Professor Elam

Progress in Socionomics references our comments on the Dark Knigth. Click on Fall 2009 to see the full newsletter after you click on the Progress link.

Socionomics seeks to link the causality of popular culture and human emotion with how society views and shapes its responses and reactions to events. It holds that mood shapes events, not the other way round. For example, I have cited numerous incidents the last couple of years that foresaw a declining mood. Movies like The Dark Knight respond and reflect that emotion. Just as people crowded into theaters to watch The Exorcist, billed as the scariest movie ever at the time, they flocked to see The Dark Knight, tag line, the City Has No Hope. It is no mere coincidence that indeed many cities do not have a hope of meeting their financial responsibilities. Now markets and indeed confidence has plunged to new lows not seen in years.