Who Was Right about Popular Culture Essay Example for Free

Who Was Right about Popular Culture Essay Popular culture or Pop Culture is the in thing today. Many people are up to it especially the youths. It emerged from different fields, from the latest fashion, latest gadgets, and latest celebrities – may it be actors or actresses or singers, latest movies, latest computer games, latest music, latest arts, to the latest party place or get away. Popular culture is something that almost every country has because in one way or another, every country influences one another. In this time, the central source of the popular culture is the United States of America and the European Countries. In the U. S., there is Hollywood which is the haven of different people who loves the latest trends in music, films, and celebrities. There is Tokyo in Japan, New York in the United States, Madrid and Italy in Europe which are the sources of the popular culture. Popular culture can be defined in many aspects, but there is one thing in common. Popular culture is characterized as impersonal. It is something that has a static dimension because popular culture changes over time. Its components are changing every time and it depends on what the season is. There are many known sociologists who write about the popular culture. There are many approaches in studying the popular culture. It has different interpretations. One of the most noted writers or thinkers of popular culture is C. L. R James and Theodor Adorno. Each of them has defined popular culture based on their sociological background and based on the thoughts they are in. As for C. L. R. James he has the Marxist influence, while Theodor Adorno was mainly influenced by Frankfurt School. The two sociologists tackle popular culture with different approach. With their given approach, it can be easily seen who is most right when it comes popular culture. In this paper I will discuss the premises they have given to come up with the right conclusion of who has the right in discussing and/or who is the better writer of the popular culture. Cyril Lionel Robert James, 1901-1989 C. L. R. James was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He went to Queen’s Royal College. He is considered as a social theorist and journalist. He is a member of Beacon Group which is related to The Beacon Magazine. The works of James are focused on the societal changes, the class status, and the types of society. He has been an activist of the equality of all men. He is the analyst of the changes in the society which has big effects on the world. But his works are all dedicated to his fellow Negros. His works are devoted for them. He has tried to uplift the status of Negroes around the world. Popular Culture for him is a hybrid of classic humanist reflexes and the receptivity in a postmodernist way to novelty, celebrity, and genre. He gave emphasis on the interplay among the creators, formats, audiences, and the capacity of people. This is based upon the production and consumption of different variations of art and entertainment. He is deeply committed to the discussion of humanist learning and popular protest. He also tapped politics and particularly the socialism. He said that culture has a commoditized form; this can be accounted to his deep attachment in literature and cricket. He said that mass audience has a big part in the emergence of classical drama and contemporary sport. The consumption of popular culture can be represented by the connection to literature and cricket. Thus, popular culture was brought about by the interaction of the individual artist and mass audience.

10,000 Hour Tenacity in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Essay -- pattern o

The Beatles, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, professional hockey players, and solo violinists all have one thing in common. Malcolm Gladwell, author of â€Å"Outliers†, is able to effectively link these different parties together though his â€Å"10,000 Hour Rule†. Gladwell states that, â€Å"practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing that makes you good† (42). Using rhetorical devices, Gladwell effectively conveys how overall success can be spotted by historical, recurring patterns or events. Malcolm Gladwell has supported himself as a reputable author as well. Using supported statistics, easily illustrated patterns, and well known examples, Gladwell fulfills the logos appeal. Also, due to his very successful works â€Å"The Boiling Point† and â€Å"Blink†, Gladwell shows his credibility as an author. Gladwell’s main purpose is to teach his audience the pattern of success, and why some people did or did not succeed. This audience is consisted of those who want to succeed, and want to create as many possibilities to reach their goal. Their main values are gaining success for themselves. Another possible audience is a group who enjoys statistics and patterns. These patterns show that around 10,000 of practice in an activity, the person becomes very proficient in that activity. Citing the Beatles, Bill Joy, and Bill Gates as his examples, Gladwell shows that practice can make perfect. Malcolm Gladwell states that to reach a level of expertise, one must practice that activity for 10,000 hours. Using rhetorical devices, tone, and logos, Gladwell efficiently supports his claim of the 10,000 hour rule. Gladwell’s style of writing begins with explaining or presenting an example of someone with success in a field. He then quickly refutes the reader’... ...a well defended argument, and was able to reinforce it well with factual evidence, rhetorical devices, and tone. Gladwell effectively uses rhetorical devices, tone, and factual evidence to support his claim of the 10,000 hour rule. Using rhetorical devices such as parallelism, facts and statistics (logos), and style of writing, Gladwell reinforces his idea of practice. Malcolm Gladwell uses his evidence to make a reader truly think about those who are successful as being hard workers, not just â€Å"lucky†. He illustrates how many well-known experts became legends in their field. This not only shows how software moguls and tycoons became wealthy or successful, but how the reader can as well: by following the old piece of advice â€Å"practice makes perfect†. Works Cited Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and, 2008. ________Print

Alternatives to Incarceration Essay

In today’s economy keeping people in prison is becoming an ugly, expensive mess. There are now so many alternatives to incarceration that we need to explore and start using. Johnny Cash wrote a song called â€Å"Folsom Prison Blues† describing the angst of inmates, permanently immortalizing them in the publics minds. However, now that prisons across the country are running out of resources and space, it is the prison officials who are feeling the blues. There are a number of alternatives that are used for offenders who have committed non-violent crimes. The options can range from probation all the way to public shaming. For those who have been convicted of drunk driving, public shaming might have the most impact. In some states, convicted offenders will be made to drive around with signs put on their cars stating that they have been convicted. No one convicted of this sort of crime runs around announcing what they have done because its embarrassing. In general most prefer to keep it a secret because it is humiliating. With signs pasted to their vehicles, there is no way to escape the public knowing what they have done. Another option used for drunk driving is the use of a breathalyzer. This device is installed into the offenders car and the car is actually programmed not to start if they are intoxicated. This could put a definite damper on party habits. Another alternative that has popped up is based out of Texas. Texas is one of the last few states that enforces the death penalty and also has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Ironically, a state with such an â€Å"iron fist† reputation, has started to put offenders on probation and sentence them to read as opposed to prison time. This trend has slowly started to spread across the United States. Offenders and repeat offenders are ordered to attend a specific reading group where they get into discussions over classics like â€Å"Of Mice and Men† and â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird.† A study was done from 1997 to 2008 and it was discovered that only 6% were either sent back to jail or had their probations revoked. Another perk of this program is that it only costs taxpayers $500 a year as opposed to the $30,000 a year it takes to keep an inmate imprisoned. This programs seems to work best for those who have been convicted of crimes involving robbery or drug abuse. It gives them a chance to have a voice and even a sense of identity and confidence. Another tough crime to address as far as sentencing goes, is when a person is arrested and that individual is mentally ill. For the longest time when someone was arrested for drug possession, trespassing or any other non-violent offense, they were automatically sent to jail or probation, regardless of their mental instability. Now it seems, there is a new option of an alternative court type setting where attorneys, mental health organizations, and the judge work together to coordinate a treatment option that will ensure the offender will stay on the right path. So many people are incarcerated who have mental illnesses, yet have never had the opportunity to be officially diagnosed and continue to go untreated. Providing treatment is the right thing to do, it is humane, and is even more cost effective then incarceration. Overall the criminal justice system needs to really start to change the way certain offenders are handled and then pretty much lost in the system. It effectively helps to create more and more offenders and even encourages repeat offenders. Financially for taxpayers it makes more sense. It is cheaper to provide outpatient options and treatments then to pay to keep an offender confined in prison. Aside from all of this, the criminal justice system needs to remember these low level offenders are still human beings. We all make mistakes and deserve to do the appropriate punishments, but a lot of these mistakes might just benefit more from appropriate treatment programs and interventions. Hard prison time is not always the best answer. References: 1) The Economist, July issue, 2010 2) Nolo.com 3) American Psychological Association 4) The Guardian, July, 2010

Developing Sub Saharan Africa Essay - 1158 Words

Some of the world’s poorest countries, with some of the highest child labor and illiteracy rates lie in Sub Saharan Africa. People generally associate the region only with poor economic conditions and all of the social disorder that goes along with 3rd World Status. While some of this reputation is deserved, many people are also failing to see the vast potential for this part of the world. There are several factors that African governments should look into if they want to effectively and efficiently revamp this areas quality of life. One way to do so is by improving the more crucial aspects to healthy functioning region, for example, allowing children to possess their natural rights to a decent education. This could influence an increase†¦show more content†¦Not only do the citizens have to be proactive on solving this situation, but so do the African governments. The reason why Sub Saharan Africa is undergoing such a rapid growth of population is because of the desi re to have more male children. It is almost cultural that a family in this region is to have at least two male offspring (UNICEF). They believe men can help more with the family’s crops and laborious work than the females. Therefore, if a woman only bares female children, she will continually make every effort until she births a male, leaving the growing family with one jam-packed house. Men also have more of an economic opportunity in this region due to the fact that they are taken more seriously. If gender biased laws were put into place and were rigorously enforced, it will most certainly have a lasting impact for the better of Sub Saharan. Family size is also a huge contributor to the population catastrophe. Generally, a family in this region is consisted of around five to six children (Bridge). The reason for women to bare so many children is because of the high risk of infant mortality. Since children’s health has improved in the 1980’s, women continued to have the same number of kids. However, more lived, which then pushed fertility rates even higher (World Religions, Environment, Development 233). In order for Sub Saharan to stabilize their flourishingShow MoreRelatedWhat Role Does Foreign Aid Play? Developing Countries?1466 Words   |  6 PagesWhat Role Does Foreign Aid Play in Developing Countries? Many countries around the world receive foreign aid from the United States and other developed countries every year in large sums. This money is dispersed throughout the receiving country, it is the hope of the United States that this will help to create development economically and politically as well as promote the belief of democracy in these countries. 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