ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the general features of the debate that the study of popular culture has generated. It details the different ways historically, theoretically and methodologically, in which popular culture has been defined and analysed. Ideology is a crucial concept in the study of popular culture. The main argument is that popular culture is in effect an empty conceptual category, one that can be filled in a wide variety of often conflicting ways, depending on the context of use. The introduction of the concept of ideology suggests that relations of power and politics inescapably mark the culture/ideology landscape; it suggests that the study of popular culture amounts to something more than a simple discussion of entertainment and leisure. The claim that popular culture is American culture has a long history within the theoretical mapping of popular culture.
