Essay Sample: Relationship Between Communication and Popular Culture

Introduction

Communication and popular culture have, for a long time, had a close association. Most people attribute the rise of popular culture during the 19th century to the mass media. The association works both ways, with the two influencings each other. The content used in communication practice today relies heavily on popular culture. The impact of popular culture can be exemplified through the music and film industry, where enormous profits are generated every year from accessible content. Various communication media is transformed into digital formats that can be accessed by many people. Both professionals and non-professionals create this content. Many people have become more interested in the content produced locally than what is produced by corporate organizations or perhaps have developed a taste for both (Buhmann et al., 2015). This paper analyzes popular culture with a close consideration of the communication stages.

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Popular culture, also referred to as pop or mass culture refers to beliefs, practices, and objects that are most prevalent in society. It also includes the feelings and activities resulting from the interaction between these dominant objects (Buhmann et al., 2015). As a result, the various stages of interpersonal relationships are revealed. Different messages are sent out in every stage.

Film Summary

In the movie "I am Sam," the story of Sam, who is intellectually disabled, is told. The character has a daughter named Lucy, in honor of a song by Beatles, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Lucy's mother abandoned them after she was born, leaving Sam to raise the child alone. Sam's story is told in two parts. In the first part, the story of raising Lucy alone is told. In the second part, the movie tells Sam's story of fighting to gain custody of Lucy. In the end, Sam wins the case and gets to raise Lucy with the help of her foster parents, his lawyer, friends, and neighbor ("I Am Sam", 2001).

Culture as Disability

The use of common sense better handles difficult situations that can be identified as a disability. In any given culture, any individual can be identified as disabled. Aside from the deficits mentioned above of Sam, he also experienced difficulties in communicating with other people, and this hindered his associations (Alvermann et al., 2018). His disability in communication was noticed from the lack of eye contact, verbal communication difficulties, and the aptness to interrupt his partners. He could not relate appropriately to other people in public. He could not control the distractible behaviors and facial expressions. However, Sam is very kind and social, and as a result, he has built positive relationships with the community members and the clients he serves at Starbucks. His relationship with his daughter also seemed to be a great one.

Culture in Social and Learning/School Environments

Education has a side effect, which is a hidden curriculum. Some lessons are learned without being intended. These include the transmission of beliefs, norms, and values, which are communicated in both social and classroom environments. Sam showed low intelligence levels characterized by deficits in many adaptive behaviors. He was somewhat observing self-care by caring for himself without help (Varma, 2011). However, he failed to dress appropriately. For instance, he wore his Starbucks apron to court in one incident. He showed a significant deficit in caring for his child and other home living areas. He struggled to give Lucy adequate care. He dressed Lucy with his pair of underwear before realizing that she needed diapers. While buying diapers at a store, he becomes confused by the varieties and choices to choose from.

The achievement gap in education is the persistent disparity observed in performance among student subgroups. This is applicable, especially among groups defined by race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender. Watching the movie causes the viewers to develop empathy for those who are intellectually disabled. The movie avoids portraying Sam in a negative manner that would promote stereotypes against disabled people. It dismantles such stereotypes by highlighting the personality and individuality of people rather than their disabilities. Rita, Sam's lawyer, uses a few swear terms throughout the movie; hence it is rated PG-13.

At the beginning of the movie, Sam would be viewed as a child. In the end, he is seen as an adult trying to make better decisions for his daughter and himself. He has a vast capacity to love and forgive others. In the end, the noble character of Sam stood out, and his disability is not seen. Sam is much more than what he is seen or labeled to be.

Students with intellectual disabilities need modifications that would lead to better accommodation (Alvermann et al., 2018). They should be taught different things from what average learners receive since they have deficits in emotional, affective, cognitive, and social skills. Direct instructions work best for such learners as they would make guided decisions without having to process the information. Much practice is also needed to help them acquire specific desired skills.

Stages in Interpersonal Relationships

In the identified film, the content displays a pop culture that follows the levels of interpersonal relationships in communication. The first stage is acquaintance, where people meet and get to know each other (Jackson-Dwyer, 2013). For instance, Sam and his daughter developed a relationship of love and sharing after she was born. Sam also has many friends and people around him who understand his situation and care for Lucy. The message communicated in the first stage comes from the first impression, and this depends on the ability to interpret things and situations.

The other stage of interpersonal relationships is building up (Jackson-Dwyer, 2013). As mentioned above, disparities exist in diverse societies. Similarly, people with different objectives and goals do not tend to build better relationships. Those with matched goals build more robust and lasting relationships. This was the case with Sam and his lawyer, friends, neighbors, Lucy, and the foster parents of Lucy. Seemingly, Sam developed with members of the society, his clients at Starbucks, and other people blossomed. This means that the relationship entered the third stage, called continuation (Jackson-Dwyer, 2013). One lesson that can be learned is that relationships require the parties to know each other well, understanding the flaws and imperfections to the extent that they don't become a hindrance. As said earlier, Sam's relationship with other people was good due to the lack of stereotypes that would otherwise ruin it.

The fourth and fifth stages are deterioration and termination, respectively (Jackson-Dwyer, 2013). This was the kind of relationship that was developed between Sam and Lucy's mother. Soon after Lucy was born, her mother left them, and Sam had to raise Lucy on his own. It can be said that Lucy's mother and Sam lacked the compatibility crucial for relationships to blossom. The message communicated here is that relationships require a commitment through trust, combability, care, and love that allows the entities to avoid serious troubles and misunderstandings.

References

Alvermann, D. E., Moon, J. S., Hagwood, M. C., & Hagood, M. C. (2018). Popular culture in the classroom: Teaching and researching critical media literacy. Routledge.

Buhmann, A., Hellmueller, L., & Bosshart, L. (2015). Popular culture and communication practice. Communication research trends, 34(3), 4. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexander_Buhmann/publication/284186160_Popular_culture_and_communication_practice/links/564f38aa08aeafc2aab3b101/Popular-culture-and-communication-practice.pdf?origin=publication_detail

I Am Sam (2001) Plot - IMDb. (2001). Retrieved 13 August 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277027/plotsummary

Jackson-Dwyer, D. (2013). Interpersonal relationships. Routledge.

Varma, S. (2011). Disability through the lens of the movie I am Sam, Hollywood Production, 2001. Psychology and Developing Societies, 23(2), 297-305. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F097133361102300208