Blogs

One of the symptoms of academia’s struggle with defining popular culture is the inclusion and exclusion of many ideas and peoples. What this article made my question is the loose incorporation of stamps as Jack Child argues into the “what is popular culture?” discourse. Ultimately, after reading the Child article, I’m left unconvinced that it […] read full post >>

What struck me most about Andrea Noble’s chapter was the role played by cameras in the emotional depiction of early 20th century caudillo, Pancho Villa. An emotional Mexican revolutionary is one thing, but the “mediatization” (264) of his tearful displays throughout his life seemed to bring him to somewhat of a ‘movie star’ status, in […] read full post >>

Being a very emotional person, the title of Andrea Noble’s article “The Politics of Emotion in the Mexican Revolution: The... read full post >>

The politics and Semiotics of the Smallest Icons of Popular Culture: Latin American Postage Stamps.  The main discussion here is to what extent can stamps be considered popular culture. As briefly touched upon in the reading, the focus of this discussion is on the images placed on postage stamps (not the “functional” stamp). Reading thisContinue reading "Week 2: What is popular culture? LAST 201" read full post >>

Popular culture, in short, is a way of life or culture that is created and enjoyed by ordinary people. For example, this includes common dances, religions, and foods within a particular region. What is clear from the readings and viewings in the course so far is that just as culture is shaped by individuals, individuals …

Continue reading "What came first? The person or the culture?"

read full post >>

We have discussed in lecture the definition of popular culture, which is popular culture as something that is mainstreamed by ordinary people rather than elite communities. Government can be seen as elite communities in most circumstances because of their power and control. It was very interesting to pay attention then to the fact that stamps, […] read full post >>

Upon reading “The Politics and Semiotics of the Smallest Icons of Popular Culture: Latin American Postage Stamps”, by Jack Child I was intrigued. It was my first time reading a scholarly article evaluating different facets of what postage stamps mean to a particular community and the messages they hold otherwise. In this case focusing on […] read full post >>

I had never thought of stamps as having any cultural significance before doing this weeks readings. Sure I have seen plenty of them, I have even bought stamps many times in my life but never have I really paid attention to them. I think most stamps I’ve seen here in Finland are ones that have […] read full post >>

“The Politics of Emotion in the Mexican Revolution: The Tears of Pancho Villa” by Andrea Noble, was a very interesting read, as it takes into account the importance of emotions and sentiments in politics, but more specifically, its prominent role in the transformation of Mexico and the Mexican Revolution. Rather than having one single dividedContinue reading "Week 2: “The Politics of Emotion in the Mexican Revolution: The Tears of Pancho Villa” by Andrea Noble" read full post >>

The first thing that jumped out to me when watching black Orpheus was the title sequence breaking into the Brazilians dancing. This abrupt and loud transition is something that I haven’t really seen that many times in a movie. It seems like the movie is trying to tell us from the very beginning what it …

Continue reading "Week 1: Thoughts on Black orpheus"

read full post >>