Fashion, Style & Popular Culture

Lolitas seek to fulfil their look and identity through overall appearance and behaviour. Fashion plays a crucial role in establishing their unique identity and conveys significant meaning. Continue reading →

Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion

The male clutch bag is becoming a very popular trend among men’s fashion and provides an apt opportunity to explore men’s growing attitudes towards dress and gender. This article explores the wider implications of accessories and bags, and in particular when analysed against men’s fashion trends. Continue reading →

East Asian Journal of Popular culture

Any debate on popular culture in the modern age of course cannot escape the rise of the mass media. The rise and development of global media systems has led to a proliferation of a popular culture that is circulated on a mass scale. This has led on the one hand to the global dominance of American-led cultural products and images such as film, music and consumer goods… Continue reading →

Peaks and popular culture

Twin Peaks’ influence on popular culture reveals itself in television shows, movies, songs and other forms of media from the ‘90s to now. It saturated the cultural consciousness in such an immense and immediate way that not just television audiences, but also accomplished writers and directors took notice… Continue reading →

‘Sometimes, there’s a man …’

As the Stranger attempts to describe the Dude with the phrase ‘sometimes there’s a man …’ but trails off without finishing his thought, so does the masculine cult figure remain incomplete. The Dude himself demonstrates a similar lack of completion when, after he impregnates Maude and spits out his drink, declares, ‘Let me explain something about the Dude …’ but never does… Continue reading →

A clash of the anthems

National anthems have become an integral part of international sporting spectacles. Even before the players have taken their positions on the field teams are lined up and, with the onlookers standing to attention, the country’s anthem is played over the PA system. These tunes are invariably received with much enthusiasm; this sense of identity unites individuals, evoking an unspoken kinship that in turn invites a collective and hearty chorus of voices, if not the odd teary eye. Continue reading →

The art of parkour: misuse of The Monument

Parkour is an art form that does not conform to social expectations. In the eyes of a traceur (a parkour practitioner) stairs, walls and rooftops are not physical boundaries but instead they offer options to the individual – options for an alternative way to travel through an urban landscape. Continue reading →

Sporting hats: The headwear of Olympians

In the stifling summer heat of 1948, the crowds watching the opening ceremony for the London Games at Wembley erupted in jubilation at the sight of the British team, who marched into the stadium adorned by the humble beret. Biddle-Perry’s article explores the British Olympic Association’s (BOA) adoption of the Kangol beret for both male and female athletes at the London Games of 1948 and the great significance of this small item of clothing. Continue reading →

When Buffalo Bill crossed the ocean

His nickname was earned following the result of a duel with another man, William Comstock, who also laid claim to the rights of the name ‘Buffalo Bill’. Rather than shooting each other they competed in shooting as many buffalo as they could over an 8-hour period. The final score line was a whopping 68- 48 in Cody’s favour Continue reading →

Crossing the Street in Hanoi: Teaching and Learning about Vietnam

McCain remained in solitary confinement for more than two years after his capture, learning that “the most important thing for survival is communication with someone, even if it’s only a wave or a wink, a tap on the wall, or to have a guy put his thumb up. It makes all the difference” Crossing the … Continue reading →