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Reflection on the Final Chapter of Pop Culture Freaks

The final chapter of Pop Culture Freaks was a great end to a surprisingly enjoyable book. I am actually very happy we read this book as a part of this course because it helps the reader understand concepts obviously related to pop culture but also related to other aspects of communications, marketing, etc. This last chunk helped tie the book together and really cement the concepts in the reader’s brain that were explained throughout the entirety of the text.

The identity matrix is described in the book in a way that makes you want to learn more about the concept. Dealing with individuality as well as what can contribute to your sense of self is very important and sometimes overlooked. According to the book, “Identity is a structural principle. It creates the boundaries of social groups and defines the norms of the people within these groups.” This shows the importance and urgency of understanding and grasping your sense of self in its’ entirety.

The matrix of the culture industry refers to commercially produced meanings embedded in expressive works that include text, audio, and video. In this realm, the middle class is very important in producing the commercial culture at hand. When a cultural object is created in this commercial setting, the people producing and receiving the object are within very separate cultural moments. On the opposite side, these production rights are reserved for a lucky few. The example is used of producers creating content in Hollywood and this content being seen across the country.

Each concept described in Pop Culture Freaks is very interesting to someone interested in mass media and very applicable to other realms such as psychology and marketing. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in these topics or just anyone looking to learn something new.

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Advice for Future Pop Culture Students

If you are interested in popular culture and don’t mind remaining engaged the entire semester, then this is the class for you. As the title of the course suggests, you will most definitely feel yourself consuming popular culture with a more critical eye as the class goes on. I personally enjoy this newfound criticism as not only do I now notice moral issues in the pop culture that I consume, but I also notice things that make the content I consume more interesting.

The greatest thing I have come to realize from taking this class is that the majority of content in pop culture is incredibly thought out. Even mindless shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians- I now think about how many people it must take to create the show, market each episode, and just how many people the show affects and how it affects them. I personally think this is a great new instinct that I have as I am much more appreciative of the pop culture that I consume.

My biggest advice for you is to stay on track. Because this is a hybrid course, the majority of your work will be done outside of class time and on your own. Every Wednesday a journal post is due before class, every Friday night a Slack post is due, and every Monday night comments on peers’ posts are due, with a few large assignments sprinkled in between. Get these small assignments done well and on time as they add up to be just as impactful on your grade as the big assignments are.

My second piece of advice is to not be afraid to use your assignment extension early. Melisa will most likely tell you otherwise but I used my extension on the first large assignment and I am very glad I did that instead of writing a low quality paper in the small amount of time I had left for myself. Go to class, complete all of your assignments, be open to learn, and you will do great in this course!

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My Understanding of the Cultural Diamond

The cultural diamond is a tool that is used to better understand pop culture artifacts. Developed by Wendy Griswold, she defines the diamond as “a socially meaningful expression that is audible, visible, or tangible or that can be articulated and . . . moreover, tells a story, and that story may be sung, told, set in stone, enacted, or painted on the body”. The cultural diamond consists of four main elements: the cultural object itself, the creators, the receivers, and the social world in which the object lives.

To better explain how the cultural diamond works, I will apply the four main elements to a pop culture artifact. The artifact I chose for this example is 13 Reasons Why as this is a very popular show on Netflix right now that I believe a lot of people have seen. As I mentioned previously, the first element in the cultural diamond is the cultural object itself. In this example, the object would simply be the show, 13 Reasons Why.

The second element of the cultural diamond is the creators of the pop culture artifact. This one is more complex than the first because the creators include the directors, producers, actors, everyone who worked on the show, and whatever company is responsible for the production and distribution of the show. In the example of 13 Reasons Why, the creators are Jay Asher who wrote the book that the show is based on, Brian Yorkey who adapted the story for Netflix, Selena Gomez who is the executive producer, Katherine Langford who plays Hannah Baker, Netflix who hosts the show, and the list goes on.

The third element of the cultural diamond is the receivers. In this example, the receivers of 13 Reasons Why is not just the audience but also specifically who this audience is. Tailored to a hard-to-reach demographic, the show appeals mostly to teenagers who are familiar with growing up in today’s world of social media and constant communication. This demographic is sometimes difficult to impress, but everyone I have talked to around my age really loved the show and the ideas it presents.

The fourth and final piece of the cultural diamond is the social world in which the pop culture artifact lives. As I mentioned previously, 13 Reasons Why was released in the modern world of overwhelming technology. This social world could also be considered to be a time where online bullying occurs frequently and suicide is seldom talked about. Although the show has received some negative feedback I believe the show creates awareness of an important issue that people tend to shy away from.

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Review: College Analysis Paper

The college analysis paper was a very fun paper for me to write. The film I chose was Good Will Hunting and I was quite happy to find a movie starring BOTH Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and regretted not finding the film earlier because of their undeniable dreaminess.

This assignment greatly helped me understand both the cultural diamond and the concept of cultural potency. The film easily passed the test of cultural efficacy by scoring high in four of the five dimensions included in this test, which made my task a lot easier. In the end, I was very happy I chose Good Will Hunting because the movie is so well known and such a classic film.

By doing this assignment I now understand how pop culture artifacts can continue to be impactful no matter how old they are. Good Will Hunting was released in 1997 and people still watch and love the film today in 2017. By examining the qualities of this movie we can attempt to learn what is necessary in order to create a wildly successful film. 

By finding discrepancies between how college students are portrayed in movies and how they are in real life, we can then begin to debug the stereotypes that define what it means to be a college student. As a college student, these stereotypes are very important to recognize and understand so you don’t feel pressure to conform to the false images that are sometimes presented which suggest what you should be doing during your time in college.

Finally, the assignment taught me to watch films much more carefully. As I mentioned in my original essay, Good Will Hunting is probably not immensely powerful to the untrained eye but, by watching the film with a specific agenda in mind, I was able to notice things I don’t think I would have noticed otherwise. Most films are created with such close attention to detail it is almost a shame to not give a film your full attention and watch with a critical eye.

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Racial Positivity

http://www.complex.com/life/2016/06/black-lives-matter-activists-show-positivity-online-before-protests-study

This link examines the data from a study that was conducted which shows how the Black Lives Matter movement has made a positive impact on the world of social media. Click the link to learn more!

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My Hijab Story

This is a video my friend Shahd made explaining her story of transitioning into being a hijabi. She explains that being a hijabi doesn’t simply mean wearing a hijab and how the transition was a very big decision for her. This is an excellent example of how social media can be used in a positive way to explain concepts related to culture, religion, and race.

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Social Media Being Used to Address Race

It’s sometimes difficult to view social media in a positive light; but when it comes to my understanding of black people and black women in particular, I believe social media has been an amazing tool for me. One of my best friends has been educating me for a few years now on the struggles that specifically black women must go through on a daily basis.

From childhood, black women are shown images in popular culture that they can’t relate to. My friend explained to me how when she was in elementary school, being a young black girl, she truly couldn’t understand why her hair was curly and the other girls’ hair was not. To me, as a white woman this seems like such an odd concern- who cares what your hair texture is! But as my friend explained, by being a young girl who is considered apart of a minority in the US, you just want to fit in.

The friend I am talking about is named Shahd Batal and she is a Sudanese Beauty Vlogger on YouTube with currently about 128,000 subscribers. I am immensely proud of not only the success she’s had with her channel but how committed she is to her viewers. She commonly posts videos related to self confidence and finding your passion that anyone could relate to but specifically appeal to young black women as they see themselves in Shahd.

Knowing Shahd since she was a tenth-grader obsessed with wearing scarves- I don’t think of her any differently despite her newfound fame. But, I greatly admire her for what she is doing to help young girls and the passion she puts into her content. I am also very grateful for how she has helped me to understand what it means to be a black woman.

YouTube is an underestimated source of amazing and I hate to say it, but life changing content. This content in particular is an excellent example of how social media can be used in a positive way and in Shahd’s case, help to eliminate misunderstandings regarding race.

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Social Media Movements Regarding Racism

Trustworthy academic research can be found on nearly everything and the recent social media movements regarding racism are no exception. Social media is more commonly being turned to as a main source for news, especially among the millennial population, which makes this research very important.

According to The Pew Research Center, two thirds of black social media users say that most of the posts they see on social media are about race. This same research shows that less than half of white social media users can say the same. A different study conducted by The Pew Research Study also found that on average 2.1 million tweets are published per day that pertain to race. This affirms the presence of Black Twitter and also suggests that white people are much more likely to not recognize social posts containing elements of racism.

The movement I found most important to examine is the Black Lives Matter movement. If unfamiliar with the mission of this movement, the Black Lives Matter website states that “while rooted in the experiences of Black people in this country who actively resist our dehumanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society.”

According to pewinternet.org, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been used approximately 12 million times from July 12, 2013, through March 31, 2016, and during this period, it was used more often in support of the movement than in opposition to it. This is helpful information as I believe that much of the movement’s purpose as well as their actions seem to be confused in modern society. A lot of people choose not to educate themselves on the issues that the movement deals with and this in turn, damages the movement’s progress.

Roughly 40% of the times the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was tweeted; it was used to display solidarity with the social movement. I believe this statistic is positive as it could be used in this way a lot less but more progress can most definitely be made. Find out more about the Black Lives Matter movement by going to http://blacklivesmatter.com/.

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The Concepts of Race and Racism in Social Media

The topic I have chosen for this blog series is race and the growing issue of racism in popular culture specifically, social media. These are relevant topics in my opinion because I have noticed a growing divide on various social media platforms that suggest these concept’s importance.

The first thing I think of when presented with the concept of race in social media is ‘Black Twitter’. A writer by the name of Feminista Jones described Black Twitter on Salon.com as “a collective of active, primarily African-American Twitter users who have created a virtual community … [and are] proving adept at bringing about a wide range of sociopolitical changes.”

I first noticed Black Twitter when I was in high school and enjoyed seeing the empowerment that black friends of mine found by using Twitter in a positive way. Although much of Black Twitter consists of black Americans, other groups are able to be apart of this circle on social media through shared commonalities that help the groups relate to one another.

The opposing side to Black Twitter is people who might not understand this realm’s intentions or people who believe the title Black Twitter is an example of labeling. Although one may not understand this group’s purpose because they are either not black or not educated on the group’s motive, we should all respect this realm as a place for black people to feel empowered.

The strength of Black Twitter was very obviously seen during the Trump and Clinton election and after Trump became president. A lot of outrage was present from this community and very rightly so judging by what was going on in our society at that time. Black individuals took to Twitter to have their voices heard and to find people who are like-minded to them. I believe using Twitter in this way is positive because it gives people a chance to speak their mind in a controlled environment.

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Pop Culture Autobiography

Hi, my name is Alyssa Fischer. I am a junior at North Dakota State University studying Strategic Communication, and some would say I am a pop culture fiend. Everything from knowing what celebrities are doing to having the latest music purchased the day it came out, I am on it. I have always been interested in pop culture and find myself commonly consuming this genre of the media in particular. Conversations with my friends regarding the Kardashians or Harry Styles’ new music are frequent and inevitable.

Much of my pop culture consumption stems from my mom. When I was in the sixth grade I was staying up late watching The Hills with her every Monday (her excuse was that Lauren Conrad was a good model) and when I turned 17 she got me a subscription for Seventeen Magazine for my birthday (a right of passage)! To this day she is a Real Housewives of… whatever city addict and records episodes of TMZ on the daily.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as this morning my roommate pointed out that it was weird that I have Jessica Alba as a connection on Snapchat to stay updated on her daily activities. I responded, “she’s my friend!! …in my head at least…”. I like having a connection with people I look up to even if these people happen to be meaningless celebrities in other peoples’ eyes. Jessica Alba is a mom, actress, philanthropist, and wildly successful business woman- what’s not to like?!

Like me choosing to add Jessica Alba on Snapchat, modern pop culture is great because it tends to be incredibly customizable. Say you don’t particularly care for Kim Kardashian- then don’t follow her on any of her platforms! As Live TV becomes less of the norm it is easy to avoid her on E! and you can simply look away when she is on magazine covers at the grocery store. Like whatever you want and seek knowledge related to these likes only!

An extension of this element of customization that is interesting to me, is how much pop culture molds to its’ consumers. Pop culture seems to be a very consumer-based business that would fall apart without consumer support. That gives us the unusual power of receiving what we ask for. If we see something on TV that we don’t like we can use tools like Twitter to have these dislikes heard. The availability of power is there but it is up to us, as an audience, to use it.

What lies in understanding pop culture is a power that not everyone realizes. Staying updated on events and people in the media not only gives us knowledge on modern society but also gives us an easy basis for a conversation to have with almost anyone!! In the world of pop culture, your interests give you power to create connections with others.  Although the power of pop culture can also be used negatively, this one power trumps this possibility.