There’s no grand unifying theme for this week’s column. Sometimes—and only sometimes—reductionism is inappropriate when referencing pop cultural artifacts, because evidence of a particular epoch need not be found within the subtext of obsolete trends and memes. Sometimes—and only sometimes—we can look at a pop cultural artifact as its own phenomenon. It remains both timeless and past its expiration date. The best of these become irrelevant the moment they enter public consciousness. With immediate irrelevancy, the pop cultural artifact stops aging. It’s born as an ant trapped in amber, preserved for future generations to marvel at its differences and similarities with contemporary cousins.