Professor Elam

Not surprisingly skyscraper building is tied to the optimism reflected in the stock market. Just as real estate speculation grew with each move up in the stock market, the desire to 'top' the last skyscraper built is another manifestation of popular culture.

Now were else but Dubai plans a skyscraper two thirds of a mile high.

THis comes as their previous all time effort, a skyscraper three football fields high is scheduled to complete in the next couple of years.  Such projects are of course planned years in advance and take years to complete. And the underlying assumption is that the economic trends that support such optimism will also continue of not accelerate.

Interestingly one of the 'disaster movies' that celebrated the bear stock market of the 1970s was The Towering Inferno. Featuring then big screen stars in their only pairing together, Steve McscQueen and Paul Newman battle a fire in the tallest building in the US.  Such disaster movies, Poseidon, Volcano, etc. seemed to bring the economic difficulties to the big screen as we watch people fight for their very lives in a parallel to the times.

Now wonder the latest HBO series is True Blood, all about mainstreaming vampires. Lately each week another town member has been killed, the ultimate violence. Such programming reflects the popular culture.