When the word is examined within the context of popular culture, however, it takes on a different definition, far beyond that found in a dictionary. While quantitative factors must inherently play a role in defining ‘popular’, the origins from which these factors stem from must also be considered. Raymond Williams (1983, p.237) provides a concise definition of popular culture as “the culture actually made by the people for themselves”, and thus implies that the term ‘popular’ is better defined by the populace within which the cultural trends exist, rather than by a measure of how many people subscribe to those cultural trends. John Storey (2012, p.9) similarly defines popular culture as “‘authentic’ culture of ‘the people’”, providing a second and comparable view that popular culture is an organic type of culture that is produced by the population, rather than by a selection of larger powers. Working from both Williams’ and Storey’s definitions of popular culture we can deduce that the word ‘popular’, when examined under the lens of popular culture, can be defined as something created by the people for consumption by those the population who created it as a
• Do not insert personal views. • Write in your own words, except for quotations. • Create an APA-formatted parenthetical citation for this paraphrase. • Insert the APA article reference. According to Eliana Tropeano, this study was to provide data to the public on the effects of violent music.
Culture can be represented through art, schools, material objects, and communication. Popular Culture Popular culture is always changing. Popular culture is “cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people” (Dictionary.com, 2012, p. 1). In popular American culture it can be viewed in written literature, broadcasting, music, dance and theater, decorative arts, and sports and recreation (Collection Overview, n.d). Popular American culture can be defined differently from one person to the next; there is not a set standard definition of popular American culture.
American Pop Culture To understand pop culture, one must first understand culture. Culture is the total inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge that form the basis for social action (Dictionary.com, 2012). Pop culture is the shared knowledge and practices of a specific group at a specific time (Petracca & Sorapure, 2007). Cultural views are ancestry-based values that one believes in because of the way that he or she was raised. Cultural views are not written in black and white.
Uses and Gratifications Approach Audience members are individually in charge of their own uses of and exposure to media. Professors Mark Levy and Sven Windal explain that “audience activity” suggests that individuals are motivated by their own needs and goals to use the media and that active participation influences the gratifications (rewards) and effects (influences) associated with exposure (as cited in Baran & Davis, 2009). So, individuals decide their use of media content based on the purpose it will serve them. The uses-and-gratifications (U&G) approach provides structure “for understanding when and how different media consumers become
The following essay is a semiotic analysis of a Gucci advertisement from the December 1990, Vogue Magazine. According to Thwaites, Davies and Mules, semiotics is concerned with the study of sign systems, (2002, pp29-30). However, when engaging in semiotic analysis, there are many different structures of meaning operating within any specific text, and therefore this essay will focus on the social context in which these signs are utilized. Since signs are innately polysemic and the semiotic analysis of a cultural text can be construed from a number of perspectives this analysis will therefore also look towards the anchorage in order to restrict the potential possibility of meanings and therefore deduce a dominant reading. The advertisement is by the company GUCCI, in which the label itself has become a symbol of prestige in modern society.
into selling their ideology to the people how important a role ideologies play. (Psychology: wiki.com /wiki / ideology#ideology-In-everyday-society. Accessed on 27th November 2012) Basically an ideology is about ideas. It includes beliefs, opinions and attitudes which when put together form a set. This set of ideas, attitudes and opinions is what influences social policy.
I will discuss the three major trends in our society, and how pop culture affects our personal decision making. What is culture? What is popular culture? What is culture? According to livescience.com (2012) “Culture is the characteristics of a popular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
The roots of this form of advertising are in the United States, where this is still most commonly practiced. However, there are still exceptions to this, as marketers across the world have tried to place different brands into a variety of media outlets to reach the consumers (Lee, Sung, & Gregorio, 2011). The research findings of this study suggest, “…decisions regarding product placement should be based on an understanding of cultural characteristics influencing consumers’ beliefs, values, norms, and attitudes” (Lee, Sung, & Gregorio, 2011, p. 377). What this shows is that cultural characteristics must be taken into consideration when using product placement. This can have an impact on society because America is a melting pot of different cultures.
Active Audiences and the Construction of Meaning People in the media industry believe that the audience is a mass of passive readers who accept media messages uncritically. Nevertheless, audiences participate actively in constructing meaning of media texts because of their individual or collective interpretation of media messages, and their collective political action. The audiences actively take part in the interpretation of media texts- an essential process when media messages start meaning something to people who assign meaning to the texts. Sometimes audiences can interpret the message in the same way as intended by the producers, but sometimes they construct meaning that is very different. People interpret media texts in social settings.