Category Archives: Class and the Media

“Don’t Get Old”: On Ageing and the Working Class

Posted on September 20, 2021 by sarahattfield

In the US sitcom Superstore (2015-2021), one of the characters, Myrtle, is an elderly store assistant who is often the brunt of jokes due to the slow pace of her work and her overall dottiness. At one point in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Health, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged | 3 Comments

Some Dreamers of the Rusty Dream

Posted on September 13, 2021 by knewman4

In the new Showtime series, American Rust, set and filmed outside of Pittsburgh, PA, and based on the 2009 novel by Philipp Meyer, we see the aftermath of an industrial collapse so devastating that the fictional town of Buell, PA, … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, The Working Class and the Economy, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

MIA: Workers, Working, and Workplaces

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Working-Class Perspectives

“Hacks is like most stories about creative work:  It avoids really showing any.”  B.D. McClay, New York Times Magazine B.D. McClay’s epigram works like any good hook:  it grabs your interest.  So here is another: “In order to entertain audiences, … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Work | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

America’s Cross-Class Romance with Mare of Easttown

Posted on June 14, 2021 by knewman4

In the waning days of the great pandemic of 2020-2021, something surprising happened: the nation fell in love with Mare of Easttown, a depressing television series about a burned out town, an unsolved murder, and, as the Saturday Night Live … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sea Shanties and the Pleasure of Work

Posted on April 12, 2021 by knewman4

I thought that the viral TikTok sea shanty trend had run its course when, just before Passover, I saw a link to a video called the “Red Sea Shanties.” Here the Jewish a capella group, Six13, changed the lyrics of … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Work | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bringing Ourselves to Say “Working-Class”

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Christopher R Martin

Would it make a difference if this was called the Middle-Class Perspectives blog? Would the writers be discussing the same issues in the arts, in education, in politics, and the relationship between race, gender, and class if we were talking … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher R. Martin, Class and the Media, Issues, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Bucket Toilets and Casseroles: Belonging, Mutual Aid, and Working-Class Survival

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Working-Class Perspectives

This past year of the pandemic has, for many, been one of struggle and isolation. So films about single older working-class women dealing with economic and personal challenges might not seem inspiring at the moment. But the insights they provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Sherry Linkon, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Not Just Viruses: What Epidemic Cinema Teaches Us about Working-Class Vulnerability

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Working-Class Perspectives

Over the last year of the COVID pandemic, we’ve heard over and over that “we’re all in this together,” But the quality (and “quantity”) of public health services for poor and working-class families was an issue before the Covid-19 pandemic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas (and Class) Behind the Scenes

Posted on December 14, 2020 by knewman4

I love Christmas movies because they are always about work. Want to see executive fat cats who are forced to work on Christmas Eve? Check out Scrooged, Elf, and The Family Man. Want to see elves being mistreated, overworked, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Cultural and Political Diversity in the White Working-Class

Posted on November 9, 2020 by jackmetz1

Influential political analyst Ron Brownstein thinks American politics is all about answering this question: “How long can Paducah tell Seattle what to do?” The question resonates because metro areas vote so differently from small town and rural areas and because … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 19 Comments