So this past October I attended The Color Run and ran to my hearts content. This event is a 5K run in which there are several stations in which participants run while being shot with hands full of colored flour. It is so called the happiest 5K on earth, i guess because of the happy looking runners who are multicolor painted. How can this be remotely looked at sociologically you ask? Well there is a lot of advertisement, products, and talking about this event. Companies like Chevy sponsor this event which makes it go in to a totally different field then your average 5K run sponsored by a local business. Also, events like the one i attended here in happen all over the US at different times which means to things in my mind. Its bringing a group of people together that would not have anything in common besides the The Color Run and that people spend around $50 dollars depending on the day of registration to run and get hit with colored flour. That is already social uses of space, cohesion, conspicuous consumption, and many more. Here is 2 videos to further illustrate. First one from Augusta and second a generic one.
The music genre of Jazz dates back to the 20th century in which its roots branched from primarily African with some European backgrounds in the early 1920's. Quickly, jazz music became popular overtime even including its own twist to popular music that we know and love in today's society. Once the music of jazz became widespread around the world, those that came from musical backgrounds began interpreting jazz into their own way which has now formed several branches of jazz such as soul jazz, punk jazz, jazz funk, and New Orleans jazz to name a few. Overall, the sounds of jazz is one of the many distinct sounds in music that I feel serves its purpose to fulfill the enjoyment of its many listeners.
On the sociological side of this popular cultural phenomenon, there a few concepts that would help give a better understanding about jazz. The interactionist approach plays a role in reference to Charles Horton Cooley where he mentions that popular culture is a tool to help give us meaning through interacting with others. For jazz, the music that is played is made to interact with its fellow listeners on an emotional level (relaxed, sad, spunky, etc). The concept of the effects of in creased stylization will definitely play a part in jazz. Being that the musicians who create the songs that they play, displays not only their talent, but also their art. With art, the musician's focus relies on aesthetic skills to help deliver their creativity that they have as an individual, and in turn, draws attention to the viewers/ listeners who show a sense of interest.
Twilight was a huge sensation most of my high school career. The books series seemed to connect with all age groups and truly started a vampire and werewolf craze that can still be seen in films and all major television networks, eight years after its original publication date. This book series paved the way for T.V. shows like Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf to be the success they are today. From the functionalist perspective, the classical love triangle resignated with readers and ultimately created a subculture of "twihards". Twihards much like Harry Potter fans were and still are the mega-fans. These are the fans that attended midnight books releases and then again stood in line for hours to see the films released at midnight as well. The books series was able to create such a strong group togetherness because the content of the book, though insinuated sexual prowess, was PG at nature and did emphasize strong morals such as saving yourself for marriage. There was just enough sex to keep the older readers attention and just enough innocence to be appropriate for the tween crowd.
Twilight became huge in brand marketing and very much fed into conspicuous consumption. Not only did the main characters in the books continuously talk about their wealth but also the expensive things the owned. Edwards collected exotic cars. Alice had only the best brands in her closet and constantly pressured Bella to dress more high class. Even the patriarch of the family, who is supposedly the most humble and
modest of the family, bought his wife an island. Outside of the characters and focusing on the film series, that followed the books, made millions of dollars for various companies such as Hot Topic and Walmart. Companies would paste pictures of the characters on tee shirts, posters, cell phone covers, and binders and label them at ridiculous prices and fans would buy them. Twilight was a cultural phenomenon that I know most girls my age will be telling their grandchildren about one day.
Break dancing was a new craze that hit the scene during the 1960's and took the African American community by storm. There are several factors that constributed to the creation of break dancing. The most popular reason for the birth of break dancing was that is was the result of the gang wars brewing in New York. it was to be believed that the same muscles you use to fight are that of the same you use to break dance. The B-Boy with the best moves was thought to be the best fighter in the group. This in return made break dancing one of the most dangerous dances due to the fact B-Boys would try the most rickest moves if this meant saving a loss.
A popular face associted with break dancing is James Brown. During the time of James Brown popular hit "Get on the Good Foot", people were beginning to pick up on his high enery way of dancing. soon the Good Foot adopted the name B-boy, then Breakdaning, or just Breaking.
In my paper I plan to show how break dancing relates to the Functionalist and Interactionalist approach.
"The Walking Dead" is one of the biggest things on television right now. It was adapted from the comic book by Robert Kirkman and has become television's most-watched prime-time drama. The recent season four's premiere attracted almost 16.1 million viewers. This series has also been renewed for a fifth season as stated by Charlie Collier, AMC president. He also stated that "The Walking Dead" is expanding a base of passionate fans and has grown every season.
In my paper I will sociologically relate this series to capitalism. Theses zombies heartlessly eat human beings, without knowing what they are doing, just like in capitalism when things are pursued for profit for ones won benefit. These zombies obtain food by eating the other human beings. The zombies have taken over Atlanta, and other areas ranging from cities to farmland to the middle of no where. This also shows a sense of capitalism because in need to expand, people are being exploited to sustain. This is just an overview of what I will discuss in my paper, through further research.
Steampunk is a culture and aesthetic movement which was born out of science fiction. It began as a science fiction sub-genre. Most science fiction explores a potential future but Steampunk explores a future which could have been. Steampunk is essentially a type of alternative history where technological development diverged from our history. Stories typically feature advanced technologies powered by steam and the setting takes place in the Victorian era or the American Wild West. Wild West based stories are sometimes referred to as Cattle Punk. The term "punk" comes from an earlier sub-genre called Cyberpunk. It has nothing to do with punk rock music, The genre was inspired by the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. It is debateable whether their stories would be considered Steampunk because the term was not coined until the 1980s. Modern Steam Punk writers include Scott Westerfeld and China Mieville. The genre has also spread to film. Examples are Wild Wild West and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Steampunk has moved out of the realms of literary fiction and has now become its own subculture. Fan conventions have been organized internationally thanks to the internet. Many fans create their own character and role play them at conventions. The convention scene has also lead to the rise of Steampunk fashion. DragonCon has featured a Steampunk fashion show. Other Steampunk fans modify household objects such as computers and change them into Victorian style objects. Musicians have also embraced Steampunk trappings by wearing the clothing style and writing lyrics with Steampunk themes.
Steampunk relates to many different sociological concepts. One of the most obvious is the triumph of style. Many examples of Steampunk art are modifications of objects found in everyday life. The objects are altered into a more stylized and aesthetically interesting form. Steampunk musicians also dress the part when they perform. The current Steampunk subculture was built through the internet so the effects of social networking and scenes can be explored. Functionalist ideas always a role in various sub cultures. Steampunk fans show a collective consciousness because they are brought together by shared values.My goal is to relate sociological concepts from the different perspectives we have discussed in class to the many aspects of Steampunk. I will also bring in new information that I find in scholarly sources.
JK Rowling’s
well known book series, Harry Potter, has been a pop culture phenomenon for
many reasons. Most of us have grown up reading the books and watching the
movies at the midnight premiere. From a functionalist approach, the book series
and movies have generated a shared sense of social solidarity and social
cohesion within the fans. Harry Potter had such a high demand that Universal
Studies added the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” to their park in 2010. Apart
from the Harry Potter fandom, the actual content of the book holds many of the
sociological terms we have discussed in class. Each book illustrates the social
uses of space, division of social class, conspicuous consumption, institutions,
deviance, and the list goes on…
The video connected is actually in three parts, but I thought the one I provided could possibly trigger some sociological thoughts that could explain why the movies differentiate from the books and our understanding of the Harry Potter series. 1:18 Harry Potter video
The 15th birthday celebration of a young, Mexican woman
or laquinceañera
is one still of utmost importance for today’s Mexican
adolescents.
"La ultima
muñeca"
Having its history in ancient Aztec culture, this tradition still
pertains to the young generation of today even within the United States. After
interviewing a young woman from the North Augusta area about her experience of
herquinceañera
, it was made clear that there are many traditions saturated with
symbolism that give this celebration a more significant purpose. This includes the giving of "la ultima
muñeca" (the last doll) from her father, the choreographed surprise dance with her "chambelanes" (chamberlains) and/or "damas" (dames), and the exchanging of her tiara for a crown as well as her flat shoes for high heels. Despite the fact
that a majority of the non-Hispanic population of the United States hasn’t ever
heard of this rite of passage, the Mexican-American communities all across the
nation are aware and care. The cost of this celebration does cost a pretty
penny/peso, so $10,000 is not an uncommon site for the family of laquinceañera
. While this amount is shocking to the average American who isn’t
spending that sort of money on a fifteen-year-old girl in one place, for the
average Mexican/Mexican-American the burden of cost will generally be made
lighter with well advanced planning and help from extended family and friends as the Hispanic population
is accustomed to the idea of community contribution.
La quinceañera and her "chambelanes"
I intend to uncover the symbolism behind the various things and actions that are seen
throughout the birthday celebration. I will approach this subject using the functionalist theory and reflect upon the obvious collective effervescence that insures a purpose for
these coming-of-age events.
Today, people find so many different ways to entertain themselves. Recently, millions of people have taken to making short videos of themselves or others and posting them online for the world to see. Besides the ever-popular "YouTube," there is a semi-new app. called "Vine" that allows anyone to film a short video on their smart phone and post it for everyone to see in just seconds.
Vine's history is a rather short one. It was introduced earlier this year, but it did not take long for it to become one of the largest app. market growth stories. With most of its success in Norway, Vine is a top ten iPhone app. in seven different countries.
Vine videos are easily recognized by society. For those who have not downloaded the app. to their phone, Vine has its very own Facebook and shares users' posts quite frequently. These videos are typically humorous which makes them well-liked by many. The Vine phenomenon is a great illustration of the functionalist theory. Vines often consist of re-enactments of things that certain groups of people do, or daily struggles and annoyances that most people can relate to. That relatability helps create a unity amongst people.
In my paper, I will analyze the Vine phenomenon as well as other apps. that are similar to it. I will expand on the history of Vine, and elaborate on its connection to the functionalist theory.
The Harry Potter series has become a phenomenon that has captured the
imagination of children and adults all around the world. The author of the
series, J.K. Rowling, was inspired to begin writing Harry Potter in 1990.
Today, the series consists of seven different books and eight different movies.
Harry Potter is now one of the highest grossing film franchises in history.
Over the course of ten years, the films have grossed in nearly 8 billion
dollars worldwide.
For my cultural analysis term paper, I plan on using both the functional and critical perspective to discuss Harry Potter. The series reflects and reinforces values and creates collective effervesence among fans. The critical perspective can be applied to the merchandise and mass production of all things Harry Potter. The merchandise ranges from food and candy, toys and games, clothing and accessories, and collectibles. In 2010, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened as a portion of Univeral's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Many believe that Harry Potter will continue to flourish and fascinate future generations.
The movie Catching Fire is an interesting Social Event not only on premier night but also looking into movie and book content it becomes a cool picture of history that most people don't even catch. In the movie, Cinna, the guy that designed Katniss Everdeen's dresses and more specifically her wedding dress is actually historically relevant to Roman times. There was a man named Lucius Cornelius Cinna who served as Roman consul, he was driven out of Rome after inciting a rebellion among the freed men of the city. Cinna in the movie designed Katniss' wedding dress to morph into a mockingjay with wings and everything as an act in support of the growing rebellion against the Capitol. I think this was one of the biggest rebellious moves in this movie, albeit symbolic it was still rebellious and brave.
Cinna the rebellious fashion designer
On the pop culture end of things The Hunger Games: Catching Fire brought in $161.1 Million in its opening weekend. This makes it the biggest November debut ever and the most lucrative Lionsgate opening. Catching Fire was highly anticipated and well received; even those that have read the books feel that it was very true to the book more so than they would have expected.
I feel like the Hunger Games movies, especially Catching Fire has kind of made people think about the state of our own country and how things are going. I have seen and heard quite a few almost nervous sounding people talking about what kind of things could happen in the future and whether they think the stuff of these movies is actually plausible.
I would also say that it is pretty safe to say that the recent trend in movies like White House Down, Olympus Has Fallen, and the Hunger Games has definitely made a large number of people nervous of government control. Not that some of these people weren't already nervous but more so that this type of media makes them even more nervous than they already were.
This trend could be good and bad, good because it actually makes people think about what is going on with the government and how it actually relates to them rather than walking along blindly. It could also be a bad scenario causing people to be too distrustful of the government overall.
Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Ga then moved to Chicago with his mother at the age of 3. It is said that he began his creative side while writing poetry and drawing at a young age. Growing up on the city streets of Chicago taught him many lessons and this is where he found his passion for music. After dropping out of college he began to further dive deeper into his musical aspirations.
He connected with his "mentor", a man by the name of No I.D. and began to make tracks for local artists to use.
It is that time he found his way to Jay-Z who was a major artist and started to work closely with him. After making most of Jay's tracks on the album The Blueprint, which was a classic on the hip hop scene, Jay signed him to his label. After a getting into a horrible car accident where he had to have his mouth wired shut, he made a track entitled Through The Wire which came off of his debut album The College Dropout and that helped him gain the #2 spot on the Billboard top 100.
From then on he went on to make multiple albums and songs that hit the #1 spot on the charts and garnered him a lot of attention. The thing with him though is he's always in the media's eye for something negative that he has said or done.
He has gone on to embarrass himself and others along the way. BUT there is one thing that we can always say is. That we want to know what he will do next. He has us on our toes, either creatively or negatively to see where he will "strike".
Even with these multiple moments of negativity however you can't deny that musically and visually he has a very creative mind. He himself is a phenomenon in a sense. Now let's all wait to see what he does next because of course, we will want to know.
TO BETTER SUM UP OUR "KANYE INFATUATION":
"I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice."
While blackface and yellowface are now acknowledged to be racist and distasteful, the practice of casting white actors to either replace or represent characters of color often endures in the United States. Actors of color are already limited in the roles offered; in 2005, 81.9% of lead actors in movies were white non-Hispanic. When people of color are cast, those roles are often supporting roles and/or laden with stereotypes. Opponents of the practice argue that the casting of white actors for characters of color, or "racebending" limits both the options for people of color working in Hollywood and the way that pop culture consumers view people of color.
Recent controversies surrounding these casting choices include the casting of predominantly white actors to play Asian and Inuit characters in the live-action movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, from which the term "racebending" was coined. Notably, the exception to this casting is the "bad guy".
In the original Star Trek series, the famous villain Khan was explicitly described as Sikh, though this was complicated by the casting of Ricardo Montalbán, who, while a man of color, was not actually Sikh or even Asian. However, it was 1967, and it was, like many things in the original Star Trek, still considered revolutionary that a man of color was selected to portray a genetically superior super-human. This year (almost fifty years later), Benedict Cumberbatch, a white British man, played the role of Khan in the Star Trek: Into Darkness, which many critics argue not only contributes to the trend of whitewashing, but sends a much uglier message once one considers the "genetic superiority" of Khan.
On the left, Benedict Cumberbatch. On the right, Ricardo Montalbán.
Original series Khan looks at a portrait of himself, in which he is wearing a traditional Sikh turban.
The critical perspective offers valuable insight into the reasoning behind and the impacts of the practice of racebending. The erasure of people of color from lead roles may serve to reinforce stereotypes when they are cast, as well as contribute to the dominant ideology that white people are somehow more palatable to the overall population, or that white actors are more capable than people of color to portray not only the "default" universal narratives, but also the narratives of people of color themselves.
The following video satirizes and provides further examples of racebending:
Kenya Murphy
Whether its a who got divorced, who got arrested or who is owes the IRS back taxes; we all love a good celebrity scandal! Reading about what celebrity couple sold their mansion, what former Disney child star recently was hospitalized, or what how much a NFL player spent on his fiancee's engagement ring has become as routine as drinking coffee and watching the news! We no longer watch the news just to find out the weather or about politics. We watch the news to find out if Beyoncé is indeed expecting again, how Paul Walker died and if Khloe Kardashian will divorce her NBA husband. Celebrity gossip has quickly become a new aspect of popular culture.
Heavy metal is a genre of music created in the mid to late 1970's. The exact beginnings of the genre are debated among musicians and scholars, but a mild consensus has agrees that the first heavy metal band to emerge was Black Sabbath, hailing from the UK. Since then, Heavy metal has had it's many rises and falls in the realm of pop culture, more specifically it's "golden age" during the 1980's. Every huge metal band that even those not versed in metal emerged during this time, bands such as Metallica, Motley Crue, Guns & Roses, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest among the plethora of other hair metal and heavy metal bands of the time. Metal is not short of it controversies, though. Throughout these same years metal has been the target of many "parent organizations" targeting it's often violent lyrics.
Now decades later, metal has fallen in general popularity on the pop culture spectrum but it remains as a subculture of extremely dedicated fans who are die hard about their love of metal. This type of close-knit environment is best explained by the functionalist perspective. (Star this clip at :54)
Although, heavy metal can't be all good for the fans and non-fans alike. Some of the critical reactions of metal aren't too far from the truth. When taking a look at metal culture, I am also going to be taking a view of it from the critical perspective looking at the misogyny, racism, and heterocentrism. Many metal bands produce lyrics that are incredibly misogynistic, particular hair metal bands of the 80's but also death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse who take misogynistic lyrics to extremes. Since the late 80's and early 90's many bands in Scandinavian Europe, and also around the world, began springing up who would become known as the metal subgenre "Black metal." These bands are mostly known for their lyrics about anti-religion (particularly anti-christianity), and glorification of Satanism. These bands are also breeding grounds for National Socialist ideals, which breeds many bands who are incredibly racist.
Marvel Comics has become a household name and earned billions of dollars in revenue over the past decade. From the hit movie Iron Man to the new Marvel Agents of Shield tv show, Marvel is now a pop culture phenomenon. Originally targeting men 18-24, Marvel Comics now appeals to men and women of all ages. I plan to focus on how functionalist and symbolic interactionists perspectives play a role in the growth and sustainment of this phenomenon.
Today, there are many websites that are looked at everyday for pure entertainment. TheChive is one of these websites. This website has developed a very large following or fan base over the past few years. The site includes categories of different pictures and videos, one being called 'Chive Everywhere' that solely displays different people who support the website. The site also sells specific shirts, stickers, and other items so you can show your love for theChive. For this paper, I plan to focus on how the functionalist perspective has helped this website develop such a large following. http://thechive.com/
In todays socity there have been many changes to how music/videos are seen through out the world. this is especially true when you go on to youtube. On youtube you can find many videos that are posted for ones entertainment, advertisement, and job. However, the video i'm going to focus on is PSY-Gangnam style and how music videos become a sensation over a few days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Lord of the Rings, one of the most popular movie triologies. This series was first worked on in the 1930s, during the second world war and has been growing in popularity ever since. Today the books have been made into movies, with The Hobbit being spilt into three movies, as well as merchandise. Everyone has heard of it and is probably familiar with the characters, even if that haven't made it through all three of the three hour long movies or the books. It has captured the imaginations of generations through its creation of worlds, mythology, history and even its own languages. These books have inspired movies that have spun into action figures, board games, and video games. However, not all the merchandise is for children, there are extensive collector editions of expensive swords, armor, and more from the series.
However, the Lord of the Rings is not the only series involving the world of middle earth. There have been multiple other works inspired by the series that explain the history and lore for the different races.
I plan on using the critical and functionalist perspective to discuss the Lord of the Rings. How the world of this series offers a way for people to come together and reflect on their own vaules, to bond over their shared love of the stories and characters, and how they create and enjoy a collective effervesence. The collective effervesence can be seen through the way fans continue to dress up and go to midnight releases in the freezing weather. There will also be some critical perspective invoving the merchandise and the mass production and advertisement of all things Middle Earth.
The Rocky Horror Picture show is currently the longest running film release in history. It is an adaptation of a London musical that was created as a tribute to the campy B horror movies of the forties. Although it was originally a theatric production I doubt it was ever considered highbrow. From a sociological view the RHPS has many characteristics identified with the functionalistic perspective. There are certain rituals and rules that are expected to be adhered to when in the theater viewing RHPS. Interaction and role playing done while viewing RHPS, with it's strong sexual, transvestite content could be seen as a safe manner to explore subjects that in the seventies were probably seen as taboo. RHPS in 2005 was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by The Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Is it art or craft? You decide.wwwrockyhorror.com
In today's society the hip-hop culture is a very debatable topic in the African American community, due to the representation of African American women within this culture. African American females are viewed in very stereotypical ways and degrading ways in some cases. These negative images of African American females in the media can affect the way they view themselves and how the world views them. Programs such as Black Girls Rock! is a program that was started in 2006, with the sole purpose of helping to develop and build young African American girls self-esteem and self-worth and to help African American girls and women celebrate the beauty of being African American and to be best they can be, by being positive role models within their communities.
For my cultural analysis paper, I plan to view the history of how the African American women has been seen in the United States. Second, how African American females are viewed today in the United States. Third, I will explain what Black Girls Rock! is and I will talk about the Black Girls Rock! Award show. In my paper, I will discuss mostly African American women and girls perceptions about beauty, self-esteem, the media, and etc. I will discuss class topics such as the interactionist approach as it applies to how these women and girls view themselves, the functions of popular culture, how the representation of social inequality and dominant ideologies relate to how these women and girls feel about themselves, search for authenticity, collaborative circles, and cultural conventions.
Below are some discussion on the topics of medias influence on African American females, African American females views of body image, how they define themselves as a black women, and the history of how African American females were viewed.
The United Kingdom and the whole
world recently celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who with
Google adding an interactive game on their homepage, Yahoo letting a little
blue box float across its name, and displaying the largest simulcast of the anniversary
episode around the world at the same time.
But what is Doctor Who?
Doctor Who is the longest running
science fiction show in the world. It premiered in the 1960s in the United
Kingdom and follows the adventures of a time-traveling alien humanoid called
The Doctor. His species is called Time Lords and he comes from a distant planet
called Gallifrey. He travels in a blue police phone box called the T.A.R.D.I.S
(Time and Relative Dimension in Space) that is “bigger on the inside.” Along
his travels, he picks up companions (mainly humans) that join him on his
adventures to fix problems and restore order to the universe, not to mention
battle vicious alien foes. Then when he gets to the end of his “life,” he
regenerates or physically changes into a new form with a new personality. Since
1963, there have been 11 regenerations (meaning 11 different male actors
playing the Doctor) and a 12th regeneration happening by the end of
this year.
But why is Doctor Who important?
It has become a global
phenomenon, and also one of the largest subcultures to exist in the world.
Going to conventions like Comic Con will show people or “Whovians” dressed as
their favorite Doctor, or dressed as a companion or alien. People look to
social networking to find others with similar tastes and discuss their favorite
episodes and news within the “fandom.” It has brought new and old generations
together with one common purpose: The Doctor.
By observing this group (and
being part of it myself), the sociology based on this group is part of the
functionalist perspective. There is social solidarity with unity and cohesion
of the group, a collective conscience with shared values about the Doctor’s
life and goals, and a collective effervescence of happiness and dedication to
the alien himself. In my paper, I will be discussing and analyzing the
subculture of Doctor Who and its connection to the functional approach of Emile
Durkheim and popular culture today.
