Handout 9: Extra Credit (Pop Culture Blog)
The optional extra-credit assignment focuses on various controversial aspects of pop culture. If you choose to complete it, 3 points will be added to your course grade. In most cases, 3 points make the difference of one grade step (e.g., change a B+ and an A- . . . or an F to a D). You will receive the points only if your blog entry is error free and follows the following guidelines.
1. Read Textbook Ch. 9 “Popular Culture and Intercultural Communication”
2. Choose one of the following themes and then decide on a topic within that theme.
Theme 1: Folk Culture and its Use in Pop Culture
Folk culture (i.e., traditional clothing, music, dance, visual arts, storytelling, etc.) sometimes spreads beyond the original region or ethnic group and becomes popular as well as commercialized among a wider population, domestically or internationally. This use of folk culture for commercial purposes is often controversial.
Topic Examples (please don’t use the following examples–choose your own):
- U.S. Folk Culture and its Use in Pop Culture: The music of American folk blues legends, such as Robert Johnson, was made popular by rock bands, such as the Rolling Stones, who became famous while the original artists were not.
- Folk Culture from Abroad and its Use in Pop Culture: When Katy Perry performed a song at the American Music Awards in a Japanese kimono, she was accused of cultural appropriation of a traditional way of clothing in Japan.
Theme 2: U.S. Pop Culture and its Influence
U.S. popular culture (think movies, TV, music, popular publications, etc.) can influence deep culture, leading to changes in behaviors, customs, and values at home and abroad. These influences often cause concerns, criticism, and even legal action.
Topic Examples (please don’t use the following examples–choose your own):
- U.S. Pop Culture Influence at Home: In the United States in the 1980s, parents were concerned that violent and sexually explicit lyrics of U.S. pop music influenced U.S. deep culture to the point where their children used the same language in their day-to-day interactions. The parents feared a change in values and a corruption of U.S. youth. They formed the Parents Music Resource Center and forced record companies to put advisory labels on albums.
- U.S. Pop Culture Influence Abroad: After the introduction of TV in Bhutan in the early 2000s, children quit playing their traditional games and started play-acting things they saw on TV instead, such as wrestling moves from WWF shows imported from the United States. This kind of TV programming and its negative influence on Bhutanese culture was widely criticized in Bhutan.
Theme 3: Foreign Pop Culture and its Influence
Popular culture from other countries (think movies, TV, music, popular publications, etc.) can influence deep culture, leading to changes in behaviors, customs, and values in the foreign country and in other countries. These influences often cause concerns, criticism, and even legal action.
Topic Examples (please don’t use the following examples–choose your own):
- Foreign Pop Culture Influence in Home Country: In 2019, the Korean government suggested to limit k-pop appearances on Korean TV because the similar look of k-pop stars is considered a reason for the large number of cosmetic surgeries in Korea.
- Foreign Pop Culture Influence in Other Countries: Harry Potter (of British origin) became a craze in the 2000s, causing alarm among Christian parents in Britain and other countries concerning the book’s focus on sorcery and witchcraft.
3. Write an essay about your topic
Before you start, please read the existing entries on the blog (see Blackboard menu item: “Pop Culture Blog.” If your topic has not been covered by another student yet, you are free to post your topic. If the topic has been covered in one of the previous blog posts, you MUST write about new perspectives that the previous blog entry has not covered yet. To write your essay, follow these instructions:
- Write an essay about your topic, using the following headings to organize your post.
- Title: enter Theme 1, 2, or 3 and your topic (e.g., Theme 1: Katy Perry and Cultural Appropriation)
- Name: your name
- Word Count: should be between 800-900 words
- Introduction: background information on your chosen topic (imagine that the audience doesn’t know about it yet)
- Perspective 1: an analysis of your topic from a negative (con) perspective
- Perspective 2: an analysis of your topic from a positive (pro) perspective
- Application to Intercultural Communication: apply concepts from class to your topic, using underlined key terms from the textbook (could be Ch. 9 or other chapters)
- Reflection: your own opinion
- Embed 3-4 photos illustrating your topic. If your topic can be illustrated by video (e.g., music video, film clip), please embed a video clip instead of one of the photos. (For instructions on how to embed, see https://youtu.be/bzahoAAFfqQ).
- Cite at least 2 sources (journal articles, newspaper articles, etc.) and list them in a reference section at the bottom of your blog entry in APA or MLA style. Include a hyperlinked URL for each source (use the chain icon on the blog to hyperlink–same as for the discussion board).
- The essay should be 800-900 words long and error free.
- Submitted by the deadline (see Course Calendar).
4. Post your essay on the Pop Culture Blog on Blackboard
- Click on Pop Culture Blog on our Blackboard menu
- Click on Create Blog Entry
- As a Title, enter the Theme and your topic (e.g., Theme 1: Katy Perry and Cultural Appropriation)
- In the message box, post your blog entry
- Click on Post Entry to submit
- If you want to edit your blog entry, click on the arrow next to your title and choose “edit.”
IMPORTANT: Be prepared to present and discuss the case in class. You must be present in class to receive the extra credit. You should plan for a 4-5 minute extemporaneous presentation; i.e., don’t read from your blog entry but speak freely.
What follows is an example of a blog entry. This example is also posted on the Pop Culture Blog.
Theme 1: Katy Perry and Cultural Appropriation
Name: Veriko Gagnashvili
Word Count: 888 words
Introduction
In 2013, Katy Perry opened the American Music Award (AMA) with a Japanese theme. She dressed as a Geisha, wearing a kimono-style gown created by her stylist, Johnny Wujek. Before the performance, Perry posted her goal and expectations about the performance on Twitter: “I will be . . . taking you on a trip!!!” From this post we can tell that she was hoping to demonstrate Japanese Geisha traditions in order to take the audience on a trip to Japan’s past. The performance caused a backlash, and Perry was accused of cultural appropriation.
Video Clip of the performance [embedded on the Pop Culture Blog]: https://youtu.be/iXqcjgX-I9E?list=RDiXqcjgX-I9E
Perspective 1: Con
Although the stage and the dancers (all in a Japanese theme) looked really beautiful, a lot of people criticized Perry. For example, Rivera (2013, para. 1) wrote: “Perry is being called racist for sexualizing a traditional Japanese female figure, who is paid to serve as a hostess and excels in the art of entertainment.” Critics not only said that Perry’s costume was presenting Japanese stereotypes but also that it was shameful that she didn’t even stay true to Japanese traditions and instead mixed Chinese and Japanese styles: The fit of the dress was more like a body-hugging Chinese cheongsam than a kimono; i.e., she was appropriating Japanese culture without knowing enough about it. Jeff Yang wrote: “In short, this was a full-barreled technicolor assault on a quarter-millennium-old set of traditions that would’ve given any self-respecting denizen of Kyoto’s Gion District a massive fatal hear attack” (cited in Johnson, 2013, para. 6). The situation is made worse by Perry’s history of cultural appropriation. She has also been accused of appropriating Black culture by wearing her hair in cornrows (Woodward, 2017).
Perspective 2: Pro
On the other hand, a lot of Asian people commented that they didn’t interpret the performance as an offensive gesture; some even commented that they actually liked the show. In an interview, Perry’s stylist explained that Perry loves Japan (cited in Finn & Machado, 2013). She also pointed out that the dancers wore original geisha dresses which the stylist bought in downtown L.A. However, Perry’s dress was modernized and changed into a gown. Some people still thought that it was a tribute to Japanese culture rather than racism or stereotyping. Fox News, for example, stated that “Katy’s outfit was not offensive in any way and that cultural appropriation is becoming trendy, allowing teenagers and young adults to wear anything from any culture without being shamed” (“Katy Perry’s Geisha-Inspired AMA Getup,” 2013). There were other pro-Perry comments, where people stated that society has become so sensitive that some people seem to be looking for racism everywhere, except where real racism actually occurs.
Application to Intercultural Communication
This situation reminded me of resisting popular culture that we read about in Chapter 9. In that chapter, the authors gave the example of keeping the “fighting Sioux” as the University of North Dakota’s mascot. The mascot had become an issue in society similar to the one on this performance.
The performance can also be seen as an occurrence in popular culture that reinforces stereotypes. Many familiar stereotypes of ethnic groups are represented in the media. This includes Japanese women as kimono-wearing geishas. Stereotypes about Asians and Asian Americans are seen by some as especially problematic because these groups don’t seem to appear in the media in anything but stereotypes. It has been shown that, when people that hold stereotypes interact with actual people from the respective ethnic group, they do so differently than if they don’t hold stereotypes.
Because of the global circulation of popular culture (including Katy Perry’s performance), the problem doesn’t apply to only the United States, but is worldwide.
Reflection: My Opinion
Despite these consideration, in my opinion there was nothing racist in this performance. Perry stated on her Twitter page that all she wanted to achieve in this performance was to take the audience on a journey to Japan. I believe this performance was nothing but art and showed respect towards Japanese traditions rather than insult. This situation reminded me of resisting popular culture that we read about in Chapter 9. In that chapter, the authors gave the example of keeping the “fighting Sioux” as the University of North Dakota’s mascot. The mascot had become the similar issue in society just like this performance. During the Chapter 9 discussion, I stated that I don’t see how the mascot is insulting to anyone. I believe that with her performance, Perry actually popularized Japanese culture and reminded society about Japanese traditions. This, to me, seems to be a sign of respect. Her dress also covered up her body; i.e., to me, it didn’t seem that she was sexualizing the image of the Geisha like the critical voices concluded. I think it was a very beautiful and very effective performance. The colors very entertaining and served their role. Even though some people concluded this to be racism, there were a lot of people like myself who enjoyed watching her singing. I am not big fan of her, but I also don’t see reason to hate her. I do have one criticism, however: Although I liked the Japanese theme and decorations, I think the music didn’t match this theme. For a Japanese theme, the music should have been more calm and relaxing.
References
Finn, N., & Machado, B. (2013, November 25). Katy Perry’s stylist explains geisha-inspired outfit at amas: We love japan! Retrieved from http://www.eonline.com/news/484980/katy-perry-s-stylist-explains-geisha-inspired-outfit-at-amas-we-love-japan
Johnson, Z. (2013, November 25). Katy Perry’s geisha-inspired 2013 American Music Awards performance sparks “racist” controversy. Retrieved from http://www.eonline.com/news/484771/katy-perry-s-geisha-inspired-2013-american-music-awards-performance-sparks-racist-controversy
Katy Perry’s geisha-inspired AMA getup sparks controversy. (2013, November 24). Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/11/24/katy-perry-kicks-off-american-music-awards-with-visual-spectacular/
Rivera, Z. (2013, November 23). American music awards 2013: Katy Perry’s opening act called out as racist. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/katy-perry-amas-opening-act-called-racist-article-1.1528285
