Many things in American culture have been "religified". Disney probably has one of the largest followings around the world. Each Disney movie has it's own unique following that's more specific than the broad Disney following. That goes for many other movies as well. A step down from movies are TV shows. Shows like Lost, Star Trek, Seinfeld have their own fan base that religiously follow every episode and every character.
Culture in America is set by the media. To make viewers keep watching they form these shows and characters that are catchy and easy to relate to. One of the biggest examples of this I can think of is Oprah Winfrey.
People like Oprah Winfrey because she is a charming and charismatic person. She is an easy person for many to relate to because she grew up in poverty, being raped and abused. Many people she has featured on her show needed help with difficult and similar situations. She makes people feel comfortable. On her show they set her up as a comforting and loving person (which I'm sure she is anyways).
Because Oprah gives advice and helps a lot of women they see her almost as a savior. The Wall Street Journal came up with the term "Oprahfication" to define public confessions as therapy. People have also coined the term "Oprah Effect" to speak of the influence and push she has over topics. issues, opinions and endorsements. She endorses books for her book club. She also endorsed president Obama, gaining him many followers which showed how much her opinions mean to some people.
In 1998 Oprah's show had an estimated 14 million daily viewers. In 2008 her show was airing in 140 countries. The biggest followers of the Oprah "religion" are women, Baby Boomers, Generation X, southern Americans and East Coast Americans.
Though Oprah at times speaks religiously there are certain Christian groups that reject her saying she has an "anti-biblical agenda"(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10661411987). Many others claim she is a racist, a hypocrite, and a show off. There are even lists of reasons why people hate Oprah and why you should hate her too (ex:http://www.alternet.org/media/145084/10_good_reasons_you_should_hate_oprah_winfrey.
However, with as many haters out there there are twice as many, if not more, dedicated Oprah fans that will religiously defend her until the very end. She is a very important person in our culture and she has, in a way, defined the way a lot of people think.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Popular Music Supporting Violence
There are many types of popular music out there today that support violence. I'm going to focus on two specific artists who's music is considered two different types of genres and for the most part has two separate fan bases.
Eminem is a very popular and very controversial artist because his lyrics have touched on violence towards women and men. His biggest controversy is not over physical violence with other men, but over the way he treats women. In many of his songs he talks badly about his mother and the mother of his child. He talks about the violent things he wants to do or has supposedly done to them. I found a website (http://www.jacksonkatz.com/eminem2.html ) that gives multiple other reasons why Eminem is "bad" for women.
Insane Clown Posse is a popular but more underground band. I personally think they're disgusting and would rather listen to Eminem any day. They consider themselves "horrorcore" hip-hop. Some of their lyrics have focused on cannibalism, murder and necrophilia. They obviously do not do these things in real life and are under the "illusion" Klosterman touches on in his Appetite for Replication article but their lyrics still send this message out. People may argue that other lyrics of theirs oppose racism, bigotry, child abuse and domestic violence but does that really make talking about those other subjects okay?
The part that bothers me the most about these artists aren't necessarily the artists themselves, but the fans. Not the people who listen to their singles on the radio (in Eminem's case) or have one or two songs they'll occasionally listen to on their iPods. I mean the hardcore dedicated fans. Eminem has plenty who idolize him and think everything he says is true, making them violent and sexist people. Insane Clown Posse has even more dedicated followers (Juggalos) who go to their shows and follow with a mob type fashion. If the crowd doesn't like the people preforming before them they've been known to chant things, boo them and even throw things at them until they leave the stage. To my knowledge ICP does not stop this behavior or apologize for it. In a TMZ article ( http://www.tmz.com/2010/08/16/insane-clown-posse-tila-tequila-gathering-of-the-juggalos-violent-j-warning-show-concert/ ) one of the band members simply says "I wish they didn't throw stuff at her." However, never addressed the fans saying he was ashamed or upset with them for acting that way, which is part of the problem.
These musicians themselves have been known to get into fights, hitting their own fans or getting into altercations with people in public. They themselves act violently and when their fans act violently they do nothing to stop it. When male violence is shown in the media like this and nothing is done to stop it and there are no real consequences what message does that send? It's just going to be a cycle of fans following their idols, becoming more and more violent by encouraging each other.
Eminem is a very popular and very controversial artist because his lyrics have touched on violence towards women and men. His biggest controversy is not over physical violence with other men, but over the way he treats women. In many of his songs he talks badly about his mother and the mother of his child. He talks about the violent things he wants to do or has supposedly done to them. I found a website (http://www.jacksonkatz.com/eminem2.html ) that gives multiple other reasons why Eminem is "bad" for women.
Insane Clown Posse is a popular but more underground band. I personally think they're disgusting and would rather listen to Eminem any day. They consider themselves "horrorcore" hip-hop. Some of their lyrics have focused on cannibalism, murder and necrophilia. They obviously do not do these things in real life and are under the "illusion" Klosterman touches on in his Appetite for Replication article but their lyrics still send this message out. People may argue that other lyrics of theirs oppose racism, bigotry, child abuse and domestic violence but does that really make talking about those other subjects okay?
The part that bothers me the most about these artists aren't necessarily the artists themselves, but the fans. Not the people who listen to their singles on the radio (in Eminem's case) or have one or two songs they'll occasionally listen to on their iPods. I mean the hardcore dedicated fans. Eminem has plenty who idolize him and think everything he says is true, making them violent and sexist people. Insane Clown Posse has even more dedicated followers (Juggalos) who go to their shows and follow with a mob type fashion. If the crowd doesn't like the people preforming before them they've been known to chant things, boo them and even throw things at them until they leave the stage. To my knowledge ICP does not stop this behavior or apologize for it. In a TMZ article ( http://www.tmz.com/2010/08/16/insane-clown-posse-tila-tequila-gathering-of-the-juggalos-violent-j-warning-show-concert/ ) one of the band members simply says "I wish they didn't throw stuff at her." However, never addressed the fans saying he was ashamed or upset with them for acting that way, which is part of the problem.
These musicians themselves have been known to get into fights, hitting their own fans or getting into altercations with people in public. They themselves act violently and when their fans act violently they do nothing to stop it. When male violence is shown in the media like this and nothing is done to stop it and there are no real consequences what message does that send? It's just going to be a cycle of fans following their idols, becoming more and more violent by encouraging each other.
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