The Russo-Ukraine War Is a Mediated War – Not Just a War on the Media
How the Russo-Ukraine War generated a media dimension of its own and how it linked the myths of the past century to the challenges of our own.
Features
Asian Representation in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings tries to recontextualize its stereotypical origins into a highly-entertaining film. Does it succeed?
Everybody Stays at the Party Says Podcaster and Comedian Tom Scharpling
The Best Show creator Tom Scharpling talks with PopMatters about his memoir It Never Ends and how he reached the greatest phase of his radio/podcasting career.
What Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ Got Right and a Lot That It Didn’t
Baz Luhrmann used many entertaining razzle-dazzle techniques to capture Elvis Presley’s complex story on film. He even got some things right. But there’s a lot he didn’t.
Sziget Days 3 and 4: Justin Bieber and Calvin Harris Keep the Party Jumping
The triumphant third and fourth days of the Sziget Festival saw massive crowds drawn to its pop megastars, Justin Bieber and Calvin Harris.
Sziget Days 1 and 2: Dua Lipa and Kings of Leon and Fans Kick up the Dust
Sziget, Europe’s biggest party and music festival, is back in full swing, with visitors from 103 countries and artists from 54 countries, but also some major structural changes.
Britpop’s Unheralded Masterpiece: Ben Ashley and Kyle Mullarky Discuss the Shore’s ‘Light Years’
The Shore’s Light Years boasts a seductive intimacy typically reserved for baroque pop, while still flexing its arena-rock Britpop swagger. Too bad nobody ever heard it.
Director Alli Haapasalo on Politicising Feel-Good Film ‘Girl Picture’
Director Alli Haapasalo talks with PopMatters about the radical politics of Girl Picture and and calls for removing bias about queer and women’s stories.
Hayley Kiyoko Widens the Breadth of Pop on ‘Panorama’
With Disney deep in her past, pop star Hayley Kiyoko’s Panorama navigates queer relationships with self-assuredness, packaged in accessible pop hooks.
Why Is There Still So Much Nostalgia for Nuclear Apocalypse?
The popularity of nuclear apocalypse is nostalgia for a time when our worries were wrapped in a single nuclear package, and all we needed was a bunker and a dream.
Love Has Flown: Remembering Olivia Newton-John
Losing Olivia Newton-John this week made for summer dreams ripped at the seams. Like so many of you, she was my first love.
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Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ and the Power of I as Other
In Kate Bush’s 1985 embrace of the Other in “Running Up That Hill” resonates with Gen- Z’s ethos by questioning the binaries of our programmed genders.