"The second edition of The Theming of America explores the nature of social change in America since the 1960s - from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, from the Mall of America to your local mall. Mark Gottdiener's book explores the origins, nature and future of themed environments in our information-overloaded world. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to include material on resistance to themed environments, such as worldwide protests against franchising and Disneyfication. Modern Americans cannot escape the profusion of recognizable symbols and signs attached to virtually all aspects of our culture, tying our media culture and the seductions of consumerism to the production of ingeniously designed spaces."--BOOK JACKET.