POP into the Beginnings of POPULAR Music

Pop music had been originally been simplified from the term "popular music," which considers the music form to be typically very well-liked by audiences due to its catchy, repetitive sound, resulting in its own popularity. The genre emerged in the 1950’s but had not been dominated by the American and British music industries until the mid-1960’s. The first modern credit card was introduced in 1950 which may have allowed this genre to emerge do to the affordability of instruments that artists in pop music commonly used. The first Playboy Magazine in 1953 could have likely consisted of few photographs of pop singers, wildly increasing their popularity. In 1954, American segregation was ruled illegal which provided more equality within the country and diversity the music it consisted of. Although Elvis was typically considered a rock singer, he had elements in his music that had similarities to pop music in his time, and it was shared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Pop was not considered a distinct genre itself until the 1960's, what inexpensive, portable transistor radios were introduced. This resulted in a large teenage audience who could listen to pop whenever and where ever they desired, which increased the genres popularity significantly. 

Two main innovations in technology were beneficial in the recording techniques and methods of distributing music to help pop emerge as a genre. Microphones were greatly improved in the 1940’s, resulting in more intimate sounding vocals. Also, color TV was introduced not long before this type of music, and was considered as regular as black and white television in 1951. When music was played in audio and colored video, it became more intriguing to its audience. Thus, more likable and popular!

Requirements to fit the genre consisted of upbeat, repetitive, and rhythmic sounding songs. This made it generally catchy to most audiences and age groups.Vocals and backing vocals are generally always used to verbalize lyrics, and instruments consisted of the drums, bass, electric guitar, synth, and other strings. Female singers in the beginning typically wore short skirts and tight clothing which was considered part of the "pin-up" look. For both genders, it was popular to wear leather jackets, plaid, stripes, and jeans. Artists often mixed clashing prints in their clothing, and had "free hair", meaning gel was becoming out-of-style and au naturale was the way to go. Album artwork and music video imagery consisted of lots of vivid colors showing vintage cars, streets and cities, stages, and close-ups of the singers' faces themselves. 

Typically, pop artists write about love, lust, relationships, and persevering through life’s general hardships and struggles. By the early 1980's, pop music was greatly promoted by channels such as MTV, who were dedicated to music on television. These channels favored certain artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson for their powerful visual appeal that was thought to be very intense. Artists typically see the world in a positive light, and their lifestyle seemed to be just as upbeat, happy, bubbly, energetic, romantic, full of life, and self-expressive - similarly to a lot of their songs.
It is suggested that pop music has become to "popular" because it had been formed and originated by often borrowing elements from other styles. This included urban, dance, Latin, country, and especially rock. However, the vocal harmonies of pop were influenced by gospel and soul music, and its first instrumentation was used in the same way as jazz. The orchestration was encouraged by classical music and dance music, and pops rhythmic elements came from hip-hop. Recently, even rap has even became accepted as part of the pop genre.

Madonna is an important artist for this genre because she helped to express sexuality within pop music, which has become a large theme of the genre since then. Michael Jackson is also influential to pop music because not only was he a singer; he was also a songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor who had greatly contributed to the pop genre. This resulted in his title, "the King of Pop". As a conclusion, pop has become one of the most favorite types of music within the media and is a very well-liked genre even in our society today. 

 

Mini Review #5: Viral Videos

I think it's so cool that a single video can become so popular in a matter of weeks, days, or even hours. Viral videos are a big part of media today and have really made an impact on what gets shared over the internet. In my opinion, viral videos influenced such an advancement in technology, as it is an alternative way to show things to many other people at one time. Videos can be used to expose information or stories in an audible and visual way, unlike how radio announcements can only be repeated so many times, and the News is more of a report. Therefor, videos (particularly on YouTube) can be very beneficial to a viewer because they are often less than five minutes, show an aspect of humor, and watchers are now able to comment their opinions on what they see. (Which, they can watch and share as many times as they like). Speaking of "sharing", please enjoy this video of a small child playing with a light saber.

Mini Review 4: Kardashian Craziness

Keeping Up With the Kardashians is a great portrayal of what reality TV is really like. Fictional, scripted, but realistic and entertaining! Even though the typical family in our society wouldn't do half of what the Kardashians think is normal, it is still fun to watch simply for that very reason. The events that occur in the show such as eating a placenta are so outside-the-box, which is what makes the show so fun and interesting. The ideas that are portrayed in Keeping Up With the Kardashians are unlike any other show. The trends that have started because  of their fame such as "the Kylie Jenner lip challenge," (which I don't support,) shows how big of an influence celebrities can have on their fans. Over all, I think that their is nothing wrong with scripted reality TV as long as it isn't intentionally negatively influential, and is solemnly just for entertainment.

Mini Review #3: Unrealism in Reality TV

Before taking Media Studies, I was told that so many things that happen on reality TV are fake, but I never believed anyone who said that. After thinking about it and discussing it in this course, I have realized so many unrealistic aspects of so many reality TV shows that I never really picked up on before. For example, in the show survivor, I feel like some people are a lot more laid back then they would be in real life, where as some people are extremely untrustworthy and try to show no weaknesses, which is clearly not the case. Most people are probably going to do whatever it takes to win $1,000,000. It's unlikely that in every season, something extremely unfortunate happens in almost every episode such as someone breaking a leg or just giving up and going home. At the same time, I think that these 'tragic' events in these types of shows need to happen in order for it to stay entertaining and not repetitive. In the show Four Weddings, 4 brides compete to see who has the best wedding, which is chosen by judges, and once the winner in that show is selected, the three other competitors are told to say something nice about her. My sisters' ex boyfriends' Aunt was in that show and refused to say something nice because of how mad she was in real life. The show tries to make it seem like all ends well in the end and all the competitors will stay friends, but I have learned that in real life, that's not always the case in reality television.

Mini Review #2: World War G

This short film effectively combines horror and comedy. In fact, it reminds me of Scary Movie because that is a parody of other films, similarly to how we are imitating John G as a joke. I feel like the reason it’s so funny to us because we know him and his... Ahem... Great looks and charming personality, which is so clearly exposed in the apocalypse. World War G has great editing and sound effects, and one of my favorite parts is when actors Thomas and Brandon turn their heads toward the camera when they have just been infected by Johngivitus, and it makes a creature-like sound. Overall, World War G is a very entertaining movie and I could watch it over and over again.

Mini Review #1: Acting in the Woods

While watching Cabin in the Woods, EMS30 discussed common patterns in certain movie genres, such as horror. They often have up to five characters, the promiscuous blonde often dies first, and fictional creatures such as zombies are somehow incorporated as the antagonist or villain. In summary, this film includes majority of very typical aspects of horror films. Nonetheless, I think it is a great movie because of the “typical” structure and ties in lots of horror-clichés. In my opinion, the only reason someone may find these clichés to be annoying is because they are watching movies with actors with generally really terrible acting skills, such as the Grudge. The cast of Cabin in the Woods portrays exceptionable acting skills because they react REALISTICALLY to sudden events in the plot, and this can be proven in comparing the following videos.

Shrek Genre-Bending

Shrek is an animated film that greatly exemplifies genre-bending, as it exceeds outside the usual boundaries of its genre and breaks the familiar codes, conventions, and creeds. It brings in elements of several genres and shatters pre-conceived notions of several types. Shrek is considered an adventure/comedy movie, however, attributes of other genres, such as romance, are also included. The first example of how Shrek is a genre-bender is that in these fairy-tale-like films, the antagonist and protagonist are distinct and easily recognized and divided at first glance. During the beginning of films similar to this, the viewer can often easily point out who is the “bad guy.” This is different, because in the movie Shrek, he himself is portrayed as the “bad guy,” as he tries to scare everything in his path and villagers are afraid of him. It isn’t until about 1/6 into the film that viewers realize that he does in fact have good intentions, and we gradually see more sides of his personality throughout the film has he is shown to be more and more adventurous, comedic, and even romantic - instead of hostile and frightening (which slightly also brought in a horror aspect). Shrek is also unique in its genre because it includes well-known characters from other films and stories, and ties them all together in a very random scenario. This affects the other films that were brought in because it is likely to change the audiences’ perspective on the other characters’ personalities. We may know what these characters act like from completely separate stories we have heard in the past, but our opinion on them may change when we watch Shrek. Characters such as Pinocchio are portrayed differently in this movie than in their original movie, which impact how we remember them from that point on. The comedic aspects of the film are different because it uses lots of noticeable examples of dramatic, situation, and verbal irony. Inanimate objects talk, and animals wear clothes. This may be commonly used in a children’s movies and books, however, Shrek also directs comedic lines for adult viewers too. When Puss n’ Boots attacks Shrek in the woods, Donkey suggests to give him the “Bob Barker” treatment, which refers to neutering the cat, (which is an implication that young audiences wouldn’t understand). Jokes are disguised and implicit, rather than being direct and blunt like most movies that tie-in comedy. Shrek can also be seen as a genre-bender by looking at the romantic aspects of it. In typical romance movies, both the man and woman are commonly portrayed as attractive, flawless characters. In Shrek, they are not. As the fairy god mother says, no (popular) romance story has had an Ogre as the guy who gets the girl. Not to mention the fact that Fiona is a princess, and she also just happens to be an ogre at sunset. This greatly strays away from typical princess stories because the concept of this spell is so outside of the box and unique, which differs it from other fairy tales. It shows exceeding flaws and blemishes in each of the characters' personalities and physicality, The greatest proof of Shrek being a genre-bender is that the characters are portrayed as imperfect, but they still manage to live happily ever after.

Shrek & Donkey Verbal Irony Video