What Is Pop Culture? Why Study It?

Quickwrite #1: Choose a favorite or familiar piece of pop culture (a band, a musician, a film, a sports team) and write about it in the context of the essay we read for today. In what ways does your chosen piece of pop culture fit in with at least one of Delaney’s ideas about what pop culture is and how it functions in our society?

What is “culture”? cul·ture noun : the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time The word “arts” in this definition is what we are most concerned with. Now, this doesn’t just mean “art” as in drawing, painting, etc. The art of a culture is ALL of that culture’s methods of creative expression. What are some of the ways people express themselves creatively in the culture of early 21 st century America?

What is “Pop Culture”? One possible definition is in the introduction to our textbook Pop Perspectives, where pop culture is defined as “the common images, traditions, customs, and knowledge shared by large groups of people” (5). What this means: Pop culture is short for “popular culture.” This means it has a broad appeal. (A large cross section of society relates to it.) Pop culture is sometimes defined in opposition to “high culture” (which is a label I’m not fond of). “High culture” is thought to be more accessible to the educated/elite, while “popular” cultures is thought to be the art and creative expression of the “masses.”

Group List of Pop Culture What are some specific examples of pop culture you we can come up with as a group? Again, we’re talking about TV, Movies, music, books (yes, comic books count), fashion icons, artists, and brands that have a broad appeal.

Some Other Features of Pop Culture… Pop culture is dynamic. This means it is constantly changing and in motion. This is always been true, but the speed at which pop culture shifts has increased as mobile internet technology and social media have become more and more popular. Pop culture is not monolithic. This means that while we may talk about pop culture as a whole in order to understand it, the individual pieces that make up pop culture are diverse, and sometimes contradictory.

Brainstorming Brainstorming is a writing activity that asks you to write down ideas quickly, in short bursts without worrying about correctness. – You might use an idea web – You might make lists of phrases/ideas as they come to you. We are going to brainstorm as a class about the idea of “talent,” and later you will brainstorm on your own about a different topic.

Writing as “Unpacking the Box” One way to think of writing is as the process of unpacking a box that is full of objects. Each sentence is a box that contains other sentences. You just have to look carefully to find them. Using our brainstorming about “talent” as a class, we are going to write three sentences and then “unpack the box” in order to find more sentences.

What to do with brainstorming once you have it… Identify words/concepts that are related. Do you notice any patterns? Record what you notice on your brainstorming sheet. Does one set of ideas stand out to you? Mark it. Why does it stand out? Which of the ideas you brainstormed seems like the “box” with the most in it? (Remember the metaphor of writing as unpacking a box?) That is the one you probably want to write about, as long as it fits your topic.

Freewriting Freewriting is “stream of consciousness” writing about a topic. While you freewrite, keep your pen or pencil moving and do not worry about unity, coherence, or correctness. Having identified your favorite ideas from the brainstorming, I am going to ask you to freewrite about the topic for a specified period of time. If you get stuck, choose a phrase like “I don’t know what to write,” and write that over and over again. Your brain will eventually get bored and give you something else to say.

Individual Brainstorming/Freewriting Brainstorm, using an idea web or some other brainstorming technique, about the following topic: “My relationship with pop culture.” When I call time, you should stop brainstorming, identify groups of related ideas in your brainstorming, and begin to freewrite about those ideas.

Characteristics of an Essay Has a thesis statement – a claim the entire essay works to support Has paragraphs that support the thesis. – Each paragraph covers one point of support for the thesis. – Each point of support (these are your reasons that the thesis is correct) is logical and explained thoroughly. Uses an appropriate tone and style for the intended audience. Uses the tools of writing to convey the author’s message clearly and memorably.

Using Brainstorming to Draft a Short In-Class Essay Look back at your freewriting and write a brief in- class essay draft where you make a claim about the topic you brainstormed earlier: “My relationship with pop culture.” Your thesis will be a statement about the topic, and your support will require you to think about questions like this: Why do you have the relationship with pop culture that you do? Has this relationship enhanced your life? What events and circumstances have led you to this relationship?

Why study “Pop Culture”? Historically, academia (schools, universities, professors) put a lot of emphasis on “high culture” and disregarded “pop culture,” thinking it wasn’t worth studying or analyzing. Recently, many scholars and universities have recognized the value of pop culture as an area of study. Some general assumptions that the study of pop culture makes: – The art (this includes movies, music, tv, etc.) that a culture produces reveals what that culture values. – The art a culture produces reveals widely held attitudes about important/controversial issues. – While Pop Culture can reveal attitudes, it can also change them. – In other words, the pop culture that we are exposed to can affect how and what we think, while at the same time forcing us to examine commonly held assumptions.

Class Discussion of “Pop Culture: An Overview” What, according to the author (Delaney), is the purpose of popular culture? What does it do for us as a society? Do you agree with his observations? How does popular culture help people to create identity? What is the connection between popular culture, social media, and mass media?

Analysis of Pop Culture Consider our class list of examples of pop culture, then answer the following question: “We’ve made lists, individually and as a class, of examples of pop culture that we enjoy. What are some important issues that your examples of pop culture brings up?” In other words, what important issues/ideas might these examples of pop culture lead us to discuss? By answering these questions, we are beginning to do the work of analyzing pop culture.

Everyone’s a Critic Because you will be doing the work of analyzing pop culture, you will be taking on the role of pop culture critic. The word “critic” here doesn’t mean that you are only going to be saying negative things about pop culture. Instead, it means that you will… – Examine the pieces of pop culture you are studying carefully and thoughtfully. – Examine the assumptions, trends, and social issues are brought to light by your examination of pop culture. – Make claims about what your examination of popular culture tells you about the society that produced it.

Extra Credit: Go online and find a work of criticism about a piece of pop culture with which you are familiar. (This might be a review, an essay, a youtube video, a blog post… I don’t care what the medium is as long as the message of the criticism is sufficiently complex.) For next class, print out and bring to me: 1.The title, author, and website where you found the work of criticism. 2.In one paragraph, summarize the points the author is making about the work of pop culture. 3.In a second paragraph, respond to the author’s ideas. Do you agree with his/her assessment of the piece of pop culture and (if applicable) its connection to real- world issues?