Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter 1
2. Table of Contents 5
3. Acknowledgments 7
4. Additional Acknowledgments 9
5. Introduction. Fabricating the Absolute Fake 11
6. 1. We Are the World. America’s Dominance in Global Pop Culture 23
7. 2. The Oprahification of 9/11. America as Imagined Community 43
8. 3. The Desert of the Real. America as Hyperreality 69
9. 4. Americans We Never Were. Dutch Pop Culture as Karaoke Americanism 95
10. 5. The Dutch Dream. Americanization, Pop Culture, and National Identity 121
11. 6. Yes We Can, This Is It. America and Celebrity Culture 147
12. Conclusion. Let’s Make Things Better 169
13. Afterword. Teaching the Absolute Fake 175
14. Notes 187
15. Bibliography 209
16. Index 221