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Hit makers : how things become popular

By: Publication details: London : Penguin Books, 2018.Description: 1 volume ; 180 pages : illustrations ; 20 cmISBN:
  • 0141981598
  • 9780141981598
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • HC 79 THO
Contents:
Introduction: The song that conquered the world -- Part I: Popularity and the mind 1. The power of exposure: Featuring claude Monet, Adele, and Donald Trump -- 2. The Maya rule: Featuring ESPN, Spotify, and the first NASA space station -- 3. The music of sound: Featuring John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and ABBA -- Interlude: The Chills -- 4. The myth-making mind I: The force of story: Featuring Star Wars, Isaac Asimov, and Hollywood Psychohistory -- 5. The myth-making mind II: The dark side of hits: Featuring Hungarian vampires, Disney princesses, and cable news -- 6. The birth of fashion: Featuring Taylor Swift, the printing press and the laugh track -- Interlude: A brief history of teens -- Part II: Popularity and the market -- 7. Rock and roll and randomness: Featuring the Mona Lisa, "Rock around the clock," and Chaos theory -- 8. The viral myth: Featuring Fifty Shades of Grey, John Snow, and Pokémon GO -- 9. The audience of my audience: Featuring Etsy, Bumble and Moonies -- Interlude: Le Panache -- 10. What people want I: The economics of Prophesy: Featuring Game of Thrones, Seinfeld, and Shazam -- 11. What people want II: A history of pixels and ink: Featuring the tabloid, the television, and the news feed -- Interlude: 828 Broadway -- 12. The futures of hits: Empire and city-state: Featuring Mickey Mouse, Buzzfeed, and Kid A.
Summary: With incisive analysis and captivating storytelling, Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson puts culture in the spotlight and asks why certain products and ideas achieve extraordinary popularity. Drawing on ancient history and modern headlines - from vampire lore and Brahms's Wiegenlied to Instagram and Fifty Shades of Grey - Thompson explores the psychology of hits and reveals how we can all become more intelligent consumers of culture. Though dozens of blockbuster films, Internet memes and number-one songs seem to have come out of nowhere, hits have a story and operate by certain rules. From the dawn of Impressionist art to the future of Snapchat, from small-scale Etsy entrepreneurs to the origin of Star Wars, Derek Thompson tells the fascinating story of how culture happens - and where genius lives.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book Limited Loan Book Limited Loan Whitecliffe Library General Shelves General HC 79 THO (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 0016634

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: The song that conquered the world -- Part I: Popularity and the mind 1. The power of exposure: Featuring claude Monet, Adele, and Donald Trump -- 2. The Maya rule: Featuring ESPN, Spotify, and the first NASA space station -- 3. The music of sound: Featuring John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and ABBA -- Interlude: The Chills -- 4. The myth-making mind I: The force of story: Featuring Star Wars, Isaac Asimov, and Hollywood Psychohistory -- 5. The myth-making mind II: The dark side of hits: Featuring Hungarian vampires, Disney princesses, and cable news -- 6. The birth of fashion: Featuring Taylor Swift, the printing press and the laugh track -- Interlude: A brief history of teens -- Part II: Popularity and the market -- 7. Rock and roll and randomness: Featuring the Mona Lisa, "Rock around the clock," and Chaos theory -- 8. The viral myth: Featuring Fifty Shades of Grey, John Snow, and Pokémon GO -- 9. The audience of my audience: Featuring Etsy, Bumble and Moonies -- Interlude: Le Panache -- 10. What people want I: The economics of Prophesy: Featuring Game of Thrones, Seinfeld, and Shazam -- 11. What people want II: A history of pixels and ink: Featuring the tabloid, the television, and the news feed -- Interlude: 828 Broadway -- 12. The futures of hits: Empire and city-state: Featuring Mickey Mouse, Buzzfeed, and Kid A.

With incisive analysis and captivating storytelling, Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson puts culture in the spotlight and asks why certain products and ideas achieve extraordinary popularity.

Drawing on ancient history and modern headlines - from vampire lore and Brahms's Wiegenlied to Instagram and Fifty Shades of Grey - Thompson explores the psychology of hits and reveals how we can all become more intelligent consumers of culture. Though dozens of blockbuster films, Internet memes and number-one songs seem to have come out of nowhere, hits have a story and operate by certain rules.

From the dawn of Impressionist art to the future of Snapchat, from small-scale Etsy entrepreneurs to the origin of Star Wars, Derek Thompson tells the fascinating story of how culture happens - and where genius lives.

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