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Running Head: Popular American Culture Paper
Popular American Culture Paper
University of Phoenix
SOC/105
June 30, 2008
Popular American Culture is woven into just about every aspect of our society. We can see it in media sources such as television, movies, magazines and newspapers. We also see it in the stores we shop in and on the sides of streets that we drive down. Popular American Culture is mass produced for mass consumption. American culture contains a mixture of patterns and forms that have been created by diverse people. This diversity influences our taste in music, the clothes we wear, the entertainment we partake in and the food we eat. Most Americans have a positive view of popular American culture. However, a large amount of the public has a negative outlook towards the quality of movies and television. It could be said that America is divided when it comes to the spread of American culture.
Throughout the course of the last 3 days I gathered many artifacts that relate to popular culture. One of the patterns that were the most prevalent was that of convenience. Our society thrives on convenience and we are always looking for the fastest solution. As I drove around town, everywhere I looked I saw numerous restaurants, banks, stores, gas stations, etc. With such an abundance of these locations it makes it quick and easy to find exactly what you are looking for.
When speaking of convenience, one prime example that comes to mind is fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants are everywhere and it is rare that you see any of them go out of business. This shows how popular they are in our society. Part of the popularity is based upon the face paced lives we live. Most Americans days are filled with multiple activities. An example of this can be found in the family unit. Parents are working and children are involved in sports, clubs and other various extracurricular activities. It becomes a convenience to swing through the drive through before or after these activities.
Another pattern I found was in advertising on television. A lot of the products marketed had to do with health and the image of beauty. Various skin care products are marketed as a necessary element for rejuvenating the skin and turn back the appearance of aging. Hair care products market themselves as a necessity for having strong, lustrous hair. The companies selling these products use models that “appear” to have no physical flaws as a tool to entice you to purchase the product. The impression being that if you use the product you too can have perfect skin or hair.
There are also a lot of diet products being marketed. With the dieting fad that is so prevalent in our society it is no wonder that companies try to capitalize off of this.
The majority of products market themselves as a quick, easy solution to lose wait. Take a pill and all your weight problems will be solved. This goes back to the convenience outlook that Americans have. We want to achieve as much as possible with minimal effort.
I feel that popular American culture has impacted my decision making both consciously and subconsciously. This is definitely the case from a consumer standpoint. Advertising has a huge impact on our choices when it comes to making purchases. Companies have a good way to market their products in a way that makes you want to try them. I have caught myself going to specific restaurants on a few occasions as a result of seeing something appetizing on the television. I have also gone to specific stores due to advertised sales that I have seen in the newspaper, on television, etc.
There are some aspects of popular culture that do not have much, if any influence on my decision making. This is especially true when it comes to entertainment. Take for example a hit song on the radio. If the song is horrible, I do not want anything to do with it. I change the station when the song is played and the last thing I am going to do is purchase the artist’s album. Music is a huge part of our popular culture. There are some artists that are constantly thrown in our face. They are on the radio, television, magazines and newspapers. It seems that there is no escape from their gravitation pull. For some people resisting their mesmerizing appeal is not an option. That is until they are yesterday’s news once a new hip band comes out. As for myself, I have a set standard when it comes to the type of music I like. Whether it’s mainstream or not; if it falls outside of the lines of those standards, it gets tossed out.
In conclusion, we are a society surrounded by popular culture. This culture affects our day to day decision making process whether it is the food we eat, music we listen to, movies and television programs we watch, etc. Sometimes we notice the influence in our lives when it comes to this culture and other times we don’t. The fact that there is such a strong influence makes it important for each American to educate themselves about the effects these influences can have on our lives. As a result we can make the right decisions and live life to the best of our ability.
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