USC logo

Explaining Rural Conservatism

PIPE Workshop: Aditya Dasgupta, UC Merced
Description
Explaining Rural Conservatism: Technological and Political Change in the Great Plains

Rural areas are conservative electoral strongholds in the United States and other advanced capitalist economies. But this was not the case historically. What explains the rise of rural conservatism?

The Handmaid’s Tale

Hulu has adapted The Handmaid’s Tale, the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, into a 10 episode saga of life in the dystopia of Gilead. Gilead is a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States, ruled by a twisted Protestant fundamentalism in its ‘return to traditional values’. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by three fierce women of USC to discuss the series’ timeliness, its narrative of motherhood, the fear of religious fundamentalism, feminism, and the absence of a discussion on race.

To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of The Kingdom click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player at the top of this post. Or download and subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Kingdom

Peter Berg’s The Kingdom is an action procedural which tries also to be a lesson in cross-cultural tolerance. Released in 2007, we wonder if this film makes the same amount of sense after ten years. The film follows an FBI team which travels to infiltrate and find a terrorist cell in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following an attack killing many American citizens (as well as fellow FBI agent). If art is an imitation of life, have we moved on in the last ten years, or does this remain salient?

To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of The Kingdom click the arrow in the player at the top of this post. Or download and subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

Get Out

Get Out follows a young African-American photographer on a visit to his white girlfriend’s parents’ home. The tag line sums up the deep horror of the film, “Just because you’re invited, doesn’t mean you’re welcome.” The film is funny, scary, and has sparked conversations (and even a viral challenge) throughout the country.

Find out what we think …

To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of Get Out click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

Bedrosian Center