popular culture — Bunk History

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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

Image of a 1970's band invoking the imagery of the Lost Cause and the Confederacy.

Whistlin' D ----.

Why songs of the southland are really northern.

by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on December 15, 2021

Cast of "All in the Family"

Justice for All: The Religious Legacy of “All in the Family”

The show never took a singular position on social issues. The point was to wrestle with the story itself in hopes of sparking self-awareness and contemplation.

by L. Benjamin Rolsky via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on December 7, 2021

Front page of the Saturday Evening Post

The Persistence of the Saturday Evening Post

When George Horace Lorimer took over as editor of the Saturday Evening Post, America was a patchwork of communities. There was no sense of nation or unity.

by Amanda Darrach via CJR on November 9, 2021

The Titanic sinking.

How The Titanic Haunts Us

We have good reason to remember the story of what happened to hubristic rich people, and the imprisoned poor, in an enormous opulent floating palace.

by Nathan J. Robinson via Current Affairs on October 26, 2021

The Mean Girls Game for DS

Meet the YouTubers Determined to Find Lost Media

New media meets old.

by Brendan Bell via The Verge on September 16, 2021

Big Mouth Billy Bass

Big Mouth Billy Bass

Billy Bass might be considered mere kitsch, but dismissing this singing fish would ignore some critical linkages between culture and environment.

by Sherri Sheu via Perspectives on History on August 26, 2021

Gladys Knight and the Pips performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show"

The Misunderstood Talent of Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight and the Pips have always been more beloved by fans than by music historians, but they are essential to the evolution of soul.

by Emily J. Lordi via The New Yorker on August 13, 2021

Cover of amateur photography handbook

Say Cheese! How Bad Photography Has Changed Our Definition of Good Pictures

The changes in popular photography.

by Ben Marks via Collectors Weekly on July 28, 2021

Collage of audio-related images, records, cassettes, CDs, wav files, ipods, electronic media icons, and an ear.

What Will Happen to My Music Library When Spotify Dies?

If your entire collection is on a streaming service, good luck accessing it in 10 or 20 years.

by Joe Pinsker via The Atlantic on July 19, 2021

Drawing of the Alamo

How Racism, American Idealism, and Patriotism Created the Modern Myth of the Alamo and Davy Crockett

Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford on the making of a misrepresented narrative.

by Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford, Bryan Burrough via Literary Hub on June 22, 2021

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