ACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTION: A NOTE TO EDUCATORSCHAPTER 1: THE CONCEPT OF THE TEXT AND THEORIES OF INTERPRETATIONCultural Studies: The BeginningsPsychologyEconomicsSociologyReligious StudiesExistential InterpretationFeminism: Sexuality and GenderRace and Queer TheoryMemeticsStructuralismPost-StructuralismPostmodernismPosthumanismBibliography and Further ReadingCHAPTER 2: AESTHETICSRealismExpressionismFormalismContextualismGenresTasteKitschCampSumming UpCHAPTER 3: HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION, AND SUPERHEROESHorrorReally Bad PeopleScience FictionSuperheroesFurther Reading and SourcesCHAPTER 4: HUMOR AND COMEDYDefinition and OriginTheories of HumorSubgenres of ComedyThe Ethics of Comedy: To Laugh or Not to LaughSummaryCHAPTER 5: SPORTS AND POPULAR CULTUREFootballBaseballGolfHockeySoccerConclusionCHAPTER 6: TECHNOLOGY AND POPULAR CULTUREFacebookThe iPad and The Kindle: Making Computing More PersonalThe iPod and File SharingSex and TechnologyVideo GamesChanging the Way We LiveCHAPTER 7: COMPARATIVE POPULAR CULTUREChinaJapanIndiaJihad vs. McWorldBibliography and Further ReadingGLOSSARYINDEX