Final Exam Review: Identity, Globalization, and Media in Popular Culture

POPULAR CULTURE 1600 FINAL EXAM REVIEW SHEET: Identity, Globalization, and Media

1. Identity Construction

  • Identities are constructed through various social categories:   - Race   - Gender   - Ethnicity   - Nationality   - Religion   - Class   - Ability/Disability   - Region

  • Identities are both imposed (by society) and chosen (by individuals).

2. The Nature of Identity

  • Identity is a two-way process:   - It is a dialogue between self-representation and others' perceptions.

3. Consumer Culture and Identity

  • Contemporary consumer culture enables individuals to:   - Choose their identities, often through consumer choices (shopping).   - The idea that "you are what you buy" reflects the role of consumerism in identity formation.

4. Modern Mass Media and Presence

  • Different types of modern (post-print) mass media simulate presence in several ways:   - Visually   - Sonically   - Kinetically (depiction of movement)

  • Sound film and video encapsulate all three aspects of presence simulation.

  • The media create a compelling illusion, allowing individuals to feel as though they can overcome death.

5. The Role of Mass Media

  • The mass media can:   - Influence individuals in ways that are both constructive and destructive.

  • Scholars debate the extent to which media effects are significant:   - Do media do things to us or for us?

6. Media and Social Stereotypes

  • Mass media can:   - Reinforce social stereotypes prevalent in America and globally.   - Encourage consumers to question and challenge these stereotypes.   - Provide a voice to marginalized groups typically silenced in dominant cultures.

7. Representation of Non-Dominant Identities

  • Non-dominant identities in media often face misrepresentation:   - Stereotyped as either exaggerated threats or non-threats to white supremacist patriarchy:     - Dangerous, remorseless killer     - Pathetic, nerdy buffoon

8. Media and Community Formation

  • Mass media have the capacity to:   - Invite new kinds of community formation while threatening traditional community integrity.   - Scholars examine new types of transnational communities:     - Examples include fandoms and subcultures developed by global internet users.

9. Cultural Globalization

  • Cultural globalization is characterized by:   - Multidirectional flows of culture, unlike colonialism's one-way movements.   - Increased influence of popular cultures from other countries on the US, specifically from:     - Latin America     - India     - South Korea     - Japan   - Emerging influence from Indonesia.

  • The outcome of cultural contacts tends to be:   - Increased hybridization rather than uniformity.

10. Global Youth Culture

  • Global youth culture, exemplified by phenomena like the One Piece anime, plays a role in:   - Shaping new generational identities across traditional divides such as:     - Religion     - Ethnicity     - Nationality   - These new identities can lead to significant political ramifications.