Full Description
This collection examines LEGO from an array of critical and cultural studies approaches, foregrounding the world-renowned brand's ideological power and influence. Given LEGO's status as the world's largest toy manufacturer and a transnational multimedia conglomerate, Cultural Studies of Lego: More Than Just Bricks considers LEGO media's cultural messages; creativity with and within LEGO artifacts; and diversity within the franchise, including gender and race representation. The chapters' in-depth analyses of topics including LEGO films, marketing tactics, play sets, novelizations, and fans offer compelling insights relevant to those interested in the LEGO brand and broader trends in the children's popular culture market alike.
Contents
Introduction - Rebecca Hains & Sharon R. Mazzarella.- SECTION ONE: LEGO AS Media Text.- In a "Justice" League of their Own: Transmedia Storytelling and Paratextual Reinvention in LEGO's Animated Tales - Lincoln Geraghty (Reader, Media & Performing Arts, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom).- Lego Batman as a Gateway Commodity Intertext - Matthew McAllister (Professor, Communications, Penn State University), Jared LaGroue (Ph.D. Candidate, Communications, Penn State University).- Everything is Awesome When You're Part of a List: The Flattening of Distinction in Post-Ironic LEGO Media - Ari Mattes (Lecturer, University of Notre Dame, Australia).- LEGO Porn: A Perverse and Knowing Pleasure - Shannon Brownlee (Assistant Professor, Cinema & Media Studies/Gender & Women's Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada).- SECTION TWO: Growing up with LEGO.- Creating a Bricktacular Experience: An Examination of American Legoland Resort through the Lens of Gender, Social Class and Play - Kimberly Wilmot Voss (Associate Professor, Journalism, University of Central Florida).- You're Never Too Old for LEGO: Mobilizing Adult Fans of LEGO.- Nancy A. Jennings (Associate Professor, Communication, University of Cincinnati) - Matthew Szekeresh (M.A. Student, Communication, University of Cincinnati).- "Not Enough of the LEGOs are Marked 'Girls'": The Implications of the Gendered Marketing of LEGO Toys - Rebecca Hains (Professor, Media & Communication, Salem State University), Jennifer Shewmaker (Professor, Psychology, Abilene Christian University).- "Storm in a Toybox:" The Public Discourse over LEGO Friends, the Cultural Construction of Gender, and the Role of Academic Gender Research - Sharon R. Mazzarella (Professor, Communication Studies, James Madison University).- SECTION THREE: The Politics of Representation in the LEGO Franchise.- Yellow is White UnlessOtherwise Stated: The Missing Fine Print in the LEGO Universe - Guillermo Avila-Saavedra (Associate Professor, Media & Communication, Salem State University).- A License to Diversify: How Media Franchising Challenges the "Universal" LEGO Mini-Figure - Derek Johnson (Associate Professor, Media & Cultural Studies, University of Wisconsin).- The Man behind the Mask: Masculinity in LEGO Batman - Kyra Hunting (Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media, University of Kentucky).- The Representation of Animals in LEGO building sets and media - Debra Merskin (Professor, Journalism & Communication, University of Oregon)
