Cunningham, Kamy. [1993] 2005. "Barbie Doll Culture and the American Waistland". Pp. 39-42 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Reflecting on ideals of beauty, Cunningham describes American culture's (current) obsession with long legs and skinny waists on women. The problem, she says, is advertising: "Advertising is so dominate... that 'its messages are the only ones being heard'".
She talks about Barbie dolls with their unrealistic proportions, a giant statue of Cleopatra at Caesar's Palace and the Las Vegas showgirls, the dolled-up "clone women" from Pepsi commercials and MTV videos, and the emotionally and mentally childish Vanna White to demonstrate the prevalence of the one specific image of ideal beauty we see daily, wherever we go, and wherever we look.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Excerpt: September 11, 2001: Mass Murder and Its Roots in the Symbolism of American Consumer Culture
Ritzer, George. [2002] 2005. "September 11, 2001: Mass Murder and Its Roots in the Symbolism of American Consumer Culture". Pp. 33-39 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
The terrorist attacks of September 11th were a symbolic attack on American culture, argues social theorist George Ritzer. Indeed, in the aftermath of the attacks many commentators in the mass media remarked that the attacks were an objection to Americanization abroad while others dismissed this claim and asked "What did we do to deserve this?". In this essay, Ritzer answers this question succinctly by focusing on how one aspect of American culture--consumption--produces hostility towards the Unites States in foreign cultures. Specifically, he examines three aspects that present themselves not only physically but symbolically through their media presence; these aspects "bring with them (a) an American way of doing business, (b) an American way of consuming, and (c) American cultural icons".
The terrorist attacks of September 11th were a symbolic attack on American culture, argues social theorist George Ritzer. Indeed, in the aftermath of the attacks many commentators in the mass media remarked that the attacks were an objection to Americanization abroad while others dismissed this claim and asked "What did we do to deserve this?". In this essay, Ritzer answers this question succinctly by focusing on how one aspect of American culture--consumption--produces hostility towards the Unites States in foreign cultures. Specifically, he examines three aspects that present themselves not only physically but symbolically through their media presence; these aspects "bring with them (a) an American way of doing business, (b) an American way of consuming, and (c) American cultural icons".
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Excerpt: Body Ritual of the Nacirema
Miner, Horace. [1956] 2005. "Body Ritual of the Nacirema". Pp. 28-32 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
This is a classic essay to be sure, first appearing in American Anthropologist in 1956 and being reprinted and taught to students of social science ever since.
Miner describes the mysterious Nacirema tribe as an objective social scientist should. He documents their daily rituals for oral cleanliness and visits to the tribal medicine men and herbalists. He notes their obsession with the human body and how they go about preserving and fretting over it, from body rituals undertaken at temples to the efforts taken to conceal bodily functions such as excretion and reproduction.
This is a classic essay to be sure, first appearing in American Anthropologist in 1956 and being reprinted and taught to students of social science ever since.
Miner describes the mysterious Nacirema tribe as an objective social scientist should. He documents their daily rituals for oral cleanliness and visits to the tribal medicine men and herbalists. He notes their obsession with the human body and how they go about preserving and fretting over it, from body rituals undertaken at temples to the efforts taken to conceal bodily functions such as excretion and reproduction.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Excerpt: Leaving Home for College: Expectations for Selective Reconstruction of Self
Karp, David, Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, and Paul S. Gray. [1998] 2005. "Leaving Home for College: Expectations for Selective Reconstruction of Self". Pp. 51-57 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Every year, thousands of American high school students prepare to leave their homes for college. But in spite of being raised to be fervently independent, both they and their parents are ambivalent about this transition. It turns out that achieving independence in America involves complex social psychological processes pertaining to identity construction and group membership.
The students interviewed for this study were all upper-middle-class; all expected to go to college, and their parents expected nothing less. All of them "saw college as the time for discovering who they really were", as the time for abandoning past identities that they disliked and assuming new ones that they did.
Every year, thousands of American high school students prepare to leave their homes for college. But in spite of being raised to be fervently independent, both they and their parents are ambivalent about this transition. It turns out that achieving independence in America involves complex social psychological processes pertaining to identity construction and group membership.
The students interviewed for this study were all upper-middle-class; all expected to go to college, and their parents expected nothing less. All of them "saw college as the time for discovering who they really were", as the time for abandoning past identities that they disliked and assuming new ones that they did.
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