Assignment 1-4-3: Written Analyses-Analysis 2

Facebook Stereotypes and Rituals

            This blog will discuss some of the stereotypes when it comes to the website, Facebook. In addition, it will explain some of the rituals that people go through everyday pertaining to Facebook. I will state how these theories describe Facebook. Finally, I will mention the insights that I gained from applying these theories to Facebook.

Facebook Stereotypes

            There are many stereotypes that people have against Facebook. For instance, Facebook might seem unsafe when it comes to children logging on. This is untrue. There is a program that you can run so that a parent can track the people that go on to your child’s wall. Additionally, some people might think that Facebook exposes their information to the public without their approval. Again, this is untrue. The only way people can see on your wall is if you let them. There are settings that one can set to limit certain people from accessing the information that one does not want them to see (Petracca & Sorapure, 2010).

Facebook Rituals

            There are rituals that people have when it comes to Facebook. First, each person haves his or her own preference when it comes to the games that they play on Facebook. For instance, I like a game called Farmville. Each day, I try to log on to attend to my farm duties. I know this sounds funny, but I know people who do this every day. Some people even spend their hard-earned cash to buy items for their farms. Of course, I do not take it to the extremes. In my opinion, there are no differences in doing this than when one goes and buys a video game from the store for their gaming systems. These are free games and they are fun. Furthermore, I do have a tendency to go YouTube from Facebook and post music videos on my wall. This is a ritual that I tend to do almost every day. I love music so this is a big part of my interests and I like to post to my wall to inform people of my interests (Petracca & Sorapure, 2010).  

Insights on Stereotypes and Rituals

            I never really thought of the stereotypes and rituals when it comes to Facebook. Now that I have had a chance to actually stop and think about it, there are many stereotypes against Facebook and many rituals that people have when it comes to Facebook. Considering this, Facebook is still a great website to have fun and get to know each other and our differences.

 Reference

Petracca, M. & Sorapure, M. (2010). Common culture: Reading and writing about American         popular culture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Assignment 1-4-2: Written Analyses-Analysis 1

Analysis about Facebook

First off, what does popular beliefs, myths, and icons mean? Popular beliefs are often made up of all the influences and experiences that surround us. Our beliefs come from our heart and our mind. Everything that touches our lives does leave an imprint of some sorts. Sometimes there can be a tendency for a group conformity and mentality that can be a threat to our individuality. Our beliefs can be self-created or it can be drawn from an outside source. On another note, my perception of a myth is an invented idea, story, or concept or an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution. Furthermore, an icon is an image, sign, picture, or representation that stands for its object by virtue of an analogy or resemblance to it.

In my opinion, it seems that all the theories above do apply to my popular culture topic, Facebook. The theories (popular beliefs, myths, and icons) describe Facebook as being a successful world-wide communication and entertainment internet website that connects people from many different parts of the world. Many people from different countries and cultures take advantage of the access to this website so that they can communicate and have entertainment that might not necessarily be accepted into their cultures. In conclusion, the insights that I gain from applying the theories such as popular beliefs, myths, and icons to my popular culture topic Facebook are that beliefs can be subject to change by the access to Facebook and the connection with different cultures, there can be myths about certain cultures that can be discussed and the truth becomes known through communication that is provided by such websites as Facebook, and due to the increasing amount of people logging onto Facebook makes this website an icon of some sort because icons are not only people but objects, or should I say websites, that influence people’s life in some way.

HUMN240-E2WW Assignment 2-1: Icon Analysis

 Icon Analysis

There are three icons that I hold in high esteem. They are Mahatma Gandhi, Stephen King, and American Idol. These three icons are dedicated to the entertainment and fulfillment of mankind.

To begin, Mahatma Gandhi is a well-known philosopher. He provided the world with many speeches and writings about his thoughts on (to name a few) peace, nonviolence, truth, love, GOD, and the practical techniques which he adopted. There are 100 volumes of his works available to the public to view about his thoughts. He is considered one of the most revered souls of the Twentieth Century. The book that I favor most by him, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, is about his dedication to the liberation of humans. His life encompassed the compassion of Gautam Buddha and the passion of Christ for service to humankind. Several scholars have described this book as being the new “bible” or the new “gita.” On another note, Stephen King is also one of my favorite authors. His writings started in his sophomore year in college when he wrote articles for the campus newspaper, The Main Campus. He was active in student politics and he was against the war in Vietnam. In 1970, he graduated the University of Maine with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on a high school level. After graduation, a draft board examination found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums. He was unable to find a job as a teacher and was forced to take a job as a laborer at an industrial laundry. He started writing short stories for men magazines and made a little profit. In the fall of 1971, he took a teaching job at Hampton Academy. In the evenings, he wrote short stories and novels. In the spring of 1973, his first novel, Carrie, was published. This novel, including many others written by Stephen King, is a thriller. The money he made from this novel provided him with the means to eliminate the teaching career and write full-time thus being the start of the decades of novels and movies produced by Stephen King. Lastly, American Idol is a major icon for people who are musically-inclined. This television show provides an opportunity for struggling artists to “make it” in the music business. The music business is a harsh and competitive market. This television show is not prejudice against any person who tries out, but they do pick the entertainers that they feel will succeed in the music industry. There are three judges (Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson) and the audience that determine the singers’ fate when the actual competition starts. Furthermore, American Idol has won the Emmy Award. This show was created by Simon Fuller who was a judge but has moved on to work on other entertainment shows. In conclusion, American Idol is ranked number one amongst adults 18-49 for the past seven consecutive seasons and is currently ranked the number one television show for 2010-2011 season.

I chose these three icons to discuss because I love to read about the different philosophies that are produced in the world, particularly by Gandhi. In addition, I love to read novels that are considered “too scary” for the public and that test the boundaries of what is considered “acceptable” in society. Finally, I love music. Fortunately, my family is musically-inclined and this show does capture my attention because of this factor. I love the competition and I love to see new, determined musicians “make it” in the music industry.

In conclusion, I grew up reading the many works by Gandhi and Stephen King. They have increased my knowledge in many different areas of my life. When it comes to music, I love all of the different areas of music. Whether it is rock, pop, jazz, gospel, bluegrass, hip-hop, country, opera, heavy-metal, death-metal, alternative, and so, it is all great entertainment to me.