Rebecca C. Hains - Cultural Studies of LEGO: More Than Just Bricks

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This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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As a childrens media culture scholar, I observed with professional interest LEGOs transformation from a childrens toy into a transnational, transmedia brand with immense cultural power. My research has always considered the cultural implications of major media phenomena, such as girl powers rise in the 1990s, and the Disney Princess brands ascendency after the turn of the millennium. The latter subject built upon a wealth of previous scholarship, as scholars and other critics have been interrogating Disney for decades. But not so with LEGO: It only recently emerged as a transmedia brand that boasts, among other properties, blockbuster animated films. So, one day, not too long after the release ofThe LEGO Batman Moviein 2017, I asked Sharon: What if we were to give LEGO the Disney treatment? That question guided us as we developed this volume.

We created this book for scholars, students and readers from the general public alike. It will appeal to those with an interest in the LEGO brand, as well as in childrens media culture more broadly. In this volume, essays examine LEGO from an array of critical/cultural studies approaches, with attention to its ideological power, influence and status as a major transnational media brand. While our contributors work focuses on LEGO, their findings reflect broader trends in the childrens media landscape. As such, these chapters have implications for those who are interested in cultural studies, media studies and the array of additional disciplines that our contributors represent, including literature, psychology, religious studies and sociology. We also value that our contributors bring to bear perspectives from a variety of nations, as they hail from Canada, Germany, England, Australia, The Netherlands, Norway and locations across the United States.

Sharon and I owe these amazing scholars a huge shout-out for being part of our team. This collections high quality derives from their passion for the topic, their intellectual expertise and their understanding of the importance of subjecting popular cultural artifacts to in-depth critical/cultural analyses. Over the past year or so, it has been a genuine pleasure to work with them: We admire their good humor, willingness to stick with us as this collection evolved and overall commitment to our project. Finally, we appreciate the contributions of everyone involved in the editorial and production processes at Palgrave Macmillan: their commitment to providing a space for academic exploration and intellectual interrogation of popular culture artifacts made this project possible.