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‘One of our own’ : statues of comedians, popular culture, and nostalgia in English towns
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Wright, David (2023) ‘One of our own’ : statues of comedians, popular culture, and nostalgia in English towns. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 26 (4). pp. 554-571. doi:10.1177/13675494221126547 ISSN 1367-5494.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494221126547
Abstract
The 21st century has seen the rise of a new phenomenon – the creation of statues and monuments celebrating the lives of entertainers. Drawing on debates about popular culture, placemaking and heritage, and in the context of recent controversies about the politics of statues and memorials, this paper examines a manifestation of this phenomenon as represented by statues of comedians erected in the towns of Northern England. The paper begins by sketching the characteristics of the statues and their subjects. It proceeds by reflecting on their emergence in the context of debates about the contested place of nostalgia in social and cultural theory. The paper uses a strategically selected sub-set of the statues to reflect on the emerging cultural and political imaginary of towns as sites of contemporary political struggles. It concludes by asserting that the significant affective investment into statues projects and the progressive potential of popular cultural nostalgia offer an important corrective to crude assumptions about the cultural lives of towns.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology N Fine Arts > NB Sculpture |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies > Centre for Cultural Policy Studies | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Public sculpture -- England -- 21st century, Statues -- England -- 21st century, Nostalgia -- England, Popular culture -- England, Entertainers -- England | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | European Journal of Cultural Studies | ||||||||
| Publisher: | SAGE Publications | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1367-5494 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | August 2023 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 26 | ||||||||
| Number: | 4 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 554-571 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1177/13675494221126547 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | Wright, D. (2022). ‘One of our own’: Statues of comedians, popular culture, and nostalgia in English towns. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 0(0). Copyright © 2022 (Copyright Holder). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494221126547 | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 7 November 2022 | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 7 November 2022 |
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