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.