Paul Lehman

HUMN341 – Assignment 5-1

Paul — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:22:38 +0000

Relief Efforts in Haiti

Since the news of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12^th 2010, many have been looking for a way to help. A massive relief effort has been undertaken and many relief organizations are accepting donations to be able to bring food and medical aid to the victims of the natural disaster.

CNN.com reported on February 4^th that so far 600,000 victims have been able to collect food from the 16 operational food distribution points. The food distribution points were organized through a collaborative effort of “the United Nations, several private humanitarian agencies and the Haitian government.” CNN also reported that the death toll from the tragic disaster has reached 212,000.

While there are still many injured and many more homeless, it is nice to know that relief efforts are reaching the people. If you plan to make a donation to help the victims, this Hope For Haiti Now CD can be purchased from Amazon.com and features many popular artists delivering powerful performances. All the proceeds for the CDs are donated to special non profit organizations that were formed specifically to deliver aid to the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eSk35H3jL._SS500_.jpg

References:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/04/haiti.food.distribution/index.html

HUMN341 – Assignment 4-1

Paul — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:41:00 +0000

Television’s Leading Ladies

Doesn’t it seem as though more and more prime time network television shows have emerged with an “all female cast” or a female leading lady? Instead of shows like MASH, Magnum P.I., and Knight Rider, we’re seeing an influx of television shows like Golden Girls, Mary Tyler Moore, and Designing Women. I don’t mean to say that this trend is a bad thing. After all, it is a trend that has given us such great recent shows as Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Alias, Sex in the City, and Desperate Housewives.

But what could cause such a trend? Is it just the fully realized empowerment of women after the liberation movement? Or perhaps it is because there are more female television producers and writers? Or could it be that there are simply more female television viewers that represent larger dollar signs to marketing executives? Personally I think it’s a mixture of all of these elements I’ve mentioned.

In Strong, Funny… and Female, an article published in Profiles of Popular Culture, the author Elaine Liner says “Networks have turned their focus to women for the same reason TV does anything: Money. In prime time this season, 6.5 more women than men tuned into TV nightly.” (Liner, 2005) and later she continues to say that the Lifetime cable network is watched by 1.6 million homes nightly, making it one of the most popular cable networks.

http://images.doctissimo.fr/photo/hd/8515058851/private-category/desperate_housewives_abc_pommes_apples-4111269e6d.jpg

So more than likely the trend will continue, but I’m certainly not complaining. What are your thoughts?

References

Liner, E. (2005). Profiles of popular culture: a reader. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.

HUMN341 – Assignment 1-3 – Journal Article Analysis

Paul — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:20:36 +0000

Introduction

The article that I have chosen to review for this assignment is entitled Turtle Power!: How Four Mutant Teenagers Nuked the Entertainment Industry. This article was published in December of 2008 in the Journal of Popular Culture and it provides an in depth analysis of the popular comic book characters, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and their journey to the big screen and the hearts (and pockets) of young people across the nation. The author, John Bisges, makes several interesting connections between the story of the turtles, the use of nuclear material, and the current state of world affairs.

The Article

The author begins the article by stating some interesting facts about the films that tell the story of the popular comic book heroes. The two films produced were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: the Secret of the Ooze (1991) and John states that the films brought in a combined total of approximately $280 million. The author continues by giving a brief background of the characters and their creation in the early 1980’s. John states that the characters were originally created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a spoof of another popular comic book hero: Daredevil.

The author then begins to focus on the content of the films and the story of the 4 mutant ninjas, making it a priority to point out the manner in which the turtles became mutants. The story details a sequence of events in which the four pet turtles are dropped down a sewer drain where they come into contact with glowing green ooze inside a nuclear waste container and are then mutated into a humanoid turtles with exceptional intelligence and language skills. The author brings out this point because later in the article he draws correlation with this nuclear incident in the story and the current public concern over nuclear warfare during the 1980’s when the turtle comics were becoming popular. The author sites this public and social concern, or fascination, as a key indicator in their rise in popularity.

Later in the article, the author cites other reasons for the public’s obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Another key point to the story of the characters is their age, the creators of the story were very deliberate of portraying the turtles as young and light hearted but with teenage angst and attitude. The author states that prior to the release of the first film in 1990, there were other key indicators of the popular culture’s fascination with teenage attitude. One indicator was the popular 1989 movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and another being the popular Saturday Night Live sketch Wayne’s World. The author states that these films featuring other “laid-back heroes using surfer lingo” was a clear indicator of how the turtles were shaped by the current popular culture.

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Conclusion

The author summarizes his statements in a concise and impactful way that clearly describes the reasoning behind the intense popularity of the comic book heroes. Essentially the creators of the characters rose to popularity because of their perfect timing. The new attitudes of youth towards the ending cold war, nuclear power, mutants, and the increase in popularity of “surfer-slang” made the turtles the perfect new heroes for the generation.

Resources

BISGES, J. (2008). Turtle Power!: How Four Mutant Teenagers Nuked the Entertainment Industry. Journal of Popular Culture, 41(6), 918-933. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2008.00557.x.

Assignment 3-1 – Weekly Analysis

Paul — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:10:49 +0000

Food Television

Through out history the human preoccupation with food has largely been focused on obtaining sustenance for the purposes of maintaining health. No one can deny the human need for nutrition that is received through proper diet. Yet there is something to be said for the presentation of a meal, not to mention the excitement that one can get from certain tastes and flavors.

During certain time periods the challenge for some families and individuals has been simply finding enough food to prevent starvation. However, in elitist society there has always been a penchant for culinary decadence. During times of economic stability and prosperity the mainstream indulges in fancier and tastier foods. This is clearly evidenced with the recent popularity of food in television. In 1946 a television show called I Love to Eat aired, hosted by James Beard, and would create an entertainment genre that would produce such stars as: Julia Child, Martha Stewart, and Emeril Lagasse. In 1993 the Food Network launched featuring specialty programs that all focus on food. And in May of 2005 the FOX Network premiered Hell’s Kitchen that would become the second highest rated competition based reality show.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/dream_jobs/image/emeril_lagasse.jpg

Now, not only is food a means to an end regarding nutrition, or just a way to gather the family together for sharing and bonding, but it’s also become a wildly popular entertainment category. In Profiles of Popular Culture the Editor Ray B. Browne states “The kitchen is no longer the private sanctuary of the cook who prepared her meals according to tradition or the latest guides in newspapers and books. Now frequently her guide is a radio or TV chef who takes the snobbishness out of cooking and recalls the pleasure of eating.” (Browne, 2005)

References

Browne, R. B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture: a reader. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.

HUMN341 – Assignment 2-1 – Weekly Analysis

Paul — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:38:54 +0000

The Tattoo

Through out history the tattoo has been regarded has been regarded as both one of the highest art forms and one of the most deplorable human mutilations and the social acceptance of the tattoo has waxed and waned. The variance in perspective depends largely on the current prevailing cultural background. In some cultures, the tattoo is the most normal and beautiful forms of adornment for the human body. While in others, the permanent decorations are disparaged as unnatural defilements of the temple of the human body.

Ray B. Browne, editor of Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader, says this about the tattoo: “Art comes in various shapes, sizes, and locations. One of the oldest and most widely encountered is the tattoo, a form of body alteration, closely allied to more profound body change. Tattoos were very important as expressions of human desires to alter (and improve) the body before clothes became so sophisticated that the wardrobe could accomplish more than tattoos.” (Browne, 2005) While modern fashion is well known as an excellent way to enhance the body’s appearance, in the popular culture of today the tattoo is gaining more and more popularity.

This is clearly evidenced in recent television. In 2005 the hour long reality show Miami Ink premiered on the cable television network TLC. The show features the work of several cutting edge tattoo artists and profiles the artwork as well as the motivations of the people receiving them. In 2007 a spinoff of Miami Ink called LA Ink premiered and both shows continue to run strong. In addition, multiple other shows have grown in popularity to mark the emergence of the tattoo into mainstream modern popular culture.

References:

Browne, R. B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture: a reader. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.

HUMN341 – Assignment 2-2 – Icon Analysis

Paul — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:50:07 +0000

The pop-culture icons that I have chosen for this assignment are: The Simpsons, South Park, and Mario. Each has reached pop-culture icon status over years and years of production and distribution. However each has earned their place as pop-culture icons for various reasons.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons, an animated television series created by Matt Groening, has been running for over 20 years. In that time, the show has earned its place as a pop-culture icon through consistent clever writing, a feature film, multiple video games, a slew of Hollywood awards and a constantly growing fan base. Personally, I chose this icon because it has always been one of my favorite humorous television shows. I’ve practically grown up with the show and I’ve watched it rise from a “morally questionable” and highly criticized animated short into a family favorite. Recently celebrating the 451^st episode, the show has proven itself as an industry giant.

South Park

South Park is an animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The show began as brief animated shorts created in the 90’s and debuted as a television series in 1997 on Comedy Central. This show has earned its status as a pop-culture icon through ingenious writing, a feature film, multiple video games, and a wide range of popular merchandise. I’ve chosen this icon because it is one of my favorite television shows. Personally, I appreciate the willingness of the show’s creators to make fun of any and every situation through both slapstick and satire.

Mario

Mario is a video game character created by a video game designer named Shigeru Miyamoto. Since his first video game appearance in 1981 Mario has appeared in over 200 video games, has been the subject of a feature film and a television series. Mario’s pop-culture status as an icon has been cemented by these facts, plus the fact that his distribution is international and multi-cultural, making him a recognizable icon world-wide. I chose Mario for this icon analysis because he is by far the most recognizable and enduring video game icon of all time. I personally grew up playing all the Mario games I could and now I enjoy playing them with my children.

HUMN341 – Assignment 1-4 – Weekly Analysis

Paul — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:24:58 +0000

The Dark Knight

The well known pop culture icon Batman recently returned to the silver screen with a vengeance. Christopher Nolan’s second film on Batman smashed box office records and quickly became a fan favorite. To date, the film has generated over 1 billion dollars in box office sales, and sits atop many lists of film sales records. The popularity of the film could be due to one or many of its positive attributes.

The film boasts a star studded cast including Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. In addition, the film was the last project that actor Heath Ledger, a pop culture icon in his own right, would ever complete prior to his death on January 22, 2008. Many movie goers would buy a ticket for this reason alone.

However the film had many additional qualities that would entice the movie-goer. Action packed scenes with state of the art special effects, a proven cutting edge Director in Nolan, and a very successful marketing campaign. While these reasons may have enticed the first few movie-goers and comic book fans, none of these were the reasons for the films continued success. The film continued to sell tickets and smash records because of its classic portrayal of literary archetypes. To name just a few: The Hero: sacrificial, honorable, and courageous. The Villain: outcast, maniacal, and dangerous. The Scapegoat, The Damsel, and The Star Crossed Lovers. The film succeeds because it tells the tale of epic heroism, in which, Batman has become the modern Odysseus or Hercules.

HUMN341 – Assignment 1-2 – Popular Culture Blog

Paul — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:13:08 +0000

Popular Culture, what does it mean?

Popular Culture can be defined as “the system of attitudes, behavior patterns, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people of any society. It is the entertainment, diversions, icons, rituals, and actions that shape a society’s everyday world.” (Browne, 2005) This textbook provides a definition that is the composition multiple facets of life in any culture. However, the meaning of popular culture is different to each person. My personal understanding of popular culture is the current and relevant arts, religions and philosophies that are common within any given culture.

Popular Culture, what is the relevance in business?

In the modern western world since the industrial revolution and the advent of the assembly line, products and services have become streamlined money makers. Business processes, manufacturing techniques and marketing strategies have evolved into standard exercises all designed to draw the almighty dollar. Business and industry is well aware of popular culture and the product and service demand created within the population of a given culture. When an artifact of popular culture, a piece of entertainment such as a movie, becomes a “Pop Culture Icon” there is very little lapse in time before business and industry is answering the call to release products and services associated with the icon.

Popular Culture Artifacts: One Example

A popular culture artifact is any historically recordable piece of current culture that falls within the mainstream or popular category. This would include any idea, concept, or group, as well as the “entertainment, diversions, icons, rituals, and actions” used in our textbook definition of popular culture.

http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/38/MPW-19409

One example would be Star Wars, initially only a single film created by George Lucas. It would become so wildly popular within American culture (among others) that it would spawn at least 10 additional movies, a series of fiction novels, a comic book series, multiple cartoons, action figures, and a massive line of memorabilia. Not only is Star Wars is a prime example of a popular culture artifact, it is a prime example of a pop culture icon. Personally, I chose Star Wars as an example of a popular culture artifact because it has been one piece of popular culture that I have been fascinated with since childhood and my fascination has been maintained through my adult years. Without a doubt it is my most favorite pop culture icon.

References

Browne, R. B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture: a reader. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.