The typical Western movie takes place in the Wild West, has a cowboy that saves the day, and usually includes and intense standoff at the end of the film. These cowboy movies are not made as much as they once were, but there are still many movies that follow the same movie of a typical western. One of these movies is Raiders of the Lost Ark with the character of Indiana Jones. The 1981 classic stars Harrison Ford as archeologist Indiana Jones who goes on an adventure against the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant. The movie is not a western and Indiana Jones is not a cowboy, but many of the themes and characteristics line up. One similarity is the idealized man and romance with the attractive woman. Young Harrison Ford can be described as what women want and what men want to be like and he is paired up with an attractive female counter part in the film. Early on in the movie she is kidnapped by the notorious Nazis and throughout a good chunk of the film he is attempting to rescue her. This lines up right with a cowboy in a Western because the cowboy is usually a young, good looking actor like Clint Eastwood who is trying to save a pretty girl from the clutches of evil. Another parallel is that he is trying to restore justice and manages to escape many dire situations. In the movie the Nazis want to use the Ark for personal gain, but Indiana wants to see it preserved and be kept safe in a museum. During his journey to see this happen he is often trapped in what appears to be the end of his voyage, but somehow he always manages to escape in miraculous fashion. This is the same in cowboy movies as the cowboy always prevails when it looks like the end and also always is trying to do the right thing. The most obvious example of the typical cowboy and Harrison Ford's character lining up is the physical appearance. Just like the typical cowboy he is white, masculine, self efficient, and even shares the common grizzled beard. To go along with these traits Indiana is also an American who is fighting foreign threats like Nazis and Egyptian natives much like a cowboy who often fights foreigners like Native Americans. The last similarity that I'll discuss is the shared adventure aspect. The cowboy is always on a wild thrill ride that brings him all over the place. Indiana Jones is on a constant adventure in this film, he is in many different countries, and always finds trouble fighting on villains. I can not think of a movie in recent history that is more closely related to a cowboy in a western than Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Indiana Jones the Cowboy
The typical Western movie takes place in the Wild West, has a cowboy that saves the day, and usually includes and intense standoff at the end of the film. These cowboy movies are not made as much as they once were, but there are still many movies that follow the same movie of a typical western. One of these movies is Raiders of the Lost Ark with the character of Indiana Jones. The 1981 classic stars Harrison Ford as archeologist Indiana Jones who goes on an adventure against the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant. The movie is not a western and Indiana Jones is not a cowboy, but many of the themes and characteristics line up. One similarity is the idealized man and romance with the attractive woman. Young Harrison Ford can be described as what women want and what men want to be like and he is paired up with an attractive female counter part in the film. Early on in the movie she is kidnapped by the notorious Nazis and throughout a good chunk of the film he is attempting to rescue her. This lines up right with a cowboy in a Western because the cowboy is usually a young, good looking actor like Clint Eastwood who is trying to save a pretty girl from the clutches of evil. Another parallel is that he is trying to restore justice and manages to escape many dire situations. In the movie the Nazis want to use the Ark for personal gain, but Indiana wants to see it preserved and be kept safe in a museum. During his journey to see this happen he is often trapped in what appears to be the end of his voyage, but somehow he always manages to escape in miraculous fashion. This is the same in cowboy movies as the cowboy always prevails when it looks like the end and also always is trying to do the right thing. The most obvious example of the typical cowboy and Harrison Ford's character lining up is the physical appearance. Just like the typical cowboy he is white, masculine, self efficient, and even shares the common grizzled beard. To go along with these traits Indiana is also an American who is fighting foreign threats like Nazis and Egyptian natives much like a cowboy who often fights foreigners like Native Americans. The last similarity that I'll discuss is the shared adventure aspect. The cowboy is always on a wild thrill ride that brings him all over the place. Indiana Jones is on a constant adventure in this film, he is in many different countries, and always finds trouble fighting on villains. I can not think of a movie in recent history that is more closely related to a cowboy in a western than Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Popular Culture of Cars
The first automobile was the Benz Patent Motor Car, which was a gas powered cylinder engine that was powered for the first time in 1879- well over a hundred years ago.
Cars are something that those who live in industrial societies are so used to seeing and accessing, and they've evolved to come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. From the Fiat and the Volkswagen Beetle, to the Suburban and the Hummers, commercial vehicles have become something so complex and ingrained in our culture, we've begun to create assumptions of people's identities based solely on the cars they drive, and it's something that's so normalized, we're given toy cars to play with as children.
One of the most popular assumptions is the "soccer mom" trope. This idea conjures up images of a woman who is driving all of her children to their various sports and clubs, and often is in charge of the carpool. She's typically middle-class and suburban. Her cars are spacious and large, but incredibly safe, and often even just googling it shows a list catered specifically to "soccer moms". The typical assumption would be that the driver would be a woman, white, "fed-up" with her husband and always having to clean up after her kids, and probably has the "Can I Speak To Your Manager" haircut.
We've begun the narratives of assumptions of other people based on what they drive because typically it's not wrong, because cars nowadays are made to fit the needs of people. Soccer Moms drive the cars they do because they need the features that provides. Expensive, luxury vehicles are driven by rich people because they're the only ones who can afford it. These things have become some sort of derisive remarks, but originally they were simply based in the fact of it.
Cars are something that only recently have become widely available, because back in the day, only the rich could afford cars, but now they're typically affordable especially with payment plans and leasing. (Funnily enough, back then, only the rich could drive, and everyone rode horses, but now everyone can drive and only the rich have horses. Oh, how the stables have turned.) With vehicles becoming more normalized and accessible, high ways were built and paved, which allowed people who previously never traveled, and typically lived within walking distance of their relatives, the stores, and everything they've every known, to begin to branch out and explore and allowed for more communication between regions and the transfer of ideas and culture to diffuse across the land.
People also enjoy refurbishing cars, building them from the ground up, collecting them- it's endless the subcultures that arise specifically around cars. There's all sorts of different car shows where people show of their antique cars, muscle cars, trucks, repaired, mismatched, any and all sorts of cars, and people associate their own cars with their ideas of social statuses and image among other people.
Cars can be a source of discussion on the psychology of people, sociology and statuses, economic views, political opinions, and it also can be traced throughout history.
Social Media: The Good, but Never the Bad or Ugly
Coffee; the magical bean juice that helps us do all of the things. But coffee is not just coffee, it's a huge part of popular culture and provides a larger insight into who we are individually, and as whole, a lot more than we would think. The many elements that go into the world of coffee, such as how we drink it, how often, and where, can tell us a lot about us. And just like coffee, social media is also a huge part of popular culture. There's Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and so much more, and they all have different functions and purposes. Some people use social media for fun, some of us for business, and some not at all! Some of us can't start our days without a cup of coffee, and some of us can't start our days without checking our various accounts and notifications. One of the larger social media outlets is Instagram. You can tell so much about a person through the other accounts they follow, the posts they like, and what they post such as: if they're in relationship, what they do for work, what kind of food they like, and more.
But Instagram is essentially just a highlight reel of every users' lives. Operative word being highlight, because very rarely do you see anyone post the bad, for the world to see. And why would we? Why wouldn't we post ourselves looking our very best, or that delicious and aesthetically pleasing brunch you had, or of the new car you finally got? This has to say something about us as a society, when we refuse to post a photo from an unflattering angle or footage of your kid having an absolute meltdown telling you you're "the worst parent ever". Everyone is always trying to put their best faces forward, pun intended, and it's something that we as a society engage in daily; probably without ever really noticing.
The video of "An Example of Popular Culture" touches base on all the different dynamics surrounding coffee such as how and where we drink it, and what it says about us. This can help us see social media the same way and allows us to understand how and why we use it the way we do. It is something we use constantly, and for all different reasons, but at the end of the day it is something that brings us together and allows us to connect with people all over the world.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Memes: Niche or Not, They’re Reaching You.
If you’ve ever come across a photo captioned by something either eerily relatable or so obscure that you have no choice but to laugh with confusion, you have stumbled upon a newer type of meme. Technically speaking, a meme is anything within culture that has gone viral via the internet, but most commonly the medium for memes is images with relatable captions. Memes are a large part of modern popular culture, as their widespread usage, popularity, and ability to be personalized to fit almost any identity. If brevity is the soul of wit (thank you, Hamlet), then memes are for you. These images have been around for years, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. They are most often a single image with most often than not, crudely dubbed captions that appeal to the audience in how relatable they are. The longer the meme, the less likely it is to be successful… but if that’s the case… is it a meme if it isn’t successful? The very definition includes the fact that it has been passed around from internet user to internet user becoming widespread in a short amount of time.
One example of this are memes that shed light on the human condition and the struggles that come with that. They can be very cathartic to some. Most memes seen scrolling through whatever social media platform you chose are self-deprecating. Although it is not healthy for ones self-confidence or sense of self worth, venting about your inner demons through the lens of humor is cheaper, and frankly more attainable than therapy. The interesting part about this though is that the audience connects with the meme, making the creator not alone in how they view about themselves or what they struggle with. This unity is depressing, sure, but nevertheless uniting. Some memes can be viewed to make light of tough subjects like mental health, but at the same time allow for conversations for such to begin, and allow for the audience to feel as if they are not alone in what they struggle with. Most importantly, though, it is funny as hell.
This is not to pigeonhole memes by any means- memes can range to extremely relatable to the point that it kind of hurts, to extremely obscure and funny due to how out-of-context and bizarre it is. These obscure memes are referred to as “Surreal Memes” (example pictured right). These are harder to break down in terms of relatability because, really, it’s not relatable. These kinds of memes are funny not because of their relatability, but because they fit into a niche of humor that has exhausted all other avenues of memes. For example, a photo
But the important thing to note here is that memes are popular culture because, we, as individuals, can identify with different memes. Whenever someone sends a meme to their friends, family members, coworkers, significant other, or whatever it may be, they are identifying (through relating with the content of the meme) the meme with someone or themselves. Commenting “same,” or “this is so me,” or “so you,” is attaching identity onto said meme.
To be a person who views and enjoys memes is to be a person who has access to the internet. It’s almost impossible to not stumble across a meme while on the internet, especially if you are using social media. Companies sometimes use memes (more often than not unsuccessfully) to appeal to audiences to claim that they are “hip with the times,” so-to-speak. Ultimately, memes are infinite in their range of content, but because of this, people are able to identify with different memes and relate in different ways, but in the end unite the audience with others who have also enjoyed a meme.
Image Sources:
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Food!
Like many other examples of popular culture, the topic of food is far more in-depth than just stuffing our faces with that greasy burger and salty French-fries. Consider the differences between the following topics concerning food in America.
Fast Food: Fast Food in America is a popular topic of discussion. Consider the studies pertaining to fast food and obesity rates. Or the mass advertising of fast food companies in America. How has our view of fast food changed? To some, fast food could be a regular part of their diet, to others, a guilty pleasure. Which fast food joint is your favorite? Have you ever had the discussion of which restaurants offer the best items? "McDonalds has the best fries, Burger King has the best Burgers, and you have to go to Wendy's fo that Frosty". I've had that discussion before, and I'm sure you have to.
Cookbooks: There is a vast array of cook books that you see at the bookstore or magazines you see at the grocery store. The cookbooks appeal to a consumer's individual needs or desires. For example, they offer healthy recipes for the health-conscious consumer, slow-cooker recipes for the time-restricted consumer, and all burger recipes for people like me! There are too many cookbooks covering too many specific styles of cooking to list. They can be filtered by the consumer to meet their needs by a multitude of criteria, including skill level of the consumer, food interests of the consumer, or diet restrictions of the consumer just to name a few.
The act of eating: As far as the act of sitting around the dinner table is concerned, one may initially believe that there is not much to it, just eat! But consider the differences within our culture when it comes to meals. Do you always eat at the kitchen table? Did you eat while watching television? Who in your family contributes to meal time? These are a few of many questions that can be asked concerning mealtime.
Restaurants: Steakhouse or sushi? Tapas or Chinese food? Pub fare or Italian? I once lived in a neighborhood of Boston that offered so many choices and varieties of food, my roommate created a random restaurant generator on the computer to help us choose where and what to eat. Does the restaurant you choose depend on the occasion? Or maybe it depends on your favorite food? Either way, there are vast differences in where and why people choose to dine.
There is no doubt that food is important to our culture. Examining something as simple as food can help broaden our understanding of how we view it, and there is value in exploring topics like these to help us understand our world better.
Fast Food: Fast Food in America is a popular topic of discussion. Consider the studies pertaining to fast food and obesity rates. Or the mass advertising of fast food companies in America. How has our view of fast food changed? To some, fast food could be a regular part of their diet, to others, a guilty pleasure. Which fast food joint is your favorite? Have you ever had the discussion of which restaurants offer the best items? "McDonalds has the best fries, Burger King has the best Burgers, and you have to go to Wendy's fo that Frosty". I've had that discussion before, and I'm sure you have to.
Cookbooks: There is a vast array of cook books that you see at the bookstore or magazines you see at the grocery store. The cookbooks appeal to a consumer's individual needs or desires. For example, they offer healthy recipes for the health-conscious consumer, slow-cooker recipes for the time-restricted consumer, and all burger recipes for people like me! There are too many cookbooks covering too many specific styles of cooking to list. They can be filtered by the consumer to meet their needs by a multitude of criteria, including skill level of the consumer, food interests of the consumer, or diet restrictions of the consumer just to name a few.
The act of eating: As far as the act of sitting around the dinner table is concerned, one may initially believe that there is not much to it, just eat! But consider the differences within our culture when it comes to meals. Do you always eat at the kitchen table? Did you eat while watching television? Who in your family contributes to meal time? These are a few of many questions that can be asked concerning mealtime.
Restaurants: Steakhouse or sushi? Tapas or Chinese food? Pub fare or Italian? I once lived in a neighborhood of Boston that offered so many choices and varieties of food, my roommate created a random restaurant generator on the computer to help us choose where and what to eat. Does the restaurant you choose depend on the occasion? Or maybe it depends on your favorite food? Either way, there are vast differences in where and why people choose to dine.
There is no doubt that food is important to our culture. Examining something as simple as food can help broaden our understanding of how we view it, and there is value in exploring topics like these to help us understand our world better.
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