#popularculture — Public Fediverse posts

Ten songs named after famous people from Nicole Kidman to Elon Musk
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Songs are designed to evoke emotion and some will have you dancing around reciting a celebrity's name.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-20/ten-songs-named-after-famous-people-nicole-kidman-elon-musk/107283250

#Music #PopMusic #PopularCulture #Celebrities #MawunyoGbogbo

National Comedy Center: National Comedy Center Preserves Hundreds of Rare, Never-Before-Seen “I Love Lucy” Behind-the-Scenes Photographs and Early Pilot Script for 75th Anniversary. “On the 75th anniversary of I Love Lucy’s historic October 15, 1951 premiere, the National Comedy Center today announced the acquisition of one of the most significant collections of original I Love Lucy […]

The toy store, $15m bird and famous singer at the centre of an online feud
By Hanan Dervisevic

A mechanical bird named Molly has become the unlikely epicentre of a public dispute between singer Kelly Clarkson and a Brooklyn toy store.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-18/kelly-clarkson-versus-art-of-play-molly-bird-feud-timeline/107279102

#PopularCulture #SocialMedia #InternetCulture #Entertainment #HananDervisevic

Hollywood Reporter: Disney Inks Major Creator Deal With Dude Perfect. “Like Disney’s other creator deals, it will see some Dude Perfect content come to Disney+, including some of the group’s short-form library content. But it will also see the group create original content for its platforms and channels inspired by Disney events, with Super Bowl LXI, the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, and […]

Variety: Nicolas Cage Says He’s ‘Probably Not’ Working With Amazon Again After Refusing to Sign AI Waiver for ‘Spider-Noir,’ Teases Joining ‘True Detective’. “Nicolas Cage is speaking out against Amazon after the company, which developed ‘Spider-Noir’ for Prime Video, allegedly asked him to sign an AI waiver.”

Today starts the online 2026 annual conference of the #NortheastPopularCultureAssociation or #NEPCA. The full schedule for this virtual conference (Oct. 15-17) is available here:
https://nepca2026.sched.com/

#PopularCulture #Academics #OnlineConference #OnlineEvent #NEPCA2026

Girls returning for limited season run 10 years after finale
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

The Emmy-winning HBO series Girls is returning for five episodes. Series creator and star Lena Dunham says the cast vowed only to return if they had something burning to say.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/girls-returning-for-limited-season-run-10-years-after-finale/107263552

#Television #PopularCulture #StreamingServices #TVComedy #TVDrama #MawunyoGbogbo

Who is 'Mary' and why is she in so many songs, from classical to rock?
By Malcolm Sutton

Songs about somebody called Mary feature in third century Christian hymns to the alternative rock of the 1990s and beyond, but who is she and why do so many insist on singing about her?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/theres-something-about-mary-in-song/107257626

#Music #ReligiousMusic #PopularCulture #Rock #MalcolmSutton

Cosmic Book News: Cartoon Network Gigaleak Hits Days After Skydance Merger: Teen Titans, Gumball, Adventure Time. “A massive leak of Cartoon Network production files is spreading online, and fans are calling it the Classic CN Gigaleak. Reports put the trove at more than 200 GB of internal material from over 30 shows, including The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time, The Looney Tunes Show, […]

Maps Mania: Find Movies – by Location & Period!. “If you have a keen interest in watching a movie set in a particular time and place, then TitleAtlas is the interactive map for you. For example, you could use TitleAtlas to search for films set in 19th-century New York (Gangs of New York, Little Women, etc), or to find movies set in London during the Swinging Sixties (The Krays, Quadrophenia, […]

What we know about Lady Violet Bridgerton ahead of Netflix spin-off
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Scant details are available about the Bridgerton spin-off focusing on Lady Violet but here's what we know about the upcoming show's main character ahead of its rollout.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-13/what-we-know-about-lady-violet-bridgerton-ahead-of-spin-off/107257128

#Television #StreamingServices #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo

Hollywood Reporter: ‘Artificial’ Took on a Big Tech Giant. Hollywood Wasn’t Ready. “Luca Guadagnino and star Andrew Garfield speak frankly about what went into their daring film about Sam Altman and OpenAI, and what led to Neon rescuing it after Amazon decided not to release it: ‘The fight is on to make sure that we are allowed to make things freely.'”

I will be presenting my talk “Strange Girls Now Missing: How #DarkAcademia Storytelling Revisits Historical #ColdCases” at The Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA) 2026 Annual Conference online this week. The full schedule for this virtual conference (Oct. 15-17) is now available here:
https://nepca2026.sched.com

#TrueCrime #Gothic #PopularCulture #Academics #OnlineConference #OnlineEvent #History #NEPCA

Harry Connick Jr pens tribute to mother he lost as a 13yo
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Harry Connick Jr is well known as a Grammy award-winning musician now, but he was once a young boy whose mother believed in him. He fulfilled her vision by performing at Carnegie Hall on what would have been her 100th birthday, and has written a book to honour her.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-09/harry-connick-jr-pens-babe-elaboratio-a-tribute-to-my-mother/107246812

#Books #Music #ClassicalMusic #Jazz #Pop #BandsandArtists #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo

How Wealthy Buyers Really Afford Hermès Birkins

Behind the paywall in today’s issue: The Birkin-buying habits of millionaires. Are Hermès bags in trouble? (“I can’t…
#France #FR #Europe #EU #Hermès #culture #fashion #popularculture
https://www.europesays.com/france/91334/

Tom Cruise movie Digger bombs at box office, Verity takes top spot
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Movie star Tom Cruise suffers one of the worst debuts of his career with his new movie Digger.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-05/tom-cruise-movie-digger-bombs-at-box-office-verity-top-spot/107229102

#Movies #Actor #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo

Verity is the latest Colleen Hoover novel to get a film adaptation
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

From Misery to Yellowface, books and films about writers are favourites among the authors who pen them, but audiences love them too. Enter Verity, the latest film adapted from a Colleen Hoover novel.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-03/verity-latest-colleen-hoover-novel-to-get-film-adaptation/107221664

#Movies #ThrillerFilms #Author #Books #CritiqueandTheory #FilmIndustry #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo

Quiz: How well do you know these fictional places in pop culture?
By Christine Flatley

Think you know some of the made-up places where popular books, films and television shows are set? Let's test your knowledge.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-01/quiz-fictional-locations-film-tv-books/107196604

#PopularCulture #Books #Movies #Television #ChristineFlatley

https://www.europesays.com/people/249231/ Tech Oligarchs Have No Style: Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang & More #Culture #Fashion #MarkZuckerberg #PopularCulture

Why Nirvana and Midnight Oil made the cut in Songs that Changed the World
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Music has the ability to change hearts and minds. Andrew Clarke describes why he has selected the 42 tracks that appear in his book Songs that Changed the World.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-30/why-these-tracks-were-chosen-in-songs-that-changed-the-world/107196870

#Books #Music #PopularCulture #Pop #PoliticalMovements #MawunyoGbogbo

Madonna beats Taylor Swift in MTV awards showdown
By Dan Condon and Mawunyo Gbogbo

Madonna emerges as the big winner at MTV's Video Music Awards, but Taylor Swift still broke records.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-28/madonna-beats-taylor-swift-in-mtv-awards-showdown/107202820

#MusicAwards #Music #MusicIndustry #PopularCulture #DanCondon #MawunyoGbogbo

Lost songs of Australian rock legend found buried in a garage
By Leisa Scott and Ben Cheshire

Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett was a rock icon who lived hard and burned bright — but the woman underneath was far more vulnerable. Australian Story reveals a private Chrissy through previously unseen footage and three songs that went missing for 25 years.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-28/divinyls-chrissy-amphlett-new-songs-release/107034328

#BandsandArtists #Rock #PopularCulture #Friendship #SubstanceAbuse #HumanInterest #LeisaScott #BenCheshire

Do you go Gaga for music trivia? Right this way...

Your spelling and general trivia skills are useless here. It's all about the music.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-27/spicks-and-specks-music-quiz/107185194

#Music #PopularCulture

ABC 50/50 quiz: Testing your knowledge of Martika, Baywatch and that space chess game from Star Wars
By Lincoln Archer

Each question in the ABC 50/50 quiz has only two options: one is right, the other is wrong. But be warned: we might try to trick you.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-26/abc-5050-quiz/107158982

#PopularCulture #LincolnArcher

How 5 People Afforded Their Birkins

Behind the paywall in today’s issue: The inventive strategies people used to save up for a Birkin bag.…
#France #FR #Europe #EU #Hermès #culture #fashion #popularculture
https://www.europesays.com/france/83947/

Film studios shun women but men make them less money, report shows
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

A new report reveals movies by female screenwriters are often overlooked for financial opportunities even though they make studios more money than those written by their male counterparts.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/film-studios-shun-women-but-men-make-them-less-money-report/107182132

#FilmIndustry #Movies #Women #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo

Salesman's 'superhero' branding triggers DC Comics trademark dispute
By Zaarkacha Marlan and Lucy Thackray

A Dubbo business owner is fighting comic book giant DC Comics over allegations his promotional character "Fanman" is deceptively similar to Superman.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/dubbo-fanman-dc-comics-superman-trademark-dispute/107150930

#PopularCulture #CopyrightInfringement #RegionalCommunities #ComicsandGraphicNovels #ZaarkachaMarlan #LucyThackray

You can't get Kylie out of your head. But do you know her first hit?

Padam Padam, it's time to prove how much you really know about the Princess of Pop … and an entirely random assortment of other music trivia. Welcome to the Spicks and Specks quiz.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-20/spicks-and-specks-music-quiz/107106736

#Music #PopularCulture

Associated Press: Aw shucks: Dolly Parton corn mazes crop up in fields nationwide. “Dolly Parton ’s megawatt smile and big wavy locks are gracing fields across the U.S. and Canada this fall. Twenty farms have carved out large corn mazes to honor the late country music icon, actor and philanthropist and raise money for her Imagination Library, which provides free books to children.”

Our post-Emmys group chat asks: Is Widow's Bay that good?
By Mawunyo Gbogbo, Beverley Wang, Veronica Apap, and Lincoln Archer

Did you miss the best bits of the Emmys? Our group chat has you covered on what it means and what you should watch.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-16/post-emmys-chat/107144162

#Entertainment #Television #AwardsandPrizes #PopularCulture #MawunyoGbogbo #BeverleyWang #VeronicaApap #LincolnArcher

Emmys 2026 key moments: Widow's Bay takes six awards and Hacks star makes history
By Mawunyo Gbogbo and Georgie Hewson

Widow's Bay takes home six awards for its "weird show" at the 78th Emmys. Here's what else you may have missed.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-15/emmys-2026-key-moments/107138048

#AwardsandPrizes #Television #TelevisionIndustry #PopularCulture #StreamingServices #FilmIndustry #Movies #MawunyoGbogbo #GeorgieHewson

Hollywood Reporter: AI Is Bringing Broadcasters Back From the Dead — and Creating New Ones. “This summer, Telemundo sent its World Cup analysts flying through New York City, onto private beaches, and into the center of Dallas Stadium during AI-generated segments in the first major live broadcast partnership for AI startup HeyGen, with support from CAA. On other top telecasts, AI is called in […]

New York Times: Bill Simmons’s Podcast Co-Hosts Are Tired of His A.I. Antics. “Film buffs are complaining about several instances in which Mr. Simmons used ChatGPT — which he sometimes accidentally mispronounces ‘ChatGBT’ — to approximate the opinions of the deceased film critic Roger Ebert in his movie podcast, ‘The Rewatchables.’ Some argued that it was disrespectful of Mr. Ebert; […]

Los Angeles Times: Hollywood studios have sued over AI. Now Google is courting them to use its tools. “Google executives have approached representatives at Disney, Universal, Warner Bros. Discovery and other studios about licensing intellectual property to be used in AI models, according to three people familiar with the conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly about them. […]

🧵 1/3
https://www.tiktok.com/@hearts2hearts/video/7679429902201916693?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7663703894107407885

Hearts2Hearts -- Jiwoo

I was originally going to post this because Jiwoo's hair, make up, and outfit come together so well, but then my attention was drawn to the TikTok comments expressing outrage that (f)x are given no credit; one comment describes Hearts2Hearts as "clout chasers".

Such venom reminds me of how unpleasant online popular culture commentary can be; I don't think that this kind of spite is a purely or even largely a Kpop problem, even though some Kpop spaces (but not the K-Fediverse, as far as I can see) overflow with anger, resentment, and malice.

In this particular case, it is interesting to note that " Hot Summer" was recorded...

#Kpop #Jiwoo #Hearts2Hearts #HotSummer #PopularCulture #SocialMedia #Fandom

The week the world mourned one of the last great celebrities
By Jeremy Story Carter

There was something different about the way the world mourned the death of Dolly Parton. This was the loss of one of the last great celebrities.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-29/goodbye-dolly-parton-one-of-the-last-great-celebrities/107088462

#PopularCulture #CountryMusic #Books #Children #PrimaryEducation #DeathandDying #JeremyStoryCarter

AV Club: CoComelon production company to start using AI to produce mind-numbing content. “CoComelon, the wibbly-wobbly YouTube phenomenon that turns toddlers into frothing monsters whenever it’s shut off and has made parents into unlikely media critics, is pivoting its content mill production toward AI, according to an in-depth report from tech vertical 404 Media.”

Canadian Press: P.E.I. teenager goes viral with ‘Manne of Green Gables’ videos. “Towards the back of [Shop and Play], behind rows of P.E.I.-themed merchandise and postcards of Confederation Bridge, visitors can pay to dress up and take photos as the province’s main fictional export, Anne of Green Gables. On May 24, the shop posted a video of [Jack] Pickering giving a walkthrough of the […]

Sadly, we missed this years intl Cat & Dog days 😿 (altho the #dogdays are still ongoing)
Here are 2 new books in our collection, starting with "Catland" by Kathryn Hughes, detailing the life of British cat artist #LouisWain & the great cat mania of early 20th c

#PopularCulture #BritishArt #kitsch

Wayne State University: Wayne State Acquires Casey Kasem and American Top 40 Collection from Radio Historian Pete Battistini. “Pete Battistini has been chasing Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 (AT40) for more than 50 years. In 1971, Battistini heard AT40 for the first time and was instantly captivated, and the passion that followed turned into one of the largest collections of AT40 in the […]

Tubefilter: Mondo Metrics says its new trend tracker is “what CrowdTangle would have become”–and it’s launching with major sports leagues. “Live sports is perhaps the mainstay of modern entertainment. TV and radio engagement may have slipped, but live sports are still going strong on both. And on the internet, leagues, teams, and tournaments have found even deeper connections with their […]

Nicole Kidman delivers message to former school on 150th anniversary
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

Lane Cove Public School students put out an appeal inviting Nicole Kidman to their 150th birthday celebrations. The famous actress couldn't make it in the flesh, but she did send a message from Greece.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-07/lane-cove-public-school-150-years-nicole-kidman/107009410

#PublicSchools #PrimaryEducation #PopularCulture #CommunityandCulturalEvents #MawunyoGbogbo

Book showcases Australian retro TV from Skippy to Hey Hey It's Saturday
By Mawunyo Gbogbo

In a world of rapidly developing technology, television was once considered revolutionary. A new book by Ian Collis, Retro Television: What We Watched Back in the Day, is a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/retro-television-ian-collis-early-days-of-australian-tv-skippy/107002718

#Books #Television #PopularCulture #TelevisionIndustry #History #MawunyoGbogbo

Deadline: Walt Disney Company & TikTok Ink Global Short-Form Content-Sharing Deal. “The Walt Disney Company and TikTok today announced a global deal that will allow social media content creators and fans to access and use memorable scenes from Disney movies and shows.”

Deadline: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is X’s Latest Bootleg Leak, Gets Millions Of Views Before Taken Down. “As Tom Holland’s summer blockbusters take over the big screen, X has spoiled yet another one of the actor’s theatrical releases. Following the leak of a high-quality bootleg of The Odyssey on X last week, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was leaked Friday morning on the Elon […]

ZDNet: I replaced my paid streaming apps with free ones – here’s what surprised me. “As comfortable as I am with my subscriptions, I never stop looking for ways to save money. So, I figured I’d try some free video and music streaming apps to see if any could replace my big four services. Here’s how it went.”

PC Mag: Spider-Man Swings Into… Google Maps? Web Crawler Spotted on Street View. “The tweet contains an image of a mysterious building that was later revealed to be in Long Island City, Queens. If you go to Google Maps’ Street View, which offers panoramic 360-degree images taken of the area in real-life, you can find the friendly neighborhood spider at the nearby deli and grocery store.”