A critical theory with an emancipatory aim can find a lung of regeneration today in popular cultures, or what is better called ordinary cultures (detective novels, songs, cinema, TV series, etc.) in the wake of Stanley Cavell’s work. This involves going through a cross-border dialogue between "language games" (Wittgenstein). Three cases are treated: a French folk song (Envole-moi), an American TV series (American Crime) and a British-American-Irish film (Disobedience). The resources drawn from these cultural products can help to confront the current wave of ultra-conservative identity-making in France, Italy, Europe, United States (and so on) by having affinities with a politics of being openness inspired by Emmanuel Levinas.
Keywords: Conservatism; Critical Theory; Emancipation; Emmanuel Levinas; Popular Cultures