Aschrock280's Blog

Annnnnnd we’re done. (Final Portfolio Reflection)

From Western Society, to Reality Television, we have covered a vast array of subjects and each one made a contribution to Popular Culture. The question is: What now? It certainly has been an interesting quarter and there is no doubt in my mind that I’ve learned about the controversial aspects of popular culture. I had expected these blogs to be more about connecting artifacts of current events to discussions we talked about in class and possibly adding our own flair to them. Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed at the way some of my blogs were viewed and graded, but on the same note, I could have been more clear on what I was relating my blogs to. Therefore, the best work in my eyes may be different than the one I received the highest grade on.

Through this assignment, I learned to connect current events to the way popular culture has an effect on them. In nearly every popular culture medium (video games, television, film, etc.) there was a relation to a topic we discussed in class, which is why I think this is what made the class so interesting. Our generation is witnessing the giant leaps forward in technology in the aforementioned mediums and it is because of this that, that more assignments such as this one will most likely become more and more prevalent in education in the future.

As for my blogs, I tried to make connections to our current topics towards the beginning of my postings and then when it got towards the end of the quarter, I was able to do the same, but also relate some ideas back to what we had talked about before midterm. In truth, I would also try to incorporate some of my own ideas into my posts and maybe (if I was lucky) something humorous to lighten the mood a little. I thought my best post was probably Never Cheer The Good Guy because of all the examples I could have provided other than the ones listed. It talked about popular culture icons becoming villains for the sole purpose of building their popularity and to sell tickets. The post dealt with how we all have that secret desire to see a great villain. In this post, the main idea was in icons becoming villains, they also became cultural memes which was what Kanye West did unintentionally. I felt as if my weakest post came in the form of Let’s Tone it Down a Bit Shall We? This post was fairly weak because everyone knows about obsessive fans…and nearly nobody likes them. It was almost too easy to take the stance that I did, and it felt almost unfair to further point out their insanity once again. In summary, it seemed as though I was shooting a dead horse. I could have taken the harder approach and argued that they were only expressing their undying gratitude, and made it seem as if every celebrity needed super-fans (or else they wouldn’t be celebrities). The post just seemed too easy in my eyes.

If I had to do these blog entries all over again, I would provide more profound evidence to my claims and back them up with stronger artifacts. Since this was my first time using blogs, I was getting a feel for the project throughout the quarter. My blog entries were a personal reflection of a few of my ideas and I would better tie these into the actual topics we discussed.  I felt as if my artifacts were very hit or miss with fully connecting with it’s supposed topic and it was much tougher than I thought it would be. Though, thankfully, I have an idea of what to do in the future for these assignments. It is because of this that I am very grateful for this portfolio project. Now that it’s over, I am glad the way my portfolio turned out. I know it is an accurate reflection of my opinions on the topics we covered (largely including hegemonic masculinity, which I learned can be applied to nearly every culture that involves a male) and my frustrations with reality TV. The portfolio even allowed me to express my new found appreciation the show “Glee”. In the end, I hope this assignment only helps me with future blogs that come from my mind… and here is where the credits would roll.