Assignment 1-2: Popular Culture Blog

Defining Popular Culture
“Popular culture is the system of attitudes, behavior patterns, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people of any society” (Browne, 2005). Society determines what is popular whether it is tastes in music, movies, or any form of entertainment, food, art, literature, science, sports, fashion, toys, cars, etc. According to Browne, popular culture consists of the “daily way of life shaped by the popular majority” (Browne, 2005). Popular culture affects many areas of life and yet often we are not consciously aware of it. Next time you want to buy a car or go see a movie, think why does this matter to me? What is it about this car? Why will I pay $9 for this movie, but not that one? It is important to know what influences and shapes our decisions.
Pop Culture in Business
Business thrives on pop culture. Millions of dollars are spent on research & development, focus groups, advertising, and marketing to find out what the public's wants are so that companies can cater to them. When a movie is successful, the stars' asking price often goes up. Look at Julia Roberts, who was "America's Sweetheart" all through the 1990s in films such as Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman, My Best Friend's Wedding, Runaway Bride, and continues to be successful to this day. Also, look at the cost of goods. Certain designer items are even listed "price available upon request". Some video game systems are hard to come by during the holidays. It is supply and demand. There are only so many of these desirable items available to society and so with a limited supply and a high demand, the cost is driven up. Then, of course there is the pop culture available to the masses. The media bombards the public with popular culture via audio, video, print, and electronic information all the time. Sometimes it comes in the form of entertainment, news broadcasts, or advertising. Obviously we have basic human needs, but pop culture seems to define our wants.
Having never worked in retail or restaurants, nor ever really having to be concerned with marketing or supply and demand it was a struggle to see how pop culture influenced my business environment. Working in Human Resources in healthcare, there is a need for awareness of the new trends that affect employees and residents. There are new issues having to be addressed from the receptionist who tweets and posts on MySpace all day to the prohibition of cell phone usage in resident care areas since cell phones now all have cameras. HIPAA and privacy regulations are important in healthcare and with all the new technology the organization has to keep up on it to maintain the rights of the residents. The company does utilize Blackberries for Administrators and Directors of Nursing who are responsible for their buildings twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, which is helpful. Still there is a need to be careful about encrypting any personal health information if sending it electronically. Remember when faxing was a new technology and how everyone was afraid to fax info? Now it is commonplace and no one thinks twice about it. In healthcare there is also a need for knowledge of the popular culture that the residents are familiar with. For example, we want to provide them with books, movies, music, games, and other forms of activity and entertainment that is appropriate for them. The staff cannot subject an 80 year old to rap or heavy metal music or play a movie like "Hostile" on the DVD player in the common area.
Pop Culture Artifact
The text by Petracca and Sorapure (2007) mentioned Barbie as a very relevant artifact. As I was growing up I had several; all the same but different. Some had a different color hair or came dressed as an occupation or in a different style or came with different accessories. As an adolescent growing up in the 1990s there was more of an awareness of the impact of the media and popular culture on body image more and more. I was unaware of what that meant until it became a topic that was addressed on the news and in magazines, but I had always known that I did not resemble Barbie with my dark hair and round face, but was more interested in the fact that Barbie had a fancy dream house, a car, and a horse; that she could be a doctor, a princess, or a teacher; all while looking fabulous, having cool clothes, and changing her hairstyle, and she could do that with or without a Ken by her side. Barbie was a career woman with career wear, high heels, and a briefcase, at least that’s how I always pictured her. What makes her an artifact is that she can represent many different things to many different cultures.

References:
Browne, R. (2005). Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader. Madison, WI: The University of
Wisconsin Press.

Petracca, M. & Sorapure, M. (2007). Common Culture: Reading and Writing About American
Popular Culture (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.