Full Description
The prom has been a fixture in the life of American teenagers for as long as high schools have existed. Both encapsulating and magnifying the drama of adolescence, proms have been transformed from modest tea dances to costly extravaganzas supporting apparel and cosmetic makers, limousine services, hotels, magazine publishers, and hair salons.
Focusing on social and economic trends, this volume examines the evolution of the prom, the development of the billion-dollar prom industry, and the event's place in popular culture, including its portrayal in film, television, and literature. Using the prom as a lens through which to view many aspects of American culture--money, sex, fashion, dance, music, television, transportation, communication, and even war--this work offers a fresh perspective on the history of American youth.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
PART I—HISTORY
1. Promenade All
2. Dancing to a New Beat
3. Boomer High
4. Like, Totally
5. Everyone Gets a Trophy
6. Everybody Dance! (Or Not)
7. Rituals, Signifiers and the Meaning of It All
PART II—MARKETING
8. Does This Magazine Make Me Look Fat?
9. Pint-size Princesses Prep for Prom
10. Prom and Profits
PART III—PROM IN POPULAR CULTURE
11. Fantasy Prom
12. Surreal, So Real
13. Last Dance
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
