ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores twentieth-century popular and protest rhetoric in order to understand the relationship between the discourse and goals of social movements, more specifically, the labour and suffrage movements, and of the popular media that frame and constrain the actions of the protesters. Popular-culture scholarship has taken an interest in the ways readers resist the dominant ideologies found in popular texts. The book examines twentieth-century popular ideological strategies. It argues that though contemporary communication technologies have transformed the production, transmission, and reception of mediated messages since the 1900s. The book analyses popular texts for the persuasive strategies employed in portrayals of labour, womanhood, and women's involvement in the labour and suffrage movements. It focuses on hegemonic negotiation through analysis of the leaks and gaps available for potential exploitation by readers.
