Assignment 3-1

"I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion"

"I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it"

"No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter,
You're my experimental game
Just human nature"

Above I have posted some lyrics from Katy Perry's smash hit, "I Kissed a Girl". I'm no conservative but I found this song and the general direction of today's pop music rather disturbing. While I understand her scheme to get famous and the business side of things, I have to admit it kind of makes me sick! She appeals to preteen and teenage girls and many of them are going to mimic this behavior. I don't expect pop stars to be perfect role models these days but I think this is just ridiculous.

Girls are easily influenced by what they see in the media - we already know this by the huge number of young girls with eating disorders in this country. We can also tell by the way they dress or emulate other behaviors seen on television and in movies. I think it is safe to say that this song is bound to have an impact on the behavior of teenagers. Even the boys will be influenced because they might feel more inclined to pressure vulnerable girls into these types of acts.

Overall, I think this song is awful and I feel bad for the vulnerable young girls that will be impacted by it. It is sad to me that otherwise straight girls are being persuaded to do things they don't really enjoy just to get the attention of boys.

Assignment 3-2

An icon can be loosely defined a symbol. These symbols can take the form of objects, images, or even important people. In terms of popular culture there are countless icons that come to mind, mainly famous people. The first three icons I thought of were Marilyn Monroe, Elmo, and the McDonald's golden arches logo. These are examples of popular culture icons because they are not only famous but household names - thus they are excellent representations of American popular culture.

Marilyn Monroe was an extremely famous - and extremely controversial - model and actress of the 1950's. She is known for her platinum blonde hair, pouty lips, and curvy figure - a look young women still try to emulate today. Her sexy looks and publicized love life have led to her being named one of the most influential sex symbols ever. Though she died of a drug overdose in 1962 her fame lives on. Pictures of Marilyn can still be seen all over the place today, including the famous portrait by Andy Warhol above.

The red furry monster known as Elmo is pracitally an obsession for today's toddlers! He is a "muppet" on the famous children's television show, Sesame Street and another great example of a popular culture icon. The show has aired for over twenty years. Elmo's character has become increasingly famous in the past decade with a special segment dedicated to toddlers and several children's movies where he featured as the lead role. Elmo's great fame can also be credited to the many Elmo toys on the market, especially the infamous "Tickle Me Elmo" doll.

When you're on a road trip and hunger strikes you may find yourself scanning the landscape for the next popular culture icon I thought of - the McDonald's golden arches. Fast food is a huge part of today's popular culture and McDonald's is probably the most popular fast food chain. The golden arches don't just symbolize cheeseburgers, though. The logo is seen by many as an icon of capitalism and globalization, too.

Assignment 1-2

Popular culture is defined in the course’s textbook as "the shared knowledge and practices of a specific group of people at a specific time". It includes things such as ideas, fashions, and devices that are popular during a specific time period and can be influenced by current events such as political campaigns, natural disasters, wars, and technological advancements.

When I think of popular culture I tend to think of it in terms of decades. For example, I might think of how poodle skirts were popular in the 1950's or how hippies created their own subculture in the 1960's. I might also think of the 1970’s “disco era” and so on. Today I think the Internet and other technologies determine much of what is popular culture. For instance it is becoming popular in our culture to earn a college degree online.

An understanding of popular culture is important in the business world because it can help a company better understand the wants and needs of their clientele. As a human resources manager, it would also help me to understand employee relations. Employees and prospective employees may be more vulnerable to certain things dependant upon the cultural climate. I think that today it is important for those in the HR field to recognize the economic hardships employees and potential employees are facing so that they can find ways to boost morale and thus boost profits.

I think Google is a popular culture artifact of today’s world. Google is probably the most commonly used search engine on the Internet and has become a household name. When someone wants to know something they simply jump online and “google” it. One can find almost any kind of knowledge they can think of using Google – examples might include news, weather, flight schedules, shopping information, or directions from place to place. Google has revolutionized the way people retrieve information.

Assignment 1-4

Kathryn Jones
HUMN 341-Q1WW
Assignment 1-4

Is a coconut a fruit or a nut? (It's actually a seed, who knew?) What time does the North Market close on Sundays? (Five o'clock in case you were wondering.) The Web has been nothing short of a miracle for those with curious minds with questions like these. Trivial questions that pop into one's head can be answered in virtually seconds with search engines like Google and Yahoo. But unless you have a cell phone with Internet access, how can you scratch your curious itch when you're away from home? One company has recognized this demand for random information and has developed a text messaging service called Cha-cha. You simply type your question as a text message and text it to 242-242 (CHA-CHA). Cha-cha answers all kinds of questions easily searched on the Internet for free. It's an excellent example of today's information-hungry popular culture. But how reliable is it? And how can they afford to do this for free? It is impossible to know if the people on the other end are checking for credibility when they find your answer. They could simply be using the first possible answer they see online or perhaps they are not looking it up at all! And as you may have suspected, they do share your phone number with advertisers in order to make money. Overall, the Cha-cha service is a great example of the information-surplus world we are now living in!