By Janelle Monáe. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022. 321 pp. Hardcover [also EPUB]. $28.99. Hardcover ISBN 978-0063070875. Reviewed by Adina Riggins, University of North Carolina Wilmington [PDF Full Text] In April 2022, my smartphone newsfeed turned up an article about Janelle Monáe, an eight-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, who had just published her debut book of fiction, … Continue reading The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer
Category: Pop Culture and Archives
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
By Eva Jurczyk. Naperville, IL.: Poisoned Pen Press, 2022. 336 pp. Softcover [also hardcover]. $16.99 ISBN-13 978-1-7282-3859-3. Reviewed by Caryn Radick, Rutgers University [PDF Full Text] Eva Jurczyk’s debut novel, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, is the second mystery I’ve read in the last year that takes place in the world of … Continue reading The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Creating Your Own History: Archival Themes in The Watermelon Woman
Reviewed by Burkely Hermann, Metadata Librarian, National Security Archive, Washington, DC [PDF Full Text] Note: This review contains some spoilers for the film The Watermelon Woman. An archivist speaks to the film’s protagonist about having a “great system” to organize archival records within the community archive. The Core Values Statement of the Society of American … Continue reading Creating Your Own History: Archival Themes in The Watermelon Woman
Archive 81
https://www.netflix.com/title/80222802 Interview with Camila Zorrilla Tessler, Yale University; Karlie Herndon, University of Mississippi; and Sally Blanchard-O’Brien, Vermont Historical Records [PDF Full Text] In January 2022, Netflix released a new series Archive 81. The streaming television show, based on the horror podcast of the same name, centers on audiovisual archivist Dan as he begins a project … Continue reading Archive 81
Memory and Graffiti: Non-Traditional Archives in Left 4 Dead and Fallout: New Vegas
Reviewed by Myra Khan, Arizona State University [PDF Full Text] The reviewer’s character stands in front of an abandoned casino andhotel in Fallout: New Vegas. When we think about which historical time periods are the most crucial to preserve, rarely, if ever, do we consider apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic periods. After all, the apocalypse is quite … Continue reading Memory and Graffiti: Non-Traditional Archives in Left 4 Dead and Fallout: New Vegas
“It’s All Material, Honey”: Archives as Source of Creative Inspiration in Hacks
https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYIBToQrPdotpNQEAAAEa Reviewed by Elizabeth Kobert, The Frick Collection [PDF Full Text] Hacks, a comedy-drama series released on HBO Max in May 2021, tells the story of two comedians who are forced to work together. Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a has-been stand-up comic modeled on Joan Rivers, needs to update her act to avoid losing her … Continue reading “It’s All Material, Honey”: Archives as Source of Creative Inspiration in Hacks
The Magnus Archives
http://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives Reviewed by Samantha Cross, Editor-at-Large [PDF Full Text] The Magnus Archives is a fictional podcast produced by Rusty Quill. In it Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist for the Magnus Institute, London, reads statements submitted to the archives by those who have experienced something supernatural. The recordings are part of Sims' initiative to bring order to … Continue reading The Magnus Archives
Arizal, Recordkeeping, and the World of Maktaba
Reviewed by Burkely Hermann, National Security Archive [PDF Full Text] Note: Some spoilers for the show Recorded by Arizal What if I told you that an Austin, Texas, animation studio is currently streaming a show about a 16-year-old Filipina who wants to be a record keeper? You might scoff and laugh, declaring that no such show … Continue reading Arizal, Recordkeeping, and the World of Maktaba
An Archivist’s Exploration of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/the-division/the-division-2 Reviewed by Becky Briggs Becker, Editor-at-large [PDF Full Text] When I began writing this review, I thought it was amazing that the video game Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 included a mission to recover the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) building in a virtual Washington, DC, besieged by … Continue reading An Archivist’s Exploration of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Still So Much to Learn: Star Trek and the Archives
This piece is part of our series on archives and popular culture written by Samantha Cross. If you have any ideas for pop culture reviews, or if you’re interested in writing one, please contact the Reviews Portal Coordinator. Samantha Cross is a geek and scholar, so luckily she found a way to combine the two … Continue reading Still So Much to Learn: Star Trek and the Archives
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