All upcoming Popular Culture programs

Star Wars is a global phenomenon that people celebrate on May 4th every year. In conversation, curators from the National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of American History celebrate the Star Wars universe, its monumental legacy in pop culture, and its place in a familiar galaxy not so far, far away.

During the heyday of Pop Art, Andy Warhol was its king. His talent as an artist, filmmaker, photographer, and publisher made him a household name for far more than the “15 minutes of fame” he quipped that everyone would experience. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton traces Warhol’s life and profound impact on modern culture, examining how his revolutionary art broke with all previous movements and expanded the definition of art itself. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

At Hollywood’s height, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis reigned supreme among leading ladies. Though similar, they differed in their approaches to acting and in the types of roles they chose. In a spring series, film historian Max Alvarez leads a gloriously melodramatic journey through the volatile lives and unforgettable careers of two extraordinary stars. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night—or two. This session focuses on Joan Crawford.

Watching television used to be a fairly simple enterprise: You turned on the set, selected one of 500 channels, and enjoyed your program. Now, more and more viewers are canceling cable television, preferring to watch online-only channels. An entire generation of younger viewers has given up on the TV set in favor of their laptops and phones. Drawing on video clips, media historian Brian Rose explains why the old days of simply “watching TV” are fast disappearing.

At Hollywood’s height, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis reigned supreme among leading ladies. Though similar, they differed in their approaches to acting and in the types of roles they chose. In a spring series, film historian Max Alvarez leads a gloriously melodramatic journey through the volatile lives and unforgettable careers of two extraordinary stars. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night—or two. This session focuses on Bette Davis.

One hundred years ago, A. A. Milne published a whimsical short story that introduced the world to a “bear of very little brain” called Winnie-the-Pooh. Today young readers remain captivated by Pooh, Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Kanga, Tigger, and Piglet. Celebrate the centenary of Winnie-the-Pooh as author Daniel Stashower delves into Milne’s life and legacy and actor Scott Sedar brings some of the writer’s beloved works to life.

For millennia, astonishingly diverse forms of body art have been produced by cultures throughout the world. Some employed tattoos for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes, to mark special life achievements, or to assert social identity. Others marked the body with symbols intended to promote fertility, protect themselves from malevolent spirits, or carry them safely into the afterlife. Lars Krutak, an anthropologist and host of the Discovery Channel’s “Tattoo Hunter,” shares his life’s journey to understand how tattoos “make” the people who wear them.

As soon as movies could talk, they began to sing and dance. Over the next nine decades, the movie musical evolved to embrace every type of performance, from operetta to rock to tap to ballet. Musicals drew on Broadway hits and original creations from composers like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin. Media historian Brian Rose traces the history of musicals and shows more than 30 excerpts spotlighting artists including Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, the Nicholas Brothers, and the Beatles.

Why does Sherlock Holmes remain such an intriguing figure generations after his debut? English professor Kristopher Mecholsky highlights his origins and worldwide popularity. He also focuses a magnifying glass on his unique impact on contemporary fans—who are fascinated by searching for clues to whether Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s timeless detective would be classified as neurodivergent today.

Why do we always succumb to this bountiful, joyous, teary-eyed musical that melts even the cynical and leaves everyone singing? The glorious melodies of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final show never age, and its plot never fails to touch us as it covers everything from music-making to resistance to tyranny. Documentary filmmaker Sara Lukinson, who teaches at New York University, traces how the story went from a German memoir and doucmentary to a Broadway hit, movie fame, and entertainment immortality.