Basically, my grounds for comparative essay is the definition and implications of homogenized culture.
I decide to choose Macdonald's article : A theory of mass culture.
In his article, he pointed out that the mass culture is a homogenized culture, a culture for everyone. However, in the movie Hairspray, it seems that only the fashionable/white/beautiful/elite ones can be really involved in the pop culture/mass culture. Therefore, is the modern culture really designed for everyone to enjoy it or for those elite ones to showcase their talents and leave the general audience to admire and envy?
Based on the movie and the article, I will explore more about the nature of the mass/pop culture.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Friday, 13 January 2012
Reflection on " Why the wrong person always wins"
The first impression after reading the essay is that the author is very biased. His choice of words such as" always, nearly, clearly undeserving winner" have shown that he has over-generalized the issue. Of course, maybe he is a critic who is writing the essay to persuade the readers that awards are unfair. However, he provides only one-sided view which means that he only show his feelings instead of evaluating the issue.
In my opinion, his arguments are rather weak because he did not provide enough information on the other side of the argument. It is inevitable that some awards are unfair and involve commission. But for other awards like the Nobel prize for scientists, the judging criteria is clear and fair. Furthermore, many movie and music awards have incorporated the part which the general audience can vote for the winner. This democratic practice allows more fairness in the judgement. Indeed,some may argue that popular is not equivalent to excellence. However, the intention of some movie prize is to give the public a guideline of choosing movies as well as rewarding the actors for their work. In the case of movies, it is clear that the actors need to be good in order for the public to support him or her. Therefore, there is some link between popular and excellence although this may only be prominent in the performing arts fields.
In addition, the author did not provide enough solid evidences to support his thoughts. For example, " If you listen to movie buffs, they will tell you... " is not strong enough. His own memory of his primary school teacher is also rather personal and subjective.
In my opinion, his arguments are rather weak because he did not provide enough information on the other side of the argument. It is inevitable that some awards are unfair and involve commission. But for other awards like the Nobel prize for scientists, the judging criteria is clear and fair. Furthermore, many movie and music awards have incorporated the part which the general audience can vote for the winner. This democratic practice allows more fairness in the judgement. Indeed,some may argue that popular is not equivalent to excellence. However, the intention of some movie prize is to give the public a guideline of choosing movies as well as rewarding the actors for their work. In the case of movies, it is clear that the actors need to be good in order for the public to support him or her. Therefore, there is some link between popular and excellence although this may only be prominent in the performing arts fields.
In addition, the author did not provide enough solid evidences to support his thoughts. For example, " If you listen to movie buffs, they will tell you... " is not strong enough. His own memory of his primary school teacher is also rather personal and subjective.
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