Adrian Clegg
SOC/105
Febuary 17, 22011
Dr. V. Nita Evans
Popular American Culture Paper
According to Merriam-Webster culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (2011). Popular culture is “the opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theater or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc. In the beginning of the 20th Century," High art" was the realm of the wealthy and educated classes while popular culture or." Low art" was considered commercial entertainment for the lower classes. In the 1950s and 60s the gulf between high and low art closed with the rise of Pop Art” (2011).
Three major trends are in the popular American culture. Violence and sexual explicitness of song lyrics, television programs, and movies are …show more content…
Beauty pageants, fashion shows, the Internet, and movies have swamped the public with two-dimensional pictures of beautiful icons and celebrities. America significantly relies on mass media to play a role in molding. This nations view of the definition to beauty and remodeling the culture in the same time frame. In present-day society with the consent changing idea that portrays images beauty, the public relies on the media to assist them to discover the most up-to-date trends on how to look and what to wear to stay ‘in fashion’. According to David Hume, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” (1742). Perhaps a more modern-day accurate definition would be, “Beauty is in the eye of the media.” The effect one may have based upon the media could be as simple as the type of clothes a person buys and