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Posted at May 19/2010 11:51PM:
artemis: Hi everyone, I am posting my final paper! I made some alterations since I presented my paper topic in class. The material from the commercials was so rich that I decided to focus on them and not the visual arts, as I originally was going to. My main focus is on the relation between the imagery of Volcanoes and the male gender. In case you aren't done with exams yet, good luck! Otherwise, have a wonderful and enjoyable summer.
Final paper volcano.doc (*Note: File removed at student's request, January 2016)
Posted at May 20/2010 12:00AM:
artemis: I am also including my bibliography and youtube links of commercials discussed in my paper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIdrloPF0bU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaaxtxkJqKg&playnext_from=TL&videos=2cEoKHRGoaw http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ULNV7IAM8og&playnext_from=TL&videos=XVf4ZAxyexU
Bibliography, pop volcanoes.doc (*Note: File removed at student's request, January 2016)
Posted at May 21/2010 02:52PM:
kholmber: I thought it was fun to define pop culture as a product of the mainstream populace and hence to use Wikipedia, of which as you know I am a fan (a la Michel Serres) due to the accessibility of what only recently would be considered highly specialized knowledge. It would have been good, though, to then ground your argument in academic theory as well via any number of sociological or sociocultural discussions of what exactly pop culture ‘is’. Wikipedia, in fact, provided good places to start such as through the work of Michael Bakhtin or John Storey and if you were revising this paper I would have you incorporate their work into your discussion. Also, ‘gender’ is a very loaded issue to tackle and your argument would be better made with very carefully chosen theoretical grounding so if we were doing revisions I would also suggest that you tie your discussion to seminal arguments (such as those of Judith Butler, Gayatri Spivak, Donna Haraway, etc) regarding what gender is and how it functions in society. Since these arguments centrally examine what is ‘natural’, they would fit quite well into your treatment of the volcano as both a natural and culturally appropriated entity. Also, do be aware that when you capitalize words (such as Popular Culture or Volcano) it triggers to the reader that you are treating the word as somehow different in that context or that you are essentially putting it into quotes in order to question the concept. You were inconsistent with your use of capitals and didn’t define why you were using them in some cases and not in others so this is also something I would have had you address in future iterations of the paper. I enjoyed your discussion of the Taco Bell volcano menu and lava sauce, ‘volcanicity’ as an advertising ploy, and loved the Imperial Beer ad because it was one that I was not aware of already!
