Assignment 2-2:Uncle Sam

     

      Uncle Sam is the national personification of the United States and sometimes more specifically of the American government, with the first usage of the term dating from the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly white man with white hair and a goatee beard, and dressed in clothing that recalls the design elements of States.


      For example, typically a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers. The first use of the term in literature is seen in an 1816 allegorical book, The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search after His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq.

      Why Uncle Sam because, it is an icon that represents The United States and is very popular nowadays in the world. The image of Uncle Sam is as popular as the name of certain icons such as George Washington and Einstein. Many businesses use the image of Uncle Sam to advise their product or services as you can notice while walking on the road or driving. Uncle Sam is like the guardian of the nation. In short term he is the father.

References

(1917).What’s the origin of Uncle Sam. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unc

Le-Sam

Assignment1-4 Weekly Written Analysis 1

This weeks Analysis, I will talk about DJEMBE as pop culture in the continent of Africa.


A djembe also known as djimbe and jembe is an instrument of music. It is characterize by a skin covered hand drum shaped like a goblet and meant to be played with a stick. According to the Bamana a tribes in Mali ( a country in west Africa).the name of Djembe comes from the saying “Anke dje, anke be” which translates to “everyone gather together” and the define the drum’s purpose.(Fotolia, 2010)

By focusing on the definition of djembe we can notice that his role is to gather people.

The djembe (the drum) occupy an important place in African tradition. In the history of the kings in Africa many of them were surrounded by drums which were handled by the griots.The griots are usually those who follow and sing for the kings.The djembe was used also to communicate between generation to generation.

The djembe is played, with full hands to accompany the social facts such as the marriages, baptisms, harvests, with rhythms particular to each occasion and each ethnicity.

The music of West Africa nowadays has its entire place in our Occidental culture. We see appearing djembe in many contexts quite as different from each other. The African artists who were the precursors of Djembe in the world allowed a great number among us (apprentices players of djembe) to discover a passion and it is that even which gave us thirst to travel, to share and discover a culture impressed of an extraordinary musical richness.

These are some facts that make djembe a precious instrument and a pop culture topic.

In conclusion, the African music wakes up in us a simple and unquestionable love of life stripped of any ambiguity; because it is the source even of a social link out of the common run, which is only able, even for a short moment, to link in complete symbiosis of the beings, culture, thought, colors and different beliefs and it is that even which makes it unconsciously so gravitational.



Reference

Fotolia. (2010). The djembe and the African culture.Retrieved from http://www.prof2zik.com/le-

           Djembe on March 02, 2010

Assignment 1-2

Popular culture is defined in the dictionary as simply, the events, people, fads, and trends that capture the public imagination. It is also a term used to describe current cultural trends, and cultural trends of the past that have achieved enduring status.


For examples: Cultural icons can be anything, even cartoon characters, like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and other classic Disney characters

Cultural icons can also be political figures, athletes, celebrities, and people who have somehow achieved notoriety in less conventional ways.

Popular culture means to me the culture of the people. It is everything that is commonly used nowadays by the mankind such as TV, movies, popular music, styles of clothing and furniture.

Nowadays advertising is primordial for the success of every business. For instance, if a a business men wants to reach a certain type of customers such as elderly people between 60 to 80. He will need to understand pop culture to effectively advise his product. He will need to do a retrospection of their time. Find out what was the trend. Or he will not be able to influence those people to buy his product. You do not want to advertise a product to the wrong group of people or wrong age. The other important is try to figure out where a certain trend is going and how to benefit from it or be quick to make change and gain profit before other people competing with you.

An iphone is an example of pop culture, because nowadays almost everyone has it. It is widely used around the world and it is a cell phone that has many features, such as Gps to navigate or to locate a person, to still in touch with friends and family by using facebook or myspace.

reference
dictionary.com information retrieved in Mars 27, 2010.