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COMM 340 Exam 1 TAMU Questions and Answers 2024
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COMM 340 Exam 1 TAMU
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COMM 340 Exam 1 TAMUBrandt & Clare's definition of popular culture - answerthe activities, objects, distractions,
and focus of daily life; involves studying people, their rituals, beliefs, and the objects that
affect their existence.
Why has the study of popular culture been dismissed by generations of academics? -
answerThey believe it is mediated trivialities and distractions
What was Ray Browne's motivation for creating a department of popular culture at the
university level? - answerTo find how society affects culture and how culture affects
society.
What do our text authors mean when they write that pop culture is "from or for the
people"? - answerThe author means that popular culture is created by the general
population and enjoyed in the peoples everyday lives.
What's the difference between "elite" and "folk" culture? - answerElite Culture: not
accessible to all; out of touch
Folk Culture: fringes of society; accessible
How did folklore and folk culture shift into popular culture in 1800s America? -
answerThrough industrialization and urbanization as Americans shifted to the bigger
cities.
What did Ray Browne mean when he called television "...the basic medium for the
expression of democracy..."? - answertelevision was the height of entertainment and
center for daily life, as well as the medium through which most people got the bulk of
their information.
How is pop culture a "site of struggle" between those with power and those without? -
answerPopular culture is the center for individuals to question the power structure, but
at the same time popular culture reenforces the hegemony and maintenance of power.
How do Brandt & Clare define myth? - answera shared belief in the symbolic
representation of a culture's mindset, identity, and way of life.
Explain how the "American Dream" is a guiding myth in American society. - answerThe
idea behind the dream is that if everyone is working to better themselves, by extension
they are contributing to our society, making us a stronger unit. The elements of popular
, culture that promote and are related to the American Dream serve as hegemonic tools
to this maintenance of power.
Be able to explain how myths are perpetuated through "structuralism" and "semiotics". -
answerThe textbook defines the study of semiotics as the study of signs. We use
semiotics to get a deeper meaning into language and behaviors. Swiss linguist
Ferdinand de Saussure describes "language as a "social institution," one that exists in
society and follows an unspoken set of rules or guidelines that we agree to subscribe to
and follow with or without our consent."
What are some of society's "structures"? - answerthe various ways in which the larger
institutions of society assemble and shape meaning through social interaction. The
focus on structure stresses how meaning is produced through cultural practices.
Language is emphasized as one way of organizing and making sense of our reality.
What's first-order signification versus second-order signification? - answerThere are two
orders of signification, denotative and connotative. denotative refers to the actual
meaning of the sign. connotative refers to the "mythological" meaning of the sign. For
example, the first-order denotative can be found when we see an object as the object.
Whatever meaning the object has is basic and is exactly as we see it. The second-order
connotative is mythological, meaning that it carries a deeper meaning than originally
established
What do post-structuralist philosophers say about binaries? - answerbinaries as more
arbitrary than Saussure or structuralism acknowledges. Rather than pointing to any
inherent meaning, Derrida argued that binaries instead reveal power differentials
between ideas or groups; they are set up in order to favor one concept over another
(good/bad, black/white, reason/emotions).
How do ideologies, nationalism and hegemony factor into a country's popular culture? -
answerideologies, nationalism and hegemony all play a role in a countries popular
culture by creating a sense of national pride and establishing a power structure.
Explain the three stages in Campbell's monomyth or hero's journey. - answerinitiation,
separation, return.
What are some of the different steps heroes goes through during their epic journeys? -
answerTHE ORDINARY WORLD
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
THE REFUSAL OF THE CALL
MEETING WITH THE MENTOR
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
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