Week 12

This week in class we discussed the role of popular culture in mass media and art and how it is involved in the foreign policy process. Popular culture has a degree of mass appeal and mass attention and does not occur in a hypodermic process. When looking at pop culture, we cannot toss it by the way side and dismiss it as background noise. We must look at pop culture in terms of certain political functions. The four specific political functions that we use to assess pop culture and its role in politics are its function to define, to socialize, to mobilize, and to transform. We also dispelled the myth that art sparks change by showing that, usually, elements of change influence the art. We also discussed how art rarely alters the way in which someone views society completely. If a piece of pop culture does transform its audience, however, there is a lot of instability as people throw out all their fundamental beliefs and try to redefine themselves. Art doesn't serve as a trans formative vehicle in itself. We also watched the documentary Hollywood Vietnam. This film showed the impact of popular culture and its impact on public opinion. It shows how Hollywood had the benefit of not having to report things as they happened. They could wait a few years in order to derive some meaning from the situation and to find the zeitgeist. Movies did not necessarily depict what the soldiers went through, but they definitely effected the public's perception of Vietnam. The movies were also made to reflect the sentiments for their target audiences. These sentiments may not have been 100% accurate. It's also interesting to note that there are not many films concerning the decision making and politics behind the Vietnam War.

1. How did Hollywood influence the American public's view of the Gulf War?
2. Are there any pieces of art or pop culture that did transform beliefs dramatically?

1. With films such as Jarhead and We Three Kings, the depiction of the Gulf War has helped to form an image in the minds of the general public. The films shaped the public's idea of what war is like and how it negatively influences soldiers.