Popular Culture and Violent Behavior Essay - 11795 Words

Popular Culture and Violent Behavior Introduction In 1871 E.B. Taylor defined culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and many other capabilities and habits acquired by...[members] of society.[1] Taylor was talking about high culture, an aristocratic view of the past-times such as ballet, theatre and art. Popular culture, on the other hand, is a form of low culture and is based primarily on marketing, mass production and revenue. Low culture is what is sold to the masses, ergo, low culture equals mass culture. All these terms refer to popular culture, defined in the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦accessible to†¦show more content†¦The question I have posed is a very contentious one, which has been debated by scholars and graduates for some time, with many arguing that popular culture and mass media are ways of brainwashing the masses into the ways of a dominant social order. Others believe that popular culture is a type of folk culture which encompasses the idea of an alternative culture incorporating minority groups, perhaps with subversive values sometimes challenging the dominant control groups, as was scene with the advent of the Indie music scene in the mid nineteen nineties. In this dissertation I aim to uncover whether aforementioned subversive values can be uncovered in popular culture or whether popular culture is really a means by which the masses can direct dominant controlling forces. The main way I will do this is through my research into violent behaviour and the impact that popular culture can have on individuals and groups in society - mainly adolescents and young children - by looking at susceptibility, attraction, reactions and influences. Figures from the internet highlight the capability television can have to influence an individual: There are 7.5 violent acts per minute on television in the United StatesShow MoreRelatedRap Music : Influence On Violent Behavior1379 Words   |  6 PagesRAP MUSIC’S INFLUENCE ON VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES: A REVIEW Kaland Farrow Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University  RAP MUSIC’S INFLUENCE ON VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES: A REVIEW Rap music is derived from Hip Hop culture which is deeply rooted in the African American community. The word, rap, has a Middle English origin. Originally, rap means to beat or strike. Beginning in the 1960s, African Americans gave the word another definition. 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