Popular Culture
From just about the seventh to ninth century, US experienced numerous cultural changes. These have been credited to foreign manipulation. This period of times gone by is regarded as US’s period of cultural borrowing. During this era many aspects of African society were integrated into American institutions (Clover, 1995, pp. 722-747). Cultural borrowing trend began following establishment Slave trade. It was on foundation of including religion, music industry and education (White, 1975). Africans also imitated American culture due to the affluence of music and movie production. The era is well-known as the world’s golden age.
Popular culture has become the style trend of the decade. Currently, the American movies and music industry has borrowed heavily in culture. Although this form of borrowing is not easy to detect, it shows up in artistic work and in culture chaining. For instance, in ‘Dancing in the rain’ by Carol Clover, the movie is filled with African-American brainwave. The inspirations in the movie are the influence of culture borrowing from other nations. Trendy fashion magazines are packed with African-inspired dance costumes, scripts and body-art kits. This clearly shows that borrowing basics from other cultures is not anything new.
Michael Jackson imported fabrics and dancing styles mainly from Africa (White, 1975). Despite the fact that popular culture has encouraged the multicultural gaze, genuine perceptive and respect of traditional values are missing. From the definition of popular culture it is regarded as borrowing in moves and image from elevated culture philosophy of authorship and acknowledgment (Clover, 1995, pp. 722-747). Clover (1995) discussed how, from this dazzling movie, the viewers understand overseas state of affairs and social way of life of neighboring nations. The natives feel the culture’s infinite fascination and splendid dialogues.
Markedly, the ‘Dancing in the rain’ film has immense social outcome, serving as the mass media. This film has secular bias; it does not contribute to academic work. For instance, the jeweled dots that African women put on their foreheads, as depicted in the film have cropped up in trendy shops in US as a fashion accomplice. As much as the music industry is concerned, the fact that Michael Jackson at times puts them on is far more significant than their foundation or meaning. Carol film, explained that culture is a nation’s heritage, it mirrors a nation’s political economy, religious credence and customs.
Pseudo-American text come up on publication, T-shirts, rave flyers and photograph album wrap. a great deal of it consists of arbitrary African characters. This appears enough for populace that mind about the appearance but look ridiculous for those who understand African languages. Michael Jackson is leaped on the bandwagon: his most recent video ‘Beat It’ features black models like Teena Marie and George Michael. ‘That’s dancing’ released in 1985 made Michael Jackson appear on MTV and portrayed him as one of the pioneers of a new era. This paper indicates that racism was not spared from fashion trend associated with popular culture.
In the early 1940’s movie musical award was dominated by whites like Bojangles Robinson and others. A flash of limelight appeared in 1980’s attained the position like that of Bojangles Robinson. Traditional values that embrace moral values are missing in this culture. For example, Macaulay Culkin, a white boy blows up his father with loud metal music despite his father’s plea to turn it down (Clover, 1995, pp. 722-747). Multicultural look is widely embraced as witnessed by Macaulay Culkin’s father during his visit in Africa. Balinese women, tribesmen and the Native Americans dance to Michael’s song ‘Black or White’.
This same song is danced by blacks, whites, blonds, Asians, male and women together. This cultural borrowing is unique to the postmodern era. Religious matter does not receive protection from this idea of borrowing culture. As a way of example, Magazines are lately on paper a month-by-month calendar of utter for the unfortunate, perplexed trendsetters, who can not make out which faith to dip into between new diets and calisthenics habitual. The first magazine called the “Native American” reveals more about smudging ceremony. They suitably file marketable smudging kits accessible on the market.
These include the Spirit Dancer Variety Pack- which is ceremonial abalone shell. In the month of May, people place Celtic earth goddess sculpture in their garden. In October these people arrange in a line their chakras using the Aura star 2000 computer. Nevertheless, these trendy beliefs are not taken care of with the same revere as true religious beliefs. It is asserted that they are discarded whenever new style appears. Perceptibly, faiths and cultures obscure are subject matter to this sort of treatment; a magazine can force one to get christen one through fashion.
In a 1995 article, Clover argued how, the morality of ‘Singn’ in the Rain’ is a stolen talent that is being restored in a nervousness. She says that the rationale for the popular culture is the way it restores the fear of uncredited and unseen talent and art enjoyed by many people in movies such as ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. This art and talent does not belong to the natives. Sometimes borrowing work is in opposition to high culture ideas of authorship and attribution. The decree of African-American brainwave did not score a shift in mind-set of authorship and artistic foundation. On its dawn, copyright was intended to do good to publishers only.
From first century of its establishment, authors persisted to write, borrow, cooperate with each other and plagiarize as before. They were offered a new system of recompense for their effort: to survive via their pen. These authors believe if they go hard on access to their rights, they would earn a living. This matched with the volatile expansion of the publishing industry in United States of America. Authors insured reimbursement for their academic fabrication. They achieved this target by putting their copyright, illustrated in the Statute of American act so that it coincides with acts in other countries.
They highlighted the value of copyright that was originally formed in the service of publishers. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Romantic poets-a leader of authors at that time initiated a new commencement of authorship. They realized that collaborative production hindered the term for the institutionalization of control systems acceptable by notion of Romantic authorship. Possibly authorship was describe in terms comparative to the preceding system of unrestricted borrowing and collaboration. Whatever the case may be, authors were contented with the duplicity of their position (Storey, 2003).
Solitary borrowing of American principles lies in Africans’ enlargement of American styled administration. The political reorganization the Africans government made display the simulation of American dogma was intentionally and brazenly taken. The grand Reform goal was to formulate Africa a centralized and influential continent. The reformers sought after making an all-powerful sovereign bounded by a convoluted bureaucracy. The next changes were put into operation in accordance with American political constitution (Clover, 1995, pp. 722-747). The country was divided into states, managed by governors selected by the central government.
The states were then separated into districts which were controlled by locally allotted officials. The districts were separated into villages. Government duties were to gather taxes, employ labor and keep track of the inhabitants. This system reflects the American’s model, a centralized government. An additional government accomplishment was the effort to take on the American system of land occupancy and taxation. The multifarious system projected to take authority from rich landowners that obstructed government from accessing tax revenue. The system toiled by taking over land and dealing it out among the residents.
This agreement ran parallel to the previous land allocation and taxation. Consequently, Africa created a more controlled and contemporary that held land surveys and population census. African society changed following the new government alteration. On the other hand, African political establishment initiated the African to American ethics. These were intensely ingrained in the dynastic opinionated foundation. In cooperation Confucianism and the idea of African circumcision were rampant in every day life and bureaucracy in America. The beliefs stressed out two core thoughts.
Confucianism gives emphasis to the significance of innate order in the world. Circumcision was found on the conservation of balance in the world. It was extremely deep-seated in dreams of dark and light. The broadcast of these sway is established in the new African organizational transformation. The Sixteen Article Constitution was snowed under with Confucian dogma. It talked about the matters of people’s role in the social order, the requirements for social accord and the supremacy of the administration. The ruler’s role was to direct his inhabitants with integrity and ethically. This improved social concord the natural values in life.
The development of these two eminent mechanisms was a symbol of American sway given that it exhibits the acceptance of an important African conviction. Africa’s initial history was documented by the administration with many borrowed cultures (Storey, 2003). References Clover C. (1995). Dancin’ in the Rain: Clover Source. Critical Inquiry, 21. 4, 722-747. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org/stable/1344065. Storey, J. (2003). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Kim Osborne: University of Georgia Press. White, D. (1975). Popular culture. Massachusetts: Ayer Publishing.
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