Assignment 1-5

Culture and Society: Interactions

1980-Present

 

Historical Events

1980's

John Lennon is assassinated                                                  

Assassinated attempt on Pope John Paul

Assassinated attempt on President Ronald Reagan

First woman appointed to U.S. Supreme Court

Personal Computers (PC) introduced by IBM

Michael Jackson releases top song Thriller

Sally Ride becomes 1st American women in space

Space Shuttle Challenger explodes

DNA first used to convict criminals

New York Stock Exchange suffers huge drop on "Black Monday"

Berlin Wall comes down

 

1990's

Start of Desert Storm

Official end to the cold war

World Trade center bombed

O.J. Simpson arrested for double murder

Oklahoma City Bombing

President Clinton is impeached

Columbine High School shootings

 

2000's

Largest terror attack on U.S. soil, to be forever remembered as 911

Space Shuttle Columbia explodes

Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans killing many and leaving more homeless

First African American President is elected

 

Internet Events

1980's

Computer Science Network is started as CSNET

CSNET and BITNEC merge to form CREN - to support higher education

Domain Name System is designed

 

1990's

Use of the internet grows exponentially

Fear of the Y2K bug

"I Love You" virus hits thousands of computers, costing billions in repairs

Microsoft is ordered by U.S. government to split

 

2000's

Personal home computers break the 1Ghz barrier

Wikipedia is launched

Apple starts the iPod

MySpace is launched

Emergence of Web 2.0

Facebook is launched

YouTube is launched

USB flash drives replace floppy disks

Twitter is launched

Apple debuts iPhone

Google street view is launched

 

Video Games

1980's

Pac-Mac video game is released

Super Mario Brothers game is released

Tetris game is released

 

1990's

Start of Game Boy arcade games

Playstation gaming system

Nintendo 64 gaming system

 

2000's

Mind control headsets become available for gamers

Video games "Call of Duty" franchise games are made from past war attacks

Microsoft Windows video games

Playstation 2 gaming system

 

 

 

Assignment 1-4-6

Written Analyses

            So can Starbucks fall into any popular culture category?  I believe it can in many ways.  First, just with the word popular.  Go back a few years and you would not see as many, if any, coffee shops.  Our culture has made a demand for coffee shops because of the want that people have for it.  Many people would even say that coffee from any coffee shop would be a necessity. 

           That might even be considered a belief, in which you have to have your morning cup of coffee to get your day started.  There is even the myth about Starbucks and their logo.  I went into that in detail in another blog, but it was interesting to learn about it.  Is there a reason that people keep going back?  We may never know if it has anything to do with the myth or not.  I go back, just because it’s a treat and I love the taste.

            My most interesting findings in this class would have to be about learning that there are stereotypes in popular culture.  I guess I never really put it together, but there would almost have to be for marketing purposes of products.  If you are trying to sell something to a teen, you would need to know what teens like.  It would be almost the same for anything that you see an advertisement for.

            As for Starbucks, I do not really think that I will view my cup of coffee differently because of this class.  I understand more about why we have, ok, maybe need coffee shops.  I do know that when I have my cup of coffee in the morning, I will always remember using it as my topic for this class.

Assignment 1-4-5

So for this popular culture assignment, we are to focus on formulas.  Not math formulas, but formulas for a specific item and mine would be a cup of Starbuck’s hot mocha coffee.  I chose this one because it one of my favorite hot coffee’s.

My belief is when I have a cup of hot mocha coffee, it starts my day off right (or if I have it later in the day, it just seems to make my day seem better).  But, the myth behind that would also be, could a cup of coffee, and it needs to be Starbuck’s, really make my day better?  I believe so.            

The setting would be in any Starbuck’s store where you can just smell the coffee and know what is to come.  But, most of the time that does not happen and I end up drinking it at my desk.  That takes away from the setting, but it sometimes allows me to do some day dreaming of being somewhere else and having my coffee.  It can take me back to when we were drinking a cup of Starbuck’s and walking along the ocean about four years ago in January in San Diego (much better than any Starbuck’s in Ohio in January!).

My ritual is on Monday and Friday, if I am lucky, I get to leave the house early enough to stop on the way to work and get my coffee.  I do this because of the feeling of starting my week off right and on Friday, it’s just that I have made it through the week and this is my reward.

I am not sure if there is a stereotype to Starbuck’s other than maybe you need to like coffee (though, they have other items).  And the formula to me is that it makes me feel good.  As for it being a hero, I guess it would have to be the same, that it just makes me feel better when I drink my Starbuck’s coffee.

Assignment 1-3-2

          I picked this article because of its title, Like Sportive Birds: The Girl Aviators

Series and the Culture of Flight in America.  I love to travel and airplanes and flight.  Always have.  I make travel arrangements for the company that I work for.  I even had a fascination about getting to go up in the space shuttle at one point.  (I would still love to be able to do that).

          My article starts by talking about the first woman to take flight across the English Channel on April 16, 1912.  She was 36 years old, named Harriet Quimby and was the first licensed American female pilot from the United States.  Not many people remember her because her flight was over shadowed by the Titanic tragedy the day before.  The article goes on to talk about a four volume Girl Aviator series of books that was produced during this same time period.  The titles “The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship, The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings, The Girl Aviators’ Sky Cruise, and The Girl Aviators’ Motor Butterfly”.  The books were aimed at young teen readers and were about siblings named Peggy and Roy who were teenagers and built an airplane in their backyard.  With that plane, they solved mysteries both aeronautical and criminal. 

          The books gave a glimpse in US popular culture when human –powered flight went from fantasy to real life.  The Girl Aviator series gave young girls in the early 1900’s, young female heroes.  The books helped give way for true female aviators such as Amelia Earhart and Anne Morrow Lindbergh and helped start new roles for women.

          The American public was fascinated with the skies.  Aviators became symbols of American ingenuity as well as drama, romance and fearlessness.  They because headlines and fed into many imaginations.  People looked forward to seeing the beautiful aircraft in the skies.  The planes of the past were made so different than those of today.  The article states that people watched for the flights and wanted to see what they looked like.  It would be the closest equivalent to what happened after 9/11 with the absence of planes from the US skies when it was unsettling and seemingly unnatural.

          There was also negativity that no one could fly without wings.  The books opened up the imaginations and changed those perceptions of flying and also allowed the acceptance of female pilots.  Flight also gave the new sense of freedom not only for females but for males as well.

          While the Girl Aviator series was being written, real female pilots where raising concerns over dangerous behavior as to being in experimental machines made from ordinary household items as in cloth, glue and wood.  But the titles show that the girls contributed to the aviation, not a male.

          This article was informative, but confusing at the same time.  The author skipped around from the book to real pilots, back to the book to women in the 1900’s.  I found it hard to follow at times, but it was interesting as to how much history was actually packed into these few pages.  The first U.S. female pilot, Harriet Quimby, I had never even heard of until I started reading this.  I also never really gave it much thought as to women becoming pilots even before airplanes existed.

          I believe that this article is important for as much history that it told.  In a few short pages, I learned a few things that I had not known before.  I always thought that Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot.  I guess the books were a very important part of airplane history for starting the want for little girls to do more than what females were supposed to do at that time in our history.

Reference

Like Sportive Birds: The Girl Aviators Series and the Culture of Flight in America, 1911–12, The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 45, issue 4 (August 2012), p. 769-788

Assignment 1-4-4

     I am not sure how Starbucks can fall into the hero category, or how a cup of coffee could be a hero either.  Maybe that favorite cup of “joe” or pastry could make a person feel better.  Or, when an employee has made a cup of flavored coffee that no one picks up, they often offer it to someone else in line.  When that has happened to me, it has made me feel special.  It’s just because that I am the person usually next in line to be chosen to receive that free cup of coffee.

     Starbucks does however give to “heroes”.  They have a program designed to donate coffee to our military.  When you go into any Starbucks store, there is usually a display that shows the coffee and tells about this program.  It is designed to give back to the military men and women who work to protect us every day. 

     My dad was in WWII and I guess it’s because of him, that I feel that all people in the United States military are heroes.  It’s also because of this feeling that I patronize those stores a little more that give back to America’s hero’s that do so much for us with little recognition. 

Assignment 1-4-3 Rituals and Stereotypes

     A ritual is something that one does often or the same over and over again.  Religion and holidays are often rituals, but rituals can also be things that are done on a regular basis.  So, with the ritual of doing my homework, I am writing my paper for my pop culture assignment on rituals and stereotypes.

     With my topic, I feel there are both items in Starbucks.  First, I have a ritual of stopping once a week on the way to work for a hot or cold (depending on the weather), cup of my favorite mocha coffee.  When I sip on it, it gives me a brief feeling of having my coffee where I have great memories, with my sisters on the beach in San Diego or while on vacation in Florida.  That ritual of that cup of coffee is what gets me through some days.

     So could Starbucks be considered to be a certain stereotype?  Since a stereotype can be something bad, the only stereotype of Starbucks that I can think of is that for many it means nothing more than being a coffee shop.  So, some would only patronize it if they were a coffee drinker. 

     Starbucks has more than just coffee; they have other types of beverages and many different types of baked goods.  Many of the stores also sell breakfast sandwiches and now even different types of sandwiches for lunch.  Could it also be that there is only a certain stereotype of people that go there.  I see many different age groups and different races in the stores every time I am there.  I just figure that everyone there just wants something good.  So I could say that Starbucks comes under the old saying of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.  One may not know what Starbucks has to offer unless you go in to the store.

When I started thinking of three icons that meant something to me, they came rather easy.  They would have to be Mickey Mouse, Southwest Airlines, and Steak and Shake.Let’s start with Mickey Mouse.  Years ago, my mom and dad took my sister and myself and we would go to the Magic Kingdom several times during my childhood.  It was here that I remember so many family memories and pictures that we had with Mickey.  We had a great time.  Years later, we have taken our boys every year since they were born, to Disney, either in Florida or in California.  Last year, we even went twice.  I am now making those same family memories with my boys and of course taking pictures with Mickey too.  I wear a Mickey Mouse watch to this day.

Several times to get to Disney, especially, Disneyland in California, we would fly and it always seems to be on Southwest Airlines.  I have flown for business, visit family, and just for fun. Our boys took their first flights ever on Southwest, when they were little, both earning their “wings”.  The airline website just seems so easy to use and I appreciate their customer service.  An airplane to me means freedom to go anywhere anytime I want.  To me flying is always associated with travel and fun for our family.

Visiting Grandma’s house always meant a trip to Steak and Shake.  Grandma lived in Springfield, Missouri and we would go there for at least one lunch during our visit.  At that time, the closest Steak and Shake to our home was several hundred miles away.  We love their shoestring fries and real milk shakes.  It was a treat to get to go.  I still remember visiting Grandma every time we eat there.

I guess all of my icons make me think of fun and great family times.   I hope those memories continue.

Starbucks as Pop Culture

My blog –Starbucks

Popular Culture is something that is popular in that particular culture.  It seems to be “trendy” or “in”.  I believe it means something that is well known or is recognized by many.

Understanding how popular culture affects a business would make it easier to advertise to those that would purchase your products.  With many people buying the item, it makes it more popular, and helps make the business grow.

To me, one of the biggest artifacts of popular culture would have to be Starbucks.  Starbucks works from everything from business meetings to a social gathering place.  You may even see their familiar logo cup on many television shows with stars drinking coffee from them.  Everyone knows what company that is and where it comes from.  Most Starbucks are easily accessible and everyone knows that it’s a coffee shop.  There even seems to be some prestige about carrying around a cup with the Starbucks logo.