Category Archives: Class and the Media

“People Ain’t Gonna Come to Work if They Don’t Feel Safe”

Posted on May 11, 2020 by

If you live in Iowa, you get to see a little bit of how the sausage is made, so to speak, especially if it’s pork. It’s a common occurrence to see long semi-truck trailers on the highways, with round pink … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher R. Martin, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, The Working Class and the Economy, Work | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Class, Capitalism, and Coronovirus at Disney’s Newest Attraction

Posted on March 30, 2020 by

Last week the Coronavirus forced Disney to announce that its American parks are now closed indefinitely, resulting in the longest interruptions of any kind since they opened in 1955 (Disneyland) and 1965 (Walt Disney World). Disney has been on my … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Class Anxiety: Parasite and Joker

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

A couple of weeks after the South Korean film Parasite won both Best Foreign Film and Best Picture, Donald Trump went on what the Washington Post called a “nationalistic cultural” rant about the film’s awards. He was upset that a … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Sherry Linkon, The Working Class and the Economy, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Precarity Goes to the Movies

Posted on February 24, 2020 by

Two recent events, vastly different in scale and importance, nonetheless point to the importance of the concept of the precariat, a relatively new coinage for the class of exploited, underemployed and temp workers of the world. The Oscars’ celebration of … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

How Polarized Are We?

Posted on February 17, 2020 by

When I talk with relatives who are not only Trump voters but Trump enthusiasts, I feel pretty damned polarized – especially when I lose my temper and find myself saying some of the things my tribe often hatefully says about … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Is There a Working-Class Cable News Channel?

Posted on February 10, 2020 by

The country just began its long march through caucuses and primaries toward the presidential election in November. How will this political story spin out on the major cable news networks, and what will it look like to working-class viewers? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher R. Martin, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Class Culture War

Posted on February 3, 2020 by

New York Times columnist David Brooks has proven himself both interested in and repeatedly confused by the working class. A few weeks ago, in a piece arguing that Bernie Sanders is wrong to blame capitalism for economic inequality, Brooks wrote … Continue reading →

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

Working-Class Christmas

Posted on December 16, 2019 by

During this Christmas season, there is a tweet making the rounds that shows the number of paid vacation days in thirteen different countries by law: France             30 Denmark         25 Finland            25 Norway           25 Sweden           25 … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Religion, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Valuing Working-Class Life: Recent Memoirs by Working-Class Women

Posted on December 9, 2019 by

With the UK general election looming, there has been renewed interest in the effects of years of austerity measures on poor and working-class people. It seems clear that inequality has increased and more and more people rely on food banks … Continue reading →

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

En Guerre: Populism and a Plant Closing in France

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

Stéphane Brizé’s En Guerre (At War), released in France in 2018 and in the United States this July, tells the story a car factory closing in Agen, a small company town in the southwest of France.  In this grim and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment