Culture pop | ARTE

Popkultur | ARTE

Pop culture | ARTE

Cultura pop | ARTE

Popkultura | ARTE

Reggae emerged in the 1960s and in 1985 Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng revolutionised the genre. But the riddim of this famous song didn't come from the island - it was written by a Japanese woman, Okuda Hiroko, an employee at Casio.

Japanese Regqae

The riddim of the revolutionary song Under Mi Sleng Teng was created by a Casio employee from Japan. 

Gymnastics

All the laughs you hear in the background on television come from the same device, the Laff Box, invented in the 1950s. It's a sound that's become the hallmark of cheesy daytime TV, as well as iconic sitcoms like Friends. The technique has now fallen out of favour, but for decades it was a TV staple.

Canned Laughter on TV

It's a sound that's become the hallmark of cheesy daytime TV.

A funny person is usually a disturbed person, according to 34% of people surveyed by the Humor Research Laboratory. The stereotypes of the sad clown, depressed comedian, and tortured artist endure, and pop culture is full of recent tragic examples. Are funny people sad?

Are Funny People Sad?

The stereotypes of the sad clown, depressed comedian, and tortured artist endure.

The Codex Seraphinianus is the most mysterious book in the world, full of bizarre drawings and an indecipherable language. It won over prestigious fans such as Roland Barthes, Italo Calvino, Federico Fellini and Tim Burton. Published in 1981, the Codex has become an object of worship: some try to decipher its language and give it meaning; others appreciate it simply because it represents the greatest surrealist work ever made. ARTE asks its author, Luigi Serafini, what's behind his enigmatic work.

The Strangest Book in the World

The Codex Seraphinianus is full of bizarre drawings and an indecipherable language.

Belfast is probably the street art capital of the world. Since the 1970s the city’s murals have represented the heroes, hopes and identities of two divided communities. But since the end of the Troubles, could street art represent reconciliation?

Belfast: Street Art Capital of the World

Belfast is probably the street art capital of the world. Since the 1970s the city’s murals have represented the heroes, hopes and identities of two divided communities. But since the end of the Troubles, street art represent reconciliation?

Brilliant FBI agent and scientist Dana Scully solved supernatural mysteries with her partner Fox Mulder in the TV series The X Files. She had significant influence on an entire generation of young women, inspired to become scientists.

The Scully Effect

The X File's Dana Scully had significant influence on an entire generation of young women

For millennia, people have wondered what constitutes our existence. But could it be that our reality is not real and that, like in the sci-fi movie Matrix, everything is just a simulation?

What if the Matrix Was Real?

Since its invention in the 19th century, the bicycle has allowed Western women to move around independently. Today, it is the turn of women in Arab countries to discover its power. Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist.

The Freedom to Cycle

Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist

The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours. The paints he used were vibrant, but cheap, and degraded within months of painting. It's now impossible to appreciate the true beauty of his works, as his flamboyant flare for colours has slowly turned drab. If nothing is done, the Sunflowers which are still a beautiful gold today could well turn brown. Should we just accept they can't be saved?

Van Gogh's Disappearing Colours

The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours because the pigments used were vibrant but cheap

Walt Disney didn't just dream up his films, Mickey Mouse, and his gigantic amusement parks... He also dreamt of becoming an urban planner. He tried to imagine the city of the future - but its values were strongly anchored in America's racist past.

Walt Disney's City of the Future

Walt Disney: cartoonist, visionary... and urban planner?

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