USC experts can discuss ghost stories, costume faux pas and Halloween deals
Contact: Andrew Good at 213-740-8606 or gooda@usc.edu.
YOU CAN’T BURY A GOOD GHOST STORY
Tok Thompson of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is an expert in folklore, ghost stories and the Internet. He can comment on the role ghost stories play in culture and why they persist in a secular, technologically-driven society.
“Ghost stories linger at the nexus of entertainment and belief, allowing a way for people to negotiate their own beliefs in a social setting. They continue to haunt us with the past that refuses to go away (such as slavery, bloody wars, atrocities, murders, etc.). As such they continue to contain moral and social lessons for everyone, as well as commenting on the possibility of an afterlife.”
Contact at: (213) 740-5195 or tokthomp@usc.edu.
SOMETIMES COSTUMES AND INSTAGRAM DON’T MIX
Johanna Blakley of the USC Annenberg School is an expert in celebrity culture, social media and fashion. She can discuss Halloween costume faux pas, including Julianne Hough’s recent costume designed to look like the character Crazy Eyes from “Orange is the New Black.”
“Julianne Hough’s decision to use black face to dress up like the character Crazy Eyes in ‘Orange is the New Black’ seems like exactly the kind of bad decision that Piper Chapman, the naive white protagonist of the show, would make. Chapman repeatedly misunderstands the racial and sexual dynamics in prison, often to comical effect. Hough looks a lot more like [actress] Taylor Schilling dressing up like Crazy Eyes than she looks like Crazy Eyes herself. If only she were aiming to make such a subtle point about being racially tone-deaf.”
Contact at: (213) 821-1344 or blakley@usc.edu.
TRICK-OR-TREATING IS GOOD BUSINESS
Ira Kalb of the USC Marshall School is an expert in branding and marketing. He can comment on the rise of Halloween sales promotions like restaurants offering giveaways to kids in costume.
“It’s a great way to get families into restaurants on a day when they normally do not go out to eat.”
Contact at: (310) 829-9790 or ikalb@marshall.usc.edu.
