For a mid-term election event organized by M.A. students in American studies, I gave a brief no-frills talk about Politics. At first I had no idea what I was going to talk about, but one of my students gave me some great questions to consider concerning whether this mid-term election was part of the Year of the Woman and what role pop culture plays in elections.
 
As I note in this piece, my students and colleagues here in Denmark are much more interested in Politics and elections than most people I know in the U.S. Of course, everyone I know is more interested in/involved in Politics now that American politics resemble the worst kind of shit show ever. At the mid-term election event, students gathered and watched the news as the ballots were counted and the results were shared and analyzed. Many stayed on campus until 5:00 in the morning! Many were waiting to see if the anticipated blue wave would arrive.
 
So, as the blue wave comes into power and the shit show continues, I share a slightly revised version of my talk here:
 
Politics with a Capital P
For most of my education and early career, I have not really been interested in Politics, at least not the kind in the category of the capital P. I think the system is broken and needs some work if it is going to both represent the American people and carry on—or more accurately, finally realize—the American traditions of democracy, liberty, justice, and freedom.
 
I am interested in the kind of politics that are not capitalized. Cultural politics.
 
As Americans we agree on the general principles, but the way we define the pursuit and definitions of these ideals varies greatly. And the divide—the false divide between Republicans and Democrats—continues to grow, in part, because our system cannot contain the realities of the spectrum of political beliefs and desired methods.
 
I have long been a registered Independent, and I think the system needs some major revisions if not an overhaul, but I put my efforts in the cultural and educational realms.
 
But, at the same time, the election of Donald Trump means that I can’t be uninterested in Politics—capitol P. None of us can. And there have been a number of good old-fashioned grassroots politics that have emerged in the era of Trump, but these stay mostly peripheral to my life and work.
 
So, I am fortunate to be here in Denmark with American studies students and colleagues who can remind me about the importance of capital P politics. In fact, many of my students have a much firmer grasp on political systems than I will ever have and my students and colleagues here are more interested in American elections, especially midterm elections, than just about anyone I have ever met in the U.S.
 
I want to offer some food for thought on a couple of related topics—women and politics, pop culture and politics, and the bigger picture of Politics. And I have to do what I do, what American studies does—you know I have to make it more complicated….
 
The Year of the Woman?
There are many reasons why women would opt out of politics. Who wants to be treated the way women in politics are treated?
 
Certainly the election of Trump provided an impetus for women to get involved and run for office in record numbers. But not all women are equally promising toward a realization of justice and equality.
 
Being a woman in politics means that you have had a similar experience of being belittled and even accosted. In this patriarchal structure you’ve probably been steered toward other pursuits or told that you’ll never make it in politics. Being a woman in politics means having to prove yourself every day. It means having to prove that you “have what it takes,” that you can play with the big boys, or the big guns. Because politics have been a man’s world and a boy’s game.
 
Simply being a woman in politics is not enough to change the structures of politics as usual, let alone the policies reflected by a particular class of people (namely: older, rich, white men). Today, many women in politics espouse similar ideas and policies as the men who have come before them. We see a few women playing pivotal roles or, in the recent case of Susan Collins, failing to play an important pivotal role.
 
We see every woman in politics judged for her looks first and her mind second; this is an American tradition after all. We see women like Dr. Ford (and Anita Hill before her) treated like poison and accused of being liars and opportunists. We see professors who advocate “engaged citizenship” banned from teaching with the excuse of “partisan politics” when political pressure is applied. Academic freedom is threatened; women’s right to control their bodies and speak their minds are treated as if these are optional rights.
 
Politics is dirty, manipulative, and short-sighted. It has been the realm of the privileged. Idealists are eaten alive.
 
I do hope that this is the year of the woman, and that the roles that women play in politics continue to increase at least until we find equal gender representation. This would be a start.
 
More so, seeing women like Stacey Abrams elected would signal a shift, but not simply because she is a woman and not simply because she is a black woman. There is nothing simple about these aspects of Abrams’s identity; but both are cultural identities that have shaped her life and her politics. This means that she offers more than just politics as usual. [And the blue wave of women entering Congress means that we might just see different politics.]
 
We need more of these firsts because when there are no more firsts—that would be a start. When ideologies and actions are more important than appearance and party loyalty—that would be a start.
 
The shift that begins with the “year of the woman”—with the increase in women serving at all levels of government—is more important symbolically than it is in terms of any immediate impact or policy-level change.
 
The simple presence of women does not mean anything unless social justice is what is on our agenda.
 
So how do we put social justice on the agenda? How do we empower the people with the most to lose and the least to win?
 
…How do we get people interested in running for office when we can hardly get people interested in voting?
 
 One answer might be found in the power of popular culture—but not just the power of pop culture to entertain and excite—the power of popular culture to shape our ideologies, our consciousness, and our approaches to politics—cultural politics, or Capital P politics.
 
The potential of popular culture toward these ends is, ultimately, why I am in the field of education and not politics.
 
Pop Culture and Influence on Elections
The power of popular culture is complicated. Its power to shape political attitudes and beliefs is certainly greater than its ability to make a direct political impact when it comes to elections. This is one of the reasons why celebrities can make an impact. Celebrities represent more than just a candidate; they represent an institution.
 
Celebrity fan culture can hack general apathy and the—not untrue—belief that an individual’s vote does not matter. But because people’s pop culture choices are also political, pop culture and politics are intertwined. Pop culture is nuanced, while politics allows little room for complexity.
 
Celebrity support often unintentionally exacerbates the divided nature of the either/or aspects of the American two-party system. Their support has the appearance of partisan politics because their support is for left-leaning causes: human rights, in short. Sometimes celebrities are well-versed; sometimes they are passionate tools.
 
American popular culture helps to shape our understanding of politics, but basic human rights should not be polarized in the way that America’s two-party system requires.
 
Side note. I am not even talking about the whole “fake news” situation though news is now a part of entertainment media and overlaps pop culture. I am talking about pop culture: movies, television, music, video games, and entertainment media and practices of all kinds.
 
Some shows, films, music, stars, etc. cater to liberals and some cater to conservatives. None are neutral in the bigger sense of cultural politics. Thus, people’s pop culture choices reflect their ideologies and political views.
 
Side note: We can, perhaps most obviously, see the difference in the power of left pop culture and right pop culture in the attempts to find celebrities and entertainers willing to perform at Trump’s inauguration, which of course, made it easy for the “fake news” to mock Trump.
 
Most pop culture texts and agents—and the most popular ones—cater to liberals. Sometimes in dangerous ways.
 
For instance, Bill Maher can be just as emotional and close-minded as any conservative talk show host. When one of his guests said that when we, on the left, have conversations about “how can they think such things,” on the other side of the door, there’s a group of conservatives having the same conversation. Maher cut to the next segment as if he not just displayed this exact behavior, as if his whole show was not built on it. Maher probably lies a lot less, but he panders to his fans at least as much.
 
Taylor Swift’s recent voter inspiration is interesting because she does so with a more liberal message despite her pop culture image that plays well in the often conservative white world of country music. But her fans are young, and maybe they are still open-minded.
 
Big-name celebrities, respected celebrities, celebrities with questionable motives, celebrities with good intentions—all can inspire votes through their endorsements. But these celebrity interventions can only do so much. The hard work is something that cannot be reduced to a sound bite or secured with a check.
 
So, in terms of elections, celebrities can, perhaps, be of most help through sound bites and big checks. But, if we keep pandering to a populace that lacks critical thinking skills, we might need those well-informed celebrities to use their power in other ways. Maybe they already do….
 
Ultimately, it is not celebrity, it is conscious pop culture creations that teach us about truth, social justice, human rights, compassion, joy, and love—the stories that move people’s hearts and minds—that hold the most political potential. These are the kind of politics without a capital P, but with the potential to influence, and maybe even transform, the capital P politics.

After four months, I have adjusted to some of the basics in Denmark. I don’t feel lost all the time; I can navigate to and from campus and to several local places. I can mostly read food labels—or at least tell what foods include eggs, milk, or meats of several varieties. These are, after all, a few survival skills acquired out of necessity. I’ve discovered which stores have the foods I like and I have even found quite a few vegan food choices, despite being cautioned that Denmark is not very vegan friendly.

While I am still learning a lot, the learning curve is not quite as sharp as it was for the first six weeks or so. I am grateful to be able to spend an extended academic year here, rather than the one semester (or less) that many Fulbright scholars spend abroad. As I transition from the holidays into exams, I am continuing to learn about teaching American studies in Denmark (and will have more to say on that subject). For now, here are a few more cultural observations about Denmark and the Danes:

The biggest notable difference between the U.S. and Denmark is what I have come to think of as the “ethic of care” I see everywhere. This is hard to explain, and I certainly have limited experience, but I don’t see the same kinds of poverty. People are happy and healthy and fed, clothed, and housed. They can go to the doctor any time they need to. This is, of course, the shiny surface of Denmark, and there are aspects I don’t see or know, but generally, there is a basic respect for people that I have never seen in the U.S.

The Danish love cake (as I have observed before and will mention again and again!). I can identify with this love. While American cake is a rather narrow—though deliciously diverse category—for the Danish, a wide variety of baked sweets are categorized as cage. I have tried several varieties, and will try more, but really I have been inspired by the Danes to bake my own vegan cakes, not that it takes much convincing to get me to make a cake!

Health and fitness seems to be integrated into a generally active lifestyle… even with all the love of drinking and eating and celebrating. And Danes will use any excuse for a party. Before it even got dark on New Year’s Eve, the fireworks started and they didn’t stop. In fact, in the period from just before Xmas to after New Year’s fireworks were a regular sight and sound several times a day.

While I have often thought of Americans as being rude, the Danish are “rude” without realizing that their behavior may be offensive. Or, rather, that they don’t care if their behavior is “rude.” It is just Danish. For instance, there is no Danish word for please. And almost all of them will knock you off the sidewalk or out of the bike lane (fair enough) if you are in the way.

I can respect Danish “rudeness” to an extent. I am not a huge fan of “small talk” and the American tendency to greet people with a “how you doing” is one of my least favorite customs. We say this without thinking and we really don’t want to know how someone is doing; we don’t wait long enough to hear the obligatory answer most of the time. The Danes just don’t bother.

And, finally, since almost all things come back to food. Candy is a huge thing; crackers are not. Candy seems to dominate in Danish grocery stores. Almost all of them have an extensive candy isle as well as a bulk candy bin with almost a hundred candy choices. Unfortunately, for my palate—and the typical American taste—much of it is anise (or black licorice) flavor. Sometimes it is even salted.

With all of the spreads available in Denmark, the cracker options are severely limited compared to U.S. grocery stores. The bread choices abound—and then some—but the crackers are dreadfully lacking. I tried to explain crackers to a Danish friend. I was at a loss for words to describe the crackers varieties that range from simple to fancy, cheap to expensive, plain to flavored. There are too many crackers for me to even begin to explain what a cracker is.

I don’t even really eat that many crackers in my typical diet at home. There are a few things that just call for crackers, but otherwise, I don’t normally crave crackers. But here, without the availability of diverse crackers, I crave Triscuits and Wheat Thins, and Saltines, and fancy multi-packs, and the ability to just grab a box of crackers for whatever cracker craving I desire. Ah, white people problems I didn’t expect in such a white, white world!

I keep forgetting that it is Thanksgiving in the U.S. This is not unusual since I really don't celebrate Thanksgiving. But, I do take the day off at home. In Denmark, it is any other day and I had (a wonderful) class discussing dystopia. But, in Denmark, American studies students are having a Thanksgiving dinner for 50 people and some people are celebrating Thanksgiving at least by eating, but it is not a thing here. (They have, however, adopted the Black Friday tradition, though they call it Black Day in the stack of junk mail that went straight to recycling.)

Denmark has plenty of holidays, most of which feature food or drink. All of them require plenty of food, and especially drinks. There are Danish holidays just for beer and just for cake. (A small selection of x-mas beer bottles are the backdrop in the picture above.) And in Denmark, there are many cakes, every sweet pastry is cake, and cake is almost always available. I love Denmark.

But I digress, below is a response I provided to an "Ask the Expert" feature for a campus magazine (pictured above, translated into Danish). I tried to keep it simple... but it was also an opportunity to reflect in new ways on old American traditions and holidays as well as how our traditions and holidays relate to Denmark.

Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?
There are so many ways to answer this question! I think most Americans would say that we celebrate Thanksgiving because it is a tradition and an opportunity to be thankful for what we have. However, we tend to be more centered on the activities of the day—eating, drinking, and watching football—than we are on the meaning of giving thanks. And Thanksgiving almost always means eating too much! Plus, Thanksgiving also means two days off of work and an extra-long weekend, at least for some of us. It also means the beginning of the Christmas holiday season and, in the last decade or so, “Black Friday” shopping deals. Every year Black Friday starts earlier and earlier, with some retail stores even opening on Thanksgiving Day.

As an American Studies professor, I tend toward a more cynical explanation (if my above explanation was not already cynical enough!): we celebrate Thanksgiving because it is a way to justify our mistreatment (and genocide) of Native Americans through a myth of equality and cooperation. Further, we see gender stereotypes play out as the women cook the food and do the dishes while the men drink beer and watch football and the children watch holiday-themed movies and television shows. But of course there are diverse iterations of this Thanksgiving holiday tradition, and even Native Americans celebrate a version of Thanksgiving.

Even with my critical views and vegan diet, I am guilty of indulging in the perks of the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a day when I don’t have to work and don’t have to leave the house and can stay in my pajamas all day. My husband and I can cuddle up and watch football or non-holiday movies. I even make a vegan “Tofurky” (a product manufactured specifically for vegans to enjoy the turkey tradition) and vegan stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy … and of course dessert!
 
How much does Thanksgiving mean in a Danish context?
Being new to Denmark, I can only answer based on the little bit I have learned since I arrived just over a month ago. My short answer would be that celebrating Thanksgiving is a very hyggeligt thing to do! This very “cozy” time with family and friends, eating and drinking and being warm by the fire is very much in line with the practice of this holiday in the United States. I plan to add more candles to my future Thanksgivings! (More on hyggeligt later ... and candles are very popular in Denmark.)

But another Danish context relates to something I learned from my American Studies colleague, Jørn Brøndal, about the early Danish settlers in America. He writes about Danish travel writers’ perceptions of the Indians they encountered on their travels, and in one of our classes he talked about how the Danish settlers to the New World participated in the genocide and removal of the Indians alongside other white settlers. So, perhaps the celebration of Thanksgiving also has a deeper meaning in a Danish context! At the very least, my experience so far tells me that the Danes have a lot to be thankful for!