Popular Culture Paper Essay Example
Popular America Culture
Tanesha Wilson
SOC/105
April 26, 2012
Veretta Nix
Popular America Culture
In this technology-driven society, chances are a person has access to the Internet, can update their status on Twitter, or watch his or her favorite reality show, via a hand held device. Each day people subject themselves to many forms of mass communication that affects the choices they make. People allow the ideas, decisions, likes, and dislikes of others to influence them. Society is under a daily dose of mass information from cell phones, computers, magazines, and televisions. This is what is known as popular culture.
Culture is the set of values or customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Viewed as the way of life and shared by people in a particular place. It is also described as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that a group of people have in common. Culture, in its traditional sense always has been associated with refinement, education, and high society (Petracca & Sorapure, 2007).
Popular culture refers to the ideas, perspectives, and attitudes preferred informally by a group within the mainstream of a particular culture. It includes a wide range of influences, such as television, technology, and music. Pop culture has to do with the “masses,” and what is trendy, but has nothing to do with a person’s refinement, his or her intelligence, or one’s social status. Pop culture changes constantly and these changes take place daily as people embrace new technology and mass media continues to promote the “newest thing or person.” A relatively unknown actor emerges as a celebrity overnight, replacing those on top a year ago. Our favorite singer reemerges into the spotlight as a celebrity judge on a reality show. People embrace new phrases like, “40 is the new 20” and coin new terms, like Beyoncé’s “bootylicious.” This example shows how popular culture is rooted in our
Tanesha Wilson
SOC/105
April 26, 2012
Veretta Nix
Popular America Culture
In this technology-driven society, chances are a person has access to the Internet, can update their status on Twitter, or watch his or her favorite reality show, via a hand held device. Each day people subject themselves to many forms of mass communication that affects the choices they make. People allow the ideas, decisions, likes, and dislikes of others to influence them. Society is under a daily dose of mass information from cell phones, computers, magazines, and televisions. This is what is known as popular culture.
Culture is the set of values or customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Viewed as the way of life and shared by people in a particular place. It is also described as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that a group of people have in common. Culture, in its traditional sense always has been associated with refinement, education, and high society (Petracca & Sorapure, 2007).
Popular culture refers to the ideas, perspectives, and attitudes preferred informally by a group within the mainstream of a particular culture. It includes a wide range of influences, such as television, technology, and music. Pop culture has to do with the “masses,” and what is trendy, but has nothing to do with a person’s refinement, his or her intelligence, or one’s social status. Pop culture changes constantly and these changes take place daily as people embrace new technology and mass media continues to promote the “newest thing or person.” A relatively unknown actor emerges as a celebrity overnight, replacing those on top a year ago. Our favorite singer reemerges into the spotlight as a celebrity judge on a reality show. People embrace new phrases like, “40 is the new 20” and coin new terms, like Beyoncé’s “bootylicious.” This example shows how popular culture is rooted in our