How Does Popular Culture Influence Pop Culture

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The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women murdered by a current or past partner during that time was 11,766 almost twice the amount of people we lost to war. However, this does not just affect women. 1 in 4 women will be victims of severe violence in their lifetime, but 1in 7 men will be, too. In this paper, I propose that popular culture contributes to the high rate of domestic abuse in the United States. I will prove this by analyzing popular music, movies, and even looking at the news in today’s culture. I will make connections with today’s culture and the high rate of domestic violence in the United States. Then I will talk about how popular culture can change …show more content…

One movie that stands out in particular to me is the Disney movie, The Beauty and the Beast. I watched this movie as a child and loved it. However, looking at it today it sends me a different message. In the story the main character Belle is taken prisoner by the Beast, who is very aggressive, temperamental, and controlling. Belle ends up falling love with the Beast, but I did some research on this and there are many theories that say Belle shows similar symptoms to Stockholm Syndrome. This is where a victim starts to have feelings and affection for their captor. My problem with The Beauty and the Beast, is it targets young girls and teaches them that it’s okay to stay with someone and put up with their temper and aggression as long as you love them. This again is promoting a culture where domestic violence and abuse are okay. Another popular movie today that serves as a good example would be The Twilight Saga. In the movies the main character Bella falls in love with a vampire and because of this many awful life threatening things happen to her. Bella is so obsessed over Edward, the vampire, that when he leaves her, she shuts down into a spiral of depression. This also targets young girls and makes them think they have to have a man in their life. This is a huge problem because women in abusive relationships often find it very hard to leave their partner. So if women take the advice given to us …show more content…

The movement would be to raise awareness. Because domestic abuse is talked about so little many people are not only unaware of the problem and how high the rates are in the United States, but some people are unclear on what domestic abuse is. Domestic abuse does not have to be physical; any means of controlling a person or causing them pain is abuse. Whether that is physical, mental, or emotional abuse it all causes damage to victims. This is where people don’t realize they could even be in an abusive relationship themselves. Because mental or emotional abuse does not leave marks it is also hard for someone on the outside to notice warning signs. Another problem that people do not realize is that there is a high percentage of men and women who get out of abusive relationships who end up going back either to the same person or into another abusive relationship. We can educate people who used to be in those situations, how to avoid them and be happy with themselves. With raising awareness of this issue I also want to educate people through informational meetings, pamphlets, books, speakings, journals, and articles in newspapers. News and media coverage is key to raise

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