Popular Culture Review 30.1 • Winter 2019
From the Editor ’ s Desk
As I write this latest “ From the Editor ’ s Desk , I am struck once more with the power of popular culture to influence all of our lives . From the media we consume all day , every day , to the public figures who dominate our lives , even the most reclusive of us find ourselves exposed to and dominated by popular and celebrity culture . Public affairs have gone beyond satire , and comedy skits often seem tamer than events in the news . “ You couldn ’ t make this stuff up ,” as I am fond of saying .
Sometimes , breaking into the public consciousness can help raise awareness and prompt empowerment . Scooter Pegram explores the political disenfranchisement of women in France and the importance of a perhaps unlikely avenue to equal representation in a look at the fame and reputation of female hip-hop artists in France . Resistance needs a call to arms , and music can be the perfect vehicle to find the pulse of the common citizen , as explored in “ Feminizing the Rhymed Narrative : Women Rappers and Gender Empowerment in French Hip-Hop .”
In “ A Conversation with Nanette : A Not-So-New Proposal for an Invitational Rhetoric ,” Nanette Hilton describes how Hannah Gadsby ’ s 2018 comedic sensation scapegoats previous women writers for societal ills , making the point that studying writers from Margaret Fuller to Rita Felski may teach us a better way .
Of course , public figures have always had a mystical ability to become timeless icons . Kathy Merlock Jackson ’ s article speaks to the relevance of so many important figures from the past , including Patty Duke and Marlo Thomas . While visual
vii doi : 10.18278 / pcr . 30.1.1