Handbook of French Popular Culture

Throughout the world, there has been much scholarly and general interest in French popular culture, but very little has been written on the subject in English. The authors of this book address that lack in a series of highly readable and well-documented essays describing French life styles, attitudes, and entertainments as well as the writers and performers currently favored by the French public.

Several chapters explore French tastes in popular literature and other reading matter, including comics, cartoons, mystery and spy fiction, newspapers and magazines, and science fiction. Film, popular music, radio, and television are also discussed in detail, and influences from other cultures--particularly American imports--are assessed. The remaining essays examine French sports, the use of leisure time, the French style of eating and drinking, and relations between men and women and their attitudes toward romantic love. Each chapter provides up-to-date historical and bibliographic information that will enable the reader to pursue subjects of particular interest. Written by an international group of specialists, this handbook offers the benefits of broad coverage, a variety of viewpoints, and solid scholarship.

Preface
Advertising by Claudia Dobkin
Comics by Maurice Horn
Detective/Mystery/Spy Fiction by Franz G. Blaha
Editorial/Political/Gag Cartoons by Jean-Claude Faur
Film by Sybil DelGaudio
Food and Wine by Pierre L. Horn
Leisure by Roger Sue
Love, Men, and Women by Edith J. Benkov
Newspapers, Magazines, Feminine Press by Joseph Marthan
Popular Music by André Pré vos
Radio and Television by Jean-Pierre Piriou
Science Fiction by Arthur B. Evans
Sports by Richard C. Williamson
General Sources
Index