From Batman to motor bikes, pop stars to Internet pornography, Beautiful Things in Popular Culture examines the range of aesthetic criteria that goes into judging mass culture's most celebrated texts and objects. As the soldiers of the Culture Wars continue to argue whether it is better to study Shakespeare or television shows, this little book dispels the myth that consumers are unaware of quality, mindlessly consuming whatever is put in front of them. Smart and sassy, yet erudite, these thirteen essays are authored by an internationally renowned group of cultural commentators including Simon Frith, John Hartley, Henry Jenkins, John Banks, Marc Brennan, Will Brooker, Claire Gould, Margaret Henderson, Sara Gwenllian Jones, Alan McKee, Mark McLelland, Thomas McLaughlin, Glen Thomas, and Sue Turnbull. Together they probe the passion and excitement surrounding icons in popular culture.