Pop Culture UGS Test 1

High Culture

Created by those in power

Low Culture

Pop culture

High and low culture through the ages

now no distinction

Plato

Ban poets, moral corruption

Rousseau

Theatre bad for work ethic, corrupt virtue

Kant

Emphasis on reason, cultured don’t threaten authority

Education

fine arts → democracy, literature and poetry good now, great books

Oscar Wilde

Art for art’s sake

Walter Lippmann

The media is shaping public opinion, the masses can’t govern themselves

Transference pattern

Youth culture becomes mass culture, high culture becomes low culture

Golden Age of Television

1950s

Media and pop culture

Cheap, accessible culture means profits, so the media promotes PC

Picture Superiority Effect

Visuals mean more than words

Pop Culture start

1920s with jazz and the Charleston

Pop Art

1960s: Andy Warhol

Genres and Audiences in Pop Culture

Sponsors are based on intended audiences

Study of Pop Culture

Understand why trends are so powerful, interdisciplinarity

Marshall McLuhan’s View on Pop Culture

PC as a mosaic, blessing and a curse, cannot be a cultural paradigm (pastiche)

Agenda Setting Theory

Mass media influences social and political opinions by choosing what they present

Propaganda Theory

What and how media is presented, manufactures consent with the media as a propaganda machine, targets political class (decision makers) and follow order class (take orders)

Filters of Propaganda Theory

Ownership, Funding, Sourcing, Flak, Anti-communism

Frankfurt school

Criticizes PC, Hegemony, capitalism culture

Mass society thesis

PC indicates the decline of the human population

The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies

Majorly disagrees with Frankfurt school, PC challenges the status quo, PC can unify a subculture, the emotional appeal of PC is a way for common people to resist those in power

McLuhan and Dadaism

His book is based on dadaism, PC is a representation of dadaism

Print Age

1700s-1900s, printing press (Gutenburg galaxy), print as a mass communication tool

Electronic Age

1900s, technology means globalization

McLuhan on Print Age to Electronic Age

PC indicates loss of intellectualism, people would stop thinking

Media Economics

How financial considerations shape decisions of media organizations

Media Economics and Pop Culture

PC is a business, PC depends on advertising

Conglomerates

Big groups of companies all owned by one person or corporation

Criticism of Mass Produced PC

No originality (highly uniform), market-driven, destroys creativity, PC becomes what the media tells us it is

Manufacturing Consent

Concentrated media ownership makes people consent to the values of capitalism

Technology in Pop Culture Economics

Spread PC, makes it accessible and easy to market

Economic Strategies

Minimizing risk, shifting risk, secondary markets, synergy

Minimizing Risk

Making things that are guaranteed to make money like sequels

Shifting Risk

Companies shift risk away from them and towards the individual, e.g. using freelancers instead of hiring writers

Secondary Markets

Another source of income for media companies, such as streaming services

Synergy

Creation of products that work together, e.g. movies, merch, experiences, disney/espn/hulu

Gatekeepers

Middlemen who control what reaches the audience, such as magazines, newspapers, social media, etc.

Structure of Businesses that Produce Pop Culture

Conglomerates, they control the network that controls their profits

Radio

1920s

PC and marketplace relationship

PC means popularity and marketability, which means profit. Also a relationship with technology (access)

Popularity

Hard to stabilize: culture from the people, received well, social and political mvmt, conformity, lack of impact

Soft Power

Shapes preferences without force or money, how culture influences global perceptions (political values and foreign policies)

Pop Culture and Politics

PC prevents people from being informed, infotainment, intersectionality increased

Mock News

Soft news that can educate people

Oprah Effect

Watching daytime talk shows means you’re more likely to vote

Altruism

Moral virtues, associated with leading a more fulfilling life

FCC

Pop culture is shaped by political decisions

Celebrity endorsements

Politically uses the celebrity’s popularity to promote their platform

Political Parties and Pop Culture

Democrats (especially Obama), then republicans (Trump era). Increasingly use PC to promote their image. Whistle stop tour

War Protest Songs

An example of how pop culture is politically used to rebel against those in power and exercise the power of the people

Political Messages Within Pop Culture

Resistant to dominant groups, power to change norms, ideas expressed

Political Structure’s Effect on Pop Culture

Gov. controls some PC availability, conditions of PC production: profit-making enterprise

Pure Entertainment

More effective than political entertainment because it doesn’t draw sides

Lessons of Pure Entertainment

Diversity and political tolerance, genres carry messages, authoritarianism is bad

Journalism Definition

Reporting of information that people need and want that conforms to norms and ethics of journalism

Examples of Journalism

Bret Baier, CNN Newsroom, NBC Nightly News

Examples of NOT Journalism

Fox & Friends (Hybrid news-commentary), Hannity, Meet the Press, The Today Show, John Oliver

Hutchins Commission

Social responsibility of the press to consider the needs of society. Elevate society’s standards

Ethics of Journalism

Avoid conflict of interest, use multiple sources, remain objective/unbiased

History of Culture Journalism

1830s: all politics and business. After the penny press include things like lifestyle section for women, sunday supplements, comics, etc.

Functions of Lifestyle Media

Managing our lives, “the right culture”, how to act/cook/parent/dress, expert guidance, establish our identity

Branding

Own brands across multiple industries

Lifestyle Media’s Message

Promotes social class and responsibility, mainly middle class values, ideal image of ourselves. e.g. healthy, community concerns, information for self-government

Globalization

Expansion of western values, a global village, appropriation vs appreciation

Examples of Branding

Mr. Beast, Rihanna, movie franchises, Lego

Examples of Journalism

Dylan Page, (previously) Keith Lee

Examples of Globalization of Western Values

McDonalds, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Love Island

Marshall McLuhan on the Print Age

It was momentous, common people gained literacy for leisure and created free thinking individuals. Predicted the electronic age and the global village

Marshall McLuhan’s Global Village

Transcends time and space constraints

Newspapers

collage, turned to tabloids (after penny press), sensationalistic

Visual Communication

The movement to visuals as a method of communication. Emojis and in ads.

Addie Broyles Career Advice

Networking, take the job that gets you in the door, best dressed, take opportunities, small steps, embrace change (early adopter privilege)

Addie Broyles Jobs

Freelancer, gig economy (door dash, dog sitting), consulting, publishing a book (not profit-driven)