The term cultural phenomenon can, and often will be viewed in many different ways. Personally, I believe that a cultural phenomenon is a media and/or toy text that has been made extremely popular, and continues to be a popular commodity in society, a good example of this being the Harry Potter franchise. Although Winnie-the-Pooh was, and always will be a large franchise, it had never gained the same amount of attention that the Harry Potter series gained; a large portion of this success gets attributed towards the advertising for Harry Potter. Gathered from the article: “Children as Consumers: Advertising and Marketing,” written by Sandra L. Calvert, we see the following statement that exemplifies the importance of advertising towards children:
“…make children younger then eight vulnerable because they lack the cognitive skills to understand the persuasive intent of television and online advertisements.” This in an important passage to take into consideration when viewing the significance of advertising on children, as it proves that the majority of children under the age of eight are unable to understand the meaning of the advertisement, and may interpret it in a different way, therefore possibly harming their mental health. Throughout this article, it is clear that the author’s goal was to inform readers on how much of an impact advertisements make on children’s lives, especially when influencing them towards becoming fanatics of certain franchises. With the high amount of advertising for Harry Potter, it is apparent why it became a larger cultural phenomenon then Winnie-the-Pooh. One of the largest ways the Harry Potter movie was advertised was through the books themselves. By having the books out prior to the movies, consumers already were aware of the franchise, therefore leading them to be excited and optimistic for the movies. So, with this being said, it is evident that advertising poses significance towards the study of media and toy texts for young people. The ways in which cultural phenomenon’s differ between franchises was shown, and help prove that with a large amount of advertising, a franchise has a greater chance of becoming successful within society.
In “On Reading a Video Text,” Robert Scholes discusses the idea of cultural reinforcement within television commercials. Scholes claims that television commercials remind viewers of their social whereabouts and displays their association with society. Commercials are played year around and people have the chance to view and form their own values and beliefs based on what they see. For instance, Scholes blatantly describes to his audience that the Budweiser commercial from the 80s focuses on more than just advertising their product; they try selling a message. Two and a half decades later Budweiser is at it again. In a recent Super Bowl commercial they focus in on a similar aspect, the American Dream. Only this time it is a little more
A company will want to know the power and effectiveness of their ads and about the society it is marketing to. This is why companies need to know about the cultural role of advertising, not the marketing role. The cultural role tells an organization not only about the values but also the notions of good and evil, and mortality and immortality. This information is important as it helps them to formulate their advertisements in a way that deeply affects the emotions of their consumers.
their culture. Television over the years has molded the minds of its viewers – young and
The media influences so much of our society today. They control the trends in clothing and style, and influence they way we act. The people who they are affecting the most are children. Giroux comments “Children now inhabit a cultural landscape in which they can only recognize themselves in terms preferred by the market”(Giroux A136). Kids these days think they need to give in to the market to survive. One of the reasons for this mindset is because of the media corporations that are targeting young children. Companies are making strong marketing pushes toward children who are susceptible to persuasion. They are encouraging kids to buy the new IPhone or the new action figure. While it is not just products, children are also being influenced to act a certain way. TV and movie stars are teaching kids how to act based on characters they portray in movies and TV shows, which often times are not the right ways a child should act. Artists and other celebrities strongly affect the trends in clothing and ...
American pop culture is defined as cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people (Dictionary.com, LLC 2016). It serves to bring a large diverse population of individuals together with a unified cultural identity. For most of us, pop culture is what we fill our leisure time with. It can include a variety of sources such as entertainment like music, literature, theatre, art and food. Pop culture can also include the products consumers buy in order to participate in current tastes and fashions. Pop culture grows when a substantial population,
It contains dissatisfaction that leads to over-consumption. Children are particularly vulnerable to this sort of manipulation, and the American Psychological Association article, “Youth Oriented Advertising” reveals the facts upon the statistics on consumers in the food industry. The relationship that encourages young children to adapt towards food marketing schemes, makes them more vulnerable to other schemes, such as, advertising towards clothing, toys and cars. Article writer of “The relationship between cartoon trade character recognition and attitude toward product category in young children”, Richard Mizerski, discusses a sample that was given to children ages three to six years old, about how advertising affects young children that are attracted to certain objects or products on the market. During this past decade, advertising companies have gone out of their way just to get the new scoop or trend children are into, gathering information and distributing it to other companies.
There is no doubt that Disney effects culture particularly the American culture. When putting the three articles together you can see exactly how Disney is able to control popular culture and the media. Disney controls the media and uses propaganda in order to influence beliefs that shape a society’s culture.
Harry Potter is a fascinating tale of sorcerers, wands, broomsticks, dragons, and magic. The story begins with a young boy named Harry Potter who lives at number four Privit Drive, Surray, England. His journey begins after the death of his parents at the hands of the evil Lord Voldemort. Harry learns of his past and his future as a wizard from Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He travels to Hogwarts where he learns spells and enchantments, makes new friends, finds enemies, and discovers fantastic secretes. J.K. Rowling weaves a web of impeccable storytelling with this critically acclaimed novel. In the tale of Harry Potter imagery, symbolism, and motif take central focus.
Popular Culture has changed drastically over the decades with the biggest question being whether or not popular culture is a positive or negative expression of our ideas and reflections. American Pop Culture has an extremely important role that influences the United States and around the world. There are countless topics that make up pop culture and it is nearly impossible to name all of them. Some of the topics are Television, Music, Religion, Politics, Arts, Economy, Education, Family roles and structures. Three of the cultures that I believe has changed the most and seems to cause the most controversy are television, music and religion.
Mooij,M de.2004.Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and Advertising. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
As culture may impact people's behaviours generation by generation, in other words, the consumer's need of business in some level depends on cultural influence. Cultural influence lies in a variety of forms, from laws, regulations, religions to personal interests.
Popular culture embodies the beliefs, ideas, perspectives, attitudes, and images of various cultures. Popular culture is heavily influenced by mass media, key celebrity figures, movies and related entertainment, as well as sports and news. However, in the past decade, the Internet and social media has come to be a significant influence on pop culture.
In cultural diffusion, changes in culture take place gradually overtime and naturally as new traits are accepted and absorbed willingly by the culture in question. Whereas in cultural imperialism, countries like the U.S. replace traditions, folk heroes, and artifacts of the culture in question. This has led to countries reacting differently across the globe. Whereas the French people oppose the products of Walt Disney Company, Chinese children view the mascot of McDonald in positive characteristics.
Pop culture helps us evolve from living in small homogeneous villages to coinciding in large heterogeneous cities, where a population thrives on differences. Pop culture gives each member of a society a sense of belonging, and the most obvious example would be the World Cup, a worldwide event that happens every four years. It paved the way for social and technological innovation, especially with the expansion of the internet, everyone has equal access to information that was not previously available. Pop culture and its immediate effects are essential to individual and societal development.
Popular culture has become such a huge part of our society, in the ways in which everything is shown as well as how things are seen. Popular culture is pretty much what our society has deemed as popular and how that effects our lives. “Pop Culture: An Overview” by Tim Delaney, is an article that helps to define what pop culture really is. It was said that popular culture is from the way in which we dress, talk, and eat are all ways of showing what popular culture is. Popular culture is also widely shown to the society through the media. I would have to say that this is a good example as to why it should be studied more because this is what shapes our society. People look into the things that are being shown through media as the things that are important and they shape the way people act. Following that point, if this is what can be seen as what is shaping our societies, one would think that it should be widely studied and looked into with greater detail. Teens and young children look at the people in the media to see what