New pod: Well, this was a treat.
I talked to about
- how hating things became high-status in the 21st century
- the death of the monoculture
- how social media turns us into anti-fans
- why cultural historians will obsess over the year 2003
Conversation
Replying to
So, I asked : Given his expertise in the 1990s and the history of TV, when did he think the modern phenomenon of anti-fandom really take off?
He picked 2003—the year Reality TV producers discovered that disdain was a surer path to making a hit than shared admiration.
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So, I thought: Is there any way to find survey data that validates 2003 as a turning point in national admiration?
Well, guess what.
From 1950 - 2002, every POTUS but Ford had a full year of 55% approval or higher. But it hasn't happened once since ... 2003.
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I won't try to describe the rest of the show. It's about how knowing what everybody else is thinking changes how we think; how social media collapsed the distinction between elites, critics, and audiences; polarization and reality TV and so much more.
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I audibly gasped when I heard you mention Chuck was your guest, freaked out my kids. This pod was 🔥. Chuck is really the most interesting thinker in culture today…
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Great episode. Was thinking about how to quantify the vibes ... the number of tweets that go viral that all look more or less like this might be one way to do it. I swear I see a tweet like this rack up 10,000+ interactions every single week.
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Just listened to this one and thought it was such a fascinating conversation. It was better that “just ok” but I will resist the urge for hyperbolic praise.
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