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Full-Text Articles in American Studies
Barbie: For Better Or Worse, Renee Ho
Barbie: For Better Or Worse, Renee Ho
Pop Culture Intersections
This article covers a history of Barbie, as well as an analysis of the live action Barbie movie. Barbie lovers and haters alike often debate whether the iconized doll is a feminist figure. Those who critique her argue that the messages she sends are superficial, or that Barbie perpetuates an unrealistic beauty standard and causes harm to the mental well being of her audience, especially because most of her target audience is made up of younger, impressionable girls. However, there is no doubt that Barbie can also be a role model for her audience. She was the first doll to …
Nostalgia's Complicated Role In Contemporary Pop Culture, Ethan Clawsie
Nostalgia's Complicated Role In Contemporary Pop Culture, Ethan Clawsie
Pop Culture Intersections
Over the past several decades, there has been a growing trend of nostalgia in popular culture, with the number of remakes, reboots, and revivals of classic films, television shows, and music at an all-time high. Dozens of old TV shows have also been rebooted in the past few years, old movies are being remade, much of the music that’s been released lately has been engineered to sound like it came from the past, and a subset of recent video games either build upon old games (like Pokémon GO), or are made to look and feel like old games (like Flappy …
Finding Your Inner Drag: How Drag Culture Helped Form Freedom Of Expression For The Lgbtq Community, Sylvia Zobel De Ayala
Finding Your Inner Drag: How Drag Culture Helped Form Freedom Of Expression For The Lgbtq Community, Sylvia Zobel De Ayala
Pop Culture Intersections
This research paper discusses the history of the LGBTQ community, the effects of the drag community and the comparison to the behaviors and attitudes from the past to the present. This article goes in depth to different scholarly articles that help understand the history of the LGBTQ community. This article will also discuss personal stories and experiences that describe the emotional aspect of the moments of history mentioned. The three main topics discussed in this paper are the Stonewall Riot, the AIDS epidemic and the uprising of the transgender community. After understanding the history and the present attitudes, they will …
Popular Culture’S Grip On The Lgbtq Community, Connor Grogan
Popular Culture’S Grip On The Lgbtq Community, Connor Grogan
Pop Culture Intersections
The purpose of this research is to identify the causes and consequences of forming groups within this cultural sphere, specifically focusing on the LGBTQ community. I would contend that the inclusion and exclusion of this marginalized group which exists within a larger community can be promoted or amplified by hegemonic forces through the use of popular culture and mass media. Firstly, with regards to this paper, I will identify what hegemonic power dynamics are within the context of the thesis, as well as what it means to be a marginalized group without much force within a power dynamic. Secondly, I …
The Fast Fashion Fad, Megan Wu
The Fast Fashion Fad, Megan Wu
Pop Culture Intersections
New companies with mission statements to use solely recycled materials have started to pop-up all over the world. Even well established brands such as Nike or Adidas have started to create lines of products made with recycled materials. However, despite these efforts, I sadly believe that fast fashion will continue to dominate the fashion industry in the years to come due to two factors. Most consumers remain uneducated about the negative impacts that fast fashion has on the environment and mindlessly partake in society’s consumerist culture. Therefore, they fall subject to marketing schemes fast fashion companies employ. While some may …
Secure Digital Contact Tracing Methods Are Necessary For Slowing Down Covid-19, Rania Ansari
Secure Digital Contact Tracing Methods Are Necessary For Slowing Down Covid-19, Rania Ansari
Pop Culture Intersections
This article covers the fears of digital contact tracing during the current pandemic. Citizens do have the right to be understandably uncertain about trusting the government because of past instances such as security breaches ranging from NSA security leaks to personal voter data exposure. The information provided in this paper should, additionally, make it easier for those who are worried about contact tracing and their rights to understand what is implied by the phrases “digital contact tracing” and “data privacy.” The novel coronavirus pandemic calls for urgent, necessary, and effective safety methods, including data analytics, surveillance, and Artificial Intelligence that …
Behind Social Media: A World Of Manipulation And Control, Spencer J. Keenan
Behind Social Media: A World Of Manipulation And Control, Spencer J. Keenan
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will be arguing that big players, mainly governments and large corporations, use user data, targeted advertising, and selective speech to manipulate users of popular social media platforms. They do this in order to achieve their agendas goals at the expense of the users. These goals may range from selling a certain good or service to swaying a certain percentage of voters to cast their ballots one way or another. Regardless of the outcome, people are being taken advantage of, with most not even knowing it. Users must look past the media in front of them to see their …
Seeking Sales In New Channels: The Effectiveness Of Influencer Marketing, Alanna Morgan
Seeking Sales In New Channels: The Effectiveness Of Influencer Marketing, Alanna Morgan
Pop Culture Intersections
This article investigates the effectiveness of influencer marketing industry. It closely examines the various types of social media influencers and the impact they can have on target audiences. Through their authentic connection with their followers, influencers create a strong sense of community with their fanbase. As a result, marketers then target specific influencers to promote products to their preferred audiences. If executed strategically, marketers have a higher chance of selling their products through influencers than they would through conventional internet advertisements. This article includes examples of both strong influencer-brand partnerships and weak ones in order to discuss how influencer marketing …
Star Wars: From Fantasy Film To Statement Showcase, Erica Pang
Star Wars: From Fantasy Film To Statement Showcase, Erica Pang
Pop Culture Intersections
This paper will examine the success of the Star Wars franchise by comparing two of its films: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). During the nearly 40 year period in between each film’s release, there was significant socio-political change that had occurred. Therefore, in order to continue to appeal to its existing audience, as well as adopt new audiences, Star Wars had to deviate from the traditional characters and storylines of A New Hope and instead, focus on diversity and representation in The Force Awakens. Using socio-political and feminist approaches, I …
The Societal Influence Of The Nba, Kyle Kawashiri
The Societal Influence Of The Nba, Kyle Kawashiri
Pop Culture Intersections
Based on recent events, there has been a lot of discussion about the racial issues in America. Many professional athletes have been vocal about these issues, but NBA players seem to be at the forefront of many of the conversations regarding social injustice in this country. This article will examine different factors that have influenced the popularity of the National Basketball Association, such as product distribution, online engagement, global outreach, and the choice to allow players to use their platforms. The article will then argue how these factors have allowed the NBA and its players to be leaders in the …
Why Playing Video Games Is In Your Best Interest, Adan Salazar
Why Playing Video Games Is In Your Best Interest, Adan Salazar
Pop Culture Intersections
This article explores the world of video games and their potential to benefit one's well being. For decades video games have persevered in pop culture and have provided entertainment for countless people. The overwhelming popularity of video games has also sparked debate on how they can affect an individual. From extended screen time hurting vision to violent content affecting actions many claims have been made against video games. The truth is there is far more evidence supporting video games as a benefit towards users. Enriching social practices, providing therapy and implementation into classrooms are just a few of the ways …
Defending K-Pop Idols Online: The Fanbase’S Underlying Issue Of Ignorance, Grace Gita Tantra
Defending K-Pop Idols Online: The Fanbase’S Underlying Issue Of Ignorance, Grace Gita Tantra
Pop Culture Intersections
This article covers how parasocial relationships and echo chambers promote ignorance within K-pop fandoms on social media platforms, specifically when it comes to cultural appropriation, racial stereotyping, and anti-Blackness. Despite the recent surge in education and accountability in other areas of pop culture, K-pop has created a unique space online when it comes to these dialogues. We will be exploring this through looking at the Korean wave, implications of parasocial relationships, and the divide in the common conversation online; these concepts will be applied to specific recent examples of K-pop controversies and the fans' responses.
A World Of Luxury, Tanvi Yeccaluri
A World Of Luxury, Tanvi Yeccaluri
Pop Culture Intersections
This article explores the history of luxury and the impacts of the growing consumerism in the United States. The change in consumption habits is touched on, with analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus check usage and trends. The debate of the importance of social status in the US and how our current society displays materialistic values in relation to the growing demand for luxury is a covered, and supported by numerous studies and research conducted over the past twenty years. There is an explanation of how society has become driven by the desire for luxury in order to increase social …
Posting About Blm Made It A Movement Pushing For Real Change, Nolan Michaels
Posting About Blm Made It A Movement Pushing For Real Change, Nolan Michaels
Pop Culture Intersections
Although social media includes opposing views that have unified against BLM, it has been responsible for massive growth of the movement. In this paper, I will show how social media plays a pivotal role in BLM by scaling up the movement and encouraging more nuanced and diverse perspectives on BLM to develop. Although all social media platforms are used to promote BLM, my examination will focus mainly on Twitter because it is the primary platform analyzed by scholars that investigates the growth of BLM. What MLK was able to accomplish by tapping into the new medium of television is now …
Youtubers Influence Of Young People, Matisse Melendres
Youtubers Influence Of Young People, Matisse Melendres
Pop Culture Intersections
Youtube Influencers are the new form a fame in our society, and young people of the ages 13-17 spend a huge portion of their free time watching Youtube videos. Youtube Influencers, also known as Youtubers, have a huge amount of influence of young people. In this article, it will discuss that reaction based videos not only attract young people, but also behavior and actions in that video can be easily transferred to the young viewer. In addition, the excessive amount of time young people spend on Youtube can determine the amount of influence Youtubers have amongst the youth.
Holding The Line: A Dynamic Salary Cap For European Association Football, Kavi Sachania
Holding The Line: A Dynamic Salary Cap For European Association Football, Kavi Sachania
Pop Culture Intersections
European association football’s domination by a select few teams with the plentiful resources to buy talent exposes how a sports league can develop runaway disparity without the presence of any wage spending controls. With the introduction of the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules to keep teams from furthering their debt, much discussion has ensued on whether these financial laws need to be expanded to address competitive imbalance. While salary cap systems have been proposed before, none have been able to balance the interests of owners, fans, players, and regulators within the European Union. I plan to add to the discussion …
The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship, Business And Mental Health, Madison Bregman
The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship, Business And Mental Health, Madison Bregman
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will cover the relationship between entrepreneurship, business and mental health. As entrepreneurship has become increasingly popular in culture, many people aspire to be entrepreneurs. However, the "darker side" of it - the mental health challenges that often come with it - is less talked about and can have a significant impact on the "success" of an entrepreneur.
The Effects Of Scrolling: Social Media Takeover, Bianca Mancini
The Effects Of Scrolling: Social Media Takeover, Bianca Mancini
Pop Culture Intersections
The present research and argument examines how social media (influencers) negatively affect individuals by causing envy and low self esteem. Results suggest that many factors play a role, including time spent on social media and the individual’s level of self-esteem. To support my background research I will pull from my personal experience and a study I conducted. From these results, I have determined that we as a society have to take envy, low self-esteem, age, gender, and location into consideration when we are examining the link between mental health and social media. In the study, I will show that females …
Assistance From Alexa: The Social And Material Benefits Of The Internet Of Things, Sara Bunyard
Assistance From Alexa: The Social And Material Benefits Of The Internet Of Things, Sara Bunyard
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will apply the uses and gratifications theory to examine why people adopt products from the Internet of Things. Previous studies have applied the uses and gratifications theory to analyze why consumers have adopted forms of new media and technology, including social media and the Internet of Things. There are also many articles on the potential flaws of the Internet of Things, especially privacy concerns. This article will expand on this research by combining the benefits and concerns about the Internet of Things to asses user satisfaction. It argues that the Internet of Things satisfies user needs successfully despite …
Video Games And Social Relation, Feiyang Yu
Video Games And Social Relation, Feiyang Yu
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will be discussing how multi-player games encourage social interactions. It will over multiple games as examples to illustrate the argument. The article has two focus: game mechanics and player psychology.
Influences Of Religion In Rap Music, Joey Rubino
Influences Of Religion In Rap Music, Joey Rubino
Pop Culture Intersections
This article covers the intersection of religion and rap music. It covers many popular rappers of the current era and how their success has been bolstered by religious influence in their music.
The Impact Of The 90’S-2000’S Boy Bands, Tamia Braggs
The Impact Of The 90’S-2000’S Boy Bands, Tamia Braggs
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will be covering the impact that top tier boy bands, The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC made in the 90's with Masculinity as well as Marketing aspects.
The Porn Crisis: This Generations Sexual Outlet, Daniela Williams
The Porn Crisis: This Generations Sexual Outlet, Daniela Williams
Pop Culture Intersections
With the development of technology, we opened a world, not only to new ideas and innovations but also to the world of pornography. Pornography has invaded our culture, in music, television shows, movies even social media. Advocates for the production and consumption of pornography claim pornography to be a form of self-expression that is healthy and essential to discovering their sexual experiences. However, this paper argues that the lack of regulation is contributing to the damaging effects pornography has on the consumers’ psyche and behavior, it is also factoring into our society’s decline of public health. This claim is supported …
Effects Of American Pop Culture On The Political Stability Of The Arab Spring!, Mina Alsadoon
Effects Of American Pop Culture On The Political Stability Of The Arab Spring!, Mina Alsadoon
Pop Culture Intersections
The Arab Spring was an act of rebellion by the youth to ask for freedom of speech, a relief from the dictatorship era, and to demand basic civil rights. It all started in Tunisia when a policewoman slapped a young boy in public when he was trying to sell merch on the sidewalk to support his family, the boy resulted to burning himself in public as its a shameful thing that a woman hit a man. That in a way started a revolution to enlighten people's minds, and be conscience to reality. In 2009, the Middle East started to get …
The Misconception Of College Life: How Popular Media Is Making It Worse, Jenna Bucher
The Misconception Of College Life: How Popular Media Is Making It Worse, Jenna Bucher
Pop Culture Intersections
This article explores the misconceptions of the life of a college student and the daily struggles that get overlooked. Colleges provide support for the most prevalent cases of mental illness but disregard those who do not display these obvious signs. This focus on only those with extreme needs leaves the majority of students feeling lost and not knowing where to go for help; their feelings are not warranted and unless they are suicidal, it is not of a concern. I will argue that on top of the stresses of acclimating to college, daily work and social pressures, social media has …
The Effects Of Media Coverage On Mass Shootings In The United States, Lisa Chen
The Effects Of Media Coverage On Mass Shootings In The United States, Lisa Chen
Pop Culture Intersections
This paper discusses the effects media coverage and media portrayal have on mass shootings in the United States. As the occurrences of mass shootings in the United States have increased, the depiction of these events through news outlets, media stories and journal articles have also increased. With these devastating events on the rise, the perceived public safety within the nation is at stake. By evaluating the effects of media coverage on mass shootings, we are able to uncover whether it may be encouraging the increasing trend. Through the examination of multiple news articles, scholarly journals, and books through a behavioral …
The Power Of Influence: Traditional Celebrity Vs Social Media Influencer, Melody Nouri
The Power Of Influence: Traditional Celebrity Vs Social Media Influencer, Melody Nouri
Pop Culture Intersections
This article examines how YouTube and Instagram micro-celebrities are able to influence pop culture trends in regards to fashion and beauty at greater extents than the traditional celebrity. From their ability to create communities where users feel more connected to the influencer through higher levels of engagement, authenticity, and reliability, we can conclude that social media stars have the upper hand in endorsing products. From the implications of the social media star’s greater amount of influence on consumers, I conclude that product marketing efforts should prioritize using social media celebrities as their main advertising platform due to more efficient audience …
The Impact Of Podcasts In Education, Thomas Goldman
The Impact Of Podcasts In Education, Thomas Goldman
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will be covering the impact of podcasts in education. Multimedia has been apart of education and classroom environments for over 40 years. With the recent rise in podcast creators and consumers, it is natural that this aspect of media would also spread into education. The use of podcasts in education is controversial, one side argues that podcasts have no place in education and are merely a distraction. The same was said about PowerPoint presentations and in-class videos at one point of time, however multimedia in the classroom has become the new norm. This article will provide the argument …
Marketing Influences Through Strategic Campaigns And Sustainability, Oliver Martin
Marketing Influences Through Strategic Campaigns And Sustainability, Oliver Martin
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will present how marketing can transcend boundaries and promote future globalization. The implementation of the triple bottom line consisting of environmental, social and economic values has proven to be successful in the growing of brands beyond their product and services. One study illustrates that consumers' purchasing patterns are affected by brand culture and ethics. The companies Starbucks, Ikea and Unilever utilize their extensive marketing reach not only to promote their business, but future change and equality. This article will argue how the interconnectivity of marketing campaigns will transcend barriers and create a common ground, which we so desperately …
Private Equity Success: High Returns In A Risky World, Ross Corey
Private Equity Success: High Returns In A Risky World, Ross Corey
Pop Culture Intersections
This article will be covering how a private equity firm, despite the firm’s investment preferences, can lessen their risk without negatively affecting the potential gains in their assets and capital by making the right considerations. Investing in platforms such as stocks, bonds, and real estate may offer good long term returns. A small percentage of people look to invest in private equity markets. A reason for this is because funds have high minimum investments which makes private equity more exclusive compared to many public markets. A private equity investment, in most cases, is an opportunity for higher returns, with the …