Having developed a definition of popular culture in the last module, this week we’re turning to how popular culture applies to you personally. This could be related to your personal experiences (such as your fandom) or things you’ve observed about those around you (for instance, how your family members interact with popular culture). Based on the module resources and your own research, write an initial post that addresses the following: Describe a popular culture artifact that either you or someone around you finds especially interesting. What resonates with you about the artifact? How does experiencing that artifact help contribute to your understanding of society? Share a current issue related to popular culture that you have found interesting or that has personally impacted you. Post an article from a news source. How does popular culture help you better understand this issue? In responding to your peers, provide feedback about the examples utilized and the feedback loop being created. Are there other feedback loops being created through these examples (i.e., is there more than one message being presented)? Make sure you support your response with information from the readings, this module, and any additional resources as needed. To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric PDF document. Rubrics 1st classmate response needed  Pop Culture Artifact & Connection To Society Laura Mills posted Jul 4, 2021 10:26 PM Hello Everyone!        Welcome to the Module 2 discussion! I hope you all had a great first week in the course, getting to know what we will be covering, along with knowing what to expect for our final project. It was great reading some of your responses and getting to know some of you, which is one of my favorite things when starting a new course. In this discussion topic, we are looking at how personally and those around us use and interact with pop culture. I am excited to read responses to this because of how different it will be for us, and I am curious to read what subjects you are fans of in your personal lives. I hope you all enjoy this discussion, and I look forward to reading your responses!        In this discussion, we are selecting a pop culture artifact that not only we love but that we have in common with other people. I am picked Taylor Swift as my pop culture artifact because I have been a big fan of her and her music since she came out with her first song on the TV channel CMT and her first album being in the country genre. Even today, it has not changed; I am still a huge Taylor Swift fan (or Swiftie) of her, her music, and how she wants to empower others. I also love that there is at least a song someone can relate to or connect to. It could be because of something that happened to them, or they love the song. She also seems to be a humble and wholesome person, which is why I have been a fan of hers all of these years later from when she first started. Experiencing this artifact helps contribute to my understanding of society that Taylor talks about topics that I believe hold accountability in society and bring awareness and visibility to it. For example, in an interview she did with CBS Sunday Morning in 2019, she about how there is a difference between men and women being in the music business. Specifically, saying, “A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing, it's calculated. A man is allowed to react, a woman can only overreact” (CBS Sunday Morning, 2019, 2:06-2:15). This sexism that she brings up in the interview is something that I feel women can relate to in daily life or even their own professional life, whether in the music business or not. My overall point is that she opens up about topics that need to be visible in present-day society topics. Topics include support and equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, empowerment, politics, sexism, and hypocrisy. A current news article I found that relates to pop culture that is interesting and useful is called “Pride Month is over. Here’s how to be an ally to the LGBTQ community the rest of the year” (Yasharoff, 2021). Here is the link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2021/07/01/lgbtq-community-how-to-be-an-ally-year-round-show-support-donate/7809211002/ I chose this because Pride Month did just ended and the topic of the LGBTQIA+ community is a subject that Taylor Swift discusses. It is meaningful to me because I know people and being a fan of celebrities that are also a part of this community. They deserve visibility and all the love and support, so this article plays into that aspect.  Pop culture helps me better understand this subject that, as I stated, Pride Month gives visibility to all of these different people. Whether they are public with how they identify or whom they love or not, it is a celebration for people being their unique selves. It also helps to learn how to be a better ally, supporter, and friend to the community. Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to choose how to identify with themselves and whom they choose to love, which is what I hope people gather from reading this linked article. I want to hear your thoughts! Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song? If so, which one is it and why? What is something you admire/like about Taylor Swift? Is there another celebrity that you feel possesses these same traits that Taylor Swift has?  Reference: CBS Sunday Morning. (2019, August 25). Taylor Swift on “Lover” and haters [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDzhoofkRJI Yasharoff, H. U. T. (2021, July 2). Pride Month is over. Here’s how to be an ally to the LGBTQ community the rest of the year. USA TODAY. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/2021/07/01/lgbt...  2nd response needed 2-1 Discussion: Popular Culture and You Michael Oglesby posted Jul 5, 2021 3:52 PM  Hello Class, The popular culture artifact that has really caught my interest is the television show Narcos on Netflix. Narcos is a television show on Netflix that shows the rise of the cocaine trade and stories of various drug kingpins, the biggest being Pablo Escobar. Narcos doesn't glorify drug kingpins, it also shows all the innocent people who unfortunately get caught in the crossfire in the war on drugs. Watching this show helped give me a better understanding of the war on drugs and how many lives it has changed for the worst. One of my good friends is from Colombia and he's told me some stories about the violence he experienced, watching the show gave me some insight as to what he was going through.  On March 11, 2020, the NBA announced the suspension of the season because a player had caught coronavirus.  This is significant to me because I wasn't didn't think coronavirus was a huge issue until it actually affected something important to me. All the major sports leagues ended up shutting down and coming back a couple of months later, but sports were effectively shut down for about 3 months and sports are important to me so I was pretty disappointed. The shutdown gave me a better understanding of why I should take the coronavirus serious, and after I took the best precautions I could to protect myself. Here is a link to an article talking more about the shutdown: https://www.nba.com/news/coronavirus-pandemic-causes-nba-suspend-season