Student-curated presentation on prominent/influential aspects of pop culture.

1. The ABCs of Pop
Culture
(according to Jacinta Yanders’ Fall 2018
Intro to Pop Culture class)

2. Appropriation (Cultural)
Def: The adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture.
Because of the presence of power imbalances that are a byproduct of colonialism and
oppression, cultural appropriation is distinct from equal cultural exchange
● Possibly the greatest enemy of representation in American pop culture
● Cultural appropriation allows society to seize a desired aspect of a group’s culture while rejecting
that group
● “Everyone wants to be black but nobody wants to BE black”

3. B is for…
Black Panther Black Panther premiered on February 16, 2018, and
quickly became one of the most popular action movies
in the last decade. It is the one of the first superhero
movies to feature a black man as lead, and most of the
cast were people of color. The film takes place in Africa
and “grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-
day black life.” Actress Danai Gurira most recently won
a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie Star.
As the only female nominee, she beat actors such as
Chris Pratt and Ryan Reynolds.

4. C is for…
Casablanca Casablanca premiered on November 26, 1942. It won the
Academy Award for Best Picture, Best
Writing/Screenplay, Best Cinematography (black and
white), Best Film Editing, and much more. Apart from the
multiple famous quotes from the film, Casablanca also
influenced America’s perception on WWII, essentially
urging the US to enter the war. It perpetuated the idea of
Americans rushing to the aid of people who need help.

5. D is for Disney
● Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded the Disney Brothers
Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923. This company would
eventually become the legendary Walt Disney Company that we
know and love today.
● “With his chief animator, Ub Iwerks, Walt designed the famous
mouse and gave him a personality that endeared him to all. Ub
animated two Mickey Mouse cartoons, but Walt was unable to sell
them because they were silent films, and sound was revolutionizing
the movie industry. So, they made a third Mickey Mouse cartoon,
this time with fully synchronized sound, and Steamboat Willie
opened to rave reviews at the Colony Theater in New York
November 18, 1928. A cartoon star, Mickey Mouse, was born.”
● The impact of Disney on popular culture has been and continues to
be nothing short of titanic. It would perhaps not be erroneous to
proclaim Walt Disney as the most successful entertainment tycoon
of all time. His company continues to influence pop culture in major
ways via the production and release of everything from cartoons and
movies to video games and music. Disney is synonymous with
mainstream popular culture.

6. E is for Ellen Degeneres
lesbian actress to play
a lesbian character on
television. She has
also been the first
actress to win a Saturn
Award for a voice
performance. She has
won 30 Emmys, 20
people’s Choice
Awards, which is more
than any other person,
and numerous of other
awards for her
Ellen Degeneres (born
January 26, 1958) is a
television host,
producer, writer,
actress, comedian,
and LGBT activist. She
is best known for her
TV talk show, the
popular sitcom, Ellen,
and her role as Dory in
the Finding Nemo
series. When she
came out as lesbian on

7. Facebook
Facebook, which is owned and managed by Mark Zuckerberg, created in 2004.
Facebook is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and
video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.
A big way that Facebook relates to our daily lives, especially as college students is by allowing us to network with our peers
and friends online. This is a great way to keep your family up to date with what’s going on in your life, by updating your
profile and publishing pictures to your page. Also you are able to follow public figures in pop-culture and hear news about
their daily lives, outfits and wardrobes, new music, and more. More often times than not when I am browsing through my
feed on Facebook I see videos and articles about pop culture icons, especially these past few months a lot of news about
Ariana Grande have been on my feed.

8. G is for Gleeks
A "gleek" is the term that refers to a fan of Glee,
the plural form being "gleeks." This term has
been used several times in advertisements
made by FOX, the most famous being the
"Gleek Out!" group shot of the cast spilling
slushies. The word "gleek" derives from the
words "glee" and "geek" (glee + geek = gleek)
The 'k' is often seen in writing, next to the Glee
heading, and usually there are slushies
involved in the pictures.
Gleeks is the main label for those who are part
of the Glee fanbase.
There is named a "Gleek" of the week after the
episode has ended with the "gleek's" picture
and name or username (Twitter).

9. H is for Harlem Renaissance
● Social, cultural, literary, and artistic upheaval
that took place for black Americans in 1920s
and 1930s
● Gave rise to names like Langston Hughes,
Zora Neale Hurston
● First time in American history that African
American creative endeavors were available to
a national audience
● Showed that black experience was not monolith
○ Different members of the Renaissance
highlighted differences in ways to be
black in America
○ Combatted stereotypes of black
Americans & their experiences

10. Instagram
Instagram is one of the most popular social media websites that there is to offer. Because of Instagram, a new
realm of social networking can be shared. There are endless numbers of pop culture accounts that you can
follow. Instagram now features new music, news, and sports castings multiple times throughout the day. This
allows society to be in touch with what’s going on in the world as well as giving them tools that they can apply
to their daily lives.

11. Lebron James
● 33 years old, arguably the best basketball player ever.
● I will not “shut up and dribble”
○ A Fox News reporter once told Lebron, “keep the political commentary to yourself, or someone
once said ‘shut up and dribble’” after his interview with Kevin Durant.
○ Lebron used this comment to start a movement for the minorities to speak up for themselves
and made us realize that we need to speak up for equality.
● He is taking a bigger role than just a basketball player, just like how Muhammad Ali took
a bigger role than just a boxer, to preach equality even if it means he is going to take
criticism.
● Built I Promise school for the less fortunate.

12. Kanye
- Kanye West has always made socially critical hip hop. Raised by a caring mother who was very
active in politics and education. Donda West raised Kanye to speak his mind on social issues. As
a result, Kanye has spent most of his career juggling social critiques with the luxury that modern
capitalism provides. Albums like The College Dropout, Late Registration and My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy lean strongly into social critiques of both capitalism and race.
-He has been as of recent a major political and pop. culture icon in regards to the 2016 elections
as well as his support for President Trump as an African American Man.
-As of late he has said he will step back from the political light due to the fact that “his eyes are
now wide open” and feels that he is spreading messages he does not believe in.
-His support for Trump and issues in general come at a time when pop. culture stars have an
increasing amount of sway in politics and election
-Stirred his followers and the public alike with his political song “Ye vs. The People
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5UvELIBFcg
“I gotta apologize the most to Kweli, but
is it cool to rhyme about gold if I told the
world I copped it from Ghana and Mali?”
-Kanye 2004

13. L is for…
Lord of the
rings
The first Lord of the Rings movie
premiered on December 19, 2001.
The Lord of the Rings movie are the
adaptations of the famous J.R.R.
Tolkien's famous novels. Even after
being released for almost 20 years,
these movies are still considered by
many to be one of the best film
adaptation in pop culture history.

14. M is for…
Marvel comics
Marvel comics was founded in 1940 with only a
handful of characters and comics available to
the public. Marvel quickly gained popularity
around the 1960s with characters such as
Captain America, Spider-Man, and The
Fantastic Four. It rose to even more popularity
when they released movies based on these
characters. Today in pop culture almost
everyone can recognize some marvel
characters and Stan Lee.

15. Has given a voice to so many stories portraying people of
color and members of the LGBT community
● Strong Black Lead initiative
○ Twitter account that shows followers strong
black leads that African Americans can relate to
Netflix continues to cast diverse casts in their films and tv
shows

16. Obamas
Barack Obama
● First African American President
● Launched My Brother’s Keeper, a White House
initiative designed to help young minorities
achieve their full potential
● Rescued the country from the Great Recession,
cutting the unemployment rate from 10% to
4.7% over six years
● Legalized Gay Marriage
Michelle Obama
● Launched Let’s Move! Campaign
● 2010 she passed The School Lunch program The program
provides free and reduced-price meals to more than 21 million low-
income children, ,
● In 2014, Mrs. Obama launched the Reach Higher Initiative, an
effort to inspire young people across America to take charge of
their future by completing their education past high school
● In 2015, Mrs. Obama joined President Obama to launch Let Girls
Learn, a U.S. government-wide initiative to help girls around the
world go to school and stay in school.

17. P is for
Pharrell of the most iconic music producers in the industry, and
his versatility and skill has granted his career sustainable
longevity. He entered the game as a hip-hop producing duo by
the name of the “Neptunes” along with friend Chad Hugo. They
worked with legends like Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Jay-Z before
branching out to other genres. They continued to grow their
brand by collaborating with a handful of the biggest pop-stars in
the early 2000’s: Britney Spears, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Justin
Timberlake. Additionally, snagging their first Grammy award for
their contribution to Justin’s Timberlake’s album Justified and for
Producer of the Year. Pharrell went onto further his solo career as an artist and producer with No.1
hits such as “Happy” and “Blurred Lines with Robin Thicke. Aside from music, he’s also been very
active in the fashion industry, creating Billionaire Boys Club and collaborating with Marc Jacobs,
Adidas, and other high-end designers. His transcendence from hip-hop to pop and fashion shows his
range to adapt to current tides in society while still retaining relevance as an amazing talent.
PharrellWilliams

18. Q U E E NQueen is a group that
formed in 70s and
became famous after
creating songs that
involves audience
participation and
showcased the lead-
singer’s impressive
vocal range. This
group of college-
educated young
people incorporated
complex harmonies
and generated a
sound similar to
classic rock bands of
the time.
Queen is a group that broke
records and overshadowed
groups with their exhilarating
performances, lyrics, and

19. R is for Rosa Parks
● Civil Rights activist born in 1913.
● Rosa Parks got on a bus on December 1st, 1955. Parks took a seat in the designated “colored” section
of the bus. After the bus became full, the bus driver noticed that white people were standing in the aisle.
The driver demanded Parks to give up her seat and she refused. Parks was arrested and in result, The
Montgomery Bus Boycott was created.
● The boycott was a huge success and put the bus system in financial stress.

20. ● American late night sketch comedy television program created by Lorne Michaels that
airs on NBC
● Premiered in 1975. 44 seasons later and it is still on the air
● Averages around 10 million viewers per week
● Satirizes all aspects of life, including politics. SNL is perhaps most famous for its
portrayals of politicians, like Tina Fey as Sarah Palin or Will Ferrell as George W. Bush

21. Twitter
Katy Perry tops the Twitter
charts with 106,863,446
followers, followed closely by
Justin Bieber with 104,443,037
followers.
Twitter is arguably the most popular form of social
media for millenials. There are 330 million daily
users (and has increased by 4% in the last year),
making it extremely targeted by ads, news outlets,
and celebrities/self-promotion.
Users have the ability to follow their friends,
favorite celebrities, newscasters, or companies.
Because of the multi-uses, a majority of pop
culture comes from Twitter. We learn about the
newest gossip (or tell the newest gossip), learn
sports scores, and the newest political news, all in
one app, with a couple scrolls and taps.

22. U is for Underground Culture
● The underground culture of the 1970’s was all about expressing oneself.
● Not conforming to society’s ideals and beliefs, rejecting materialistic culture, and not spending a lot of
money.
● Expressing one's sexuality through emotion, music and fashion.
● Protesting war and gender roles.
● Use of psychedelic drugs inspired the underground culture’s vision for the world.

23. ● The act of giving a
“formal indication of a
choice between two or
more candidates or
courses of action,
expressed typically
through a ballot or a show
of hands”(Oxford English
Dictionary)
● Your civic duty
● Women couldn’t do it in
the US until 1920
● Even celebrities do it!

24. Serena Williams
Grew up in Compton before moving to Florida with her
family, and has faced continuous racist attacks due to her
race and background. She has been a breakthrough
athlete (along with her sister) for black women in tennis; it
being a predominantly white sport in both men’s and
women’s leagues.
Has continued to face backlash and criticism for things
white players and male players have not received the
same criticism for (most recent US Open match she was
penalized a game for simply disagreeing with the referee).
Highly accomplished black female tennis
player (holds multiple national and world
records).

25. X is for XXXtentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, also known as XXXtentacion, was a very
controversial and highly-talked about rapper. He was well-known for his
“depressing, and at times devastating” music, and created songs that
brought attention to mental health. Along with his controversial music, he
created controversy through allegations of domestic abuse and a confession
of “stabbing nine people”. Rolling Stone states that XXXtentacion left behind
“a huge musical footprint”, due to his young fanbase and popularity. He was
shot and killed on June 18, 2018, at the age of 20.

26. Youtube
Just like Google, Youtube is an essential portion of the contemporary
internet.YouTube is a website designed for sharing video. Millions of users
around the world have created accounts in this global community that allows
them to upload videos that anyone can watch.
Youtube is a symbol of social media while it provides people a community to
discuss their interests, expressing their idea and announcing their opinions. You
can find everything relates to pop cultures such as celebrities, sports, and music
on Youtube.

27. Z, Alpha and Millennial Generation
Generations Millennial, Z, and Alpha characterize the age groups of anyone younger than 35 or so. In
advertising, the youth market is the market that is most sought after. This has not changed in politics, as many
politicians, often clamor for the youth vote. In fact, many political pundits blame victories and losses based off
of the voter turnout of the younger generation. In decades past we’ve seen countless politicians embarrass
themselves in front of the youth, they so desperately clamor for. In 2016, Hillary Clinton got outrage over her
saying that she has “hot sauce in my bag”, a butchering of a famous Beyonce lyric. As Millennials get older,
politics will soon cater more and more to generations Z and Alpha.