scholarly journals National History and Generational Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-420
Author(s):  
Adina Zemanek
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
National History ◽  
National Project ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
Generational Consciousness

This article explores a recent stage of the national project in Taiwan as reflected in comic books. It compares historical comics and graphic memoirs as lieux de mémoire (according to Pierre Nora) and as stories that define Taiwan, situated between the historical apparatus and cultural memory (in Marita Sturken’s terms). It argues that the memoirs’ higher potential appeal is based on their relevance to contemporary concerns, on building links between the wu nianji 五年級 (fifth-grader) generation and present-day youth, and on depicting history as recoverable through elements of everyday life. The article also highlights borrowings from existing discourses of national history in the analyzed memoirs and their new contributions thereto: a focus on the postwar period; a strong generational consciousness; an idea of historical continuity as embodied in present everyday life; a nonantagonistic approach to national history that transcends ethnic and political divides and positions Taiwan in the midst of global flows; and a nonelite view of Taiwan’s most recent history grounded in popular culture.

Trust: A National Project

2015 ◽  
pp. 138-146
Author(s):  
N. Rozinskaya ◽  
I. Rozinskiy
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
National Project ◽  
Low Level ◽  
General Trust

This article deals with the genesis of general trust and social capital in contemporary Russia, which faces the external pressure. The low level of general trust is noted, its economic, social and everyday life implications are considered, an explanation of Russia’s lower than in western Europe level of trust is provided. Considering society’s level of trust and social capital as externalia, the authors conclude that there is a necessity to "produce" trust intentionally. Promotion of collective charity is proposed as a mechanism of such "production". It is stressed that in order to activate the potential of trust in a society, there is a need for ideological and symbolic basis linked to its history. Russian People’s Unity Day, understood as the birthday of Russian civil society, is proposed to be used in this respect.

Historia leksemu "badylarz" (na marginesie prac nad "Wielkim słownikiem języka polskiego PAN")

Język Polski ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 100-112
Author(s):  
Jakub Bobrowski
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Lexical Unit ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
The 19Th Century

The article explores the semantic and pragmatic evolution of the lexical unit "badylarz" (‘vegetable gardener’). The author challenges the generally accepted opinions about its history, making use of data from dictionaries, digital libraries and corpora of the Polish language. It is commonly believed that the word came into existence during the PRL era and belonged to the typical elements of the discourse of communist propaganda. An analysis of the collected data showed that the word "badylarz" existed as far back as the second half of the 19th century. Originally, it was a neutral lexeme, but in the interwar period it became one of the offensive names of class enemies, often used in left-wing newspapers. After the war, negative connotations of the word were disseminated through literature and popular culture. Nowadays, "badylarz" functions as the lexical exponent of cultural memory of communist times.

Some Reflections on Making Popular Culture in Urban Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
AbdouMaliq Simone
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Urban Africa ◽  
The City ◽  
Ways Of Being

Abstract:In contemporary urban Africa, the turbulence of the city requires incessant innovation that is capable of generating new ways of being. Rather than treating popular culture as some distinctive sector, this article attempts to investigate the popular as methods of bringing together activities and actors that on the surface would not seem compatible, and as experimental forms of generating value in the everyday life of urban residents. This investigation, sited largely in Douala, Cameroon, looks at how youth from varying neighborhoods attempt to get by, and at the unexpected forms of contestation that can ensue.

scholarly journals The politics of a ‘Poncy Pillowcase’: Migration and borders in Coronation Street’

Politics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandria J Innes ◽  
Robert J Topinka
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Soap Opera ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
And Gender

This article examines the ways in which popular culture stages and supplies resources for agency in everyday life, with particular attention to migration and borders. Drawing upon cultural studies, and specific insights originating from the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, we explore how intersectional identities such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender are experienced in relation to the globalisation of culture and identity in a 2007 Coronation Street storyline. The soap opera genre offers particular insights into how agency emerges in everyday life as migrants and locals navigate the forces of globalisation. We argue that a focus on popular culture can mitigate the problem of isolating migrant experiences from local experiences in migrant-receiving areas.

BEYOND THE TOURIST EXPERIENCE: ANALYZING THE IMAGINATION OF PLACE AND TRAVEL IN EVERYDAY LIFE

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
The Self ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Individual State ◽  
Imaginary World ◽  
Tourism Research ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article advocates a new agenda for (media) tourism research that links questions of tourist experiences to the role and meaning of imagination in everyday life. Based on a small-scale, qualitative study among a group of seventeen respondents of diverse ages and backgrounds currently residing in the Netherlands, we offer an empirical exploration of the places that are of importance for people’s individual state of mind and investigate how these places relate to (potential) tourist experiences. The combination of in-depth interviews and random-cue self-reporting resulted in the following findings: 1) all our respondents regularly reside in an elaborate imaginary world, consisting of both fictional and non-fictional places; 2) this imaginary world is dominated by places which make the respondents feel nostalgic; 3) in this regard, the private home and houses from childhood are pivotal; 4) the ‘home’ is seen as topos of the self and contrasted with ‘away’; 5) the imagination of ‘away’ emerges from memories of previous tourist experiences, personal fantasies and, last but not least, influences from popular culture. We conclude that imagining and visiting other locations are part of a life-long project of ‘identity work’ in which personal identities are performed, confirmed and extended. By travelling, either physically or mentally, individuals anchor their identity - the entirety of ideas about who they are, where they come from and where they think they belong - in a broader, spatial framework.

scholarly journals Film as medium for meaning making: A practical theological reflection

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita L. Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Self ◽  
Practical Theological

The reflection on film will be situated within the framework of popular culture and livedreligion as recognised themes within the discipline of practical theology. It is argued that theperspective of viewers is of importance within the process of meaning-making. By focusing onthe experience and meaning-making through the act of film-watching the emphasis is not somuch on the message that the producer wishes to convey but rather on the experience that iscreated within the viewer. Experience is not viewed as only emotional, but rather that, at least,both the cognitive and emotional are key in the act of watching a film. It is therefore arguedthat this experience that is seldom reflected on by viewers could serve as a fruitful platform formeaning-making by the viewer. In a context where there seems to be a decline in institutionalisedforms of religion, it is important to investigate emerging forms of religion. Furthermore, theturn to the self also makes people’s experiences and practices in everyday life valuableresources for theological reflection. This reflection could provide a theoretical framework forespecially empirical research on how film as specific form of media serves as a religiousresource and plays a role in the construction of meaning and religious identity.

scholarly journals Repackaging Popular Culture: Commentary and Critique in Community

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tully Barnett ◽  
Ben Kooyman
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Fan Culture ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nerd Culture ◽  
The Big Bang

Contemporaneous with the collision of Science Fiction/Fantasy with the mainstream evident in the success of nerd culture show The Big Bang Theory (2007- ), Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (2012), the growth of Comic Con audiences and so on, Dan Harmon developed Community (2009- ), a sitcom depicting a study group at a second-rate community college. The show exemplifies a recent gravitation away from the multi-camera, laugh-track driven sitcom formula, alternating between “straight” episodes dealing with traditional sitcom premises, though always inflected with self-aware acumen, and more ambitious, unconventional episodes featuring outlandish premises, often infused with the trappings of genre and geek fandom. The show presents apocalyptic action- and Western-style paintball wars, epidemics that evoke zombie cinema, a Yahtzee game that spirals into alternate timelines, and a high-stakes Dungeons and Dragons game that blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy.  Both the straight and the unconventional episodes ultimately serve the same purpose, examining the intersection between nerd culture and everyday life. This essay discusses a number of episodes which exemplify Community’s intersections between everyday life and popular culture, charting the show’s evolving preoccupation with pop culture and intertwining of reality and fantasy. It discusses Community’s self-referentiality as a sitcom, its ambitious and elaborate recreations of and homages to pop culture artefacts, and its explicit gravitation towards Science Fiction and Telefantasy in its third season. Through its various homages to popular culture and ongoing depiction of fan culture, we posit that the show is both a work of fandom and a work about fandom, advocating for the pivotal role of fandom in everyday life and for popular culture as a tool for interpreting, comprehending and navigating life. In this respect, the show contributes to the long history of both the sitcom and Telefantasy as vehicles for cultural commentary.

TV Serial Killers

2019 ◽  
pp. 224-232
Author(s):  
VÍctor Hernández-Santaolalla ◽  
Alberto Hermida
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Serial Killers ◽  
Temporal Perspective ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Before And After

Darth Vader is one of the most iconic supervillains in popular culture. As an evil archetype, Vader’s unequivocal villainy is predicated upon the enigma of his origin and the good versus evil polarity that arguably underpins the Star Wars franchise. However, the Star Wars prequel trilogy complicates the oversimplified dualism of this thematic premise by revealing Vader’s past as Anakin Skywalker: the once heroic “Chosen One” turned corrupted Jedi Knight then Sith Lord. Considering Vader’s various depictions across movies, comic books, and television, this chapter examines the sequential complexity of Vader’s villainy with a focus on how the prequel trilogy complicates notions of temporality, memory, and continuity. In occupying both the before and after, the prequel trilogy presents Vader as a liminal villain who is simultaneously Jedi and Sith, thus contributing a temporal perspective to Vader’s role as villain to re-work the themes of heroism, villainy, and ‘destiny’ in the Star Wars franchise.

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