Nobody Know By David Grazian Analysis

Throughout the twenty first century, technology is continuously being developed and constantly being advanced. The advancement of technological goods makes pop culture easily exposed and available to most individuals in our society. Although expanding information in mass amounts

Jenkins argues that American popular culture will be redefined by the struggles over convergence and media. With the idea of profit in mind,

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.

In the chapter “What is Popular Culture and Why Study It?” from the novel The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture, author Deanna Sellnow deliberates on the influential supremacy of popular culture in our current society. Sellnow wrote this passage to inform those affected by pop culture on a daily basis. Everyday individuals in first world countries are somehow impacted by pop culture. Pop culture’s influential power can often times mold our outlook on the world around us. It is important to realize when pop culture is trying to reevaluate your ethical beliefs so you can have a say in whether or not you want your morals to be altered.

The culture industry affects everything in today’s society. Adorno states, “The whole world is passed through the filter of the culture industry” (99). Everywhere people go, there are billboards, commercials, and advertisements that demand their attention. Before seeing a movie, one must sit through previews of other movies that may interest them, as the theater hopes that the moviegoer returns to watch another movie. In the culture industry, people no longer exist as individuals. They only exist as objects that increase the wealth of the big business owners that control this capitalistic society. Because no one contests the existence of the culture industry, the culture industry can continue to exist. About the film and radio industries, Adorno states, “They call themselves industries, and the published figures for their directors’ incomes quell any doubts about the social necessity of their finished products” (95). Creating unique and groundbreaking films in today’s world is considered “risky,” and filmmakers would rather create sequels to films that were successful in the box office. People excitedly consume these sequels and the directors make huge profits, thereby ensuring yet another sequel to be made. Adorno also points out that the film and radio

Popular culture is the artistic and creative expression in entertainment and style that appeals to society as whole. It includes music, film, sports, painting, sculpture, and even photography. It can be diffused in many ways, but one of the most powerful and effective ways to address society is through film and television. Broadcasting, radio and television are the primary means by which information and entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world, and they have become a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. Most of today’s television programming genres are derived from earlier media such as stage, cinema and radio. In the area of comedy, sitcoms have proven

Genre categorization is important because it helps to organize and classify movies. People make a lot of decisions based on the genre of the film; this is one of the main ways in which audiences select what movie to see. Most genres follow the same theme, story formula, setting, and story formula. If every genre followed the same set of rules one would think that after awhile these movies would become predictable and therefore lose its spark. There is also the notion that people and society change and evolve, making certain genres irrelevant and not relatable to the overall movie lover population. So how do film makers who are known and generally stick to a certain genre, keep audiences from losing interest? They simply evolve with society by changing the rules of a certain genre and one way to do this is genre breaking. Genre breaking can be defined as a film that is classified as a certain genre but breaks the genre tradition, by keeping the traditional theme of the genre but changing the setting, presentation, and story formula. By doing this, the film still follows the essential idea of the genre’s traditional theme, but the way it goes about doing it is totally different and can usually be seen as a parody.

Popular culture or other known as pop culture reflects on society’s values all throughout the world. “In the past, popular culture was generally assumed to be superficial; training, experience, and reflection were not essential to appreciate it or produce it. Now, however, appreciating the importance of both high culture and popular culture has become the hallmark of an educated person” (Shea 707). Popular culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images, and other pieces that are within the mainstream of a given culture. Popular culture is targeted to all people of all age groups and influences our thoughts, behaviors, trends, tastes etc, and can include songs, movies, celebrities, food, literature and food.

On one side the paper analyzed how music, one of the most universal communication tool, became in this decade a powerful channel throughout which companies sold their products and with them the dream of a new, high-fashionable and hype lifestyle. On the other, the rock ‘n’ roll music tided to the social movements of those years, remains, today more than ever, a testimony of the great shifting in common values and morals, and signs the birth of a more inclusive and tolerant society. According to the circular model of representation and influence, media and society are strictly correlated. In fact, sociologist believe that media not only can influence the reality within a society, but it is itself a representation of it. However, this model is not only media driven, but instead scholars point out that two elements mentioned above are linked to each other by a bond of reciprocity.

Popular culture can be defined as “The knowledge of current or up-to-date events. It can refer to music, television, film, sports, and anything in the public domain.” (reference.com.n.d.). MTV operates globally and one may argue that MTV shapes their audience tastes however in present times the public has vast options and therefore can easily dictate by choosing the channel that best suits their tastes and wants. MTV’s power to adapt to change has worked to their advantage as they have been able to capture their target audience throughout their existence.

The study of popular culture is useful in many ways. To be more specific, this course has reached its three intended main ideas: what it means to be American, how to be more consumption-conscious, and how to apply these studies in our own lives. Jim Cullen puts this in a less specific sense, arguing that the study of popular culture can “afford valuable clues – about collective fears, hopes, and debates” (Cullen, The Art of Democracy, 2). We use these clues to understand the world around us, as well as why we do what we do as Americans and as humans. I will be touching on themes that relate to this quotation by Cullen, escapism, exploitation, and globalization, as well as how these themes relate to the course goals.

According to Jenkins ‘Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide’, It spectacles that the entertainment industry has taken the advantage of harnessing ‘New Media’ on traditional formats by focussing on the logistics and practices. This evidently helps to increase the popularity and the availability of audience participation through the use of updated technology. This is denoted through old technological formats via applying new interactive media to heighten the participation for numerous audiences. For instance, back in the day many industries i.e. entertainment had to depend on broadcasting and radio for the viewers to receive their audio or visual content. To do these industries had to send out signals globally through a large transmitter so that people can receive their content. Transmitting these signals

In 1944, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, members of the Frankfurt School who fled from the Nazi Germany to the USA, were publishing their seminal essay ‘The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception’. Political critique, their thesis about the ideological domination of capitalism on cultural production is one that persists today and is regularly renewed (Mukerji & Schudson, 1991). Yet, since the first half of the twentieth century, evolutions have occurred within the ‘Culture Industry’, and while the theory – focusing primarily on the music and cinema industries – is still applicable to some features of contemporary ‘cultural industries’ (Hesmondhalgh, 2007), these changes require a contemporary reconsideration of it.

Mass media plays an important role in the society by providing entertainment, information and acting as the government’s overseer. Several scholars have developed philosophies that help people understand how mass media fulfills its roles in the society. For example, Horkheimer and Adorno have constructed theories that explain the functions and impacts of mass media in the society across the globe (Mosco, 2008). The central theme in all mass communication models entails the meaning of media contents, which include the images and texts and their influence on the target audience. The perception of the target audience concerning the text and images in the media are what form the basis of these theories. This essay discusses two hypothetical frameworks: the political economy and cultural studies theories, including their similarities and differences, and how they help in understanding the relationship between the media and society.

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).