Why Pop Culture?

Why Pop Culture? Because It's Everywhere!

I really hate to admit that I am keeping the stereotype "bad" pop culture alive. I have a confession. I am the pop/country music loving, bad horror movie watching, reality TV junky. In fact, I am probably single handedly keeping the Kardashians in the news and on TV.

But I'm also not sorry. And that's what's so great about pop culture. There is a little bit of everything for everyone. That's why pop culture is so important. It is involved everything we do in life.

Music is a huge part of my life. If you ask anyone what I do all day, I'm sure they'll answer :SING! Not that I'm the best singer, I just really enjoy it. Music is my daily motivator. Though I tend to gravitate towards today's country, or Top 100, I listen to a large variety of music. My playlists contain all genres to go along with any mood I am in.

 As for TV, as I stated before I love reality TV. The junkier the better. We're talking "Kardashians", "Love and Hip Hop" ... you name it. I also REALLY love crime shows, to include "Criminal Minds," "Law and Order," and documentary crime shows like "Snapped." I also am at the top of my game with kids shows due to my 2 year old.

Admittedly, I am not too big of a fan of movies. Luckily, my husband is. This means I watch a lot of movies NOT by choice, but it does make me expand my horizons, so why not! Also, I have NEVER been a reader, but my New Years Resolution was to yet again try to venture into the world of books. I decided to start with one I knew I would like (because I am in love with the movies) which is to start the Harry Potter series. I read the first 2 a while back and really enjoyed them, but It has always seemed like a chore to read them. Any tips on helping me get into reading? Anyone?

The value of pop culture is so dominant in our world. One of the most important aspects to me is the underestimated value of social media. When I moved from my family away to Missouri I was ecstatic that is was so easy to keep in touch. Social media allows people from all over the world to share their culture, ideas and values all within minutes. This a huge advance in technology, and we are so fortunate to be living in a time where these major advances are taking place.

I'm really excited to be in this class. Looking at the syllabus I know I am going to be pushed out of my comfort zone, and I am really excited. I think it will be so interesting to be reading and studying more in depth topics of pop culture. Pop culture forms the way we think and act, and I wonder how these studies will make me have a different outlook on pop culture - and life itself.

Good luck all!

Popular Culture - Documentaries

Popular Culture: 21st Century Documentaries 

In recent years, there have been many different documentaries that've shed light on different issues in the United States, as well as across the world. Some of these films have cost people their lives and tremendous amounts of effort, in order to achieve the success of their message and intentions getting across to the rest of the world. A good example of an influential documentary like this is Fahrenheit 911, the highest grossing documentary of all time, which lead to a huge shift in public opinion about the 9/11 attacks and also exposed many of George Bush's ties to the middle east as well as Iraq, which many people didn't quite fully understand. Some other good examples of influential documentaries like these are: An Inconvenient Truth, which pertained to global warming, Food inc. which went into detail about how organic crops get effected by GMO seeds, Blackfish; which has now led to the discontinuation of whale shows and caused a huge public backlash, as well as many more. 

Value in documentaries is always substantial because it sheds light on a true perspective of certain issues. Usually, documentaries are shot in a way that presents evidence or what could be considered evidence and allows the viewer to make their own informed decision. Usually after watching a documentary about an issue, I feel more comfortable talking about that issue because I know more of the pertinent facts.

During the stages of this course, I anticipate there may be some involvement with documentaries and I do know that by studying at least a few of them, which may have to do with your own personal interests, can give you additional insight on content you're already into that you may have had no idea about.  

Pop Culture - Music, Fashion, and Style

Ever since I was a young child I have loved music. I remember sitting in the back seat of my parents car and listening to whatever they happened to have on the radio. I eventually started to develop my own wide-ranging taste in music, which includes Bob Dylan, U2, Tom Waits, Pavement, Pearl Jam, Florence and the Machine and even old school Bossa Nova. On of my favorites was David Bowie, who died last week, studying his career would give one a good sense of what was happening in popular culture over the last forty years as he was consistently ahead of his time. Here's a great video someone created which embodies many of David Bowies changing styles! It's also a great song.

Music is an important part of my life. It’s something I can take with me wherever I go, whether it’s to the gym, on my way to work or at home. Music can also affect a mood or create a mood. It can motivate me, calm me down after a stressful day or create whatever atmosphere your looking for. I also find it interesting how fashion is closely associated with particular music, 70s rock, 80s pop and early 90s grunge definitely conjure up specific styles. I think this course will allow me to understand how music can affect our society as well as how society can influence musical styles and movements. Today those songs that played in my parent car take me back to my childhood.

Why Pop Culture

I discovered when I returned to University as a mature student five years ago that I really missed the story arc of a novel, but I did not have the time to devote to a novel. This is when I discovered the beauty of the Graphic Novel. I have many favourites (such as Essex County by Jeff Lemire, Ed the Happy Clown by Chester Brown, and anything at all written and drawn by Joe Sacco). However, one that I am particularly partial to is a Kickstarter compilation put together by Hope Nicholson, called Nelvana of the Northern Lights by Adrian Dingle.

Nelvana was a serial comic book (actually one of the first to use the multi-issue story arc format) created in response to the War Exchange Conservation Act during WW2 that was enacted in Canada to preserve the Pound Sterling. As a result of this embargo, popular American comic book heroes were not available to Canadians and the "Canadian Whites" were born. Nelvana as it turns out, was both a Demi-Goddess and a Super-heroine born of Indigenous birth (Inuit, but at the time called "Eskimo") yet was fashioned after Hedy Lemarr. This is itself an interesting aspect to consider within the context of Pop Culture. Why did Dingle draw her as a "white" and "American" bombshell beauty instead of a mysterious and/or exotic Inuit woman? Why would that not have sold comics back in the 1940's? What does this reveal about Canadian culture in the 1940's?

Continuing in the vein of my Pop Culture interests, I am also a guest reviewer for a Canadian online TV review web site (much like the popular SpoilerTV) called Tv-Eh. The program I review is called Mohawk Girls, created and produced by the award winning Tracey Deer (who also happens to be Mohawk). Links to my reviews can be found here: http://www.tv-eh.com/category/mohawk-girls/ (you have to scroll down a bit if you do take a look as the Canadian Emmy's--Canadian Screen Awards-- were recently announced and Mohawk Girls received four nominations. YAY, I am so thrilled for them! That news will appear first).

I started reviewing this show, as a bit of a personal experiment. As I am a white Canadian (or as is becoming popular up here, "settler") of British ancestry, I wanted to be sure my head was in the right space to proceed with my thesis. I knew, if I wrote about a television program that was written, created, acted, and produced by Indigenous artists, and that aired on a television network designed specifically to market for Canada's Indigenous populations, if I got it wrong, Social Media would flame me. My "wrongness" would be immediately known. I was however very fortunate to have my reviews well received by the people directly involved with the show (and if any of those people end up reading this entry THANK YOU, again!)

Ultimately though, for me, I feel that Pop Culture is such an interesting political tool capable of challenging the discourses embedded in our policies, especially when the public becomes involved through social media. Additionally, with the availability of technology so close at hand for the general person, art, music, and self publishing make media artifacts readily available to the world. A well marketed Kickstarter and you have a successful book published. A few carefully worded tweets and a little independent band has a viral video. This also means that the public has a very powerful platform to promote ideas that could challenge marginalizing discourses. We as consumers no longer have our tastes and desires shaped by big corporate businesses. We now have both the power to choose and to create without depending upon those same large corporations. I feel that this power, when properly utilized has the ability to disrupt the hierarchies that are present in society. If the little unknown guy (or girl) promotes their message of equity within their art/media, new discourses can gain popularity and promote change (Squeaky wheel gets the oil!!).  It is however necessary to be aware of what Pop Culture is and how Pop Culture works in order to take advantage of the power and influence that is contained within this ever shifting beast that is Pop Culture... AND, that is why Pop Culture!

-cheers!

Resource: 8-Bit Philosophy

I have been a fan of 8-Bit Philosophy for a few years now and believe it's a great resource for people learning popular culture.  The video series on YouTube takes deep philosophical topics and ideas and breaks down what they actually mean, but most often they use characters, plots, and motifs from video games--particularly old school video games of the 1980s and 1990s.  I often find myself coming to 8-Bit Philosophy when I want to get a strong and easy to understand approach to discussing a specific philosophy or concept.  Here is an example: 

This particular video helps us to understand the basics of a very complex theory: marxism.  I found it useful because marxist ideology is strongly bound informed by the development of mass-production (via the Industrial Revolution) and therefore has often used in exploring critiques of popular culture.  In particular, it makes me think about our roles as fans of popular culture, which makes us de facto consumers who often spend our limited resources (because we would often be understood as "workers" in Marxism) on elusive things that benefit capitalists.  That is not to say I entirely believe this is the case, but in looking to understand Marxism, such ideas are what stem from extending the theory to our modern life.  

Module 1 Example: Now Paging, Comics!

So for the first post on this blog, students should be exploring the following questions: 

1. What popular culture are you drawn to and why?  
2.  Why is it important to you and what value do you get from engaging in it?   
3. What do you anticipate you will learn about that particular form of popular culture in this course?

  It's a little bit different for me since I've already taken this course, but I can speak to my own journey of learning with comics. 

 I started reading comic books in middle school in the early 1990s.  I would spend much of the money I earned from my paper route at the local comic book store.  I read mostly Marvel Comics (they publish Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four), and just really enjoyed the adventures and the super-powers.  Pretty straight-forward.  However, my comic-reading continued on and off through high school and college.  

Cover to Whiz Comics #31

It was something I did for entertainment, until I got to graduate school, wherein I learned that two very important lessons.  The first was that comics could contain serious and legitimate content.  Herein, I was introduced to powerful works like Maus, Persepolis, Understanding Comics, Watchmen and many other popular and powerful graphic novels.  The second thing that I learned was that I could study comics and write about comics from an academic point of view.  This blew my mind and got me really excited.  So I began to read, research, and write a lot about comics--eventually--getting the opportunity to teach this course.  

Studying comics has been a great experience for me.  It has not only taught me more about comics--a form of entertainment, I greatly enjoy--but it has made me think differently about how we communicate, symbolism in images, how I make sense of story-telling (be it in comics, film, novels, or radio/audio), and a better appreciation of the arts as a whole.  Comics have introduced me to some of the most amazing and skilled people in the abstract (that is, I'm not aware of certain artists' work) and in the concrete (I've met many artists through my interest).