by Bob Batchelor
Ray Browne, who died at his home last weekend at age 87, did more than study and teach popular culture, he served as an embodiment of its ideals and a driving force behind its creation. His personal story is one of humble beginnings, overcoming a poor childhood in rural Alabama, and ultimately carving out a piece of the American Dream as an internationally-recognized writer and scholar.
Given that it is virtually impossible to escape popular culture’s reach in today’s world, it’s hard to imagine that Ray had to fight to get the topic accepted in academic circles. Out of this effort, Ray and a close band of like-minded colleagues founded the Popular Culture Association (PCA) and the American Culture Association (ACA), which serve as the intellectual home for untold scholars devoted to exploring popular culture in all its guises. One of the thoughts members of the PCA/ACA most often express is the friendliness and welcoming nature of these organizations. When one joins the PCA/ACA, there is a sense of entering a family. This culture is a direct reflection of Ray’s leadership, and may ultimately serve as his most lasting legacy.
On a personal note, Ray served as a mentor for me and countless others. I still remember my anxiety in meeting him for the first time, since this was “THE Ray Browne.” Yet he could not have been more kind. Unlike many senior scholars in other fields, Ray reached out to younger scholars, offering publishing opportunities and priceless counsel. I owe much of my philosophical thinking and writing to his influence.
One of the last projects I worked with Ray on was when he graciously agreed to write the foreword for the four-volume collection I edited: American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade (2009). In it, Ray presented a lyrical definition of popular culture that I treasure: “Similar to a growing garden, culture is the gatherings of community beliefs and behaviors, which depends on its roots for sustenance. As the plants grow both individually and collectively, they develop and influence the surrounding societies.” It will be difficult for a scholar to more beautifully or succinctly analyze American popular culture in the 21st century.
Editor’s note: Ray Browne was the series editor of the American Pop Culture through History series by Greenwood Press, and the author of the Civil War and Reconstruction book in that series (see cover above). Those of us that take pop culture seriously owe him a debt of gratitude for his pioneering work in the field. R.I.P.
by Elizabeth Millar
October 2nd, Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland premiers in theatres around the country. I can’t tell you how excited I am for a new zombie flick, and it’s right in time for Halloween! Zombieland is being described as an American post-apocalyptic, zombie comedy—bring it on! I wouldn’t say that I’m obsessed with zombies, but I pretty much think that they’re the bee’s knees. For starters, they are dead-alive, they come in all shapes, sizes, and forms, they eat brains, and they will stop at nothing while moving at a crawling pace. For me, the best part of a Zombie movie is when people take clubs and other blunt instruments to the zombie’s heads. After all, to stop a zombie, you must destroy its brain—which means lots of splattering innards and cool crunchy/mushy noises. I love being part of the theatre experience the audience loudly reacts to such scenes. Oh happy day!
I remember my first zombie movie—my dad rented the original Night of the Living Dead for me and my brother to watch. We were beyond intrigued—we were hooked. We would go around the house calling “Barbara…” in our most spooky voices, always being on the look-out for real zombies. From then on, my brother and I have been watching every zombie movie we can get our grubby hands on. From classic like Dawn of the Dead to spoofs such as Sean of the Dead, and yes, even to the low-production made-for-TV movies (usually on the SciFi Network)—we have to watch them all.
The most recent one I rented was Zombies Anonymous; it takes a different take on my slow-moving brain-eating friends. In this film, when somebody dies, they automatically become a zombie, but not in the traditional fashion. Rather, they still function in society—they speak, think, have jobs, and relationships. Although, they still crave human flesh, and that’s where in the movie, society has a hard time with them. There is a gang of renegade zombie-killers that roam the streets trying to rid the world of zombies because they are different, even though the zombies are trying to just go about their dead-life as they did pre-death. The Zombies Anonymous support group in the movies refers to themselves as “mortally challenged”…you probably see the stretch of a social commentary the director of this film is trying to make. Long story short—the plot was pretty lame, I wasn’t into the idea of zombies thinking and being victimized, but the splattery-mushy parts were awesome. Even though it wasn’t my favorite zombie flick, I give kudos to the director for a new take on zombie-plots, and I look forward to my next zombie-venture—ZOMBIELAND!
If you’re a zombie-junkie like me, or just love horror films and Halloween in general, PCU had tons to offer! Get in the magical spirit of Halloween and check out articles on zombies, vampires, and ghosts! The film studies reference content alone is enough to keep you up all night—check out the articles on splatter films, the urban horror film, and the concept of midnight movies.