No, It's Not Weird

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/06/11/pop_culture_studies_why_do_academics_study_buffy_the_vampire_slayer_more_than_the_wire_the_matrix_alien_and_the_simpsons_.html

Apparently the leading pop culture product studied or written about in journals is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, beating out The Simpsons, the Alien movies, the Matrix movies and The Wire.  The jagoffs at Slate think this is weird.  I don't see why.

There have been, what, four or five Alien movies?  Do we count Alien vs Predator?  After the second one, they kind of sucked, or at least they were no longer original.  The first one was very original and creepy and the second was early Cameron at his best: really smart sci-fi.  After that?  Meh.

The Matrix became laughable the minute it took itself seriously.  It's not fodder for academic studies, it's a cautionary tale.

Sadly, I haven't seen The Wire.  That I am a plugged in TV junkie and haven't seen it, says something, I think.  Similarly, I've seen about two hours total of Mad Men.  I get it, it's good.  It's just not my thing.  I'm not going to spend money right now on watching The Wire.  Someday, yes.  But not now.  I can't be alone on this.  How "pop" is pop culture if I haven't seen it.

I'm only shocked that Buffy beat Homer so badly.  I was a huge fan of both Buffy and Angel.  I am a huge fan of Firefly.  The best part of The Avengers were the clearly Whedon-esque touches.  He's a for reals auteur, and I don't throw that term around lightly.  His work says so much more than is on the surface.  It's both readily available and subtle, so it makes for great fodder for scholarly study.  Having said that, The Simpsons is a brilliant satire of modern life.  I'm a bit disappointed in you, TV scholars.

But the disdain that the Slate guys have for Buffy kicking (even more) ass just goes to show that they don't get it.  Although I'm sure they've watched every episode of Mad Men.