In this essay, you will need to apply the methodologies, themes, and questions we have used in the course to a pop culture selection of your choice. This means that you will need to place the source in both historical and contemporary CONTEXT and perform an in-depth cultural analysis that connects the source to themes AND READINGS/LECTURES/FILMS we have addressed in class. Your essay must answer these questions:
What cultural work does the example of popular culture you chose perform in America? What is (or was) its role and purpose in American society? What larger social and culture battles is it part of? How does it deal with larger issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, disability, or other categories used to differentiate people?
The trick here is to use this specific example to reflect on larger themes and issues in popular culture similar to what I have at least tried to do in the lectures. You should try to use at least TWO course sources for this assignment.
Choosing a Source
When choosing your subject, you will want to choose a topic that you think you can say something more substantive about or have an easier time completing the research. You dont have to clear these with me but I suggest talking to me about it. You will still need to place the subject in the context of the course and perform one of the methods of research listed below. Since this is a new topic, you should aim for between 3 and 5 pages.
Methods of Research
Regardless of the source you choose to analyze, you will need to place the subject in the context of the course AND perform ONE of the following types of research. Be sure to cite all outside sources using whichever citation style you prefer.
Analyze why fans of the form of pop culture enjoy it. To do this, you can either interview at least THREE fans or analyze an online fan community or digital responses to the object. Your big question here would be: what do consumers of the product get out of it? Why are they drawn to it? What meaning and significance does it have for them? You can be creative in sourcing here so if you wanted to use fan fiction or memes that would be perfectly acceptable.
Analyze the critical discussion of the form of popular culture. Here you will want to look at the ways that professional critics and the larger entertainment industry analyze the form of popular culture. This doesnt mean to look at standard thumbs up or down reviews but at sources that analyze the form of popular culture. Here, try to draw on at least three critical articles that go beyond summary to say something substantial about the topic. Here, keep in mind the ways that we have seen critics respond to pop culture throughout the semester. Is there any kind of controversy associated with the object that critics discuss?
Connect the form of pop culture to THREE other examples of pop culture from outside the course that perform similar kinds of cultural work. Do your best to show different mediums here. So, if you see a film performing a particular kind of work, it is okay to connect it to other films but you might also think about TV shows/games/TikTok Videos, etc. What do these additional sources suggest about the importance and meaning of your original source within American culture? ?
Citations
Citations can be in any format you like; just be consistent. Bibliographies are not necessary but make sure you provide a citation somewhere for any outside sources you use. Lectures do not need to be cited but if you use course readings, try to include at least a page number.
