, Lego, SILLY PUTTY, Silly String, Tinkertoy, Etch A Sketch, Video Games, Yo-Yo, Erector Set, Super Soaker, Water Talkies, and more.
80's Children.com
Rainbrow Brite, Jem & The Holograms, Thundercats--All your old friends are right here.
Cereal Premiums
Oh yeah. You knew why you really ate all that cereal...
Gum Art Cards
Original Art - 1950's-1970's:
Wacky Packages, Bazooka Joe, Candy, etc
Cracker Jack.com
Cracker Jack history, trivia, toys, games, & prizes.
The Gallery of Monster Toys
Comprehensive collection of monster toys from the 60's-90's.
The Dot Eaters: Classic Video Game History
From the Primordial Ooze, to the Computer Game, this site follows video game history from 1889 to the present.
Nintendoland
Complete history of Nintendo, play online games, and learn all about Mario.

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Gothic Novels

The gothic novel had its greatest general popularity in a relatively brief period of literary history, the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was originally an English literary form, although authors and readers in other countries quickly adopted gothic fiction and its convention for their own. The influence of the gothic in fiction, however, has been much more significant than its relatively short period of great popularity would indicate. Besides its contributions to the detective novel, science fiction, horror stories, the popular melodrama, and the works of nineteenth- and twentieth- century authors, the gothic novel has also survived as a form in itself.

The Literary Gothic
Search novels by title or author. Also includes gothic web resources.
The Gothic Novel
History & elements of the popular literary genre.
The Dark Ages: A History of Horror
Timeline and articles following the roots of horror.
Sublime Anxiety: The Gothic Family and the Outsider
A Special Collections exhibit from the University of Virginia.

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Heroes & Celebrities

From Captain John Smith to John Fitzgerald Kennedy: as long as there has been America, there has been a hero who has served as symbol for American's hopes and dreams. Heroes articulate longing and exemplify American ideals; they are examples of how Americans would like to see themselves.

TIME 100 Most Important People of the Century
Profiles of individuals who--for better or worse--influenced the last 100 years.
TIME 100: Heroes & Icons
Profiles of individuals who articulate the longings of the past 100 years.
VH1's 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Images included. Come see who made #1.
The Presidents of the United States
From the White House, biographies of all the American presidents.
Women of the Century
From the Discovery Channel; search by decade.
10 Most Important Figures in African American History
From Ebony.com
ESPN.com Top North American Athletes of the Century
Biographies of great athletes of the 20th century, as selected and profiled by ESPN as part of the SportsCentury retrospective.
100 Greatest Female Athletes
Sports Illustrated for Women's biographies of the century's greatest sportswomen.
Gay Heroes.com
Gay & Lesbian people in history.
Miss America History
Follow the history of the quintessential American pageant from the 1920's onward.
Boomers' Pin-ups
The Fifties Teen Idols.
Whatever Happened To?
Search for the has-beens, the flash-in-the-pans and those pseudo-celebrities who were all too annoying during their 15 measly minutes.

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Jazz

The jazz tradition springs from the American cultural experiment; it is the precise musical analogy to the melting pot. New Orleans is considered the birthplace of jazz, with the word itself deriving from the word "jass," being a euphemism for sexual activity. Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band was one of the earliest bands, making its recording debut in 1923 and featuring a second young cornetist named Louis Armstrong. Amstrong emerged from Oliver's shadow to become the quintessential jazz soloist. Meanwhile, in the New York of the 1920's, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was beginning a long career that would establish him as one of America's great composers. With the establishment of the solo-ensemble format, which may be considered a sophisticate extension of the call-and-response legacy of African music, and the development of the jazz orchestra, the stage was set for the popular success and excesses of the Swing Era.

Explore jazz history through one photograph
A Great Day in Harlem, from Harlem.org. Or browse by timeline, artist, instrument, or style.
Jass.com
History, early jazz musicians, photographs, and a look at the Cotton Club.
PBS.com: JAZZ A Film by Ken Burns
Features Jazz in Time, Places Spaces & Changing Faces, A Listening Lounge, Biographies, a look at how jazz mirrored society, and a special section for kids.
Styles of Jazz: A Map
From Northwestern University, adapted from Joachim Berendt's The Jazz Book.
Jazz History--The Verve Group
Jazz History, with chapters including Blues, Swing, Latin, Bebop, 3rd Stream, and Avant Garde.
Smithsonian Jazz
Intended to preserve and promote Jazz music. Includes an online version of the Smithsonian's Duke Ellington collection.
Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz
The Library of Congress site features photographs from the William P. Gottlieb Collection, documenting the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948, primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C.
New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park
Information on jazz and the park.
Gallery 41
Featuring rare, historical, and uniquely personal conversations with the greatest Jazz artists of our generation. Highlighted with photographs, voice and music audio clips, and more.
Big Bands and Big Names
Original historic reviews and photos of swing, and big band, and other performers from the '40s and '50s.
The Origins of Big Band Music
A History of Big Band Jazz.
The History of HipHop
Chronicles the history of one of jazz's successors.

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Magazines & Newspapers

More than any other medium, the magazine represents America. Other nations produce periodicals, but nowhere else is there the multicolored, multivoiced flood of print that inundates Americans weekly, monthly, and quarterly. As consumer products, magazines develop and satisfy the tastes of contemporary Americans; as primary advertising tools of business and industry, magazines help provide the market that supplies the demand for products; and as instruments of entertainment and enlightenment, magazines both create and respond to current social values and the panorama of American culture. Although printing presses were among the first cargoes to the American colonies, it was not until 1741 that an American magazine was printed and identified as such. It was the "American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies" issued by Andrew Bradford, just 3 days before rival publisher, Benjamin Franklin's "General Magazine, and Historical Chronicle for All the British Plantations in America," setting the stage for competition between the media that survives today.
Newspapers, seen as the "serious" side of America's media, are often overlooked as popular culture, but unlike magazines, newspapers are a daily presence in American life. The ill-fated "Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick" was the Colonies' first newspaper, published in Boston on September 5, 1690 and suppressed by the colonial governor after that first issue. Colonial newspapers are regarded as having profoundly affected and sharpened the issues confronting the Colonies and as having hastened the Revolutionary War. Since their start, newspapers have made themselves a necessary part of the average citizen's daily life.

LIFE Magazine
Features LIFE History, Cover Collection, and top events of the past century.
TIME Archive
Features a Past Cover Search.
The New York Times: NYT at 150
Features a timeline of NYT history, plus articles and reminiscences.
People.com Magazine Timeline
From 1970 onward, see PEOPLE history. Also includes magazine facts.
HarpWeek: Explore History
Electronic Access to Harper's Weekly 1857-1912. America's Leading 19th Century Newspaper.
National Geographic History Index
Features interactive guides based on historical records.
HistoryBuff.com
This web site is an historical reference of newspaper coverage from the 16th Century to the 20th Century.
Civil War Newspapers
From Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the Civil War. Search newspapers from Fall 1859-Fall 1870.
Pages from the Past
From Archiving Early America, site features 18th Century documents such as newspapers, maps, and letters plus modern articles and films about the original thirteen colonies and early republic.
MuckRaking
History of andleading writers of the genre.
PBS.org: Crucible of Empire--Yellow Journalism
Includes Hearst Biography, Davis Biography, Headline Gallery, and Cartoon Gallery.
Hearst Corporation History
Features biographies and a timeline.
Women Come to the Front: Journalists, Photographers, and Broadcasters During WWII
This Library of Congress site chronicles eight women who came to the front and followed various paths to their wartime assignments.
A Brief History of the Tabloid
50 Years of the tabloids...
Louise Brooks Vintage Magazine Covers
From the 1920's and 1930's.
50's Teen Idol Magazines
This site honors the teen idol magazines of the fifties--with snapshots and articles.

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Popular Music & Dance

While thoughtful attention to popular music is relatively new, the music itself has been vigorously alive in this country for a long time. Some of the music brought to the New World by the colonists was serious academic music; some was what we would now call "folk music," belonging to the community by tradition; some however, was popular music, printed and sold in broadsides or songbooks or performed by professional entertainers to paying audiences. The source of this popular music was the mother countries of the new Americans, chiefly England, but during the eighteenth century an increasing amount of this popular music was written in the colonies for colonists. Thomas Edison built the first phonograph in 1877, but for half a century phonograph records would only make up a minority of popular music sales. At the opening of the twentieth century, the American band was being heard everywhere, with a boom in social dancing beginning during the second decade of that century. The industry was swinging through World War II, rocking and rolling through mid-century, and becoming political and ideological in the 1960s and 1970s. Through studying American popular music, a heritage can be discovered; that heritage can contribute to the understanding of American culture.

All Music Guide: Music Styles
Every genre you can think of; provides histories, timelines, and important contributing albums.
Popular Songs in American History
Tunes, Lyrics, Information, Historical Background, and Tune-related links, beginning with the 17th century.
UCLA Digital Library Sheet Music Archive
American Popular Songs in the form in which they were originally published, beginng with the 1920's.
History in Song
American history as told through its music; American Revolution through 1960's.
Music Published in America: 1870-1885
From the Library of Congress, this site documents the attitudes and tastes of a bygone era with music of many varieties and many origins, all of it published in the United States between 1870 and 1885.
American Popular Music Before 1900
This chronologically arranged web page is intended as an overview of American History through its music; also includes lyrics.
The Lester L. Levy Sheet Music Collection
P art of Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of The Johns Hopkins University, the collection contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music spanning the period 1780 to 1960.
American Popular Music 1900-1950
A Chronological Subject Guide from Kingwood College Library.
Songs of the Great Depression
Lyrics to 3 popular Depression-era songs.
Manufacturing Memory: American Popular Music in the 1930's
From AS @ UVA, the decade of the 1930's is divided into two halves, 1930-1934 and 1935-1939.
BILLBOARD Album Charts
Top Music in all genres.
Archives of African American Music & Culture
From the collection at Indiana University.
American Roots Music
From PBS.org, travel back through the 20th century to explore the roots of American music: Blues, Country, Bluegrass, Gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano, and Native American.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
History of Rock & Roll visual timeline.
Rolling Stone Artists A-Z
Includes biographies, discographies, images, and reviews.
Memphis Music Tour
Historical E-Tours of The Memphis Music Legacy, including, of course, Elvis Presley.
American Music on the World Wide Web
Directories according to genre.
American Popular Music 1950-Present
A Chronological Subject Guide from Kingwood College Library.
Swing & Big Band Database
An ongoing project dedicated to Bands; to Jazz and to Swing History, and to the music now known to the world as "American Popular Song".
River of Song
From PBS &The Smithsonian, the site follows music along the Mississippi River.
One Hit Wonder Central
One hit wonders of the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, & 90's
Pop Music--The 70's
Includes Lyrics & Billboard position.
Pop Music--The 80's
Includes Lyrics & Billboard position.
Pop Music--The 90's
Includes Lyrics & Billboard position.
Heavy Metal & Hard Rock 1969-1999
Selective sample of 30 years of hard rock, heavy metal, hard alternative and grunge, includes some lyrics & Billboard postition.
Top Pop Lists
Popculturemadness features "top" lists including the Worst Pop Songs of All Time.
Absolute Lyric
Pop, Rock, R&B, and Dance music lyrics.
Rap Dictionary
Ay yo trip this cipher.
List of Dances
From Wikipedia--List can be searched alphabetically or by dance style categories, dances sorted by ethnicity, and novelty/fad dances.
A Dance Web Directory
A-Z Guide to dance sites on the web.
Dance Steps
Singles Line Dances, Couples Line Dances, Ball Room Dances, and Party Dances--remember the Macarena?
An American Ballroom Companion
From the Library of Congress, Dance Instruction Manuals 1490-1920.
Free to Dance--Dance Timelne 1619-2001
From PBS.org
Descriptions of Early American Social Dances
The Balboa through the Trunky Doo.
Dance Histories
History of Social Dances.
African Dance Resources

African Dance and African American Dance Resources.

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Occult & The Supernatural

In the absence of substantial research, it can only be hypothesized that occult beliefs were present among the earliest European settlers in the New World. The subsequent history of the occult in America, to the extent that it has been documented, suggests a complex of Native American and African traditions; European folklore and customs; European intellectual traditions; and the efficacy of magic, witchcraft, and astrology. The Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692 are an example of colonial America's obsession with the occult, an obsession that was rekindled in the 1780s with the Romantic movement. Interest rose again in the 1820s and 1830s with the introduction of animal magnetism and phrenology from Europe. By the later 1830s and 1840s, a whirl of occultisms, revelations, new religions, and reform movements were sweeping across the country. Spiritualism began in the United States as a means of contacting spirits of the dead through human mediums. In 1875, the Theosophical Society, one of the most influential of all modern occult movements, was formed in New York. After WWI, interest was again his in psychical phenomenon, mediumship, Vedanta philosophy, and Krishnamurti, and after WWII in flurries of enthusiasm over flying saucers, hypnotic regression to past lives, and Zen Buddhism. As long as there are questions left unanswered, there will be an interest in the occult.

Salem Witch-Hunt Interactive
From National Geographic.com
The History of Phrenology on the Web
The most comprehensive website for the history of phrenology—the most popular Victorian science.
Ghosts of the Prairie--The Haunted Museum
Chronicle of Ghost Research, from the heyday of Spiritualism to the modern era. From the Fox sisters and the birth of Spiritualism, to Ouija boards, ghost hunting, and how to have a seance.
The Moonlit Road
Ghost stories and folktales from the American South.
Spooky Stories at American Folklore.net
Ghost stories, strange happenings, and supernatural events.
Museum of Talking Boards
An online museum of Ouija Boards.
"Supernatural"
From Wikipedia--includes arguments for and against, as well as links to related topics.
Roswell Incident Report
From Air-Force Research.
The X-Files Timeline
The X-Files Timeline attempts to consolidate every date and chronological reference made in the X-Files. Includes Prehistory-1970.
Unsolved Mysteries
The site of the series; includes tales of lost loves, missing, homocide, and fugitives.

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Physical Fitness

America has been concerned about physical fitness (or "physical culture," the older term) from the country's beginnings. The University of Virginia built the first wooden gym in 1853 and was followed shortly by the brick and stone gyms at Harvard, Yale, and Amherst. By 1909, 114 colleges had gymnasiums and 111 had some sort of physical education department. The YMCA formed in the 1840s to improve the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the trades. The playground movement, which began in Boston in 1885, also contributed to the development of physical fitness. The story of fitness during the first half of the twentieth century is predominately an up-down history of a nation becoming intensely concerned about the state of its fitness during wartime and apathetic during peace time. In the second half of the twentieth century, fitness became more of a priority for all Americans, with gym memberships, home workout videos, and celebrities hawking fitness equipment filling everyday life. The fitness trend has also included fad dieting and, after several lawsuits, the current attempt of fast food companies to "slim down." Physical fitness is an integral part of American culture today.

American Social Hygeine Posters ca. 1910-1970
Collection of posters from the Social History Archives at the University of Minnesota. Posters on topics such as sexually transmitted diseases, physical fitness and health.
THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN HEALTH, HYGIENE AND FITNESS
By Dr. Alison Wrynn, SUNY Cortland
President's Council on Physical Fitness History
History and mission from the government site.
Muscle Beach
Smithsonian magazine's article on the locale of the start of the fitness craze.
The American Fitness Revolution
From American Sports Data, Inc. A Study of the new fitness trend in America.
History of Sports Shoes
From the foot race to Nike, the Curtin University of Technology Dept. of Podiatry site covers it all.
Nike Timeline
History from the company's website.
Nike and the American Body
An AS @ UVA hypertext examining Nike and its contributions to the culture of American Fitness.
History of Playgrounds
Charlottesville Parks and Grounds, 2001.
Fitness Fashion in the late 20th century
Track fitness attire from 1960-present.
Dancewear through theAges
Ever wonder where leotards came from?
History of Yoga
A Complete Overview of the History of Yoga.
Fad Diet.com
From Dr. Atkins to the Russian Air Force Diet--comprehensive list of fad diets along with some interesting humor.
Richard Simmons.com
Richard's Bio.

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Pornography/Sex

Ben Franklin was the first American to own a copy of John Clelland's "Fanny Hill; Or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" (1747). In 1846, the Irishman William Haynes began to publish erotic books in New York, and the 1850s saw the rise to prominence of George Thompson, who wrote hundreds of pornographic novels under pseudonyms. Pornographic daguerreotypes were increasing in vogue when the first motion picture films were made in 1894. As far as is known, the first pornographic films were made shortly after, in 1896. One of the earliest American stag films was "A Free Ride," alternately titled "A Grass Sandwich" (1915). From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, an increasing number of theatres ventured to show an increasing amount of sex, and later sex and violence, in the form of nudies and roughies to an ever widening audience. Playboy is a men's magazine founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner. Playboy is one of the world's best known brand, providing an example that, no matter in what form, porn sells.

Porn Library
History of Porn Bibliography
Crackers & Whackers: The White Trashing of Porn
Porn's predilection for white trash looks and tastes by Constance Penley
How 'Deep Throat' Demystified Sex in America
Examines the cultural significance of the 1972 porn classic "Deep Throat."
Notes on the History of Porn
History going as far back as the 1650's.
"One person's erotica is another person's pornography"
Descriptions of porn genres and bibliography.
Retro Raunch
O ffering vintage erotica and antique porno pictures of classic pin-up models
Retromynx
Features pin up girls and female bombshells.
Vintage Pics
Collection of adult photos.
Old Time Porn
Porn pictures from the 1800s and early 1900s.
BigKugels Photographic
Providing rare nude and erotica photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries.
World of Playboy
Playboy Magazine Archives of Covers, Images, and Interviews
Hef's Pages
The history of Hugh Hefner
Strange Sisters
An archive of Lesbian Paperback Artwork from the 50's & 60's.
Erotic University
Adult Sex Education for the 21st century
70's Porn
Classic porn from the groovy 70's.
BIG BOOBS--Ancient & Modern
Brief retrospect of breasts in porn taken from magazines, films, and other sources.
ACME Vintage
Free access to vintage erotica and pin up art from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Retro Smut
Pre-Silicone Porn from the 60's.
History of the Vibrator
A San Diego State University graduate student project for a "Women and Technology" course. Includes great photographs, including the late 19th century jolting chair and a Sears Ad for a vibrator.
The Vibrator: A Timeline History
A history of woman's best friend, from Binghamton University.
Vagina list
The longest vagina nickname list in the world.

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The Pulps

Originally, the terms "pulp," "pulp magazine," and "pulp fiction" were writers' and publishers' trade terms. To the magazine writer and his potential advertisers, the quality of paper was a vital concern; so-called slick paper afforded a highly desirable look, but was expensive and was only economically feasible for large-circulation magazines. Pulp paper, on the other hand, was much cheaper and its use made possible for publishers to reach a mass reading market at a low price. Many different kinds of magazines with low advertising content utilized pulp paper: comic books; political and cultural journals;, newspaper book review and entertainment supplements;, scholastic, library, and book trade publications, etc. However, only the popular fiction or all-fiction magazine acquired the name "pulp." These publications included detective stories, adventure stories, and fantasies, like "Dime Detective," "Argosy," "Blue Book," and "Weird Tales."

The Pulp.net
Includes a history of the pulps, a Pulp Companion with plot devices, "Behind the Shadow," and a pulp cover art gallery, as well as popular pulp characters like The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the Spider.
The Pulp Zone
Online reference to the golden age of pulp magazines: cover gallery, heroes, stories, artist bios, and articles about pulp.
Hero Pulps
Features links to unofficial sites for Doc Savage, The Spider, Operator #5, G8 & his Battle Aces, the Avenger, and The Shadow.
Pulp Magazines
Brief overviews of different pulp genres, including aviation, romance, war, fantasy, and western pulps. Also includes Early Pulps--from 1901.
Pulp Fiction Central at the Vintage Library
Intro to pulp genres, heroes, author pages; also includes old-time radio classics.
Pulp Fiction Magazine Covers
Including all the classics: Gay Bar Slut, LSD Orgy, S&M Office Girls, Plug-In Passion, Marijuana Girl, Las Vegas Lesbian, and Pagan Lesbian.
The George Kelley Paperback and Pulp Fiction Collection
From the University at Buffalo Library; includes adventure, detective/mystery, erotic, horror, legal, science fiction, western, and war.
Women in the Shadows
Lesbian pulp fiction from Duke University
Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection
From Mount Saint Vincent University

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Radio

Since its inception, Radio has been widely recognized as a tremendously potent force in American culture. Radio began in 1895 when the young Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, took his wireless telegraph to England. Radio in America has gone through three developmental stages--"the pioneer period" from the 1890s through the mid-1920s, "the golden age" of network programs in the 1930s and 1940s, and the "television age" which began in the late 1840s and is still in progress.

United States Early Radio History
A comprehensive early history, concentrating on 1897-1927.
Surfing the Aether--A Brief History of the Radio
These pages chronicle some of the events, inventions, and notable moments that made radio what it is today.
Library of American Broadcasting
At the University of Maryland
Old Time Radio (OTR)
Source for the history of nostalgic and old time radio series and news.
The Broadcast Archive
Includes historical narratives, a look at some of the people that built broadcasting, history of Local Programming, and information on the Networks, and war radio stories.
History of American Broadcasting
Comprehensive site, including--among many others--m eanings of early call letters and a chronology of AM & FM broadcasting.
History of Radio
Includes scientists, inventors, amateurs, government, corporations, and programs.
Radio Hall of Fame
Provides information on the history of radio and the people who helped to shape its history.
American Museum of Radio
Presenting the relationship between early investigations into the phenomenon of electricity and the subsequent development of radio.
History of ABC Radio
The Birth of ABC Radio, Early Radio Programs, The War Years, News Legislation, Post-War Expansion, The Sixties and Seventies, The Eighties, Radio Programming, and Radio Australia.
About NPR

History, How it Works, and Who Supports it.
Empire of the Air
Ken Burns' PBS documentary: The Men who Made Radio.
Marconi Calling
On-line museum dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi and based on the Marconi companies early history.
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
All of the surviving Mercury Theatre shows are available from this page in RealAudio format (some are also in MP3 format)--including The War of the Worlds.
The War of the Worlds Script
ORSON WELLES AND MERCURY THEATRE ON THE AIR--SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1938--8:00 TO 9:00 P.M.
Fibber McGee and Molly
About, sound downloads, and show scripts.
Tulsa Radio in the Fifties
Includes Radio Programs and Fifties Radio Memories.
YAHOO! Directory Radio History
Links to radio history sites.

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Popular Religion & Self-Help

The study of popular religion includes many of the central concerns of 20th century American life: psychology, self-help, and therapeutic culture; consumerism; race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; apocalypticism; pluralism; syncretism; and the interplay of the public and the private. Popular religion holds several loosely-related traits: sentimentality, syncretism, and a private orientation for example, as well as constant tension between popular and institutional or official religion.

Journal of Religion & Popular Culture
Web-based, peer-reviewed journal committed to the academic exploration, analysis and interpretation, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, of the interrelations and interactions between religion and religious expression and popular culture.
Metareligion.com
A multidisciplinary view of the spiritual, search for religions.
Handbook of Today's Religions
Including What is a Cult? Hare Krishna, The Unification Church/Moonies, Astrology, Buddhism, and Sikhism, among many others.

The Unification Church
The Homepage of the Moonies
Scientology
Official Church of Scientology Webpage.
BuddhaNet
Worldwide Buddhism Information and Education Network.
Krishna.com
According to the site, "here you'll find resources for self-realization, God realization, and spiritual life as found in the teachings of Lord Krishna."
The Kabbalah Centre
Also known as the religion of Madonna and Britney Spears, this site provides a complete guide to Kabbalah. Includes a large resource center, history, study courses, and of course, an online store.
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker
From Wikipedia.com
World Religions and 101 Cults
Description and Personal Commentary of Religions, Cults, Sects, Denominations, The Occult, Freemasonry, New Age, FBOs, Mind Sciences, Ku Klux Klan.
YAHOO! Cult Web Directory
Links to tons of sites about cults.
Astrology.com
Astrology and Horoscopes
Feng Shui Ultimate Resource
Helping Feng Shui to shed its snake-oil-and-incense image.
SelfHelp Magazine
"Read our articles, participate in one of our many discussion forums, learn to manage your stress, use our 1000's of resources, send postcards, meditate with us and subscribe to our newsletters. "
Psychology Self-Help Resources on the Internet
Contains links to non-commercial sites providing information and help about specific disorders related to psychology.
YAHOO! Self-help directory
Links to tons of self-help websites.

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Science/Fantasy Fiction

From the start, the American science fiction tradition has been linked to the increasingly visible role of communications media in our national culture. The technological utopians, a group of late 19th-century social reformers who wrote utopian fictions about future societies, often saw improvements in communication as vitally linked to the restructuring of the social order. Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward (1887), for example, included speculations about credit cards and broadcasting. Hugo Gernsback, founder of the American science fiction tradition, was himself a key figure in promoting radio as a socially transforming technology, and the earliest American science fiction appeared alongside articles on amateur radio and popular science. The Gernsbackian tradition reached its zenith at the 1939 New York World's Fair, where corporations and governments sought to construct their own visions of "the world of tomorrow," based on technological utopian ideologies. The representations of technology, science, and media in American science fiction grew darker in the wake of the Second World War. Science fiction of the 1950s, including works by Henry Kuttner, Cordwaner Smith, Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth, offered satirical perspectives on the rise of television and advertising. The 1960s saw the broadening of science fiction to embrace new social and political visions and to reach new constituencies. This period also saw the increased participation of women as both readers and writers of science fiction, resulting in alternative visions of utopian futures, grounded in transforming social relations rather than changing technologies and in alternative conceptions of media. Some of this fiction deployed a feminist critique of the media's exploitation of women's bodies and emotions.

Science Fiction from Wikipedia
History, Hard & Soft, genres, and fandom.
The History of Science Fiction
A Chronological Survey
University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website
Includes a symbolism dictionary, online library, and links to external sites.
Sci Fi Top Lists
Top Movies, Television Shows, Books, etc.
The Authorized Stanley Kubrick Website
Biography, Filmography, and Vision.
The Official Star Wars Homepage
LucasArts own webpage dedicated to Star Wars. Almost as graphics intensive as the movies themselves.
The Official Star Trek Homepage
Includes information on upcoming episodes and general Trek information.
Dungeons and Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Homepage
Art Gallery, Adventures, FAQs, rules, chatrooms, messageboards, and character sheets.
History of D&D
Features older versions of the roleplaying game.
The Tolkien Society Links
Links to sites dealing with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lord of the Ring Legend
Cultures, Characters, Places, Weapons and War.
The Lord of the Rings Fanatics Library
Ages, Places, Races of Arda, Timelines, Family Trees, & Languages.
The Official Harry Potter Website
Enroll at Hogwarts, try on the sorting hat, and begin your wizard education...
Mugglenet
"The Ultimate Harry Potter Site": Quotes, excerpts, mistakes, anagrams and chapter pictures.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
An online index to over 60,000 historical and critical items about science fiction, fantasy and horror.
YAHOO! Science Fiction & Fantasy
Web Directory with tons of science fiction links.
Feminist Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Utopia
Bibliographies & Reviews, Research, Criticism & Teaching.

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Sports

Sports have become a vital part of American society and culture, although that was not always the case. The Puritan hostility to games took the form of official prohibition and even punishment. But the growth of recreation began to take place at the end of the seventeenth century and by the 19th century there was a wide diversity of athletic amusements available. Sports have helped to shape American culture and sports themselves have been shaped by American events that took place outside the boxing ring, baseball diamond, and basketball court, like industrialization, urbanization, race and racism. Sports inform not only ideas of masculinity and femininity but help provide the development of American national identity.

ESPN Sports Century
Salute to the greatest North American athletes of the 20th century.
Hickok's Sports History
H istory of all North American sports, champions, award winners, Olympic gold medalists, record holders, and more.
SI.com Video Almanac
Offers archived video clips of sports news stories from the 80's and 90's.
Ancient Olympics: The Real Story
Online exhibit from the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Leather Sleeves
The history of the award jacket.
America at Play
Discover America's favorite pastimes, sports and hobbies at America's Library.
StreetPlay
Stories and information about stickball, stoopball, boxball, ringoleavio, and other street games played by kids in urban USA mid to late 20th century.
Ballparks.com
Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey, and Race Tracks past, present, and future.
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Official site with exhibits, research gallery, baseball history, and of course, the Hall of Famers.
Former Major League Baseball Stadiums
Links to stadiums that were.
Black Baseball.com
History, Players, Teams, and Museums/Resources.
Jackie Robinson & Other Baseball Highlights 1860's-1960
The section entitled "Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson, 1860s-1960s" is a time line in five section. The "Early Baseball Pictures" section includes .34 photographs and prints.
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
1943-1954; League History, Players Rosters, and Photographs.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball History, Online Projects including Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game, and Hall of Famers.
Harlem Globetrotter History
Timeline with photos, dating back to the year the organization played their first-ever game in 1927.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
History, Enshrinement, and Hall of Famers.
College Football Hall of Fame
Hall Tour and Hall of Famers.
Hockey Hall of Fame
Time Capsule, Player Search, and Hockey Legends.
Nascar History
Great Races, Decade by Decade, Top Drivers, and Evolution of the Stock Car.
Directory of Sportscasters
Comprehensive directory; links to biographies and/or official sites.
Biographies of well-known American Sportscasters
Includes a Hall of Fame, Facts & Trivia, & How to Become a Sportscaster.
Nixon and Sports
Study about the President's interest and political manipulation of American sport. Includes photos, bibliography and a chronology.
College & University Directory
Comprehensive link directory for nation's colleges & universities.
College Nicknames
Directory of college nicknames and mascots.
Drugs & Sports
Promotes anti-doping policies and preventing youth drug use through sports. From the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
History of Cheerleading in America
Reprinted from BCA's CHEER LEADER Magazine.
YAHOO! Sports Directory
Tons of categories, tons of links.

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Stage Entertainment

The history of the theatre in America begins early in the Eighteenth Century, about the time the first rumblings were heard of the storm which was to break the ties still holding the Colonies to the mother country.Yet all the while that the European influence on the American theatre was pronounced and inescapable, tentative efforts were being made to achieve an entertainment basically American in style, spirit and format. The first play written by an American and performed in America by Professional Actors was The Prince of Parthia (1759) by Thomas Godfrey. The Broadway Musical was born in 1866, when William Wheatley staged the first show, called The Black Crook during which the audience saw a drama, listened to the orchestra, and were entertained by a hundred dancing gypsies visiting from Paris. American theatre grew to include drama, melodrama, comic opera, pantomime, extravaganza, satiric comedy, burlesques, and musical theatre and comedy to create the American theatre that we know today.

American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920
Included are 334 English- and Yiddish-language playscripts, 146 theater playbills and programs, 61 motion pictures, 10 sound recordings and 143 photographs and 29 memorabilia items documenting the life and career of Harry Houdini.
Vaudeville!
History, Development, and Evolution of Vaudeville Stage from it's roots in variety theater and shows with Vaudeville movies, vaudeville MP3's, and vaudeville hypertexts. From AS @ UVA.
Musicals101
Musical History, as wel as "special courses" on Broadway, Vaudeville, and Musical Who's Whos.
Musical Directory
Directory of musicals past and present.
Longest Running Broadway Shows in History
Updated list of shows.
Looking at the Business of Theatre
Considers American theatre at the turn of the century. From AS @ UVA.
Ziegfeld Girls Gallery
From Musicals101
Catharlia: Theatres on postcards
Collection of old and new postcards of exterior and interior views of theatres.
Radio City Music Hall History
History of the Hall and the famous Rockettes.
Bob Hope and American Variety
This Library of Congress site covers the life of entertainer Bob Hope, including Early Life, Vaudeville, Bits & Sketches, Motion Pictures, Radio, Television, On the Road: USO Shows, and Public Service.
The New Deal Stage
The Library of Congress selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939, including photographs, posters, and scripts.
Federal Theatre Project
Overview of the theatrical work program with information on some of the well-known people involved.
Federal Theatre Project Materials
Archive includes photos, transcripts, posters, and more.
Hallie Flanagan Transcripts
Excerpts from Flanagan's 1938 appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Stagestruck! Performing Arts Caricatures at the Library of Congress
During the early twentieth century, performing arts caricature came of age as an art form in the United States as celebrities of song, stage, and screen were transformed into popular icons of American culture.
Theatre History on the Web
Directory of useful resources for historians of ancient and modern theatre. Maintained by Jack Wolcott.
Theatre History.com: American Theatre
Directory of useful theatre resources including Actors, Musicals, Plays, & Playwrights.

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Stereotypes & Slang

Slang in the Great Depression
A study of slang during the Great Depression, including a first-cited dictionary, and a look at New Deal, Soda Jerk, Hobo, Radio, Advertising, Youth, Jazz and Drug Slang. From AS@UVA.
Hippy.com
A Trip through the 60's, Ask the Old Hippy, Hippy Quotes, Hippy Glossaries, Hippies A-Z.
Dork of the Day
The World's Online Dork Community; showcasing the biggest dork of the day every day.
White Trash World
Deep-fried and double wide.
White Trash: The Construction of the American Scapegoat
An AS @ UVA Master's Thesis that examines working class whites as a unique social culture.
White Trash Recipes
7-Up Cakes and Chili Mac...mmm mmm mmm.
Mullets Galore
Mullet of the Week, Classifications, Picturebooks, and Mullet Hunting.
Ghetto Fabulous Weddings
Ms. Claus gets her wedding on. Also check out Ghetto Fabulous Hair.
Black People Love Us.com

"We are well-liked by Black people so we're psyched (since lots of Black people don't like lots of White people)!! We thought it'd be cool to honor our exceptional status with a ROCKIN' domain name and a killer website!!"
Urban Dictionary.com
Fo' shizzle ma nizzle.
Wigga.org
"Dedicated to white kids who want to be black." Includes a Wigga Dictionary.
Cliques of 80's Teens
Summarize the different cliques that could be found in an eighties high school.
ValleyURL
Translate ANY Site into Valley Girl Speak, like, totally!!
Stupid Jocks.com
Monitoring the Idiots in Sports.

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Television

Television was not invented by a single inventor, instead many people working together and alone, contributed to the evolution of TV. In 1927, Bell Telephone and the U.S. Department of Commerce conduct the first long distance use of TV, between Washington D.C. and New York City on April 9th. In 1929 Vladimir Zworykin demonstrates the first practical electronic system for both the transmission and reception of images using his new kinescope tube. John Baird opens the first TV studio, however, the image quality was poor. In 1930 Charles Jenkins broadcasts the first TV commercial. The BBC begins regular TV transmissions. It wasn't until the 1930s that private citizens began to own television sets. In 1936 , about 200 hundred television sets are in use world-wide. In 1937, CBS began TV development and the BBC begins high definition broadcasts in London. From that point on, it was into the world of color t.v., broadcast companies, commercials, sitcoms, made-for-t.v. movies... you know the rest.

Television History--The First 75 Years
With hardware, manuals, documents, magazines, books, toys, and advertising.
TV is 75 (2002)
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the invention of television in September 2002.
Vintage TV Sets
Collection of vintage television sets built between 1946 and 1959.
TV Acres
Ultimate subject guide to television program facts.
TV Tickets
Sizable ticket stub collection with commentary, culled from attending live sitcom, game show, and talk show tapings across Hollywood.
Tulsa TV Memories
Looks back at the local programming from the '50s to the '70s. With pictures, commentary, and audio and video clips.
The Classic TV Database
Your home for classic tv--complete with theme songs!
Classic TV Shows of the 50's
Show Index.
Little Gems
Dedicated to the children's television programmes that have long faded into memory.
SausageNet
From Andy Pandy to Willo The Wisp, if you were a kid over the last 30 years, then you'll remember these shows. Cult and classic children's television nostalgia.
TV Land--Retromercials
Offers a memorable look back at old classic TV commercials.
TV Party!
Includes video clips of classic TV shows, cut footage and rare scenes, bloops and blunders, and commercials and jingles.
TV Single Dads Hall of Fame
History of the single dad on television, 1952-present.
Soap Opera Links
Your links to trash tv are right here.

Jump the Shark
Jumping the shark is the moment when a television show has reached its peak and its only downhill from there (when the Fonz jumped the shark in "Happy Days"). Includes reasons for jumping the shark, shows that have done so, and current shark sightings.
YAHOO! Television Show Directory
All Here. All Categorized.

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Web Culture

With the inception of the internet, the World Wide Web community has developed a pop culture of its own.

Home Star Runner
Cartoons, games and more on this funny flash site.
The Onion
An award-winning satirical publication.
Fark.com
It's not news, it's Fark.com
Slashdot.org
News for nerds. Stuff that matters.
BadgerBadgerBadger
Flash animation with badgers, mushrooms, and snakes. Its all wrong.
Rathergood.com
Home of the Viking Kittens.
I Liek Milk
Hitoshi's site.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us
Story of the Internet Phenomenon.

The Western

The idea of "The West" reaches as far back to the beginning of America. Studying the west provides a definition of "frontier" and the role the frontier plays in shaping an American identity in literature; the distinction between the West as a place or landscape and the West as a symbol; the mythic western hero and the roles he and/or she plays in the formation of American values including our sense of justice, independence, community; amd the defining and re-defining of "masculinity" and "femininity" as those cultural terms are used in the movement west. Whether referring to the popular frontier novels or "spaghetti western" films, the term "Western" is American Popular Culture's way of continuing the idea of "the frontier."

American West.com
A Presentation of the History and Development of the American West
New Perspectives on The West
An eight-part documentary series which premiered on PBS stations in September 1996.
Spaghetti Westerns in America
Describes the genre, and includes links to TV listings, images, and more.
Wild East Productions Spaghetti Western
Includes history, images, posters, and critical synopsis of Spaghetti Westerns.
Spaghetti Western Poster Page
Includes images, film facts, and ordering information.
Top 50 Western Films
From IMDB.com
Western TV Show Web Directory
From Yahoo!
Cowboy Pal
F eaturing Silver Screen Cowboys of the 30's, 40's and 50's.
Historical Links
From Cowboy.com
COWBOYS - VAQUEROS
Origins Of The First American Cowboys.
Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls
From Stanford, a guided tour and timeline of this popular 19th century literary genre.
Dime Novels
An American Treasures Exhibit from the Library of Congress.
Dime Novel Cover Art Gallery
Syracuse University Street & Smith's Preservation and Access Project.
James Fenimore Cooper: A Literary Pioneer
From AS @ UVA. About the author and his Natty Bumppo character.
Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane by Herself
With Illustrations.

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Last update 
January, 2004
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