How to Write (Smart) About Pop Culture

What did Beyonce's Super Bowl performance mean to feminism? Is Girls great art? How does binge-watching TV shows change the way we interpret them?

Pop culture drives national conversations like never before, thanks to social media and blogs. That means there are more opportunities than ever to write about the TV shows, movies, and music you're passionate about -- and you can go beyond the mere who-are-you-wearing/who-are-you-dating fluff that dominates so many entertainment-driven sites and publications.

I've spent a decade on staff at Entertainment Weekly, and write for several publications, including Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Writer’s Digest, Fast Company, and New York‘s Vulture. I've provided pop culture commentary for CNN, VH1, A&E, and ABC. In this class, I'll be sharing my pop culture writing secrets with you so you can begin writing brilliant pieces of your own.

If you want to make a living -- or even just an online splash -- by writing about your favorite stuff, this is the class for you.

In this class, we'll look at some of the best pop culture writing out there, from the likes of The New Yorker, Vulture.com, and The AV Club. We'll talk about ways to keep up with the latest in entertainment, the elements of a "smart" pop culture piece, and how to expand these ideas into book form.

In this class, you'll work to develop your own essay, blog post, or article and submit it for feedback from myself and your classmates. 

Hope to see you in class!

• Lecture #1: Writing (Smart) About Pop Culture (4:34)
• Lecture #2: Analyzing Good Examples of Pop Culture Writing (9:51)
• Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted (2:22)
• Mary Tyler Moore Show: Three Things You Didn't Know (2:53)
• Lecture #3: Dos and Don'ts of Pop Culture Writing (10:01)
• Lecture #4a: Taking Pop Culture Writing to Book Level (9:49)
• Lecture #4b: Taking Your Pop Culture Writing to Book Level (3:11)