The Loring-Greenough House is from 1760 but they're hosting Pop Talks that will looking at two very modern topics: Korean popular music and Black Panther.
Deconstructing Black Panther: Race and Identity Beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be discussed on Feb. 22. This presentation/discussion will examine the cultural impact of Black Panther.
"The phenomenon of racism, colonialism, racial uplift ideology, economic empowerment, and political activism and resistance – themes that have long been relevant to the black experience in America as well as the African diaspora – in addition to comics/graphic novels, fashion, and Afrofuturism are just some of the topics that inform the discourse about this groundbreaking movie," says the eventbrite page for the event. The event is free, but RSVPing is requested.
Dorothy Clark, a member of the Loring Greenough House Board of Directors, independent researcher, and adjunct history instructor at the Boston Architectural School, will lead the event.
"We've held a number of events that revolve around popular culture in the last three years--a birthday party for Harry Potter, author poetry and book readings of newly released works, Halloween festivities, an Oktoberfest, and cultural food nights--though not in a structured lecture series," said Loring-Greenough Board Member Sharon Kong-Perring. "While the Loring-Greenough House is a historic structure, we are not a traditional museum where things are untouchable and the history is sometimes unreachable. We want to be a vibrant community center that welcomes engagement, embraces all people, and sparks interesting dialogues."
On Feb. 29 the Loring-Greenough House will host How the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Conquered the West: A Social Ethnographic Analysis of BTS and Korean Popular Music. It's a mouthful of an interesting pop culture topic.
Kong-Perring will be leading the Feb. 29th discussion, and has researched the Korean pop wave for the last two years, and a portion of her research was presented at the Northeastern Popular Culture Association.
"In 2017, they dethroned Justin Bieber as the Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards In 2018, they addressed the United Nations on behalf of the youth of the world, and in 2019, they became the first band in history since the Beatles to have three number one albums in one year. What is it about Korean Pop boy band, BTS, that made them the exception to the long-ignored rule of Asian representation in the West?" says the eventbrite page for the event. The event is free, but RSVPing is requested.
The discussion will look at how BTS' popularity "ignited conversations of modern orientalism, xenophobia, and the construction of celebrity." Participants will be encouraged to discuss "hybridized fan culture, including fan rituals, material culture, and a touch of primatology, femininity/masculinity, and how New England had a direct impact on Korean history."
Also, if anyone is interested in providing a lecture in the Pop Talks Series, email programs@loring-