@popjunctions
Pop Junctions is a blog that provides reflections on entertainment, pop culture, activism, media literacy, fandom, and more! Formerly known as Confessions of an Aca-Fan by Henry Jenkins. Website: https://henryjenkins.org/
✨I have a new essay at @popjunctions.bsky.social on swap storytelling, radical imagining, and why swapping approaches often fall short—not just in fiction, but in social and political realms too.
Oh, and Captain Nemo 🦑
Big thanks to the Pop Junctions team for the space and support💖
bit.ly/nemo-swap
The latest this week on Pop Junctions is a piece on Captain Nemo and swap storytelling by @elkwrites.bsky.social.
In our last contribution to #EmmysWatch2025 at Pop Junctions, @ladyhorrors.bsky.social considers how #WhatWeDointheShadows shapes the sitcom and mockumentary forms in ways that enrich narrative, character and theme.
And that’s a wrap of this series—thanks to all our contributors and readers!
For the final day of #EmmysWatch2025 at Pop Junctions, Alex Beare explores the cultural dialogue that has surrounded the Netflix series, #Adolescence.
Next up in #EmmysWatch2025 on Pop Junctions, @jackie-johns.bsky.social contextualizes #ThePitt within the long lineage of television soap operas.
Today on #EmmysWatch2025 at Pop Junctions is a contribution on #Hacks by Ashton Leach, which explores the dichotomies of aging women in comedy.
Next up in #EMMYWATCH2025 is a piece on #Andor by @taralomax.bsky.social that explores questions of genre in the series and the #StarWars franchise.
In this latest contribution to #EMMYSWATCH2025, Robert Boucaut explores how Shrinking constructs a workplace storyworld around mental healthcare as a thematic imperative and narrative setting.
In this video essay on #Severance, Melanie Robson analyses how the series engages with the science fiction genre in a present day dystopian context. #EMMYSWATCH2025
In this #EMMYSWATCH2025 contribution, @mbarnesnelson.bsky.social discusses the self-reflectivity of #TheStudio.
Next up on #EMMYSWATCH2025, @chriscomerford.bsky.social compares the blend of comedy and drama in #TheBear and #Shrinking to explore the complexities of effective ‘dramedy’ storytelling.
Continuing the conversation on "Television that Changes Us," in Part 2 Lauren Alexandra Sowa interviews Sasha Stewart and Gabe González from the #PeabodyAwards podcast, We Disrupt this Broadcast. #EMMYSWATCH2025
To kick off #EMMYSWATCH2025, Pop Junctions shares a 2-part interview on the @peabodyawards.bsky.social/Centre for Media and Social Impact podcast, We Disrupt this Broadcast. In Part 1, Lauren Alexandra Sowa interviews Jeffrey P. Jones about "Television that Changes Us".
New post on Pop Junctions is an interview with Carlos A. Scolari (@cscolari.bsky.social) by Renata Frade (@renatafrade.bsky.social). They discuss the shift from transmedia to immersive storytelling .
Part Two continues the conversation piece about THE SUBSTANCE for our OSCARS WATCH series by @gtroitman.bsky.social @utsavpgandhi.bsky.social and @doowndonnakim.bsky.social
Heading towards the end of our OSCARS WATCH series, we have Part One of a two-part conversation piece on THE SUBSTANCE by @doowndonnakim.bsky.social @gtroitman.bsky.social and @utsavpgandhi.bsky.social. Stay tuned for Part Two.
Next in OSCARS WATCH is a lyrical video essay by Greed and Red on ANORA that poetically explores its use of color, lines, and shapes.
Continuing our OSCARS WATCH series, we have a discussion between Henry Jenkins, Colin Maclay and Jonathan Taplin who discuss A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. This is a transcribed extract from a forthcoming episode of the How Do You Like It So Far? podcast.
OSCARS WATCH 2025 continues with a piece on CONCLAVE. @doctorofmovies.bsky.social explores the film's relationship with the political thriller genre.
We launch our annual OSCARS WATCH series in the lead up to the Academy Awards with Martina Fouquet's piece on I'M STILL HERE and the impact of political oppression on everyday life. Stay tuned for daily posts on a range of films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year.
Recently up on Pop Junctions, Julia C. Abrahão and Natalia Seixas share some of the research coming out of the Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas de Fanfic (Fanfic Studies and Research Group) (NEPF) in Brazil. Thanks also to @renatafrade.bsky.social for contributing to this piece.
The final peice in our Toys series is a conversation between Lauren Sowa and Henry Jenkins on Wicked dolls and the merchandising culture around The Wizard of Oz.
The latest in our holiday special Toy series is from @taralomax.bsky.social and reflects on the art and play of action figure collecting and displaying.
In the newest post in our Toys series, Ying "Lenore" Wang shares reflections on toys from Disneyland Shanghai, from Mulan to Lotsa Bear to Duffy and Friends.
To coincide with the holiday season, we present a series of posts based around the theme of ‘toys’. First up, @javariafarooqui.bsky.social looks at #Barbie in Pakistan. Stay tuned for more to come over the month.
In our final #EmmysWatch2024 post, Lauren Alexandra Sowa likened Larry David's role in #CurbYourEnthusiasm to that of the Shakespearean fool.
The third post in our #EmmysWatch2024 series focused on #TheBear. Addressing its nomination in the Outstanding Comedy category, Megan Robinson explores how The Bear achieves a blend of comedy and drama.
In the second #EmmysWatch2024 post, Henry Jenkins interviewed Frederik Cryns, historical consultant for #Shogun and a professor of Japanese History at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan.
In our first #EmmysWatch2024 post, @bridgetkies.bsky.social explored how #TheCrown blurs the lines between history and fan fiction.
Our most recent series collected a range of critical reflections on some of the shows nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series at the 76th Emmy Awards. See the thread below to revisit the posts in #EmmysWatch2024.