Popular culture topics like music, movies, books, and art are a staple in any magazine, and work extremely well in a school magazine project. But, where do you start? We suggest you get together with your team and brainstorm ideas for your school magazine project. To help you get started writing, we have compiled a list of pop culture and history article topics for you to use in a school magazine.
Latest music
Look for the latest trends in music by going to Youtube trending music or taking a look at Spotify's official trending chart. Do you recognise any songs or artists? List the songs you like and don't like and explain why. Is there a particular sound that these songs have in common? Why are the songs so popular? While writing about the latest music, you could also choose to write a personal piece on a favourite artist, song, or genre.
Popular movies
Do a quick search of movies that are currently popular and write about the type of movie it is. Why is this movie popular right now? Next, pick a movie that you are most interested in and write about why it interests you the most. What type of movie is it? Then compare your own interests to the movies that are trending. Do you see a correlation or is the difference very large? Do you like the widely known blockbuster hits or prefer the more obscure indie films? There is no wrong answer. Writing about these topics will help you reflect on your own interests and provide some insight on popular movie trends that will interest readers.
Good books
Start browsing popular books lists from websites like Goodreads and Amazon to help you find good books to write about. Goodreads has a popular by date list that show you the most popular books by month and year. While Amazon has a variety of options of book lists, depending on what you are looking for. You can write an article comparing the different lists and seeing which genres seem to be the most popular. Take some time and read through some of the summaries of the top books. Is there a recurring genre or type of story? It is also nice to read through reviews and try to understand why the book is loved or hated.
What is your favourite book? What was the story? Write an article for your school magazine discussing what makes this particular author or book your favourite. What themes are present? What are the characters like? And, what does it mean to you?
Interesting Art
From architecture to graffiti to advertising, art is everywhere. Get your creative writing juices flowing and observe the art surrounding you or visit a museum. Enjoyment of art or what constitutes largely depends on your own taste. What is your story and relationship with art? Don't feel limited by what art is 'supposed' to be. Describe what art means to you and provide a visual next to compliment your article in a school magazine.
Reviews
You could also choose to do an in-depth review for each of the topics above about one of the songs, artists, movies or books you have come across. A review is done by analysing whether or not the subject is any good, and why. Write down why you have chosen the work you're reviewing and explain the criteria you are using. We have experienced the best way to do this is by contrasting the work with another work at the same time. Always keep in mind who your audience is and why they would be interested in reading your review.
Recommendations
What music, movies, books, and art do you recommend? Simply take the ones you enjoyed the most and share recommendations based on why you like them. Try to be persuasive in your writing. Think about how your favourites make you feel and try to write in a way that will entice the reader to want to feel the same way by listening to a song, watching a movie, or reading your favourite book.
