Pop Culture

I have been in the US for almost two years. I think music is one of revelations that I have had as consumer of pop culture. Before I came here, I have never listened American pop music. However, after I came to US and heard some pop music, I changed my mind. And American horror movie that I really like it because it can make me feel scared. For instance, “The Saw”, “Thirteen Ghosts” and so on. However, I don’t like American TV shows because I think they are so exaggerated.

Before I took this class, I didn’t have any idea about what I will learn. And after four classes, I know a bit of what pop culture is. The four components of pop culture have object, people, events and place those can affect our life. And now, I know what different between pop culture and high culture. Pop culture is more temporary, such as pop music and present films. High culture is like intelligentsia, such as classical music and some visual arts. Although they are different, we can find them nearby our side.

Cultural Identity

In this poster, I would explain why I chose these pictures. In the top left, these have two pictures about novels of ZITA LAW who is a famous author form Hong Kong. Many Hong Kong people like reading so government hold book exhibition in every year and the price is very cheap. In the center of picture, the man wears mask because in 2003, Hong Kong had a trouble disease-"SARS ". In that year, everybody wear mask for wherever they went, such as school, work place, shopping mall. However, some people dead in that catastrophe. In addition, there has a picture about Chinese Zodiac Sign in bottom right. Chinese Zodiac Sign is like horoscope. It can predict about how lucky you are and what bad luck you will have.

Reading

In pop culture class, we read many different articles and the one of article that is “Rule of Thumbs: Love in the Age of Texting” makes me have a deep feeling. The author and her friend were always texting message to keep their relationship. However, she didn’t want to continue because she thought this was lack of communication. I think not only they had this situation. For example, my friend, she is always texting message with her boyfriend. Even if they quarrel, they are still use message to resolve. Maybe technology is becoming more advanced; many people don’t like to talk by face to face. I think it is very easily to make people have distance of communication.

Music

My favorite song is “Forever Love” and the artist is X Japan who came from Japan. X Japan was a famous band in Japan. However, they disbanded in 1997 and their one of guitarist members dead on 1998. Although X Japan was visual rock band, but this song’s type was more soft and sad. This song released in 1996 “Forever Love” Album and it was their highest first song in Japanese charts. The song described a sweet couple, but the girl dead. However, the boy still remembered the girl after many years because she was his forever love.

Movies

The phantom of the opera came out in 2005 and the director was Joel Schumacher. Phantom (Gerard Butler) who was a talent tenor but as his deformity of face and lived in circus that always maltreat to him, he was afraid to in touch with people. When he escaped circus, he lived a basement of Paris Opera. After, Christine (Emmy Rossum) who was a soprano appeared. She was very pretty and attractive to Phantom. For this reason, he decided to help Christine became a famous soprano. However as his face, he cheated Christine he was a spirit and taught her to sing. When Christine became a famous soprano, her childhood sweetheart Raoul (Patrick Wilson) who appeared and Phantom was very jealousy and started crazy.

This movie was very interested to me because it didn’t like traditional movie, it was more like an opera. Although I was not one hundred percent to understand what they sang, I am really like these songs that appeared in the movie. For example, Phantom was like a crazy person to take Christine went back to his basement. After, Raoul went to basement and saved Christine. At that time, they used song to replace their dialogues. I like this movie so much because the songs in the movie are pretty graceful and the plot was not bored to people. And I think many girls are like Christine because they always want to have a handsome boyfriend or they choose boyfriend who need to have a pretty face. For this reason, when I saw this movie, I could understand why Christine would escape him though I think Phantom was very poor.

Technology

Technology is becoming more advanced. Computer, cell phone, TV and so on are technology products. However, if no computer and cell phone in this world, I think I will die. In computer, I can read news, watch TV shows and see films. In addition, cell phone can make our life convenience because we can use it to connect other people. And now, we can also use cell phone to see other person. I cannot imagine if I don’t have these technologies, how I could live in this world.

Glog

http://uspop.glogster.com/uspop

That line is Radha, Yanling and me to make it. After you click in this line, you will see four photos of pop culture in CHICAGO. The first photo is the big watch that is in Macy’s shopping mall. The second photo is the tall building. It is the night view in CHICAGO. The third photo is CHICAGO’s famous theater that is high culture. And the last photo is CHICAGO’s library. It is the large library in CHICAGO.