We are all consumers and producers of popular culture
We had interesting group discussions in English. Those are my favorite because I
get to hear what my fellow peers have to say about the topic. We were
discussing the difference between culture from above and culture from
below. In my group (as well ad in class) we decided that opera, ballet,
and theater would be considered culture from above. Culture from below
consisted of Bluegrass banjo type music and possibly rock n' roll.
However, is rock n' roll music really considered below? I mean look at
the lifestyles rock stars live. They are an interesting exception.
Famous rock n' rollers live like kings, but sometimes dress as slobs and
have a stereotype of acting like pigs, with women that is. So are the
culture from above or below? I guess it depends on who you are asking.
Personally, I can't decide.
We also watched the Music Man musical and applied culture to it.
Culture can sometimes be resisted. Dick Van Dyke's character wants the
whole town to know that it is a disgrace that a billiards room is being
placed in the town. He is not ready to accept that kind of change
because it is not the culture that he is used to. However, times do
change and so do the people that live in those times. The surrounding
culture becomes a different experience. He creates a FEAR of change and
expresses this to the people of the town. Also, wants the townspeople
to understand how it "can" corrupt children's lives. A pool hall is
signifying a lower culture. To Dyke's character culture is domianting
and oppressing him.
We also talked about Saussure the 19th century linguist. The question
posing was how do we know who we are? We help to verify who we are
through language. Language is our medium. We have the signified which
is the visual concept and the signified that works as a mental concept.
We need both in order to understand what language really is...what
culture really is. Each sign rests on a binary. You can only know
white because it is different than black. You can only know men because
it differs from women.
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Personally, I can't decide.
We also watched the Music Man musical and applied culture to it.
Culture can sometimes be resisted. Dick Van Dyke's character wants the
whole town to know that it is a disgrace that a billiards room is being
placed in the town. He is not ready to accept that kind of change
because it is not the culture that he is used to. However, times do
change and so do the people that live in those times. The surrounding
culture becomes a different experience. He creates a FEAR of change and
expresses this to the people of the town. Also, wants the townspeople
to understand how it "can" corrupt children's lives. A pool hall is
signifying a lower culture. To Dyke's character culture is domianting
and oppressing him.
We also talked about Saussure the 19th century linguist. The question
posing was how do we know who we are? We help to verify who we are
through language. Language is our medium. We have the signified which
is the visual concept and the signified that works as a mental concept.
We need both in order to understand what language really is...what
culture really is. Each sign rests on a binary. You can only know
white because it is different than black. You can only know men because
it differs from women.
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