Fanon 101: An area of expertise in popular culture? But why?

Some days I find myself thinking of myself in a support group: “Hi, I'm Alara. And I'm a pop culture junkie.” It's simply because I have many tastes that people think I should be guilty about. If you ask me where this damn habit comes from, I will shamelessly show you the Depeche Mode tattoo on my mother's wrist.

When one realizes that one can consume anything without shame—especially when living in the middle of patriarchal capitalism—it is very relieving. Yes, I still listen to Coldplay. No, my dear, I don't want to watch "that" movie on MUBI today.

Am I not intellectual enough?

My guilt in the business of guilty pleasures is almost gone. I'm ready to shout them out now, especially through Fanon, obviously. However, this does not change the fact that I noticed very interesting power relations in this topic. 

I'm not here today to declare I've never stopped listening to Stars Are Blind by Paris Hilton, but I'm also in love with Mac DeMarco's music. I will not highlight my academic achievements after stating that I have been watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians since I was 11 years old. I will not try to legitimize my guilts.

Each and everything we consume intellectually can be a close read—personally, I'm one of the biggest fans of media literacy. This is exactly the point at which Fanon comes into our lives: here, it is important to be interested in something and share it with someone just because one wants, without any responsibility to prove any intellectual. Because, I guess, life is only enjoyable like that.

Is this a safe place?

The things that I consume, I also take refuge in. So in cases when I feel guilty for these pleasures, I've noticed that they have an attached "feminine," and a "secondary" nature in society. I don't think that this guilt has anything to do with my assigned gender, and I know that the power relations here are exploitative. Capitalist patriarchy, duh!

This is an ode to romantic comedies. Since, thanks to the genre, I was able to realize the profession I want to do today at the age of 9. If I wasn't a fan of anything—in case I've had no intention of becoming deeply involved in any universe—perhaps I wouldn't be able to write as a profession in my 20s.

And anyway, even if these safe spaces are of no use to me, it shouldn't matter. So perhaps Fanon should try to dig deeper into what's popularized, examine power relations, and not necessarily focus on output. 

Herein lies the answer: Because of all this, the object of this magazine is popular culture. The fact that I can't help but think about the 2000s might also be an issue, but let's talk about it later.