Popular Culture

     This semester we learned a lot about "popular culture." So what is it? That's a good question. My best answer to you would be that it consists of the things that affect/reflect on the state of the society as a whole. "Popular culture" affects/reflects the views, morals, needs, wants, and ideals of the society. It does this mainly through the mass media. Things such as the news, television, film, porn, and advertising show the views that our society feels are important and thus influences our views on what is important.
     It is important to have some understanding of "popular culture" in order to find the meaning in many of the things happening in our society today. With recent advances in technology we are quickly approaching a sensory overload and it is more important than ever to be able to make sense of the countless messages you receive from the media in a day. We are under constant assault from advertisements and media on our phones, the internet, television, and from print sources. The study of popular culture helps you to understand a little about the meanings and messages behind the things you see and experience. While you may still just "go with the flow" most of the time and subconsciously absorb everything, it's important to understand that some things are deeper than face value in order to analyze them and make responsible decisions in your life instead of just doing what everyone else does.
     A larger understanding of "popular culture" will then allow you to examine the things that are prevalent in our society to understand the views and morals of the society as a whole. This is important if you want to understand where we are, where we've been, and where we're heading. It's very possible that with the increases in crudity, desensitization to violence, and encroachment of new technologies in our lives, you may not like where we're going. You first have to understand those things if you want to make and changes. That's why the study of "popular culture" is important. Otherwise, you may as well be part of the herd.

The Daily News

     In his article "All I Know is what I Read in the Papers," Chuck Klosterman talks about all the reasons people claim they hate the media. Klosterman feels people have a right to hate the media, but most people hate it for the wrong reasons. He explains a little bit about how the media machine really works and how most things come down to deadlines and timing. By doing so he gives some examples of what would make very good reasons to hate the media. I, however, have another, THE NEWS!
     Last week in class we watched an episode of the NBC Nightly News. I found that the news has really become about 20 minutes of useless info that interests a small minority of the people who are reached by it. Many of the stories covered were just curiosity pieces with no real impact on peoples lives. One of the most covered stories was the Powerball Jackpot. Although interesting, outside the one or two people in the country who would win, that story provided no real useful information to anyone and it was not going to impact their lives outside the few who went out and threw away money on tickets because of the publicity the jackpot was receiving. Another story was about Obama and Romney having dinner at the White House. What real value or impact did that news have for the average person watching the news?
     The worst story I saw was the story about the Mars Rover discovering something on Mars. They teased that it could be something big that would find it's way into the history books. They spent time speculating on what the find could be and questioning consultants, all the while having no clue what was found because NASA wasn't releasing the findings until the next week. This is a great example of a curiosity piece used as filler.
     The only story I saw that most people needed to know due to it's potential impact on them or their loved ones was the story on Medicare. The story was covered at the beginning of the broadcast. It concerned pending legislation to raise the age of qualification for Medicare benefits. The topic seemed well researched and presented to the public. After that though it was mostly filler. And that's why I hate the media, wasting my time with so-called news that has no real impact on my life. The majority of news stories are just curiosities that I don't need to know.

Young Witches and Wizards Unite!

     For our last class assignment we read an insightful and informative article by Chuck Klosterman titled "Sulking with Lisa Loeb on the Ice Planet Hoth." In the article Klosterman detailed how the film trilogy Star Wars took the world by storm and influenced a generation. People were caught up in the spectacle of the movies, seeing them multiple times, buying merchandise, dressing as characters, and modeling themselves after the characters in the films. I believe mass media has provided us with a similar cultural force in the Harry Potter franchise that is having a similar impact on the current generation.
     Harry Potter started off as a book series. It caught fire and quickly gained a large following that only increased in an explosion of popularity as more books were released. Unlike most books the series was constantly re-released as special editions and boxed sets while the series was being completed. The books were transformed, while the series was still being written, into a motion picture franchise that became a blockbuster. People turned out in droves to see the films and the series did incredibly well. The movies received similar treatment to the books. Each came available on dvd when released, but were being constantly repackaged as special editions and box sets as each film was released.
     With the success of both the film and book series, merchandising became a lucrative venture for the franchise. You could buy any number of collectibles seen or used by the characters in the films. You could buy costumes to dress as your favorite characters. Video games, toys, theme park rides, almost nothing was immune from being touched by the Harry Potter franchise. It has enveloped our culture to such a point that references to many of the characters in the films are considered to be common knowledge, things everyone should know and understand, fans of the series or not. Star Wars defined the last generation, we have Harry Potter.

Reality TV

     This week we read an article by Chuck Klosterman on the subject of reality television. In the article, Klosterman makes the case that reality tv, which was supposed to reflect reality, is actually affecting reality and turning reality into a reflection of it. He feels that this is being done in the ways that people's personalities are changing. Klosterman feels that people on reality tv have been distilled into one-dimensional personalities (i.e. the black guy, the gay guy, etc.). This has affected how people act in the real world. Many people are starting to act in the personality and character achetypes they see on tv, and are becoming shallow and one-dimensional themselves.
     I believe media is affecting people's behavior in other ways as well. They're making fashion decisions that affect how they dress and what brands they wear based on what they're told is cool or fashionable by advertisers and celebrities. People belong to book clubs and read certain books just because celebrities like Oprah say they should. I believe popular culture has such a wide effect on people for a couple reasons. First, they think they things that are broadcast to millions of people are automatically cool, to be desired, and are perfectly acceptable to emulate. People are also gullible enough to do things just because a celebrity says. They do so either to fit in and be part of the "cool" group, or because they blindly think famous people know better than them.

Music: Rap vs. Country

     This past week we discussed popular music in class. The two forms we discussed, rap and country, are vastly different. They seek different audiences and represent disparate cultures and ways of living. Despite all their diffences though, there are a couple of ways that rap and country music are very similar.
     The first way these two genres are similar is that lyrics are very important to both forms of music. The subject matter of the two genres are very different, but the lyrics are important to each genre's success. With rap, the lyrics tend to revolve around sex, violence, wealth, and misogyny. These lyrics play a large role in the genre's attraction to it's fan base. It's been said that one of the reasons the artist Eminem is so popular is that his lyrics are so clear and easily understood. With country music, the lyrics are also very important. It's been said that the lyrics in country music are "highly specific but secretly universal." That means the lyrics refer to a certain thing or even,t but those listening identify the lyrics with their own personal experiences or easily understand the experience being portrayed.
     The second way these genres are similar is the need for authenticity in their artists. Fans of country and rap each want artists who have "been there, done that" and epitomize the fans view of what a star in that genre should be. In rap music, artists try to portray themselves as bad boys; thugs, gang members, criminals, etc. There is a need to "keep it real" and "represent" in order to build and maintain their fanbase. With country music, artists need to represent the country ideals. Country music fans don't want slick artists who grew up in the big city. They want country boys, cowboys. Almost all the popular country musicians you see reflect this, wearing blue jeans and cowboy hats.
     As you can see, country and rap are different. They both are very popular though for some of the same reasons. The only difference is the content and messages that each form of music try to deliver to their fans.

Digital Nation

     This week in class we watched the documentary "Digital Nation." The documentary concerned how much technology is impacting our lives. The documentary covered both positive and negative effects that people feel technology is having on people and society. Three main points that were covered in the documentary were; living faster, relationships, and virtual worlds.
     The documentary covered how technology is speeding up our lives and causing us to live faster. One study covered in the documentary focused on the increase of multi-tasking in students. A growing number of students are attempting to do multiple tasks at a time. For example, sitting in a lecture with their laptop, listening to the lecture, taking notes, watching a video, and checking texts on their phone. The study found that these so called "multi-taskers" were actually doing each task poorly compared to doing one task at a time, therefore showing they were not really effective at multi-tasking. Some argue that all the new technology in our lives is leading us to sensory overload and that new technology is outpacing our efforts to research it's effects on society.
     Another topic covered was relationships. Many people argue that technology has led to a distance and alienation in most relationships. For example, people used to meet face-to-face to talk and socialize. With phones, then even more with cell phones, people started talking long-distance without the social interaction of face-to-face contact. Now many people only communicate by text-based methods like texting and e-mail. The documentary also represented people who feel technology is beginning to help relationships. They claim technology gives people who feel the urge to connect to other people the ability to do so. People can reach out to friends and family in distant locales and maintain a relationship that would have been near impossible previously. With online video, you are starting to be able to have that intimacy of being face-to-face and seeing and hearing the other person.
     The last main topic I saw was virtual worlds. A lot of the documentary covered the dark side of the issue. It claimed that playing video games is highly addictive and had led to the creation of classes to teach computer usage and etiquette, as well as rehabilitation programs for video game addicts. That is a potential downside. On the upside, video games give people access to a highly immersive and powerful vicarious life. Video games give you the ability to do, and experience, things that you may never be able to experience in real life. For some, this is no more than entertainment. For others, it allows them to unleash frustrations with real life in a more healthy way than doing those things in reality.
     "Digital Nation" showed that technology is moving fast. We have no choice but to adapt. It is only going to become more integrated in our lives in the future.

Masculinity and Violence

     This week in class we discussed masculinity and violence. What makes a man masculine? Some would say rugged good looks, tall, muscular, athletic, rough, tough, etc. One of the subjects we discussed as a symbol of masculinity was the "Marlboro Man." He has been used in television and print ads for decades to sell cigarettes and has been successful due to the symbols of masculinity people apply to him. First of all, he's a cowboy. Most people think of cowboys as tough and self-sufficient. They also generally think of cowboys as rugged and handsome. These are just some of the qualities often used to define masculinity.
     We also discussed the prevalence of violent content in mass media. The two articles we read had opposing view on the impact this violent content had on our youth. One article felt that our youth were being harmed by the violence in TV, movies and games. This harm came in an increase in violent acts and a desensitization to violence. The other article felt that there were other factors that were to blame than violent media. They felt poverty, parenting, and other factors played a bigger role.
     One thing is clear about violence and masculinity. That is the fact that mass media often uses violence to define masculinity. Look at all action movies. It is usually a large, muscled tough guy in the lead role. Every Arnold Schwarzenegger film is built around violence, and I doubt you would find anyone who would argue that he isn't masculine. In Pulp Fiction, a graphicly violent film, Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta play hit men. They are depicted as rough, tough, no-nonsense types who would be described as very masculine. In media, the maculine guy is the guy who never shies away from a fight, and usually wins.