美国流行文化.doc

American Popular Culture: Mid-Term Name (English or pinyin and Chinese (汉字): Student Number: 1. What are three kinds of culture? There are three kinds of culture: folk, popular and elite. 2. Why study American Popular Culture? First, Popular Culture is cultural glue. It binds people together in a world of shared references, meanings, characters, music, foods, and so on. The shared references and meanings are important for a pluralistic American society, which lacks a common religion or ethnic identity. And from the 1950s onward, the United States has turned on the new concept of culture. Now any one of the countries main basic out of fashion culture is inseparable from the impact of American Popular Culture. So American Popular Culture is taking a more and more important role in todays society worldwide, it is necessary for us to study it well. 3. Why did we listen to “Breakaway”? Why is it a popular song? We listened to “Breakaway” because it refers to popular formulas. In terms of learning American Popular Culture, “Breakaway” is a typical popular song sung by the pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It is a popular song for these several reasons below. First, topics, time, instruments are 3 standards of popular songs. Accordingly, the topic of “Breakaway” is about dream and future. The total time of popular songs is usually about 3 or 4 minutes. “Breakaway” is 3 minutes and 58 seconds. And popular songs usually use popular instruments such as drums, violins, pianos and so on. “Breakaway” uses these instruments. Second, popular songs promote passive listening- repetitive (because work or study is stressful, people want to relax in their leisure time and avoid effort). The music of “Breakaway” makes the listener relaxed and comfortable. Third, popular songs have a sense of identity like magazines, websites, concerts, and festivals, for youths especially. The age group most interested in popular music is from ages 12 at 25 (a gene