1 - Introduction to Popular Culture

culture

itself is a way of living, covering a broad range of aspects from traditions, values, and beliefs, to behaviors, daily tasks, rituals, social norms, and rules to name a few

Raymond Schuck

He referenced Raymond Williams in defining the word "culture”

Matthew Arnold in 1869

He defined that culture is "the best that has been thought and said in the world"

3 major spectra of culture

folk culture, popular culture and High culture

folk culture

roughly described as something shared first in a certain group of people before being disseminated to the general population

folk

which, when traced to its Old Norse- English-German origin, describes an army or a small group of people

popular culture

also called mass or mainstream culture in some references. is generally defined as the collection of traditions and material culture of a particular society

low culture

contrast the sophistication upheld by high culture.

Categories of Popular Culture

entertainment, lifestyle, sports, news, politics and technology

entertainment

category encompasses varied forms of media, but it usually includes television, film, music, and literature. This category also covers celebrities and artists, to name a few

lifestyle

covers any new trend that people perform and/or consume, including fashion, art, dance, language, and food trends. This category also highlights visual artists, cosplays, and celebrity chefs, to name a few

sports

covers anything related to traditional sports, including printed merchandise and icons and electronic sports

news

covers any news event that has gained significant attention -- intentional or otherwise, positive or negative, which has shaped public opinion about it

politics

encompasses anything and everything politics-related, which includes politicians and political events

technology

new media forms, including social media, gadgets, video games, and general Internet culture.

subculture

is, simply put, a particular culture contained in a larger culture (sometimes referred to as its parent culture).

3 subsets of culture

subculture, conterculture and co-cultures

counterculture

which is formed when a certain group begins to oppose the established norms of popular culture and breaks off from the parent culture they came from

hippie culture

began to advocate for peace, sexual exploration and liberation, as well as the legalization of recreational drugs. The social norms they were fighting against during the 1960s in America were racism, sexism, and the Vietnam War

punk culture

This music genre is a counterculture to pop music. It goes so far as to define itself differently from wild hairstyles to the "in-your-face" attitudes of the people who share the same idea: to stand up against authority and live life as you see fit

co-culture

defined as a subculture with which a person can affiliate themselves while existing, interacting, and negotiating within a parent culture

youth culture

This process of soul-searching, which also affects the dynamics and structure of culture