Giving Voice to Violence and Void

Irish-American masculine identity has a nebulous and bloody history. Its development began in the 1840s in Ireland and has its roots in colonialism – a story that, in itself, could fill a book-shelf. Despite this challenge, Martin Scorsese does an admirable job of exploring this dynamic in his film The Departed.

The Sweet Brown Narrative: Modern Internet Folklore

Although they are not traditional, new venues for folklore such as YouTube videos and Memes create platforms for communication among individuals on large and small scales across the United States. As a result, they facilitate the rise of ordinary individuals to stardom.

“They’re Making Us Look Bad”: The Problem with the “New” Harlem Shake

The Harlem Shake video trend began at the beginning of 2013 when YouTube user Filthy Frank uploaded a short video of himself and some friends gyrating to a dance track on January 30.

Classic Hollywood Cinema as Propaganda

Photography was the first use of pictorial proof as documentation of scientific analysis starting in the late 1800s. There was a sudden trust from viewers when they were presented with an image of presumed objective nature, emphasizing the ideology of “I’ll believe it when I see it.”​

The Legend Behind Zongzi

Zongzi, a traditional Chinese food, is made of sticky rice stuffed with special fillings and wrapped up in Argy-wormwood leaves.

Putting the Pulp in Pulp Fiction

Dominated by brilliant dialogue, violence, and subtle criticisms of American culture, the Best Original Screenplay-winning film Pulp Fiction intertwined food to further each of these critical plot threads.

Changes to American, Korean, and Chinese Barbecue Over Centuries

I am Chinese, and my father is a great cook of Chinese barbecue. This winter break, he came to United States and cooked Chinese barbecue for my friends and me.

Twins in West African Culture and Society of the Iron Age

Twins had unique roles in many West African cultures in the Iron Age, a period in spanning from the first millennium to the 19th century. The Igbo speaking-people of southeast Nigeria, for example, feared the birth of twins.

Video Game Effects on Children

While all video games share many of the same fundamental functions, there are marked differences that help define the violent genre and insure its continually expanding prevalence in modern society.

A Power Figure’s Power over History

The “Nail Fetish” Power Figure (referred to as nkisi or nkonde), found in the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri, offers much insight into the Iron Age history of Central Africa.