How the Arabian Nights Inspired the American Dream, 1790-1935

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, History, Americas, United States, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book How the Arabian Nights Inspired the American Dream, 1790-1935 by Susan Nance, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Susan Nance ISBN: 9780807894057
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: June 1, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Susan Nance
ISBN: 9780807894057
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: June 1, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Americans have always shown a fascination with the people, customs, and legends of the "East--witness the popularity of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the performances of Arab belly dancers and acrobats, the feats of turban-wearing vaudeville magicians, and even the antics of fez-topped Shriners. In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression.

According to Nance, these traditions reveal how a broad spectrum of Americans, including recent immigrants and impersonators, behaved as producers and consumers in a rapidly developing capitalist economy. In admiration of the Arabian Nights, people creatively reenacted Eastern life, but these performances were also demonstrations of Americans' own identities, Nance argues. The story of Aladdin, made suddenly rich by rubbing an old lamp, stood as a particularly apt metaphor for how consumer capitalism might benefit each person. The leisure, abundance, and contentment that many imagined were typical of Eastern life were the same characteristics used to define "the American dream."

The recent success of Disney's Aladdin movies suggests that many Americans still welcome an interpretation of the East as a site of incredible riches, romance, and happy endings. This abundantly illustrated account is the first by a historian to explain why and how so many Americans sought out such cultural engagement with the Eastern world long before geopolitical concerns became paramount.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Americans have always shown a fascination with the people, customs, and legends of the "East--witness the popularity of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the performances of Arab belly dancers and acrobats, the feats of turban-wearing vaudeville magicians, and even the antics of fez-topped Shriners. In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression.

According to Nance, these traditions reveal how a broad spectrum of Americans, including recent immigrants and impersonators, behaved as producers and consumers in a rapidly developing capitalist economy. In admiration of the Arabian Nights, people creatively reenacted Eastern life, but these performances were also demonstrations of Americans' own identities, Nance argues. The story of Aladdin, made suddenly rich by rubbing an old lamp, stood as a particularly apt metaphor for how consumer capitalism might benefit each person. The leisure, abundance, and contentment that many imagined were typical of Eastern life were the same characteristics used to define "the American dream."

The recent success of Disney's Aladdin movies suggests that many Americans still welcome an interpretation of the East as a site of incredible riches, romance, and happy endings. This abundantly illustrated account is the first by a historian to explain why and how so many Americans sought out such cultural engagement with the Eastern world long before geopolitical concerns became paramount.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Sexual Injustice by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Electra and the Empty Urn by Susan Nance
Cover of the book "She Ought to Have Taken Those Cakes": Southern Women and Rural Food Supplies by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Countryside in the Age of Capitalist Transformation by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Epistolary Practices by Susan Nance
Cover of the book On Location in Cuba by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Autobiographical Myth of Robert Lowell by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Republic according to John Marshall Harlan by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Battle for North Carolina's Coast by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Working Knowledge by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Farmhouse Chef by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Language Variety in the New South by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Gettysburg--The Second Day by Susan Nance
Cover of the book Law and Society in Puritan Massachusetts by Susan Nance
Cover of the book The Sound of Navajo Country by Susan Nance
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy