Assignment 3-1

RITUAL DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS

1. What is your understanding of the word "ritual?"

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ritual as the established form of ceremony or a system of rites ("Merriam-webster: Ritual," 2013). While, this stands as a decent foundation for my understanding of rituals, I believe that the definition goes a little deeper than that. From my understanding, a ritual is not necessarily a ceremony but may include ceremonious acts. A ritual is any act passed through a culture over time.

2. What rituals do you observe in our society?

An obvious ritual observed in today’s society is the wedding and everything surrounding. The actual ceremony itself is obvious, but I also consider the rehearsal dinner, honeymoon, bachelor/ette party and all events that occur before or after the ceremony itself a ritual. Funerals, dedications, christenings, and baptisms are also all very common rituals of modern society.

3. What rituals do you observe in your family?

Basically, all of the above-observed rituals are part of my family’s rituals and traditions as well. Apart from those common rituals, we have dinner at the same family member’s house for each separate holiday and do basically all of the same sports and other activities at those events. We also have family reunions, at which most of the same activities that are performed at the holiday cookouts are performed.

4. Are there any rituals that you can identify that are prevalent today? If so, what are they?

Every ritual that I have named dealing with marriage and death are very much prevalent today and a part of daily life. These rituals can be found in countless movies, and most of them even have many movies, songs, etc. centered entirely around the event of one of these rituals in the life/death of a character in the work.

5. What ritual would you like to develop for either our society or your family?

I have not decided exactly what ritual I would like to develop for my family. The only thing I know for sure is that it will be something that involves spending a decent sum of money on a get-together or possibly an annual vacation to a far-away tropic, because that will have meant that I have successfully changed the financial standing of the family.

REFERENCES

Merriam-webster: Ritual. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritual

Assignment 1-3-3

METAL RITUALS

            Metal music, though created to be something outside of “normal” and something not repetitive or adhering to social standards, has not been immune to a creation of rituals and traditions. The most constant ritual over the past couple of decades has been the “horns” that the fans and musicians make by raising their hand with the middle two fingers tucked under the thumb and pinky and forefinger erect. Speaking specifically of metal music, this tradition started with Ronnie James Dio of Black Sabbath in 1979 when he began using the symbol that he had seen his Italian grandmother use to ward off evil (Appleford, 2004). Another popular ritual that has filtered into other genres of music but can be seen at most every metal concert is the mosh pit. Moshing is “ritualized and furious form of dancing which combines physical aggression with collective displays of emotion” (Riches, 2011). The mosh pit began in the the early 1980s heavy metal scene and the phrase “mash”, pronounced as mash, was coined by the band Bad Brains when they used the term to incite the behavior known as moshing as live performances in the early 1980s (Riches, 2011).

STEREOTYPES

            As any other popular culture topic, Metal music has many stereotypes surrounding the music brand as well. One very common stereotype associated with metal is that the music is gender-biased towards males and only targeted towards a male audience (Hill, 2011). While, at one time at its initial inception, metal did have a higher percentage of male listeners, an influx of various subgenres of metal fans, such as emo, have attracted just as many die-hard female fans to the metal scene as there are long-time faithful male fans. Yet another stereotype surrounding the metal genre is that the music itself promotes and evokes acts of violence or criminal behavior from the fan base. This has gone as far as lawsuits being filed against labels such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Slayer in the 1990s for promotion of violence type suits (Phillipov, 2012). However, many studies have proved the music lyrics incite no direct acts of violence and “Controversies in which metal music is implicated as a contributor to violence are typically understood by scholars as being fabricated by conservative groups seeking to impose their own moral agendas on those with different values, tastes and cultural practices.” (Phillipov, 2012).

REFERENCES

Appleford, Steve (September 9, 2004). "Odyssey of the Devil Horns". Los Angeles City Beat. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20071122030548/http:// www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1216&IssueNum=66

Hill, R. (2011). Is Emo Metal? Gendered Boundaries and New Horizons in the Metal Community. Journal For Cultural Research, 15(3), 297-313. doi:10.1080/14797585.2011.594586. Retrieved from EbscoHost

Phillipov, M. (2012). Extreme music for extreme people?. Popular Music History, 6(1/2), 150-163. doi:10.1558/pomh.v6i1/2.150. Retrieved from EbscoHost

Riches, G. (2011). Embracing the Chaos: Mosh Pits, Extreme Metal Music and Liminality. Journal For Cultural Research, 15(3), 315-332. doi:10.1080/14797585.2011.594588. Retrieved from EbscoHost

Assignment 1-3-2

METAL MUSIC

            Metal music was introduced in America in the early 1970s, shortly after Black Sabbath’s debut album “Black Sabbath” in 1970 (Black Sabath: Discography, 2013). Some of the original founders of metal music, which have since became popular culture icons, are Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Slayer and Metallica. Many other popular culture icons emerged through the decades following Black Sabbath and Slayer as well. Musicians such as Marilyn Manson have brought on changes in fashion amongst metal listeners, especially in the younger populations of the fan base. Also, certain bands as well as metal music in general can be credited with changing sexual behavior and trends in both the metal and general community (Donze, 2010).

            As any other popular culture topic, Metal music has many myths surrounding the music brand as well. One very common myth associated with metal is that the music is gender-biased towards males and only targeted towards a male audience (Hill, 2011). While, at one time at its initial inception, metal did have a higher percentage of male listeners, an influx of various subgenres of metal fans, such as emo, have attracted just as many die-hard female fans to the metal scene as there are long-time faithful male fans. Yet another myth surrounding the metal genre is that the music itself promotes and evokes acts of violence or criminal behavior from the fan base. This has gone as far as lawsuits being filed against labels such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Slayer in the 1990s for promotion of violence type suits (Phillipov, 2012). However, many studies have proved the music lyrics incite no direct acts of violence and “Controversies in which metal music is implicated as a contributor to violence are typically understood by scholars as being fabricated by conservative groups seeking to impose their own moral agendas on those with different values, tastes and cultural practices.” (Phillipov, 2012).

REFERENCES

Black sabbath: Discography. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.blacksabbath.com/discography.html

Donze, P. (2010). Heterosexuality Is Totally Metal: Ritualized Community and Separation at a Local Music Club. Journal Of Popular Music Studies, 22(3), 259-282. doi:10.1111/j.1533-1598.2010.01241.x

Hill, R. (2011). Is Emo Metal? Gendered Boundaries and New Horizons in the Metal Community. Journal For Cultural Research, 15(3), 297-313. doi:10.1080/14797585.2011.594586. Retrieved from EbscoHost

Phillipov, M. (2012). Extreme music for extreme people?. Popular Music History, 6(1/2), 150-163. doi:10.1558/pomh.v6i1/2.150. Retrieved from EbscoHost

Assignment 2-1 Icon Analysis

POP CULTURE ICONS

The World English Dictionary defines an icon as a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or a cultural movement. A true pop culture icon can withstand “the test of time”. Meaning, that years after their work or career has ended, the icon is still very well know. Three major pop icons of the past 20 years are Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson and Michael Phelps.

Michael Jordan was one of the greatest and most well known athletes of all time. Easily proven by the fact that he is the proud owner of six NBA championship rings. Then, even after Jordan could no longer compete athletically, his shoe brand has withstood the test of time with people of all ages wearing Nike Air Jordans. The Nike Air Jordans have actually sold more shoes than any other shoe and made Michael Jordan the first athlete to reach $1 billion in annual sales (Rovell, 2009). Three out of every four pair of basketball shoes sold in the U.S. are Jordan branded.

Michael Jackson may be the most recognizable pop culture icon of the past 30 years. He certainly is one of the most popular musicians of all time, with his album “Thriller” spending more weeks at number one on the Billboard charts than any other album in the history of the Billboard Top 200 ("Michael jackson: The," 2013).

Yet another Michael that has become a recent popular culture icon is Michael Phelps, the US Olympian. Michael Phelps has the world record for most Olympic medals with 22 total medals, 18 of which were gold. Phelps’ three great showings at the Olympic games started in 2004, which were the first summer games following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and gave America yet another figure to unify behind.

REFERENCES

Icons- definition. In (2013). World English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/icons

Michael jackson: The artist. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/the-artist/timeline/legacy

Rovell, D. (2009, September 11). Michael jordan first athlete to $1 billion. . Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/32798277

Assignment 2-2 Myth Analysis

BAD VS. EVIL

A huge myth in popular culture not only in American popular culture, but in pop culture all through time is the bad/evil myth. People always tend to root for the good guy in the movie, show, story or whatever else they may be viewing or reading. It seems that every summer a good vs. evil movie appears as a major box office competitor. Currently, 4 of the top 5 grossing movies in the US box office are good vs. evil myths ("Imdb charts: Top," 2013). Growing up in America, it is nearly impossible to avoid Disney movies and heroes are an integral part to so many Disney movies. All of the publicity and toys typically surround the Disney princesses, but for every princess there is a prince charming that everyone roots to save her. This may be part of the reason that American popular cultures feature bad vs. evil concepts so often. Two inescapable and truly legendary artifacts of the bad vs. evil myth of American popular culture are “Die Hard” and “Dark Knight”.

            “Die Hard” is based around the hero, Lieutenant John McClane, officer of the NYPD, who tries to save his wife Holly Gennaro and several others, after they are taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles (Imdb: Die Hard, 2013). The movie is a classic good vs. evil movie, with one hero taking on twelve bad guys in a skyscraper. “Die Hard” is also a representation of popular American culture because the bad guy is a German terrorist, playing back to the anti-German sentiment of WWII. The audience is also convinced to root for not only the good guy, John McClane, but also the little guy, John McClane, as FBI agents step into the movie and attempt to take over negotiations with the terrorist group. At that point it is John McClane that plays the voice of reason against the larger FBI group that is also a more brash and hasty group. The popular culture reference doesn’t quite stop there, however. Just to finzlize the association of John McClane as the good guy with the audience, that officer outside of the Nakatomi Plaza that John is communicating with refers to John as Roy Rogers, who played a classic, good-guy cowboy on American television.

            Another instant classic artifact of the American popular culture bad vs. evil myth is the movie “Dark Knight”. In this movie, the superhero Batman, who has appeared in a vast number of films, a long-running television show, cartoon series and comic books, partners with police commissioner Gordon and DEA Harvey Dent to take down the Gotham mob ("Imdb: Dark knight," 2013). Simultaneously, the Joker is unleashed on Gotham, after the mob decides that Batman is an unbeatable force and contracts the Joker to terminate Batman. The representation of Batman in American popular culture is obvious with the previously stated popularity in the culture since Batman’s first appearance in 1939. Superheroes have been a huge part of the American myth of good vs. evil. One cannot walk through the toy section of any department store without seeing superhero action figures. Joker’s representation of evil as the villain may be less obvious, aside from the fact that he is trying to kill the esteemed Batman. In one man’s opinion, the Joker’s appeal to the modern American audience as villainous and pure evil because he represents chaos and unpredictability. We live in society where everything is planned and organizers are never any further away than a cell phone in your pocket, but there is no way to control the Joker. Chaotic attacks such as the Sandy Hook or Aurora, CO shootings have a significant devastating effect on people because of unpredictability of the attacks, which is exactly what a villain such as the Joker brings to the movie “Dark Knight”.

REFERENCES

Imdb: Dark knight. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4

Imdb: Die hard. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095016/

Imdb charts: Top movies. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/chart/?ref_=nb_mv_4_cht

HUMN240 Pop Culture Assignment

Okay I am writing this blog because it is an assignment given to me in a popular culture class. The following will explain my feelings about "pop culture":

I believe pop culture is exactly what is wrong with the United States of America. Mostly because current pop culture is no longer about culture, it is about commercializing any form of media that can be commercialized and selling it to a mass of peons that will buy it and view/listen to it simply because everyone else is buying it. Unfortunately, there is no lyrical value left in music because all that sells these days is a beat for people to bounce along too. Even genres that were once rich with meaningful lyrical content have transformed into pop music (hip hop, country, etc.). There are no moral and value teachings in mainstream movies or meaning about real life. Instead, there is just crude humor so that something of shock value can be put in a trailer to peak people's interest in buying a ticket to the movie. This also has not always been the case. There once was a time when music had true lyrical value and not just some of the music but most of the music. Including that which was part of the popular culture. Unfortunately, that time has ended.  

For a chosen artifact (song, film, etc) that represents the good in pop culture today, I chose the song “I Gave You All” by Mumford & Sons. I believe this song, along with the rest of the Mumford & Sons collection, shows a true passion for the meaning of the lyrics and well put-together harmonies. Most of my beliefs stated above were aimed solely at “pop” culture, meaning the mainstream media that the majority of society knows, sees, and hears about. That is not to say that all media is atrocious. Please enjoy the song and lyrics of Mumford and Son’s “I Gave You All” below.