Pop Culture and the Media Notes

Popular Culture and the Media

Introduction

Popular culture has evolved due to the working class's ability to sift through consumed products and the companies that produce them.
The history of technology and popular culture are intertwined, evolving together.
This lesson focuses on the various avenues through which popular culture is disseminated.

Printed Media

Examples include books, magazines, newspapers, and comic books.
These provide information and entertainment.
Printed media is a form of information dissemination where everything is in print, primarily through materials that can be held by hand (Bean-Mellinger, 2018).
Traditional Media: It is the oldest form of information transfer, aside from dance and oral dissemination.
Johannes Gutenberg is credited with patenting the movable type, but the earliest printing press appeared in China in 932.
Cave drawings and inscriptions of early humans were earlier forms of printed media.
Printed media is a successful avenue for disseminating popular culture and creating long-lasting icons.
According to Fatma Sarigul, using Umberto Eco’s novel Numero Zero, people can be swayed by what they read and see; comprehension is secondary to information absorption (Sarigul, 2016).

The Philippine Magazine

Launched in 1905, it was one of the first national magazines in circulation.
It was not considered "popular" because it was in English and not accessible to the majority, especially when English education had barely started (Fernandez, 1981).

Comics / Komiks

Antonio "Tony" Velasquez created the first modern comic strip, Kenkoy, in the Philippines in 1928 (Lent, 1998).
Kenkoy was published as a filler in Liwayway magazine and generated several imitators.
In the Philippine Komiks Revival Act of 2007, Sen. Manny Villar cited Jose Rizal’s “Ang Matsing at ang Pagong” as the first comics made in the country.
The rise of komiks gave rise to familiar household names such as Darna and Captain Barbell (by Mars Ravelo), Pupung (by Washington “Tonton” Young), and Pugad Baboy (by Apolonio “Pol” Medina, Jr.).
Modern and online comics include Trese (by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo), Sskait (by AJ Bacar), and Arkitekyuklid (by John Euclid Templonuevo).

Radio and Music

Radio programs have the power to influence, convince, and even enrage listeners.
This power is influenced by the words used in a broadcast.
The telegraph, which went live in 1837, established a precedent for modern electronic communication.
Nikola Tesla developed a high-frequency transformer in 1891, which was an important component of electronic transmitters.
Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first radio transmission in 1895.
He successfully sent an electrical signal to a receiving device not linked to his transmitter.
He called his invention a radiotelegraph because its signal traveled radially from the transmission point (Danesi, 2018).

Brief History of Radio Broadcasting in the Philippines

Radio arrived in the Philippines in the early 1920s.
Henry Hermann owned the first three 50-watt stations: KZKZ, KZRM, and KZEG, two in Manila and one near Pasay City.
He began operations in June 1922.
In 1925, KZKZ ceased transmitting and was replaced by KZRQ (Enaka, 1998).
Radio dramas and commentaries in Tagalog and local dialects are daily fares on most stations.
The “pang-masa” program is a show that tackles clichéd storylines about abused women, philandering spouses, love's inequity, and dishonesty.

Future of Broadcasting

The podcast is a rising media format for delivering radio-style information and programs to a computer, phone, or media device.
The term is a combination of iPod and broadcast.
The files are mostly audio, although a vodcast (video podcast) may include video as well.
The distributor maintains a list of accessible files on their website for a listener to access (Danesi, 2018).
Many radio and TV stars have switched to podcasting because it is less restricted than conventional media and more likely to attract their target audiences.
Podcasts are comparable to regular radio programs in that they tend to be chat shows and informational programs on certain themes.
Examples of radio pop culture icons are Joe Rogan (The Joe Rogan Experience), Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln “Link” Neal III (Good Mythical Morning), Grace Marcellana and Mimai Cabungson (‘Wag Kang Lilingon), and celebrity Bianca Gonzales (Paano Ba ‘To?).
Radio technology also paved the way to broadcast pop music.

The Advent of Music

Pop music's societal effect would not have been possible without recording and broadcast technology.
Its ascent to prominence began in the late nineteenth century with the introduction of sound recording.
In 1877, Thomas Edison created the first phonograph.
Emile Berliner invented the flat-disk phonograph (or gramophone) a decade later, improving on Edison's original design.
Amplification of phonograph needle vibrations using electromagnetic devices took over from Berliner's mechanical method around 1920 (Danesi, 2018).
Pop music has found a technologically mediated mass market with all these innovations.

Major Pop Music Genres

Adult contemporary/Easy listening: A blend of classics, light opera, and softer rock singles. Examples include Céline Dion, Andrea Boccelli, Mariah Carey, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow, Alanis Morissette, The Carpenters, and Olivia Newton-John.
Classical music: Enduring works of eminent composers that have entered mainstream popularity. Examples include Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Richard Wagner.
Country: Encompasses all subgenres, including traditional, urban, and rock country. This genre is exemplified by prominent rural themes and simple life. Examples include Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, and the Eagles.
Disco: Divided into classic disco from the 1970s and 1980s and contemporary techno or electronic dance music (EDM). This genre emerged due to the prevalence of urban nightlife. Examples include the Bee Gees, Village People, Rasputin, ABBA, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Mariya Takeuchi, David Guetta, and Afrojack.
Eclectic Pop: A mash-up of several genres, including pop, rap, rock, techno, and others. Some examples include Jay-Z, Usher, Adele, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Justin Bieber, Lil’ Wayne, Madonna, Craig David, and Michael Jackson.
Electronic: Music that incorporates electronic effects and digital instruments and encompasses experimental and electronic dance music genres such as house music, techno, jungle, dubstep, trance, hardcore, and electronica. An example is Skrillex.
Experimental: Mostly promoted by college and university radio stations, this genre uses non-musical objects to create traditional instruments or sounds and is manipulated to suit the artist’s preference.
Folk: Both the original and popularized varieties. It employs the use of traditional musical instruments. Examples include The Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Woody Guthrie, ASIN; and Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Gospel: Music aimed at fans of both contemporary and classic gospel singers. Gospel music allows people to reflect on their spirituality and get in touch with their inner ethos. Some examples include Jamie Rivera and Gary Valenciano.
Jazz and Blues: Music from all eras and genres of jazz, blues, and swing. Examples include Herbie Hancock, Louis Armstrong, B. B King, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, Chuck Mangione, Dave Brubeck, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Mary Lou Williams, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Wynton Marsalis.
Opera: Mostly from the romantic period. This is another surviving facet of high culture. Examples include operas by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, and Bizet.
Rap and hip-hop: Classic and contemporary works by rap and hip-hop artists. Examples include Ludacris, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Eminem, Kanye West, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, N.W.A, Salt-N-Pepa, Tupac Shakur, Chris Brown, Lil’ Wayne, Nas, The Black-Eyed Peas, Drake, JID, and Wiz Khalifa.
Rhythm and Blues, Funk, and Soul: Classic and contemporary performers perform rhythm and blues music, as well as its funk and soul subgenres. Examples include Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, the Supremes, Percy Sledge, Ike and Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, and Waylon.
Rock: Encompasses all styles of music, past, and present, including old rock and roll, classic rock and roll, jazz rock, folk rock, hard rock, metal rock, industrial rock, grunge, and punk. Some examples include Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Sex Pistols, Green Day, Pink Floyd, Elvis Costello, Coldplay, Radiohead, Nirvana, Wolfgang, and Slapshock.

Indie Music

Began in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom and has since developed into its own distinct genres, including Britpop (British guitar pop music) and Riot Grrrl, a feminist punk rock movement.
Independent artists who get successful online tend to go into the mainstream.
It is music created, produced, and sold without the help of big record companies.
The term indicates a genre that attempts to differentiate itself aesthetically from key trends.
Independent labels are more eager to record fresh performers and trends that the larger labels overlook (Danesi, 2018).
Early rock, early rap, and other forms were like this.
If the musicians are successful, bigger labels will often buy out or combine with these smaller firms.
Indie artists have joined the present music industry to set themselves apart from conventional music producers.
Indie music began in underground music culture with cult-like followings.
Famous indie singers include Dave Days, Boyce Avenue, Rebecca Black, and Agsunta.

Traditional Music in the Philippines

Pre-Hispanic or Malayan-type music: Found in isolated portions of the nation, such as the highlands of northern Luzon and the coastal and interior regions of the islands of Mindanao, Sulu, and other island groups in both the South and West.
- The Philippines is home to more than a hundred main and minor languages of the Malayo-Polynesian family.
- Despite speaking various languages, they have a shared culture (Maceda, 1971).
- There is a distinct Malayan impact on the pre-Hispanic music of the Philippines, mostly based on the syntactic structure of a Malayan language and connected with or related to village feasts, family activities, and the belief in spirits (anito).
Hispanic-type Music:
- Most Filipinos associate Spanish culture with one genre of music.
- In the late nineteenth century, in a few Spanish cultural centers, this Mediterranean-style tune with guitar accompaniment blossomed, spreading to neighboring islands where it is still performed today.
- A simple harmonic arrangement between the primary degrees of the scale is possibly hundreds of songs strong (Maceda, 1971).
- “Folk” or love (kundiman) songs are played or accompanied by a plucked-string orchestra (rondalla), specifically guitar, harp, and keyboard.

Audiovisual Media

Film is based on photographic technology.
Camera obscura (darkroom) was used by artists to draw in the Renaissance.
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the modern camera in 1826.
Louis J. M. Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot invented photography soon after.
Eadweard Muybridge created early effective “moving photographs” in 1877 in California.
Muybridge photographed a running horse using a row of cameras with cords linked to their shutters (Danesi, 2018).

Types of Film

Films are typically divided into three types: narrative, documentary, and animated (or cartoon) films (Danesi, 2018).

Narrative Film

Narrative film is a work of fiction or a portrayal of actual events.
There are three stages in creating a film: preproduction, production, and postproduction.
- Preproduction is when the screenplay is written. The screenplay may be an adaptation of a novel, short story, comic book, drama, or video game, or it may be original.
- In the production stage, the screenplay is filmed.
- Postproduction (editing) is the last step of filmmaking when non-linear sequences are edited together to form a plot and other components like music and special effects are added.
- Notable narratives include Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Wizarding World, Miss Granny, and Etiquette for Mistresses.

Documentary Film

A documentary is a nonfiction film that depicts real-life circumstances with people explaining their thoughts and experiences to a camera or interviewer.
Theaters seldom screen documentaries. They are viewed on TV and on various streaming sites like Netflix.
Notable documentary makers are David Attenborough, Kara David, and Atom Araullo.

Animated Film

Animated films are narrative stories intended for children.
A storyboard is a set of drawings that depicts the essential portions of the tale.
Before, animations were made by creating drawings for backdrops, décor, and character appearances and temperaments individually.
Today, most animated films are created digitally.
Notable animated filmmakers include Illumination Entertainment, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sony Pictures Animation.

Genre Analysis

Genre analysis is an important component among pop culture studies.
Scripts for early films were inspired by books, pulp fiction, vaudeville, the circus, and other popular entertainment sources of the turn of the century.
In today's movies and TV shows, the public imagination is frequently satiated by genres like crime, mystery, romance, adventure, horror, thriller, espionage, and so on.
The film has also generated new genres and grown into a contemporary art form.

Video Culture

In the late 1980s, big film releases were made accessible for home video viewing shortly after leaving the cinema.
A Sony Betamax tape recorder, introduced in the late 1970s, was the first to be commercialized.
The popularity of the technology was shortly overshadowed by RCA's cleverly advertised VHS videotape format.

Some Firsts in the Philippine Cinema

In the Salon de Pertierra at number 12 Escolta, a 60mm Gaumont Chrono-photograph projector is used to show Un Homme Au Chapeau (Man with a Hat), Une scene de danse Japonaise (Scene from a Japanese Dance), Les Boxers (The Boxers), and La Place de L’Opera (The Opera Place) on January 1, 1897. These four French films were the first to be presented in the Philippines (Fernadez, 1981).
In 1898, local filmmaker Antonio Ramos used a Lumiere camera to shoot Panorama de Manila (Manila landscape), Fiesta de Quiapo (Quiapo Fiesta), Puente de España (Bridge of Spain), and Esceñas Callejeras (Street scenes), all of which were shot in Manila.
Zamboanga, starring Fernando Poe Sr. and Rosa del Rosario, was the first Filipino film to win an international award in 1937. Director Frank Capra praised the film as it was the most fascinating and gorgeous image of local life he had ever seen.
Genghis Khan, directed by Manuel Conde and debuted in 1950, was a hit at the Venice Film Festival in 1952 and in Paris in 1954. Hollywood reinvented Genghis Khan with John Wayne as the protagonist.

Philippine Television

DZAQ-TV Channel 3 of Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) in Manila was the first television station to broadcast in the Philippines in 1953.
In 1956, the Chronicle Broadcasting Network that was owned by the Lopezes purchased this television station and began broadcasting.
With the purchase, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network was officially born (NCCA, 2015).
Cable television has had the most rapid expansion in the television business. The rise of early cable television, which was established in 1969, was stifled under the Marcos government due to an order providing an exclusive license to a business ally to build and run cable TV nationwide. President Aquino revoked this ordinance in 1987.
The debut of satellite programming by ABS-CBN and GMA in 1991 heightened interest in cable television. Provincial community antenna TV (CATV) networks have been installed to receive broadcast signals from Manila-based stations.
While broadcast codes require stations to carry public affairs and other developmental programs, contemporary programming concentrates on "hard" storylines that emphasize power plays, competitiveness, and violence.
The broadcast business has shown sensitivity to rising public criticism for its imbalanced programming in recent years, and there has been a visible growth in public affairs programming (other than news shows), which has lately acquired a popular following.
During this time, the use of the English language is widespread. As a result of their usage of the English language in different forms, these shows are only accessible to those who are fluent in the language. False impressions have been formed that Filipino is not a suitable language for intellectual conversation because of the widespread usage of Filipino in entertainment programs.
Today, many people like watching shows that serve the greater good. There are several videos and TV shows that depict the poor receiving medical and other sorts of social aid, which enables the public to seek remedy for their problems through television, albeit only for a limited time.
The Philippine Children's Television Foundation (PCTVF) and the ABS-CBN Foundation have made it possible to produce world-class educational children's shows. For elementary school students, PCTVF has the award-winning Batibot, while ABS-CBN has the science school on-air, Sine'skwela, which has been airing since 1994, the values-oriented program Hiraya Manawari, the heroism and heritage show Bayani, the quirky English show Epol Apple, and the mathematics show Math Tinik for primary and intermediate school students.

Advancements in Film and Television Broadcasting

Netflix and other online streaming platforms have replaced video recorders and video rental establishments (Danesi, 2018).
Netflix is an entertainment corporation created in 1997 that specializes in streaming media and video-on-demand.
Since then, Netflix has added new programming termed “Netflix Originals” to its growing online film and television collection.
Netflix and other online streaming platforms have entirely merged TV and film, producing hundreds of new movies and shows every year.
Online streaming platforms such as Netflix have tremendously affected how people watch movies nowadays.
This new aesthetic and technical alliance between cinema and television will likely become the major method viewers see films and programming in the near future. This has important consequences for film and pop culture in general, given the social role of movie theaters and TV consumption.
These new platforms enable viewers to watch TV series and movies at their own pace. Because any episode may be streamed at any moment, cliffhangers, for example, are no longer dependent on a chronological component. Also, Netflix may foster a show until it “finds an audience.”

Video Games

Some historians claim that video games on a console originated as arcade games in the Roaring Twenties.
A home video game is an arcade game with extra features.
The electronic tennis game Pong launched the video-game business to America in the early 1970s. This business almost failed in the mid-1980s until Japanese firms like Nintendo took over and improved gaming technology while producing iconic adventure games like Donkey Kong and the Super Mario Brothers.
Video game currently refers to any electronic game, whether played on a computer with appropriate software, a gaming console, a mobile device, or online.
In today’s generation, there are currently a lot of video game genres and formats a user can choose from.

Advertising and Branding

The term advertising was derived from the medieval Latin verb advertere, which is defined as “to direct one’s attention to.”
There are many different kinds of public announcements, but they all have the same purpose: to increase sales of certain products or services, to convey a social or political message (Danesi, 2018).
The first recorded advertising material during human civilization was the use of outdoor signs displayed outside shops in the ancient cities of the Middle East during 3000 BCE. This form of advertising is also seen in ancient Greeks and Romans.
In branding, brands are more than just the name of the product. Instead, branding delivers a promise to the consumer based on cultural trends, artistic movements, and various emerging social patterns.
Pop culture has led various celebrities, from movie actors to sports figures, to be in an advertisement and be with the brand.

Techniques

There are various techniques used by advertisers, no matter what media it appears.
This includes positioning, image-creation, mythologization, aestheticization, reality advertising, and simulation (Danesi, 2018).
- Image-creation: Creating an image for a product involves giving it a “personality” that can be marketed to certain demographics. The image is made up of the product's name, packaging, logo, pricing, and general presentation. The aim behind developing a product picture is to target certain people, not everyone, so that the targeted persons may see their own personalities portrayed in the appropriate lifestyle photos.
- Mythologization: Mythologization uses unconscious archetypal motifs to construct a commercial image. Advertising for beauty and cosmetic goods often includes themes such as striving for beauty and conquering death. The individuals in the relevant advertising and commercials are gorgeous, yet their appearance is surreal, mythological.
- Aestheticization: Aestheticization refers to the application of visual artists' practices. Using bizarre imagery and juxtaposing subject matter, surrealist artists make perfume commercials that depict ladies surrounded by a black abyss or emerging magically out of nothing. Many perfume commercials are surrealist artworks.
- Reality Advertising: Real-life advertising uses real people and celebrities instead of professional actors. Consumers prefer real people and celebrities over actors. The subtext is clear—anyone can seem attractive, seductive, and youthful with a little assistance from a designer perfume or clothing item. Like reality television, the tactic engages with customers.
- Simulation: Simulative advertising is the utilization of popular culture styles, trends, and language to construct advertising messages.

Placement

Placement is a sort of subliminal advertising, impacting people's thinking without their knowledge.
The most successful advertising campaigns have used popular culture themes, trends, and fads, or well-known personalities or celebrities.

Advertising and Branding in the Philippines

A major portion of the Philippine economy began to rely on advertising throughout the 1950s.
Advertisement helped change the preferences of Filipinos, who had previously preferred imported items.
Initially, Filipino firms were skeptical of the value of spending money on advertising, but they soon realized the benefits.
Finding new markets for local goods and boosting demand for current ones were among the advertising's primary responsibilities.
A massive industrialization trend occurred in the country between 1949 and 1959, which helped advertising (Lent, 1969).
The Philippines has become a brand-conscious market. Most consumer items are promoted through advertising, and most of the country's top advertising agencies are multinational.
The Philippines' advertising industry has gone beyond conventional tri-media (print, TV, and radio).
Local advertisers today employ electronic billboards, online advertising, mass transit or public transportation advertising, special events and product debuts, direct marketing, social media promotion, and other means to sell their goods.
However, many market sectors are “localized” versions of product promotion and brand-building.
Celebrity endorsements or other high-profile figures are also a tried and tested recipe for local advertising.
Pop culture has always relied on advertising to survive. Advertising is adaptable, seeking new forms of representation and media outlets to reflect shifting societal trends and ideals. Advertising, like any passing text or trend, is an aesthetic experience that we enjoy regardless of its goals. Advertisements are meant to sway, delight, and entice.

Popular Language

Social trends and movements may be documented via the use of words.
In the formation and development of popular culture, language has played and continues to play an important role.
Dance and music are just as much a component of a show as pop language, which takes the form of popular catchphrases disseminated by the media.
Before new forms of languages emerge, there is always the main language every country speaks. As an effect of pop culture, a new language has been developed.

Philippine Language

Throughout history, the Filipino languages have been impacted by numerous different linguistic groups as well as each other.
Their proximity to Asia has opened doors for commerce and communication with other countries and languages (Lopez, 1967).
Various occupations of the area by different countries brought the Filipino languages into direct touch with numerous other languages, which influenced them.
The earliest Indonesians arrived in the Philippines in groups about 5,000-6,000 years ago, then again around 1500 B.C. Due to their similar linguistic beginnings, Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia are likely the original languages of the Filipino people (although other groups of people are thought to have come to the Philippines much earlier).
Despite English being no longer recognized as a main language in the Philippines, it is nevertheless taught in public schools alongside Filipino (which is based on Tagalog). Several English terms have made their way into the Filipino language and various dialects, where they are simply conjugated and altered to meet the language's traditions (Hemphil, 1962).
As an example, "Maaram ko mag-adjust"– "I know how to adjust" is an English phrase that is used in certain languages to signify "move" (as in "magtransfer kami sa Maynila"– "we are transferring to Manila").
There are several ways in which Filipino dialects continue to borrow terms from each other. Since all Filipino languages have a similar ancestor, it may be difficult to tell which terms originated in one language and which were taken from another later. There is a lot of variation in the meanings of these phrases in other languages, so it is important to avoid making mistakes (Bautista, 1998).

Defining Pop Language

Magazine and newspaper pieces, as well as radio announcements, began to utilize the same conversational language that appeared in pulp fiction and dime novels.
The voice of popular culture is expressed through pop language. It's essentially a modern-day variant of the kind of polyphonic speech that was utilized during carnivals to satirize the monotony of serious conversation. For as long as people have spoken, the pop language has been a counterpoint to more traditional means of communication. This can be observed in the way it flips words around to give them new meanings.
The term cool exemplifies what popular language is all about and what connotations it conveys. Since the 1920s, young people have used it to describe appealing lifestyle pictures. Flappers were hip, as were rock stars, rappers, and celebrities. Cool has several synonyms throughout pop culture history. Among them are hip and groovy, the former confined to the hippie period and the latter to the 1960s. The 1960s counterculture youth were dubbed hippies for a reason. They were cool, eschewing normal rituals, traditions, and lifestyles. The word hip-hop, coined in the 1980s to represent the rap music culture, has the same connotation.

Slang

While first seen as slang words,