Monday, November 17, 2008

Popular Culture Journals



For students pursuing an interest or major in popular culture, its never too early to begin the habit of reading through scholarly journals on popular culture. While the study of popular culture is the underdog overlooked or deemed foolish by the orthodox views on university studies, many of these popular culture journals exhibit brilliant feats and discovery for the field of popular culture, proving the industry has a lot more going for it than just a pretty face. Articles in pop-culture journals are entertaining and intriguing and open students of popular culture's eyes into the wild world of popular culture.

The Best Pop-Culture Journals

The Journal of Popular Culture - So far, this is the best source for scholarly articles on all things pop-culture that I have yet to find. Published six times a year with a expansive availability at over 1400 universitis worldwide, college students can easily get a hold of this bad boy. With zesty articles, book reviews, and popular culture rants, The Journal of Popular Culture takes a different look at the world of popular culture than we see traditionally discussed on such gossip blogs as PerezHilton.

Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture. An easily accessible e-journal, Americana, is an unbelievable resource for the study of popular culture. Americana delivers a scholarly perspective on the world of popular culture, and brings the reader into a closer familiarity with the underlying rythm behind popular culture.

The American Spectator- A more political journal which disects Capital Hill ongoings and attempts to capture the trends and overall mood of the public. Oh, and did I mention its wildly conservative? While mostly devoted to political garble and liberal debauchery, what better place for Americans, suddenly swept up in political hysteria, to go for an entertaining and insightful internet refreshment? It might not match my political views per se, but its worth a read and interesting to see a different perspective than I'm accustomed to glancing over in the liberally skewed news. Take a look at its critique over Shakespeare and Modern Culture or False Hopes Spring Eternal which discusses the deterioration of Iraq with Obama in charge saying, "a social conservative such as George W. Bush is likely to have more in common with Muslim moral values than the more libertarian Barack Obama."

Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture- If you're a movie-fanatic looking to research on film or just to ogle over a cinematic treasure, there's no place better than the online Journal of Film and Popular Culture. Published on a quarterly basis with movie reviews coming in every week, Images showcases a number of profound pieces like "Some Historical Reflections on the Paradox of Stardom in the American Film Industry" and entertaining articles like "Fiona Apple's 'Criminal' Video Voyeurism for the 90's" to name a few selections amongst its vast archives.

Sexuality and Culture-A journal which calls itself a "forum for the discussion and analysis of ethical, cultural, psychological, social, and political issues related to sexual relationships and sexual behavior." Sexuality, in a number of ways, has become integral to culture, the uncouthe use of sex in many conversations and in many cultures collies with its pivotal role and biological essence in all of human life, turning the portrait of sexuality into a perpetually volatile discussion within the cultural agenda.

Pop Cult Magazine- I recently stumbled upon Pop Cult and was pleasantly surprised by its kaleidoscopic assortment of pop-culture knick-knacks and souveniers. It's founder, Coury Turczyn says "What I'd like the online PopCult to be is simply a repository for really good, journalistic pop culture writing." Rummage through its "Gallery of Forgotten Girlie Mags" in its Odd Glimpses:A Visual Collection of Weird Things section or scroll through the ongoing Bottom 5 Archive which is a collection of the worst in American popular culture like the "Celebrity Trends that Never Really Swept the Nation."

The Journal of America Culture- A popular blog for American cultural studies, JAC is a scholarly approach to combine "studies of American literature, history, and the arts, with studies of the popular, the taken-for-granted, and the ordinary pieces of American life, to produce analyses of American culture with a breadth and holism lacking in traditional American studies." You'll find an enriching compenium of articles like this one, taking a look at an older American culture, entitled "A Red Moon over the Mall: Sputnik Panic and Domestic America" or a more modern piece called "All the Essentials of HBO and The Sopranos"

Pop Matters- Another online source featuring the latest and greatest pop-culture news and a diverse range of resources for the starved pop-culture fiends. With featured stories and reviews added on a daily basis, Pop Matters gives you the best of music, television, movies, and books, and gives you an inside sneak peak at the entertainment industry. Want to feed that need for popular culture? Digest this piece which bids farewell to the popularity of preachy films or this one which discusses the use of sex in video games.

Other Popular Culture Blogs:

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