A Matter of Taste: Personal Identity, Aesthetics in Pop Culture, Affects of Streaming, and Guilty Pleasures
March is for mixing it up!
Did you know that in ancient Rome, the new year officially began in March? Because of spring renewal and religious traditions, March was a time to celebrate a new beginning. I don’t know about you, but between an Olympics hangover and still feeling whiplash from that insane season finale of The Traitors, I’m ready for a refresh. I’m jazzed to add some extra flavors to my content repertoire, if you will. Call it a spring cleaning: I can sense we are all psyched to dig into new stories and topics!
In February, our focus here at rmrk*st was on the concept and power of Play. Play is a core tenet of Remarkist; humans form communities around games and playful interaction. So we wanted to explore some of the fascinating aspects of how play functions in societies. During the month of February, two of the biggest sporting events happened: The Super Bowl and the 2026 Winter Olympics. We took this opportunity to examine how the rules of any game make play meaningful, whether it’s the Big Game or a reality show competition like the Traitors or Survivor. Watching events and games together is an experience that builds a strong sense of community, a prime example being every two years when we collectively watch the Olympics. And finally, we looked into how play is a conversation between both players and players and audiences.
And if you missed it, check out our exclusive interview with Matt Browning, author of Gilmore Girls Pop Culture Reference Guide (on sale March 3, 2026). Browning created the ultimate glossary of pop culture mentions in the reference-heavy show we all love. The show has a fanbase that grows year after year, and in March we will be digging into some reasons why we choose the fandoms we do, and how folks shape their pop culture tastes throughout their lives.
So to that end: this month, we are shaking things up–literally! Our theme in March is Taste: the development of it, how it changes over time, and how we form identity around our tastes. We’ll examine aesthetics in pop culture around character, discuss what we mean by guilty pleasures vs. content we feel proud to enjoy, and how modern methods of consuming stories through streaming affects our development of taste. We’ll look at how proximity to content and access affects this development, and what resonates with us as we grow older and have new experiences.
So join us in the conversation: what seasoning are you adding to your content repertoire? How has your taste changed over the years? We can have affection for all kinds of flavors in storyworlds: bland, spicy, salty, sweet, etc. and variety in our tastes is part of why we love enjoying content. Whatever our choices, the makeup of our varied tastes can be really exciting, especially when we find others that share our interests. So hit that subscribe button to make sure every piece is dropped directly into your inbox–we always want to hear your thoughts!
Below is our table of contents. But before you go, we’d love it if you give us a follow on Instagram, and also to John Cabrera for special announcements, events, and musings. You can always find more information about Remarkist on our Discord where we post regular updates about our entire ecosystem.
Inheriting Taste and Building Personal Identity
By: Diana Franco
Taste As Aesthetic: Final Girls, Soft Boys, and Main Character Energy
By: Diana Franco
How Streaming Has Flattened and Expanded Taste
By: Diana Franco
Guilty Pleasures vs Critical Darlings
By: Diana Franco
