| October 2004 Missouri Regional Newsletter p.4 |
| Pop Culture Thoughts |
| Americans of all generations have been proud to share our popular culture with people of other nations. Mayberry, Mickey and "White Christmas" have traveled the globe. America has not only created popular classics with an international following, but has given birth to entirely new classifications of popular culture. These include motion pictures, two of the world's most popular sports - baseball and basketball - and three kinds of music - jazz, rock and roll, and country. The stars of these American genres are known and welcomed throughout the world. Michael Jordan soars in the remote villages of the Third World. Elvis Presley may be better known abroad than any of the world's political figures, literary giants, or philosophers. Blue jeans, cowboy boots and Garth Brooks are almost as popular in some European cities as in Texas. New Orleans jazz and Memphis blues have found large international markets. In many ways, American pop rules the world, but America gets a wonderful exchange for its exports. Just as Jordan is an icon abroad, Norway's Sonja Henie and Brazil's Pel� have been heroes in the United States. Ichiro, the Japanese baseball star, and Yao Ming, the Chinese basketball star, have made smooth transitions between cultures and find themselves heroes in both.
Popular culture is unique in its power of universal appeal. Unlike most other cultural phenomena, it appeals to individuals and groups, which are markedly different from each other. As a result, it is a great leveler of classes. Historians and anthropologists have shown that even elitists, who typically resist popular culture when it is new, eventually embrace it in the same ways and venues as people in the middle and lower classes. As popular culture has expanded, it has encouraged and affirmed the participation of ethnic minorities and others whose voices are often suppressed. By appealing to people of different ethnic groups, different socio-economic status, and different political ideologies, popular culture connects and unites people who might otherwise be mutually antagonistic. A close look at popular culture reveals a phenomenon that is difficult to define. It is irresistible, annoying, marvelously entertaining, frequently out of control, and ultimately inevitable for all but those who hide under a rock. Popular culture can be a vehicle for change, a generational and international unifier, a leveler of classes, and a tool for recognizing and understanding even the least among us. Popular culture boldly manifests itself in anger and rebellion, but also provides comfort through shared experiences. Some expressions of popular culture establish deep roots, while others put up a bold front, die quickly and leave no roots for future growth. We barely remember such popular products as the pet rock or one-hit wonders like Tiny Tim, yet Elvis may live forever. In the end, most popular culture falls somewhere between the evanescent and the eternal. It may not last forever, but it leaves an impression and produces a flame that lights the way for others, whose own sights and sounds will both reflect and perhaps also shape our society. This great story was taken from: http://www.ptk.org/honors/guide/04-06/popculture.htm |
| Popular Culture: Shaping and Reflecting Who We Are continued from page 3 |
| Regional Happenings: |
| Upsilon Kappa: Hello Phi Theta Kappa, I have started a Phi Theta Kappa Meet- up group. This is an open forum for any Phi Theta Kappa Member to attend at any time. This will be a monthly event at 6pm on the first Tuesday of every month(next one is October 5th) at the Broadway Cafe at 4106 Broadway in Kansas City Missouri. I would also like to invite you to join the meet-up group at this web site below so I can more easily send out invitations to fellowship events and perhaps get some RSVP's. If anyone is interested in helping please let me know I would greatly appreciate it, and feel free to bring a friend. Thanks [email protected] For more details, see the full event listing: http://phithetakappa.meetup.com/1/events/3243816/ |
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