Playing the Celebrity Game

September 19, 2010

Why are we so desperate for contact with celebrities we claim to disapprove of?

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Men, Shopping, and Museums

August 23, 2010

Having confessed that I don’t like museums, I am now ready to reveal that I also don’t like shopping. This is unlikely to get picked up by the major news services: “Guy doesn’t like shopping!” Of course I don’t like shopping, men never like shopping.

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Museums and the Celebrity of Stuff

August 8, 2010

In the culture of entertainment we expect to be entertained, which is why many of us are miserable in museums.

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Are Late-Bloomers Really Early?

July 18, 2010

Our mild disdain for “late bloomers” betrays the fact that our culture actually encourages the popularity and arousal obsessions that can be observed among many younger adolescents.

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How Can Anxiety and Uncertainty be Fun?

July 5, 2010

Why is suspense–a form of anxiety–so enjoyable?

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The Mysteries of Suspense

June 19, 2010

We just can’t seem to get enough of suspense, but why? In spite of its being all around us, suspense remains mysterious.

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Are Humans Nice or Nasty?

June 13, 2010

How is it that human beings were able to escape their genetic programming to establish dominance hierarchies?

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Branding the Self

June 2, 2010

Much of what people consume helps them to establish a social identity, a personal brand. As with other aspects of the culture of entertainment, there is an ever-increasing pressure to establish an attention-getting image for yourself.

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Sometimes Tolerance Requires Politeness

May 21, 2010

Yes, Westerners have the right to produce images of the Islamic prophet. But just because we have the right to do something doesn’t mean we should do it.

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Entertainment and the American Concept of Person

May 17, 2010

There is a connection between entertainment and the American concept of person.

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