Beckett in Popular Culture: Essays on a Postmodern Icon

by P.J. Murphy (Editor), Nick Pawliuk (Editor)

Overview

What do Bono, Seinfeld and Apple have in common? Nothing. However, it's the nothing of Samuel Beckett, which is something. Bold and provocative, Beckett's works and even his image are a potent force in modern society. Shoes, marketing, baby names--all fall under his spell.

This collection of new essays (one exception) finds him incorporated into virtually all aspects 
of popular culture--television, popular fiction, movies, tattoos, even sports--in a manner that seems to defy classifying. Is it image-making or image-taking? Why is our culture so obsessed with an obscure Irish writer most people have not read? Each essay provides a unique appraisal of Beckett's branding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786499595
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/23/2015
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

P.J. Murphy teaches modern Irish literature and critical theory at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. Nick Pawliuk lectures in the English and Modern Languages department at Thompson Rivers University, specializing in popular culture with a focus on the graphic novel and speculative fiction.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Preface 1

Saint Samuel (a) Beckett's Big Toe: Incorporating Beckett in Popular Culture P.J. Murphy 3

Fail Better! Samuel Beckett's Secrets of Business and Branding Success Stephen Brown 19

The Strange Case of Detective Fiction P.J. Murphy 33

Far Out Worlds: Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction Nick Pawliuk 53

Through a Glass, Lightly and Darkly: Depictions on Prime Time Television P.J. Murphy Nick Pawliuk 69

Screenings for Beckett in Modern Film: Ghostly Presences and Popular Culture Manifestations Cameron Reid 85

The Graphic Novel: Another "Stain upon the Silence"? Nick Pawliuk 99

"A mollycoddled little git from Foxrock": Beckett in Irish Pop Music Cameron Reid 107

B Is for Beckett: Babies and Baby Naming Tanya Pawliuk 120

In Fashion: Literary Wardrobes and the Marketplace Jennifer Murphy Tanya Pawliuk P.J. Murphy Nick Pawliuk 129

The New Dedalus: Avatars and Identities in Online Social Networks Mark Rowell Wallin 143

Two Quinks for Sam Alexander M. Forbes 155

The Sporting Life P.J. Murphy 157

Beckett as Pop Culture Icon P.J. Murphy 169

Addenda: Beckett Cetera: A Pop Culture Miscellany P.J. Murphy Nick Pawliuk 176

Bibliography 187

About the Contributors 193

Index 195