The Internet

Being a 90's kid, I was born right in the midst of the internet becoming a big thing. I've grown up my whole life with the internet and can't really imagine life, let alone schooling, without it. It allows people to have access to hundreds of thousands of pages of information; some reliable, and some well....not so much. The internet allows me to explore any and all questions I have about well, any and everything I can think of from dead poets and Shakespearean Actors, to Area 51 and Sasquatch. It allows me to keep in contact with friends and family in different area codes with ease or keep up with all my teams in real time.

The internet: like any good thing, has its disadvantages. The vast amount of information on the web makes it easy to get: distracted, fooled, and/or mislead. Contrary to popular belief you cant really believe everything you read on the internet, you have to check your sources or 'dig a little deeper' as they say. For the most part as long as the user is smart and brought up knowing the risks of the internet, I fell that there is no limit to the good things that it (the internet) could bring.

Archetypes

Well since Reality Television has really gained popularity as I've gotten older and I was in High School when Jersey Shore was really popular, and let me tell you can I relate to this article. First I have to admit that I too watched a full season of Jersey Shore religiously every Thursday, but after that season, every season was the same! Not only did it get annoying to hear about, but it got annoying to see the things that kids in my grade would copy or mimic from the show. A clearly obvious example would be tanning, the amount of dudes I could tell who were fake baking was ridiculous. Ordinary people want to be famous (myself included) so in my opinion they are going to mimic what they see famous people do, they know it won't make them famous, but it makes him/her relate to that particular character or 'archetype' even more so than they already had or believed they had. 

I don't believe that these are the only 'archetypes' but it helps me grasp the concept of it more so than I would have maybe if I hadn't watched the show and seen the transformation with my own eyes. I would have to agree that a vast majority of school campuses will contain a general number of archetypes that I suppose that everyone could be placed into, but in the U.S I just feel that everyone will always be unique in their own way because nobodies backgrounds are 100% alike.

InterTextuality

When talking about different types of intertextuality of our generation the first thing that pops into my mind is SouthPark. The creators of SouthPark make a living off of intertextuality, they take any type of current event going on in the World at the time and they put a comical twist to the issue. For those of you that watch the show, you know that the creators know no bounds, any issue in the media at the time, no matter how controversial it may seem, and I think that's why it has stayed so popular among teen culture, because they can relate to the issue being discussed.

As I think more about intertextuality, I can't help but think that 'Cultural remakes' of movies fall under the same category. And what I mean by this are movies like 'StarTrek' or 'Planet of the Apes' , movies that were okay at the time of their first release but as decades passed and technology improved, we remade these movies with our revamped special effects technology as well as actors and actresses that are popular among the culture at the time.

Midway Point

When it comes to our Pop Culture class, I can’t really narrow it down to one particular subject that I’ve learned the most about, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I’ve increased my knowledge of Pop Culture as a whole. For instance, I had already heard of the Marlboro man prior to this class, but I never knew how it was so unique, being one of only a few successful ad campaigns whose main spokesman was somewhat of a ‘loner’ when in society that’s what we try to steer away from. Or how even though I consider myself on somewhat of a sports geek, I can’t say I recall that young man dying of heatstroke, or how High School football has looser rules in relation to how many hours you can spend practicing than College players do!

I would also have to say that almost all of the most interesting facts about these topics come from the book excerpts or the class discussions themselves. For instance I’d like to think I know what makes a woman sexy, but some of the things that showed up in the top 10 never even crossed my mind! Another example would be how ya, I’ve always been intrigued by Serial Killers, but never once did i stop to think that maybe it’s not just me, but something about Americans as a whole that draws our interest.

What I’m trying to say is it’s not this topic or that topic, but the class as a whole helps me achieve a better outlook and understand of the culture around me

Fake Love

If someone were to ask me about fake love I would honestly have a hard time. I would be better off giving them my personal example of fake love: Mila Kunis. In every recent movie Mila has been in, she has basically played the girl that the main guy was in love with. In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Friends With Benefits, and Ted, she has played the sexy ass cool chick who any man would helplessly fall in love with. This is because of a fact that Klosterman mentions: in my mind when Mila is done making those movies, she lives as her character does, day to day a normal girl, but crazy beautiful and talented, usually at a position in a field that you wouldn't normally find a girl of that nature such as microbiology.

Kilbourne video

In reaction to this article Jean Kilbourne would probably have a few things in particular to say. First and foremost she would notice the sexual innuendo that the picture is meant to portray(ask mom or dad if you don't know). Secondly,  Kilbourne discusses in her video that often, only parts of women are shown in ads, and as for this one in particular, only the head combined with the questionable facial expression is displayed. The facial expression alone may often times be enough to anger a woman, but combined with the slogan, "it'll blow your mind away", is just plain inappropriate considering the audience is anyone who sees it, not anyone over a certain age as enforced at movie theatrers to ensure certain material not be seen by younger viewers.

Popular Culture & Happiness

As Jon Gertner explains in 'Futile Pursuit of Happiness', "Happiness is a signal that our brains use to motivate us to do certain things. And in the same way that our eye adapts to different levels of illumination, we're designed to go back to the happiness set brains. Our brains are not trying to be happy. Our brains are trying to regulate us." (Gertner 37) In my opinion a lot of what makes people happy (including myself) can be traced back to an influence in pop culture, even in the simplest forms such as: seeing a commercial for a Pepsi and then going to the fridge to feed that desire. As we discussed in class popular culture is everywhere in our everyday lives, even if we don't notice the connection at the time. Popular culture can make us believe that spending the extra cash on a Polo V-neck will make us more happy when we could just get the same off brand style for eight bucks cheaper at the Kohl's down the street.

This power that popular culture holds over us can sometimes be under-estimated. It can drive one to do foolish things that we wouldn't do by ourselves or do in a cold state of mind. We can more easily be influenced by a group of close friends just as easily as we can by people we see on  the newest reality television that we have no relation to what so ever. I like to describe popular culture as a sort of forever constant type of 'peer pressure' with said peer being society.