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Informationen zum Autor Salvador Jiménez Murguía is professor of sociology at Akita International University. He is the editor of The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films (2016) and The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films (2018) and the coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Films (2018), all published by Rowman & Littlefield. Klappentext Many of the most successful innovations-from the light bulb to the Internet-have often resulted from ingenuity, ambition, and dedication. Such achievements have changed lives for the better. Yet for every new development that the public embraces, there is a dark side of progress: cultural byproducts that litter the road to obscurity. Just because something is a failure, however, doesn't necessarily mean that it shouldn't matter.In Epic Fails: The Edsel, the Mullet, and Other Icons of Unpopular Culture, Salvador Jiménez Murguía examines some of the most iconic missteps of the past several decades. In order to shed light on the inherent, often comic strain in American life between fame and infamy, the author surveys some of the best-or rather, worst-of what man has to offer. From fashion flops like the mullet and Zubaz pants to marketing mistakes like Bud Dry, New Coke, and Crystal Pepsi, this text captures the unintentionally entertaining milieu of failure. Placing these gaffes in cultural context, Murguía considers how each of these products crashed and burned, while trying to arrive at an answer to the ultimate question: "What were they thinking?" Whether these attempts were doomed from the start, failed because of consumer indifference, or were simply the victims of poor timing, this book returns them, however briefly, to the spotlight. A fascinating look at man-made disasters, Epic Fails isan entertaining treatise about the forgotten-and infamous-endeavors of American creativity, or lack thereof. Zusammenfassung This book surveys some of the most iconic failures in American popular culture! from fashion flops to marketing mess-ups! shedding light on the inherent! often comic strain in American life between success and failure. In this engaging volume! the author explains how these came about and why they failed to catch on with the public. Inhaltsverzeichnis AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1: The Edsel Chapter 2: Athletic Uniform FailuresChapter 3: Beta MaxChapter 4: LaserDiscChapter 5: The MulletChapter 6: Blublocker SunglassesChapter 7: ZubazChapter 8: New Coke Chapter 9: Bud DryChapter 10: Crystal PepsiChapter 11: Burger King's Table serviceChapter 12: ZimaChapter 13: WOW ChipsChapter 14: Y2KChapter 15: XFLChapter 16: McAfrikaChapter 17: Microsoft ZuneChapter 18: Google WaveConclusionIndexAbout the Author...
