Assignment Details One of the objectives of this course is to get you to think critically about your own personal relationship with popular culture. For this first assignment, you are asked to select one “thing’ in your own life that you think qualifies as popular culture. I’m being deliberately vague when I say ‘thing’ because we could be talking here about a book, poster, toy, song, clothing item, movie, game, food item (etc.) but we could also be talking less about a concrete text and more about an activity (ritual, sport, performance etc.) or an interactive media technology… the possibilities are endless. Once you have selected your thing, write a short, interesting, reflective paper in which analyze it using the thinkers and theories we have studied this far. Consider these prompt questions as you plan your paper: 1. Your personal history with your “thing” . How, when, and why did it come to be in your possession and/or part of your life? • What meaning(s) does it have for you? • How have forces such as family, peers, and media influenced your view of it? 2. Why it qualifies as popular culture • Under which/whose definitions of pop culture does it fit and why? • Could it also be considered folk or high culture? Why or why not? 3. What it means • Using theorists you have studied in Comm 123 thus far, try to analyze the cultural meaning/ significance/ role of your chosen “thing.” • Why might our thinkers approve/disapprove of it? If you wish to, feel free to take a side, but whether or not you take a side, make sure to demonstrate your awareness of alternate view(s). 4. How your perspective on your ‘thing” has evolved as a result of this course • How have the course readings/lectures up to this point challenged, altered, and/or reinforced your previous perception of/relationship to it? The strongest papers will address most of the areas outlined above though you are free to combine them as you see fit. Crucially though, don’t skimp on #3. It is vital in this paper that you demonstrate your ability to apply the readings you’ve done so far to your chosen cultural thing. We are also keen to see you demonstrate intellectual dexterity which, for the purposes of this paper, we’ll define as the ability to make more than one argument about your selected thing. It is very important that your paper be grounded in the literature from class. This means your ideas (with the exception of the ‘personal history’ section) should be supported by references to and quotations from the texts we have read. If the thing you pick classifies as ‘popular culture” but is not well known (yes, that’s a possibility) you may want to find and include data to support your selection. In other words, if you claim that your thing is “well liked by many” and you’re not writing about something that very obviously meets that criterion – eg: facebook-you may want to offer proof such as statistics on sales, viewership, etc. In general though, please note that the “well-liked by many” criterion is not typically persuasive or useful. Bear in mind that your paper will be more successful if you are able to defamiliarize the familiar – to visit your thing with fresh eyes (try imagining you’re from outer space… what does your thing tell you about earthlings? about you? about the culture you’re from? about the life of a Penn student?). If you think you’ll find this defamiliarizing or denaturalizing process challenging, it might help you to select something that doesn’t have overwhelming sentimental value for you. Excessive affection can seriously impair analysis All papers must (that’s must as in we may deduct points if you don’t follow these instructions): 1) Include page numbers; 2) Have original titles written on page one of your paper (do not submit separate cover sheets for titles); 3) Be 1,400 (min) to 1,600 (max) words long. Include your word count on the bottom of your final page. We will deduct.25 points for every 50 words under 1,400 or over 1,600. Titles and end of text references do not count towards your word count, quotes do; 4) Be double-spaced with one inch margins and carefully proofread; 5) Include page numbers, in parenthesis, after any quotes taken from course readings (remember to use APA); 6) Incorporate ideas from at least 2 but not more than 4 Comm 123 readings (after you have used 2 class readings, additional readings may come from elsewhere but check with your TA first); 7) Be well written and well organized; 8) Use clear topic sentences to launch each new paragraph (and make sure the ensuing paragraph follows on from that topic sentence). Avoid bumpy transitions between paragraphs; 9) Be your own original work. Any student who plagiarizes any paper this semester (this includes outsourcing paper-writing or re-using a paper from another class) will fail the entire class; 10) Be handed in on time via Canvas: papers will lose 1 point for every hour they are late. Here’s what we’ll be evaluating as we read these: . Quality of Thinking (your understanding of how and why your selected thing is interesting in relation to the materials we have studied thus far and/or your ability to articulate different perspectives): 20 points • Quality of Exposition (how well your paper is organized and written and yep, this includes typos!): 10 points • Memorability/Originality (how well your paper conveys intellectual curiosity, creative thinking and original engagement with the readings): 10 points What it means Using theorists you have studied in Comm 123 thus far, try to analyze the cultural meaning/ significancel role of your chosen ‘thing.” • Why might our thinkers approve/disapprove of it? If you wish to, feel free to take a side, but whether or not you take a side, make sure to demonstrate your awareness of alternate view(s). Possible theorists- benjamin-significant -aura and authenticity Adorno horkheimer-disapproval- products of culture take appearance of artwork but are strictly commodities for entertainment (takes away from them being pop culture) Purchase answer to see full attachment Explanation & Answer: 700 Words Tags: Age of Mechanical Reproduction infusion of popular culture analysis of popular culture reproduction of works mass produced items User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following our company’shonor code & terms of service.