Popular Cultures and Humanities
Popular Cultures and the Humanities
Modern trends keep changing and their length of time within the society depends on a lot of factors. Of most significance here is how these trends turn from oblivion into being trends. The contemporary society has a lot of idol worship. This comes in the form of people identifying a figure that they identify with and try to do things like them, this then pushes the emergence of trends. The same applies to known fashion designers or famous producers of some goods or items. Advertisements also create trends which can be largely followed within a society fro some time. Trends can also emanate from new innovations that cut across a wide population.
Therefore, modern trends and myths are closely tied and are used to represent ideas about people, the world they live in, and their beliefs. Myths are used to help people comprehend why…...
mlaReferences
Curcio, J. (2011). What is a modern myth? Retrieved June 21, 2012 from http://www.modernmythology.net/p/what-is-modern-myth.html
Koven, M.J. (2003). Folklore Studies and Popular Film and Television: a Necessary Critical
Survey. Journal of American Folklore, 116(460), 176-195.
Matira, L. (2008). Children's Oral Literature and Modern Mass Media. Indian Folklore Research
(Glende)
One of the most recent technological developments which has precipitated a greater democratization of the Internet is the proliferation of networking sites that have become prominent recently. These sites attract millions of users and viewers or users and viewers and have become a source for the proliferation of popular culture.
There is also a view from scholars that the link between popular cultures and the Internet is synergistic. In other words, the increase in popular culture is a motivating force for the increase in Internet usage and at the same time the new online technologies that are being developed are providing the platform for increased popular culture activity. In a paper by Hakan Selg, entitled Popular Culture as a Driver of Internet Use, the author stresses how developments in popular culture have become associated with increases in Internet usage. (Selg)
There is little doubt that the future of popular culture is…...
mlaWorks Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107383706
Bell, David, Brian D. Loader, Nicholas Pleace, and Douglas Schuler. Cyberculture: The Key Concepts. New York: Routledge, 2004. Questia. 4 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107383708 .
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102726864
Bell, David. An Introduction to Cybercultures. London: Routledge, 2001. Questia. 4 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102726866 .
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107497020
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,…...
Popular Culture in the 18th Century
A number of different factors would conspire to make popular culture into a new and different thing in eighteenth-century Britain. There had been popular culture before the eighteenth century, of course: Shakespeare's plays in their original context being staged at the Globe amid bear-baiting, orange-selling, and prostitution definitely counted as authentically popular culture. And the remarkable efflorescence of religious and political tracts during the English Civil ar in the seventeenth century -- as outlined in Christopher Hill's seminal monograph on the topic, The orld Turned Upside-Down -- seems to define a culture not only popular but populist. But I would like to identify three factors -- the rise of mass literacy, the decline in religious values, and the increase in colonialism -- which marked out eighteenth century popular culture as uniquely different from what had come before.
The rise of mass literacy in the eighteenth century…...
mlaWorks Cited
Cleland, John. Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a woman of pleasure. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Defoe, Daniel. "The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters." In English Essays: Sidney to Macaulay. Cambridge: Belknap (Harvard Classics), 1914.
Davidson, Jenny. Breeding: A Partial History of the Eighteenth Century. Irvington: Columbia University Press, 2008.
Fielding, Henry. Joseph Andrews and Shamela. New York: Penguin, 1999.
Popular culture has a pervasive impact upon children's lives today, particularly during the adolescent stage. According to the University of Tampere's Department of Translation Studies, pop culture is defined as "the differing forms and expressions which are characteristic of a particular society (whether local, regional, national, racial, or ethnic, to mention only a few of the different definitions of 'society' itself)."
It is a recent modern phenomenon that encompasses all aspects of cultural expression, which include but are not limited to, movies, music, television shows, literature, fashion, food, and sports. Everything deemed popular is considered to be the latest style or trend; items in pop culture are often meant to be superficial and short-lived, ready to be replaced by the "next big thing." Pop culture is sustained by continuous feedback from its consumers to its industries over determining what is to considered popular.
Pop culture has a dynamic influence on people throughout…...
mlaWorks Cited
Ferguson, Mitch, Eyzenga, Christina. "Music Influences." 25, March 2005
http://www.ucdsb.on.ca/athens/popculture/influencemusic.htm
King, Samantha, McConnell, Jim, et.al, "Effects of rap and heavy metal music lyrics on Adolescent behaviors." (2002) Westchester University. 25, March 2005
Popular Culture
It is not a popular notion in today's culture that little girls are supposed to love dolls and little boys are supposed to love trucks and other masculine toys (itt) However, if the toy is packaged in a new way it seems that it may be all right. The My Twinn may at first seem one of extreme socialization and not a desirable place to shop for a young lady, but on further examination at least that part of the equation is not disturbing. The purchaser is buying a friend for the girl that looks as close to her own self as a doll can. However, once socialization is taken out of the picture, it is disturbing in other ways. Modern culture gurus bemoan the commercialization of everything in this free market culture that has developed in the United States and seems to be taking over the world. This…...
mlaWorks Cited
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class. Dir. Loretta Alper. Prod. Sut Jhally. Media Education Foundation. 2006. Film.
Fiske, John. Understanding Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 1990. Print.
Jhally, Sut. "Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture." The World and I, 1990. Article.
Kornreich, Jennifer L., Kimberly D. Hearn, Giovanna Rodriguez, and Lucia F. O'Sullivan. "Sibling Influence, Gender Roles, and the Sexual Socialization of Urban Early Adolescent Girls." The Journal of Sex Research 40.1 (2003): 101- 113. Print.
Popular Culture and Gender Identification
In the United States and throughout the world the popular culture has both reflected and created the identity of the individual and that larger population. One of the most important aspects of a person's identity is their gender. This is a socially constructed label that is applied to someone, most often based upon their physical sex. However, there are many cases wherein a person's gender identification is different than their physical sex which makes them "other" in the community and makes them the easy target of emotional and sometimes physical abuse. Popular culture is an important part of the structure of identity and this can include gender identification. In such television programs as How I Met Your Mother and South Park the ways in which characters illustrate their own gender identification and the value that they have in society based upon the strength of that identification…...
mlaWorks Cited:
Lloyd, Stephen. (2008). "The Goat." How I Met Your Mother. CBS.
Messner, Michael A. "Barbie Girls vs. Sea Monsters: Children Constructing Gender." 384-
Parker, Trey. (2007). "The List." South Park. Comedy Central.
Regarding the movie as a meta text we understand that the man incarnates the creator par excellence.
The fact that man's creation rebels against him and destroys him is a very intriguing social and political statement. On the one hand we could interpret this metaphor as man's fundamental incapacity of creating something really important. The researcher not only did not improve his machine, but lost his life in the process. His goal was beyond common sense, romantic and idealistic and the denouement of the story demonstrates that whenever man abandons reason he is most likely to have a tragic ending. Naturally, the woman, who has a passive role, is in a certain way responsible for the dramatic denouement. This is a patriarchal perspective upon society and the meaning of the individual in the social web (constructed in strict relation to his or her gender). Man fails to be a true…...
mlaBibliography:
Wells, H.G. The island of Doctor Moreau, NY: Bartleby, 2000
The fly (directed by David Cronenberg), 1986
The youth in these countries has become more than just obsessed with the physical appearances as plastic surgery is also becoming quite common. China probably has the greatest plastic surgery industry where they work at everything from increasing heights to improving complexions to match those that of the white Caucasian race. As in Singapore, which is "a global city" we find it being "at the forefront of consumerism of popular and "pop" culture products. Indeed over the last few years "pop" culture influences have come from East Asia-Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan (J-culture), and most recently, Korean "pop" culture.(Donegan, 2003)
CONCLUSION:
The popular culture has led the youth into becoming increasingly dependent on labels and brands in order to develop an identity of their own that's akin to that of the youth world over so that they can be accepted in the privileged world reigned by pop culture. This has not only…...
mlaReferences
Greg Weiss Donegan. (2003). The Internationalization of Retailing in Asia. Routledge (UK).
Lorelei Narvaja. (2002) Teen rebellion through counterculture punk music -- A Brief Look at the 1990's. EM magazine. Volume: 2. Issue: 12.
Angela Nelson. (2005) Rap Music and the Stagolee Mythoform. The Journal of American Popular Culture (1900-present). Volume: 4. Issue:1
Steven Best and Douglas Kellner. (1999) Rap, Black Rage, and Racial Difference. Enculturation. Volume: 2.No: 2, 1999
In fact, it is interesting to note that violent television and video games become more likely to lead to aggression in children as they get older (Krcmar, 1998, p. 251). Factors that cause this include the fact that from new-born to the age of eight, children pay an increasing amount of visual attention to television. This increase levels off at the age of eight. Moreover, as they get older, children appear to grow increasingly likely to identify with television characters. This may be because they become more cognitively sophisticated, and thus can better understand what they are watching. Krcmar (1998, p. 251) notes that these changes may partly explain the fact that as children grow older, the likelihood that viewing violent television will result in increased aggressive behaviours becomes higher. They also become increasingly desensitized to media violence as they age. There seems to be little doubt that exposure to…...
mlaReferences
Behrman, Richard E., Culross, Patti L., & Reich, Kathleen. (2002). "Children, youth, and gun violence: Analysis and recommendations," the future of children, 12(2)( 5.
Grazion, David. Mix it Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media and Society. New York W.W.
Norton, 2010.
Kim, Hyeok, & McDonald, Daniel G. (2001). When I die, I feel small: electronic game characters and the social self. Journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 45(2), 241.
American StudiesThe link between popular culture and immigration has been the subject of numerous studies for years. Television and print news sources in the United States have explored popular culture and issues of immigration in different ways. The popular culture landscape has been characterized by a multidirectional public discourse regarding immigration and Americanness. As a result, popular culture has continued to play a major role in creating and defining key events and moments in the history of immigration. Due to the perceived link between these two concepts, popular culture has been integrated into immigration studies. In their book, Immigration and American Popular Culture, Rubin and Melnick contend that popular culture has traditionally been a critical collective place for issues relating to immigration politics and ethics. This paper examines the veracity of this statement based on the perceived link between popular culture and immigration.Popular Culture and Issues of ImmigrationAccording to Rubin…...
mlaWorks Cited
Daniels, Roger. Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants since 1882. Hill and Wang, 2005.
Henri?quez Cristina. The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel. Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
Rubin, Rachel, and Jeffrey Melnick. Immigration and American Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York University Press, 2007.
Kanye West Essay
Kanye West, a multifaceted artist whose enigmatic presence has left an indelible mark on popular culture, has defied categorization throughout his illustrious career (Caramanica, 2019). From his groundbreaking rap albums to his controversial fashion designs, West's uncompromising vision and fearless pursuit of innovation have made him an icon and a subject of fascination.
Since his debut album, "The College Dropout," in 2004, West has consistently pushed the boundaries of hip-hop music (Hamill, 2016). His introspective lyrics, soulful beats, and experimental production techniques have revolutionized the genre, blurring the lines between rap, soul, and orchestral arrangements (Wallace, 2020).
West's influence extends far beyond music. His streetwear label, Yeezy, has become a global phenomenon, blurring the distinction between high fashion and everyday clothing (Olshansky, 2019). His partnerships with renowned brands like Adidas and Nike have transformed the landscape of athleticwear.
Yet, West's charisma and controversial remarks have also garnered significant attention. His outspoken…...
mlaReferences
Aswad, Jem. “Kanye West\'s \'Life of Pablo\' Is a Personal, Political, and Provocative Masterpiece.” Variety, 14 Feb. 2016, variety.com/2016/music/album-reviews/kanye-west-life-of-pablo-album-review-1201705956/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.
BBC News. “Kanye West: Rapper Reveals Bipolar Diagnosis.” BBC News, BBC, 17 May 2022, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44141830. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.
Berman, Eliza. “Kanye West\'s Narcissism Problem.” Time, Time, 24 May 2018, time.com/5283671/kanye-west-narcissism-twitter/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.
Billboard. “Kanye West Calls for an End to Violence in Chicago: \'We Need to Stop Killing Each Other.” Billboard, Billboard, 17 June 2020, www.billboard.com/articles/news/9389127/kanye-west-end-violence-chicago-speech/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.
The Blind Side: The Problems of the White Savior NarrativeThe Blind Side (2009) is based on a true story, a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about the sport of football. The film focuses specifically on a notable real life incident that Lewis talks about in detail, in which the former foster adolescent Michael Oher is shown being recruited by the NCAA and eventually playing with the NFL. The film shows Ohers fate as the direct result of the fact that Leigh Anne Tuohy, whose son goes to the same preparatory school where Oher had won a sports scholarship, decided to take an interest in Oher and foster him. Although the family the story may have been based on may have been commendable in their actions, the film is problematic in the degree to which it focuses on Leigh Annes desire to save Oher, and how she is contrasted with his…...
mlaReference
Ash, E. (2015). Racial discourse in The Blind Side: The economics and ideology behind the white savior format. Studies in Popular Culture, 38(1), 85-103. Retrieved from: www.jstor.org/stable/44259586
Hancock, J. H. (2009). The blind side. Warner Brothers.
Roisin, F. (2013). Why Hollywood’s white savior obsession is an extension of colonialsm. Teen Vogue. Retrieved from: obsession-colonialism
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-white-savior-
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…...
mlaWorks Cited
Davidson, Gienapp, Heyman, Lytle, and Stoff. Nation of Nations. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1990. 17 December 2002.
Metrailler, Edouard. High in Saccharine, Low in (Moral) Fiber. The Harvard Salient. 7 October 1996. December 2002.http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/~salient/issues/961007/mediocrity.html17
Morse, Margaret. Pop Art. Biddingtons. 17 December 2002. December 2002.http://www.biddingtons.com/content/pedigreepop.html17
Myers, Ken. What Distinguishes "popular" Cultures From Other Varieties of Culture? Modern Reformation. December 2002.http://www.modernreformation.org/mr97/janteb/mr9/01distinguishes.html17
The cultural practices are evolved and based on the financial, social and moral understanding and capabilities of the local population, and it has been observed that Americans, Asians and Africans share extremely different perspectives and understanding on these issues, therefore the cultural adoption has been intense in countries where the technological revolution has been of the same intensity as in North America (Zelli, 1993). In some of the cases, the Americans companies has attempted to nullify the concerns and shortcomings of the American culture, by incorporating the cultural values of the local region, and has therefore evolve a different taste for the customers to avail, this has further delighted and fascinated the local population of different regions towards the American culture, for example the American culture has major differences with the Islamic culture adopted in Arab countries, therefore to compensate for such difference the American companies introduced the concept…...
mlaReferences
David W. Noble. Death of a Nation: American Culture and the End of Exceptional-ism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 2002
Tafarodi R., Swann W. Individualism-collectivism and global self-esteem: Evidence for a cultural trade-off. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 1996
Trubisky P, Ting Toomey S, Lin S. The influence of individualism collectivism and self-monitoring on conflict styles. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 1991
Huesmann, Zelli, Fraczek, Upmeyer. Normative attitudes about aggression in American, German and Polish college students. Presented at Third European Congress of Psychology. Tampere, Finland. 1993
Three iconic high school dance movies helped shape popular culture from the late 1970s to the late 1980s: Dirty Dancing, Grease, and Footloose. While the movies all focused on high school aged teens, they also had other similarities that are worth exploring. They all feature relationships with a boy from the “wrong side of the tracks” in some way. This is reminiscent of West Side Story, the original teen dance epic. Of course, West Side Story derives its story from Romeo and Juliet. Your thesis could focus on those similarities or you could....
Certainly! Here are a few unique and fresh essay topics on Japanese internment:
1. Exploring the Role of Japanese American Women during Internment: Discuss the experiences, contributions, and resilience of Japanese American women during the internment period, highlighting their role in preserving their communities and influencing social change.
2. The Psychological Impact of Internment on Japanese American Children: Analyze the long-term psychological effects that internment had on Japanese American children and how their experiences shaped their identity, relationships, and future aspirations.
3. Artistic Expression and Resistance in Internment Camps: Examine how interned Japanese Americans utilized various art forms, such as poetry, drawing, and....
1. The prevalence of theft in schools and its impact on students and staff
2. The role of technology in preventing and addressing theft in schools
3. The psychological effects of being a victim of theft in a school environment
4. Strategies for promoting a culture of honesty and accountability in schools to reduce theft
5. The consequences of theft in schools on academic performance and school culture
6. The relationship between socioeconomic factors and theft in schools
7. Investigating the reasons behind why students steal in schools
8. The effectiveness of disciplinary measures in deterring theft in schools
9. The role of parents and the community in....
1. The importance of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
2. How can educational institutions promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among students and staff?
3. The impact of cultural diversity on society and social relations
4. The role of businesses in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion
5. Addressing racial and gender disparities in healthcare access and outcomes
6. Strategies for creating a more inclusive and equitable society for individuals with disabilities
7. Building bridges across different cultural and religious communities
8. The impact of systemic discrimination on marginalized communities and ways to address it
9. Exploring the intersectionality of various identities and how it impacts experiences....
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