Greetings,
I am Candaules, I also go by Candles. I consume popular cultural on the daily both by choice and due to no fault of my own. Of course, living in the city of Portland, I am exposed to countless advertisements. I live near 23rd, which is a popular shopping area in Portland. Many popular brands have shops on this street, so if I ever want to see what the new fashion trends are, I go to 23rd. As for the popular culture I choose to be a part of, I am an avid social media user, I watch lots of television shows, and listen to pop music. Social media is an outlet to access comical media, as well as learn about politics from variety of sources. I follow most of my favorite bands on twitter, further, twitter has allowed me to contact the members of my favorite bands via DM. Site like twitter and Facebook show views what is popular and what’s going at the moment, much of which is influenced by money and egos. Today, social media is full of influencers which in my opinion has led to a loss in authenticity. Videos on the internet are different than they were ten years ago. When I am not wasting countless hours on social media, I like to watch television. I think that the shows we have today reflect a shift in representation, as well as what is interesting. More shows have female leads, as well as female character with full back stories that give them agency. I love to watch comedies, which is a bit of struggle due to the problematics of appropriation and untasteful humor that goes unchecked. In recent years, it has become hip to start being more diverse on tv in order to appear progressive. I have a great respect for tv shows that do not stoop to low blow humor and use marginalized people as a punch line. Grey’s Anatomy is one of my favorite shows, and is written by Shondra Rhimes, a black woman. Although the main character is white, Rhimes writes many diverse characters and incorporates a diversity of sexualities and genders in her shows. It does have its problematics and appeals to broader audiences by exploiting some issues, but despite this, I think it is one of the best shows on television to tackle such a large variety of political topics. Further, I love listening to music, and popular music is one of my favorite genres. Some people say it basic to listen to pop music, but it’s popular for a reason. Popular music has change throughout the decades, whether it be jazz back in the day, or doo wop music, or rock and roll or grunge, or hip-hop and R&B, popular music has shifted through most genres. Personally, I love pop music of the 70’s and 80’s. For many, this era is depicted as colorful, gym-attired, catchy time. From what I have heard from my peers, this era is a classic and favorite. Catchy tunes although at times cheesy, do a great job uniting people and being mementos for times in peoples lives.
I tried to avoid popular culture for a while, I had a bit of an ego struggle as I was trying to be as genuine as possible and not be ‘brainwashed’ by our cultural. Through that struggle, I realize that it is okay to participate in popular culture despite its downfalls. In the world we live in, there’s no avoiding it, so to actively do so is a waste of time and energy. Rather, being a part of it with a critical attitude is crucial for me. When listening to music and watching tv, I cannot avoid the media that support ideas in which I do not, otherwise I’d not have media to consume. When consuming media, my rules is, if the media is not harming me in an apparent way (i.e. triggering scenes on tv, or misogynistic music) I engage with it.
As for advertising, I think it is evil and that if you accept a sponsorship you are selling out. Being a sell out is not always the worst thing, however, but it can be depending on the situation. I don’t a hard rule would apply here.
Candaules - Popular Culture Blog (UNST 254) 
Love your photo!
I really liked that you focused part of your discussion on television. This is an area where historically we have seen women writers, for example. Even in the 1950s/60s on the Dick Van Dyke Show, one of the writers in the show was a woman, and MASH had several writers who were women. WIth the Jeffersons, we saw our first Black family on television, and with Mary Tyler Moore in 1972 we saw our first divorced woman working in broadcast journalism, who was friends with other single women who had careers. This was unheard of before this show. She had agency, she had a voice, and she was funny as hell. We saw a HUGE shift in our culture around homosexuality with the original Will and Grace. And a change in how we saw women and sexuality, especially mature women, with Sex in the City. Orange is the New Black is written by mostly women, directed by women, and showcases an incredibly diverse cast. We are seeing Melissa McCarthy shift how we see body types (though sometimes I do find the characters she plays as sterotypical, brunt of the fat girl jokes, which bothers me). We are seeing shows with women of different ages and body shapes, and I am seeing women of different abilities star is strong roles in television, and we just don’t see this in film. Are these shows perfect, no, but they are asking us to see the realities of the world around us in all our diversity. There have been studies that show that our culture shifts as we push the boundaries with what is represented in our television shows. I was watching the new McGyver a while back, and one of the lead characters is Meridith Eaton, who refers to herself as a “short-stature” actress. She is powerful, in charge, and the boss. Plus she’s wonderful. In the British crime drama Silent Witness, one of the lead actresses is Liz Carr, who is an international disabilities rights activist, and is in a wheel chair because she has anthrogyrposis. This is so exciting that we are seeing powerful people of different abilities, statures, sizes, genders etc…all in roles that give them agency. Even Monty Don’s Gardner’s World has a presenter who is in a wheelchair, and this in no way limits his ability to garden or get around gardens across Britain.
Excellent work, Candles.
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