...Popular Literature Paper SOC/105 Introduction to Pop Culture Instructor: Narketta Sparkman Popular Literature Paper The purpose of this paper is to analyze a piece of popular literature including a critique of the story and a commentary about the influence of the work in popular culture. The paper will identify the literary production of The Green Mile written in 1996 by Stephen King. The paper will provide a brief description of what the novel is about, Stephen King’s background, and rather the novel fits other literature of the genre. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the cultural significance; whether the novel is economically successful or has fan followings and also what cultural values are reinforced or challenged. Background The Green Mile is about a man that was sent to prison for the rap and murder of two little girls and a prison guard who over time believes in the man’s innocents. The readers believe in the man’s innocents from the beginning; since, many times when and African American is put in prison in the beginning of a story there is always an assumption that he or she is put in prison over something a Caucasian has done. The suspense in the novel makes it difficult to put the book down, just when the reader thinks that he or she thinks they know what will happen-something changes. Stephen King is known a writer of horror fiction; many of his stories have unsuspected endings. The endings of most of his work keep the reader in suspense wondering...
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...Running Head: Popular Literature Popular Literature Ivan Posada Instructor, Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo University of Phoenix March 28, 2011 Water for Elephants This book is a historical novel written by Sara Gruen, The novel focus on the story of Jacob Jancowski and his experiences since he was a college student through his life experience travelling with The Benzini Brothers Circus. The story is told as a series of memories by Jacob Jankowski, a ninety or ninety-three year-old man who lives in a nursing home, where Jacob is told what to eat and what to do. The book of his memories began, when he was twenty-three years old. Jacob was studying veterinary at Cornell University when he received the horrible news that his parents were killed in a car accident. Days after his parents accident he found that was not money left and his parents were in a deeply debt because his father, who was a veterinary was treating animals for free, plus all the expenses that were generated by the veterinary school for Jacob (Wikipedia, 2011). One night Jacob was desperate and he jumped on a train, which ended up being a circus train, in where he starts working as an animal caregiver after the owner of the circus found that he was a veterinary student. And after this a multiple events are mentioned in the book about Jacobs’s life and all the things that he had to go through during his life at the circus (Wikipedia, 2011). Years after when Jacob turn ninety-three year old he sees himself...
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...The Seven Chinese Brothers SOC/105 The Seven Chinese Brothers I am going to take you on a journey mile away, to a small village in China. We will be covering a brief look into the Margaret Mahy’s background and how she made this short story a captivating read for readers of all ages. Then I will touch on the cultural significance of her work, and reflect whether her work is considered economically successful. Lastly, we will cover the cultural values enforced and challenged by this story. Margaret Mahy, is a well know New Zealand children’s and young adult author, she has written many books covering fictional characters with strong personalities and supernatural strengths. She has a collection of over 40 novels, 20 collections of short stories and 100 picture books. The Seven Chinese Brothers, was published in the late 90’s, has been considered a national classic and an all-time best seller. Her books stand out from the rest by elaborating and spicing it up with more ironic humor and action than ever. She give you’re a life lesson in each story she tells, although brothers they are all different and special in their own ways. They will learn how to work together to save each other lives, and to me that is the biggest test of love. How the pieces fit together most short story are not of life lessons, although they tell stories in their own way. Short stories usually have a fully developed theme and can be significantly shorter and less details than a novel some have real-life...
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...Popular Literature Paper University of Phoenix July 24, 2012 Popular Literature Paper The literacy production chosen is Family Guy, which according to Fox (2012) is a 20th Century Fox Television production with Seth MacFarlane as the creator/executive producer and Emmy award winner in 2002. Seth was born in 1972 in Kent, Connecticut. Seth plays the voices for Peter, Stewie, Brian, Quagmire, and many other voices. Because the show debut, according to Fox (2012) the show has reached highest status with the all their fans, and its breakout star, Stewie, has become one of the greatest television villains ever. The show has stacked up numerous awards, including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series Fox (2012). Seth is also the creator of the hit comedy show, which is now playing on fox television called American Dad. A brief overview of season four on the episode of “don’t make me over”, when Meg asks the cutest boy at school on a date, and he turns her down because she looks like a boy, she turns to her family for support. In an effort to make her feel better and have more confidence, Lois takes Meg to newly built mega-mall, where Meg gets the ultimate makeover. Meanwhile, a local favorite tavern of the guys is forced to shut down because of the mega-mall taking most of the local business so Peter tries save the tavern by starting a band with the guys, but it is Meg's new look that has the record producers wanting the band. So the Griffins formed a band...
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...From the early days of written literature, literary works have had a positive and negative effect on popular culture. Since Ralph Waldo Emerson, who has been considered profoundly wise by Americans to include Abraham Lincoln (The Independent, 1995), scholars and literary writers have had substantial influences on culture. According to C. S. Lewis (n.d.), “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become” (Objectives for HKDSE, n.d., p. 969). Literature has been proven to sway how and what we think. It addition, some science fiction authors or popular works have increased the creative genius of some leading to advances in technology. The story of Luke Skywalker is no exception to the rule of literary influence. The instant success of the Star Wars franchise debuted in 1977 with the release of the first movie in the six movie series, numerous cartoons, comic books, and a cult following that will not go away for the foreseeable future. The story begins as a poor young farmer searches for a lost droid and ultimately evolves into the greatest well-known galactic battle of the 20th century. Lauded as the last Jedi warrior, Luke Skywalker, enlists the help of humans, droids, and aliens to wage a battle of good against evil. The evil, also known as the dark side, proves to be a formidable adversary that ultimately...
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...The literacy production was born in 1972 in Kent, Connecticut. Seth plays the voices for Peter, Stewie, Brian, Quagmire, and many other voices. According to Fox (2012), the show has reached its highest status with their fan base. Its breakout star, a character named Stewie, has grown into a very clever villain. The show has won various awards; among those is an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy. Seth MacFarlane is also the creator of the hit comedy show, which is playing on fox television called American Dad. A brief overview of season four, an episode named “doesn’t make me over,” the Griffins daughter Meg invites the cutest guy at school on a date. The boy declines her offer because she looks like a boy so she reaches out to her family for help. In an attempt to make her feel better and have more confidence, her mother Lois takes her to a newly constructed mega-store, where Meg receives the greatest makeover of her life. In the meantime, a local favorite tavern of the guys is forced to shut down because of the mega-store taking most of the local business. Peter, Meg’s father tries save the tavern by creating a band with his family and friends. Meg's new makeover has caught the attention of a record producer who wants to sign the band. The Griffins sign with the record producer and perform in New York on Saturday Night Live. Meg’s personality started to change because of her new look, she starts to get spoiled, but after the guest star of Saturday Night Live took advantage...
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...To what extent has popular music culture challenged dominant gender norms? Critically analyse with reference to relevant literature and examples Traditional dominant gender norms state that women are feminine in appearance, including everything from their hair down to their shoes and of course their demeanour, voice and behaviour. The traditional man would be that who is strong and rugged with a deep voice and who is overtly masculine without a hint of make up or traditionally feminine clothing. It has been decades since these norms have begun to alter and be challenged as both sexes began experimenting with gender and identity through the medium of music. By looking at different music genres throughout the ages I will attempt to show how popular music has broken down social barriers and in my opinion has succeeded in challenging gender norms to a point where the perceptions of what is socially acceptable have been altered. Before delving into the world of rock and roll it is noteworthy that the music industry was like any other business, a typically male environment in which women were not expected to survive. The music industry and specifically the Rock genre were sexually focused from the very early stages, as far back as the 40’s and 50’s. Rock music posed a question of morality and was perceived as shocking and dangerous because of its explicit sexual overtones. An example of these first steps in the scene would be Elvis whose gold, tight outfits and pelvic thrusts...
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...part the movies are overly clichéd lies. In reality there are only three groups of people and within those groups are many sub-groups. I don’t much though into sub-groups though, since virtually everyone from the same group gets along. First, the mass majority of an average highschool population; the populars (pops). Yes! That’s right, you didn’t read wrong. Contrary to the beliefs of many, populars are not a select few, but majority of the population. The pops are just as you might expect; crude, annoying, vicious, disruptive, think much too highly of themselves, etc… I would continue, but then this letter would never end. Now, something you may not believe is that they actually get better grades than some of the smarter kids in this school. Not because the pops are by any means smart, but because they actually choose to do the dumb-downed, simplistic work teachers handout now-a-days. Though the schoolwork incredibly easy, pops find it to be increasingly challenging. Popular girls will most likely get pregnant early on and be force to drop-out of either highschool, or college. They will most likely end-up as a stay at home mom, or a cashier at some store, or fast food place. Popular guys will either be a drop-out so they can raise money to support their family, or they will ditch the girl and go on to be a sports star or an actor. Surely there will be a few who change their ways and escape this fate, but not many. The second group of people are within the top percentile of the...
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...Literature is closely connected with the life and history of the people. The life of the ancient Britons was full of many battles against a whole lot of invaders, among them there were Germanic tribes, Angles, Saxons and Jutes; it was these invaders who created the Anglo-Saxon England. The Anglo-Saxons had no written language when they conquered Britain, but they had letters called runes which they carved on wood and stone. The songs, stories, and poems they made up to be memorized and were handed down from generation to generation. One Saxon poem called “Beowulf” has reached our days. We can call this period the dawn of English literature. The greatest writer of this period was Geoffrey Chaucer, who was the first truly great writer in English literature and is called “the father of English poetry”. Chaucer’s literary work began in 1373, he wrote such poems as “The House of Fame”, “The Parliament of Fowls”, “The Legend of Good Women” and others. In the year 1384 he started writing his masterpiece “The Canterbury Tales”. Chaucer died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His death was a great blow to English poetry. Though there was hardly any written literature folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland. Folk songs were heard everywhere. Songs were made up for every occasion. There were harvest songs, mowing songs, spinning and weaving songs. The best of folk poetry were the ballads. A ballad is a short narrative in verse with the refrain following each stanza...
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...Advanced literary study was established on a resistance between the canon and its other, mainstream culture. The theory wars of the 1970s and the 1980s and, specifically, the appearance of structuralist and post-structuralist theory, changed this relationship. With the passing of writing, the refinement amongst high and popular culture was no more extended reasonable, and the field of request moved from literary into Cultural Studies. In this work, Anthony Easthope contends this new train must locate a methodological agreement for its examination of authoritative and famous writings. Through a point by point feedback of contending speculations (British cultural studies, New Historicism, cultural materialism) he demonstrates...
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...Does consuming excessive media kill beloved literature characters? That is what the Madrid Book Publishers Association is trying to say. The Maridad Book Publishing Company has made a series of creative ads that make a very valid point. Books are not as popular any more. One of the three ads shows what initially seems to be a scene straight out of “Saving Private Ryan”. A picture taken in the middle of a battle during World War II. Four WWII-era soldiers can be seen in the photo, three of them are backed against a wall for cover. One soldier is kneeled down and peeking around the side of the wall, aiming his rifle into the distance. The second soldier is slumped on the ground next to the first soldier, either wounded or dead. A third soldier, a combat medic, and is yelling while kneeling over the...
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...As P.T. Barnum, one of the greatest creative minds in the entertainment business once said, “Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.” Literature is considered the heroes of stories and poems. That means they are not weak in plot or character, carefully crafted by the author and they have stood the test of time as a beloved classic. Literature is never constant, but always changing just as the people and culture change throughout the years. Firstly, language has gone through massive changes throughout the centuries, which in turn will change the way the books and poems are written. It transformed from a West Germanic language like Dutch, which was very difficult to understand, to “Middle English”. It...
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...Mantel, author of Wolf Hall, and the Tudor historian David Loades. Historians often describe themselves as detectives, seeking out a kind of truth among the conflicting evidence of the past. There is, furthermore, a large and growing subgenre of historical crime fiction. From C.J. Sansom to Philip Pullman, from Orhan Pamuk to Walter Mosley, from Ellis Peters to Boris Akunin, novelists have been keen to use the past as a backdrop for their stories of detection and mystery. The most famous historical detective might be Brother William of Baskerville in Umberto Eco’s peerless The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa, 1980). Recently we have seen a flowering of historical crime fiction as the subgenre attains maturity and becomes increasingly popular and innovative. Jason Goodwin, Philip Kerr and Susan Hill were all shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers Association Dagger this year (recent historical winners include Arianna Franklin, Jake Arnott and Craig Russell). Clearly the combination of thriller, crime and historical detail is compelling. Anne Perry’s new Inspector Pitt novel, Betrayal at Lisson Grove (out in paperback from Headline this year) is a pacy, twisting thriller. It is 1895 and Pitt is up against a conspiracy in the Lisson Grove offices of Special Branch (in best le Carré tradition investigating the enemy within is more hazardous than looking outwards). The novel outlines a huge conspiracy and ranges from St Malo to Dublin. While it is often too lightly written...
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...Practicing School, Thurstan Road, now Munidasa Cumaratunga Mawatha. This school was attached to the Government Training College there. In 1907 Munidasa entered the Government Training College and obtained first place in all the examinations he faced. After leaving the Training College he functioned as Principal of Kadugannawa Bilinual School from 1909 to1917. In 1917 he was appointed to the school inspectorate which position he held until 1922. From then on he devoted his entire time to literary activities. While engaged in writing he served as Principal of Nittambuve Teacher Training College and Siddhartha Training College in Balapitiya for short periods. Munidasa Cumaratunga became the first Sri Lankan author to create a children`s literature. He wrote short poems and stories which children of his time appreciated very much. These poems and stories gripped the child mind to that extend as the material and background in them appeared so familiar to them. They touched their imagination, thinking and...
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...INTRODUCTION Literature, in its wide range of sense, it is a written work of any single body. Literature is writing that is considered to be an art form. It is used to refer to all written account, though living at or belonging to the same time definitions extend the term to include text that are spoken or sung. “Literature is a process of producing grand, beautiful, well – ordered lies that tell more truth than any assemblage of facts, by Julian Barnes”. Literature is a Latin word, originated in the southern Mesopotania of Sumar C. 3200. Literature usually means works of poetry and prose that are especially well written. There are many kinds of literature, such as poetry, plays or novels. They also put into groups through their language,...
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