Picking up where we previously left off… using the concepts of racialization, dehumanization and affect, Sandlin and Snaza (2018) argue that Disney’s Zootopia shapes the identities, desire and subjectivities of its viewers “by policing ‘negative’ emotions such as anger, which (re)produces social forms by perpetuating white heteropatriarchal privilege” (p.1197).
Let’s take a look at how the authors argue Zootopia does this.
Read MoreWith the continued success of the Harry Potter series - in February 2018, it was announced that more than 500 million copies of the novels had been sold, in 80 languages (in addition to 8 feature films, endless merchandising, video games, and a theme park) - it is not surprising that the franchise has been the subject of much academic study. Among other things, it has been analyzed from the perspective of gender, class, and race, focusing on themes of injustice, prejudice, wealth, and slavery.
This blog post looks at the accuracy of the outcome of the sorting quiz (and the characteristics associated with each house) with the personality traits identified in real-world assessments like the Big Five personality quiz, and what we can learn about ourselves and others through popular culture.
Read MoreZombies, as mentioned in my last blog post are everywhere in popular culture and we can learn a lot from studying them and their monstrous siblings - werewolves, vampires, aliens, ghosts and the like.
Traditionally, when we speak about things that are monstrous, we're referring to someone or something (some act) that is morally reprehensible, or culturally or socially unacceptable. Serial killers, although they’re real-life, living and breathing human beings, are often called 'monsters'.
Monsters and monstrosity have been relied on in the past as a way to define the boundaries of humanity and human nature. They also provide an explanation for what is inexplicable or a justification for what would otherwise be horrendous and unspeakable.
Read MoreNot surprisingly, one of my favourite topics in Popular Culture is monsters, and in particular zombies. Zombies are everywhere - Netflix, movie theatres, video games, books, comics. I even watched The Cured, a 2017 Irish horror film about reintegrating zombies into society after a plague swept across Europe, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this week while I was in self-isolation… during a global, viral pandemic… that has swept its way across several continents… um, sh*t didn’t that happen in World War Z? Or was it I Am Legend? Or The Walking Dead?
Just kidding! But the similarities are eery, don’t you think? Read on for more…
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