Pop Culture Blog

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Throughout time, humanity has shared a distinct fascination with figureheads, whether or not they are military leaders or simply artists who have made it into the spotlight. In recent times; however, it has become increasingly easy to become famous which leads to the question of whether or not...

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Hi Jim-Jam,

You stated some interesting points on how it is easy to become a celebrity and how "commoners" might not have any worth as a cause of this. Just so I fully understand your point, may you provide me some examples or explain how it is easy to become famous?

Moving on, I agree with the point that it's hard to take figureheads seriously. Amanda Bynes and Rihanna, as you said, are good examples. Also, relating back to the fact that it's easy to become famous, I also agree it's hard to gauge whether or not a person is good to idealize.

Overall, great article.

P.S. How's the ranch? Uncle Bill recently told me there's a drought going around.

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I definitely think that it is good for the society to admire famous people. But the quality of famous people matters too. The attention the famous people gives them the responsibility to act as good role models in order for them to have a beneficial influence on society. Take a twelve year old...

[2014040]

Hi Jil,

You initially raise some good points on how famous people have a big influence on their followers and how the followers could sometimes take their message the wrong way. You also say that it is good for society to admire famous people and for the admiration to be beneficial, the famous people who get the attention should use their influence with care. Yes, it is true that famous people should do that but sometimes that isn't the case. Public figures many times don't know if what they're saying, acting, etc. is influencing people in a bad way. Amanda Bynes might think it's okay to post half-naked pictures and I'm quite sure she wouldn't care if someone else saw it. This is why, in my opinion, it is risky to follow some public figures. What do you think of this?

Also, to answer your question on 'Why are they not famous?' I personally believe it is because the media makes money off of musicians, actors, athletes, models, etc. Tim Berners-Lee, for example, would not be an ideal candidate to promote for profit. This is why I believe the media puts those other public figures in the spotlight more than someone like Tim Berners-Lee. What is your take on this?

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Nowadays when you listen to the news on the radio, watch them on TV or read them in a newspaper you will hear, see or read about all kinds of bad news. You hear about more bad news than good news. It’s a random act of violence that attracts people more than a random act of kindness. The people...

[2014040]

Hi Jil,

Firstly, I really like how this article explores more into bad news vs good news rather than the typical - bad news is conflict, good news is boring. The 20-80 principle is quite interesting as news corporations play a big part in our life. We get all the news from them, so if they control what they output, they control too what we input into our brains. North Korea, obviously has an even bigger role, as they release bad news but have to make sure it's censored. One thing I'm not so sure about is the '20' in the 20-80 principle. I feel 20% is a little too much in terms of the people controlling what we get to know. If you are sure it's 20%, what people would need to be involved to make it such?

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Advertisement is everywhere. On big billboards, on TV, on the radio and on the internet. In 2001, the advertising costs in the US exceeded 230 billion dollars and it is known that the numbers have been further increasing ever since. Advertisements are giving us a single-minded picture of...

[2014040]

There are many approaches you can take towards appearance vs reality and I find you took a great one. I strongly agree with the point that advertisements show an unrealistic picture of perfect where normal, natural people are being labelled as average. This relates to the poem we read in English class, Barbie Doll, where the girl was pressured to look unrealistically perfect where she was beautiful already. Overall, it was a good read. Besides beauty, are there any other topics you can expand further than relate to reality vs appearance? 

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Prompt 2 :Appearance vs. Reality

Question: Do images and impressions have too much of an effect on people?

The featured advertisement displays three flavors of Starbuck’s renowned Frappuccino, a crowd favorite known far and wide. Whether you are a thirsty rookie looking for a treat, or a...

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Great blog post! I like how you explain that not only does the company display the mouth-watering flavors by their advertisements, they also use the Starbuck's brand logo to demonstrate power and status. The power of this logo is it's ability to leave a strong impression and make people victim of the Starbuck's empire. To answer your question, I think the company's revenue is still mainly based upon the flavor, quality of the drinks, etc. but ideology and image is what gets people coming back every time for more.

Also, you seem like a fan of Starbucks, so what do you think drives you to consume Starbuck's products over other companies? 

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Society's Admiration for Famous People

Famous people, who are praised by society, may have powerful effects on an individual (directly) or nation (indirectly). Their influence might be beneficial or harmful.

One example of society’s high esteem of an individual occurred half a century ago. Martin Luther King was a civil rights leader who called for equality and freedom for all. His speech is one of the most eloquent expressions of the American dream ever uttered. King was a role model for all Americans, regardless of race and skin color. He directly inspired people to join the civil rights movement and continue fighting for equal rights and freedoms. He also indirectly sparked a re-energized civil rights movement which led to greater rights and freedoms for Americans. Martin Luther King exemplified persona positively changed a whole nation, if not the whole world. Although a madman murdered Martin Luther King, society’s appreciation for him benefited millions of people.

Moreover, society’s admiration for an individual may lead to dire consequences. A few years before the Second World War, a young, enthusiastic nationalist took control over the German Nationalist Party and in 1924 the German government. The admiration of Adolf Hitler’s character was detrimental to millions of people and also indirectly led to the death of over 40 million people during the Second World War. A good example of his direct influence can be explained further by this website. In summary, many German citizens adopted Hitler’s view of society and the world and soon they blindly followed and supported his actions.

Related Picture:

However, one must not take historical evidence as proof that society’s admiration for famous people is beneficial of harmful. For example, someone I deeply respect is the renowned quantum physicist Stephan Hawking. Despite his disease which left him paralyzed, Hawking continues to lecture and remains a powerful motivational force for many people. He has become very successful and overcome multiple obstacles. I personally see him as a person to look up to and admire due to his determined spirit. Stephen Hawking was a direct influence for me but indirectly stimulated a new emphasis of many countries on theoretical physics.

In conclusion, society’s admiration for famous people can have beneficial or harmful consequences. Martin Luther King had a positive motivating influence for Americans to push towards equality. Adolf Hitler, on the other hand, influenced some German people to follow and support his dreadful actions. Finally, Stephen Hawking is a positive role model to all people as he overcame many obstacles to achieve success. All of these individuals had both a direct and indirect influence on society.

So what do you think?

Is society’s admiration for famous people beneficial or harmful? Or does it depend?

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The Effectiveness of Images and Impression

Images and impressions have always had an effect on society, actually ‘too much’ of an effect. Images and impressions are what shape society’s beliefs and actions. For example, corporations use catchy commercials to help people remember their product while never mentioning how the product is different from the competition. Public figures too can strongly influence people to follow their views.

One example of the effect of impression on people is a Budweiser commercial, aired at 2000. The link to the video can be found here. The Budweiser commercial introduced a new phrase – ‘wassup’, but said with great emphasis. During the commercial, you see the two people talking on the phone mention how they are having a ‘Bud’ and watching ‘the game’. The fact that the commercial mentioned this allows people now to associate the phrase ‘wassup’ with a Budweiser beer. Obviously saying ‘wassup’ describes nothing about the product or it's competitive edge but is simply a marketing strategy which introduces a catchy phrase that people love repeating. The strategic impression obviously had a widespread effect because the film Scary Movie parodied the ad. Even some Simpson episodes featured a character called Milhouse using the expression and trying to be cool. If you browse around the Internet, I am sure you will find someone used the expression.

Image and impression can also be observed during Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign. Obama looked promising in the beginning of his election campaign of 2008, delivering emotional speeches on how he will make America prosper and remove them from their deficit hole. Here is a link to his 2008 Democratic National Convention Speech. It is 58 minutes but it is unnecessary to watch it all. This initial positive impression is one reason why his approval ratings were considerably high and disapproval ratings were low. Over the course of his presidency, the approval ratings dropped and disapproval ratings increased by a significant amount. The reason to this can be related to appearance vs reality. Impression (ex. Obama’s speeches) offers people a vague contour of a person, but it could change as we delve into the deep side of a person’s character and achievement. I am not saying I believe Obama did not live up to his promises, the American people believe that. The increase and drop in approval rates is an example of the effect of impression and image.

Related Graph:

In conclusion, images and impressions play a critical part in society, shaping people’s ideas, beliefs and opinions. In marketing, companies use catchy and funny commercials to help people remember their product while never indicating the product’s competitive edge. In relation to impression, Obama delivered rousing speeches to gain political support. That initial enthusiastic impression can dim over time once people understand his character and notice his achievements. Finally, the lasting impression is apparent. The Budweiser 'wassup' expression made an appearance in movies and is popular across the Internet. Obama's positive impression in his speeches resulted in higher satisfaction numbers among Americans.

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Pop Culture - Bad News

Newspapers and the general media focus too much on bad news. Bad news is conflict and conflict makes good stories. Natural disasters, controversy, and violence all grab people’s concern and interest and is what people think nowadays as ‘news’.

Good news, on the other hand, has to be significantly striking to appear in news headlines. For example, when the Berlin Wall came down, this memorable historic event was something exceedingly positive. It got as much coverage as a war or tsunami, but came at the end of a long series of bad news articles about people trying to cross the barrier between the East and West. Usually such conclusions are notably rare, where a long dramatic series of bad events culminates to something positive and alluring.

In addition, news media presents what is interesting, urgent and unusual. Scandals, serious accidents and natural disasters all make the news. They are unusual so therefore are newsworthy. There is an old saying in journalism: ‘When a dog bites a man, that’s not news, but when a man bites a dog, that’s news’. There are exciting and positive events occurring in the world every day, but because they are so common they never make the news. You will not get headlines of two people falling in love because tens of thousands of people fall in love each day. You will not get a front-page story about the birth of a loved baby because babies are being born every second.

Examples of news styles by media giants can clearly be seen by visiting their websites or watching their TV programs. When visiting http://www.cnn.com/, you can easily observe the ‘bad event’ headlines. When I visited the website on Tuesday May 28th, some of the latest trends were: ‘Mom jailed in Mexico, Oklahoma tornado, UK attack, and Alaska killings’. To top it all off, the major headline (in bold) was about marijuana smuggling. Two days ago, the headline was about Oklahoma tornadoes. CNN is not the only media giant that displays bad news. Websites like http://www.cbc.ca/news/ have a particularly similar style. This culture is further evident when picking up the latest copy of a newspaper like the Toronto Star.

The following images relate to negative style of online news:

In conclusion, it is evident that newspapers and the general media focus too much on bad news. This can be easily observed by visiting a news website. The reason behind this strategy is that bad events are unusual and therefore compelling. Good news is usually common and therefore not newsworthy.

What are your thoughts on this?

Note: Scroll down for some related information on bad news.

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When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.

John B. Bogart

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This photo is the 1994 Pulizter Prize winner taken by Kevin Carter during the Sudan famine. The photo depicts a child struggling towards a United Nations food camp a mile away while there is a vulture waiting for him to die. This picture shocked the whole world. It can be related to the theme of 'bad news' which is very common in the media.