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Selections
from the PopCult mail room,
as chosen by Zippy McDuff, The Invisible Intern™.
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TOO
COOL FOR SCHOOL?
I
have recently found your website and subscribe to the news alert section.
I really think this site will be a blast. However (yes, the eye-roll inducing
'however'), can I say one thing without being thought a total judgmental
asshole? Probably not, but here goes. Reading through the essays and stuff
I find a certain sense of detachment. An air of, "well, yes, this stuff
is out there, and yes, it can even be fun. But dear god, please, my too-too
hip modern deconstructionist reader, don't think I really like it. I'm
just checking it out for the wry amusement factor." I think that particular
cloak-of-invisibility is far too overused these days. Why not just jump
in with both feet and have some down and dirty pop-culture fun? "Ironic"
is the single most overworked word in the English language today. Let's
give it a well-deserved rest and just be idiots for a while (god knows
I am). My long-winded point is that there is a huge amount of really fun
and silly pop culture out there. And a lot of it is genuinely a blast
if you just free your mind and get down in the trenches. Everyone has
at least one story that will just drop your jaw and open your eyes, regardless
of what freakish cult-like icon(s) they may worship. It's good clean fun.
'Nuff said. I love this stuff. I'd just like to see you give in to a good
honest wallow.
Yours
in mild criticism,
A
pop-cult freak,
Brenda
brendashea@mindspring.com
Thanks
for the mild criticism–you never know how your stories are going
over unless readers respond to them. There are times when you write something
you think expresses one sentiment, and it reads completely the opposite.
Being
hipper than our subjects is definitely not my goal with PopCult.
My aim for the site is to examine the pop culture we most appreciate,
and to relate the stories of people, just as you suggest. (In fact, I
thought we were wallowing down in the trenches all over the place in the
Profiles in Pop Culture Greatness, Everyday People, and Fads & Phenomena
sections, or the Website of the Week interviews.) On the other hand, I
do want our writers to be discerning, and to reveal that which is "artificial"
pop culture (which I define as stuff that's inspired purely by money rather
than any creative impulses). I'm sure I sound pretty haughty in "The Bottom
5" column, but that's the point–to expose the mediocrity of things
we accept as "normal."
If
anyone has suggestions for stories about pop culture items you find fun,
or about people with their own stories, please send them in. Or if you'd
like to tackle a subject yourself, I could certainly use the help.
–Ed.
COOKIN'
I've
just returned from a visit to your popcultmag.com site. My compliments
to the chef. You've produced an exceptionally compelling and irresistible
site, one to which I will be returning. The writing is really crisp and
satisfying. Just wanted to offer my bouquets.
Steven
Friedlander
Steven8232@aol.com
NOT
TOO HIP FOR PORTUGAL
Hi.
Doing OK? I hope so, because you've got a hell of a site. As a teenager
that never grew up (and perhaps never will) I find my self trapped in
the treads of alternative culture, picking a little bit here, another
bit there and I found a site with a rare blend: content. Your site. And
I wish to receive your weekly newsletter. Just for the record, I'm Portuguese,
living in Portugal, 27 years old, an autodidact who hasn't yet found his
way. I wish you the best of luck with your site. An advice by a awere
["mere"?] surfer: make it big, make it visible and make it great!
Adeus
(goodbye)
Domingos
Mateus
(e-mail address withheld)
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