Lil Nas X has proven that he’s much more than a one-hit wonder. The 22-year-old artist has propelled himself into virality time and time again, not only through strong songwriting and production, but also by using a communication style that is distinctly meme-driven and keyed into the way that popular music moves on the internet. In my work for music organizations and my doctoral research at...
I first fell in love with Vincent van Gogh after reading Irving Stone’s biography of the troubled artist, Lust for Life , as a teenager. Fast forward to multiple viewings of his original works at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Jeu de Paume then the Museé d’Orsay in Paris, and pretty much any exhibit I could find in the States, and I knew I was hooked.
But my love affair with...
When was the last time you saw a Native American on television — not a 19th century “noble redman” in war paint and a feathered headdress— but a contemporary Indigenous person, say, wearing blue jeans and drinking coffee? Stephanie Fryberg of the University of Michigan reports that the percentage of Native actors cast in American film and television productions hovers between 0 and 0.4% each...
Although an animated character launched on social media might not appear to have a “relevant” impact on the world, Serena Williams’ daughter’s adorable and charismatic doll-turned-internet sensation has proven quite the opposite.
Meet Qai Qai. With a collective fanbase of over 3.3 million followers across her social media platforms, Qai Qai has more reach than most influencers. She...
Even before the rocky years of pandemic, USC prioritized investing in and increasing mental health support services for students, faculty, and staff. These decisions are in lockstep with a rapid shift to redefine what it means to create a truly safe and inclusive academic community.
Erasing the stigma of seeking help and propelling the discussion of mental health into our cultural...
Looking back on 2021, internet culture was the culture, fueled by the quickly growing yet still nascent creator economy. Through his work on TikTok, Ogo helped spotlight the next generation of breakthrough and often underrepresented creators. Ogo is a social media marketer who runs his own influence marketing group, Thirteenth. When I look towards 2022, I see Ogo bringing more creators to the...
It’s appropriate, as I’m writing this for a report about communication and media, that the Twitter profile picture of chef and restaurateur José Andrés is a simple image of him holding a phone. Rather than grabbing hold of a tool of the culinary trade, Andrés instead is focused on the medium of his message. He’s focused on using it to rally as many people as he can around the idea that food...
In five vibrant minutes on January 20, 2021, just two weeks following the attacks on the U.S Capitol and years of great divide, Amanda Gorman delivered an impassioned call to the nation.
Gorman’s The Hill We Climb zeroed in on the need for healing and reconciliation with a plea for Americans to come together to rebuild and realize the true strength of the country. Her final words were...