Popular Culture in a Theoretical Lens

2Y2 | FINALS

It has been repeatedly stated that popular culture is driven by both the consumer and the business industry, using the various media available to the masses, and letting the working class decide which are prevalent and seminal to the generation – and which are not.

As such, many icons and trends rose and fell, with some achieving a sort of immortality to the masses due to their “timeless” quality and cultural importance.

However, what was being pushed back to the dark recesses of the bright lights of popular culture were the machinations that tickled the human mind into choosing that these were things worth one’s time.

What has not yet been discussed is how humans decide which should be celebrated and which ones should fade in the printed and digital annals – the psychology of popular culture.

The Psychology of Popular Culture

Psychology

In a formal sense, __________ is defined as the scientific study of the mind and behavior, actively involved in studying and understanding the various mental processes, brain functions, and behavior of humans (Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences, n.d.).

Psychology

This is the science that tackles the inner machinations of the human mind, how it operates. As a “Hub Science,” __________ has deep connections with medical sciences, social sciences, and education.

Psychology

The study of __________ has ubiquitous applications, meaning its researches can be applied to anyone regardless of culture. And popular culture is no exception – it is often the primary source of information people have whenever they need to learn more about certain cultures.

information people have whenever they need to learn more about certain cultures.

Popular culture

Whenever one defines _______________, the one (1) thing that is worth noting is about “what is trending,” “what is hip,” and “what is the latest.”

Popular culture

What is largely overlooked, however, is that is also a phenomenon that reflects the values of certain cultures, which stems from the active participation of the people of those cultures.

As such, in a psychological sense, popular culture is the accumulation of all its elements capable of sustaining and perpetuating itself based on the endorsement and participation of the people through their own volition (i.e., self-agency).

As such, in a psychological sense, popular culture is the accumulation of all its elements capable of sustaining and perpetuating itself based on the endorsement and participation of the people through their own volition (i.e., self-agency).

The Mentality of Popular Culture

As popular culture is being disseminated largely by the various media discussed in the previous module, one can try to look into the theories that operate behind the scenes to pique the interest of the masses.

There are four (4) major players behind the psychological effects of popular culture in its aspects:

• The different psychological and sociological theories that dissect the mind.

• The different theories critical to the dissemination of popular culture.

• The success of symbols as means of spreading popular culture (semiotics).

The Psychological and Sociological Theories surrounding Popular Culture

The success of popular culture stems from the idea that people are social creatures. It has been proven that if a person is left isolated for too long, mental health issues may appear –which includes violent outbursts and suicide contemplation (truTV, 2016).

• Theories for Self (Psychological theories)

Queer Theory

The popular notion of popular culture is that only a few icons and trends remain relevant for a long time. Others just come and go. This is in a somewhat similar lens to the notion that stereotypes are being challenged constantly through the lens of ____________

Queer Theory

A new theory where ideas and identity categories that are considered as “hard set” (i.e., already existing) in established fields are constantly being scrutinized and challenged.

In this theory, there is no set normal – only changing views and norms that people can categorize (Illinois Library, 2021).

Queer Theory

Since popular culture is always changing, apart from being used to deliver messages designed to challenge issues about sexuality, it [popular culture] continually challenges the beliefs of people through the introduction of more flexible gender roles, representation, and standards.

Queer Theory

As such, films such as Brokeback Mountain, Die Beautiful, and The Panti Sisters reflect ____________ in different approaches to challenge the ever-changing norms in our society.

Jungian archetypes

Carl Jung came up with the idea of __________________, which are images and themes that come from the collective unconscious.

Archetypes

__________ are things that have the same meanings in different cultures. They may show up in dreams, literature, art, or religion.

Archetypes

Many people think of __________ in terms of a list of typical characters, like the hero, the goddess, the wise man, and so on. Such a list doesn't do enough to understand the ephemeral core concept.

In Jung's words, "… Definite mythological images of motifs … are nothing more than conscious representations; it would be absurd to think that such variable representations could be inherited."

Archaic remnants

Instead, their deeper, instinctual sources, which are called "______________," are the source of the archetypal images, not the conscious representations.

Archetypes

In popular culture, however, (particularly the character __________) help us quickly identify the motives and general personalities of different icons, especially in TV shows, games, and films.

Some common archetype identifiers in popular culture are as follows:

Father

1. The archetype represents an authority figure – stern and powerful. Its moral alignment shall dictate how others perceive him.

Morally positive

• If the Father is ________________, then he is considered a capable and protective leader.

Examples include Joe West (The Flash), Odin Allfather (MCU’s Thor), and Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird).

Morally negative

• If the Father is ________________, then he is considered a dictator – a man that is manipulative, cold, and with a grandiose vision of transcending beyond the material world.

Morally negative

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Wilson Fisk (MCU’s Daredevil)

Marlon Brando (The Godfather)

are morally….?

Mother

2. The archetype represents the well-known maternal instincts – nurturing and comforting. Its moral alignment shall dictate how others perceive her.

Morally positive

• If the Mother is ________________, then she is considered a caring mother, full of love and acceptance. She will defend anyone who hurt her loved ones with equal ferocity, if not more, as the morally good Father.

Morally positive

Mine-a (Encantadia)

Katara (The Legend of Aang)

Melina Vostokoff (MCU’s Black Widow)

are ________________.

morally negative

• If the Mother is _, then she is the wicked mother, neglectful and conceited. She is stubborn and obsessive and will think of nothing else but to satisfy her own agendas.

Morally negative

Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)

Mother Gothel (Rapunzel and Tangled)

Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire) are ________________.

Child

3. The _____ archetype represents a person’s views of children – full of innocence, renewed life, and salvation. Its moral alignment shall dictate how others perceive them.

Morally positive

• If the Child is ________________, then they are considered innocent, playful, and vivacious (i.e., cheerful). They bring sunshine to someone’s life because of their infectious cheerfulness.

Morally positive

Hyūga Hinata (Naruto)

Scott Lang (MCU’s Ant man)

Santino (May Bukas Pa)

are morally what?

Morally negative

• If the Child is ________________, then they are considered naïve, ignorant, and over-dependent. They will never act on their own because they know someone else will provide for them.

Morally negative

Dudley Dursley (The Wizarding World)

Joffrey Baratheon (Game of Thrones A Song of Ice and Fire)

Jane (Twilight series)

They’re morally what?

Affect theory

is a way to think about culture, history, and politics that looks at things that aren't words.

Affects

it make us who we are, but they aren't always under our control or even in our awareness. They can only sometimes be expressed in words.

Michel Foucault

_______________'s "analytics of power," the study of animal rights and secularism, and my own field, religious studies, are all topics that can be linked to affect theory.

Affect Theory

In order to better understand power, tells people that they should think of power as a play.

Affect studies

which are mostly based on cultural studies, have been very interested in how emotions and feelings are formed in the social and cultural world. Media and communication scholars, on the other hand, have paid a lot of attention to how emotions and feelings are made by media, how they are communicated through media, and what kinds of emotions people have when they use media.

Popular psychology

Ever wondered why there are so many YouTube and Tiktok videos that feature self-help guides, as well as psychology tips and tricks?

That is because many people begin to watch self-help guides and psychology-related videos simply because of accessibility and the personal connection it gives to the viewers. This is a part of ________________.

Popular psychology

is a term that describes any and all psychological ideologies, therapies, and other techniques that gained traction through media.

Popular psychology

This is haracterized by placing emphasis on personal feelings, the latest trends, testimonials, and self-help techniques.

Despite lacking any scientific validations, people flock to these because of the reasons stated above.

Popular psychology

Popularized by authors such as Erich Fromm (read Escape from Freedom), Thomas Harris (read I’m OK – You’re OK), and John Gray (read Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus), ________________ allows a person to explore their mind and emotions.

Oprahfication

In popular culture, hosts such as Oprah Winfrey and Phillip “Dr. Phil” McGraw popularized a form of therapy where guests make public confessions about a specific topic while guest specialists will listen and offer sound advice to them [guests]. Dubbed as “_____________” it helped boost the rising popularity of popular psychology.

Identity erosion / Self-erosion

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of popular culture is that the success of some icons and trends stems from the notion that some of the working class begin to lose themselves to the icons and/or trends they wholeheartedly follow, to the point of devotion. This can be caused by various factors, such as stress from work, being in incompatible relationships, or even simply going to school. This is the concept of ________________________.

Self-erosion

occurs because when a person is busy with something in their life, their sense of self begins to identify with the ones they poured themselves in (Vallejos, 2013) – which, in the case of popular culture, is being the “number one” fan of something.

Should the icon fade, either the self-eroded fan would either lose their sense of purpose or move on to the “next big thing.”

Theories for Society (Sociological theories)

Tribalism

_________ is a popular trend that is mostly based on false, stereotypical ideas about indigenous people, has become a big thing in pop culture.

People who want to be celebrities, pop princesses, or hipsters want tobes are dressing up as Native Americans and wear "war paint."

Tribalism

As an example, taking sorting quizzes to determine your house in Hogwarts (in the Wizarding World series) allows one to connect with people sharing the same results, forming an established “tribe” based on their perceived shared similarities.

Culturalism

Individuals are shaped by their culture, and these cultures make up closed organic wholes. The individual can't leave his or her culture but can only see himself or herself in it, not outside of it.

Culturalism

It also says that cultures have special rights and protections, even if they break individual rights at the same time.

Marxism

Marxists have divided popular culture into two (2) groups: those that people have made themselves, like folk art or stories, and those that were made for them, like commercial TV, advertising, arcade video games, and music.

This is usually seen as a way to value the former, which are true expressions of mass creativity, and to devalue the latter, which are used to keep people calm and dominate culture.

Indeed, Marxist literature on culture has been split into two main groups: one that looks for and celebrates "authentic" grassroots culture, and the other that looks into how consumerism and the society of the spectacle make it easier for people to dominate culture.

Countercultures

As such, this is where _______________ stem from because Marxism, in theory, pushes people to challenge the established norms of certain cultural groups.

Postmodernism

(also known as post-structuralism) rejects universal explanations and instead focuses on the relative truths of each individual (i.e., _____________ equals relativism).

Postmodernism

is all about interpretation; reality is merely what we make of it. emphasizes personal experience over abstract ideas, stating that personal experience is inherently imperfect and relative.

Postmodernism

People who write about agree that, no matter what else it is or might be, it has something to do with how popular culture changed in the late 20th century in the advanced capitalist democracies of the West in the last half of the century.

As a result, no matter how is defined, popular culture is a place where these changes can be found the easiest.

This is because popular culture is a place where these changes can be found the easiest.

The Critical Theories regarding Popular Culture

Popular culture often demonstrates its intelligence via the development of new styles to appeal to new audiences, and it has fragmented into an infinite number of forms, genres, audiences, tones, styles, and goals, to the point that it cannot be properly discussed as a whole.

With the help of various theories and concepts, popular culture has developed a foundation in which audiences can reflect on their society and culture.

Genre

is derived from the French (and originally Latin) word for "kind" or "class" (Chandler, 1997).

Genre

Chandler (1997) explains that the concept of __________ is a creation of media artists in order to help them classify their works so that they can identify their target audience and better promote their work.

Genre Theory

also indicates that genres might become overly confined to all of their norms, preventing them from being varied.

Thus, Chandler argues that "Conventional definitions of the genre tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings)."

For example, Star Wars and Star Trek are situated in space,making it a good example of a Sci-Fi text. However, when we take a look at Passengers (starring Jennifer Lawrence and Christ Pratt), we can also consider it as an example of Sci-Fi but with a romance genre on the side, making it a Sci-Fi Romance movie.

This briefly explains that texts are not just limited by conventional genres; rather, text can be a mix of conventional genres too.

Genre theory

The use of ____________ enables us to examine the type or style of the text in which helps us understand what the genre is all about.

Genre theory

This theory sets conventions in which we can identify certain genres of text. For example, there are set of conventions for a text to be classified as thriller, drama, and comedy, among others.

Kimberlé Crenshaw

The term intersectionality is coined by American lawyer and professor _______________ in 1989.

Intersectionality

explains how individual characteristics such as race, class, and gender, among others, “intersect” with one another.

People often speak about racial inequalities as if they were different from other forms of discrimination like race, gender orientation, or immigration status. However, people tend to overlook that an individual may possess all of these characteristics.

For example, a Filipina working and living abroad unknowingly got fired despite having a good performance might be an indication of unfair treatment because of her race and gender. In the context of intersectionality, this suggests that race and gender contributed to the social injustice the Filipina experienced.

Intersectionality

teaches us to recognize our differences and work out how these distinctions will be expressed in the construction of a group's political identity.

Fan theories

are interpretations of work by fans that are debated, compared, and shared in various fan communities. They forecast or deduce future content, explain particular occurrences, or provide other viewpoints. These interpretations are supported by strong reasoning and specific references to official materials, such as literary excerpts, frames, or information from other media (Amo & Roca, 2021).

Participatory culture

In the theory of _____________________, instead of being tagged as “cultural dupes, social misfits, and mindless consumers,” fans can be described as “active producers and manipulators of meaning” (Jenkins, 1992). This led to the constant evolution of hypertextual creations between fandoms such as fanfics, fan-films, remixes, and fan-subs.

Headcanon

An example of a fan theory is the concept of _________, a form of discourse where a fan shares the probable origin or cause of something despite the lack of evidence in a source material, which the author had unintentionally or deliberately left behind for theory-crafting.

Doki Doki Literature Club

As an example, the video game _________________________ is a game riddled with seemingly different pieces of evidence that point to a larger story, which is prime material for theory-crafting.

The Semiotic Approaches to Popular Culture

Semiotics

is simply defined as the study of signs.

Semiology

in the Saussurean tradition

Semiotics

in Peircean tradition.

Ferdinand de Saussure

A Swiss linguist and semiotician, ____________________, offered a dyadic or two-part model of the study of signs.

Saussure argued that sign is composed of:

Semiotics

signifier and signified

Signifier (signifiant)

which is a form that the sign takes.

Signified (signifi)

is the concept the sign represents.

Signifier

Today, the ________ is commonly construed to be the material form of the sign.

Signifier

If a shop has a sign with words written as ‘closed,’ the letters ‘c-l-o-s-e-d,’ will be the ________.