How Taylor Swift reflects every possible version of ourselves.
pop culture
Posted inEditor's Pick
Swiftology: Taylor Swift Inspires KU Professor’s Teaching, Research
“What can millions of Swifties tell us about human community and pop culture? A KU sociology professor is finding out.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How to Get on Survivor: Behind the Scenes of Casting Season 45
“We’ve got all the intel—and audition videos—showing the disparate journeys five players took to make it onto the new season.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Search for the Lost ‘Jeopardy!’ Tapes Is Over. The Mystery Behind Them Endures.
“In 1986, Barbara Lowe Vollick won five games of ‘Jeopardy!’ in a row. Her episodes were then taken out of circulation. What followed was a nearly 40-year hunt for the missing tapes—and a quest to find out what really happened between the show and its most enigmatic champion.”
Posted inNonfiction
‘We Deserve So Much More Than Police, Prisons, and Jails’: Scalawag Takes On Emmy-Winning Television
We recommend these incisive essays on Abbott Elementary, The White Lotus, and The Dropout in Scalawag’s series on pop culture and justice.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Youn Yuh-jung Comes to America
“On the set of Minari, she was an old Korean lady.” E. Alex Jung interviews Oscar nominee Youn Yuh-jung.
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Mr. Miyagi Taught Me About Anti-Asian Racism in America
In The Karate Kid franchise, writes Beth Nguyen, “Mr. Miyagi is the perpetual foreigner who exists to serve the whiteness that surrounds him.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Dear IU, Our Bodies Are Fine
“I knew my body wasn’t ‘right’; it didn’t look like the bodies of the K-pop idols and Korean actresses I grew up admiring.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Essays & Criticism, Highlight, Quote Posts, Quotes
Pop Culture Portrays OCD as a Blessing. It’s Not.
“The Wall Street Journal recently used the headline ‘We All Need OCD Now’ for an article on COVID-19 … Finally, my debilitating mental illness has a timely hook!”
Posted inArts & Culture, Highlight, Quote Posts, Quotes
What If This Is It: Will Huey Lewis Sing Again?
‘The music went away slowly and then all at once. So what if it never comes back? “I haven’t allowed myself to go there yet,” Huey says, worry in his voice.’