Category Archives: Popular culture

War of the Worlds – Fake News! About Fake News!

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

So 80 years ago at Halloween time, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air broadcast the historic War of the Worlds radio drama that set off a nationwide panic at the (fake!) news of Martians landing in New Jersey and … Continue reading →

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Wham! “Freedom” in China

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I heard Wham!’s “Freedom” on the radio while driving yesterday. I’ve always liked this song, but what I’ve especially always remembered about it was its official video, which details the 1980s duo’s groundbreaking trip to China. Wham! was the first Western … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, History, Life, Movies and film, Music, Photography, Political Analysis, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carnage at the old Washington Park Zoo

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I was doing research on something else today when I came across a Milwaukee Public Library blog post from October 2015 about a whole slew of bear deaths/killings in a mixed species/order exhibit at the old Washington Park Zoo from … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Milwaukee, Nature, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Weather Channel’s amazing new “Immersive Mixed Reality”

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

The Weather Channel this week introduced new technology that will add astonishing visual effects to their broadcasts. Check out this Co.Design article, with video, where you can see a demo in which the anchorman barely escapes being crushed by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, News, Popular culture, Technology, Television | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Homage in The Shape of Water – Monsters who like candy

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

Colonel Strickland, the cruel government agent who pulled the amphibious fish/man out of the river muck in South America, continually crunches on green (lime?) hard candy throughout The Shape of Water. Strickland isn’t cinema’s only early-’60s  antagonist with a sweet … Continue reading →

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Homage in The Shape of Water – Odessa Steps

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

The last movie we watch in my film studies class every spring is always whatever has won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year. This year we’re watching The Shape of Water. This is a really brilliant movie, and I … Continue reading →

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YouTube: In the Beginning

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m teaching a mass media course this quarter, and while doing class prep recently, I needed to look at something in the internet archive, aka the “Wayback Machine.” (Wikipedia article here) Have you used this super cool  site before? You … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, History, Learning, Life, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#jesuschristsuperstarlive OMG literally

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

They rocked the Easter story last night on NBC. Everyone posting on Twitter during the show said they finally got the live musical thing right. Maybe because I’d never seen any of the other live efforts, I didn’t realize there … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Birth of a Nation: Lighting and (mostly “non”) camera movement, racism, and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination reenacted a mere 50 years after

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

NOTE: This post is under reconstruction because a) the YouTube account that I originally took my clips from has been shut down and b) WordPress doesn’t seem to be working correctly to allow me to play clips to and from … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Movies and film, Political Analysis, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Red Arrow in bright sunlight

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Katherine Wikoff

Days like this I wish I had a better camera. Or maybe I should say: I wish I had a better phone, because I actually do have a better(ish) camera at home that is never handy for spur-of-the-moment shots. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments