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  • © 2019

Cultural Studies of LEGO

More Than Just Bricks

Palgrave Macmillan
  • foregrounds new and emerging ideas of how LEGO responds to shifting cultural tides and trends
  • uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine LEGO from a unique angle of critical and cultural interrogation
  • positions the LEGO brand within the broader public discourses related to issues of diversity, gender, globalism, and capitalism

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
  2. “Let There Be LEGO!”: An Introduction to Cultural Studies of LEGO

    • Sharon R. Mazzarella, Rebecca C. Hains
    Pages 1-20
  3. Creativity in the LEGO Universe

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 147-147
    2. LEGO Porn: Phallic Pleasure and Knowledge

      • Shannon Brownlee
      Pages 197-219
  4. Back Matter

    Pages 345-357

About this book

This collection examines LEGO from an array of critical and cultural studies approaches, foregrounding the world-renowned brand's ideological power and influence. Given LEGO’s status as the world’s largest toy manufacturer and a transnational multimedia conglomerate, Cultural Studies of Lego: More Than Just Bricks considers LEGO media's cultural messages; creativity with and within LEGO artifacts; and diversity within the franchise, including gender and race representation. The chapters’ in-depth analyses of topics including LEGO films, marketing tactics, play sets, novelizations, and fans offer compelling insights relevant to those interested in the LEGO brand and broader trends in the children’s popular culture market alike.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Media and Communication, Salem State University, Salem, USA

    Rebecca C. Hains

  • School of Communication Studies, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, USA

    Sharon R. Mazzarella

About the editors

Rebecca C. Hains is Professor of Media and Communication at Salem State University, USA. The author of Growing Up With Girl Power: Girlhood on Screen and in Everyday Life (2012) and The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls Through the Princess-Obsessed Years (2014), her research appears in scholarly anthologies and journals including Feminist Media Studies, Popular Communication, and Girlhood Studies.

Sharon R. Mazzarella is Professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University, USA. She is the author of Girls, Moral Panic and News Media: Troublesome Bodies (2020), and the editor or co-editor of seven academic collections. She also edits “Mediated Youth,” a series of cutting-edge books on cultural studies of youth.


Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access