1911-13 and the equally uninhibited steps of the 1960s.
FOREWORD The first， kn imal d featured steps like
the turkey trot， the grizzly bear and the rabbit wrasfle;
Davy Crockett fur hats， hula hoopthg， goldfish swal- while five decades later there was the twist， together
lowing， streaking， mah jongg--all in their time at- with its many later variants like the shagfl~/dog， the
~ned faddish fame. But this narrative about fads in jerk and the fish. Both were done by the young， re
America since 1890 will also cover many a fad that pudiating the slow rhythms of the old (or should we
dJds t reach such legendary proportions: G-R-O-N-K say \"the older ?). The deely bobbers of the 1980s echo
I-N-G， bed tucking， op talking， coughing ashtrays and the crazy beach hats of the 1950s， and yesterday s
ankle bracelets. Included here are dances like the tar kewpta doll is today s smurl.
key trot and the twist; toys and dolls like slinky and the And although it is by no means the typical case，
kewpie and Barbie dolls; items of clothing like the it also happens at times that fads become \"institution-
hobble skirt and the Euganie hat; stunts like peanut alized，\" reaching the point of being so commonplace
pushing and flagpole sitting; college students fancies that people no longer think of them as passing plea-
pie killing and piano hacking; cartoon-inspired fads surabla fancies. This has happened with crossword
the crazes for Betty Boop and Batroan; lads sparked puzzles， which--after provoking feverish faddism in
by magnetic personalities， like the Milton Bede makeup 1925--are now just a humdrum staple of the daily
klti and the \"urban cowboy\" obsession that followed newspaper. It has happened， too， with the tango and
John Travolta s appearance in the movie of that name; the Charleston; while no longer the stylish steps they
as well as iust plain unclaasiflable fads like commemo- were in 1914 and 1925， respectively， yet they are not
relive historic spoons and pet rocks， at all unknown on today s dance floors. The same fate
What， then， might a fad be? Essentially it is a short- has befallen ffisbee throwing， scrabble and ping-pong.
lived activity， item of dress， toy or whatever that gives These \"institutionalized\" fads will also be included in
pleasure. For giving pleasure is definitely the primary this account， but the description will focus on the pe-
excuse for a fad s existence. Engaging in a fad is in no riod of their most ovetauhelming obsession--the time
way necessary for survival. You don t need a fad like when they were ~ uly fads.
~u need to eat， sleep or work. You manifest this or Yet there are certain manifestations often consid-
that fad merely for the fun of it_ You don a Euganie ered somewhat faddish in nature that this book will
hat when that striking chapeau is the newest thing， or not coven It will not include diet fads， for instance，
0u gyrate lithely in your hula hoop when that is the because this is a book about things that have given us
activity， or you doff your clothes and streak when pleasure， not about types of abstinence. Nor， follow-
t d~sh in the buff to catch people s fancy (or their out- tag a similar rationale， will it include the various rages
~)Is the pleasurable new craze of the moment， for substances supposedly having medicinal proper-
A lad， then， is the newest thing， and it is precisely ties， like Hadacol or chlorophyll. The ancient Oriental
b~ novelty that accounts for much of its popularity-- medical practice， acupuncture， wh ch flourished in the
lrmuch of the collective imitation so indispensible for 1970 s will， however， be considered because it at
Kld0m. The animal dances were new around 1910， tained a most extraordinary celebrity status，
were crossword puzzles in the 1920s， the Eugenic Also， since this book is about things and activities，
kt in the 193fls， zoot suits in the 1940s， frisbee not about ideas， it will not cover any religious， quasi-
infl in the 1950s， skateboarding in the 1960s， religious or inspirational fancies or brief movements.
rts~in the 1970s and Rubik s Cube in the 1980s. Thus， Coueism of the 1920s will not be discussed， nor
lh0seateo~ya fewofthebest-knownexampkis， est， Hare Ktishna or transcendental meditation. Nor
h~ faddish manifestation in this book--and there will it discuss other briefly experienced phenomena--
: ~momthan240--wasonceconsideredintriguingly encounter groups， open marriage， primal scream
~， and hence ripe for the excited imitation of great theories--that have more to do with ideas than with
b~of always-receptive Americans. tangible objects and activities engaged in purely for
i Thls has proved true even when the fad is not pleasure s sake. In short， these are matters both seit
~t ~ Some \"new\" fads turn out to be just old ous and beyond this book s ken.
I that time had forgotten reappearing in a slighfiy But fads are serious business， too， even if they
form or even in the same guise， King Tut per- sometimes appear entirely frivolous. Although it is ad-
en， bicycling， roller skating and ping-pong all mittedly difficult to regard deely bobbers or beach hats
morn than one moment in the faddish sun. with donkeys on them as weighly matters， fads fiaue
among nonldentical fads that recur， very ex-
~ slmilatities added a zesty tang to American life while evoking great
controversy and damning harangues--and what could
can
sometimes
be
spotted.
il~ Immedtstely to mind are the wild dances of be more serious than that? Fads may not mirror Amer-
|
内容加载中，请稍后...
商品评论（0条）