The entertainment industry facilitates communities for people from different walks of life.
On Jan. 7, I sat in my bed trying to get my DISH stream to work on my laptop so I could watch the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The connection was a bit spotty, but it streamed well enough for me to watch celebrities I admire band together over a cause that’s important to me.
This Golden Globes was special because it gave viewers a taste of what awards shows will be like in the post-Weinstein era. It was heavily focused on the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns. I watched in awe as winners delivered speech after speech speaking out against sexual assault, inequality, and injustice. I had chills the entire eight-or-so minutes of Oprah Winfrey’s speech after accepting the Cecil B. de Mille Award.
Watching the show, I saw celebrities come together to create a community that people everywhere can relate to and be a part of. While sitting in my small bedroom in Muncie, Indiana, I felt connected to these rich and famous people in Beverly Hills. Their black designer gowns were a stark contrast to my faded, worn out leggings.
Even so, I felt ingrained in the culture with these women on my screen. That’s one of the powers of the entertainment industry—everyone can relate to something within it and feel a sense of belonging.
That’s what this semester’s issues are about: feeling a sense of belonging within cultures. This digital edition looks specifically at entertainment. One of our writers discusses the influence of celebrities in different platforms. Another shares her personal experience of not seeing her African American heritage represented in media while growing up.
We also explore the community that sports can create as well as the environment around cult classic films. Another story examines fandoms and the groups within them. And finally, we look at the sacrifices musicians might have to make in order to see success in the industry.
Popular culture, while most often seen as entertainment, can create a sense of community that anyone can relate to.
