That’s the crux of this issue: 2018 may have seen a re-emergence of Americana in the pop culture space, but it’s almost universally suspicious in its attitude towards the traditional aspects of it. We’re clearly in the midst of a cultural shift that’s mirroring our political one, and part of that means a re-shuffling of the elements that make up our identity. Just as Thoreau’s Walden became required reading to understand a certain vision of America, it’s likely that 2018’s pop culture will become the prism through which future generations understand our own current moment. (Lucky for them, it’s a lot less boring.) But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — the definition of Americana has always been fluid. After all, pizza was once considered an ethnic food.