13. Popular Culture
• includes fashion fads, blockbuster movies,
video games, TV shows, and viral videos
• Also includes the way we include pop
culture products and experiences in our
daily lives.
14. Pop Culture
• Tries to appeal to as large an audience as
possible
• Tends to preserve “status quo” rather than
challenge it
• Views on social trends, roles of women,
minority groups etc are influenced by the
dominant social, political, and economic
system
15. Pop Culture
• Analysis of pop culture reveal beliefs,
myths, fears, desires, hopes of dominant
North American culture
16. Pop Culture
• TV shoes have become a kind of testing
ground for exploring controversial topics:
• eg/ 1997 Ellen first openly gay lead on a
TV series. Then in 1998 came Will and
Grace
17. Pop Culture
• By looking at patterns, values, and
ideologies in pop culture we can take the
pulse of society
• eg/ Have a look at this clip from the 1960s
TV show “All in the Family”
19. Next
• Is Canadian pop culture different than
American pop culture? If so how?
• Find an example of a pop song from the
50s or 60s and compare it to a pop song
today. How are they different and what can
you learn about the cultures that produced
them?