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Connection between War and Popular Culture

As for the connection between pop culture and war, I think that the last has become over-romanticized over the time. The iconic image of war has become glossed, utterly noble and very distanced, as society removes itself from the conflicting view on war. For example, Civil War became so romanticized that the plain fact of America being once in war with itself is globally overlooked. In that way it is similar to many other wars that are re-enacted and re-told in every local newspaper as epic stories, but it is presented as separated detached piece of the past. To prove my assumption I would point at National Civil War Project, an ambitious collaboration by the choreographer L. Lerman. It is an eclectic mix of pieces and productions, gathered together from American Repertory Theater, Harvard and several others universities and art organizations. “All the pieces will be performed throughout the United States with stories coming from both Union and Confederate states. The project will extend until 2015, the duration of the war’s 150 year anniversary (1861-1865). The project, while serving a very important purpose, does shed light on how war, over time, becomes something almost mythological in its scope. To look at a photograph from the Civil War is to see a world that we are no longer a part of, but yet, it is the very same world we live in. A recent photo-set featured on NPR features wet-plate photographer Todd Harrington retracing the steps of Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner in what is a very interesting juxtaposition of the then and the now. The photos show one place in two very different contexts” (PolicyMic). So, that vivid art compilation from the world of pop culture suggests that the image of war became considerably distorted in modern pop culture.

Reference:

PolicyMic,. 'The Civil War Is Now More Pop Culture Than History In The American Psyche'. N. p., 2013. 

Culture jamming

Culture jamming is tactic of anti-consumerist social groups, designed to subvert or disrupt mainstream components of media culture, such as corporate advertising. Its core purpose is to foster progressive change in social mind by exposing the methods of cultural domination. As a kind of subverting, culture jams should obviously disclose questionable and disturbing political assumptions that lie behind commercial, popular culture. As for the crucial tactics, culture jamming utilize fashion statements, product images and refiguring logos, so that to challenge and doubt the criteria of “what’s cool”, stressing the importance of the freedom of consumption. The interpretation of the authentic communication medium is often ironical and satirical, as cultural jams are a stance opposing social conformity and passivity. Among the most prominent cases are adulteration of the advertisement billboard by Ron English with BLF (Billboard Literation Front) and street protests organized by Reclaim the Streets movement. Personally, I would not mark cultural jamming as solely political phenomenon in nature, as it focuses not only on critiquing political or advertising messages, but even boost cultural collaborations between scholars, activists and artists, which transcend rather than criticize status quo. As jammers are eager to disrupt the unconscious flow of thoughts that occurs when majority of consumers perceiving popular commercials, they appeal to the strong emotions of fear, shock, shame and anger, so that to catalyze social change. Memes are another vivid instances of cultural jamming basic products that stimulate behavior, musical, visual or verbal associations, which can be easily transmitted to other involved in cultural jamming.

Capitalism and Popular Culture

From first glance it may seem that capitalism and pop culture are linked directly and work “side by side” to strive into the mainstream. The logic is that capitalism is similar to pop culture in core value of free competition and rewarding those who work the hardest. Simultaneously, the pop culture sorts out only the most relevant, up-to-date and popular songs, movies, TV shows and other cultural products, so that to fit the target audience’s needs. Capitalism implies that the competition among networks, recording labels and motion pictures companies is transparent and fair. Likewise, capitalism is an engine that makes pop culture truly massive, as it is massively advertised, produced and purchased by society. Conversely, the dominant ideas presented in media are commonly belong to the ruling class for two reasons. First, access to education and leisure to become immersed into all manifestations of culture is traditionally privilege of the ruling class, and, second, capitalists uphold roughly full control by the media sources due to their outright membership or due to the ownership of the pop culture production/dissemination (art galleries, satellites, TV stations, print releases, etc.). The example of that assertion is the biggest American retailer Wal-Mart dictates creative artists what it will or will not stock. So, the prevailing number of pop culture products, films, books and art pieces reflect ideas and attitudes of their creators, members of ruling class, whose output is alternately masking, promoting and justifying the kind of social from that fulfills their privileges.

What is popular culture?

Business, marketing and advertising plays an important role in the promotion of any kind of Popular culture. It focuses on the influences of the consumer and its target audience. The foundation of popular culture is large but essentially knowable range of music, T.V, Movies, and advertising that most are people familiar with. And all the new technology and social media that deliver the popular culture to us makes it easier for the society to get effected.

Popular culture nowadays is merely a subset of a large category of human activity. The term of “Culture” was defined to designate what some would consider a higher form of “intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic development.” (Williams 1983:90). However, culture now is considered as a “popular-higher culture”, which makes it more privilege to the society to be most valuable.

It’s obvious that any product has a power meaning and proposes for its existence, they do not just appear simply like that, but they raise a result of the conscious efforts by some to influence in their values, especially in this modern world where advances in technology make the dissemination of ideas to a larger and larger audience much easier to achieve. We live in a world that’s called “mass-communication” where ideas and values is they’re on a daily basis, and many forms of media serves us as a tool to share those ideas and values. So the term “Popular Culture” here is refers to widespread and well-liked products, themes, values that have achieved their popular status as a result of their dissemination through the modern technology. (Clark, 2012)

References:

Terry Ray, Clark.  (2012). Understanding Religion and Popular Culture: Theories, Themes, Products and Practices. London: Routledge.