Description
Analyze: Theories of Popular Culture
Evaluation Title: Theories of Popular Culture
For this assignment you will provide a detailed discussion of a theory of pop culture and provide critical discussion of this theory. The purpose of this assignment is to help you hone your critical thinking skills. You will provide exposition and criticism of a theory of pop culture. You may choose either Mass Cultural Theory or Critical Theory.
Your essay should include some discussion of the following questions:
1. What or who determines popular culture? Where does popular culture come from? Does it emerge from the people themselves as an autonomous expression of their interests and modes of experience, or is it imposed from above by those in positions of power as a type of social control?
2. Describe how commercialization and industrialization influences popular culture. Does reducing culture to commodity mean that the criteria of profitability and marketability take precedence over quality, artistry, integrity and intellectual challenge? Or does it result in a universal market where what is popular actually corresponds to what people want and think is valuable? Does marketability and profitability actually produce quality art or does it only benefit business interests?
3. Is popular culture used to control and indoctrinate the people? Is it used to get people to accept and adhere to ideas and values which will ensure the continued dominance of a particular elite and allow them to exercise power over them? Or is popular culture about rebellion and opposition to the prevailing social order? Is pop cultural a spontaneous genuine burst of creativity or is it just a means through which a dominate group exercises control of society?
4. After you provide an accurate account of one of these theories of pop culture, you should then review the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. Can you identify some objections to the theory? You can research objections, but you need to consult reputable sources.
Specifications:
Submit a 1000-1200 word essay addressing the questions above.
In your essay:
- Be sure to structure your essay with an introduction paragraph that includes a thesis statement, well-organized supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion that reiterates the main points of your argument.
- Your argument should be supported by reputable research cited in APA format both in the body of the paper and in your references section.
Explanation & Answer
Hi, kindly find attached
OUTLINE
Mass Culture Theory
Thesis statement: Popular culture has a way of influencing individual reaction towards certain
topics, thus creating a conflicting definition across different contexts
•
Introduction and definition of terms
•
Definition of popular culture and its contextual origin
•
Effects of commercialization and industrialization on pop culture
•
Culture and the people;
o Effects of popular culture on the public
•
Strengths and weaknesses of the mass cultural theory
•
Objections to the theory
•
Conclusion
Running Head: MASS CULTURE THEORY
1
Theories of Popular Culture
Student’s Name
Institution
Date
MASS CULTURE THEORY
2
Mass culture typically denotes to that which develops from the commodity-based capitalist
culture to prove inauthenticity, manipulation, and dissatisfaction. Generally, society recognizes
popular culture as a set of dominant or prevalent practices, beliefs, and objectives occurring at a
given point in time. It relates to all actions and emotions resultant of interaction with these
dominant objects. Popular culture has a way of influencing individual reaction towards certain
topics, thus creating a conflicting definition across different contexts. Mass culture theory
elucidates that society has transformed due to industrialization, creating an atomized relation
between individuals who can only relate to each other through contractual links. In this context,
the peak of civilization is characterized by high or elite culture, avant-garde culture, and popular
culture. The understanding and boundaries of these contexts are routinely debated and disputed as
mass society theory fails to regard power as residing in the people, instead it is dominated by the
state in collaboration with capitalism and the mass media ...