Closing Remarks...

So, it’s been quite the five weeks since our pop culture course began. So much has happened between the break up of Jon and Kate and the death of so many media figures in such a short span of time. When I teach this course, because I rely so much on what is going on in the world of pop culture, I never know where things will lead us. It’s been quite the adventure during this short summer semester. With the death of four media figures in the course of five days, it has given me pause to consider my own mortality. That’s one of the ways in which pop culture works: we use what the culture gives us in order to make determinations about our own thinking and perhaps beliefs. I have argued that pop culture comes at us with such frequency that we don’t have time to savoir any one instant and therefore the effects are not long lasting. In a sense that’s a shame, because pop culture could work toward the public good, especially given the amount of time we spend with pop culture each day. I have also argued that one of the stresses we feel in contemporary American society is derived from the competing ideas that are thrust at us through pop culture. Simply put: pop culture overwhelms us. It has been my hope that during this shortened summer version of the course that you have become more conscious of the role that pop culture plays in your life, as it has been one of the goals of the course to raise your awareness about pop culture, something we take for granted. And, although we have had only a short time to process a lot of material, I hope that as you move forward in your life that there will be instances that will remind you of some of the ideas, issues and theories you have learned in this course.

The Thriller is gone

I guess you can’t write a blog titled Imaginary Worlds without considering the untimely death of pop legend Michael Jackson and the many many people who had an imaginary social relationship with him. Imaginary social relations are relationships with media figures we don’t actually know, but with whom we feel an emotional closeness or perhaps toward whom we feel an emotional repulsion. Moreover, these media figures play important roles in our lives: mentors, friends, lovers, father or mother figures, among others. The degree and nature of one’s imaginary social relationship with Michael Jackson probably depends on your age. Students in this class do not remember a time when there was no MTV. And for those who are younger than twenty, you cannot remember a time when Michael Jackson was not embroiled in some controversy. If you are older, let’s say in your thirties, then you might remember Michael Jackson and his brothers at the beginning of their careers. The video above represents a seminal moment when Michael Jackson introduced the "moonwalk" during a performance of Billy Jean at the Motown 25th Anniversary Show. There is no question that his career has been a long one and that he impacted people in different ways. How did he impact you?

The King of Pop Culture is dead and I don't mean Michael Jackson

It’s been quite the weekend in Pop Cultureland. First it was Farah Fawcett who died of a dreaded illness, then the shock of Michael Jackson’s untimely passing, and now the unexpected death of Billy Mays. Billy Mays you ask? Oh come now. You may not recognize the name, but you know Billy Mays. At least you know his work. Billy Mays did infomercials for OxiClean and OrangeGlo among other products. He died Sunday of unknown causes. What is going to happen to the world of infomercials now? Will the Shamwow guy, Vince Shlomi, become the pre-eminent pitchman in America? Or, is Billy Mays, like Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett simply irreplaceable?