Popular culture and consumerism - this is to try to help you reflect on how you relate to popular culture and consumerism. Most of us are not aware of these things affect us, of how we interact with them everyday. A tutor on a course you are taking will be impressed if you show that you are thinking of the hidden things that connect YOU to the PRODUCTS and POPULAR CULTURE that you live within.
The would likely involve such things as:
TV
DVDs/VHS
Computer games
Comic books
Cinema
CDs
Clothes
Food in general
Amusement center
Ipod
Personal computer
Sports game
A live gig
Make-up
Haircut
These are all things that you are likely to consume or interact with in a normal week. In a normal Saturday you might after getting up: switch on the TV; and chose a cereal to eat for breakfast; select clothes to wear; go down to a computer shop and select a new computer game; go to the mall for lunch and select a fast food restaurant to go to. Then meet with a friend and go to an amusement center and chose some games to play; then you might visit a local sports centre and play basketball; then home and heat up a ready-made meal; then put in the computer game you bought that day; then go out with your friend, and end the day in a night club, dancing to hip hop.
Each of these events and products in this imagined day is a way that you are relating to popular culture. It's a way that you are being a consumer. What you need to do to reflect on this is consider:
1.the common threads running through the real week in your life that your own inventory relates to.
2. Try to work out what values of life are hidden under all those products/services? The basic values may be things like individualism, enjoyment of your own life, the importance of youth, escaping from troubles in activities that engage your mind, relaxing. These could be contrasted with other types of values such as working-hard, looking after your grandparents, praising god, being a good citizens etc.
3. Also consider our values by this is meant what you think is right and good, what you think is important, what you are willing to work for an fight for, what you think is your right as a citizen etc - also what you lie to do, what you enjoy doing. Have you ever thought about why you went to a hip-hop club (or RnB, or rock or whatever) what made you chose THAT type of music? Your friends, your big brother, a TV adverts, the type of music that people in your school like etc.