Category: Uncategorized
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Happiness Narrative in Three Movies
By Vida Penezic The latest scientific research suggests that biology (50%) and circumstances (10%) determine only about 60% of our happiness levels; the rest is up to us. In other words, happiness is (at least in part) a learnable skill. My larger research question is: If happiness is 40% learned, what role does popular culture…
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Goop Knew Best: “Wellness” as Code for “Happiness”
By Adriana Mariella The “wellness” industry, including everything from saltwater floats to cryotherapy treatments to ayurvedic retreats, is today worth over $4 trillion and growing. But wellness, if it’s doing its job right, would eventually eliminate the need for itself, having provided the increased sense of well-being and happiness it promises. This paper argues that…
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Pursuit of Happiness in Turkish Movies
By Oguzhan Dursun This paper examines Turkish cinema in the second half of the 20th century, focusing on the changes in the protagonists’ perception of happiness. The paper examines these changes in the light of the socio-economic developments in the Turkish society in the studied period, using an interdisciplinary approach. It combines the analytical tools…
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Papers Presented at the 2021 Conference
Here are the abstracts of papers presented at the 2021 National Conference of the Popular Culture Association. The conference was virtual. Back to Being a Kid: How Slot-Car Racing Brings Me Happiness, by Ed Shorer Goop Knew Best: “Wellness” as Code for “Happiness”, by Adriana Mariella Pursuit of Happiness in Turkish Movies, by Oguzan Dursun Nostalgia in Taiwanese…
Happiness and Culture 