{"product_id":"faith-family-and-flag-branson-entertainment-and-the-idea-of-america-9780226828404","title":"Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSons of Britches\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Great American Chuckwagon Dinner Show. \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eHaygoods. The Grand Jubilee. \u003c\/i\u003eThese are just a couple of the many shows performed in Branson, MO, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Branson, Missouri, the Ozark Mountain mecca of wholesome entertainment, has been home to countless stage shows espousing patriotism and Christianity, welcoming over ten million visitors a year. Some consider it \"God's Country\" and others \"as close to Hell as anything on Earth.\" For Joanna Dee Das, Branson is a political, religious, and cultural harbinger of a certain enduring dream of what America is. She takes Branson more seriously than the light-hearted fun it advertises--and maybe we should too. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For Das, Branson's performers offer visions of the American Dream that embody a set of values known as the three Fs: faith, family, and flag. Branson boosters insist that these are universal values that welcome all people; the city aims to capture as many tourists as possible. But over the past several decades, faith, family, and flag have become markers of contemporary conservatism. The shows and culture of Branson, for all their fun and laughter, have been a galvanizing political force for white, working-and-middle class, Christian Americans. For social and economic conservatives alike, Branson is practically proof-of-concept for America as they want it to be. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFaith, Family, and Flag\u003c\/i\u003e is a comprehensive history of the Branson entertainment industry, within the context of America's long culture wars. Das reveals how and why a town known for popular entertainment, a domain associated most often with the political left (\"Hollywood liberals\"), came to be so important to the political right and its vision for America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joanna Dee Das\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/25\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.22lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.24h x 6.45w x 1.09d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226828404\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoanna Dee Das\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of performing arts at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the author of the award-winning book \u003ci\u003eKatherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Joanna Dee Das \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47566643167389,"sku":"9780226828404","price":47.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_a984be84-68d8-494b-b2a3-3b009f72a649.jpg?v=1768313971","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/faith-family-and-flag-branson-entertainment-and-the-idea-of-america-9780226828404","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}