Danielle
Do you think that there is any way to avoid pop culture or does it affect the way that everyone thinks and acts? Do you think that a V-chip would be productive in monitoring what children watch or do you think that it will just cause more conflict between parents and children?
Collin
“Anyone who resists can only survive by fitting in.” What does this quote tell us about the way pop culture controls people?
Jennifer
Does the standardization of media, such as movies, music, and other art, "dumb down" our culture and stop us from thinking abstractly and creatively?
Tommy
Do you believe that the products a person consumes, creates the social hierarchy or does the social hierarchy decide which products a person consumes?
Katie
The article gave me the impression that as a society we immediately accept what we are told, do you think that as a society we can accept or reject culture and that members of that society are responsible for social change or is it all forced upon us?
Melissa
“The whole world is made to pass through the filter of the culture industry.” This passage really stood out to me, as a consumer in a generation where culture is highly influential do you believe that technology is mostly to blame for this passage’s meaning? Do you take this passage to be generally true or false?
Meredith
As members of a technologically-savvy (or obsessed) generation, do you agree with Denby's claim that [children] are "shaped by the media as consumers before they've had a chance to develop their souls"? Do you feel that the influence of the media has played a crucial role in your development as a human being?
Brandon
How have schools (elementary-college) and the resources they use to teach in today's society contributed to the way pop culture has influenced students? Especially younger children who are exposed before even fully developing the process to think on their own.
Suzanne
Is it possible to limit a child's pop-cultural intake enough to make some sort of obvious difference or is exposing them to a little pop culture about as good as letting them become immersed in it?
Greg
Can movies and other media outlets actually provoke a change in normative roles in society as a whole, or are individuals deceived on a case by case basis, rather than society as a whole?
Zach
The all econpasing universe of pop culture that Denby talks about is shaping kids lives. Yet couldn't the classics he refers to such as Beethoven and Oliver Twist at one time be considered pop culture of another era? Will todays pop culture be tomorrows classics?
Matt
The author claims that the rigid uniformity of popular culture strongly encourages conformity to cultural norms. However, doesn't the ever increasingly diverse TYPES of media allow for greater creativity in creating culture, even though underlying themes may be consistent?
Cara
In Buried Alive David Denby seems to struggle with two choices; either completely censor what media his children consume, or attempt to moderate their experiences by talking to them about the issues that arise. If you were raising kids right now, which method would you choose? Would you do anything at all or might you let your children loose in the media world?
Ashley
In this article, the author speaks about the predictability of music, movies, and television. What do these trends in our media demonstrate about society?
Katy
What role does "indie," or independent, entertainment have in today's culture? Is it truly independent or is it a different form of pop culture that causes society to be "alienated from itself?"
Simone
If entertainment has become so formulaic and unoriginal, why do we still buy into it?
Chris
Assume that Horkheimer and Adorno are correct in saying pop culture is determined by corporate producers and fed to the masses to make money. Does this completely overshadow the positive aspects of popular culture, such as shared social experience (united in fan-dom) and the economic benefits felt by small-time vendors as well as corporate tycoons?
Allison
Is pop culture and mass media infiltrating our thoughts and controlling our actions? Or is this just a strong paranoia constructed to destroy pop culture?
Meredith
In "Crack in the Wall," Cashmore suggests that "the most significant value of black culture may be in providing whites with proof of the end of racism while keeping the racial hierarchy essentially intact" (2). How does this assertion support or discredit the idea that, with money, comes certain privileges that "whiten" an individual?
Katie
Do you think that all cultures could be seen as commodities?
Chris
Is all culture, regardless of ethnicity, branded for production, or is this phenomenon unique to African American culture?
Margaret
After reading this article, I had to stop and rethink this white perspective on black culture and found it was very true. Is there any way to rise above cultural standards? Is progression real, or just repackaged control?
Tiye
How do you think successful black people can assert their blackness and challenge stereotypes?
Lauren B.
How far removed are the audiences of Disney movies from the Disney “ideology and enterprise?”
Katie
Do you think that the messages of gender and race seen in Disney movies (most rated G) are just as severe for children as the sex scenes and vulgar language in NC-17 movies?
Greg
Are corporations, such as Disney, looking past the real reason for making the films, the reason being to please younger audiences to fill their brains with imaginative thoughts, or corporations like this only out to stereotype society and generate profit?
Meredith
Do you believe that the "hidden face of Disney" is lost on young children? Or do you believe that the controversial portrayals of women, for example, has an affect on young girls?
Zach
Giroux makes a substantial argument for the sexism in Disney movies. To what extent, if at all, have these movies affected you? Is this analysis important because it brings the sexism to light, or rather because it sets an example that some corporations seem to be untouchable to the sexism that is present?
Lauren H.
Do you think that Disney purposely produces their movies to include messages promoting racism, sexism, and social hierarchies or is it something their creators have done unconsciously?
Melissa
Do you think that children are as affected by these films as these critics believe they might be? Or do you think children just go through phases where they watch lots of these films, pay games based off of them, then eventually get over the Disney phase and go on with their lives?
Allison O.
Do you think that disney can get away with terrible stereotypes of race, gender, and social class in the majority of their cartoons because they are done in cartoon? If their films were not down in cartoon do you think there would be more of an outrage?
Marquis
I have never watched a Harry Potter movie but reading about this made me think of other stories or events that have shown women in a inferior role than men. When reading the article it reminded me how women are used in stories to either bring out the best of the men or used to make a otherwise unbeatable man vulnerable by capturing his female friend. While creating a feeling of inferiority for women, does this affect men in making take on the "Superman role" of saving the otherwise helpless women?
Katie
What do you think it means that people would rather look for the hidden or subliminal meaning in Harry Potter rather than talk about the possibility of sexism in Harry Potter?
Zach
The gender agency dilemma that Mayes-Elma talks about is interesting, yet do you think Harry Potter would have been so successful if the main character was female? What marketing problems and cultural boundaries, if any, do you think Rowling would face?
Danielle
Do you think that pop culture has a big enough effect on society that men will always be considered superior to women as long as they are portrayed as dominant in books in movies?
Matt
One of the main issues the author has with "Harry Potter" appears to be the way female characters defer to male ones. However, the examples she gives includes an ancillary character deferring to the title character (Hermiony and Harry) and a subordinate differing to her superior (Mgonnagle and Dummbledore). It this really a result of gender, or merely a coincidence of the structure of the book?
Simone
Why do you think that a woman would create a book that openly displays oppressive gender roles?
Brandon
Put yourself in Disney's position, if you were the CEO would you settle and do everything that was morally correct or use tactics that embedded your brand into the minds of consumers in order to massive amounts of money?