Fundamentalism: The flip side of the modern

by Peter Stromberg on March 5, 2010

Photo by Global XI’m not sure what “modern” means. I’m not sure anyone knows what it means, because the term is so broad that it gets used in a lot of different ways. But that is not to say that the term is meaningless. There are some consistencies in the way the word is used. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

The Birth of Cultural Relativism

by Peter Stromberg on February 22, 2010

Photo provided by Tara Hunt

The novelist Virginia Woolf once said, “on or about December 1910, human character changed.” (see Jackson Lears). She was kidding about the specificity of the date but in earnest about the change. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

The Strange History of Edward Bernays

February 13, 2010

In my most recent post, I argued that two institutions that today seem utterly unconnected—psychotherapy and advertising—in fact share some intriguing historical connections. And none of these connections is more intriguing than the life of the American who is often known as “the father of public relations,” Edward Bernays. The place where [...]

Read the full article →

Advertising, Entertainment, and…Psychotherapy?

February 7, 2010

There were some significant changes in norms and values in American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These changes prepared the way both for today’s culture of advertising and entertainment, and today’s psychotherapies.

Read the full article →

The Avatar Audience

January 31, 2010

Why do we not attempt to realize in our real lives what we admire in fictions?

Read the full article →

Entertainment Literacy

January 24, 2010

A part of any approach to “media literacy” should be “entertainment literacy,” the tools to help understand how entertainment influences us.

Read the full article →

Avatar Fans: Wanting to dwell in a fantasy isn’t insane

January 15, 2010

Feeling so attracted to the world of a fiction that one wants to stay in the world is a relatively common phenomenon, and is based upon foundational human cognitive capacities.

Read the full article →

Newsweek has it wrong, celebrities are not real

January 6, 2010

The important point about celebrities is not that they are real, but rather that they are real people and fictional images at the same time.

Read the full article →

Choosing What to do on New Year’s Eve

December 29, 2009

New Year’s Eve is a holiday of transition which marks the transformation of one year into the next year. In many human societies, such calendrical transitions are celebrated in ways similar to our own traditions–raucous parties, drinking and drugs, and noise-making.

Read the full article →

Let’s be honest about the true spirit of Christmas

December 18, 2009

America’s major religious holiday is a ritual celebration of two sets of values–the official ones, and the shadow values that promote consumption and self-indulgence.

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries