Christmas shopping

Christmas shopping is a cultural practice which comes round once a year and has been happening for centuries. However codes and other key concepts have become tangled with the cultural practice of Christmas shopping.                                                                                                                                                          

Exam question

EXAM QUESTION

I agree with the statement ‘popular culture is a vibrant and relevant response to contemporary life.’ I agree with this statement because I believe popular culture is a form of escapism which allows people to disconnect themselves from all the stress of everyday life. As well as this it gives people group membership if they are up to date with the latest season of a certain TV show or a certain boy band as it gives them something in common with everyone else, which may also boost their self-esteem if they can feel like they fit in. On the topic of self-esteem, makeup which is a big part of popular culture for both sexes helps boost people self-esteem as they believe they look better with makeup. Popular culture also moulds people’s identities as people take aspects of their identities from videos, pictures and films they’ve seen.

An example of escapism through popular culture would be the popular Saturday night show the X-factor. The show allows people to see every day normal people make a fool of themselves by trying to sing, and see everyday people expose their singing talent. People who watch the show also make personal relationships with some people on the show as sometimes the contestant will share his/hers upsetting backstory, which makes people empathetic towards that person or maybe even relate with their story. Many people also take aspects of their identity from the show, as many people when watching the x-factor act like the judges. As well as this they may also want to be good at singing like some of the contestants on the show. There is also a certain amount of surveillance in the x-factor as we realise we only reward hard work and talent, also our culture values people who look good.

While watching Game of thrones I felt part of a group. As game of thrones is very popular I felt connected with popular culture as I was watching what everyone else was watching. As well as game of thrones I started drinking Robinsons fruit and barley squash because Ed Sheeran tweeted about it.; These two examples show how I value culture as I want to watch and act how the majority or a celebrity I like acts.

Online identity

My online identity.

Self-disclosure

On twitter I chose to disclose certain aspects of my personality/identity. I only really share the occasional photo and my opinion on football matches. I only show my public self on twitter and don’t share anything about my core or private self. On twitter I also try to use good grammar and spelling even, the main reason being so people don’t judge me. If I do ever post anything which is quite private I may private the tweet so only my followers can see it and not anyone who looks on my profile.

Self-concept

My self-image much more like my idea self on twitter as I put in a lot of consideration in to my tweets and photos, whereas in everyday life I don’t have the time to consider everything I say. For example if my mum tags me in a photo on Facebook I might not post it as I might have done my hair and I would want the people who view my twitter that I look after myself. Also when I tweet my opinion on the football for example I want people to see that I know what I’m talking about when it comes to football.

Goffman

On twitter I take on a slightly different persona as I am quite opinionated whereas in real life I am not. I am definitely more cynical than sincere on twitter as I don’t really show my private self on social media at all, unless I’m talking to friends. In photos the location is very important as I would only post a picture if I’m somewhere exciting and I wouldn’t post a picture if I was in my bathroom sitting on the toilet. Also it if very important what I’m wearing as I would be trying to show people how cool I look in the outfit, as well as this the people in the photo are very important because I’m more likely to post a picture with friends than just on my own.

Johari window

On twitter I try to hide all the bad aspects of my personality therefore making my hidden self bigger than all the other squares, this is because I try to only show myself as a good person, this therefore makes my open self square quite small.

Rogers

My public self would be one of the only things shown as I wouldn’t share my private self on twitter as a lot of the people who follow me are not my friends so I wouldn’t share my private self with strangers, and I obviously I wouldn’t share my core self with anyone let alone outing it on twitter.

Higer/popular culture

Higher/popular culture task

The two texts I’m analysing are the premier league and polo. The reason people like polo is dependent on their upbringing, as polo is sort of reserved for people who are of higher class, as with polo you need certain etiquette to even be a spectator of the sport, people who like polo have grown up around the sport from a young age. However football is a sport for all of the classes and doesn’t have any boundaries. Whereas polo is a sport for privileged people, football allows any to watch or take part in the sport. People like football for several reasons. Similar to polo you may have been raised watching the beautiful game with your dad for example, another reason would be that the sport itself is beautiful. Anyone can play the sport. It doesn't matter if you're scrawny and 5'2". It doesn't matter if you're 6'7" and have biceps the size of my head. It's such a great game for anyone to play. And finally the passion and dedication from football fans is unparalleled to any sport in the world, many people simple enjoy the sport as they get a sense of belonging when supporting team.

Both sports can be described as art. However watching football doesn’t require skill however to a certain extent watching polo does take skill as there are many codes when watching polo, for example dress code. When playing both sports it takes a huge amount of skill to be a premier league player and a good polo player. In both of the sports the players have trained there whole life to become as good as they are.

F.R. Leavis supported the view that higher culture is morally beneficial, I do believe polo is morally beneficial to a certain people I believe that football is also if not more morally beneficial, proving that it’s not only higher cultural practices that can be good for moral. I do believe though that polo; and higher culture is much more civilising compared to popular culture. This is mainly because with polo you don’t see the fans going as mad as a March hare while watching the game. Also in many football matches violence does occur when fans start fighting other fans as well as this in football there is racism, this is mainly because anybody can watch football so there are a few bad eggs within the fans. Racism and fighting would never happening in a game of polo that is why I believe it is more civilising compared to football. When it comes to inspiration I feel football inspires more people than polo ever will. This is mainly because football has no boundaries. You don’t have to be brought in a 5 bedroom house in Hertfordshire, go to a private school and 2 horses to be a football player whereas in polo you generally do so not many people become inspired by these upper class people who have had an easy life. Many of the world’s greatest football players, Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane for example. Come from unprivileged backgrounds, this means many young people who don’t come from a rich family become inspired by these stories and feel as if they can relate, and think if they can overcome being poor and turn out to be the best footballers ever, they can to. This is an example of the inspiration and hope football gives to millions of kids around the world.

Polo is a higher cultural practice due to it being exclusively for the elite classes in society. Football is a popular culture practice due to it having no restrictions and being easily accessible for everyone.

Personally I value football the most. The reason I value football over polo is due to how anybody can become a fan of the sport you don’t need certain credentials to be a football fan or player, the best football players ever come from unprivileged background, which others a huge amount of hope and inspiration to millions of people. Also I believe that atmosphere in football makes it much a much better spectator sport compared to polo. Although football isn’t the most civilising sport it gives people the chance to go crazy and escape the pressure of everyday life even if it is just for one day of the week, the passion people have for their favourite team is what makes the sport rather endearing . However, the biggest factor in to why I don’t value polo is because I was never brought up in the right environment to be a polo fan or player.

Semiotics

Semiotics

The image above is a promotional poster for the film World War Z. There are many signs in this photo, such as; the gun, the emotion portrayed on his face, the helicopters in the background and the desolate land. These are all signifiers that have potential to generate meaning.

The gun signified that he is going to shoot something. The emotion portrayed on his face signified that he is upset but ready for action. The desolate land signified how the world is coming to an end.