Pop Culture Essays (Examples)

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 the way that particular ideas are introduced to the public and how people end up believing that these respective ideas need to be respected as a result of eventually coming to identify their culture with them.

Brief explanation of the first work

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's "Why Vampires Never Die" discusses with regard to the concept of a vampire and about how it came to be an essential element in artistic works created during the last century or more. The…

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 attacks are both "premeditated," in the traditional sense that their perpetrators planned the attacks; and "premediated," in the sense that the acts were "prepackaged," as Serazio puts it (425). The media was instrumental to the message and the massacres. The act of premediation also suggests that the perpetrator choreographs movements and actions to make them media ready and therefore celebrity-ready. Celebrity consciousness creates narcissism, distorted ideals, skewed role modeling, and also egomania. Therefore, "Shooting for Fame" discusses the violent repercussions…

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. e 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 two things, always being thrown at us in the media we see, can lead many people to believe that these models and actors, who are paid to be thin (and often airbrushed for print media to look more thin than they really are), are the norm and the ideal for society. If we want to fit in and be normal, media tells us, we must be thin or we are irrelevant. Society loves thin people, while it ignores everyone else.…

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. he 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 featured an interactive website that allowed women to choose their "ugly friend" for various situations, read stats about the friend, and even comment on Facebook pages created for them. It was located through searching for alcohol advertisements, due to the highly sexist and frequently controversial nature of alcohol ads. Given the prevalence of alcohol use in American culture, the way in which it is sold is highly telling as to the ways in which advertisements target their markets. his ad…

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 copy all the qualities of his hero, they can just select the attributes which suit them best and the ones they can relate, hence applying those skills or attributes to themselves. For example, the Supreme Court judge uth Bader Ginsberg may not have a direct influence on girls and women to become lawyers and subsequently judges, but her being there makes other female believe that it's a possibility too (Gibson & Cordova, 1999).

This is the ongoing pop culture, where parents…

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 appreciation for rap and hip-hop but not the drivel being played on MTV. Instead, I have become aware of underground labels and artists such as Cannibal Ox. I have been listening to good classic rock and not the types that Clear Channel-owned radio stations play over and over to the masses. American popular music is, like American fast food, commercialized drivel that has no soul. People with taste have to work harder to find what is good and worth listening…

Pop Culture Device in the Future
In this world of expanding technology, individuals are frantically trying to keep up with the latest technological trends. One of the latest technological trends is the iPad, a tablet that combines the capabilities of the majority of Mac devices into a single device approximately .37 inches in depth, 1.44 pounds in weight, and 9.5 inches in height (iPad, 2013). An iPad is designed to be similar to other touchscreen Mac products such as an iPod Touch or iPhone, features a single home/menu button at the bottom of the screen, an earphone jack, volume up and down buttons, and either a 30-pin traditional connector or a Lightning connector to charge the device (iPad, 2013). The iPad has the ability to surf the web, take pictures and capture video, watch movies via apps like Hulu and Netflix, and listen to music using iTunes or other music services.…

N.C.I.S. reflects this particular aspect of contemporary American society as well. That is why the particular job of Gibbs and his co-workers is so important -- as federal agents, they deal with issues of terrorism on a national, and in some cases even international, level. Early on in the show's history during its second season, a Federal Bureau Investigations agent by the name of Vivian Blackadder was involved in counteracting the effects of a terrorist operation in Spain. This particular episode demonstrated the fact that in many ways, N.C.I.S. is chronicling the most important societal issues in America today. Also, it is worth noting that the particular episode referenced in this paragraph took place not long after the destruction of the World Trade Center. Thus, the show actually portrays the important sociological issues that people are concerned about. Moreover, by doing so it allows people to visualize and contextualize…

The American Idol is "an annual American televised singing competition which seeks to discover the best young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions." The show is engaged with real people with real emotions. Contestants of the show may belong or may come from different age groups or different race, or either they came from different towns or cities, thus defining what culture or way of life they have.
In a specific episode of the show, a controversy arose during the semi-finals during the season three that involved the three highly praised African-American contestants, Jennifer Hudson, La Toya London and Fantasia arrino. There had been an instance where everybody was been surprised because of the elimination of Jennifer Hudson. During the elimination, a guest judge for that season, Sir Elton John criticized the voting as "incredibly racist" (Yahoo, 2004). This statement that arose from such occurrence can…

pop culture and high culture are and how can you relate them?
Say the words 'high culture' and almost immediately the first images that spring to mind are those of Shakespearean acting and opera. We see Twilight as pop culture, but Romeo and Juliet and Carmen as great art. However, when Shakespeare wrote his plays, he wrote for a mass audience, not literary critics. In fact, some of his most enthusiastic fans were 'groundlings,' or people who listened to his plays on the ground seats of the theater. Opera was once considered popular music when it was first produced, even though it is almost always performed in lavish, costly, venues today. Clearly, the original intention of the author is not what makes something 'high' or 'low'-brow culture. However, because so many decades separate us from the vocabulary, stage conventions, and associations of Shakespeare and Bizet, these works are now considered…

The hip-hop culture has brought about many changes in the business world and specifically in terms of companies who employ ethnic minorities. Reese (1998) states: "One of the many positive side effects of the hip hop culture is that it encourages corporations to recruit a diverse cadre of individuals. Hence, recruiting minorities who have the pulse of this culture becomes an imperative. The African-American market alone has $325 billion in buying power. A myriad of organizations that appeal to the hip hop culture have diversified for competitive advantage. It makes good business sense. For example, half of Universal Music Group's employees are minority. This organization is number one in market share in the U.S., Europe, Latin American and Australia. The record label's overall market share is 23% globally and 25% in the U.S." Therefore, it is easy to understand how powerful an impact hip-hop culture may potentially have on…

Introduction Whether it is film, fashion or even music, pop culture not only has mass appeal, but also general acceptability. For ages, music has been a key aspect of pop culture. Today, music is a crucial component of our everyday life and towards this end, it comes in formats and forms that are as diverse as its audience. Thanks to the special bond or connection that people have with music, they tend to develop a cult-like affinity to the composers of such music. Thus, the listening audience becomes drawn to celebrity musicians – and soon enough, the said celebrities are elevated to a deity status. The listening audience starts pegging all its hopes, aspirations, and dreams on these mortal composers of popular music; with the obvious result being celebrity worship. In addition to occasioning significant damage to the moral fabric, celebrity worship also infects the collective conscience of the society and…

Reflection Popular culture and values inform people on what to hold as important in their own lives. They are informed by what they see and hear on social media—i.e., their peers and groups that they interact with. As Bandura (2018) points out, people’s behavior and thoughts are influenced by media, peers and groups. The values that people have are thus shaped by what they come across in popular culture, which is exactly what Adorno and Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School taught in their analysis of the culture industry. They asserted that popular culture was shaped to keep the public thinking and behaving in a specific manner, to be comfortable with the status quo and to keep them from questioning new ideas or alternatives to their present situation.
One example of popular culture that really appeals to people today is Star Wars. When Star Wars first came out in the 1970s, it was…

The theory of culture industry, developed by the Frankfurt School (Horkheimer & Adorno, 1944), explains that popular culture is the result of a culture industry in the West that seeks to maintain control over the minds and hearts of the working class in order to prevent social uprising against the ruling elite. In effect, the culture industry is the tool of the ruling classes in that what is produced has an effect like that of an opiate: it removes the desire of the working class to strive for control of the means of production, which is what Marx and Engels (1848) called for in their Communist Manifesto. The Frankfurt School consisted of neo-Marxists who were disappointed to see that the workers’ revolution failed to transpire and that the class warfare that Marx had predicted never came to fruition. The Frankfurt School went on to explain that the failure of the…

Neandertals and Humans in Popular Culture Neandertals and “Cro-Magnon” (early AMH) have long held the popular imagination. From Boule’s unfortunate depiction of the old man at La Chappelle as a stopped, brooding primitive, to the tyranny of the Paleodiet, pop culture is frequently drawing attention on our hominin cousins and early forms of our species to make sense of our place in the world. This paper provides a critical analysis of Neandertals and humans in the popular culture. This critical analysis will be based on the film The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), which is one of the films that provides a representation of pop culture of Neandertal and/or anatomically modern humans. Peer reviewed journal articles relating to the topic will also be incorporated in this critical analysis of the film’s depiction of Neandertals, AMH, and their interactions.
Film Depictions of Neandertals and AMH
The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986) is…

Working Class Whites," pop culture and the media seem to stereotype the entirety of working class white people as either "good country folk" or "white trash." They act a kind of scape goat for society and its uncivilized folk. White people belonging to lower classes therefore carry the weight of negative connotations often associated with the population of working class white people. Upper classes on the other hand are not shown in a negative light like working class people and therefore believe that if one is lower class they are uncivilized versus upper class, which are civilized.
One example of the white working class and all the negative connotations associated with it is the new CBS American sitcom, "Mom." Here audiences see a single mom who lives with her single mother and is a recovering alcoholic. She is shown as being a bad mother overall and someone who is incompetent…

Lindsay-Lohan-hires-private-detective-delve-background-psychic-took-Gloria-Allred-Represent-assault-case.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
It is impossible to read any newspaper's entertainment section this week and not read something about Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay Lohan encapsulates Marshall's concept of celebrity as requiring a "relatively stable media system," (634). Moreover, the news items related to Lindsay Lohan show how celebrities do fit the characteristics of being "out of control" with many "scandals" and lots of "gossip" (Marshall 634). Celebrity culture feeds the media, and the media feeds celebrity culture. As Marshall puts it, the relationship is "symbiotic," (634). One needs only to remember the way the paparazzi were responsible for the death of Lady Diana to understand how the relationship between the media and celebrity culture is an unhealthy one. Moreover, the reader, even without being familiar at all with Lindsay Lohan, celebrates her staunch individuality by identifying with her, and transforming the self via a vicarious look into the future because the article is…

Cable television also opened up the medium to numerous types of television programming that had previously been excluded, simply because it could never have competed with the demand for mainstream types of programs during the same time slot.

Initially, cable television was only available in the largest markets like New York and Los Angeles and it was priced out of the range of most consumers. The technology also required a cable connecting the television to the channel box, which often was the size of small dinner platter. Within a few years, the technology advanced to the point of providing microwave remote controls that were no larger than those already included with many television sets.

The addition of virtually unlimited available channels resulted in the creation of dozens of specialty-interest program content such as cable television channels dedicated exclusively to history, science, nature, sports, politics, and comedy, to name just several.

In no small…

Abnormal Psychology:pop Culture
Abnormal Psychology: Pop Culture

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Abnormal Psychology: Pop Culture

In asking the question of what abnormal psychology is really supposed to be, it makes sense that we must first quickly think about the very definition of our word "abnormal . By all rights, is a remarkably puzzling word that is very dependent on what is called "normality . Both terms may justifiably change fundamentally from one era to another and one culture to a different one. How then do we choose upon what is abnormal and what is normal? Of course, this is much more of a philosophical issue than a psychological one. For logical reasons of practicability, it is essential to generate an approximately uniform definition of abnormal psychology that we can more or less decide upon as a cluster of caregivers. This general definition would obviously be typical in its nature, but the shared definition of the…

Japanese Pop Culture
There can be no denying the power of America in twentieth century in Japan's cultural landscape. For Japanese, America has served as a model for both emulation and contrast." (Craig) But in this instance, the pupil is becoming the teacher. Americans seem to be energized by being exposed to Japanese culture via this innocent exchange of pop culture and commerce. Many young Americans are taking martial arts and Japanese language lessons and Asian studies in college has become perfectly normal major while the sale of white rice wrapped with seaweed as a snack doesn't sound so bad anymore.

Japanese comics are also migrating into the United States. This report will discuss both the Japanese and American cultural differences that could be leading to this fad. Today, comic books have changed in the sense of how they are used as entertainment tools. Comics are not just for kids anymore, especially…

Popular Culture in the Classroom
From the wide range of materials teachers can use in the classroom, popular culture is one of the best sources. They appear to public attention as the indication of the rapid growth of the society. Many of the pop culture icons are mostly well-known, regionally and internationally. Students enjoy working with pop culture that they are familiar with. Some of them think that such materials are less intimidating than heavy textbooks. With appropriate use and organized application, the pop icons can be remarkable teaching tools in the classroom. eading sources and mass produced resources are widely available in all seasons, giving teachers plentiful options.

Despite the 'pop' reputation, the community does not need to worry that these materials would wreck the traditional schooling rules. Modern people are quite erudite to recognize popular culture items more than just as second-class articles. In fact, the culture symbols were…

Eastern eligion, Eastern Mysticism, And Magic
Influence the Pop Culture in America

Eastern religion" - also alluded to in this paper as "Eastern Mysticism" and "mysticism" - and the occult, along with magic and its many off-shoots have had a considerable influence on American Pop Culture over the past few decades. Movies, books, music - all have been touched and enhanced by mysticism and its cousins. So, when referring to "Eastern religion," this paper is generally alluding to the ancient religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and other spiritual genres.

It is also important to be clear on what "occult" truly means; it is a word that comes from the Latin occultus, meaning, literally, "hidden" or "concealed" (Merriam-Webster defines occult as "to shut off from view or exposure"). "Occult" has been equated with Satan, witchcraft, vampires, and other unseemly topics related to death and blood-letting. For this paper's purpose, the occult will be aligned with…

Japan Pop! Popular Idol Analysis
Japanese and Western popular idols vary greatly in their approach to entertainment and popularity. Whereas western popular idols focus on their ability to express their unique and individual personas, Japanese popular idols typically aspire to relate to community members and build a sense of rapport and camaraderie with fellow community members. In Western societies, typically fame within the pop culture is attributed to and individuals ability to stand out in a crowd. In Japan however, the phrase "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down" refers to the disdain that popular idols and other performers receive for standing out in a crowd. Japanese popular idols are in fact, encouraged to blend into the crowd rather than stand out from it.

In Japan performers are encouraged to in fact, blend in with the crowd; those that emphasize the needs and well being of community members are more cherished…

Japan Pop!
History of Japanese Pop Culture

The Japanese introduced Karaoke in the mid-1970s, and many have since argued that this was one of Japan's best known and greatest contributions to the world (Shimatachi, 101). Karaoke in Japan is very different from Karaoke in the United States. In America, Karaoke is viewed primarily "as a kind of talent contest from which the less musically gifted had best abstain" (Shimatachi, 101). Americans commonly go to nightclubs to show off their talents and attempt to win some money in the process. Only those with adequate singing voices are considered serious Karaoke participants. In Japan however, Karaoke is utilized not only as a form of entertainment, but also as an important means with which to conduct business (Shimatachi, 101). Karaoke in Japan is encouraged among all people equally, and is typically carried out as a means to develop camaraderie. These ideas and more are explored…

Ann Art
History of Japanese pop culture

Very often society's views of men and women and their roles in society are reflected in TV and the movies. Television can in fact be considered a medium against which people identify, develop and revise their perceptions of their role as a man or women (Gossmann, 207), and the extent to which they identify with gender roles in society. In Japanese media, gender roles have significantly changed over time, and this change has been for the most part accurately reflected within the media, most notably in the theatre and in television dramas. The most significant shift has been recognition of the need to portray more independent women who is interested in life outside of the home.

Identification and elaboration of gender roles is very evident in Japanese media, particularly television and the movies. Many Japanese women view television as a means to learn about life (Gossmann,…

The very fact that the magazine openly admires men like Ray Liotta, who show depth beyond the typical alpha male and women like Christina Aguilera, who has chosen to use her sexuality rather than being used by her sexuality, demonstrates that the magazine does not even seriously believe that anyone should become the ideal male. On the contrary, the magazines use of stereotype-heavy advertising and writing suggests that the editors believe that men and women should try to incorporate some of the elements of these traditional stereotypes, while retaining their own individualized personalities. Such a position only becomes problematic when a consumer is not sophisticated enough to recognize that there is a distinction between writing about a stereotype and supporting all aspects of that stereotype. For example, violence against women has long been considered acceptable in sexual stereotyping. Maxim does not have articles, advertisements, or photos that glorify violence…

Her journey of self betterment is not connected to her husband, children or society's approval. Her only goal is genuine happiness and inner serenity.
Mary Stuart Masterson's character undergoes a similar transformation, however, her journey is initiated by her willingness to follow the example of another. As a young woman, Idgie has a very self-destructive plan for her life, involving hard drinking, gambling and cheating death whenever possible. When Mary Louise Parker's character enters her life, she is exposed to a woman who is at once self assured, dignified and responsible. Idgie sees this as a better blueprint for living and overtime abandons her earlier philosophy of living hard and not caring. By the end of the movie she is a pillar of consistency in her community and the one people seek out for sage advice.

Bates' and Masterson's characters share similarities that are quite profound in their celebration of women.…

Kanye West's Yeezy Season Three Collections And Subversion Of Dominant Culture
Fashion is something that is thought to be changing with time. The fashion of the ancient times is not the same fashion of today, and the fashion of today has a little chance being the fashion of the times to come. As with the fashion progression in the United States of America, the fashion protagonists, and experts have contributed much to fashion. Fashion remains to be the people's choice and touches on the interests and tastes of the people. In the United States of America, fashion has been a way of life, finding its way almost into everything that involves human beings. The contributions are varied like with those who have progressed with the traditional career of fashion to those who have entered into fashion from other fields of play like Kanye West. In his Yeezy Season Three collections, fashion…

Television Commercials
Although the Internet is the top choice of electronic media for young adults 18 to 24, this age group continues to watch significant amounts of television each week. On an average, these individuals will view between two to five hours of TV a day for entertainment and relaxation. Television advertising thus remains a top priority for marketing purposes, and companies continue to rely considerably on this medium to get across their messages (Carparelli, 2004). Audience ad recognition remains at a high 70%, and viewers actually like commercials more -- especially those that appeal to feelings, use music in a central role, are humorous and tell a story (MTV-3). It is expected that most students in the United States see about 360,000 commercials by the time they graduate high school (Tamburro, 2004).

This comes as no surprise to me. When watching a movie or a TV show, the commercials come on…

The major concern is the effect of violence, due once again, to studies that show a connection between watching violence and participating in it. For example, Bushman and Anderson (2002) conducted as study in which they determined that playing violent video games can "engender hostile expectations, leading one to expect that others will respond aggressively" (p. 1679).
The Grand Theft Auto series of video games has undoubtedly been a major instigator in the backlash against the gaming industry. Not surprisingly, most parents are not too thrilled about the idea of their children taking on the persona of a character who commits crimes to earn rewards, and runs over prostitutes so he doesn't have to pay them. There was also a major parental backlash against the PS2 game Bully before it was released, because parents assumed that it would glorify bullying. The frenzy turned out to be unfounded as the game…

Live Performance: Lana Del Rey
Drawing from the imagery and themes celebrated in "Born to Die," the proposed live performance presents a pastiche of patriotism. An oversized American flag provides an ideal backdrop for a set of songs, during which Lana dons a series of outfits that invoke several different elements of American culture and history including cowboy/western-inspired fringed leather jackets and skirts, elegant but classic denim, and a 1950s/retro look replete with old roller skates. Lana will also use a variety of headdresses and accessories, including her iconic flower crown and also a Kentucky Derby-worthy hat. All outfits and sets juxtapose classically feminine aesthetics, such as the flower crown, with traditional symbols of masculinity including guns and sporting gear. Throughout the set, Lana dances provocatively with both male and female dancers and rides a mechanical bull and a motorcycle on the stage.

Contextual Essay

Lana del Rey epitomizes what Gill calls…

American pop culture has been cultivated and molded by mass media. The recent iteration of mass media, electronic media, has a profound and significant influence on the daily lives, thoughts, perceptions and desires of every single person in the United States, whether people are aware of this influence, or not. The potential for media to influence people has been the subject of much debate since the earliest forms of mass media; newspaper, radio, and television have all contributed to our individual and collective psyche in America. This paper will discuss the roles that music, radio, television, and the motion pictures have played in the development of American popular culture as well as discuss some of the trends propagated by the electronic media and will provide a personal perspective on the relationship between media representations and consumerism, the human body and justice, law, and order.
Bagdikian (2000, pg. 185) notes that…

Culture is defined by the pattern of collective thoughts and behavior that people living in social groups learn, create and share. Characteristics within culture distinguish different groups from each other and highlight key differences between the human world and the animal kingdom. Anthropology emerged as a field of academic study of human culture in order to understand the diversity of the practices and values of different human populations.
With the advent of advanced technology, communication, and media capabilities, widespread globalization has emerged, resulting in an apparent decrease in the difference between cultures throughout the world. The results of this globalization may be observed in the homogeneity of certain aspects of pop culture, mostly due to media such as television and the internet. Although younger generations of people in different countries on different continents appear to behave similarly in a lot of respects, the question should be addressed as to whether…

Popular Culture
Folk culture refers to the collection of "songs, tales, proverbs, jokes" that reflect a specific segment of society -- and can often refer to the expressions of marginalized groups like African-Americans. Popular culture is more mainstream, and is fabricated and consumed by the dominant culture. It would include newspapers, magazines, and books propagated throughout a country, as opposed to folk culture, which would be localized (either geographically or, if the group is geographically spread out, culturally). According to Levine, popular culture is "seen as the antithesis of folk culture."[footnoteef:1] There is also an impression that popular culture lacks the authenticity of folk culture in capturing the spirit of the people. As Levine puts it, popular culture does not emanate from the community but is created artificially for consumption by the community and usually with financial motives. For historians and other researchers, popular culture, "if it has to be invoked…

ichard Hertz writes that paintings like this reflect "the aspirations of ordinary people" and that is consistent with the demands for "rapid change on the part of the population at large, in the interest of what is ludicrously referred to as economic growth or well-being." What Hertz seems to be saying is art with popular imagery as a focus deals with things "everybody thinks about." Which is not to say "everybody" thinks about cool sprinklers and thick green lawns; but everybody does dream of owning property and many also dream of that property being in lotus land - Southern California.
Another Hockney painting is a very recent and huge venture called "Bigger Trees Near Water." In this work, Hockney has given his audience the biggest painting he has ever done in his entire career. The painting went on display at London's oyal Academy of Art in 2007. At its unveiling,…

Houston, young and beautiful, and the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, niece of the famous singer Dione Warwick, and God Daughter of soul queen Aretha Franklin; emerged to fame at age 15 with Life's a Party single in 1979 (Bronson, Fred, 2002, p. 52). But her real fame came in 1983, after she signed with a manager, Clive Davis. She went on to release many major hits; in fact, nearly every song she ever sang became a hit; songs like Saving All My Love for You, Where do Broken Hearts Go, and Greatest Love of All; all hitting the top of pop music radio and sales charts (p. 52).

After having gained such fame and recognition during the 1980s, Houston even made The Star Spangled Banner a hit when she sang it at the opening of the 1991 Superbowl. However, like Boy George, during the 1990s Houston began a spiral…

Culture and media cannot be separated and hence advertising has a strong impact on culture and vice versa. It is interesting to see how media influence behavior and at the same times, accepts cultural changes and reflects the impact through advertising. One major example of this is the use of wireless communication. With increase in use of all wireless devices like ipods, iPhones and cell phones, the advertising has also taken on a new meaning ad method. Mobile advertising is now a common phenomenon where people get offers and deals even simple advertising messages through their wireless devices.
This shows how cultural changes impact advertising and how advertising in turn affects cultural trends. Advertising serves a very important purpose whether we admit it or not. It allows us to choose from a wide variety of alternatives. But what happens when advertising becomes a little too invasive. There is a good chance…

Global Culture
I find the idea that the world is becoming homogenized to American culture to be parochial, offensive and ill-formed, the product surely of American thinking. Nobody from any other culture would see the world in that light, because they are actually informed about the non-American world. Writers arguing in favor of the idea that the world is becoming homogenized to American culture are laughably ill-informed. They make heroic errors in judgment in their arguments. The reality that there is some evidence of globalization, but only in the most superficial ways has this actually made its influence. Consider a moment the supposition that food and entertainment are changing -- not only is this a great leap but food and entertainment are rather superficial when one considers the depth and breadth of individual cultures.

The first thing to point out is that culture runs rich and deep. America is an outlier in…

Levine centers on popular culture and how it is an adequate mechanism in comprehending Depression America. The writer attempts to get away from austere adjective labels as often as possible. He notes that while culture may not be seamless, it is integrated or connected. The piece asks for the reader to re-evaluate a long history of preconcevied notions and images that prevent the serious study of popular culture. The image of the strictly docile, non-aggressive mass audience and the endless amount of consumption defines pop culture in the eyes of academics. Popular culture is percevied as purely formulaic.
The idea that popular culture was and still is "escapist" and the concept that popular culture is not considered to be cutting edge on knowledge or style creates the belief it is not an art form or does not represent art. ut what is popular culture? Popular culture is in its simplest…

The level of access that a blind person can hope to achieve from these otherwise important pop culture resources will be somewhat lessened when contrasted to the experience of sighted individuals. As a result of this reality, there "is growing concern about a 'digital divide'. This divide [...] refers to the space between those who access, and therefore use, new technologies and those who do not" (Blair, 2006).
Of course, significant strides are being made to harness the technical wonders of modern pop culture in order to help blind people better navigate this new world. For instance, the ubiquitous cell phone has been appropriated to create the "smallest text-to-speech reading device ever built, a device especially useful for people with impaired vision" (Greenfieldboyce, 2008). This technology allows blind people to snap pictures of objects with their phones, which are then analyzed by the phone software to interpret to the text…

ports and popular culture (NFL/NBA)
Prelude

Pop Culture

Popular culture entails all forms of mass communication such as:

Newspapers

Radio

Magazines

Music

Books and Cartoons and comics

Advertising

It is somewhat different compared to higher forms of cultural art such as:

Classical music

Artworks

Conventional theatre

In terms of mass communication, popular culture means messages which are intellectually and artistically limited primarily designed to entertain and humor the viewers (Hollander, 2014). Following the industrial revolution, the people had a lot of time to spare which led to a huge demand for entertainment and amusement and gave height to media. The increasing supply of goods also made it necessary for the advertisers to attract the consumers and mass media could reach a large number of audiences at the same time (Hollander, 2014).

ports

The physical activities have always been in the life of human beings in the form of different leisure activities. These activities consisted of hunting and war-like nature as well as dancing and other activities.…

Increasingly, the majority of black outh Africans became disillusioned with the political system and those ruling it. In the opinion of many, they had simply traded one form of oppression for another - they are now exploited not only by white rulers, but also by those who are black (Clark, 2007). This is expressed in the current forms of outh African Hip Hop. Artists working against the apartheid of the past are now working against the exploitation of the poor.
In addition to being politically oriented, Hip Hop also focuses on the African enjoyment of dancing. The earliest forms of this, also advertised and accepted via the media, included break dancing. Currently, outh African Hip Hop has evolved to a form of house music called kwaito. This music is very popular among the black youth, whether oppressed or not. As such, it is a well established form of music in…

Pop Art on Society
During the fifties, America experienced tremendous growth in many aspects of society. As a result, technological advancements led to sophisticated aspects of American life. Media and advertising became mass media and the invention of the television paved the way to a new generation of communication. This was also an era of exploration among generations. Traditional forms of art began to experience growth and "culture" expanded into many sub-cultures.

Some of the trends that surfaced were New York City turning into an "international center for painting and architecture" (Davidson 1147), mass circulation of paperback books, network television suddenly becoming the world's most powerful form of mass communication, and rock and roll becoming the language of youth (Davidson 1147).

The explosion of such artistic expression was greeted with optimism, but mostly with pessimism, "warning against moral decadence and spiritual decline" (1147). On one had, the "highbrow intellectuals" argued that mass…

Mass Media & Values
The author of this report has been asked to answer a rather broad but still important question. The question at hand is whether the mass media is simply a representation of the broader cultural values, attitudes and stereotypes of a society or whether the mass media is involved with shaping the same rather than just being a reflection or representation. The author of this response does not mean to be non-committal or waffling but the answer is actually a little of both. There are some instances where mass media is simply just groveling to the masses but there are some instances where narratives are being established and cultural trends are being written. What is true in a given situation usually depends on the situation but it is not entirely hard or difficult to tell which is happening in a given instance. While mass media output is usually…

Sociology of Popular Culture
Popular Culture

A popular culture is a complex term defined by a number of already existing definitions which explore the different spectrums associated with the term. The initial understanding of this culture was based on the lifestyle adopted by the masses; the subordinate, lower class, which made them separate from the elite class. However, today, it is considered to be a lifestyle which includes different cultural practices, artifacts and other cultural commodities, that is widely accepted by the population. Therefore, in order to study a popular culture, it is important to focus on the varying aspects such as identity, representation, regulation, production and consumption where the latter two have an interdependent relationship. For this reason, this paper would look into the underlying fact of the contemporary popular culture where the producers are also the consumers.

The theorists of the cultural studies started studying popular culture when they were able…

It is noticeable, however, that despite illustrating the image of 'good life' among American consumers, it seemed that these ads were catered only to white Americans, which are often depicted as belonging to the elite to middle social classes. Further analysis also showed that apart from the under representation of minorities in these ads, white American women were the 'staple' elements contained in an ad. Although some of the ads appropriately use a woman -- that is, usage of a woman to advertise a food product -- there were also instances in some ads, specifically car ads, wherein women seemed to be objectified. Car ads are classic examples of the objectification of women in advertisements, wherein oftentimes, association between the cars advertised and woman depicted are inevitably linked together, creating the impression that a car is a want that needs to be achieved, in the same way that the consumer…

Mull over the relationship between art and popular culture since 1950. Focus your discussion on 3 or 4 artists.
The world of art has seen two distinct trends in recent decades since the mid-20th century. On one hand, high art has become less central to most people's lives. Other, more visceral forms of popular media have claimed the attention of the public in the incarnations of photography, film, and television. There is no longer a reliance upon visual representations such as sketching and painting to commemorate historical and personal occasions. But as a result of this divide between popular and high culture and the increasing significance of pop culture, high art has begun to adopt many themes and even the visual style of many popular works to justify its existence. As pop culture becomes part of every person's framework of reference, the elements of pop art have been co-opted and…

Hip-Hop Culture, Its Origins and Its Culture
The hip-hop culture, according to Richardson, originated in the United States in response to the oppression of African-Americans. This art form is therefore deeply integrated with the social consciousness from which it arose. The art form created an outlet for creativity and repressed anger and other emotions resulting from the hardship of this particular culture. Therefore Richardson and several other critics criticize not only the commercialization of the art, but also globalization and its effects on the culture of hip-hop. oth commercialization and globalization, while proving a financial benefit to the music emerging from the hip-hop culture, nonetheless detracts some of the deeper culture and messages associated with the original art form. Indeed, when the struggle is removed from the art form, the unique culture from which it originated is lost, and the music changes accordingly. Thus globalization and increasing commercialization have combined to…

Most fundamentally, virtually everything associated with Hip-Hop culture as it pertains to males relates to the portrayal of masculinity and a high degree of self-esteem, a positive self-image, and to being a powerful person on every level. This is portrayed in numerous specific ways, including the lyrics of songs, the adoption of certain physical mannerisms, manner of dress, and to inferences of social and physical dominance of men, particularly toward women (Price, 2006).
In many respects, these images completely contradict reality. For example, Hip-Hop artists have frequently appeared on prominent cable television programs profiling their success through guided tours of multi-million-dollar mansions and expansive estates complete with several brand new Lamborghinis, Ferraris, olls oyce, and Bentleys in their driveways. Aside from the social irresponsibility of promoting ostentatious displays of luxury to impressionable youth, in many cases, the portrayals are themselves largely phony (Price, 2006).

That is simply because much more often…

Pop is tomorrow's Classical"- Paul McCartney. Discuss this contention within the context of rock/classical music collaborations since the early 1950s.
Classical Rock and Popular Prophecy

To the average music-listener, musical genres are easily divided into homogenous groupings without any danger of overlapping one another. Certainly, there are rare occurrences of "cross-over" hits on the radio that find airplay on both Adult Contemporary and Country stations, or those releases which find an audience among both Easy Listening and Rock fans. Another seemingly strange occurrence that may be observed by the slightly more alert music consumer is that time shifts musical pieces from one genre to another, and yesterday's Alternative Rock is today's Easy Listening, yet even this phenomenon is considered an anomaly of the music industry. A simplicity is desired among musical elitists that preserves some musical forms as valid, labeling others as mere fads. However, the deep impact of musical styles…

Therefore, Warhol offers a visual juxtaposition of capitalism and the arts.
ichard Hamilton used multimedia, collage, and three-dimensional objects in his work to capture the essence of popular culture. Hamilton's collage "Just What is it that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?" is a seminal piece of pop art, offering subtle critique of the American Dream, of typical gender roles, and of consumerism. obert auchenberg's work, like Hamilton's, uses multimedia to convey the infiltration of materialism into popular culture.

Jasper Johns' work appears more directly political, based on his liberal use of the American flag and similar iconography in painting. Johns' incorporation of American nationalism into the pop art equation adds a special nuance to the genre, revealing searing and satirical political undertones. Johns suggests that former symbols of national conscience have become misappropriated, downgraded to consumer emblems. The use of the flag and American map in his art also…

Other commodities are consumed to derive pleasure or entertainment which explains why one goes for a certain television brand or a type of car. The choice of cars among the youths and the purpose of owning the cars among other gadgets have something to do with what their peers will think of them not the utility part (Scott Atkins, 1995).
Baudrillard, (2012) another individual who studied material culture called it the sociology of consumption. He studied the objects and not the consumer; he asserted that consumption should be taken seriously as an important institution where social class status and prestige are displayed. Certain objects depict a certain class in the society and when one possesses those prestigious objects then there is a message to the society in terms of the social status. The objects therefore have symbolic value as he mentions the objects of the modern consumer, it is implied…

Consumption, Society and Culture
Cultural Industry

There are two social processes which are linked with each other and provide the basis of popular culture in modern capitalist societies. These two processes are related with production and consumption of cultural goods. In the first step, the commodities are produced in the light of customers' desirable features and packaged in culturally acceptable methods. In the second step, the products are used by their respective target markets as status symbols to satisfy self-esteem needs. The identification of the target market as a considerable portion of society is largely based on its presentation in fine arts particularly TV programs, music shows and films (Benjamin, 1968).

Social system is a comprehensive study, whose knowledge is mandatory to understand the popular culture. Artifacts represent the cultural symbols, yet these artifacts are strongly influenced by the taste and choice of professionals and cultural elites. There are many factors that lead…

Cultural Review
Film and Culture

The Grimm brothers began collecting folktales around 1807 and began a legacy that has been ingrained in popular culture. Although the tales that they collected were representative of the culture at the time, the brothers worked to canonize some of the archetypes that were present in their day. Instead of seeing them as just random works of literature, the brothers were able to identify various themes which served as the main focuses on their fairy and folk tale. These themes seemed to be generally available in the stories that the two individuals documented just as they are also present today. These archetypical characters which formed can make one wonder whether it is the culture that shapes the story or whether it is the stories that shape the culture.

Very few Grimm's Fairy Tales deviate from the stereotypes of the hero, villain, and damsel in distress that were present…

Globalism and the Culture of American Consumption
The United States has long been a world leader on many fronts. The presidential administration of Theodore Roosevelt may have been the first to declare openly that Americans wanted to show that they were a global power, but the U.S. had long had interest in global politics. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, America fought land and sea battles in the Mediterranean against the Barbary pirates (Sassen 216). The Marine Hymn which talks of "the shores of Tripoli" is dedicated to that conflict in which U.S. Marines first fought on foreign soil. An intrepid spirit has caused the free men and women of America to create innovations in business, finance, war, agriculture, and other industries that have been the envy of the rest of the world. This has produced a certain amount of arrogance among the people and leaders of the nation…

However, the media continues to take women with those features and portray them as less educated than their white counterparts, and now even less educated than their "white" looking Black sisters.
In the ad below one can see that the model is Black but her nose, eyes and lips do not feature typically Black characteristics. She looks like a European woman who has Black skin. This is the media's answer to the demand to provide a more fair portrayal of Black southern women in the media.

The image below at first glance might prompt one to applaud the media for finally recognizing the beauty in the Black female population but when one takes a closer look the same thing can be noted as in the previous ad. This woman is beautiful by standards attributed to white women.

The media has done the Black Southern woman another injustice with the attempt to provide…

As a result, consumers again have choices. y limiting media exposure, and being aware of media techniques used to brand and market pop stars, we can make educated choices. Rather than choosing what to listen to by turning on the radio and television, we now have the choice to investigate on our own, on the Internet. It will be interesting to see how pop music responds.
ibliography

Daly, Steve. "ritney Spears inside the heart and mind (and bedroom) of America's new teen queen." Rolling Stone, 15 April 1999, 60-70.

Fox, Mark A., and Paul Kochanowski. "Models of Superstardom: An Application of the Lotka and Yule Distributions." Popular Music & Society 27, no. 4 (2004): 507-522.

Larson, Charles U. Persuasion: Perception and Responsibility, 9th ed. elmont, CA: Wadsworth / Thomson Learning, 2001.

Lelanc, Larry. "A Revival At Top 40 Radio rings Wave Of New Teen Acts In Canada." illboard, 17 June 2000, 75.

Rogers, Danny. "The…

Mass Culture and Popular Culture and Studying Bestsellers Books
This paper takes into account the differences in the best sellers written in the 1980's and in the 1990's. It also focuses on the themes of the best sellers from the two decades and what makes them appealing to the society.

Mass culture and popular culture and studying bestsellers books

In this day and age, books are being written with a motive to inculcate motives, teaching the readers a lesson every time they open the book.

Good books always serve as a constructive way to provoke idle thoughts. Women started writing as a profession back in the early 1800's. They started off writing articles for magazines, containing information on fashion, science, household tips, and covering other domestic issues. These magazines trained every woman with the proper code of etiquette, style and manner of dressing nicely even motivated women from the lower class to take up…

Tootsie olls/Pops
Michelle Obama may look like the model health-conscious citizen, but underneath all the glamour and pampered style is a little chubby girl just waiting to burst free of her bondage. One could surmise that Michelle has had a lot of tootsie pops and rolls in her youth, and though she fondly recalls the taste of those chocolate treats, she now abstains from them, and she makes her daughters abstain from them as well.

Previous reports have shown that these little nougats of delight are a favorite with children, so her daughters are probably missing out and will likely hold that against Michelle as they grow older. One can already hear the faint echoes of their clamoring voices recalling such travesties. The Tootsie oll website even touts the fact that their brands "resonate strongly among every age, group, culture and demographic…qualifying them as a truly enduring, iconic American confections" (Goldberg, McDonell,…

German Culture
In the music field, Germany boasts of some of the world's most renowned producers, composers and performers. Germany is the third largest music market in the world and the largest in Europe. The earliest roots of the music culture in Germany are within monastic chants and religious music. The 12th century saw the mystic abbess Hildegard who was from Bingen writing storing compositions and hymns. These were sought to be free musical expressions coming from narrow conventions. Between the 12th and 14th century, minnesingers who were wandering nobles and knights wrote and recited love poems in country version in the tradition of French trovers and troubadours. Out of the many minnesingers during that period of time, einmar Von Hagenau and Walther Von de Vogelweide were the most famous ones. Apart from the minnesingers there was also the development of a secular folk music tradition. There are collections of vagabond…