In this article, the author describes three strategies they have used to bolster interest and make use of popular culture to enhance readers' interactions with texts: pop culture pairings, musical connections, and multimodal projects. The author addresses the cultivation of pop culture awareness, the importance of multimodal pedagogy, the development of pop culture pairings, and an approach to analyzing visual works other than written texts so that students can draw connections between texts and real-world situations. While current movies, music, TV shows, social media applications, athletes, and even commercials are readily accessible to students, pop culture phenomena can transcend time. The author states, by using these familiar texts in class, they were able to alleviate some of the anxiety that comes with learning a skill like literary analysis. Students feel less anxious about the academic skill sets they are developing when they are working with texts they know, understand, and like. Using examples from the students' lives has the potential to alter their point of view about school and learning and inspire disenfranchised students to engage with material they may otherwise find difficult and "boring."