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Tag Archives: Entertainment
Professional Wrestling

Today, The Annex delves into the world of professional wrestling with R. Tyson Smith, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Fighting for Recognition: Identity, Masculinity, and the Act of Violence in Professional Wrestling (Duke University Press).
We have two great co-hosts. Patrick Reilly is a sociologist at the Paul Merage School of Business University of California, Irvine. He is a media sociologist, author of “No Laughter Among Thieves” in the American Sociological Review, and a part-time independent wrestling announcer in California.
Timothy Gill is a sociologist at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Tim is an expert on Venezuelan politics, recently published The Future of U.S. Empire in the Americas: The Trump Administration and Beyond with Routledge, and is a former wrestler.
Photo Credits
“Pro Wrestling LIVE! Campaign Materials” by Lindsey Ward is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Criticizing Lana Del Rey (Rachel Skaggs)

Lana Del Rey’s new album has received praise, but her negative reaction to a mixed review on NPR recently made news. We discuss the tightrope of criticizing popular artists, the role of persona in artistic production, and the finer details of criticizing celebrities’ work.
In addition to in-house expert Gabriel Rossman (UCLA), author of the acclaimed Climbing the Charts: What Radio Airplay Tells Us about the Diffusion of Innovation (Princeton University Press), this episode also features Rachel Skaggs, who has recently published research on country music songwriting.
Rachel Skaggs is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Ohio State University. She recently published “Socializing Rejection and Failure in Artistic Occupational Communities” in Work and Occupations, and will soon publish “Harmonizing Small Group Cohesion and Status in Creative Collaborations: How Songwriters Facilitate and Manipulate the Co-Writing Process.” in Social Psychology Quarterly.
Country Music Songwriting (Rachel Skaggs)

Rachel Skaggs (Ohio State University) is a sociologist of culture who studies creative professions. In this episode, we discuss her participant observation research on country music songwriting. She deserves the role that accepting failure, collaboration, and learning to deal with gatekeepers shape careers.
Rachel Skaggs is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Ohio State University. She recently published “Socializing Rejection and Failure in Artistic Occupational Communities” in Work and Occupations, and will soon publish “Harmonizing Small Group Cohesion and Status in Creative Collaborations: How Songwriters Facilitate and Manipulate the Co-Writing Process.” in Social Psychology Quarterly.
Photo Credit
By Jamie – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiecat/2721617713/, CC BY 2.0, Link
Jussie Smollett

The Annex discusses the case of Jussie Smollett, an actor who was charged for filing a fake hate crime to gain publicity. The case was dismissed by prosecutors, leading to outcry and conflict.
Margaret Hagerman is an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University. She wrote White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America (NYU Press). Twitter: @MaggieHagerman
Jean Beaman is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Purdue University. Jean wrote Citizen Outsider: Children of North African Immigrants in France( (University of California Press). Twitter: @jean23bean
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Cancel Culture

Today, we discuss “cancel culture”, demands that cultural products are removed from public distribution and circulation when their creators are enmeshed in moral transgressions. The topic has come up in relation to several celebrities, including Roseanne, Louis C.K., R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, and Tucker Carlson.
Photo Credit
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Tucker Carlson, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75599613
The 2019 Oscars

We discuss the 2019 Academy Awards.
Oscars 2018

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We discuss the 2018 Oscars
Black Panther

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Joe, Leslie, Gabriel, and Becky Yang Hsu (Georgetown University) discuss the potential impact of Black Panther’s commercial success on studio’s interest in supporting more movies featuring black casts and crews, and the viability of Wakanda-style insular development.
Aziz Ansari and #metoo

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Aziz Ansari was accused of sexual coercion in an article on Babe.net. The story exposed different views on the limits of #metoo.
Photo Credits. By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19241544