e187. 4x4ward: Overlanding and the Great Outdoors

When you study “pop culture” people automatically think of the MOST popular media that is available of the day. For us living in 2021, that’s largely superhero movies. Of course, if you listen to this show, you know we also frequently talk about music, TV shows, books and video games. But popular culture is much larger than that. It’s about communities and the ways in which those communities socialize and fetishize specific cultural practices. The most popular of pop culture memes are largely invisible! (By the way, “meme” is a word that predates the way we use it popularly on the internet… it’s what we call a cultural artifact) Often communities are built up around everyday cultural that we almost don’t notice — for instance, the cars we drive and the actitivities we do for fun. Where do you go on vacation? Do a lot of other people go there? What other hobbies do you have? Do you talk about it with a community of others? That’s pop culture! On today’s episode, Katya and Mav are joined by two members of the Overlanding community to talk about their awareness of running their own online community devoted to their favorite pastime. Nate Matos and Ben Davis, founders of 4x4ward, to talk about their website, camping, cars, BBQ, the history of recreation, and community. What is overlanding? Join us as Ben and Nate teach us and talk about their awareness of engaging in a cultural experience and how uplifting it can be. Then let us know what you think in the comments below. Citations and Links: * This episode’s Call for Comments* Learn more about 4x4ward from their website* Buy Makeshift Bearings, the 4x4ward photo zine! * Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme* Follow Ben on Instagram: @biendavis* Follow Nate on Twitter: @nate_matos* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick* Follow Katya on Instagram: @justthatnerdkid* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast* Follow us on Instagram: @voxpopcast* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!