Assignment 2-2 Icons (This is what I get for not reading the assignments ahead!!)

Pop Culture Icons (Round Deux!!)

So I should have read ahead in my assignments, but I like to get one completely done before moving onto the next one. Because of this, I chose to focus on an icon in my first blog, since it is something we discussed on our key points. So I will choose three other icons and why they are important icons to pop culture (I think I can handle that!!)

Like I said in my first blog, icons are an extremely important part of pop culture. According to the key notes an icon can be a picture, personal, thing.. basically anything that is held at a higher level and something that is culturally relevant. An icon has certain criteria that makes it an icon. It must be something that people have an emotional attachment even borderline obsession with, cannot be touched (either literally or figuratively) and something or someone that people are impressed with.

The very first thing that comes to my mind when I think of an icon as an object is Apple. By Apple I don't mean the delicious fruit I can't get enough of, but the technology empire that the world cannot get enough of. Apple is an icon because it is something that is cross cultural, and both literally and figuratively untouchable. Starting years ago, Apple has always been cutting edge, always thinking of things before anyone else. Apple will always be a part of pop culture, always thinking of something new different and expensive. And people will continue to wait in line and pay ridiculous amounts of money to be the first one to have their newest product. They are all 3 things, untouchable, impressive, and people absolutely have an emotional attachment to their products, maybe too attached!!!

I wanted to do icons from all different realms of pop culture. Another icon that came to mind comes from the movies. I chose The Wizard of Oz as my next pop culture icon. I think this speaks for itself. This movie came out probably before anyone in this class was born, yet we all have seen it (if you haven't you are not human) and loved it either as a child, adult of both. This movie was cutting edge at the time-- being one of the first to have color a long with black and white. The actor's became movie stars, and this movie is one of the most watched and most loved movies of all time. It is something that is untouchable-- no remake, Broadway play, television show, book or anything else that has tried to recreate The Wizard of Oz will ever compare to the original. People have an emotional attachment to this movie, there is usually a good childhood memory associated with it, and a great life lesson taught in the film. There are memorabilia collectors and people all over the world that love this movie. Lastly, this movie is impressive in many ways. At the time, it was technologically impressive. Now-- it is still impressing all of those who love this movie, and to capture that timeless magic is nothing less then impressive!

Lastly, I chose an icon of pop culture from magazines, or more specifically comic books. Comic books are a classic in American pop culture. So I chose my favorite comic icon: Superman! Now I was an extremely girly girl, so although I never read any comic books-- I still know Superman and love him! He is someone that kids and adults idolize, are impressed with and have an extreme emotional connection with. People are also likely to make a real life connection to their own "superman" whoever that may be. Superman is someone who is untouchable and his image and what he stands for is something that is timeless.

To me these icons symbolize what pop culture means. Icons embody a lot of popular culture, but elevated on another level. Icons are timeless and are something that most people can both identify and identify with. These icons bring up good memories, great messages and wonderful symbols of American pop culture.

Assignment 2-1... Pop Icon... The One, the Only (Thank God): Lady Gaga!!

Gotta Love (or Hate) GAGA!

Since this week we are talking about icons and focusing on what they mean, I think I have to pay homage to the pop culture icon of the moment, Lady Gaga. She is the modern day Madonna and is something that people idolize and praise on a daily basis. Her music is just the beginning of what Lady Gaga means to some people and what she means in the realm of pop culture. She is the epitome of pop culture, she is fashion forward, always pushing the envelope, and constantly changing what pop music is. Love her or hate her, she is something that is constantly talking about. People constantly wonder, what will Gaga do next? What is she going to wear to the next award show? What will her new song sound like? The list can go on and on. She is someone who people of all ages look up to and aspire to be like. She is someone who makes trends instead of follow them, thus making her a modern day icon.

            According to our key notes, there are three criteria that make up an icon. They are (1) People are impressed with the icon. Lady Gaga is constantly impressing her fans and musicians alike. She is someone that is consistently striving for something more and different and isn’t afraid to make a statement or cause a scene. She is someone that sells out concerts, has millions of friends and followers on various social networks and has the power to get people to do what she wants. (2) People literally do not allow the object to be touched. Since she is a person and not an object, she obviously is literally not touched like a car. But she seems to be untouchable. She can do anything and it seems like people will still love her. For instance, she wore meat as a dress to an award show, she didn’t care if PETA was mad or whatever, she was wearing it to make a statement (although I still don’t understand the statement…), and it didn’t hurt her image or career one bit—whereas it might have been a sore mistake for most other entertainers.  Lastly (3) A person has an emotional attachment to the item that boarders on obsession. Lady Gaga has a following of “Monsters” that are loyal, faithful and steadfast in their commitment to her. I’m sure there is more then one fan that is a little more then obsessed with her and her music and image. She is absolutely an icon, and although I am not a huge fan of her—I might as well get used to having her around, and continue dancing and singing along to all her songs!



Assignment 1-4... Pop Icon of the Moment

Justin Bieber: Love him or hate him he won’t go away.

Are you a “Belieber”? I sure am. I am 24 years old and cannot help but dance around and sing to every song Justin Bieber puts out. Whether or not he is actually a good singer or artist can easily be argued, but like it or not this little man has become a star in a big way. His charm and presence is undeniable, and love him or hate him, he seems to be all anyone- of any age seems to want to talk about. In chapter 2 of our book, common culture, we discuss advertising. I think that the way Justin’s team advertises him is 99% of the reason why he is so famous. His sugary sweet image, along with his marketability is why he has gotten to where he is. He has a baby face that every tween and teenager loves, but also has an clean cut image that makes parents want to buy his CD’s and merchandise for their kids. This makes him a pop culture phenomenon that any wanna-be pop star would be envious of.

Assignment 1-2.. Blog 1!

First, a little bit about me....
This summer, I will enter the world of extreme Pop Culture... NYC. I will go from my suburban life in Westerville, OH to a completely different world. Living in New York City has always been a dream of mine, but in all honesty it was never a dream I thought would actually become a reality. I work for Coach Leatherware as a manager at a mall in Columbus. Through my job, I was able to apply for an internship with Coach Corporate. And for some strange reason, they liked me enough to give me the internship. So... it's off to the Big Apple I go, and to be honest, I have never been more excited to do anything before in my entire life. So this class comes along with great timing, analyzing pop culture in the land of pop culture... there's something almost poetic about it.

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?

When I think of popular culture, my mind automatically goes to Hollywood. I think of movie stars, trends, the latest videos on YouTube, TV shows, clothing, advertising, pop culture is truly all encompassing. Int our book, "Common Culture" defines popular culture as the distinct practices, artifacts, institutions, customs and values of a particular social group. Depending on the culture, whats popular is completely different. For instance, people that are mega stars in Europe, no one has heard of in the United States, because believe it or not "making it" in the United States is much harder then in other countries. Pop culture to me means whats right now. If I don't like a certain trend, I know it will eventually pass and America (or whatever countries culture you follow) will forget the trend was ever cool and it will eventually end up on an episode of VH1's "I love the (you decide the decade)". For me pop culture is what's in right now, at this moment, what's new and hip and cool, but what will most likely always pass. Although it is something that will pass, some pop culture moments are timeless.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

I think that in a business environment is it important to know what is going on in society around us today. Whether we like it or not, Paris Hilton being released from jail will always be more important breaking news then the war in Iraq (and yes I do remember the live news reports of her getting out of jail when she actually had to serve her whopping 21 day sentence... and I remember because it was in the wee hours of the morning and the news cut off my show to show her release...). This is why it's called popular culture, because its whats most popular, it's what the country wants to hear about... whether we like to admit to it or not. In business-- trends change too depending on the pop culture of the moment; outfits change and what's appropriate business attire changes, also proper business practices and whats appropriate changes depending on the culture. Also popular technology affects business, the Webinar is much more common now then any face to face meeting, and a business email or "G-Chat" is much more normal then a business letter. Popular culture drives all of these forces, you either get with the times or get left behind. Being aware of this fact will always help me in my career, being conscious (although no necessarily meaning I have to follow it) of trends and whats going on in the world around me will always help my ability to excel in any environment I am in.

What would you consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact? And why would you choose it?

For my pop culture artifact I am going to choose the movie "The Breakfast Club". The reason why I chose this move is because of the fact that I wasn't even born when this movie came out, but it inspired an entire culture for years. The brat pack was the epitome of pop culture. Once this movie (and others like "Sixteen Candles") came out, they defined the 80's in the way people I wore their hair, did their makeup, spoke, acted like, dressed like... the list could go on and on, into the next decade. I think they are a great symbol of what pop culture is all about, and even though we may look back on those hair styles or outfits choices and think "WTF were they thinking?", my kids and grand kids will watch this movie made "way back when" and most likely have the same appreciation that everyone for the nearly 30 years has for it, which makes it timeless.

"Breakfast Club" (1985)-- The Brat Pack