SUU Popular Culture & Communication

Sellnow (2018) defines patriarchy as “the structuring of society around family units where the male is the authority figure and is responsible for the welfare of his family members and the community” (p. 140). I cannot help but consider the many ways in which patriarchy extends to influencing the larger socioeconomic structures of our society, and how that has impacted me at times.  I entered the workforce when I was 16. I started as a credit union teller and by 21, I had worked my way up through various roles to loan processor. I had also been functioning as a loan officer for some time, but unofficially. Eventually, a loan officer position finally came open, and I of course applied. I didn’t get it. A gentleman who had been recently hired, and who I happened to be training through his onboarding, was awarded the position. I went to the credit union president immediately to protest the decision, arguing that I had seniority and that I was already performing the role without the ap...

Photo credit: Pixabay John Lennon statue at Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool, U.K. A neo-Marxist perspective in narrative criticism calls to our attention the complexities of class distinction, hegemony, and social struggle that are continuously reinforced or challenged in everyday popular culture (Sellnow, 2018). Popular culture is rich (…pun intended) with texts demonstrating how class distinction is perceived and managed in our culture. Sellnow (2018) describes these texts as sites of struggle that “reinforce or call into question taken-for-granted beliefs about what is normal regarding empowerment” (p. 119). And from a neo-Marxist critical perspective, that struggle typically pertains to materialism or wealth.  John Lennon’s (2016) song “Working Class Hero” is a good example of a site of struggle. Though originally released in 1970, its messages are still relevant today. The song describes the evolution of a working-class person who is born into an underprivileged situation,...

Photo credit: IMDb M*A*S*H (1972-1983)   Sellnow (2018) defines popular culture as “those everyday objects, actions, and events that influence people to believe and behave in certain ways” (p. 3). As I think about how popular culture has influenced my values and perspectives, I can’t help but think of the popular, and arguably iconic, television series M*A*S*H. Whether you have watched it or not, M*A*S*H likely needs no introduction, nor does its infamous theme song . My husband often jokes about it being a song that signifies it’s time for bed (a throwback to its late-night air schedule). But for me, the iconic tune takes me back to fond memories of watching the show with my grandma and engaging in discussions about it while we enjoyed a pop, aka soda, and some fish n’ chips from our favorite local grease pit. I think my grandma always saw a little bit of herself in one of the show’s leading characters, Major Margaret Houlihan, and spoiler alert, my grandma was my first real-life ...

Ah, you just went viral on TikTok. What now? Are you trying to go viral again? Are you trying to gain more followers? Does your post have a million hashtags? Are we ever posting online just for ourselves, and not trying to impress anyone or trying to go viral?  As I went through this module, one of the top thoughts I had in my head was: Okay, how does pop culture and virality correlate? Is one a byproduct of the other? In my head, I started thinking about the countless TikTok videos (and sounds) that go viral, and why do they? Do these viral videos count as pop culture, or is pop culture and going viral the same thing? In my undergrad, I also studied communications with a further emphasis in media and public relations. One of the courses that came to mind was my social media fundamentals class. Through this course, we discussed why things go viral. The book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger, shares the acronym of S.T.E.P.P.S. and how these are the reasons for why th...

My mom asked, "Who is Bluey?" as my sister explained what her kids could watch all day. There seems to be a generation gap when it comes to popular culture. It's been decades since my mother had little children, so she is unfamiliar with the current shows for kids. On the other hand, my sister has three young ones at home and she feels the need to entertain them to get her housework done. Being able to discuss what is popular with kid's shows in recent years already showed me what Chuck Klosterman described in 2007 , “it is only a matter of time.”  While Klosterman was hilarious in his satirical article, he brings up several good points regarding our obsession with popular culture. He said there are three basic kinds of information: Information that you know you know. Information that you know you don’t know. Information that you don’t know you don’t know. In the example with my mom, she didn’t even know about the show "Bluey." She didn’t know what she didn’...