Formulas

Eric Potts II

HUMN240

05/04/2014

The formula used in my popular culture is religious myths, rather believed to be true or not, this formula has not changed for most religions. There are those religions who do not stick to the religious dogma as time changes our society. Religion in America has mostly been telling the stories of good verses evil, the ying and yang of life. There is always the higher being that is far more powerful than the mortals, and the mortals need this higher power to defeat the enemy or the evils. It’s always a great battle between the two which will go on to the end of time. The higher being known as God, has characteristics of love, peace, and power. God promotes unity for all people to be able to live amongst one another, and to love thy neighbor.

            By selecting the topic Religion on America, the formula deals directly with the religious aspect of my topic. Describing, analyzing, or evaluating my topic would just repeating myself over and over again, I want to stay away from that for my reader’s sake. Throughout the journey of studying my popular culture I came to the realization that there are stories and teachings put in place to gain some sort of power. In other words, some leaders of certain religions teach to gain power, money, and fame. Some of the teachings are nothing more than a show. The great thing about God is he has given all of us free will/ the gift of choice. We as humans have the choice to believe whatever we choose and seek the truth for ourselves. Some people’s truths will be different than the next mans, but you can do whatever works for you. I’ve learned that God always prevails in the end.

        

The Language of Hip-Hop

Eric Potts II

HUMN240-H4WW

05/01/2014

For my chosen article I choose Rakim, Ice Cube then Watch the Throne:

Engaged Visibility through Identity Orchestration and the Language of Hip-Hop

Narratives by David W. Rice, only because of my love for hip-hop music and the culture. David is a psychology professor at Morehouse College and also the Principle Investigator of the Identity Orchestration Research Lab. His objective throughout this particular article was to widen the outlook of grassroots stereotypes over the black men. Some of the stereotypes perceived as the black man being criminal, athlete, or entertainer just to name a few. Easily the misinterpretations and narrow understanding of black masculinity positioned the black male voice to be somewhat invincible. One of the platforms used by the black males to speak, teach, and narrate their life stories is the popular culture known as hip-hop. The author had to be very cautious when summarizing black man through any one particular prospective in regards to hip-hop, which is very important in any form of work because instead of attempting to enlighten those who are narrow minded and stereotype, David’s work could have been stereotypical as well as hypocritical.

            In this article David utilized a small portion of lyrics from some of the most pronounced hip-hop artists of two different generations, Rakim, Ice Cube, Jay-Z, and Kanye West. Rakim and Ice Cube for one era then Jay-Z with Kanye West for the next era. Comparing the lyrics of each of the artist, breaking down the meaning behind the parables for those who are not fans or don’t understand the hip-hop language, is David’s main goal with this article. In these parables the artist tells stories of their lifestyle including the upbringing, daily activities, and hardships they have to endure. While analyzing the lyrics of the artist, David uses his knowledge of psychology implementing the principle of Identity Orchestration research to define the purpose of the artist lyrics.

            As I read through the article I was surprisingly amazed by the way David examined and explained the meaning behind the work of art with the artist. Personally being a huge fan of every one of the hip-hop artist used in this article, I can identify the feeling put into the work of the artist, I can understand the pain their feeling because I am apart of the culture. I now understand that these artists are speakers, motivators, and teachers of a whole cultures lifestyle, and if we as the audience don’t try understand the true meaning of what’s behind the parables then we too are subject to making the mistake of stereotyping the black man. David was on point and accurate when he used his research of Identity Orchestration to recognize the black male in it’s entirety without judging.

            I truly believe in the importance of introducing a formula to understanding different cultures that will ultimately assist with eliminating the prejudice thoughts we deal with. What is also a very point that David made was a black male’s transition from adolescent to men, elaborating on the way they showed maturity through their lyrics. Even the hip-hop culture has grown immensely because more people form different lifestyles are beginning to understand.

References

1.  RICE, DAVID WALL, (2013,Feb). Journal of Popular Culture. , Vol. 46 (Issue 1), p173-191. 19p. DOI: 10.1111/jpcu.12020.

               

My Hero  - Not to be judged

 My Hero

Eric Potts

HUMN240-H4WW

04/26/2014

            Think of my popular culture topic being religion on America, why it is so important, and how does it affect us today? In every type of religion worldwide there is an idolized object or higher supernatural being at the forefront. This object or being is looked upon as the God. Many of them share some of the same characteristics like power, creation, strength, peace & love just to name a few. Even though there has to be a ying to every yang, the religious teachings tend to show the goodness of the being or object. In the bible there are some stories in the Old Testament that will speak on the wrath of God. An example that could be easily recognized is in the story of Noah, when God released a flood on all the Land killing people, animals, and destroying the land, only to renew it again. Yes there was a valid reason behind Gods wrath, but to those who fail to study Gods word can easily make assumptions and criticize the biblical teachings.

            The stories of the bible in the New Testament speak on Jesus Christ, who is the son of the almighty powerful God. Jesus was Gods gift to the earth for all of the living things and people in it. The bible elaborates on Jesus life with all of the miracles he performed for the sick, lost, and even the dead. Still today if you ask who is your hero to any believer of Christianity faith, most of the time they will tell you Jesus Christ. Jesus is the hero for all believers because he traveled the lands teaching the gospel to the people and sacrificing his life so all of the people in the world for generations and generations to come to be forgiven for all sins, live in peace, and have everlasting life in a place where there is no pain known as Heaven.

            As a hero, some people would take Jesus dying for our sins as his tragic flaw because of the powers he portrayed. The common question was why he would allow the less powerful people of the government to kill him. Like I said earlier in the text, there was a reason for him going through the pain and torture he did. The insight I received from the hero aspect in the stories of the bible is there has to be a rise and a fall or vice versa for every hero to capture the attention of the masses. People love to see the weakness of everything great, I guess it’s human nature.         

Rituals and Stereotypes in Religion

 Rituals and Stereotypes in Religion

Eric Potts II

HUMN240-H4WW

J. Poston

04/19/2014 

My popular culture topic is religion, so many of us throughout history have built a foundation in our lives of what we believe in which makes us who we are. Most Americans today believe in some sort of religion, living life and making decisions based on the dogma and abiding by the laws of their beliefs. Every religion has its own rituals to worship and praise. Many religions use the ritual of meditation for praising and connecting to their supernatural entity. In my past and present I have studied on a couple different religions, the one that is the most familiar to me is Christianity. Believers of Christianity are called Christians. Christians have many different rituals, attending a praise and worship service every Sunday of each week, blessing their food before they eat, and dressing in casual clothing when they attend their weekly service. These types of rituals have been going on for centuries with the Christians, and being taught and passed on from generation to generation. 

            Religious people separate themselves from other religions and non-religious people by what they believe. I am not indicating that believers of different religions and non believers of religions can’t coincide, but to simplify my statement I am implying that religions form cultures by what they believe. Since they are different in many ways people have the tendencies to form stereotypes about them. Some widely known stereotypes about the Christians is they think other religions are wrong for what they believe, and people think they are hypocritical. When in fact whoever is formulating a stereotype about any group, becomes the person who is wrong because no one person has the authority to judge an individual by the group their apart of.

            With applying these theories to the popular culture I chose (religion), I have grown to learn the importance of not being so stereotypical of people because of what group they are apart of. The rituals in religions and the stereotypes about religions are very important to each religion, since all religions are continuously trying to build their community and grow. So the perception of religious people from outsiders affects the religions ways of advertisement to reaching out to the masses.         

Jordan's, Playstation 4, and Labron James

Contemporary Icons

           

            The three contemporary icons that first came to mind for this era of popular culture is Michael Jordan tennis shoes, Play station 4, and the great King Labron James. It seems to me that these three pop culture icons arrive in many of the conversations I have with the adolescent groups I work with on a weekly basis through a youth program called Ambassadors. I realize how important fashion is to everyone in this new day and age, because it can easily define one’s personality as well as their popularity. My reasoning for choosing the Nike Air Jordan tennis shoes is because of the demand for the shoe on every release date. Last month I took a trip to Eastland mall here in Columbus Ohio, with my son to purchase him a pair of Jordan’s he has been wanting for a while. Every store that sold Jordan’s told me they were sold out of the shoe within the first hour of opening. I thought to myself, WOW that’s a lot of money the Jordan brand company just made. Then one of the employees from the shoe stores randomly told me the price of the shoes, he said they were priced at $245.00. I couldn’t believe it.

           

Access to the world in the palm of my hand

Popular Culture is trends, fads, and events that capture the attention of the general population. To me popular culture gives us advertisement and information about what is actively the latest and coolest information, fashion, or products out for the public to obtain.

Popular culture is important to the business environments in every way shape, form, or fashion because every business priority is to know what is in the audience best interest. Every successful business has to market it’s product to sell their product. The most effective way to market anything is to do something that captures the audience attention. It is extremely important in my present and future career for me to understand popular culture because it gives me an advantage to have in mind what attracts customer’s attention.

The first thing that came to mind as I searched for important pop culture artifact is the cell phone. The cell phone industry sky rocketed in the past century. It seems everyone I know from the ages 11 years old and up owns a cellular device. The handheld cellular provides you with access to contacting anyone from anywhere at anytime. They also provide access to the worldwide internet that contains all the information you need in your daily life. I personally know people who do not know what to do with their selves without their cell phone.