Annotated Bibliography On Popular Culture

What dictates the social roles, the individual responsibility everyone has in society, and stereotypes, an overgeneralized and oversimplified belief of a particular person or group, in America’s 21st century society? Can rationale and critical thinking be held accountable for the establishment of ethical beliefs involving people and their sex, gender related value systems? The following readings covered in this essay are both found within the textbook, Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers; the Introduction: Popular Signs written by coauthors Sonia Maasik, a writing programs lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Jack Solomon, an English Professor at California State University, and located within the second chapter of the textbook, the brief article, Dove’s “Real Beauty” backlash, written by Jennifer L. Pozner, the executive director of Women In Media & News (“Sonia Maasik”)(“Jack Solomon”)(194). Mass entertainment culture, the popular interests of the majority broadcasted in the media, can be attributed for constituting and sustaining the potentially hindering culture myths, a fictitious but widely accepted belief of a certain culture, regarding all genders. These cultural myths are not exclusive to men and women as they also involve transgender individuals and others who identify as another gender not classified under ‘cisgender.’ An extensive analysis of mass entertainment culture and

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

Although, we have improved in our acceptance many still target such individuals who sexual orientation differs. It is alarming when looking at the advertisements and media in today’s society and how they depict women and gay individuals. Women for instance are often depicted in the media as objects of men’s desires and treated as so on television broadcasts. Gay individuals are depicted in a comical way which is degrading. Another alarming factor that went unmentioned in the documentary is the age of many girls in the advertisements.

Televisions became popular in the late 1940’s and it was said to bring families together. It brought families together because before families were not as close as they were when they did not have televisions. According to a quote on the book Major Problems in American Popular Culture, by Kathleen Franz and Susan Smulyan, it said “It keeps us happier. My husband and I get along a lot better.

Asian stereotypes are a product of prevailing myths propagated by various media, from books, plays, movies, television, to even historical propaganda. Generally speaking, the stereotyping of Asian women often swing to extreme types: the docile, subservient sexual object, or the dragon lady. Asian Americans only make up a small percentage of the United States population and live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii. Consequently, the rest of the American population will most likely get their exposures to Asian Americans through television and movies. Popular media exposure to Asian Americans lacks one-on-one acquaintance with Asian Americans. It hinders the process

While many believe that homosexuality has only been seen in mainstream media for only a few decades, it has actually been with America cinema since the early 1920’s. The portrayal of homosexuality in film and TV has come a very long way since the 1920’s. What viewers see on TV about homosexuality is really just a representation of America’s changing public view on the subject. While we have come to accept the topic of homosexuality in American society more willingly, we have substituted much of our prejudice about gays with the stereotypes that we see on TV constantly. Because as a society we are constantly forced to see these stereotypes, we are being halted in our progression to accept all different kinds of lifestyles.

Growing up as a Catholic, Puerto Rican gay boy in the 90s and early 2000s, I struggled to discover my queer identity as well as queer representation in the media I consumed. Being gay was something that was never discussed. If it was brought up, it was usually in hushed tones (I remember being introduced to my uncle 's close 'friend ' each holiday) or as something negative (I still remember the sting of being called a faggot in elementary school). This reflected exactly how homosexuality was portrayed in media at the time. Queer characters and homosexuality were at best portrayed in codified, 'blink-and-you 'll-miss it ' labels and affectations, or at worst, something to laugh at, pity or even hate. As someone who still regularly watches reads comics, watches Saturday morning cartoons and plays video games, it is so exciting to discover the lengths of progress that has been made in queer representation in all ages media. In this paper I hope to detail the highs and lows of LGBTQ representation in all ages media and highlight the impact of media representation.

Popular culture is consumed through interaction in the social media that includes television programs, movie theaters and virtual social networks. From the media, interests lie in the political developments and discussion concerning governance. These media satisfy appetite for political information while guiding an understanding on the national issues and choices made.

Media, whether it is social media or television, magazines or books, has played an important part of shaping the American view on the queer community over time. Media has been the main source of information of popular culture and has shined a light to the issues facing this community. Television shows are the products of historical changes and their content and themes provide indications of shifts in the American societal views and culture of the time period. The understanding of gay sexual relationships on television in shows such as Modern Family, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder, show the gradual shift away from the negative stereotypes that have followed the characterization of queer people in television, towards a more normal portrayal of the queer as people, members of their families and communities.

Among the many issues that affect the Asian American community today, one that stands out to me is the hyper sexualization of Asian women. Unlike the depiction of awkward, asexual Asian men, Asian women are stereotyped as highly venereal beings. Both labels are problems, but this paper focuses on the issue facing females in this community. Their sexuality stems from depictions of “…being petite, exotic, and eager to please and serve men” (Fong 2007). Additionally, two big components for their sex appeal come from the “dragon lady” and “China doll” characters that Asian women have been portrayed as in media. However, the origins of the hyper sexualized Asian woman can be traced back to the first wave of Chinese immigrants.

Media and its representation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) themes has been prevalent throughout time. According to the collections of studies and stories by Meem, Mitchell and Jonathan (2010) concerning LGBT individuals, it is important to represent such themes because it is able to enlighten people on how our society as a whole, has become dynamic. The Media can be seen as a “central source” where negative perceptions can be created. As a result, stereotypes can be either created or perpetuated about this group, negative or otherwise. Media as a medium, therefore, is an extremely powerful tool in our society, and can be used to change or create people 's perceptions about this particular segment of our world (LGBT).

Criteria for Defining Modern Popular Culture Modern Pop culture plays a major role in America in several ways via several media sources including, television, radio and the internet. These sources are often utilized to indicate what the social "norm" is in society, and there are several theories as to how this is done. An example of how this is presented is by the relationships amongst people, behaviors of the main characters, and the way in which they live, shop, eat, etc. With changes to society, modern pop culture has also changed. For example, as societal acceptance has changed from suppression of homosexuality to acceptance on varying levels, there has been a slow increase in this being seen and discussed in media.

Sex culture in modern day Japan has demonstrated to be an integral part of their cultural identity and is more progressive than any other countries. Japan’s sex culture has surpassed boundaries that are standardized in other countries. The West sees the Japanese as emotionless, controlled and even sexless. Publicly they are shy, reserved and terribly proper, however Japan is an extreme contradiction. If we examine the surface of their culture, the private life of these Japanese people can be a real eye opener. The role of sexuality and more specifically the role of pornography in women’s lives is perhaps the biggest debate among the people from the West. This paper will examine how pornography is gendered in Japan and the effects of this to the West. It will also delve into the Japanese cultural identity and its contradistinction to the American cultural identity. An important argument that people may debate about is the fact that Japanese people have the oddest sexual culture that outstands their cultural identity.

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.

Popular culture is a term that holds various meanings depending on where it 's being defined and the context of its use. It is usually recognized as the language or people’s culture that prevails in a society at a point in time. As social researcher Brummett explains in his book “Rhetorical Dimensions of Popular Culture”, pop culture reflects the characteristics of social life, where the publicly are most actively involved. Popular culture is known as the ‘culture of the people’. This culture is determined by the interactions between people within their daily activities, for instance, dressing styles, use of language, greeting rituals and the ways that people behave in public, etc. are all examples of popular culture. Popular culture is also diverted by the mass media (Abbott and Sapsford, 1987).