Popular Culture Andi Zeisler Summary

Andi Zeisler explains the importance of studying popular culture, emphasizing how the latter teaches us about aspects of our own society (Zeisler, 1-22). She describes how politics and culture are intricately interwoven; they do not exist in vacuums but rather influence each other in complex ways that are not always immediately clear (Zeisler, 7). Representation of women in popular culture oscillates between “progressivism and backlash”; even the term feminism is hotly contested and debated since the way that feminism is represented varies as culture changes over time (Zeisler, 1-22). The author also argues the need for change in the way we portray minority groups, women in particular, through forms of popular culture media (Zeisler, 1-22).

Zeisler claims that this is true, arguing that pop culture helps us to understand key times and places and “informs our understanding of political issues” (Zeisler, 7). But by this logic, since the viewers of Supernatural have been predominantly female, shouldn’t the Supernatural culture reflect the people it comprises and be largely feminist-oriented? If the relationship between the culture and the people is as Zeisler suggests – if one is a reflection of the other – then why this discrepancy in the first place? I believe that there is more at play here and in society in general. Pop culture does not simply reflect the beliefs and ideals of the masses; it is not a pure representation of the way we all think inside; rather, it is tinged by deeply-rooted, underlying conceptualizations of women dating back to the mindsets challenged in the 1800s to 1920s by first-wave feminists that continue to linger in our popular culture media representations of women (Cocarla, “Feminist Popular Culture Theory”). The issue isn’t that there are more men than women so television logically represents men more so than women; the issue is instead that women continue to be afraid or unable to stand up and demand the representation they deserve because anti-feminist mindsets continue to linger in society despite the fact that this is the age of third wave feminism

I asked myself the following questions. Why not be satisfied with these two attractive male leads dominating the screen and consider ourselves lucky to benefit from this eye-candy? Why are women – why should women be – dissatisfied when they do not see themselves on the screen? Well, the entire premise of Zeisler’s discussion is centered around “why pop culture matters,” and she indeed answers this question by suggesting that there is a direct link, a close correlation, between what we see on screen and what happens in real life around us (Zeisler, 1-22). That is, in challenging the way female characters appear on television, we challenge political aspects of society; in demanding greater representation, we advance women’s rights and equality in society; in remaining complacent and comfortable on our couches sitting before the television screen, we tell men that it is okay for them to be the sole voice and influencing factor in society; we concede defeat and accept a second-rate or second-class seat in our culture (Zeisler, 1-22). Thus, there are two forms of activism at play here: one has to do with the entertainment industry and the other is vastly political – and this is exactly what Zeisler is arguing when she says that “pop culture informs our understanding of political issues that on first glance seem to have nothing to do with