WYLIE P1 T3 Contemporary Synthesis

Synthesis Question: Contemporary Era

Pop culture, short for 'popular' culture is easy to understand, people used popular culture starting since the earlier 19th century and in the 1960s shortened it to pop culture. Art created by painting helps clearly define the meaning and understanding of 'pop culture'. Since painting has a strong and deep meaning behind each brush stroke and color you see on the canvas, it helps us humans to know things at a mainstream movement. Which many people come to an understanding and then go out to other people to get them involved. Even though pop art occurred in a past era, it is still effective in modern society. The infamous Kony 2012 campaign used painting/art to gets it point reached across the world. As also the internet, by making videos. People prepared for April 12, 2012, a date that was saved for people to have put or make posters and paint murals around their city to let people know about the infamous African leader, Kony, and make him famous. The idea they had worked and more people understood who Kony was, which later made the campaign popular and shortly important in our social culture. Pop culture is just something many people find important and turn it into something of an everyday feeling. Many influences affect this culture, especially the media. The sensible thing of pop culture is that not everyone views  it as something important. They view it as something negative and give it many criticism so some groups follow and ignore what other was to show. Religious groups are perfect example of people who seem pop culture as something useless. 

Misael Navarro, Michael Abelev, Marc Yu, Hyrum Judkins wylie period 1 team 3

Contemporary Synthesis

People often define pop culture as the contemporary way of life and matters that are well accepted by the population. Also it is the cultural archetype that is widespread in the culture. Pop culture is the representation of the zeitgeist during the Contemporary era started in the 1990s till present. During this period of time, the pop culture is heavily influenced by the growth of technology and mass media, such as the unlimited research and globalization. Furthermore, the pop culture of the Contemporary era is in fact a modernized reflection of the past society. The main philosophy that emerged during this era was environmentalism, which shifted from narrowed issues such as chemical pollution to a wider, global concern such as global warming. Another term that came out during this period was terrorism, the terror that would devastate the entire nation. On September 11, 2001, the series of suicide attacks severely damaged and astonished the civilians of the United States. In addition, the case led to many implementations of laws, such as the U.S. Patriot Act that reduces restrictions for governmental agencies to gather private information. Moreover, the contemporary art represents the idea of remaking and reinterpreting the zeitgeist of the past eras. For example, the newly released movie Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, is considered as an epitome of the Contemporary era. In the movie, the screenwriter successfully conducted the comics back in 1963 to a successful movie in 2012.

Wylie Period 1 Team 1

Ashley Chang, Diana Kim, Justin Park, Jenny Yu

Contemporary Era Wyl. P5. T6

Pop culture is simply defined as “Commercial culture based on popular taste.” Pop culture though, is more than just a commercial culture that people follow. It has to do with being unique, and different, but at the same time, fitting in the time and culture that you’re in. In society today, people tend to like different things, but they also have to fit within what people like. For example, the artist Nicki Minaj, performs songs that many people enjoy. Anyone could have done what she had done, sing a song, become famous, and reach her dreams. In order for her to  keep her name out there, she needed to do a sense of branding. The unique attire, and the way she presents herself, causes people to take a step back and look at more than just her music. This plays a big part in pop culture, people follow, but until something new comes up, there is nothing to follow.  Novels that are written nowadays also take the “following” idea. Writers started to create novels that were based off of fan base. The syntax of novels slowly started to form into how people normally spoke to each other. Novels started to tell stories that people could relate to in their everyday life. For example, in the biography, Delivering Happiness- A path to profits, passion, and purpose, writing in this novel is very similar to the way people speak. Slang is now being used in novels as something that is normal. Pop culture displays the idea of following new things, but also the creation of new ideas.

-Nancy Lai, Kelsey Nakamura, Janelle Li, Zachary Lindecamp

Period 3 team 5

Pop culture is a combination of interests and activities that the lower and middle class share which composes the zeitgeist today. An excellent example of music from today’s pop culture would be I got a Feeling, by the Black Eyed Peas. It really reflects how great and worry-free the American life is. We don’t have to sleep with one eye open, or worry about any life threatening issues. We can instead just enjoy life and have a comfortable life. Sadly, the world we live in today, doesn’t stress the importance of art. We never needed to go to the theatre to watch a play, nor did we ever have to do the museum to look at art. It’s all online. But the paintings online that people actually put up, are mostly reflecting the scenery architecture has displayed for us today. There are pictures ranging from a cookie cutter houses along a street, to a trolley moving along its rails, to the simplicity of a man reading his book on the beach; all of which show the American life.  A drama that shows the would be Wicked, which a post storyline to the Wizard of Oz. This represents a very nostalgic mood to people as they it brings them back to their childhood.  As the amount of people who value different mediums besides digital begins to fade, society starts to lose interest. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irvine, is an example of the novels today reflects today’s society. Authors are focusing on modern society and writing stories about this time period, rather than historical ones. Hip hop dancing today is also very popular. Hip hop has been adapted to many cultures of the lower class because it acts like a voice for the voiceless.  The moment that people watch and listen to hip hop is because it is a temporary getaway for the oppressed people.  All of these define the sensibility today shows how the people today, reflect their personal feelings through different mediums of art and express themselves. Technology gives the lower classes a voice to express themselves. 

Contemporary Synthesis ash.p3.t1

According to dictionary.com, popular culture is "contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population; also called pop culture."
It is also what is distributed across many forms of mass media such as newspapers, television, radios, advertising, and internet in contrast to high forms of cultural art such as operas, classical music and artworks, traditional theater and literature. In mass communication, the term popular culture refers to messages that are designed to amuse and entertain audiences.

Disney is one example of pop culture that has highly influenced the modern world. During the early formations of Disney productions, he would borrow fairy tales and put a modern contemporary twist to them in his works. Over time, Disney grew more popular especially due to the character Mickey Mouse; in fact, it is said that Mickey was what made Disney famous, not the other way around. Nowadays, there are numerous references to Disney within today's pop culture and pop art such as television, film, movies and music. For example, the tv show The Simpsons made a great number of references within the episodes. One episode of The Simpsons includes a television show titled "P.U." written in the sky, in reference to Disney Pixar's film Up. In that same show, there are figures in the clouds that resemble the main characters from Toy Story, Monster's Inc., and Wall-E. Aside from that, there are other pop art that also references Disney's many works such as Futurama, The Fairly Odd Parents, Doctor Who, and Business Week maganize. These all help contribute to pop art by making references to an internationally recognized production company that helped catalyze today's popular culture.

The sensibility of the contemporary era (which some claim that we are still living in now) is the more open attitude towards everyday, popular attractions, not what is considered "high class" or "fancy". It signifies acceptability of different styles and works, willingness to explore further in art, and unison towards common interests and goals. In the end, it shows how closer together the communities in the world have become by spreading around popular art and culture for everyone to view for their pleasure and entertainment.

Wyl.P5.T9 Contemporary Synthesis

Contemporary Era Synthesis Question

2. Define "pop culture" and explain how certain examples of art--you choose at least one example from dance, music, painting, drama (theater), and novel writing--help to define it. What is the sensibility of "pop culture"? (Research Questions 5, 8, 9)

#2) Pop culture can be defined as ‘commercial culture based on popular taste’. However, the more accessible definition of pop culture describes it as whatever is trending within the younger generation; what songs are on the radio? Which TV shows are the most talked about? Who is the new teen heart throb? The answers to these questions would all fit the category of pop culture. Additionally, pop culture would most likely involve certain ideas or movements that are somewhat non-traditional, and that members of an older generation may object to.

One example of pop culture in the world of theater is the show, Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening was actually written in Germany in the 1800s, but due to the controversial nature of the show, was not extremely popular until recently. The play was reconstructed into musical format and set in the 19^th century, to the sound of rock music. The play deals with issues such as suicide, sex, abortion and abuse, among teenagers. These ideas, which today’s younger generation identifies with immensely, coupled with the current and exciting musical score, and finally, the fact that parents don’t generally approve, all make Spring Awakening the perfect example of a pop culture piece.

The nature of the contemporary era is a resistance to conformity and uniformity. There is a constant, unrelenting desire among teens these days to be unique and stand out. As a result, interestingly enough, “standing out” is now what’s popular and it is no longer unique. Pop culture in the contemporary seeks to satisfy these cultural trends and to define this era as its own sensation, of a like that has never before been seen. The truth of the matter is, however, and to the great dismay of the teen generation, that it has all been done before. Of course the Justin Biebers, Twilight Movies and Wickeds of this time belong solely to the contemporary era. But in terms of the idea of non-conformity, ‘pissing off’ your parents, and going against the norm, the statement, “history repeats itself”, has never been more true.   

Audrey Ford
Nicki Quiles
Gus Shettleroe

wyl.p5.t4.contemporary

Contemporary pop culture can be characterized by the break down of traditional societal structures. It is not so much a reaction and rebellion to past times, but the complete destruction of many long-held beliefs. One of the biggest contributing factors to this destruction is the technology that has developed within the last twenty years.

Technology has changed our awareness. The movement of environmentalism has stemmed entirely from the progress in science and technology worldwide. As we learn more about our surroundings through technology, we become more aware of the issues facing society. With the advent of the Internet, and social networking sites, we can also spread awareness to everyone. Through the internet, we can instantly find out what is going on in the world, not just what is going on in our city or country. This has revolutionized the way social activists bring about change, however it can also result in a pessimistic attitude.

Technology and media allow us to be more in tune with the travesties and evils of the word. This is a negative influence on many writers, as evidenced by the number of dystopian novels that are published. Now more than ever, the proportion of dystopian novels being published is at its greatest ever. One example of this is the wildly popular series of The Hunger Games. The book series, which is also becoming a movie series, features teenagers in a dystopian society fighting for their lives. This is a metaphor for how people may feel in the contemporary era.

-Joyce Alexander, Lilian Coie, Kevin He, Matt Wong