1. Soc. 118 Media, Culture & Society
Chapter 8
The Searchers:
Audiences and the Quest for Meaning in Popular Culture

2. Chapter 8: OVERVIEW Audiences and Meaning Interpretive Communities
The case of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC)
Video Presentations:
“MTV: When Lyrics Attack”
“60 Minutes - Eminem's Incredible Rise to Stardom”
Meaning-Making and the Changing Significance of Popular Culture
Popular Culture and the Search for Authenticity
Adventures in the Quest for Meaning

3. Audiences and Meaning Does culture shape or reflect society?
Debates about the value or harm of popular culture
Controversies over explicit content
Concern about effects
Conflicts over ideology, values
Part of the culture wars
Is meaning imposed on audiences?
Interpretation

4. Audiences and Meaning
Interpretive communities
Personal thoughts, emotions
Common background
Shared worldview
Variety of different interpretations possible
Examples:
Focus:
How audiences attribute meaning and interpret culture
Example:

5. Bruce Springsteen “Born in the U.S.A.”
Born down in a dead man's town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that's been beat too much 'Til you spend half your life just covering up [chorus:] Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. I got in a little hometown jam And so they put a rifle in my hands Sent me off to Vietnam To go and kill the yellow man [chorus] Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me" I go down to see the V.A. man He said "Son don't you understand"
[chorus]
I had a buddy at Khe Sahn Fighting off the Viet Cong They're still there, he's all gone He had a little girl in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms [chorus]
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I'm ten years down the road Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A.

6. Industry Regulation: The Case of the PMRC
Concerns about graphic images and explicit lyrics
Heavy metal, rap
Glorifies violence, drugs, sex, suicide
List of artists and songs
Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC)
Senate hearings in 1985
Expert witnesses
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
Musicians
Results in “Parental Advisory” stickers
Industry self-regulation
Avoid fines or censorship
Impacts sales

7. Video Presentation:
"MTV: When Lyrics Attack" “60 Minutes – Eminem’s Incredible Rise to Stardom"

8. The Changing Meaning of Popular Culture
Auteur theory
Film festivals
Film criticism
U.S. national film registry
Case Study: Rock Music (1980s--)
Grammy Awards categories
Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame
Rock journalism
Rolling Stone’s rock canon (top 500)
Rhetoric used for other art forms
Academic study of rock music
Publications, conferences, rebuttals
The next genre?
Meaning of genres can shift over time
Reconsideration of art forms and artists
Transformation in value, respect
Historical factors leading to changes
Case Study: Film (1960s--)
Seen as lower class in 1930s
TV in s made film seem more sophisticated
New educated middle class seeking entertainment
Academy Awards for achievement
Film studies at universities

9. Adventures in the Quest for Meaning
Postmodern audiences seek something new
Hybrid products
Mix of cultures to create new possibilities
Examples:
Myles Davis – jazz, funk, psychedelic
Bob Dylan – folk to electric
Beastie Boys or Chili Peppers – funk, punk, rap, hard rock
Kid Rock – heavy metal, R & B, rap, country
Other examples of hybridity in pop culture?
Irony and humor
Camp
Tribute bands
Song parodies
Other examples:
Cult movies