Popular culture studies

sceptical friend that popular culture was a valid object for academic study? Apprehension around studying popular culture can be attributed to an understanding of popular culture as meaning ‘low culture’, and therefore having little worthiness of study. However, the conceptual division between high and low culture, is now understood to be of no relevance to aesthetic worth, but more to political and social distinctions. Remove the word popular from the question, and the consideration of studying all culture is made, there is little to be dubious of. Williams defined popular culture as the “everyday ordinariness” of life (1958: 93), and this widespread nature makes exclusion of the academic study of popular culture…

Why do writers choose paranormal power as their topic instead of other more daily stuffs? As Kripal mentioned in his article, the mystical movement is in late 1962, and the mutant mythology is in 1963. A great amount of classic books and great writers appeared at that time. I believe that in that inevitable trend, more writers tried to do some experiments in the fiction and mystery book field, just like what is happening right now. “Authors and artists of popular culture commonly report similar…

If a movie or television show in today’s society were to bash a certain race, desecrate women, or outwardly reject the LGBT community, would it gain a positive response? Of course not, this is 2016! In order for popular culture outlets to appeal to modern viewers, the content must remain current; from movies to television shows, society expects them to keep up with the times. Therefore, popular culture provides a reflection of changing attitudes regarding a multitude of social constructs. Where…

Case study 1 Apocalypse and the influence of 9/11 on the apocalyptic movies Apocalypses have always been in people their heads, the thought of the end of the world has been and still is really popular in the film industry. Bendle says “Apocalypses are one of the oldest narrative forms, and they have informed some of the most imaginative and terrifying imagery in cultural history” (Bendle, 2005). In the years before 9/11 the apocalypse movies, books and magazines have been a great and widely…

Anastasia Papanikolaou Mr. Engel AP English 11- 2 March 29, 2015 Pop Culture - Television: article responses • Watching TV Makes You Smarter by Steven Johnson 1. Steven Johnson calls his theory -- that the “most debased forms of mass diversion” (para. 4) turn out to be good for us, after all the “Sleeper Curve” after a scene in a Woody Allen movie. How does using one form of popular culture examine another form affect Johnson’s argument? Johnson, by naming “the sleeper curve” after a…

depend on a celebrities every move and attention. “The whole Hollywood spin machine works together to create images that are impossible for any of us to live up to”, says Fischoff. The gritty details of Brad and Angelina, and Megan Fox is an insulin to calm down the eating obsession in that person’s heart. Being star struck is not only bigger than life but bigger itself. There are people who are still infatuated with a celebrity’s life and still has time for their own self but that’s only most…

Throughout my research, the question that I wanted to answer is, Has the breaking subculture has been absorbed into mainstream culture? I thought about this question when considering if the fact that hip hop’s popularity might have affected this subset of the subculture. I also thought this question was very important for the continuation as well as the preservation of the b-boy subculture. That’s why I found fieldwork to be so imperative to my study of such a hidden subculture. I felt that I…

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a tattoo is defined as “an indelible mark or figure fixed upon the body by insertion of pigment under the skin or by production of scars.” Tattooing and body modification has been practice dating back to Eurasian Neolithic farmers in 4000 BC, thought to be a healing remedy based on the particular placement on the arms, legs and throughout the body consisting of various dots and lines. In today’s culture, the idea of getting a tattoo has shifted from…

There are many positives and negatives that come with the progress and changes in the world. Some may argue for or against the changes in wireless media or how popular social media has become. There is no doubt that these things have influenced nearly every aspect of our lives and has changed how we do things day to day. I will not argue that these developments in technology and their impact on our culture have not changed how we think, because it definitely has. I feel there is a positive for…

Popular culture takes many forms such as literature, movies, novelties, clothing and fads, and live entertainment. American popular culture has changed over time along with its representation of animals. Animals have been depicted as threats, victims, national symbols, celebrities and companions. Their depictions are dependent on time, place, and historical context. The whale is a prompt example of how the representation of animals may change over time, history and location. In the 19th century,…