Weekly Written Analysis 5-1

In the article, “The Concept of Hero against Democracy” there is a line quote from a certain good book, “when I was a child I spake as a child, I acted as a child. But when I became an adult I put away childish things.” In other words, heroes and superheroes, heroines and superheroines are really kid stuff and should hold no place in a properly educated and mature democracy.” (Browne, 2005) This is an opinion that I do not agree with, I believe that we must all keep a little child in us in order to stay grounded. Our childish ways and youthful thinking is what keeps us young and able to handle situations without losing ourselves. The stereotype associated with heroes and heroines that causes society to think that the elite and highly educated no longer need to believe in such things is incorrect. In today’s pop culture people must have something or someone to look up to, have faith in and aspire to be like. Just as popular culture changes popular culture dictates who we recognize as a heroes or heroines, allowing many people to be heroes or heroines for a variety of reasons. The fact that we live in a democracy give us the option to be free in our thinking and choices of what a hero or heroine is. A mature and well educated person may choose a figure within their same affiliation to be their icon or hero, where as middle class people with general education may choose someone from a similar background who has had the opportunity to do something worthy and gain notoriety giving them hope in their abilities and future. In the article, Hero with 2000 Faces, is states “that heroes and heroines in the early twenty-first century have thousands of faces,” (Browne, 2005) causing us to re-examine the original definition of a hero or heroine. When we read the current article we are reminded what the essence of a hero is supposed to be, larger than life, greater than everyone around and superior to the people they serve, but also stating that heroes have no power unless society gives it to them. Heroes and heroines are great not because we give them power and recognition but because of the choices they make to do better the surroundings of themselves or someone else also by honoring something they believe strongly in. Again I would state that there is need for heroes and heroines in today’s society, for without them we lose our sense of purpose and good nature. Many Americans live their lives fighting for causes and their own personal values allowing them hero status simply because they are fighters and have made a difference in someone else’s life. References Browne, R. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. Retrieved from Profiles of popular culture. Wisconsin: Popular Press Browne, R. (2005). The concept of hero against democracy. Retrieved from Profiles of popular culture. Wisconsin: Popular Press

Weekly Analysis 4-1

Hero or celebrity, when should you use these terms? The answer seems to be unclear; the term hero represents someone of great courage and strength, someone who sacrifices their own safety to save the world or lead a great cause. The term celebrity is synonymous with people of extreme popularity, being widely known throughout the world, being famous. The term celebrity is best associated with stars from the motion picture screen or from the theater, or artists that have sold millions of records. The excerpt, “The Politics of Moviemaking,” (Austerlitz, 2007) speaks of the new CNN, referring to society’s acceptance of movies and documentaries as a celebrity of news and information. The American people previously relied on news stations such as MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN to receive up-to-date information involving the world and its many counterparts, unfortunately people felt they were not getting a clear point of view and began making movies of a political nature to entertain but also inform the public of what it was missing. A few such films highlighted in the article were, Fahrenheit 9/11, by Michael Moore, Elephant, by Gus Van Sant’s and Outfoxed, by Robert Greenwald. (Austerlitz 2007) Each film highlighted very controversial and sensitive topics that certain conservative classes of society did not want addressed, however because of the nature of the films and the wide spread popularity they in their own right have caused celebrity status to be achieved. According to Ray Browne, “Heroes come in different sizes at different stages in a nation’s development. When a nation is young and naïve, heroes stand ten feet tall, but when people are more advanced, more sophisticated and cynical heroes are the same size and even some times dwarf like.” In reading this I believe this to have merit, when the nation was still young in its thinking and development and African American people were fighting for freedom and equal rights pioneers such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks fought for what they believed to be change for all people, a better way of life for all. With such radical ideas and great dedication to their causes they are seen as cultural icons and contributors to the myth of the American Dream, where you can have it all if you work hard and abide by the rules. In the beginning I mentioned that sometimes the lines are blurred between celebrity and hero, but is it possible to be both? I would say yes, I believe that in order to reach hero status you must first achieve celebrity status, you must have the popularity to intrigue people in every society realm as well as various cultures, whether the publicity be good or bad society will push you into the arena it sees fit for you. References Austerlitz, S. (2007). The politics of moviemaking: Movies. M. Petracca., & M. Sorapure (Fifth Edition). Common culture: reading and writing about American popular culture (pp.533-543). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Browne. R. B. (2005). Heroes with 2000 faces. Myths. R. Browne., & P. Browne. Profiles of popular culture: a reader (pp.16-23). Wisconsin: Popular Press

Reference to journal

TAYLOR, A. (2007). He's Gotta Be Strong, and He's Gotta Be Fast, and He's Gotta Be Larger Than Life: Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body. Journal of Popular Culture, 40(2), 344-360. Retrieved Sunday, November 23, 2008 from the Academic Search Premier database.

journal article link

here is the link to the journal article: http://0-search.epnet.com.olinkserver.franklin.edu:80/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=24195723

Rituals 3-2

What is my understanding of the word “ritual?” My understanding of ritual is a ceremony or act that is performed at a certain point in a person’s life or at a certain time of year. A ritual can be passed down from generation to generation giving it meaning and purpose. All the rituals observed are not necessarily huge but simply something we do with routine. Merriam-Webster defines ritual as, “the established form for a ceremony; a ceremonial act or action; and an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner.” What rituals do you observe in our society? In our society we observe the rituals of the holiday season; many families enjoy celebrating thanksgiving with huge gatherings, and then this time of year leads us into the ritual of Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa based on your religious beliefs. In January, society will be watching as on its 44th Presidential inauguration takes place in Washington D.C., society recently took place in watching the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China Aug.8-24. What rituals do you observe in your family? In my family we observe the rituals of the holiday season, we celebrate Christmas with family and friends, we never open our gifts until Christmas day, and we always dine at home first and then go from house to house. We observer the ritual of birthdays, although each year we do something new it is the remembrance to observe the day, and at our family gatherings we make it a point to perform the ritual of telling family stories and instilling religious values. Every two weeks I groan about the ritual of allowance giving to the children. Are there any rituals that you can identify that are prevalent today? If so, what are they? In religious cultures the ritual of baptismal or christening is just as important in today’s society as it has been in past generations. Parents believe that it is their job to lay the ground work for religious beliefs and traditions, starting with the baptismal or christening. Two rituals that are constantly taking place are marriages and funerals; in each culture these ceremonies are done in specific ways to honor tradition and to uphold the significance and integrity of the ceremony. What ritual would you like to develop for either our society or your family? For my family I would like to start the ritual of a family reunion. My family is extremely large and it is impossible to know who all of them are but I believe even getting the immediate aunts and uncles together would be a great start and then branch out into other areas, dealing with second and third generations. As a society we celebrate the fourth of July, symbolizing independence, I would like for society to celebrate once a year its collective differences together, not individually. Every year you can find parades that honor African Americans, or Latinos, or Asians, the homosexual community, religious affairs and anything else you can think of, but we cannot seem to come together at one time to simply honor or celebrating just being who we are different in so many ways.

Presentation Outline 1930-1945

Outline for Culture and Society: Interactions (1930-1945 Movies) Brief description of the 1930’s, the Great Depression Wall street crashing 1929 led to money being in short supply Inexpensive entertainment options: parlor games, board games and moves became very popular “Hollywood Golden Ages” The Production Code of 1930 and revised in 1934 Rules and Regulations in reference to movie making Movie quotes from 1930-1945 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Gone With the Wind (1939) The Wizard of OZ (1939) References American History 1930-1939. (2008). American cultural history: theater and film. Retrieved November 20, 2008, from http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30 Movie Lookup. (2008). Films in review. Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://www.filmsite.org Production Code. (2008). What was the production code? Retrieved November 20, 2008, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-production-code.htm

Weekly Written Analysis 3-1

As I read the passages from the daytime soap “Days of Our Lives” (Soap Opera Digest, 2003), I can’t help but to reminisce on when I was younger over my grandmothers house, my grandmother would let you do anything you wanted until 12:30 pm and then her soaps came on and you had two choices to sit down, be quiet and watch or go outside and play for the next three hours. With the change in economic growth and family needs very few grandmothers or mothers are sitting down to watch soaps, the old stereotype of having all day to sit in front of the TV and watch your soaps is a thing of the past, many of those women who used to be at home watching midday TV have now been become a part of working America outside the home. According to an article written by Rebecca Detken on Yahoo Blog, “daytime soaps are doomed,” soap operas have lost their appeal with weakening storylines and poor creativity. They are unable to draw in the younger viewers, when the younger generations have so many other options on how to spend their time. The culture and direction of TV has even changed, people are no longer watching basic television for their daily fix they now look to find excitement and escape on cable TV, with its reality shows, music stations and on demand channels. References Detken. R. (2008, November 20). Are daytime soaps doomed? Retrieved November 21, 2008. www.tv.yahoo.com/blog 2003. July 8. Days of our lives. Soap opera digest in R. Browne (2005) Profiles of popular culture. pp.112-114