If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall: EUROPEANS AND AMERICAN MASS CULTURE [Paperback]

Rob Kroes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

The Dutch scholar Rob Kroes argues that American culture is "modular, " continually fragmenting, disassembling, and reassembling itself - and in the process creating something new. In a series of topical essays that show why he is one of Europe's leading authorities on American culture, Kroes probes trends in American advertising, the image of the Vietnam war in American films, the implications of American vernacular culture as represented in rap music, and other topics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Americans often seem to need a foreigner's perspective for a balanced view of what goes on in their own country," states Kroes. And while that assertion may be true, the way he follows it up is narrow-minded and arrogant. In his Eurocentric eyes, American culture is a Big Mac with the works-a revolting amalgamation that tastes great to some palates. Kroes's thesis that American culture is constantly disassembling and reassembling components to create new configurations suffers from a chronically narrow historical perspective. In the chapter entitled "High and Low: The Quest for Cultural Standards in America," Kroes focuses on only one issue, immigration, as debated in one cultural journal from 1916. Meanwhile, in the chapter on the commodification of civic virtue, significant cultural forces predating the 1920s are ignored. The list goes on. Kores's impassioned intellectual riffing leaves little room for much-needed opposing theories, or for footnotes to support his arguments. European scholars have wrestled with America's cultural fragmentation for a long time; sadly, Kroes adds little to the discussion.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The Dutch scholar [Kroes] textually almost chuckles as he writes of French fears of a 'cultural Chernobyl' with the arrival of Euro-Disney outside Paris. But, he adds, the French have also elevated American cultural forms to high art, from jazz music to B-movies to hard-boiled detective novels. Such European ambivalence is the stuff of his new book." -- The Chronicle of Higher Education

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252065328
• ISBN-13: 978-0252065323
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting..., April 8, 2001

By 

Brandon Wu - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall: EUROPEANS AND AMERICAN MASS CULTURE (Hardcover)

The Publisher's Weekly review is blatantly inaccurate. I felt that Kroes' thoughts on American culture were the farthest thing from "arrogant". He spends a lot of time criticizing traditionally condescending European views of American culture, and I feel that his own views are quite reasonable. He accepts cultural relativity and does not strike a holier-than-thou pose at all.

That said, I do think that Kroes' attempt to study such a broad topic using such small examples is a bit strained. Also, the first chapter is insufferably intellectual and boring. Nevertheless, Kroes provides an interesting perspective on European views of American culture.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great perspective on American Culture, December 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall: EUROPEANS AND AMERICAN MASS CULTURE (Paperback)

Among all the other books on American culture that were written by Americans, If You've One, by a Dutch scholar, is my favorite one. In contrast to many current studies of America, which concentrate on ethnic groups or gender issues, Kroes examines US culture as a whole. A term that Kroes uses over and over again is "quinessentially American," which he tries to define. He offers some great insight, and more importantly, a perspective that can be very useful. Even though it is written for European audiences, I would recommend this book to Americans as well.