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Pop Cosmopolitanism

“Locals care little about diversity per se but want to hold onto their own traditions. The cosmopolitans recognize that they will not get the diversity they crave “unless other people are allowed to carve out special niches for their cultures and keep them”” (Jenkins 2006).

This reminding me Dick Hebdige’s article “Subculture, The Meaning of Style”. “So the tensions between dominant and subordinate groups can be found reflected in the surfaces of subculture - in the styles made up of mundane objects which have a double meaning” (Hebdige). People are able to take inspiration from groups they follow and create their own thing which can be categorized as a subculture. 

“Objects borrowed from the most sordid of contexts found a place in the punks' ensembles: lavatory chains were draped in graceful arcs across chests encased in plastic bin-liners. Safety pins were taken out of their domestic "utility" context and worn as gruesome ornaments through the cheek, ear or lip.” Hebidge goes on to speak about the idea of objects borrowed which goes back to the idea of pop cosmopolitanism.

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art and resistance

Personally growing up, art to me has always been a way to express yourself. With artistic freedom people are able to create art based on anything going on in their life to share a story or just share their talent with the world. The writer of this book focuses on her personal experience of art as as a creator. She addresses the fact that art can be used to show the struggle within or express a view. If used effectively it holds a large power in bringing awareness regarding a specific topic. She calls for “a revolution in the way we see, the way we look.” When reading this I thought of Beyoncé’s “Formation” video and what it stood for. She uses powerful images in her music video to take a stand against police brutality.

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subcultures

The term subculture refers to "an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society". Subculture goes hand in hand with homology as it is a similarity from a common origin as well. Subcultures can be formed from any group of people who share a common interest. They can be anything from a specific way of life to a specific social group. In this day and age "fandoms" have become a large subculture in the social media world. Fandoms are the community that supports a certain show or celebrity on large social media platforms. They usually spend all their time bonding over their love of something and supporting that person or show.

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Post Racial Society

“Racism and media” touches directly the problem of ideology, since the media’s main sphere of operations is the production and transformation of ideologies.” (Stuart Hall) In “The Whites of Their Eyes”, Hall addresses how the media perceives race. Dear White People is one very prominent post racial show currently trending on Netflix. This show shows insight to people dealing with race, identity, and truly finding themselves in such a progressive time. Despite the show being boycotted for being racist and anti-white after just the release of a trailer, they went through with the release. At the end of the day this show showed people a true post racial society.

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Gossip Girl

In “Six Decades of Social Class in American Television Sitcoms”, Richard Butsch acknowledges the under representation of the working class and over representation of the professional class in film and television. Gossip Girl is a prime example of the over representation of the higher classes. The Upper East Side is home to the upper-class Manhattan socialites, an extremely selective elite group. Gossip Girl expresses the struggles of elite teenagers growing up in a very exclusive social group, trailing in the footsteps of their parents.

One of the most distinct differences in class from this show is the relationship between Serena and Dan. Travelling from Brooklyn and coming from a middle class family, Dan is already looked down upon by his schoolmates. Their difference in social class proved a serious obstacle constantly causing them to fight and break up.

The show strictly focuses on the values and beliefs surrounding these elites of the upper class. Shows like this use these ideals of a “perfect” life with money to acquire a large following of viewers. By doing this they have influenced the cultural norm of the upper class in media that lives so prominently in our current society.  

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Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Reality TV provides our country with an inside look into the daily lives of the upper class and all the drama that comes with them. No matter how hard you try, there’s no getting away from these reality TV stars and their constant coverage in the media. Even if you don’t watch them, everyone knows who the Kardashian’s are. What’s the deal with them? How did they even get where they are? Drama. Drama is what keeps the watchers entertained and talking. That family has one of the best promotion and media teams in the industry hands down. Every step they take is covered on tabloids everywhere. Even with reality being scripted they manage to change things up every episode. The Kardashian’s convince the lower classes that their lives are a normal, everyday example of the upper class. With all the publicity around them they ask, and receive almost anything they want. It still fathoms me how a family like this has become so prominent in our society. Especially with their lack of knowledge when it comes to a “normal” life in the United States.

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The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism

“The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism” speaks about the systematic market placements in media. “Competitive strategy in this sphere revolves around the concept of the lock-in of customers and the leveraging of demand-side economies of scale, which allow for the creation of massive concentrations of capital in individual firms.” These large firms use ads on large social media platforms to further their agenda or sell their specific products. These ads are tailored to specific people feeding off of your Google search engine to see specifically what you are interested in. Personally on all my social media sites I see horse sale ads which piques my interest and leads to countless hours searching for horses I didn’t need in the first place.

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Corruption in the Media

After reading “The Economics of the Media Industry” I feel like I got a more indepth look inside the corruption of modern media. Croteau, Hoynes and Milan discuss the concentration of media ownership in this day and age. These three bring up the world wide problems of both ‘fake news’ and censorship. Personally, I believe that unless you are able to stop the ‘fake news’ straight from the source by stopping it from being published in the first place you must teach the consumers how to differentiate this problem. By educating children from a young age to be able to call out this ‘fake news’ we may be able to slow this epidemic down. Living in such a capitalistic media environment means everyone up there is just working for the large payoffs. At this point they don’t care what they are putting out there as long as they are getting a large paycheck at the end of it. Therefore, it is very hard to live without such a high level of corruption.

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Gender Performance

What is “gender performance”? In the words of Judith Butler it is seen as “sexually identity, in relation to society or culture, the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.” In modern day society there is an ongoing debate regarding gender identity. With sex people feel constrained, forced into falling perfectly within one of two categories, Male and Female. In “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”, Butler acknowledges the fact that gender identity occurs through the diverse ways in which bodies are acted by each person. Gender is not a fixed identity, what you do growing up defines who you are and ultimately who you want to be. Why is falling under a gender category required, shouldn’t the main point be the ability to be ultimately happy with yourself and who you are? RuPaul’s Drag Race has become an iconic staple in modern day society for doing just that. He gives hundreds a chance to be themselves through personal expression. Like RuPaul says, “Gentleman, start your engines and may the best woman win!” 

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Gender Representation in the Media

“I don’t have a problem with women who already look good who want to look perfect.” Perfect. When did “perfection” become applicable to the human body? The word suggests a Platonic form of timeless beauty -- appropriate for marble, perhaps, but not for living flesh.” -Susan Bordo

What defines perfection? Is it the excessive amount of photoshop, or the thousands spent on plastic surgery? We are teaching children at a young age that you need to strive for perfection, but for many that is unreachable. The “empire of images” is a concept created by the higher classes who have resources, such as cosmetic surgery, readily available to them. In a society where botox is just an everyday occurrence, how are we able to dissuade younger generations into believing change is the only way to fit in. Turning off our tv’s and disconnecting our internet isn’t going to help anything in current society.

Growing up in LA I’ve been exposed to millions of different people all unique in their own ways. Even though it seems like those living in LA each have their own style, many strive for the “Kardashian look”.