A1 SEMINAR 10 Popular Culture Quotes about Pop Culture and Media Task 1 – Read the quotes, discuss your views with your partner, and then present their opinion to the class. 1 "To provide its happy people with perpetual* fun is now the deepest purpose of Western civilization." – Jeremy Seabrook (b.1939), English author and contributor to the Third World Network. 2 “Popular culture is the new Babylon, into which so much art and intellect now flow. It is our imperial sex theater, supreme temple of the western eye. We live in the age of idols. The pagan past, never dead, flames again in our mystic hierarchies of stardom.” – Camille Paglia (b. 1947), American author, critic 3 "Whoever controls the media controls the mind." – Jim Morrison (1943–1971), American lead singer of The Doors. 4 "What the mass media offer is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten, and replaced by a new dish." – W.H. Auden (1907-1973), English poet in his essay, The Dyer’s Hand (1962). 5 "I think that we have created a new kind of person in a way. We have created a child who will be so exposed to media that he will be lost to his parents by the time he is 12." – David Bowie (b.1947), English entertainer. From http:/www.newspeakdictionary.com/ot-quotes.html#QMedia; and http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com:, and http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/popular_culture/, viewed June 2010 Reading – Popular Culture: A Background Popular culture studies is the scholarly investigation* of expressive forms widely disseminated* in society. These materials include, but are not restricted to* products of mass media such as television, film, print, and recording. Thus, popular culture studies may focus on media genres such as situation comedies (sitcoms), film noir, best-selling novels, or rap music. Other, non-mediated aspects of popular culture would include such things as clothing styles, fads*, holidays and celebrations, amusement parks, both amateur and professional sports, and so forth. Ideally, the study of these or any other popular materials should be done holistically*, viewing them both aesthetically and also within the social and cultural contexts in which the materials are created, disseminated, interpreted, and used. In this way the study of popular culture involves the use of methodologies from both the humanities and the social sciences in the effort to interpret expressive cultural forms, specifically those that are widely disseminated in a group (that is, those that are popular) as part of dynamic social intercourse. Popular culture scholars study these created, expressive, and artistic materials as their primary data, much as literary scholars take the novel or the sonnet as their primary data. In this way popular culture studies is within the tradition of the humanities. However, popular culture studies differs from traditional humanities studies in that it recognizes* the existence of alternative systems of aesthetics which guide* the creation of popular materials and the evaluation of those materials by an audience. Popular culture scholars apply this principle to popular arts such as television programs, popular films, popular music, best-selling novels, genre fiction such as mysteries or romances, and so on. The popular culture scholar situates the discussion of any aspect of popular culture within the larger context of the meanings and values of the society within which it exists. Adapted from http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/popc/bkgrnd.html. Bowling Green State University, Department of Popular Culture. Task 2 – Discuss and answer the following questions: 1) According to the definition of popular culture in the article (in bold), what are some forms of pop culture in the Czech Republic ? (para 1) 2) Can studying the fashion trends of 14-year-old girls tell us something important about society? 3 ) What methodologies does the study of popular culture involve? (para 2) 4) What is the aim of the study of popular culture ? (para 2) 5) Can you give some examples of “primary data” in this context? (para 2,3) 6 ) How do popular culture studies differ from traditional humanities? ( para 3) 7 )Could you describe the principle which popular culture scholars apply? (para 4) Popular Film Task 3a – Complete the table below using some of the given vocabulary below: Film Type of film Subtitled or dubbed? Description of film setting 1. The Godfather Action, thriller violent, gripping, exciting, fast-moving New York, early 1900 2. 1 Why and to whom would you recommend the movie above? OR 2 Why would you NOT recommend the movie? Task 3b – Paragraph Writing – Write a paragraph of about 50-60 words and use at least 5 expressions from the sections below. Type of film action adventure animated comedy crime/ gangster documentary drama/ romantic epic/historical horror musical mystery/detective science fiction social satire thriller war western Descriptive adjectives moving/tear-jerking: producing strong emotions, often of sadness violent: includes lots of scenes with fighting and death powerful: has a big effect on our emotions gripping: exciting and very interesting fast-moving slow: boring (Remember, you can use quite/really/very/extremely to alter the strength of the adjective e.g. quite moving, really/very moving, extremely moving). Film making write the script / screenplay adapt for the cinema screen version of a play make a film based on a story direct/director character co-production of 3 countries director of photography shoot a scene make a shot / do a close-up made on location/in a studio costume/set designer costumes/production design dub a film into Czech two-part film / sequel Film story the basic story is about … a thrilling adventure story with chases, escapes, last-minute rescues, kidnappings a light-hearted comedy of errors a tragedy about the eternal triangle, a femme fatale a magnificent spectacle with gorgeous costumes a serious-minded investigation of social problems Task 4 – Discuss the following questions: 1) Do you find film reviews useful? 2) “A cinema is the best place to see a film.” Do you agree with this statement? 3) What value do you think subtitling has? Does dubbing have any value for you? 4) Do film versions of books stimulate people to read them? Adapted from: English Vocabulary in Use, Stuart Redman, CUP 1997, pp. 148-149. Task 5 – Complete the text using the following words: colourfully immortalize* developed paintings railways drawings chalk buildings boundaries development continued associated scribbling* trains Graffiti People have been (1)_________ on walls as long as they have been building them. The term ‘Graffiti’ comes from the Italian verb graffiare, meaning ‘to scratch.’ It covers a wide range of public inscriptions, from the early (2)_________ on the walls of caves at Lascaux to drawings quickly drawn on contemporary bathroom stalls. The late-twentieth century has seen the (3)_________ of a market for graffiti as an art form, although the majority of graffiti remains unsolicited* and anonymous. Historically, graffiti has been used mainly as a form of personal communication. One of the earliest uses developed in the United States among hobos* who rode the (4)_________ across the country in the first decades of the twentieth century. The complicated symbolic language of these transients was scratched* in (5)_________ on fence posts to communicate the receptivity of the townspeople to future travellers. During the 1940s the exterior walls of (6)_________ in Hispanic communities in post-war Los Angeles were increasingly decorated with a kind of marking subsequently called ‘old school.’ Before the advent of spray paint, these black-and-white drawings were drawn in marker to communicate the (7)_________ of neighbourhoods controlled by rival gangs. Although graffiti (8)_________ during the 1960s, it was not until the 1970s that it started attracting public attention as a serious social problem. The visibility of graffiti had steadily been increasing, as graffiti artists started using spray paint to cover larger areas more (9)_________ than was previously possible. By the mid-1970s the main target of graffiti artists had become the (10)_________ of the New York City subway system. Throughout the decade, the city of New York fought a battle with enterprising artists. Even as the transit authorities struggled to remove the colourful paintings, New York graffiti was achieving international recognition as part of a hip-hop culture that included rap music and break dancing. Several films (11)_________ this period, including Wild Style (1982) and Beat Street (1984). Eventually, a coating* was developed that inhibited* the application of spray paint onto the surfaces of trains, and in the 1980s a booming* art market (12)_________ an interest in graffiti marketed as an art form. Several galleries in Manhattan began specializing in graffiti art, and former graffiti artists such as Keith Haring, who got his start doing quick marker (13)_________ in his characteristic outline style, and Jean-Michel Basquiat became instant celebrities, with works selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The public fascination with graffiti faded by the end of the decade, as graffiti became increasingly (14)_________ with the activity of urban gangs. Adapted from a text by Deborah Broderson in St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Gale Group, 2002. Discussion Questions 1) What are your personal reactions to graffiti? 2) Is graffiti an acceptable form of expression? 3) Do you think that graffiti is an art form? 4) Can you think of any examples of graffiti in your environment? 5) Does the Czech Republic have a problem with graffiti? 6) Should it be encouraged, controlled, or strictly prohibited? Task 6 – Listening – Obama and Pop Culture (2:05) Listen to the news clip featuring artist Shepard Fairey's graphic rendition of Barack Obama. Go to the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q_tFP0j9C4 and fill in the gaps in the following sentences. 1) One of the most iconic images of this presidential election was created not by Barack Obama’s ____________ but by a Los Angeles street artist. 2) I’ve been making images designed to be ____________ ,provocative and iconic for twenty years. 3) Young people and artists respond to authenticity. This is the rare case that a mainstream ____________ is not behaving like a used car salesman – this is someone who I think has integrity. 4) The Internet allows these things to travel far and ____________ very quickly; it manifested physically but even more so digitally. 5) I wanted to share my art with an audience and the most direct way to do it, especially before the Internet, was to go find derelict spaces and ____________ buildings, electricity boxes on corners and just put posters up. 6) What I’m doing really is in the spirit of all of my counter cultural activities, questioning the dominant paradigm, because it is an opportunity to change the dominant ____________. Adapted from a video viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q_tFP0j9C4 on 9.8.2010. Some Opinions on Pop Culture vs. High/Low Culture Task 7 – Read the following quotes and then discuss the questions below. “Low culture is based on marketing. Low culture is what you sell the masses, and they rush out and buy the latest CD...because everybody's doing it. And in two years' time it's in the dustbin - and quite rightly so.” – Brian Sewell, Art critic. “I think the difference between high and popular culture is becoming increasingly difficult to define... I'm sure that Damien Hirst's shark, if it can be preserved in formaldehyde for another twenty, thirty years will stand the test of time because it was a ground breaking piece of art; nobody had done that before.” – Kim Evans, Executive Director, Arts Council. “The definition of what is high and what is popular culture has changed enormously over the last twenty, thirty years.” – Mark Thompson, Director of Television, BBC. “I think there's a lot of nonsense talked about distinctions between high culture and so-called* popular culture.” – Chris Smith MP, Culture Secretary. 1) How do you understand the terms ‘pop culture’, ‘high culture’, and ‘low culture’? 2) Do you make a distinction* between these terms? 3) Do you think that the terms ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture are out of date and elitist*? 4) Can you think of some examples of ‘popular culture’? 5) Can you give some examples where high and low culture overlap? Grammar – Practice with Adverbs Task 8 – Find the mistakes, if there are any. 1. The films at the festival will be simultaneous translated. 2. All the guests were warmly welcomed at the reception. 3. The study was done in a holistically way. 4. The material of his suit feels very smoothly. 5. Although the children were enthusiastically, the new fad was received cold by the parents. 6. He stayed up all night and worked hardly to get his project done on time. 7. The singer’s voice sounded very clearly at last night’s concert. 8. She looked beautifully in her designer evening dress. 9. The audience responded very appreciatively. 10. Although he looked hardly at the photo, he hardly recognized anyone. 11. The musician played so romantic on his guitar. 12. He looked at the project from a scholarly and aesthetically point of view. 13. Some people in the audience were so noisy that I could hard understand what the actors were saying. 14. Let’s go straight home after the performance ends. 15. I nearly missed the beginning of the play. 16. As an actor he is high appreciated. 17. I have a month subscription to the theatre. Vocabulary 1. *perpetual ustavičný 2. *to permit; to allow dovolit 3. *to lack something nemít, postrádat 4. *scholarly investigation vědecké, teoretické bádání 5. *to disseminate rozšířit se 6. *to be restricted to být omezen na 7. *fad, trend trend, pobláznění 8. *holistic holistický, zdůrazňující celostnost, pokládající celek za něco vyššího než souhrn součástí 9. *recognize uznat 10. *to guide something vést k něčemu 11. *to equate vyrovnat, uvést na stejnou úroveň 12. *to maintain udržet 13. *prior to, before před (časově) 14. *segment of society část společnosti 15. *simultaneous simultánní, souběžný 16. *to trace back mít původ, vysledovat do minulosti 17. *to anticipate, predict předvídat 18. *to attempt, try pokusit se 19. *awareness of vědomí čeho 20. *pattern model, ideál, vzor, vzorek, typ 21. *so-called takzvaný (ironicky) 22. *to make a distinction rozlišovat 23. *elitist elitářský 24. to immortalize učinit nesmrtelným, zvěčnit 25. to scribble čmárat 26. to scratch škrabat, škrábat 27. unsolicited nevyžádaný 28. hobo tulák, tramp 29. coating vrstva, nátěr 30. to inhibit zbrzdit 31. to boom prosperovat 32. to fade vytratit se, vymizet Word bank 1. fine arts krásná umění 2. performing arts reprodukční umění 3. visual arts vizuální umění 4. art lover milovník umění 5. high brow vysoká kultura 6. low brow nízká kultura 7. to give a performance podat výkon 8. exhibition of paintings výstava obrazů 9. to publish a new edition vydat novou edici 10. to release a musical uvést muzikál 11. to show (at the theatre, etc.) dávat něco (v divadle atd.) 12. to be on (at the theatre, etc.) být na programu (v divadle atd). 13. box office success trhák 14. blockbuster trhák 15. sold out performance vyprodané představení 16. subscription to the theatre předplatné do divadla 17. matinee odpolední představení 18. to applaud tleskat 19. critic kritik 20. review recenze, kritika 21. rave reviews výborná, nadšená kritika 22. bad reviews špatná kritika