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Wannabe
Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me | Aisha Harris
5 posts | 5 read | 9 to read
Aisha Harris is one of our smartest, most entertaining modern cultural critics. The nine pieces offer insight on Stevie Wonder, the Spice Girls, Pen15, and New Girlamong many other pop artifacts, of coursewhich might as well be parlance for, Read me immediately. ELLE Aisha Harris has made a name for herself as someone you can turn to for a razor-sharp take on whatever show or movie everyone is talking about. Now, she turns her talents inward, mining the benchmarks of her nineties childhood and beyond to analyze the tropes that are shaping all of us, and our ability to shape them right back. In the opening essay, an interaction with Chance the Rapper prompts an investigation into the origin myth of her name. Elsewhere, Aisha traces the evolution of the Black Friend trope from its Twainian origins through to the heyday of the Spice Girls, teen comedies like Clueless, and sitcoms of the New Girl variety. And she examines the overlap of taste and identity in this era, rejecting the patriarchal ethos that you are what you like. Whatever the subject, sitting down with her book feels like hanging out with your smart, hilarious, pop cultureobsessed friendand its a delight.
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Chelsea.Poole
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I love an essay collection! Bonus points when the author is a millennial and close to my age—the case here. All about 90s pop culture like Disney movies and the Spice Girls, I found this so relatable, entertaining, and informative all at once. My only quibble: can we stop being (perhaps unintentionally?) judgy and condescending about choosing to have or not have children? 3rd book in a row that I encountered this, so maybe it‘s a me-thing.

68 likes4 stack adds
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mdemanatee
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I continue to love pop culture essays.

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Floresj
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This is a thoughtful, readable, funny, interesting analysis of pop culture. Harris is a little younger than me and since I do t watch a lot of TV series, some of the examples I didn‘t know firsthand. It didn‘t take away from her points, and each essay was biographical, connected and well written. I‘ll be thinking about her points for awhile. Excellent!

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Megabooks
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Millennial pop culture essay collections don‘t always hit me right because I‘m just old enough not to have the same reference points. However, Harris‘ is surprisingly heavy on astute criticism instead of just nostalgia. I particularly enjoyed her essay about the constant stream of reboots we face. A worthy #BorrowNotBuy!

Cinfhen Im thinking of maybe reading this for #TitlesAndTunes #PopCulture later this year 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen definitely one to consider if you find a way to borrow it! 1y
Cinfhen It‘s currently on Scribd but who knows if it‘ll still be available in November 🙄 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen right?! My good NF library sometimes keeps unpopular titles for only a few months, which is why I jump on them! 1y
67 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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britt_brooke
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⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pop Culture Happy Hour‘s Aisha Harris addresses systemic trends in pop culture in a witty, and obviously, intelligent way. From Another Bad Creation‘s singular hit (#iykyk and you might remember all the words) to the Spice Girls to Disney film families, and much in between. This was a solid listen and fun way to spend an afternoon. I wish it had been longer, or maybe that some essays had been shorter, making room for a couple more topics.

69 likes2 stack adds