CRITICAL THEORY, FEMINISM AND POPULAR CULTURE: INTERVIEW WITH MARINA CALLONI (by Stefano Marino and Valentina Antoniol)

In this interview with the critical theorist and feminist theorist Marina Calloni, included in an issue of "Popular Inquiry" on Feminism and Pop Culture, we focus on the link between critical theory, popular culture and feminism. We ask Calloni to explain her specific understanding of feminism and feminisms (from a theoretical standpoint) in relation to her way of being a feminist. In this manner, two fundamental teachings of feminism itself are called into play: the importance of positioning, hence the need for recognition of the speaker’s position (primarily political and social) and, at the same time the fact that what is personal is political. In the wake of these reflections, and paraphrasing the famous question “What is the purpose of philosophy?,” we ask Calloni a question that is both politically and ethically important: "What is feminism for?" Finally, we ask Calloni to explain her view on the relation between Theodor W. Adorno and feminism, and her view on Adorno's concept of the culture industry, also apropos of products of pop culture that attempt to express a feminist message and content.