Assignment 4-1

America’s Next Top Model has been a very popular television show for a while now. Tyra Banks a former model, created and executive-produced America’s Next Top Model. The show consists of young aspiring women that compete against one another by doing modeling shoots and contests. They are then judged by the judges to see if they are going to get voted off or if they are staying another week.
I enjoy watching the show myself along with several other people I know. It’s a show of beautiful women that have to compete to become America’s next top model. I think it would be very tough to be a model on the show; they are put into some situations that would be hard to deal with. There are several beautiful women all in one house competing for the same thing, to be America’s next top model. I think the show puts a lot of pressure on every single one of those girls. Modeling is very hard, one has to have a certain kind of look, they can’t be overweight and they are supposed to be tall. They are expected to have a nice figure that attracts all types of people. They also are expected to walk and pose a certain way. Not many people realize how hard it is to compete against women that want to win and become a well known model around the world.
I would think it would be a huge learning experience to be lucky enough to be on the show. The women have the opportunity to learn about themselves and learn how to handle many situations. Not only would they be learning how to be a better model, I think they would be learning more about themselves as a person. They would be put into situations that they may have never been put into before, therefore causing a reaction that many people may not expect. Not only would that be hard but living in the same place with a bunch of people you don’t even know would be tough. I think it would be a great opportunity, but a very hard one to deal with.

Assignment 1-3

Journal Article Analysis
Amy Emswiler
Franklin University
Assignment 1-3/HUMN 341
March 9, 2008


Attention Deficit Disorder is becoming more and more common around the world. Many children and even adults suffer from this disorder on a daily basis. It’s hard to believe but very true. Every case has different circumstances and some cases may be more severe then others but the fact is, it’s a disorder that is getting more attention then ever before. When it comes to the media one never knows what the full truth may be. The media represents most information as being true, but sometimes, one has to question if all the information they are telling is true or not.
The article I choose to analyze talks about how the media represents attention deficit disorder (ADD) to the popular culture. In 1980 Attention Deficit Disorder was recognized as a category of disability with or without hyperactivity. Physicians determine if the person being diagnosed is severe enough to need prescription medicine to help with the disorder. Ritalin is a common treatment for ADD and usually has good results in the end. Some parents really don’t like putting their child on Ritalin due to the side effects it causes. Some children seem to lose their personality in a way, but others are able to function like a normal child.
One study that was mentioned in the article talked about how movies and television shows don’t stimulate the brain waves enough. It was mentioned that in order to get through to certain people they would need to watch particular movies in order to understand what was going on. Most of the movies that we watch today are considered to be more for entertainment purposes and not for learning purposes. Although, most movies that are produced for children are for learning and entertainment purposes to help develop the brain. As long as they are getting their point across and children understand what is going on, then they are getting some kind of brain waves stimulated.
The article had some very good examples of television shows that have shown one of the characters being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. Some of the shows are known by most of us such as “South Park”, “The Simpson’s”, and Bobby Hill on the show of “King of the Hill”. Bobby was diagnosed with ADD on the show, and his parents accepted the diagnosis unquestioningly. They just accepted what the doctor had to say with no questions asked. I’m sure since it’s a television show and not in real life the circumstances are a little different, but still it would be hard for me to accept that kind of response with no questions asked at all. I would have to do some research about the disorder to fully believe that my child had this kind of disorder. There are so many issues in the world today and children are diagnosed with different disorders all the time, I would just feel better knowing I did my part as a parent. This issue also plays a huge part in how the media portrays ADD. Several people watch television on a daily basis. Seeing the information on a well liked episode could make someone question if this could be a problem they are experiencing or their child. I don’t feel that it’s fair for television shows to publish this kind of information when it’s such a huge issue in today’s society.
I think in today’s society some parents are quick to agree with the doctors. I’m not saying that the doctors are wrong but in some cases they might be miss diagnosing a child if they don’t have much contact with them on a day to day basis. The doctors are not the ones around the child everyday, day in and day out. They don’t see how they interact with people or how they behave for their parents. All the doctors see is a child sitting in front of them that is hyper and can’t pay attention to something or someone for a long period of time. I just think some more time and development needs to be put into diagnosing a child when they are going to be medicated every single day. I know that every case is different under different circumstances but I think this particular issue is getting worse and needs to be dealt with in a proper way.


Reference:
England Kennedy, Elizabeth. The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2008 Pg. 91-117
Media Representations of Attention Deficit Disorder: Portrayals of Cultural Skepticism in Popular Media Retrieved March 5, 2008. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/pdf.cgi/ENGLANDKENNEDY_ELIZABETH.pdf?is sn=00223840&issue=v41i0001&article=91_mroaddocsipm

Assignment 3-1

The movie Beowulf was recently released at Blockbuster for renting. I rented the movie and could not believe all the work they had to put into in for it to become what they wanted out of the movie. Such as having the actors appear as animated looking characters but real at the same time. It was amazing how they put it all together. I remember reading about Beowulf in the 8th grade which seems so long ago. At the time it was hard to understand but recently this movie has been able to put it together for me in a whole new way.
The movie starred Anthony Hopkins who plays as a king, and Angelina Jolie who plays the role of a seductive mother, together they both had an amazing story along with the other popular actors. The fact that this story was a popular poem and now it has become a popular movie says a lot because has came back in a different form. When I was growing up I learned about the story and now adults have the option to learn more about the story if they want to.
This movie intertwines with what we have been going over this week. Stereotyping and rituals are a huge part of the movie. Angelina Jolie had to play the role of being opposite of what she really is in real life. She had to be the manipulative, seductive, do what she had to get her way, type of role. Which we all know she is not like that in her real life. As far as rituals go they had several celebrations during the evening hours which would cause trouble for the village. The louder the celebration was the uglier it got because Grendel could hear every part of the celebration while he was trying to get his sleep. Grendel would attack the men and kill them just for keeping him awake. I choose this movie because I thought it fit well into the topic of what we were learning about this week.


References
Beowulf (2007 film). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 8, 2008 from, http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/ILS-faq.htm

Assignment 2-1 Analysis 2

The current pop culture topic I choose this week is Cosmopolitan Magazine. I would consider Cosmopolitan Magazine to be a pop culture topic because it’s still popular after being around for so many years. I used to read Cosmopolitan all the time but now I just don’t have the time. Cosmopolitan has been very popular for many years now. It’s still located on the magazine shelves in grocery stores, drug stores etc. Cosmopolitan has several topics such as sex and love, style and beauty, hot guys, celebrities and gossip, fun and games and more topics. They offer quizzes for one to take to figure out ones personality or things about themselves.
Cosmopolitan offers so many answers to many questions. When people have questions that they don’t want to ask a person about they can write in and get a response completely anonymously. Cosmopolitan offers styling tips for hair and beauty tips for makeup. It gives helpful hints on applying makeup the right way and what colors are most popular. It shows the hair styles and color that are most popular. They also give advice on clothing, such as what style is in and what style of clothing is out. They keep up with the celebrities to make sure everyone is in style.
Cosmopolitan offers good advice for people that may be confused about a relationship problem they may be having. All in all Cosmopolitan’s Magazine hits pretty much every topic that a woman wants to know about. It’s a helpful magazine all around and one that I will probably read in the future when I get time to. As of right now I will just have to stick to reading school books and all that fun stuff.


References
Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2008 from, http://cosmopolitan.com

Assignment 2-2

The three icons I choose is Oprah, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie.

Everyone knows who Oprah is. She's been in the public eye for several years now. She seems to be a very caring person inside and out. She has influenced several people and inspired them to become a better person. I have learned a alot from her shows, she's always doing something positive.

Brad Pitt is a famous actor, film producer and social activist. He has been nominated for several major Hollywood films and continues to be an excellent actor. He is also considered to be one of the most attractive man alive, I will have to agree on that. I remember the first time I watched Legends of the Falls, I thought it was one of the best movies, and still do. He is currently married to Angelina Jolie which brings me to my next icon.

Angelina Jolie is also a famous actor who is known by many people. She has received three Golden Globe Awards and keeps getting nominated for other awards. She is also considered to be one of the most beautiful women inside and out. Brad Pitt and her currently have four children and are expecting another one. I think she is a very good actor and I look up to her in many ways.

Assignment 1-4

Analysis 1

I am a huge fan of Kenney Chesney’s, so I decided to write about him this week. Kenny Chesney is a popular country singer; who started his singing career in 1993 and has been popular ever since. He is a part of many people’s lives. He has an influence on several people that listen to his music. He not only is able to relate to certain situations in life, but he sings about them so people know that they are not the only one to experience a certain situation. I think he does a great job of relating to people in the everyday world that don’t live the celebrity life. He keeps it simple and sings with pride. When I listen to his music I can really relate to a lot of the situations he sings about. One song that really sticks out in my mind is “Back Where I Come From”. I have always loved that song and it’s still a song I listen to at least once a month. His music videos are played on CMT on a regular basis making him a form of popular culture.
I found some words spoken by Kenney Chesney at http://www.kennychesney.com/ that really give you a chance to understand where he comes from when he writes his songs. “The more you live, the more you know… and the more you experience, the more you reflect on everything around you. You become more aware, whether you want to or not- So, as an artist and a songwriter, you look for ways to see it and tell people about it, to see if they’re going through the same things… The thing about Be As You Are is once you write an album about realizations finding a new way to live, it changes how you do this”.
All in all I hope everyone likes to experience his music as much as I do. I just hope he stays where he is and stays in the country music career. He has made so many good albums and I hope he continues with his career for many years to come.

Assignment 1-2

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?


Popular culture is all around us, it's a part of our everyday life. We encounter popular culture when we use technology such as cell phones, computers etc. Popular culture is considered to be in many different forms such as music, movies, television shows, and all kind of other things. Most importantly it has been around for years and will continue being apart of every ones life. Our grandparents experienced it, we experience it and our children will experience it.


Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?


Understanding popular culture is important in a business environment because it can help anyone understand what is relevant in society. It can help your business grow and become all that you want it to become. In my present environment I use popular culture everyday be just conversing with the customers. I will use it in the future because it is important to know what is going on in the world and all around us.


What would you consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact? And why would you choose it?


I would consider the cabbage patch kids dolls to be an example of popular culture because it has influenced many children's life's. Cabbage patch dolls have been around for several years and are still very popular today. I know growing up I had several cabbage patch dolls that I always played with and still have to this day for my children to play with. I also believe that they will always be a part of childrens life's because they have been around for so many years.