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.
4 comments:
Tracy, this is a good example of a popular culture artifact. Just as some others it was very big and all the kids had the toys and then came the generation that knew nothing of star wars, and now back again is the toys and movies of star wars! It is so crazy how something can be popular, disappear for a while and then resurface! Transformers is the same way! I remember we were at the movies watching something else when the preview for Transformers played! My husband got so excited I thought the people behind us were going to tell him to shut up and sit down! I had no idea what it was! He later explained that it was his favorite cartoon as a kid! We took our two boys to see mainly for the excitement of my husband and on behold my children loved it! We had to buy the movie and my 5 year old is fascinated with BumbleBee!!!
Tracy,
Using Star Wars was a great choice for an artifact. This shows a perfect example of how things change in popularity over the years. Star Wars has made many comebacks in the last 10 years alone. The idea that children still know who these characters are in the present is a great way of showing how advertising gives something value and thus can make it part of our pop culture that we know today. My son absolutely loves the old cartoons such as Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo, every time he sees a commercial for these he just loves them. Everything changes with time but some things in our culture will always hold value to someone somewhere.
Star Wars is definitely a pop culture icon. There are so many people that know SOMETHING about Star Wars, even those who have not even seen any of the movies. That alone is why I believe it is a great example!
Star Wars is an excellent selection for a popular culture artifact. I remember when "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi" came out in theaters, that was definitely exciting as a kid. I think Vader has to be one of the most popular of all the characters, I know he is my favorite.
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