Mediacy Articles - Volume 18, No. 1
alt.culture: An A-to-Z Guide to the ‘90s –Underground, Online, and Over-the-Counter
By Stephen Daly ∓ Nathaniel Wice
Harper Perennial, New York, 1995, $23.75
ISBN: 0-06-273383-4
Some of us boomers who teach popular culture to adolescents are undergoing the painful transition from hipsters to geezers. We need all the help we can get when it comes to deconstructing contemporary expressions of youth culture. alt. culture is an encyclopaedic guide to alternative forms of culture through 1995. The title is Internet-speak for the various alternative newsgroups that discuss every topic imaginable.
Some teachers might be put off by the somewhat phallic-looking graphic on the front cover but I found the book to be a well-written and useful tool in my Grade 12 popular culture class. Topics ranged from moshing to Melrose Place to Queer Ken to Mentos ads. World-wide-web page listings are included for those on the Internet. The Internet is a virtual gold mine for those doing research in contemporary popular culture in areas traditionally ignored in print libraries. The book itself has a web page for those who want to sample the content and writing tone: http://www.altculture.com