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Popular Culture
What does Anne Cranny-Francis mean when she defines popular culture as "a way of operating" and why does she find it a useful definition?
Borrowing from Morris' definition of popular culture, Francis speaks of popular culture as a way of operating. Therefore, whether or not a work of art is considered popular culture is based on how the art is produced and how it is consumed. Something is popular culture because of how it is used within the culture and how it is incorporated into people's lives. Popular culture becomes a way of understanding the society in which one lives.
Curry finds Morris' definition of popular culture as a way of operating useful because it places the emphasis on the relationship between the viewer and the work of art. Francis believes that popular culture is about formulating questions about both the society that exists and the society that people wish existed, and the interrelationships of people in society. However, Francis cautions that one should not assume that all works are given equivalent value within the culture; some cultures maintain distinctions among varieties of pop culture.
Curry believes that the definition of popular culture as a way of operating is the most widely accepted in cultural studies because it avoids the problems raised by alternative definitions. Furthermore, the operating system definition...
Therefore, literary criticism has developed in order to examine the idea of works of arts in relation to their consumption and creation. One aspect of this trend in literary criticism is that the critic of popular culture is not objective or impassive; the criticism of popular culture interacts with the method by which the art is consumed.
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What have been the social and political effects of a distinction between high and popular culture and why does such a definition lack validity?
Traditionally, high culture was the culture of the ruling class, and was tied to the upper levels of the educational system. The categories of high and popular culture presupposed a correlation between culture and class; high culture was aimed at the dominant class and popular culture at the subordinate class. However, because there is no longer a single ruling class or aristocracy, the modern culture system does not have one center. Furthermore, the fact that the methods of production and consumption that were once confined to the elite (such as purchasing books and the ability to read) have become accessible to the masses, the line between high and popular culture has blurred. Therefore, the idea that one type of culture appeals to…
Pop Culture- Compare and Contrast Two Topics From List Below Society has the tendency to promote values that it is familiar with and that most people are likely to identify. The masses thus come to feel that it would be perfectly normal for them to take some things for granted simply because they are considered socially acceptable. Across time literary specialists and philosophers played an active role in trying to understand
Pop Culture Serazio, Michael. "Shooting for Fame: Spectacular Youth, Web 2.0 Dystopia, and the Celebrity Anarchy of Generation Mash-Up." Communication, Culture & Critique 3 (2010) 416 -- 434. In "Shooting for Fame," Michael Serazio argues that the new media environment creates unique opportunities for a vehemently destructive sort of narcissism. Pointing to the Columbine massacre, the Virginia Tech massacre, and the Jokela High School Massacre in Finland, the author claims that the
Pop Culture Project I Am Thin, Therefore I Am Pop culture today places a huge emphasis on being thin. You see it everywhere: in the news, in magazines, on television, on the Internet, and any other kind of media. We are constantly being bombarded with images of impossibly thin women and lean, muscular men, while at the same time, advertisements for diet products are at an all-time high. The combination of these
Pop Culture Artifact: Bacardi's Ugly Friend Ad Campaign Alcohol ads are noted for their misogyny, from simple objectification to actively implying violence toward women. However, these ads are generally targeted at male audiences, designed to engage the male gaze. The Bacardi Breezers "Ugly Friend" ad campaign targeted women, specifically women's insecurities about their physical appearance, using stereotypes of behavior to sell product. Published on the web in 2009, the ad campaign
Pop Culture The most important development in a child is his individual identity. While children are shaping their attitude and identities, most of the times they tend to imitate their ideals and personalities for inspiration. The youth relates to a specific individual or a personality as their role model due to a certain quality or skill that they posses. It is not necessary that the child should look / dress or
American popular culture is about numbing the mind and senses, and deferring responsibility for problems like depression, anxiety, and ill health. For these core reasons, I have become media conscious and aware of the effect that American popular culture has on sheep-like consumers. Because I can no longer tolerate American popular music, I have been increasingly drawn towards truly good and creative artists from all genres. I have a great