PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE Finals CS

Psychology of Popular Culture

The scientific study of the mind and behavior, particularly how mental processes, emotions, and social behavior are influenced by media and popular culture. It explores how individuals and societies are impacted by cultural phenomena and trends, shaping thoughts and behavior.

Mentality of Popular Culture

The mental frameworks and social mechanisms that explain the appeal of certain cultural trends, icons, and symbols. This concept examines the psychological and sociological forces that make certain aspects of popular culture resonate with society and remain relevant over time.

Psychological Theories Surrounding Popular Culture

A set of theories designed to understand how individuals process and respond to popular culture. These include theories that address human behavior, identity, emotions, and social roles in the context of media consumption.

Queer Theory

A critical framework challenging fixed categories of gender and sexuality. It argues that identity is fluid and not limited to binary categories, emphasizing flexibility and the deconstruction of traditional gender roles and norms in popular culture.

Archetypes

Universal symbols, themes, or characters that exist across various cultures and are embedded in the collective unconscious. Archetypes are often used in media and literature to represent fundamental human experiences, such as the Hero, the Villain, and the Mentor.

Affect Theory

A psychological approach that examines the role of emotions and feelings in culture. Affect theory focuses on how unspoken emotions influence behavior and social dynamics, often exploring how media and cultural phenomena evoke strong emotional responses from individuals.

Popular Psychology

A branch of psychology that is popularized through media, self-help books, and social platforms. While it may seem academically credible, popular psychology often oversimplifies psychological concepts, lacks scientific validation, and emphasizes quick fixes or trendy solutions to personal problems.

Identity Erosion

A phenomenon where an individual's sense of self becomes overshadowed or replaced by external influences, such as media trends or celebrity culture. Over-identification with a trend or figure can lead to a loss of personal identity, leaving the individual vulnerable to changes in popular culture.

Tribalism

A social phenomenon where people form close-knit groups or "tribes" based on shared interests, beliefs, or cultural symbols. In popular culture, tribalism is often observed in fan communities, where individuals identify strongly with a particular media form or figure.

Culturalism

A sociological perspective that views culture as a defining force in shaping individual and group identities. Culturalism asserts that individuals cannot be separated from their cultural environments, and that culture plays a pivotal role in how people perceive themselves and others.

Marxism

A theory that critiques popular culture as a tool used by dominant social classes to maintain control over the masses. Marxists view popular culture as a product of capitalist interests, often produced for profit and consumption, rather than as an organic expression of the people's desires.

Postmodernism

A philosophical stance that rejects universal truths and embraces relativism. In popular culture, postmodernism emphasizes individual experience, subjectivity, and the fluidity of meaning, arguing that reality is constructed through personal interpretation.

Genre Theory

A framework used to classify and analyze media by categorizing it into genres based on shared conventions, themes, and tropes. Genre theory examines how genres evolve and how they shape the expectations of audiences and creators.

Intersectionality

A concept introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw that examines how multiple aspects of a person's identity (such as race, gender, class, etc.) intersect and create overlapping systems of oppression or privilege. Intersectionality seeks to address the complexities of identity and how social inequalities manifest in different ways for different individuals.

Fan Theory

Speculative interpretations and analyses of media content created by fans. These theories often attempt to fill in gaps or offer alternative explanations for events, character motivations, or storylines that are not explicitly addressed in the official material.

Semiotics

The study of signs and symbols and how they create meaning. Semiotics analyzes the relationship between the signifier (the form a sign takes) and the signified (the concept it represents), and how this relationship shapes communication in media and culture.

Denotation

The literal or primary meaning of a sign, often corresponding to its dictionary definition. Denotation refers to the direct and explicit meaning of a word, image, or symbol, without considering any cultural or emotional associations.

Connotation

The secondary, often subjective meanings that a sign or symbol carries. Connotation includes the cultural, emotional, or personal associations that come with a word or image, adding layers of meaning beyond its denotative definition.

Multimodality

The use of multiple forms of communication, such as text, images, sound, and other sensory elements, to convey meaning. In media, multimodality refers to the integration of different modes of communication to enhance understanding and create richer, more engaging messages.

Recontextualization

The process of taking elements from one context and transforming them into a new context, often altering their meaning in the process. Recontextualization can involve changes such as deletion, addition, substitution, or evaluation of certain elements to fit the new social, cultural, or political context.