Image by Sevi_Lwa via Flickr
I believe in Jim Gordon. I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe in Gotham City.-Batman in “The Long Halloween“
A very common tool in popular culture is what has become known simply as “a crisis of faith”. This is, as the name would imply, a moment when the person, be they a character in a TV show, book, movie, comic book, or some other venue(even real life), begins to question the very essence of what they believe. It is a shared trait of most humans that what they believe, or do not believe, is very important to their sense of self. No matter how much I, as an educated and intelligent human, would like to believe that I am above such base traits as having my self-worth and my sense of self tied up with what I believe, I know that this is not the case. Whether it be religion, politics, or just about any other subject you can think of, what you believe is the essence of who you are and how you act in any given situation.
This is the same when it comes to popular culture.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. What is all this talk of belief in the first post of a pop culture blog and, more importantly, why the fuck should I care? These are both legitimate and valid questions, which I will address as this post moves on, but first, I’m going to ask you to trust me while we get a few preliminaries out-of-the-way.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Tanner. I’m a 32-year old college graduate(Rock Chalk Jayhawk!) with a degree in political science. I work as a media technician. None of this matters. What matters is that I’m also a 32-year old pop culture junkie. I eat, breathe, and sleep the aspects of culture that most academics deem to be too base and puerile to bother with. These include, but are not limited to, popular television, movies, books, comic books, and sports. In broad strokes, these are the building blocks of popular culture, and, as such, will be the basis for most of the material that is put on this blog.
But enough with that. Let us discuss my initial topic of belief.
Pop Culture Flyover State 