CAPS #5

Popular culture can allow an audience to have a better understanding of a variety of cultures.  According to Martin & Nakayama in 2013, “popular culture is a new name for low culture, referring to those cultural products that most people share and know about, including television, music, videos, and popular magazines” (p. 361).  Popular culture consists of well-known forms of media that most audiences are aware of.  Martin & Nakayama (2013) believe that there are four significant characteristics of popular culture: “it is produced by culture industries, it differs from folk culture, it is everywhere, and it fills a social function” (p. 361).

            For this blog I looked at three Kia Soul commercials starting with the latest and moving to the most recent. These commercials featured hamster in them and we can see how these commercials are using popular culture to get their brand out along with a changing message while still using the hamster as the center piece of the commercial.

            The very first commercial showed many hamsters on wheels stuck not moving on the road. Then three other hamster roll up in a Kia Soul and the rest of the hamster looked shocked/jealous. Clearly they are grouping people into two categories, those who are smart driving a Kia Soul and those who are “stuck in the same spot” driving older more boring cars. There is also a clear choice in song here, one of the lyrics is “there’s some distance separating you and I”, continuing to play into the idea that there are two group those with the Kia Soul and those without.

            The next commercial in the series then moves the concept from, “we are better than what you have now” to “this is the car of the future”. In this commercial robots that are fighting each other stop to look at the Kia Soul and eventually dance with the hamsters. It shows not only is the Kia Soul a car for the future but it is well received in the future as well. Once again three key themes exists here, the hamsters, those who have a Kia Soul are better off (apparently even in a robot war), and finally the music choice. This time the music chosen was Party Rock. I believe there to be a couple reasons behind this. First is that at the time party rock was a very popular song and second it reinforces the message that the Kia Soul is better. With the Kia Soul you are having fun even in a robot war.

            The final commercial I looked at is the most recent Kia Soul commercial. This commercial follows the Hamster and the cars designer as they both “transform”. For the hamsters they transform their bodies and the car designer transforms the body of the Kia Soul. The three themes are here again. The hamsters are featured in the commercial, as they were in the previous two. Also the groups of people cheering are not only cheering for the hamsters but the Kia soul, once again indicating you can either be someone cheering for the Kia Soul or be the person walking out of the Kia Soul. Finally the music choice is closely tied to the commercial. Once again one of the reasons the song was chosen was due to its popularity but it also has to do with the subject of the song. The chorus is “I live for the applause” clearly suggesting that the Kia Soul exists because it makes people happy.

Robert Edwards's Final project

I had a hard time trying to get this video to have sound when I upload onto here. I couldn't figure it so I decide to post it without sound. However, I came across this website that allows for sound but screws up the pictures in the project here is the link. Thank you guys for your understanding.

Shelby Merry Cultural Identity Video

MMcLaughlin Final project

Project Video - Joe Morrison

Final project video. This was a great experience for me.

Project Video- Sarah Nelson

Final Video for Cultural Reporter Project
School as a Cultural Space
Sarah Nelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlDgDcu-NJk

Cultural Reporter Video-Kate Nevanen

http://prezi.com/a-eerjlpvoqq/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Carly Ficke- Final Video

Czech Festival . (n.d.). Nebraska Czechs of Wilber. Retrieved from http://nebraskaczechsofwilber.com

Culture. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com.

Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Interview 1, Darryn, April 2014.

Interview 2, Ian, April 2014.

Claire London Cultural Reporter Video

Thanks for watching! This was a fun class!

Mikayla Pate Cultural Reporter Video

Anne Johnson's Final Cul. Reporter Video

Cultural Reporter Video - Abhi Shome

Final comm video: Dani Wingard

Cultural Project Video Final

Cultural Project Video/ Christian Boehm

Shelby Merry Summary Blog

“Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.” -- Geert Hofstede

Zeta Phi Beta

I believe this definition of culture applies very well to Zeta Phi Beta sorority. In Zeta Phi Beta they each have a specific set of held values that they hold dear to their specific culture. During my interviews with two of the members it was very easy to see their passion for these held values. This group is easily distinguished from other sororities and groups on campus because of their collective programming that causes them to stand apart and uniquely separates them. I chose this sorority on campus specifically because previous to my interviews I knew close to nothing about the multicultural sororities on campus. It’s a great thing to have pride in your own group on campus but I was beginning to feel like my passion for my sorority campus was not allowing me to explore other non traditional sororities on campus. Thinking back to my own cultural identity video this group compliments my own identity because we both strive to better ourselves by surrounding ourselves with strong leaders. We are both women and students looking to broaden our horizons by a specific group on campus. It was easy to find ways we are similar in our identity and much more difficult to find differences. One of our contrasts was that traditional sororities on campus have many more members and seem to be more involved all across campus.

The concept I have chosen to apply to my study of the multicultural sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, is Minority identity and its stages from Chapter 5. The sense of belonging that the minority group begins to develop occurs in different stages. Herb Leibacher describes this as, "The Minority Identity Development Model," and distinguishes between 5 stages that people experience as they attempt to understand themselves in terms of their own culture, the dominant culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two cultures." I believe that learning about these four stages can really help in a better understanding of Zeta Due to the fact that the members of this sorority are a minority here at UNL, they each or most have gone through each or one of these stages. Zeta Phi Beta is an NPHC sorority here on campus, this is a much smaller organization compared to the Panhelenic sororities here on campus.

An event at the Union with NPHC organizations

Through my time spent with the Zeta’s I found them to be women of passion. Passion is when

someone has a strong emotional bond and yearn for something. Both Franicia and Mercedes showed passion about this sorority through each of their interview. I interviewed each member separately. Franicia is a Junior her at UNL and the president of Zeta Phi Beta. Mercedes is a Sophomore and connected me with Franicia. When I asked Franicia, the Zeta president, to meet she was absolutely extatic to share and brag about her sosority to me. Franicia discussed that even if they aren’t with any of their members or wearing Zeta perafranelia  they are always “wearing their letters.” She further explained what she meant by that by saying that you are constantly representing your house and showing pride in your house. “Zeta takes up 100% of your week, even in class you are representing your house.” They each expressed the passion they have for networking, which involves meeting with their alumni on a regular basis. Mercedes talked about how knowing the history of Zeta Phi Beta was a prerequisite for joining the sorority.  They’re house is built on sisterly love, scholarship, and service. They each discussed how their sorority sisters have each made an impact on their life so far.

Not only were they women of passion but they were women of service. Service means they put time and effort into wanting to positively affect the community they live in. One of the questions in my interview was, “What does a typical week look like as a member?” Franecia discussed how it completely varies by the week but each month they have a different “cause” each moth. Some of these causes include, March of Dimes, breast cancer awareness, and homeless awareness are just a few they she mentioned. It was really inspiring to see that they are so involved in the community and wanting to effect it in such a positive way.

They were also women of high standard. They each used this phrase at some point during each of their interviews and then went into further explanation of what it meant to be a women of higher standard. This meant that they aren’t just answering to themselves anymore but rather are representing the whole house. Both Franicia and Mercedes discussed how they are held to a higher standard by being a part of Zeta. Franecia said, “We want to encourage young women to hold each other to a higher standard and set that example. We want to be an easily approachable women that you could come and talk to for advice or mentorship.” Mercedes talked about the in order to join the house you must have a 2.5 GPA and continue to maintain that through your time in Zeta. It was clear that Zeta was a place to create and promote the best version of yourself.

Women of Zeta

 I've learned a couple different things from this project. One thing is that I am often naive to other organizations on campus. It was so cool to see all the ways that Zeta was involved on campus and in the community and I had no idea. In my interview with Franecia she discussed how she has experienced some comments from Panhellenic sorority members that, in a way, extremely naive and rude due to their lack of knowledge about the NPHC sororities here on campus. A key part in intercultural communication is motivation. Each group member must have a desire to learn about the other and remain flexible within that process. I had a desire to learn and grow in understanding of Zeta, this was a key part to my research. Another key component was my attitude, "An individuals dispositions or mental sets (Martin, Nakayma 2012)."  One last key component that was crucial to this process was empathy. This was the desire to really "walk in another persons shoes." Without empathy I could have come off rude or harsh during the interview process. 

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.

Hannah Kelley Final Video

I have attached my final video for the course! Thanks for a fun semester!

Cultural Reporter Project Video - Kim Boyer

Here is my cultural reporter video! I hope you all enjoy watching it, and whoop-hoo guys we did it!


Since I made this video before reading Chapter 12, here are some of my thoughts!

I think it is important to strive for intercultural communication, not just for the benefit of individuals but for society as a whole. I believe that this entire chapter was a tie in for everything that we have already learned throughout the semester but also adds the importance of how it needs to be improved. Many of the definitions given throughout the chapter are all about things we have strived through throughout all of our years of school. Examples, motivation, knowledge, etc. I completely agree that there has been improvements to intercultural communication throughout the years but there is always room for more improvement!

Shelby Merry CAPS 6

Dinner at the camp

Me along with all the Argentine and American Counselors

           

            Intercultural relationships can be a beautiful thing. According to Martin and Nakayama these benefits can include things such as acquiring knowledge about the world, breaking stereotypes and acquiring new skills. I experienced all of those benefits first hand this winter break when I traveled to Argentina. One person I grew really close to I was there was named Juan. He was one of the counselors at the camp we worked at that had spoken the most English. We were able to talk and share stories about our lives together. Despite only getting to know him for less than 2 weeks we became very close.

            One of the challenges of our relationship has been the language barrier. His English is very good and my Spanish is very bad. We are able to communicate fairly well, but staying connected through messages can get confusing with still some of a language barrier. One of the positives of our relationship has been the chance I have gotten to see just how similar I am with someone half way across the world. He has opened my eyes to the beauty of the Argentine people. Some of my negative stereotypes that I didn't even know I had vanished when I got to know these sweet people.

            The book states this quote, “People may be simultaneously privileged and disadvantaged, or privileged in some contexts and disadvantaged in others” (399). I see this dialectic standing true in Juan and I’s relationship. He was amazed at how much money I had brought to spend in their market and I felt slightly guilty for having the ability to buy so many things. I brought a huge suitcase filled with what I thought to be my “bad” clothes but he thought these were nice clothes. I didn’t wear an outfit twice the whole time I was there and he worse his multiple. These are just a couple was the Privilege-disadvantage dialectic showed through in our intercultural relationship.

           

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts (6^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill

Summary Blog-Kate Nevanen

For my project I chose to Spectrum to follow for the semester and learn more about relating to intercultural communication. In my introductory blog I stated my concept that I would use for Spectrum and that was sexual identity. Sexual identity is one’s identification with various categories of sexuality (Martin/Nakayama 188). I first realized this group would be good to study for the semester because they did not follow social norms like most students on campus, they are different. I soon realized I would be using qualitative method and participant observation to learn more about the group and its members. I planned to attend a few of their weekly meetings and set up interviews. I was very excited to meet some of the members and how they have dealt with their sexual identity and how Spectrum may help them with this.

My application blog took into account the first meeting I attended and the interview I had with the president of Spectrum, Sam Zeitner. I could tell from when I first walked in that they were a very tightknit group of people and shared a lot of common interests. Although they all knew each other they went around and introduced themselves just in case any new members were joining them. During the meeting they played a “gay jeopardy game” where I learned a lot more about the LGBTQA community. It was clear that some people were very informative on all aspects of sexual orientation while some were shyer and were there to learn more about it. Overall this first meeting was a great insight on what I would see throughout the whole semester. My meeting with Zeitner also gave me a lot of background knowledge on the group and the president himself.

Culture is defined as learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group people (Martin/Nakayama 88). Spectrum is made up people who have a few different sexual orientations but they do share many of the same behaviors and attitudes. I believe Spectrum is a cultural group because even though there may be discrepancies in who they are sexually attracted to or what gender they identify with they, they do not follow the social norm. Since the members are see themselves as different from the majority of the population on campus they tend to be very similar, especially in beliefs. I chose this cultural group to study for a few different reasons. I have not heard or seen anything on campus about a LGBTQA group, I have many gay and lesbians friends and I thought I could tie the group to many concepts we have learned in this class. I identify with them because I know many people that identify with the community but I also wanted to learn more and see what this group is doing on our campus.

One concept that I believe all the members of Spectrum go through on a daily basis is code switching. Code switching is a communication term where a person changes their languages, dialects or accent depending on who or where they are speaking. Through sitting in on meetings it was clear from the beginning that members were able to change the way they spoke once they walked into the room because they felt comfortable with these people. “That is way too gay, even for me,” a member said during a meeting. Using slang like this may be uncomfortable or even inappropriate when speaking to someone out of the group but it was fully accepted during the meeting. “I like that everyone can feel comfortable here. I will admit I talk and act differently on campus than in this room,” Zeitner. As I observed a few of Spectrums meetings I even recognized I did not understand some of the slang use, people talked about or subjects in general. This made me reflect on my own speaking habits and how I change how I speak depending on who I’m talking to and where I am.

Minority identity development was something I got to hear a lot more of through my interviews with the members. The four stages of this development is unexamined identity, conformity, resistance and separatism, and integration. Unexamined identity is when a person is lacking exploration into their own identity and just accepts the majority. Many of the members spent most of their live either denying they were different or being unable to understand their identity. “I didn’t know how to voice how I felt, and back in my home town I was too shy to do so anyways,” Zeitner. During meetings they spoke on how most of them grew up in houses where being straight was the only way they learned and it wasn’t an option to be anything else. Given this idea from birth, it took many of them most of their life before they could identify with their true sexuality. The next step, conformity, is when a person assimilates with the dominant group and grows negative feelings toward themselves.  I believe this is a step everyone goes through, whether you’re in the minority group or not. Many of the members made fun or their high school selves for pretending to be something they are not just to fit in with the “cool crowd.” High school is a hard time where everyone wants to be accepted and that is why most people give into conformity. But then something changes.

            The next step in the development is resistance and separatism. This is when a person ultimately rejects the dominant group whether it is because of a negative event or awareness of their own values. This also may happen when an individual who has been denying their identity meets someone from that group who exhibits a strong identity (Martin/Nakayama 182). This stage happened for a lot of the members as well as both my interviewees, Sam and Annie, when they arrived on campus. When they were able to leave their traditional hometowns and high schools and arrive on a more diverse campus they were able to express themselves more. When they found Spectrum they were able to find their true identity and share it with people who were like them. “Finding this group of people introduced me to a whole world and group of people I never knew about. It was my comfortable place,” a member said. The last stage is integration where a person has fully achieved their identity in the minority group. In this stage they realize they are the minority but has figured out how to deal with it. They are happy they know who they are and where they fit in and they are more secure with themselves than ever. Becoming a regular part of Spectrum has allowed many of these members to reach this step. Although most are very secure with their sexual identity it was clear that some of the newer members were just starting this step. “Sam and I are very definite and knowledgeable on our sexual identity and the LGBTQA community in general. We are leaders of this group to help others figure out their identity and if we can help them,” Annie said. This is such an accomplishment to reach this point and feel comfortable in your sexual identity. It made me happy as an observer to see this reach stepped in many of the members.

This project really showed me how having a group of people who are similar to you in their beliefs and values really helps communication. I think it is important to have good intercultural communication to help understand people who are different from us. Although I was tied in a way to this group and the LGBTQA community this process really opened my eyes to all the components of understanding ones identity. Meetings helped me see them interact together as a group but the interviews really helped me learn specific stories about people on campus.

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.

 

annie.pigaga@gmail.com

 

samzeitner@cox.net