Kitsch, Made in Greece

An out-of-print monumental publication!
 
The English edition of this book has been published as a guide to the foreigner who has become aware of the fact that there is another face to the traditional image of Greece, and who wishes to become further acquainted with it.

The traditional image of Greece as portrayed in travel guides and posters is that of the glories of the past combined with the picturesque aspects of the present, all designed to attract tourists whether they come in search of culture, or sunny beaches, or both.

Beyond this facade, there are many other contemporary aspects of Greek reality which come as a shock and for which at first there is no apparent explanation.
The problem of Kitsch in Greece is not entirely aesthetic. The drastic change in Greek society during the last decades aroused problems of identity and continuity. Greece was subjected to the consumer influence-tourists, television, films, fashions, goods and advertisements, all pouring in with bewildering rapidity. As a result, everything foreign was beautiful, everything desirable. [...] (From the publisher)