The "academic study" of pop culture

Right now I'm taking English 495, which is the senior capstone course for English majors. My professor, Dr. Dennis Cutchins, is hilarious and we have some crazy interesting discussions in that class--one of the perks of discussing books!

Anyhow, Dr. Cutchins recently took part in the National PCA/ACA (Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association) Conference in San Francisco last week. Basically, it's a conference for people who do academic studies relating to pop culture.... and the conference sounded pretty hilarious/entertaining/amazing.

I guess I've kind of thought of myself as "above" pop culture to a certain degree and have taken pride in this, but in reading the topics for the papers that were presented at the conference, I realized that I'm as much a sucker (maybe) as the next guy... even if I don't listen to Kiss FM or watch E!. There's something about pop culture that just draws you in, but more than a little makes me sick... it's like overdosing on cotton candy or something.

I realized, though, that there is a lot more to "culture" than stuff you see in Seventeen magazine or in movies. Popular culture encapsulates trends, societal attitudes, literature, film, and tons more... all of stuff that most of us find interesting. But, there is definitely still a lot of fluff. The cool thing about looking at pop culture from an academic standpoint, though, is that you can enjoy examining the trends and still feel smart, ha. Or at least that's what seems to be the draw to me.

I'm not sure if I could find sustained fulfillment in "studying" pop culture (I don't think many people actually dedicate their entire careers to it) but I must say, I think attending this conference would be REALLY interesting! Take a look at some of the paper topics and you'll see why. (Scroll down to about page 65)...

Where else could you sit in on discussions/presentations like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Hidden Agenda? Roundtable Discussion" or “Small Dog, Big Class: Toy Dogs as Cultural Capital” or “The Death of Captain America: Mythic Revisionism, Marvel’s ‘Civil War,’ and the War on Terror” or “Dressed to Kilt: The Shrek Tartan and the Discourse of Highlandism”? And the scarier question: would you even want to sit in on these? (Probably most of us would like to, if just for a chuckle.)

Haha. Obviously, I picked some of the more random examples, but seriously, who wouldn't love listening to someone with a PhD talk about this stuff? I think it'd be pretty interesting. It's like the educated version of E!News :-)

I'm thinking perhaps someday I might need to go, just for the experience. Who knows, maybe I can whip up a paper on "Existentialist Themes in 'The Office'" or something! Anyone want to come? :-)

Out of the time capsule

By request I'm posting a poem that I wrote in first grade. Keep in mind, these were the days when rhyming was the only thing I knew to do in poetry. My friends Abby and Leslie memorized the poem in high school and would occasionally recite it (with lots of laughter) at lunch :-) I remember writing this poem in pencil on the pink paper of my Lisa Simpson diary. Ahem:

The ground is frozen, the grass is cold.

The cheese I am holding is covered with mold.

I hate the word "sick" and I hate the word "ill."

The words "sick" and "ill" just give me the chill!

Do you like the words "sick" and "ill"?

Do they, do they, give you the chill?

My heart is beating very slow,

I see it, Do you see it? 

Do you see the snow?

To this day, I have no idea what it means. I think I must have read some Dr. Seuss before I wrote this one :-) 

I am a work in progress.

I realized after coming home from the grocery store tonight that my life is full of contradictions. Example: I relearned that going to the grocery store at midnight when you're hungry for junk food is a bad idea. I came home with some sugary cereal (sorry Mom, but don't worry, my goal is to only use it to supplement the boring unsugary cereal, not replace it!), buffalo chicken strips (do I really need those?), and toaster strudels (they were on sale and I've never tried them... I had one when I got home and was disappointed at their processed-ness), among other things (a few "healthier" items in the mix). I could sense my guilt as I swiped the items through the self-check out at Smith's. I almost put some of it back, but I was too tired by that point. 

I know that junk food is bad. I like to think that I am stronger than junk food. Often, I am. My sophomore year of college, my roommate Emily and I went without sugar (junk food sugar, that is) for 6 weeks. I remember that to celebrate our victory, we decided to go out for dessert. We both felt sick afterwards, haha. I guess our bodies had adjusted to the no-sugar thing. We had beat the craving!

Anyhow, I think this applies as a larger principle. We have ideals, but how fully do we always live them? Hopefully, we live the ones most important to us as best as we possibly can. I think of the gospel--that is one thing that I want to consistently place first in my life. But I'm still not perfect, and I know that placing my priorities will need to be a daily decision.

Another thing I think about is recycling. As a third grader, I remember writing about the importance of recycling in an essay as if I were Al Gore. But now, despite my good intentions, I still often use plastic bags at the grocery store (instead of paper or cloth bags) and I don't always recycle everything. I have a long way to go.

Of course there are a million other things I could mention... these are just two small examples. It's hard sometimes to realize that our actions do not always match our intentions. But, I think life is all about bringing those two together in steady improvement. I'm trying to focus on the possibilities of being better tomorrow without dwelling too much on the failings of yesterday. Reflection is important though in this process. I guess that's why I like thinking (I could spend a LOT of time daydreaming if I wanted to), talking with friends, writing in my journal, praying, blogging. It helps me recognize where I'm at. Eventually, I will be a better recycler if I make it a priority. I will eat healthier if I stay committed and avoid the grocery store at midnight :-) We're all a work in progress. It's humbling to be reminded of that.