| dc.description.abstract | This thesis concerns itself with Don DeLillo s fiction and its relationship to popular culture, especially in the novels White Noise, Running Dog and Underworld. DeLillo is very interested in the so-called white noise , which constantly surrounds the audiences of different mass media in postmodernity, and in the way this makes these audiences reference, understand, and relate different phenomena. He also focuses on the negative consequences that this constant influence may have. DeLillo sees the white noise as an expression of commerce and capitalism, and shows how it, the mass media, and popular culture in general are closely linked. In Running Dog, DeLillo uses the sub-genres of the Vietnam War novels and the spy novels from popular culture, to fuse high and low culture together to form an original artistic product. He also uses the cinema to a great extent to create connotations, moods and ideas. Underworld especially is also filled with references to the cinema and popular culture icons. It is so important for the novel that the title is taken from the English translation of the title of a fictitious silent film by Sergei Eisenstein. The form of this film has clearly influenced the form of this novel. DeLillo is also very interested in the celebrity culture, including its negative sides, which the Texas Highway Killer is an example of. Waste is also an important theme that can be linked with white noise, and the concept of spectacle is a useful idea for understanding his fiction. DeLillo has a great understanding of popular culture and popular history, and is not simply negative, but rather sceptical and questioning. His use of popular culture helps to make his fiction dense with connotations and references, and places it meaningfully in contemporary American soci | nor |