3.2 Popular culture as inspiration

Memorandum

Activity 1

Requirements: A3 Paper/pencils or pens/scissors/colour pastels and/or paint/Learner Journals.

The word ‘popular’ is derived from the Latin word 'popularis', which means 'belonging to the people'. During the 20th century popular music and art were shortened to ‘pop music’ and ‘pop art’.

Popular culture is that which happens around us every day - clothes, films, music or cars - all form part of popular culture. It does not matter where you go or what you do, you are surrounded by that which is popular: brand names of clothes, titles of films and advertisements showing your favourite TV programme or food. Popular culture also represents the latest styles and trends which teenagers like. As popular culture and mass production go hand in hand, the mass media and the general buying public determine what is popular. This is why popular culture changes with the times.

The media, like television, radio and magazines bombard the public with advertisements for new products and make us think that a certain product is perfect! Teenagers are usually the first to buy the latest CD releases, while influential and famous people create the fashion trends and enslave us with their television programmes/films of popular songs. In this way most of us have a favourite music or sport star, model or actor. Big firms place certain people in the public eye with money that has been provided by the public themselves! All the above-mentioned facts together create popular culture.

STEP 1

Let the learners complete the following table of their personal preferences.

(Examples of possible answers are printed in italics).

EXAMPLES OF MY POPULAR CULTURE

Step 2

• Public figures or celebrities can influence the youth positively or negatively. Give the learners the opportunity to make a list of negative and positive influences in their journals. Use these for a class discussion.

EXAMPLES

Positive - role models like Oprah Winfrey and Joanne Woodward who have strict principles.

Negative - celebrities without principles like Marilyn Manson and Eminem, advertising drugs and singing unsuitable lyrics about violence, thus setting a bad example.

Activity 2

Requirements: Pencils or pens

‘Artefacts’ are objects made by humans, like weapons, jewelry, tools, clothing, masks, holders for food and water, etc. In Archaeology artefacts provide important leads/clues to the unravelling of human evolution, ecological conditions, as well as pre-historic civilisations. Some of the oldest artefacts are rough stone implements that date back to three million years.

Artefacts are thus man made objects that were made in the past, but have been preserved to the present and can be seen as representative of certain cultures. Up to 50 000 years ago, this form of art was used during rituals and ceremonies where e.g. the spirits were asked for a successful hunting trip. What we regard as antique artefacts today, were articles used every day for survival for those cultures and were definitely not seen as antique or as a form of art.

Today new artefacts are created every day. Think of plates with the images of Charles and Diana, photographs and record covers of the Beatles, clothes worn on stage by Madonna, imitations and new creations of African art, etc.

The learners must now identify the illustrations in their modules. State which objects can be considered artefacts. Then they can classify the artefacts according to their uses using the provided table. They can repeat this procedure for the modern artefacts.

ANSWERS

ANTIQUE ARTEFACTS

MODERN ARTEFACTS

Ask the learners to add more examples of the 20th or 21st century to each column of the Modern Artefacts. They can think of examples from the popular culture or the mass media: famous pop stars, soapie stars, film idols, etc.

Activity 3

Requirments: White A4-paper/pencils/colour pastels or paint/rulers.

Step 1

• Learners draw ONE of the items from each of the seven columns they entered as examples of MY POPULAR CULTURE in Activity 3.1. They must fill as much of the page as possible with their seven illustrations. These images/illustrations (e.g. baseball bat, car, cellphone, etc.) must be representative of the individual.

Step 2

• Learners use rulers to draw three vertical columns of 7 cm each and 6 horizontal lines of 5 cm across their illustrations - like a chessboard.

Step 3

• Now the learners can use their pastels or paint to fill each space in the first block with a warm colour and the background with a cold colour. In the next block change the warm and cold colours around - fill the form of the block with a cold colour and the background with a warm colour. Proceed with this, changing the colours for each block.

Activity 4

Requirements: Carton holder, e.g shoe box/ old magazines/glue/ video cover of the previous activity/five personal artefacts.

STEP 1

• Each learner must bring a carton holder to class. The sizes may differ, as long as the holder has a lid. Let the learners tear pieces of paper from the magazines to paste onto the holder. Each learner must choose two complementary colours, e.g. red and green or yellow and purple or blue and orange. The lid can be covered with the one colour and the holder with the other, or both colours forming patterns and / or forms can cover the holder and the lid.

STEP 2

• The video cover that was made in the previous actvity is now pasted onto the lid.

STEP 3

• Then the learners must place five personal artefacts inside the holder. These artefacts can be made or can be finished articles. All the learners then exhibit their holders in a suitable place in the school building (preferably where there is security - a room which can be locked or where an eye can be kept - as some of the holders may contain valuable articles).