by bmckernan In recent months, proposals for “fat taxes” have gained growing popularity amongst certain academic and political circles. Proponents for such measures suggest that such policies would help lower America’s obesity rate and/or help fund a public healthcare plan. A series of articles from Slate.com invoke (in part) a seemingly Foucauldian lens in examining … Continue reading »
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Indie Games and the Need for Gatekeepers
by bmckernan Earlier this year, I posted an article exploring the manner talent agencies serve as cultural gatekeepers. While the post focuses particularly on talent agencies, it also highlights the continuing influence cultural gatekeepers play in both the production and consumption of a significant portion of today’s cultural expression. Recently, Microsoft’s attempt at revitalizing Xbox … Continue reading »
The Future of American Television Part 2
by bmckernan A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on Sociology Lens entitled “Is Jay Leno the future of television?” Using Leno’s new prime time variety show as a backdrop, the post examined some of the current issues facing the television industry in America, particularly the decline in network ratings and the increased segmentation of … Continue reading »
Is Jay Leno the future of television?
by bmckernan A recent article in Time magazine entitled “Jay Leno is the Future of TV. Seriously” utilizes NBC’s “gamble” on Jay Leno’s primetime talk show as a backdrop to explore the recent history and current state of American television. The article touches upon many of the issues currently being discussed in the academic literature … Continue reading »
Light capitalism, prize economics, and the prosumer
by bmckernan A few months ago, Sociology Lens news editor Nathan Jurgenson posted an intriguing article entitled “Facebook, the transumer, and liquid capitalism.” Among the interesting concepts that Jurgenson addresses and illuminates include Bauman’s notion of “light” or “weightless” capitalism as well as “prosumers.” Some recent events in American mass media and popular culture further … Continue reading »
Meaning in the Eye of the Beholder
by bmckernan A recent Op-Ed in the NY Times by conservative columnist Ross Douthat on Judd Apatow’s comedy Funny People serves as a unique illustration of one of Stuart Hall’s key insights – the heterogeneity of a cultural text. In explaining the negative critical reception to the film in some circles, Douthat suggests that the … Continue reading »
The new “old” music industry
by bmckernan A recent article in the NY Times highlights a potential major shift currently ensuing within the music industry. As the article reports, while in the past most musicians depended on the support of a major record label if they ever hoped of gaining access to a large audience and becoming financially successful, today … Continue reading »
“Acceptable” Language in Video Games
by bmckernan In recent months, software giant Microsoft has come under strong criticism for its censoring of particular “gamertags” on its Xbox Live Service that Microsoft officials consider to contain sexual innuendo. However, as an article on the gaming site Kotaku documents, in practice this has led to the banning of gamertags used by gamers … Continue reading »
Pop Icons as a Text
by bmckernan While most of us have most likely had our fill of news stories related to the tragic death of pop icon Michael Jackson courtesy of the media’s seemingly daily obsession with the story, a recent blog post by games journalist Jeremy Parish at 1up.com provides some rather unique cultural insight into Michael Jackson … Continue reading »
Hurdles to Public Healthcare
by bmckernan A recent NY Times poll found that the overwhelming majority of respondents (72%) support a government administered public healthcare program. In addition, the poll found wide support for the government initiative amongst both Democrats and Republicans. As the NY Times article on the poll’s results rightfully points out, this is not the first … Continue reading »
