Outline: Attitudes to pop culture

In this section of the study guide we will outline three texts that cover the topic of pop culture. We will outline the texts one at a time, highlighting important points for you to consider when writing about this topic in your paper and focusing on the various attitudes towards pop culture, which the three texts represent.…

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"The Commitment to Pleasure"

Text 1 is an essay written by Hanif Kureishi and published in 2011.

Kureishi begins by telling the story of him and his sons attending a rock concert. This event reminds him of his own childhood and teenage years: “Music has been the most interesting, significant, liberating and sexually compelling cultural force of my time - and the most lively, gifted and attractive people went into it.” (ll. 3…

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"This pop-porn will ruin a whole generation"

This text was written by Mike Stocke and published in 2011 on a blog on the website industryears.com.

Mike Stocke’s desire is to draw attention towards the dangerous impact of pop music on the current generation.

Stocke gives the example of singer Nicole Scherzinger, who displayed an inappropriate behaviour when attending the finals of a popular music competition. Two children had reached the final, and the audience was then of the same age, letting Nicole’s …

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"Is Lady Gaga a Contemporary Feminist Icon?"

The text was published in 2011 on the website feminism.com.

The article focuses on Lady Gaga’s songs and choice of clothing. Gaga herself spoke about the motivation behind her controversial choices:

It was a statement against the horribly discriminatory policy in the US military, who accept homosexuals into the army, so long as they are …