Final Essay: Cultural Appreciation in Pop Culture American pop culture has incorporated various cultures into the industry; however, cultural appropriation has been applied more than appreciation in the mainstream media. Performers, models, and big corporations, such as Disney, have been found misrepresenting cultures and their traditions. A new expectation has been set, though, as the movie “Coco” cultivates the significance of Mexican culture and heritage by depicting the celebration of Dia de los Muertos to all future generations, and the importance of understanding and respecting all cultures and their respective traditions. This movie reaches new audiences and validates the importance of representation to a community. Cultural appropriation …show more content…
The process behind making the movie “Coco” dissects each of these sections, and turns them into a lively animation. The process behind making the movie “Coco” took a lot of research, perceptions, opinions, and trial and error. The director, Lee Unkrich, made it his mission to make a movie that depicts the Mexican tradition, Dia de Los Muertos, accurately. In the article, “2017 MOVIE AND TELEVISION PREVIEW; ‘COCO’; He’s in Tune with the Day of the Dead; Director Lee Unkrich Wanted an Authentic Take on the Celebration”, Kevin Crust explains this process: Unkrich involved the Latino community throughout the direction; the script, imaging, story line, and in the voices of the characters. The involvement of the Latino community and research done into the family values, traditions, symbols, music, and the decision to add Spanish speaking into the movie created a beautiful appreciation of the Mexican culture. The text, music, symbolism, family values, and tradition expressed in the movie “Coco” are very powerful. An immense amount of detail and attention was put into this …show more content…
Kathryn Kalinak, professor of Film and English, discusses the importance of music in pop culture. Her quote, “Music in film achieves a number of things: it establishes setting; it creates atmosphere; it calls attention to elements; it reinforces or foreshadows narrative developments; it gives meaning to a character's actions or translates their thoughts; and it creates emotion.” expresses the importance of music in culture and representation. The music in “Coco” is connective and immersive, bringing all audiences together to enjoy. Music is a bridge between cultures, and creates a relationship between all who listen. Another interesting aspect of this movie is the family relationships. As discussed earlier, understanding the people is key to understanding the culture. Disney movies may show some family dysfunctions, but they tend to be indirect to the audience. The Gonzalez family, however, represents a typical family going up against life and everything it throws at them. Realistic family interactions portrayed include conflict, reciprocated and requited love, resentment, hope, struggle, and
Pop culture in the 1950s and 1960s began to spread and infest the nation from front to back through radio shows, books and magazines, television programs, and even motion pictures. Whether it is culture in terms of political affairs, clothing or the latest musical sensations, the United States has always played the dominant role when it came to who knows what is best, first. Some cases of Americanizati...
For example, Rock’n’roll stems from the miscegenation of rhythm’n’blues and hillbilly music, which all are black music genres. However, Rock’n’Roll is known as a “white” music genre because it was appropriated and repackaged to suit white artist as the American industry refused to associate with black artists. In addition, Elvis is credited as the “King of Rock and Roll” in today’s music industry. I would also be sure to cite and provide examples (real incidents or hypothetical situations) of cultural borrowing in different contexts. After all of those segments, I plan to examine how culturally appropriative Halloween costumes contribute to racism and the exotification of Indigenous people. I will also make sure to address and acknowledge some counterarguments, particularly the counterargument regarding freedom of
Delaney, Tim. "Pop Culture: An Overview." Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now, 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
New York: Routledge, 2003 Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print Shaw, Lisa and Stephanie Dennison. Pop Culture Latin America: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company Publishers, 2009.
American pop culture recently received flak for cultural appropriation. Artists such as Katy Perry and Selena Gomez were criticized for superficially incorporating Asian images into their music. However, cultural appropriation and cultural tourism – and its consequences – are commonly seen in relation to traditional culture; this lack of attention towards visual representation of modern Asian subcultures – in relation to Asian Americans – dismisses the potential impact of these images. A visual analysis of Avril Lavinge’s “Hello Kitty” and Gwen Stefani’s appearances with the Harajuku Girls reveals that the use of Japan’s Harajuku subculture in American pop culture perpetuates Asian American stereotypes. Specifically, these acts contain characteristics of the submissive “lotus blossom” stereotype and the invisibility that comes from this stereotype. These characteristics result in an insidious formation of race; Avril Lavinge and Gwen Stefani’s cultural tourism constructs the concept of an American that excludes the Asian body through contrasts between themselves and the background Asian body. This racial formation relies on the idea that the two artists have become part of the Harajuku culture, yet they are clearly distinguishable from the homogenized Asian body.
The Levin Institute - The State University of New York. "Pop Culture." Globalization101. The Levin Institute - The State University of New York, 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The article Hop on Pop (2002) explains how culture is influenced especially by the tactics of mass media and popular culture. This aspect is one that Walt Disney and his company used and did so very well. This article opened me up to think about how the media is trying to influence
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Fourth Edition. Athens: University of Georgia Press. 2006. Print.
Cultural appropriation is a recent norm that has now become common place in society. Due to the globalisation of media and the free access to information via television, public broadcasting, and the internet, different aspects from worldly cultures have now been used in fashion trends, music and film. By ‘adopting’ these aspects, it is
Cultural Appropriation: Not a Myth Cultural appropriation is one of the most controversial and talked about issues in current social conversation. Almost everyone seems to have thoughts on it, but many find it difficult to give concise arguments about what specific acts constitute appropriation, and which ones do not. Partly, this is because many people who have a voice in determining what is generally considered cultural appropriation are not the ones being appropriated. This is also why there is a social argument about whether cultural appropriation is real or even problematic. It is impossible to truly grasp the seriousness and expansiveness of cultural appropriation when your culture is not getting appropriated.
...ing sounds and transmit them into the human heart. Without movie music, films would be dull and boring. The importance of film music is considered a jewel for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and immerses them into the movie. Music is one of the most important elements in film, for it capabilities and versatility of telling a story independently without picture.
Movies are an unbelievably important escape for many people across the world. Films can take a viewer to another place or time and since the beginning of society, performances have been a staple of cultural. Films show a perception of reality, for better or for worse. Many see films and the cultural that it is in and think that it must be a accurate depiction, which sometimes unfairly puts a stigma on a group of people or a cultural. Hollywood has been able to expand all over the world, and many think The objective of promoting American culture through Hollywood movies is to dominate the other cultural communities around the world and become the universal culture of the world.
Music follows us everywhere we go. It’s a big part of our lives and it is now significantly used in films. Before the 1930’s, films have started out completely silent. But after that period of time music began to infuse in the world of films and it played a big role in it. According to Fischoff, a media psychologist and a professor in music studies on films explains how we do not just experience films visually, but we actually experience the film through our ears. Music plays upon the audience feelings and it communicates the scenes to them, it makes us feel the events and the atmosphere that is happening in the film. Fischoff says that people remember memorable films from their break out hit, he gives an example of the song “My
Penny, Eschen M. "Globalizing Popular Culture in the "American Century" and Beyond." Academic Search Complete. OAH Magazine of History, 1 July 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change” (John Podhoretz). It encompasses the advertisements we see on T.V, the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, and it’s the reason Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar yet. It defines and dictates the desires and fears of the mainstream members of society and it is so ingrained into our lives that it has become as natural as breathing. Moreover, adults never even bat an eyelash at all the pop culture and advertising that surrounds them since it has become just another part of everyday life. Pop culture is still somewhat seen as entertainment enjoyed by the lower class members of society but pop culture standards change over time.