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Today, we take a look at online pop culture from the perspective of an Alternative Rock band called Weezer. Their famous 2008 hit Pork and Beans is populated with some now classic examples of online pop culture, as we will see. But, first...
Let's see what we know, or think we know about "culture". Are the following sentences true(T) or false(F)?
___ Culture is everything the people of a certain society or group make or do.
___ Examples of culture can only be found in museums and art galleries.
___ Not all kinds of music can be categorized as examples of culture.
___ The term pop culture was originally used to refer to the poorer education and cultural
levels of the lower classes.
___ Culture is also the totality of our ideas, attitudes, perspectives and beliefs.
Now, as you watch the clip for Weezer's Pork and Beans, try to identify some of the many examples of online pop culture, the several YouTube videos that are refered to, for example. Make a list!
1. The Mentos Explosion videos.
2. The Miss South Carolina video.
3. The video of the fat guy singing in front of the computer
.
.
.
Finally, here's some food for thought...
- Do you think that online Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, YouTube, and others really allow users to express their individuality, their creativity?
- Here are the lyrics to the chorus of the song. Do you think this is the attitude of the people who post videos on YouTube or do you think they are, in fact, desperate for attention?
I'mma do the things that I wanna do
I ain't got a thing to prove to you
I'll eat my candy with the pork and beans
Excuse my manners if I make a scene
I ain't gonna wear the clothes that you like
I'm fine and dandy with the me inside
One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink
I don't give a hoot about what you think
I ain't got a thing to prove to you
I'll eat my candy with the pork and beans
Excuse my manners if I make a scene
I ain't gonna wear the clothes that you like
I'm fine and dandy with the me inside
One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink
I don't give a hoot about what you think
I love this song!!!
ReplyDeleteI know some of these videos, not many.
I think it's possible to be "creative", but many people only just wnat attention.
:-)
Hello, my name is Daniel Ortiz, I was in your lecture today at PUC (the guy with a long hair), I don't know if it's relevant, but when I was coming home, I thought about the question you made "Do you think this is the attitude of the people who post videos on YouTube or do you think they are, in fact, desperate for attention?", and I remembered that some months ago I found on the internet an old fotolog I made when I was thirteen/fourteen, and there were a lot of pictures I took in a cemetery, you know, I was a kid, I used to like some rock bands, my hair was growing, I realized that perhaps it was a good idea if I take some pictures in a cemetery. The point is, probably, I was trying to have some attention, but I minded I was doing a good thing, and probably, it happened to some people who made a funny video. Of course, a lot of them made a video just for fun, or because they're desperate for attention, but I think the most of them thought they're doing a "good job". I know that's not the point of the lecture, but anyway, it just made me think.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for the lecture, it was great, and just out of curiosity, where are you from?
What I want to say is, when you show anything, good or not, you want atention. But what kind of atention did you want and what kind of atention did you get?
ReplyDeleteDaniel,
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you. I'm glad to see that our discussion was of interest.
You certainly have a point. It's never only a desperate cry for attention, but we often do have something to say, something we believe to be worthwhile, and we want to be heard. Now, what's curious is that we can't hardly predict how that will be understood by others. Your last question is very provocative indeed.
Cheers,