popular culture — Bunk History

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Chuck Norris as Sergeant Cordell Walker in Walker: Texas Ranger.

Walkers and Lone Rangers: How Pop Culture Shaped the Texas Rangers Mythology

Texas’s elite police force has long played the hero in film and television, although the reality is far more complex.

by Sean O'Neal via Texas Monthly on November 16, 2022

Black and white photo of Woody Guthrie holding a guitar labeled "this machine kills fascists"

I've Got Those Old Talking-Blues Blues Again

The Folkies and WWII, Part Two.

by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on October 13, 2022

A line of G.I. Joe action figures, in various military-style uniforms as well as scuba gear.

How G.I. Joe Jump-Started the Action Figure Craze

In the late 1970s, smaller 'Star Wars' action figures took over.

by Becky Little via HISTORY on October 11, 2022

Flag of the Confederacy

The United States of Confederate America

Support for Confederate symbols and monuments follows lines of race, religion, and education rather than geography.

by David A. Graham via The Atlantic on October 4, 2022

A person holds up a "Don't Tread on Florida" poster at an August rally in Tampa featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio.

The ‘Florida Man’ is Notorious. Here’s Where the Meme Came From

The practice of seeing Florida’s people, culture and history in caricature form is deeply rooted in the state’s colonial past.

by Julio Capó Jr., Tyler Gillespie via Made By History on September 14, 2022

Actor Tom Hanks and President George W. Bush stand on stage at the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on May 29, 2004.

Destructive Myths

Romanticized stories about the Second World War are at the heart of American exceptionalism.

by Jeff Faux via Dissent on August 30, 2022

A picture of the author as a teenager with his parents, in his bedroom decorated with rock music posters.

My Dad and Kurt Cobain

When my father moved to Taiwan, a fax machine and a shared love of music bridged an ocean.

by Hua Hsu via The New Yorker on August 15, 2022

Illustration of Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Sex, Scandal, and Sisterhood: Fifty Years of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

They’re global icons who have left a lasting imprint on American culture. But do recent controversies threaten the squad’s future?

by Sarah Hepola via Texas Monthly on August 15, 2022

Vintage photograph of two little girls sitting on a mid-century television set.

The Lost Art of Striking a Pose With Your TV Set

In midcentury America, the machine itself became a character.

by Lynn Spigel via Slate on August 14, 2022

Black and white photo of a 1920s flapper girl.

Flappers: Precursors to Modern-Day Social Media Influencers?

A 1923 article in a fashion magazine shows the connection between flappers and social media youth organizers today.

by Jason Ulysses Rose via HNN on August 7, 2022

Weird Al Yankovic, Lizzo, and Beyonce with their mouths covered by black bars indicating censorship.

The Surprising History of the Slur Beyoncé and Lizzo Both Cut From Their New Albums

How did the controversial term go from middle-school slang to verboten? The answer lies on the other side of the Atlantic.

by Ben Zimmer via Slate on August 3, 2022

A great white shark swims just under the surface of the water. Photo taken approximately 50 yards off the coast of the Cape Cod National Sea Shore in Massachusetts on July 15, 2022.

U.S. Shark Mania Began With This Attack More Than a Century Ago

On July 1, 1916, a young stockbroker from Philadelphia headed into the surf at Beach Haven, N.J.

by Steve Hendrix via Retropolis on July 25, 2022

Four women (L7) sit on a bench together wearing jeans and jackets.

The Women Who Built Grunge

Bands like L7 and Heavens to Betsy were instrumental to the birth of the grunge scene, but for decades were treated like novelties and sex objects.

by Lisa Whittington-Hill via Longreads on June 29, 2022

Drawing of a group of young boys around a table, entitled "Mischievous Matt," from a story paper.

Dime Novels and Story Papers for Kids

The rise of popular literature for children put a story, a role model, and a set of values in a young boy’s pocket.

by Michael Denning, Betsy Golden Kellem, Sara Lindey, Margaret Cassidy via JSTOR Daily on June 23, 2022

Drawing of onomatopoetic words, exclamation points, and objects used to make noises.

The Weird, Analog Delights of Foley Sound Effects

E.T. was jello in a T-shirt. The Mummy was scratchy potpourri. For Foley artists, deception is an essential part of the enterprise.

by Anna Wiener via The New Yorker on June 23, 2022

Black and white photo of Elvis Presley in a recording studio.

Was There Anything Real About Elvis Presley?

Presley never wrote a memoir. Nor did he keep a diary. His music could have been a window into his inner life, but he didn’t even write his songs.

by Michael T. Bertrand via The Conversation on June 22, 2022

Black and white photo of Gertrude Stein writing at desk.

Gertrude Stein's Pulp Fiction

It has taken decades for an appreciation of Stein’s crime fiction to really take hold.

by Gertrude Stein, Cornelius Fortune, Mark McGurl, Brooks Landon via JSTOR Daily on June 22, 2022

Illustration of Asian woman surrounded by flowers

Sex, Death, and Empire: The Roots of Violence Against Asian Women

The line from America’s earliest empire in the Philippines to Japan, Korea, Vietnam—and anti-Asian violence at home—is straight, clear, and written in blood.

by Panthea Lee via The Nation on April 18, 2022

People in Ukrainian subway station converted into bomb shelter with makeshift beds and kitchen.

The History of the Family Bomb Shelter

Throughout history, the family bomb shelter has reflected the shifting optimism, anxieties, and cynicism of the nuclear age.

by Thomas Bishop via Zócalo Public Square on April 18, 2022

Sheet music cover for Civil War marching song "The Bonnie Blue Flag," featuring two flags used by Confederate states.

We Are a Band of Brothers

Why are so many songs of the Confederacy indelibly inscribed in my Yankee memory?

by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on April 9, 2022

Illustration of “Twenty-eight fugitives escaping from the eastern shore of Maryland”

The Supernatural and the Mundane in Depictions of the Underground Railroad

Navigating the line between historical records and mystic imagery to understand the Underground Railroad.

by Andrew K. Diemer via The Panorama on April 4, 2022

Portraits of Dean Dixon, William Grant Still, and Margaret Bonds, three African American classical musicians.

A Prophecy Unfulfilled?

What a new book and six companion videos have to say about the fate of Black classical music in America.

by Mark N. Grant via The American Scholar on April 2, 2022

Photo of Ethel Barrymore over collage of citrus, eggs, and toast.

The Golden Age Hollywood Diet That Starved Its Famous Starlets — And Then America

In 1929, Ethel Barrymore went on the ‘18-Day Diet.’ From there, it took the country by storm. Until, that is, its disciples began dying.

by Ian Douglass via MEL on March 31, 2022

Nimrod and His Companions Venerating Fire, by Rudolf von Ems, c. 1400.

Enjoy My Flames

On heavy metal’s fascination with Roman emperors.

by Jeremy Swist via Lapham’s Quarterly on March 23, 2022

Neil Young, on left, and UFC announcer and podcaster Joe Rogan.

What The Neil Young-Joe Rogan Dust-Up Tells Us About The Music Industry

The music industry is thriving — but it’s not always trickling down to artists.

by Sam Backer via Made By History on February 6, 2022

Still of three characters from Young Frankenstein, parodying horror tropes.

Dun, Dun Duuun! Where Did Pop Culture’s Most Dramatic Sound Come From?

Did the iconic three-note sequence come from Stravinsky, the Muppets or somewhere else? Our writer set out to – dun, dun duuuun! – reveal the mystery.

by Amelia Tait via The Guardian on January 18, 2022

Comedian Charlie Hill on stage with a microphone.

‘Part of Why We Survived’

Is there something in particular about coming from a Native background that makes a person want to write and perform comedy?

by Ian Frazier via New York Review of Books on December 23, 2021

Don Cornelius and the Soul Train Dancers on the dance floor, with fist raised in the Black Power salute, at the end of a show.

Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power

Don Cornelius had faith that Black culture would attract a mass audience, and a belief that Black culture should be in the hands of Black people.

by Mark Anthony Neal via The Nation on December 22, 2021

Frank Sinatra singing into a microphone.

The Christmas Carol Canon That Could Have Been

Pheasants? 'Dickory dock'? Toyland? Here's how a narrow slice of American history changed the holidays forever.

by Addison Del Mastro via The Spectator on December 21, 2021

Cover of an early Superman comic book.

The Vigilante World of Comic Books

A sweeping new history traces the rise of characters caught in a Manichaean struggle between good and evil.

by Scott Bradfield via The New Republic on December 16, 2021

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