Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Media and Culture
Two distinct words form the basis for the most powerful influence on the lives of many people. We live in a unique culture---free to develop opinions, open to new artforms and expressions---and, yet the pervasive reach of both mass and individual media encapsulate our culture and oftern redefine it. Mass culture, especially the American kind, has thrived because mass media both promotes and restores it. Media and culture. They are difficult to separate in any 21st century conversation.
Look at language and try to associate any new phrase that you learned that did not spring from your observance of a media type. Words echo from new generations or cultures and are mass communicated via movies, music or You Tube videos. Try this experiment. Create a new word or phrase and post on a blog, like this one, or via a Twitter or You Tube transmission. The odds are that someone will see or hear this phrase and adopt it. The phrase then becomes part of the new cool of the culture, for even our original slang use of the word cool was elevated by the media of music and radio.
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Last semester i would always say "thats chill" instead of thats cool or any other nifty word to that effect and wouldn't you know that i had a good three-four people saying that by the end of the semester. i am not sure where i picked it up, but no one had heard it before, so i claimed it.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDelete"That's chill" is a great example of this technique. Perhaps, "Pond Erie" will be as famous. We can only wait and see.
Yes, I feel pond erie will even more popular :) that's my mission remember!!
ReplyDeleteI always used to say "That's Popular" about anything even if it was a pair of shoes that I like my friends any I would always just go around saying "That's Popular!" and soon enough everyone started saying it in our school. It may not have caught on to the whole culture but it was definitely a catchy phrase most people used way back when I was in middle school.
ReplyDeleteCarly Simi
What about what celebrities say. Like when Paris Hilton said "That's hot" everyone was saying to everything it seemed like. Even with today's reality shows like Jersey Shore. You here a phrase from that show every minute. "It's t-shirt time" or "Ooo yaaa!" I don't even watch the show but I know what people are talking about when they say it and have say it myself a few times too. Celebrities and TV shows impact our lives more than we realize, I think because we find out a celebrity says it and it automatically becomes "cool" and popular.
ReplyDeleteSonya Tilley
I absolutely agree! I think that the media effects how people act, talk, behave, and live their lives. Some types of media might not effect some people as much as others because it all depends on what an individual believes. Some times media can have a negative effect on an individual by how decisions are made, but media has positive effects on individuals everyday. The influences of media on Americans can be reflective on how other countries view us as individuals.
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment about Paris Hilton and Jersey Shore, but Sonya beat me to it. Well, I agree. No matter how meaningless these trends are, they will probably always be around and become more and more popular and continue corrupting America's youth.
ReplyDeleteCelebrities on reality television shows definitely influence the language of it's viewers, whether they realize it or not. After watching The Jersey Shore, my friends and I jokingly would add "Oooh yaaa!" to whatever we would say. Pauly D will always be known for that! Keeping Up with the Kardashians has also influenced friends that I went to high school with. They would always say "bible" instead of like "do you swear/promise?" At first I wasn't sure what it meant, but then I caught on and eventually my whole click would say it. I feel like there are good and bad sides to these sayings that get wired into the minds of America's youth, but it's up to each individual person whether he/she repeats the saying.
ReplyDelete-Kelsey Gates
I've noticed that people are starting to use phrases or texting words when talking or writing. I have a friend who will always say "LOL" when she thinks somethings funny instead of just laughing. I find it quite annoying but entertaining at the same time. I also agree with the others who were talking about jersey shore, "Ooooh Yaa" I hear all the time now and see fist pumping. I use to say "I am stoked" instead of I am excited all the time and I have heard a few people say " thats gnarly" So I do agree that movies and television impact how we speak, even if its just a inside joke with your friends.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Lemle
Reflecting back on the beginning of the 21st century when the new usher of gangster rap came about, “Bling-Bling,” was a word too often used. It became so affluent that it is actually in the dictionary now. “Bling-Bling” is flashy elaborate jewelry that idiot rappers wear. “Bling” became a movement of some sort amongst the African American community that quite frankly as an African American was embarrassing. It is crazy that only in today’s society a dumb word like that could become a movement that was recognized by scholars as a legitimate claim to grammar.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Hall
I completely agree that words do get around. Many people hear phrases on t.v or the radio and think that they are catchy. For example on the show "That's so Raven" the main character would say "Oh snap" every time something bad happened or she was caught doing something. Evenutally I would hear it all around the school of several students saying it when something happened. I just think it is funny how many times its actually happened.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Roseman-
I would have to completely agree with the fact that slang words, and new phrases get around and then become a new form of language. There have been a lot of shows that have come up with more slang words that are second hand meanings that are shorter than the original meaning of the phrase. From the movie "mean girls", they used the word "fetch" a lot which means awesome or cool.And from the show jersey shore, they use the phrase "smoosh" which I think we all know what thats short for.From watching television, and hearing what others have to say and come up with is transforming the english
ReplyDeletelanguage to shorter more quick terms.
-Eric Snider-