Blog: Chapters 7–9 – Pop Culture, Representation, and Power
One of the ideas that stood out to me in Chapter 7 is how media doesn’t just reflect culture, it actively creates cultural scripts for how we think about gender, sexuality, and identity. The text explains that, images don’t simply mirror reality they organize and shape how we see the world. That really hit me, because once you start noticing it, you realize that popular media, specifically from TikTok to blockbuster films, constantly reinforces what’s “normal” and what isn’t.
For example, TikTok beauty trends push very narrow versions of femininity (like the “clean girl” look or the obsession with weight-loss hacks). These videos may feel harmless, but they mirror what Beyond The Binary calls gender and sexuality ideologies, because they teach young women that success and desirability are tied to a very specific body image. It’s not just entertainment, it’s ideology packaged in relatable, viral form.
Chapter 8 dives into representation, and this feels especially relevant with the Barbie movie (2023). The film tried to playfully critique gender roles, but it also shows how representation can be both liberating and limited at the same time. Barbie gave space to feminist critique but still stayed within the boundaries of a Hollywood spectacle made by a billion-dollar brand. That tension is exactly what Beyond The Binary is getting at: even when media tries to be subversive, it often reproduces the same structures it critiques.
Chapter 9’s focus on audiences also got me thinking about how people engage with shows like The Last of Us (HBO). When the episode featuring Bill and Frank aired, it sparked massive online discussion because it offered a tender, nuanced gay love story in a genre that usually sidelines LGBTQ+ characters. The chapter emphasizes that audiences are not passive, but negotiate and resist meanings in popular texts. And that’s what happened, the reaction showed both celebration and backlash, proving how representation can open up space for dialogue but also reveal cultural fault lines.
What ties all three chapters together for me is the idea that media is never just entertainment. It teaches, it frames, and it argues, even when we don’t realize it. Whether it’s TikTok shaping Gen Z beauty standards, Barbie turning gender politics into box office gold, or The Last of Us expanding queer representation, these texts show that popular culture is where social battles over identity, power, and belonging are constantly being fought.
