Assignment 4-1

I have chosen fire pit tables as my topic for this week. Fire pit tables have become very popular. You can see them in almost any suburban back yard. According to Ezine Articles, “…a fire pit table can add a warm glow to a household backyard, patio or deck. In addition to giving a feeling of warmth and comfort your fire pit table should be a source of timeless charm of a crackling fire.” (Roshard, 2008). I myself have not purchased one yet, but I plan on getting one next year to have for entertainment at my new home. Fire pit tables can be found just about anywhere now. You see them at Wal-Mart and even Odd Lots. They use to be something of a specialty item and now they are readily available and affordable to just about anyone who wishes to purchase one. There are many different styles, shapes and sizes available to choose from. You can get all kinds of accessories for them including the dome top to cover when not in use and help heat it up when you are using it. There are actual fire pit tables you actually burn wood in and there are some that are gas or fuel operated. It depends on your preference and the safety issues you feel are necessary for you and your family. I personally think fire pits are a great addition to anyone’s outdoor décor and give you, your family and your friends a great place to enjoy a cool autumn evening of relaxation.

Assignment 3-1

The topic I have chosen for my weekly analysis this week is more of a movement than an item. The movement to live a simpler, healthier lifestyle has become an event of popular culture. I chose this because living healthier has become so popular. Everywhere you turn there is some book, gadget, pill, or store that is for promoting better health. Twenty years ago you would not have seen daily segments on the local news telling you how to lose those extra twenty pounds or eat the healthiest meal. Today every news show has a daily segment. They teach me how to cook, how to eat healthy, how to exercise the quickest and most effective way. They tell me I do not need exercise equipment that a simple soup can and some rope can get me into perfect shape. There are local gyms in every town. All the local restaurants have low-cal, low carb dinner options and some even offer the adult happy meal with pedometers or some other gadget to help me measure how lazy I have become. There are even video games to help you exercise and count calories. There is always a new infomercial on the latest piece of gym equipment you can buy for your home. There is the total gym, the stepper, the abs lounger, the yoga balls, the Pilates bands, the Billy Blanks exercise videos, the treadmills, the pedometers to measure how many steps you walked, the televisions shows like the Biggest Loser to help motivate you, and yes the low fat, no sugar, one hundred calorie snack.

I think when we look at items of popular culture they have mostly been designed to make things quicker, simpler, and cause us to spend less energy doing whatever we want to do. Some of the items of Popular Culture have caused us to become lazier, busier, and generally less active. Now Popular Culture is developing many items to counter the laziness we have developed. However, does sitting on the couch watching a show about how to eat right and exercise help me become healthier? I suppose it does if I am doing crunches on my yoga ball while toning my arms with soup cans.

Assignment 2-1

There are many different people who claim to have sent the first text message. It was said to have began in 1989 by NASA. No matter when or who began sending text messages I do not believe anyone could have predicted the popularity of it today. In the beginning it was primarily designed for the deaf and hard of hearing people. There are now a variety of ways and reasons people use text messaging. In the beginning it was used primarily for business purposes. The messages can be sent in a variety of different ways. They can be used to see if someone is online and if that person is online you can communicate with them from your phone. You can also communicate from phone to phone. However a person decides to communicate it is evident that this new reach-ability factor is not likely to disappear anytime soon. For whatever reason people need to feel that they are able to reach someone right now and have live conversations with them right now.

Today people use text messaging for a variety of reasons. They can text in to vote on a favorite reality show contestant, they can receive all different forms of news including; weather, traffic updates, sports statistics, and stock information. Your bank can text you messages about account balances or usage information. All of these things relate to the increasing attitude of people to always be on the go, always a faster, easier, more accessible way to get information. Not only is it used for practical purposes but, I see people texting everywhere I go and it seems to be particularly popular among the teenagers I see when I am out. I see more teenagers’ texting than talking. I myself never thought I would get wrapped up in the text messaging craze. However, once I used it to get a message to my fiancé who was in school. It started like that anyway. Soon it was a couple messages a day to pass along information. We soon realized how convenient it was in our busy lives to simply send a quick text while in the middle of working or going to school or chauffeuring the children to various places. We have now added the unlimited texting package to our phones. I never thought I would be one of those people frantically trying to send off a quick message while sitting in traffic or while working, but here I am. I find myself becoming more and more addicted to it. I can’t wait to receive my next message from my fiancé while he is on lunch break and I love to send little messages to my children just to tell them hi. Who would have thought a middle aged soccer mom would get caught in the text messaging web. I have yet to find out what is so addicting about it, but it is very convenient for my very busy life and I think that is why it has become such an important pop culture topic. It represents the need to stay connected and the need for faster up to date information in today’s increasingly busy on-the-go lifestyle.

Assignment 2-2

Contemporary Icons

The three contemporary icons I chose are the television show Survivor, cabbage patch kids, and the movie E.T. I chose these icons, because they are all specific things from my past that were popular, some more recent than others, and I can now enjoy them with my children.

The first one the television show, Survivor I chose because I believe it is one of the shows that sparked so many peoples interest in reality television. When the show first came on the air there were not as many reality shows and now there is one on at any given time of any given day if you have cable. There are reality shows that are for weight loss, being a model, winning a race, former child actors reunited, and even shows to find a person to marry. I find this phenomenon quite funny really, to think that so many people would rather watch someone else’s life than participate in their own. I admit I started watching Survivor the very first season and still try to catch it with my kids every once in awhile, but I hear people at work talking about a different show every day. I wish I had that much time to worry about other peoples lives.

The second icon I chose was cabbage patch kids. I chose this one because I can remember when I was a child my mom and my grandmother stood in line outside in the cold at Christmas time to get one of these dolls for me. They had dolls that were twins, sports players, with teeth, with a pacifier, preemies, and even ones with corn silk hair or glasses. I remember seeing these dolls in the store the summer before they became very popular and telling my mom they were the ugliest things I had ever seen. That Christmas I wanted one more than anything else that year. Everyone else had one and I had to have one too. I still think they are ugly but I think before I grew out of them I had about 15 of them. My niece even has one. They still make the ugliest doll I have ever seen. I almost think this has to be because of other women my age wanting to pass something from their past down to their own child. I think they are part of a bigger popular culture event also. Every year there are millions of parents in line somewhere in the cold to get the most popular toy for that year.

The third item I chose is the movie E.T. I chose this one because this is also something that I passed down to my children. I loved this movie as a child and my children love it as well. I don’t think I could think of a single person that has not seen the movie or does not know who E.T. is. When I think of things that I consider being pop culture icons, the theme always seems to be the same. They can be passed down from generation to generation and loved just the same as the generation before them loved them. It seems these items reappear, possibly in a slightly different appearance, but are then considered to be icons of a new generation.

Assignment 1-2

I think popular culture is whatever is popular either around the world or in a particular area or to a select group of people. Something that is popular among adults probably is not as popular among children and visa a versa, however that something can still be popular culture because it is mainstream in a particular group of people. I think popular culture can be a trend in clothing, language, music, television or cinema or simply an idea, such as the popular saying "What Would Jesus Do?". Popular culture shapes our society, changes the direction of business, and allows us all to be a part of some particular group.
Popular culture is relevant to me in a business environment because I need to know what trends the people around me are following as well as the people that I market my product or service to. I need to know how to relate to my employees or co-workers and what my customers will expect from the business I belong to. A certain saying or popular item may be a great way to relate to my co-workers or to my customers. Co-workers need to know I am in tune with society as well as with them in order to create success.
I would consider Star Wars as a pop culture artifact. I chose this because when I was a child the original Star Wars movie came out. Everyone had to see this movie. Everything revolved around Star Wars. We pretended we were the characters from this movie, (ie. Luke Skywalker, Yoda, C3po) and dressed up like them at Halloween. We couldn't wait until Christmas so we could open our gifts from Santa and sure enough I think every child received at least one Star War Doll that year. We collected them, played with them, traded them, and yes I still have mine. Unfortunately the only missing one is the one of Darth Vader without the mask. (Huge Bummer!). We loved Star Wars and its sequels and our parents seemed to be equally as excited about buying each and every Star War doll and the cards and zillions of other toys Star Wars related. I think every one could recite the scrolling paragraphs at the beginning of the movie and everyone recognized that music to lead into the inevitable wrath of Darth Vader. We loved the first and we loved the additional five movies that came after. It was great when the Star Wars episode 1 was released because my children were the same age I was when the original Star Wars was released. It was great to share the excitement and wander with them as I watched young Anikan Skywalker develop into the Darth Vader I remembered from my childhood. I got to experience all that excitement and wander again with my children and pass down to them part of my childhood that will forever remain with me. My son even asked the same question I asked my mother. "Mom, are light sabers real, can they really cut people in half like that?" To me Star Wars was one of the greatest films ever made and I will never forget the excitement of going to see these movies and the excitement on my children's faces when I took them to see the new episodes.