There is a clear intersection between popular culture and empathy. We as humans, i think, have a natural inclination toward empathy, but it is becoming more and more difficult for us to do that. It might be thought that popular culture is the last place that one would look to have an empathetic experience, but I believe it is the first place we should be looking.
This video, edited by Laura Snow brings together the past 7 years of the work by the feath3r theory and places it in context.