Florida in the Popular Imagination: Essays on the Cultural Landscape of the Sunshine State

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This book provides the first critical discussion of popular culture in one of the United States’ most distinctive states, Florida, which began drawing winter visitors before the Civil War and now boasts more than a hundred million visitors annually. Florida’s subculture is colorful, tropical, and wickedly interesting, providing something for everyone, from saccharine commercial theme parks for the family vacation set, to the diverse nightlife and queer Floridian culture of South Beach and Key West, to various meteorological phenomena and dangerous wetlands creatures to satisfy storm chasers and thrill seekers. This book carries essays that explore many facets of Florida’s culture, examining such topics as the ever-present specters of Mickey, Shamu, and other theme park staples; early tourist sites enjoyed by tin-can campers before the ubiquitous megaparks elbowed out more organically Floridian attractions; Key West as a mecca of queer culture; the infamous relationship between Key West and its favorite son, Ernest Hemingway; and, an overview of several iconic Florida institutions, including Bike Week, the Daytona 500, and Spring Break. It concludes with a look at Florida’s role in the highly controversial presidential election of 2000.