by Cristina |
Last Updated: April 28, 2021 I was driving home the other day listening to NPR. I know, Nothing screams middle aged like driving along listening to NPR, but here we are. My husband is to blame. Mainly, because he was driving and he was the one that put on NPR.
Turns out they were discussing pop culture. Ha! Jokes on him. Trying to smarten me up listening to NPR and they start a pop culture segment. If this is what listening to NPR is like, I can definitely get used to it..The show is 1A and the segment was the Pop Culture Roundup. If you want to listen along here is the link.
They were discussing summer movie releases. With the lack of movie releases over the last year it was a little strange to listen to the scheduled movie releases. Then they started talking about the upcoming Black Widow movie.
Do You Marvel?
For everyone on my mailing list and following me on instagram, this should be no surprise. But I am sort of totally and abnormally into the MCU.. I have not been able to stop telling anyone that crosses my path to watch all of their movies. Now that they have started releasing shows on Disney+ I am screaming at everyone to watch WandaVision. (I haven’t started promoting Falcon and Winter Soldier yet, but it’s coming. Yes, I cried in the finale. I may need help).
So there I am, middle aged, and listening intently to the guests of the show and right around the 24 minute mark, Jacqueline Coley, editor at Rotten Tomatoes, said “the first time that Disney has adapted a female character, they saw what Wonder Woman did…”
Naturally, I was furious. There I was sitting in the car screaming at the radio. At NPR! What are you talking about? Captain Marvel’s release date was in 2019. WandaVision was released earlier this year. What about Agent Carter? That show that was on ABC a few years back, but I haven’t quite gotten to yet, but I’ll probably watch it at some point. (Hmm can totally binge that this weekend).
How did this “pop culture expert” make such an incorrect statement?
What is an expert?
That got me thinking. What makes someone an expert anyway??
The dictionary defines expert as “A person who has comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of a skill in a particular area.”
STOP EVERYTHING! I’m having an epiphany at this very moment. Am I a pop culture expert?
The dictionary defines Pop Culture as “generally recognized by members of society as a set of practices, beliefs and objects that are dominant or prevalent in society at a given time.”
I Am a Pop Culture Expert
I am a pop culture expert. Lawyer, meh. Pop culture expert, YES!!
So now that we have established that I am a pop culture expert. I decided to find out what I could do with all this expert knowledge. I googled, “pop culture expert” and I was pretty surprised by the results. First off, it looks like people are actually looking for pop culture experts. I was intrigued.
Then I click into the first result. It’s a site called expertfile.com. Looks like they are some kind of marketplace for experts. I take a quick glance at the results for pop culture experts. They are all professors? I went to Florida State and I don’t remember any pop culture classes. Trust me I would have taken them. If I would have known back then, what I just learned, I would have majored in it!
Then I see the next result, job postings. People are looking to hire pop culture experts. For what you ask? To write. Hey! I write!
That’s it. Confirmed it. I am a pop culture expert and I am doing what a pop culture expert does. Writing about it for you guys.
The Car Ride that Changed My Life
Back to the car ride. I am not sure if the show was airing live or aired in the past, but they received some voicemails and tweets correcting the show’s guest on the female leads for Marvel.
The best part is that Jacqueline Coley was actually at the premiere for Captain Marvel. After I went back and listened for this post, I noticed she actually says Captain Marvel in her original statement as well. It turns out that pop culture experts are humans just like us. Jacqueline was probably tired from watching the Oscars the night before. Been there!
Hey NPR, if you’re looking for a pop culture expert for one of your shows, you know where to find me!