Advertisement as Form of Popular Culture - Literature review Example

Advertisement as Form of Popular Culture Popular culture is a term generally defined differently by different people at a given time in history (Danesi, 2012). Its definition also differs depending on the point of view of the speaker and still the discipline being discussed because of that. The term popular refers to something widely known, accepted and to a larger extent consumed by those that embrace it (Danesi, 2012). Culture in its own ground refers to the beliefs, values and norms of a certain community or society. Therefore the term popular culture is the widely accepted and embraced values, beliefs and norms at a given point in time since popular culture faces transition depending on time in history. Popular culture and change are hence inevitable. This change in culture is mostly brought about by changing trends in our daily life due to inventions and innovations taking place realized by most specifically the young people in the society. For a culture to be termed as popular, it must originate from the grassroots of these communities, accepted by the local people who, therefore, come up with ways of going about it (Danesi, 2012). The children raised in this environment grow following these ways. Popular culture hence is said to be passed from generation to generation. As the children grow up some of these cultures are maintained and others are done away with at some point in life, and they die a natural death. Some of these changes take place due to interactions between cultures, and some are borrowed and replace those that are dismissed (Danesi, 2012). The changes take place especially due to the emergence of a mass culture that refers to ideologies and norms that arise as a result of media and its role in the society. People then develop a common way of life not because of their one on one interaction in the society nor because they a share a common ethnic background or a common language but due to the news arising from the media houses both visual and audio sources (Danesi, 2012). With the rise of internet in the 19th and 20th century it brought about both negative and positive changes to the traditional culture of the people by the people and for the population in a number of ways especially focusing on advertisement as a form of popular culture bringing about a disintegration of a common culture (Danesi, 2012). Advertising is a form of popular culture that is deeply rooted in the western society and has existed over time. It is usually encountered by most individuals in their daily lives everywhere they go through many forms such as audios from radios, photographs of persons or items displayed in the streets, billboards with both pictures and written communications on them, published notices and more so advertisements on the televisions (Burke, 2009). This is a major way of connecting customers countrywide and more so the world over within the shortest time possible. Through advertisement there usually is a growth of economy realized since more market is promoted leading to increase in production as well as consumption (Burke, 2009). It usually is a form that not only displays items for customers to see and choose according to their tastes and preferences but also has a chance of influencing them through use of persuading and convincing language that lures most people into unplanned budgets (Burke, 2009). It is a form that to a great extent has led to the promotion of other popular cultures since it is through an advertisement that we learn and get educated about them (Burke, 2009). The culture is widely embraced since the average common man in the West can benefit from it. They are hence able to choose what is fit for them. It has evolved over time since it has existed over an extended period. Looking at the older forms of advertisement one can draw substantial evidence of the differences that so exist. The older forms were more of verbal that audio or written and held a high aesthetic value in their style of presentation (Burke, 2009). For example, “Nickelodeons laid foundation for the expansion of the movie industry and a further spread of popular cinematic genres from adventure serials to comedies and romance” (Danesi, 2012, P. 12). However, with the changes that arise with time a huge gap has been created between past and present with technological advancement and much more is yet to be seen as we trudge into the future (Danesi, 2012). The issue of popular culture cannot come into play without the mention of social ,economic and political factors as well as religion since they are the significant intercepts in any given society or community (Danesi, 2012). The advertisement being a socially accepted form of popular culture and which, in that case, plays a greater role in almost all other fields then it will be agreed that it has an enormous influence on all these factors. Since its inception it has been taken as a way of socialization Through verbal exchanges with people as they made various new things known to them they got to interact in a number of ways and hence lasting relationships established between consumers and producers since they could not sell to enemies or buy from people without creating a friendly impression anyway (Danesi, 2012). Now with the advancement in technology however not many producers get to interact with their customers it still remains a form of socialization through written word ,impression created on the TV’s through display and sometimes direct communication with the clients through other forums in the social media like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. It is, however, evident that due loss of contact on the ground trust in some of the products is lost since the producers do not inform their customers about the adverse effects of the products. They only tend to dwell on the positivity leaving the consumers at a risk and exposing their health to danger (Danesi, 2012). This has led to increased serious complications of the health of individuals in the society. The economy of the US has been seen to rise higher and higher and is directly proportional to the advancement in technology at each given time in the history of the Americans (Burke, 2009). Advertisement is a major contributing factor since change has taken place through the interaction of the market owners with the outside world that has led to a significant advancement via adoption of better methods of production in various fields. This interaction via media has promoted acculturation where the parties involved get to borrow ideas helpful in the improvement of their economy from the other party originating from an entirely different culture (Burke, 2009). Also with the invention of machinery the agricultural sector had made milestones given that there before they employed slaves to work on their farms, and yet they lacked skills to produce quality crops. Innovations and inventions including best herbicides, pesticides and the like are made known and available to the consumers through an advertisement in various forums (Burke, 2009). Also, advises on best methods of farming in both small scale and large are released through media. Also, new markets for this new breed of crops are made available via connections in the social media even beyond the borders. The industrial sector not left behind has contributed to the country’s economy significantly by providing employment opportunities to the youths thereby raising their living standards and more still reducing the crime rate (Burke, 2009). This has primarily been realized through the division of labor and specialization. Meaning there is work for the unskilled, semiskilled and the skilled in various organizations hence reducing racial segregation in America in the present day and age (Burke, 2009). It also plays a significant role in the politics of a nation since what is displayed to be good in the media is what is chosen by the majority (Cogan & Kelso, 2009). This mostly happens since the citizens have no opportunity to meet with the politicians face to face. Therefore, the ruling class gets to paint their picture and their manifestos through media. “Today, various Internet enthusiasts who are especially politically engaged even create their own independent political commercials and post them on video Web sites such as YouTube; some of these low-budget creations achieve popular status and circulate widely as other Internet users forward them to acquaintances, friends, and family members” (Cogan & Kelso, 2009, P.54). This has in turn led to creation of a high class kind of culture whereby those they favor ends up in top political leadership positions and doesn’t pay attention to the ordinary average man and his needs are left unattended (Cogan & Kelso, 2009). Religious leaders on the TVs have increased a great deal and instead of spreading the true gospel they have turned it into some business enterprise for reaping from their followers (Cogan & Kelso, 2009). Therefore, the religious fanatics are negatively influenced and carried away by misleading doctrines that keep arising every day. Amongst other issues and fields depicted or represented in the advertising industry is the issue of gender. Gender related materials have been seen to come into play in the advertising inform of published pamphlets, magazines and newspapers of course bringing into mind and into attention the differences in sex and issues relating to particular gender thereby arising sex-segregation in our society (Milestone & Meyer, 2012). Images from the advertisement of traditional men and women magazines in America was shown to depict the aspects of the figure ,size, and smile and looks of both male and female bringing out the difference. Images in the advertising have been seen to be drawn from a disconnected world of the people of the opposite sex thereby attracting attention of viewers of the same sex especially when it touches the issue of cosmetics and its wide range of products (Milestone & Meyer, 2012). Most of the advertising is also seen to be inclined on the female gender. The images linked to most of the products may it be on the TVs, films or magazines are accompanied with the female figures, size, looks and smile in order to attract the attention of the viewer Consequently, the issue of language use in advertising has been a major concern since from the times of “Aristotle up until the advent of modern social psychology, the discipline of rhetoric was the primary repository of Western thinking about persuasion (Barthes 1970/1988)” (Burke, 2009, 46). This largely expresses the manner in which figures of rhetoric have been used. It deals with identifying the best way of convincing and persuading the consumers about the product finding appropriate language to create the impression of the product without giving misleading information about the same (Burke, 2009). Those advertising must come up with ways effective in addressing situations at hand. The language used at times is also not favorable to all individuals ranging from children to the adults. In conclusion, therefore, popular culture is one accepted, embraced, believed in and one that has been seen to influence a given people. It to align is diverse and individuals, therefore, need to align themselves with it for their greater good however not implying that it has all positive in it. Western culture, in this case, is seen to have an influence in other people from other cultures who so much value their customs and traditions and its becoming a question of will all their customs get eroded? Young people also have a significant role to play in the changes that come technological advancement and therefore should be given a chance to play their role however they should maintain the traditions beneficial to the society as well as keeping the elderly Erin the light of what is going on globally as the world is changing into one global village gradually. Reference List Burke, P. (2009). Popular culture in early modern Europe. Farnham, England: Ashgate. Cogan, B. & Kelso, T. (2009). Encyclopedia of politics, the media, and popular culture. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press. Danesi, M. (2012). Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Milestone, K. & Meyer, A. (2012). Gender and popular culture. Cambridge Read More