POP CULTURE & TRENDS

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

James Earl Jones — The End Of An Era

What James Earl Jones can teach us about activism and art in times of crisis. The death of James Earl Jones has forced me to consider the end of an era. Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Jones were giants in my industry. They were Black performers whose ascents to stardom occurred in the tumultuous 1960s, when I was an infant. All three were politically active, although each operated in a significantly different way. In 1967, there were more than 150 riots fueled by racial tensions in U.S. cities. Many Americans worried that the nation would implode over racial conflict, and President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to study the sources of racial turmoil. At the time, Jones was an actor of growing renown on television and the theatrical stage. He had performed in ...

Music Is Playing A Big Role In The 2024 Election As Shown By Taylor Swift Endorsement Of Kamala Harris

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, POP CULTURE & TRENDS

Music Is Playing A Big Role In The 2024 Election As Shown By Taylor Swift Endorsement Of Kamala Harris

Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris shows how big a role music is playing in the 2024 election. Music generates passion and emotion, so it’s little surprise that popular tunes have been featured in presidential contests since the days of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. But as a scholar of music’s role in American politics and patriotism, I’ve never seen music assume as much electoral importance as it has in recent months. Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is headline news, as were the mere rumors that Beyoncé might perform at the Democratic National Convention. Donald Trump, too, has his pop culture supporters, including Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood. In a tight race, music has the potential to make a big difference. Most voters today have already made up their...

Exploring The Significance Of Vance’s ‘No Pauper’

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POP CULTURE & TRENDS

Exploring The Significance Of Vance’s ‘No Pauper’

JD Vance is no pauper − he’s a classic example of ‘poornography,’ in which the rich try to speak on behalf of the poor. JD Vance has climbed to his current position as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, in part, by selling himself as a hillbilly, calling on his Appalachian background to bolster his credentials to speak for the American working class. “I grew up as a poor kid,” Vance said on Fox News in August 2024. “I think that’s a story that a lot of normal Americans can empathize with.” Indeed, the book that brought him to public attention was his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” In that book, he claims his family carried an inheritance of “abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma.” “Poor people,” he proclaimed in a 2016 interview with The American Conservative, are “my ...

The Rise And Fall Of The Romance Writers Of America — The Inside Story

29Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, POP CULTURE & TRENDS

The Rise And Fall Of The Romance Writers Of America — The Inside Story

Inside the rise and fall of one of the world’s most powerful writing groups. The Romance Writers of America, once the world’s largest and most powerful authors’ association, filed for bankruptcy on May 30, 2024. In its filing, the nonprofit blamed “disputes concerning diversity, equity and inclusion” for its membership declining by a jaw-dropping 80%. With just 2,000 members left, the organization finds itself unable to pay US$3 million in hotel commitments for future conferences. I’ve spent a decade studying romance publishing, and I believe the rise and fall of the Romance Writers of America shows how quickly organizations can collapse if they don’t serve the needs of all their members. This debacle could serve as a warning to universities, companies and other groups now abolishi...

Witchcraft Practitioners’ Connection To The Natural World Is Changing, As The Craft Becomes A Multibillion-Dollar Business

25Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, POP CULTURE & TRENDS

Witchcraft Practitioners’ Connection To The Natural World Is Changing, As The Craft Becomes A Multibillion-Dollar Business

As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners’ connection to the natural world is changing. Witches, Wiccans and other contemporary Pagans see divinity in trees, streams, plants and animals. Most Pagans view the Earth as the Goddess, with a body that humans must care for, and from which they gain emotional, spiritual and physical sustenance. Paganism is an umbrella term that includes religions that view their practices as returning to those of pre-Christian societies, in which they believe the Goddess was worshipped along with the gods and the land was seen as sacred. Wicca focuses specifically on the practice of the British Isles. Witchcraft has also become a multibillion-dollar business. As a sociologist who has been researching this religion for more than 30 year...

What Is The Truth About St. Patrick’s Day

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POP CULTURE & TRENDS

What Is The Truth About St. Patrick’s Day

In 1997, my students and I traveled to Croagh Patrick, a mountain in County Mayo, as part of a study abroad program course on Irish literature I was teaching for the University of Dayton. I wanted my students to visit the place where, each July, thousands of pilgrims pay homage to St. Patrick, who, according to lore, fasted and prayed on the summit for 40 days. While there, our tour guide relayed the story of how St. Patrick, as he lay on his death bed on March 17 in A.D. 461, supposedly asked those gathered around him to toast his heavenly journey with a “wee drop of whiskey” to ease their pain. The mention of whiskey left me wondering if St. Patrick may have unintentionally influenced the way most of the world celebrates the holiday today: by drinking. It wasn’t always this way. The F...

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POP CULTURE & TRENDS

A Canvas To Be Seen And Heard

For graffiti artists, abandoned skyscrapers in Miami and Los Angeles become a canvas for regular people to be seen and heard. The three qualities that matter most in real estate also matter the most to graffiti artists: location, location, location. In Miami and Los Angeles, cities that contain some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S., graffiti artists have recently made sure their voices can be heard and seen, even from the sky. In what’s known as “graffiti bombing,” artists in both cities swiftly and extensively tagged downtown skyscrapers that had been abandoned. The efforts took place over the course of a few nights in December 2023 and late January 2024, with the results generating a mix of admiration and condemnation. KTLA 5 news highlights public outrage over a graff...

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POP CULTURE & TRENDS, SOCIETY

Where Did The Time Go?

Why is free time still so elusive? There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century. So why are people still working so hard for so long? Output per worker increased by almost 300% between 1950 and 2018 in the U.S. The standard American workweek, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, at about 40 hours. This paradox is especially notable in the U.S., where the average work year is 1,767 hours compared with 1,354 in Germany, a difference largely due to Americans’ lack of vacation time. Some might argue that Americans are just more hardworking. But shouldn’t more productive work be rewarded with more time free from work? This is the central theme of my new book, “Free Time: The History of an Elusive Ideal.” Keynes misses the mark Many economists see the status quo mostly as ...

For Some Nonreligious Americans Secular Congregations Fill A Need

14Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, POP CULTURE & TRENDS

For Some Nonreligious Americans Secular Congregations Fill A Need

Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans. Shared testimonies, collective singing, silent meditation and baptism rituals – these are all activities you might find at a Christian church service on a Sunday morning in the United States. But what would it look like if atheists were gathering to do these rituals instead? Today, almost 30% of adults in the United States say they have no religious affiliation, and only half attend worship services regularly. But not all forms of church are on the decline – including “secular congregations,” or what many call “atheist churches.” As a sociologist of religion who has spent the past 10 years studying nonreligious communities, I have found that atheist churches serve many of the same purposes as religio...

Black History Month – Black History – HISTORY.com

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POP CULTURE & TRENDS

Black History Month – Black History – HISTORY.com

Black History Month, or National African American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history. Find out more about the history of Black History Month, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com Source: Black History Month - Black History - HISTORY.com...