When’s the last time you hung out at the mall? We don’t mean when is the last time you went to a mall, ran in, got something and left. When is the last time you really hung out there? Once upon a time, this used to be a thing. Families took all day shopping trips…
Category: Culture
Call for Comments: “Get in loser, we’re going shopping”
From Monica: This week on VoxPop, we’re feeling nostalgic for the ultimate palace of capitalism— the mall. Because even if you don’t like shopping, the sheer quantity of things geographically centered meant that you probably bought clothes, or read comics, or listened to CDs, or saw a movie, or had a haircut, or took a…
e211. #PCAACA22: The Presentations
Regular listeners of our show will know that the last couple weeks we have devoted to #PCAACA22, the annual conference for the Pop Culture Association. Two weeks ago, we devoted the show to our planning workshop. Last week, you got to hear us meet with other conference attendees to talk about how it went at…
Call for Comments: Unintentional Group Synchrony and the Madness of Crowds
From Wayne: I’ve had several conversations with people about their experience in crowds at various events. For me this was primarily a function of my experience at concerts. I can verily easily just get caught up in the music and the moment, losing a certain amount of a sense of self and ‟becoming one with…
e204. Viral Grammar: Rhetoric, Semiotics, and Emoji
It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for! The one where we talk about The Emoji Movie! 
Ok… maybe not… well, a little, but for good reason. One aspect of popular culture we probably don’t think about very often is communication. Communication is the cornerstone of culture, on the internet or otherwise. In today’s world…
Call for Comments: What is Luxury Fashion, Really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4zlvTlaI0 From Monica: What do Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet, Hennessy, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Celine, Bulgari, Tiffany and Co., and Sephora all have in common? They’re all owned by LVMH, the world’s largest corporate conglomerate specializing in luxury goods. What about Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent? They’re all…
Call for Comments: Humanities vs. STEM — Dawn of Nerdom
From Katya: There’s a generic assumption in academic circles that the humanities are embattled — for funding, for prestige, for influence within the university, etc. — against the BBEG of STEM. STEM is stealing our students. STEM is stealing our funding. STEM is gnawing our legs off (for science!) As you might guess, I don’t…
CFC: Bechdel Tests, Fire Island, and the lack of nuance in pop culture criticism
June 10, 2022
From Mav: So I hate the Bechdel Test. I think it’s stupid. See what I’m doing here is saying something kind of outrageous to start an article and then going into a more nuanced discussion where I try to make a larger point but that will be ignored by a lot of people who just…