Value Of American Popular Culture

There are many of us that can identify with the idea of “counter-culture.” Through all generations in all walks of life, there existed or will exist a trend that someone will negatively criticize, whether it be cool clothes or the popularity of the fidget spinner. In her work, The Cult You’re in, Kalle Lasn establishes her own definition of the term pop culture by comparing some simple everyday activities to those of cults, manifesting themselves into our routine through the similar manipulative rhetoric.

In ours’, it’s everything from MTV hits, to Breaking Bad to Miley Cyrus. But historically, pop culture derived from the lower classes and the “low” culture, the exiled counterpart to “high” culture. High culture was considered to compose of art, literature, and classical music created by and for the most prestige. Over time “pop culture” slowly began to replace the phrase “ low culture,” pop culture or low culture was defined by what it wasn’t; elegant, refined, high culture, than rather by what it was. Mass culture. The masses looked for entertainment and distraction, soon enough it was assumed for pop culture to simply just amuse. However, pop culture can never be dismissed as being “just” entertainment or for “only” amusement.

Popular culture is a fusion of interest and activities that groups of people share. merely, anything that has to do with entertainment is popular culture, such as Movies, TV shows, actors, singers, toys, games, sports, clothes and the list continues. In many ways, popular culture touches every aspect of our lives. It plays such a major role in how our society views the world and how we perceive everyday things. Pop culture has a way of effect our lives no matter what we do to thwart its’ influence.

Today popular culture has a substantial effect on our lives. It can affect what we wear, what music we listen to, or even how we behave. Many people decide what clothes to buy depending on what is in style or what celebrities are wearing. The same happens when people choose what movies to see or what music to download. While pop culture may seem harmless, it exposes people of all ages to sex, drugs, and violence. Children and teenagers all over the world are watching these shows or listening to these types of music. They take what they hear or see and develop bad habits or make poor decisions. Popular culture including movies, music, and franchises mostly has a negative effect on countries who import it.

Our second essay is a response to the readings from the Chapter “Is Pop Culture Actually Good For You?” and should include specific references to the text when appropriate. You may also develop the essays with examples from your own lives or other courses you may have taken that covered similar themes. In other words, personal experience is o.k. to use as evidence in your essay, but keep in mind that this essay is primarily a response to a text. You must use at least one of the texts as the “they say” to your “I say.”

The idea of pop culture has many different opinions surrounding it. Some people believe that it’s a God sent to us, others think it's the devil. Chris Hedges and Melissa Ames both have opposing opinions on this topic. Hedges, in “American Psychosis,” discusses that pop culture is bad because we focus too much on superficial topics and not enough on the real problems in our world. Whereas, Ames, in “Engaging ‘Apolitical’ Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and Educational Potential of Dystopian Literature Post-9/11,” suggests that pop culture is a unique tool that you can use to understand politics and our world’s problems. Both authors struggle to convince their peers to believe their ideology and they both have unique ways of doing so. By

In conclusion, there is both reluctance and openness towards whether pop culture should be studied at an academic level. Pop culture has a value in sociology, the interests of students and a lack of resistance from students and professors. There are more positive resources that support pop culture as an academic study than there are ones of reluctance. From the evidence stated in above paragraphs, it is evident that there is much support for a new form of

The 1950’s family model consists of a suburban white collar man, his stay at home wife and two children. It can also be described as an embodiment of “traditional” gender and family roles that portray a simpler, comforting lifestyle, a notion that is widely disputed during this day and age. This idea of living has been fueled by a heavy influence through media and an unwavering inclination to live the “American Dream”. This “ideal” lifestyle is ultimately damaging to families of differing cultures and classes because it develops an unrealistic expectation and definition of true family values which can differ among households. What many also neglect to consider is that the nuclear family’s appeal may be mislead entirely. It’s extremely flawed sense of uniformity and simplicity can argue that the appeal of a nuclear family may be more desired based on the period of time rather than the family

In the article, “What Is Popular Culture and Why Study It,” Deanna Sellnow describes to one the importance of pop culture in our world today, how it shapes people’s identities, and the reasons they should be aware of our culture today. Whether people realize it or not, Sellnow says that pop culture screams at them from every angle of their lives. Although pop culture can be the things seen and heard in one’s surroundings, it is most prevalent through media. Movies, magazines, and music are all examples of mediated popular culture that is cheap entertainment for the enjoyment of the mass population. Many people are influenced when they tune in to the messages these things are sending. Some of these messages may challenge

Popular Culture Essay Music has long been an expression of cultures and an indicator of the multi-cultural nature around the world. It’s common purpose to bring people together and affecting society by the type of music people listen to and which emotions they are feeling at that time. Music was a powerful cultural force in the 1960’s. It is evident that the social climate of this time period shaped music. It was no surprise that there were important generational, racial, gender, class, regional and ideological differences, and these included bands and their audiences and within the entertainment industry it’s self-deep social tensions were shared by all.

“Nobody Knows: How the Media and Culture Industries Work” by David Grazian explains the relationship between the media and how culture creates a web of networks that assist the implementation of popular culture in media. Media plays a huge role in how popular culture is spread to different parts of the world. In addition, the article emphasizes the importance of how film, music, and record industries bring in revenue and how they are able to attract the audience through the utilization of the media to spread the product. Grazain also points out that it is quite difficult for the industries to target an audience as everyone prefer different types of genres. However, the industries will rely on boundary spanners and gatekeepers. These individuals

Pop Culture permeates our society and is now the first and last thing we think about every day. Almost every waking moment includes pop culture in some way, as society has embraced this new way of life. Parents use electronics to entertain their children and keep them out of the way, and children use them to avoid their parents. Escapism, guilty pleasures and popular culture define each other in ways that they didn’t in the past and now our world is trying to reconcile it.

The term popular culture, or pop culture, often refers to the ideas, values and goods that arise from mass media. This mass media includes books, magazines, movies, and television. In American popular culture two themes are prevalent: a materialistic one and a simplistic one. The materialistic one, that is popular in times of prosperity, stresses that happiness comes out of material goods, while the simplistic one says that happiness comes out of modesty and spirituality. While researching popular culture however this and certain other trends become apparent.

What pops into your mind first when you think of popular culture in today’s day and age? The latest dirt on celebrities or the latest iPhone release? The latest controversial issue or the latest iTunes hit? Regardless, pop culture encompasses all four of these concepts and many more, which consume the world we live in each and every day. Think about education. At first thought, your mind may not make the connection between the newest Taylor Swift song and the highest ACT score, but the linkage between the two becomes undeniable when you dive deeper. Ponder this: each day millions of kids walk into school buildings across the United States, each of them glued to a little slice of pop culture, a.k.a. their phone. And each day these millions

Popular culture is generally believed to be comprised of a variety of elements. For example, popular culture covers the most contemporary and instant aspects of our lives. These aspects can often show the characteristics of rapid change, especially in today’s highly technological and informative world in which, people are highly influenced by the universal media. Certain standards of behaviour and common beliefs are reflected in pop culture. Because of its cohesion, pop culture both influences and reflects people’s daily life. Moreover, brands can reach iconic pop status. However, these aspects are not constant and may change rapidly. (Abbott and Sapsford, 1987).