Bradley Cooper would very much like an Oscar. If you’ve been paying attention to Hollywood at any point over the last five years, you know this. It’s evident in the films he makes, the way he talks about them, the cheesesteak food truck he opened for a weekend to keep himself in the press cycle. There’s nothing wrong with wanting an Oscar — what actor doesn’t want one?! — but what happens when that desire becomes the overarching theme of your entire image? The dominant way the public understands you?The great Sam Sanders joins the pod to talk about Cooper’s star image, Hollywood masculinity, and the Tracy Flick of it all.[If you’re familiar with Culture Study/my work/Sam’s work, you’ll recognize this type of star image analysis — if not, a reminder that we’re talking about what Cooper means, not trying to be mean.]Show Notes:The Tracy Flick of it allIf seven-year-old celebrity gossip is your thing, listen to the conversation Sam and I had about my book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too LoudBradley Cooper serving cheesesteaks was a real thingBradley Cooper asking Robert De Niro a question from within the audience in Inside the Actors StudioBradley Cooper’s episode of Smartless, in which he tells his story of getting soberThe scene from Alias that was sexiest thing 13-year-old Melody had ever seenTaffy Brodesser-Akner’s iconic profile, Bradley Cooper Is Not Really Into This ProfileAllie Jones’s excellent piece on Bradley Cooper’s Oscar WomenSam Sanders talking soft news versus hard news on Las CulturistasListen to Vibe Check!!!We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:Online shopping culture, including but not limited to people’s reliance on reviews and/or compulsion to leave reviewsStudent loans— how we talk about them, think about them, take this wherever you wantThe romance novel boomAnything you need advice on!You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (and here’s the subscriber-only priority form)For today’s discussion: What is your theory about Cooper’s whole deal? What confuses you, what beguiles you, what makes you have soft or hard or annoying feelings about him?