Popular Culture

Carol A. Mielish

SOC/105

June 30, 2011

Roger Fike

Popular Culture Culture is created by people in a society because of their interaction with each other within neighborhoods, states, or countries. Understanding and interaction of people in a society shapes culture. Culture is the material products such as a car or a certain style of clothing, and nonmaterial products such as religious and political preferences of society. Popular culture is also the result of daily interactions, needs, and wants of any given society, which get us through our everyday lives. Popular culture pertains to practices such as cooking, mass media, literature, entertainment, and sports (Petracca & Sorapure, 2007). Various media venues influence much of our every day lives. Television, radio, and magazines are major trends influencing society’s purchasing decisions, body image, and lifestyle choices. Television is the most common leisure activity and has much impact on society’s purchasing decisions because of sponsored advertisements marketing products and infomercials selling products promising to make us look younger, slimmer, and more fashionable. Shopping channels such as QVC allow society to make purchases from the comfort of a living room or bedroom. Television provides unlimited varieties of products which society desires to enhance or make lifestyles easier and more comfortable. Body image seems to be a major concern for many people. Television and magazines teach us how to gain weight and how to lose weight, what to eat and what not to eat, how plastic surgery can enhance our body image. American Culture affects personal decision-making in many ways. Fast food restaurants provide society with hot meals while saving busy families time because they do not have to cook or simply do not want to cook. People not preferring fast food have the option of traditional restaurants that prevent the dreaded task of cooking and washing dishes at the end of a busy work day. Local health clubs are a trendy venue for exercise and fitness. Fitness clubs attract people of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The largest segment of the American population known as the Baby Boomers, are more concerned than ever with their health and physical appearance. According to (Inches-a-way, 2009), “these Baby Boomers refuse to age without a fight, and they have been the driving force behind the explosion of health clubs, aerobics classes and home fitness during the past three decades. They have tried all the “FAD” diets and crash exercise regimens and are in search of a more substantial program that leads to lifelong health.” The media teaches society that key lifestyle choices put us at risk for developing disease. Ads constantly inform us that the leading preventable cause of death is smoking followed by obesity. Making personal decisions to avoid tobacco and maintain a healthy body weight will greatly reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

References
Petracca, M. & Sorapure, M. (2007). Common culture: Reading and writing about popular culture (5th ed. Prentice Hall). Retrieved from University of Phoenix, http://ecampus.phoenix.edu (2009). Inches-a-weigh. Retrieved from http://inches-a-weigh.higherimages.com

Documentation of interaction with popular culture includes: 1) Watched a television reality show on weight loss. I am fascinated by the ability people have to transform their lives after a lifetime of struggling with addiction. 2) I like to wear Sketcher shoes. I do think the shoes help tone and firm muscle. I had a hip replacement and the shoes help in a faster recovery. 3) Reading a novel on my Iphone that I downloaded by using the Kindle App. The novel is Water for Elephants and is fascinating. 4) Met with a therapist the assist in sorting out health issues from Leukemia. 5) Visited several restaurants for lunch and dinner; makes life easier as I discussed in my paper.