"Do you ever think about things that you do think about?" (Inherit the Wind)
In the 1990s, many of my peers were using the word postmodern to describe just about anything. I didn’t understand why they did that. Maybe it was a fad, a kind of intellectual posing, which might actually be a very…
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I am a fan of Henry Jenkins. I follow him on twitter, and I read his blog. I own several of his books, and I have quoted him repeatedly in my work. However, since Henry Jenkins is not a singer,…
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Seth MacFarlane is an atheist? Well… knock me over with a feather! This is what’s going through my mind while I’m working at the instructor’s office in the depths of the RTV building. I’m reading Raymond Vanarragon’s piece on Family…
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In 2007, Politicstv.com began compiling a weekly top 10 list of political videos. At the time, the site had been in existence for about a year. They were described as “a progressive political news Internet video channel featuring news, opinion…
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Who is right? Communication scholars Roderick Hart and Johanna Hartelius argue that Jon Stewart is a cynic, whereas Robert Hariman sees him as the one of the best things that has happened to American democracy.
Tim Tebow is a demi god. He is the quintessential sports hero, the chosen one who reminds us that not all athletes are like Michael Vick, that American youth has a role model to emulate. Now, I have to say…
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Popular culture may seem all vapid and superficial, but it is undeniable that the most significant ideological battles of the Twentieth Century seep into popular forms of entertainment. Civil Rights spawned very special episodes on Little House on the Prairie,…
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From: The Melting Pot “There she lies the great Melting Pot listen Can’t you hear the roaring and the bubbling There gapes her mouth, the harbour where a thousand mammoth feeders come from the ends of the world to pour…
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In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner addressed the American Historical Association to suggest that western expansion significantly shaped American history, institutions, and character. This became known as the frontier thesis, and it is considered extremely influential (Smith, 1995). However, Turner’s frontier…
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When I was a lot younger, I thought that likability determined whether something became popular or not. Take The Beatles, for example; they were popular because “everyone” liked them (according to my mother). The same could be said of Elvis…
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