Many argue that culture, along with the norms and traditions of humans of all different backgrounds is one the most important aspect of our species. Some take this belief to an entire new level. In the article titled “Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What?”, by James Salter, argues that literature 's importance in modern day society is dying because pop culture is overtaking it. Salter begins his article by writing about the importance of language, claiming that “is the requisite for the human condition.” Salter then goes on to talk about the ongoing death of literature, arguing that pop culture, such as “Star Wars”, is more popular over masterpiece literature topics. Overall, Salter does not write an effective argument because of his problems …show more content…
While reading the article, Salter reads a sentence which in turn makes him stop and question himself about culture itself and what has become of it. According to Salter, “Culture is language, art, history, and customs.” This statement is an example of the oversimplification fallacy. The word “culture” is such an extremely broad and vague word which can have countless definitions, and to define simply in four words is absurd. In an attempt make his argument, Salter also ineffectively relates greek mythology to the disaster crisis of literature. He attempts to do this by trying to draw a connection with the Greek Gods of reason and chaos to literature and pop culture. In doing so, Salter creates an example of the False Analogy fallacy. Salter’s attempt of trying to connect these to unrelated ideas also is an example of his elitist persona. Salter’s sentence structure is within this paragraph is so difficult to fathom that an average reader would have to do some research on his word choice and re-read multiple times to even get a small idea at what he is trying to get across. Salter is trying to hard to be …show more content…
Salter argues that the values of age old standards are being “cast aside” and uses “Star Wars” as an example. Salter believes that “junk” like “Star Wars” is a rip off of the Trojan War. Salter gives an example of the Name Calling fallacy when he uses the word “junk” against “Star Wars”. It is odd how Salter changes his word choice from very sophisticated words to such a weak words as “junk”. That is not the only place that Salter turns to name calling in order to get his point across. Salter says “it is frightening to think of a glib, soulless, pop culture world”. This remark within the article can also be identified as the Polarization fallacy. It is very extreme to express culture, something so important that we base our everyday lives upon it, as “glib” and “soulless”. It is very childish how Salter has to go such levels to make an argument. Salter states that “figures of authority say that Beatle 's song will be played 300 years from now” and that “if Richard Wagner were still alive, he would be a movie director.” Salter uses this remark in order to make a connection about having no idea what direction society heading towards with literature and culture. His word choice of “figures of authority” is unprofessional because that combination of words is so indistinct. This can be an example of his lack of evidence because making a claim and using “figures of authority”
He defines culture in two different ways in one he claims culture as part of a “Technology of Control”. He goes on to explain his reasoning by saying people in today’s societies follow their cultural boundaries in fear of having consequences if they were not to follow them. He explains how the consequences would not be severe but little implements similar to being the ‘odd’ one in your society. In the other definition he explains how he believes culture can also be described as a “Particular Network of Negotiations”. If you obey you are rewarded if you do not then it would lead to you eventually being blamed by your society. This is where Edna Pontellier comes into
6)According to many people who are conversant with popular culture, it has two opposing arguments. One of the argument states that the elite use popular culture to control or have dominance over those below them because it dulls people minds making it easy for them to be controlled. The second arguments is just the opposite of the first argument. It states that popular culture is the vehicle or a tool for rebellion against the culture of dominate groups. Therefore dueto this arguments popular culture mostly seen as inferior culture. Hence one is left wondering who decides or determines which category it falls into. Again one is left wondering who can and
In the article, “Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What?” by James Salter, a novelist, by discussing the importance of language and literature, he believes pop culture is a threat to these customs. Salter states that without language there is nothing; without words there can be no understanding of nature, of the human condition, of the world which surrounds us. He goes on to state that learning language is the single most important task a person must accomplish. He writes that without language a human cannot describe or understand such powers as God or the beauty of the universe. Salter blames pop culture for the decline in the use of books and lack of interest in classic literature. While language
Popular Culture has changed drastically over the decades with the biggest question being whether or not popular culture is a positive or negative expression of our ideas and reflections. American Pop Culture has an extremely important role that influences the United States and around the world. There are countless topics that make up pop culture and it is nearly impossible to name all of them. Some of the topics are Television, Music, Religion, Politics, Arts, Economy, Education, Family roles and structures. Three of the cultures that I believe has changed the most and seems to cause the most controversy are television, music and religion.
1) I agree that pop culture is always changing and that the young generation are the ones who are mainly in control of it. The reason I believe this is because there are new videos and memes that become popular that younger people are always coming up with. Something that I had a question about was the concept that pop culture was a part of capitalism because that didn’t make much sense to me seeing as though pop culture is just what’s popular at the time and not controlled by higher status people.
The United States is a country with a diverse existing population today; this country is known as a melting pot of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect. Culture; differentiate one societal group from another by identification beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, Art, fashion styles, food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong, ever changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing culture shapes our patterns of behavior as well thinking. The Culture’s significance is so intense that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. Culture becomes the telescope through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. Trying to define the perplexing term of culture with varying component of distinguishable characteristics is difficult to restrict. Presenly, culture is viewed as consisting primarily of the symbolic, untouched and conception aspects of human societies.
“Culture” is a term that over the years, has taken many forms, served many purposes and has been defined in a variety of contexts. At the rise of the industrial era, inhabitants of rural areas began to migrate to cities, thus starting urbanization. As this new era began to unfold, urbanization, mass production, and modernization became key ingredients in the transformation of culture. As more people became literate and the production of mass media such as magazines, pamphlets, newspapers etc. increased, many had the option and desire to identify collectively – popular culture began to rise. Popular or “mass” culture can be described as a “dynamic, revolutionary force, breaking down the old barriers of class, tradition, taste, and dissolving
Sometimes one can wonder if a trend impacted pop culture or if it was pop culture that started a trend. It can seem that most of the time it is a combination of both. It appears our culture is drawn to viral videos and trends. This may be because by taking a few minutes of our day to watch what is popular, we are able to connect with thousands (or even millions) of people. One can analyze our pop culture by examining what has become popular in Youtube culture as it has 1 billion active users each month (The Huffington Post), making it present in the life of most internet users. With an estimated number of 300 hours of new content uploaded to Youtube per minute (expandedramblings) it should be no surprise that many Youtubers try to copy popular
Showing different cultures around the world through entertainment would be more relevant than always advertising popular culture. Results in broadening knowledge about culture as a whole would be shown. It is important for young generations to observe various forms of culture. Some may disagree saying that American culture is the most important, because America is the country in which the viewers live. Pop culture does not always demonstrate appropriate behavior for young minds to absorb in everyday life.
The Effects of Popular Culture on Society Popular Culture is music, dance, theatre, film,T.V., poetry and Art which is enjoyed by a wide group of people. Some people would argue that popular culture in the 1960's cause harm. Other people however argued that other factors brought harm and change to society. Some people would argue that music would cause harm because of the lyrics in pop songs. Lyrics like 'Lets spend the night together' by The Rolling Stones, influenced young people to have casual sex.
Which in turn, reflects on us as we grow and develop our opinions of the world around us. As a child, being exposed to all the shallow, uptight, narcissistic mentality that pop culture puts off, my view on how I should be and act was severely altered. When someone that I admire or look up to is behaving a certain way, I 'm most definitely more inclined to act that way as well. The same is applicable to those around me as well, hence the judgmental and harsh environment I was exposed to. Now obviously the blame cannot solely be put on pop culture, we are human beings, and we make our own decisions in life, but the younger we are, the harder it is to distinguish between what is our own and what has been drilled into us. I believe that technology has opened that gap a little, for the children of this
When speaking on the topic of celebrity culture, Mic Mell, the author of “Is Celebrity Culture Destroying Our Society,” says that, “They make an easy object of obsession, as celebrities are ubiquitous. The paparazzi have helped this craze by blurring the line between private citizens and public persona.” In recent discussions of the fascination with celebrity culture, a controversial issue has been whether or not the obsession with celebrities that is seen in America has had negative emotional and psychological effects on women in today’s society.
Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change” (John Podhoretz). It encompasses the advertisements we see on T.V, the clothes we wear, the music we listen too, and it’s the reason Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar yet. It defines and dictates the desires and fears of the mainstream members of society; and it is so ingrained into our lives that it has become as natural as breathing. Moreover, adults never even bat an eyelash at all the pop culture and advertising that surrounds them since it has become just another part of everyday life. Pop culture is still somewhat seen as entertainment enjoyed by the lower class members of society; but pop culture standards change over time. A notable example of this is the sixteenth century author, William Shakespeare, since his works were considered pop culture, entertainment that could be enjoyed by everyone, but now they are considered literary classics. While pop culture encompasses most aspects of our lives, its influence is most obvious through each generations reaction to media,
Culture, defined as the art and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. This can be anything from human’s paintings to their photography. Or, it could be their films. The endless movies that come out year after year, some even simple remakes of ones made years ago. But, even if they are simply remakes, we pay to view almost every last one of them. Movies impact everyone. And doing so impacts, what was defined prior, culture. In society today, the movies bombards teens with images and trends. Movies show popular culture; what the trends are, what people should be wearing, what they should be listening to, how they should act, and what they should look like. Pop culture, in turn, defines what one should
Pop culture is a culture that is popular in a certain country. It is usually temporary, random, and will change quickly. Pop culture can be the same in connected developed countrie or it can be relegated to one country. Indigenous is the opposite. It is old, it is table, but it can lose its luster because of globalization . Pop culture makes everyone dress the same way, leading to decades known as the 70s, 80s, 90s. These eras are defined by styles of clothing, cars, and music. We will be studying this topic in class because we want to learn about the ways writing and argument strategies cam influence a person’s point of view of pop culture, or pop culture as a whole. Some of the rhetorical strategies that we have been using can be attributed