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                 I have learned a lot about popular culture through analyzing going green and eco-friendly movements.  I feel as is myth, celebrities and formula are the theories that I relate to this subject.  These theories describe a few different segments that may help this movement become a bigger part of popular culture.

                Myths come into play because there are so many different opinions on the subject.  A lot of myths are about the environment and how we are using up resources which can’t be found after they are gone, such as, fossil fuels.  Some think that being sustainable is just another marketing gimmick to sell items.  In some cases, this could be true considering recyclable items are labeled eco-friendly to reach a certain market and the items do not contain organic or recyclable material.

                Celebrities are usually a way to get the word out about popular items or trends.  Not as many celebrities have endorsed the going green movement but there have been a few to start the process.  Having a high profile celebrity is very important in today’s popular culture to spread the word and get people on board.  These people have a platform that sets the stage for average people to gather information or become an important part of saving Mother Earth.

                Having a formula is important in many things we do in life including on the national level.  Formulating a strategy for the going green movement is vital for longevity and making this a national cause.  Formulating the niche in eco-friendly culture gives a jump start to a process that is emerging into society on all levels.  Formulas give a guide of how to go about and stepping stones for ways to be successful in completing the formula till completion

                Learning about all the formulas, how they fit into popular culture and my subject of choice has been eye opening.  All of the formulas shed light on the purpose of going green; the three I picked was most interesting to me.  I will think of these theories as I watch popular culture throughout my last classes and my life experiences.

Journal Article

            Sports: Why People Love Them, this article is to a general audience.  The article was written and released by Tim Delaney and Tim Madigan in the University Press of America, 2009.  Tim Delaney is the Sociology Department Chair at the State University of New York, Oswego.  Tim Madigan is the Assistant Professor of philosophy at St. John Fisher College.

This article explains the different social conditions, why sports still thrive and a variety of sports or sports fans.  They argue that sports in some cases can be used as a diversion for more serious concerns people have in their own lives.  They give examples of how sports are more than just a persona, but there are a lot of physical and athletic skills.  Putting into prospective that sports have been around for thousands of years, from 1400 BC.

 Although we may only think of sports to be the national level, there are many to consider and how they were started through survival skills and religion.  When considering the importance of sports, there are many lessons to learn.  Some people in the public eye are heroic and others are antiheroic.  This is a platform for athletes to be role models for others, mainly our youth.  There are many traditions to being a sports fan, for example, tailgating is a popular ritual.  Sports are a huge part of our society and there are many different sports to follow.  We all have different opinions about sports and that’s what makes it fun to be a fan.

The article gives a lot of examples of why we love sports.  I agree with a lot of the ideas stated by the authors.  Many people have busy lives that may be stress filled.  Sports are a way to get away from reality for a while and get excited while watching something play out in front of their eyes.  Sports also provide an opportunity to spend time with friends and family.  In many families they have set rituals, for example, “Super Bowl Sunday” is a day when people have parties to enjoy time with friends and family.  These types of rituals set a positive influence on families because this is known, in some ways, like a holiday when everyone gets together.  There are many aspects of this article I agree with and they hit many of the high points about sports.

We can’t talk about sports without mentioning the values behind playing or following sports.  As mentioned in the article, there are positive actions and negative actions from players or fans.  It’s all about having fun playing the game and not worrying too much about winning.  When there is overemphasis on winning, it makes watching sports not as fun because people get hostile or in a bad mood when their team loses.  I believe sports are after all, “just sports” and should only be concerned with the good part of sportsmanship.  Some parents, players and fan would disagree with this statement, but to keep sports positive, we have to emphasize the good that comes out of sports and encourage this throughout.  Another positive would be children who play sports are exercising keeping them healthy.  I do agree with Madigan and Delaney stating, “sports serve a vital, positive service to society”.

I feel as if this is an important article to sports fans.  It gives some history, how we interpret and the values sports can provide.  It is very important to teach children who love and play sports the real value of the game.  These types of teachings provide our youth with key elements to be better people.  This also gives adults a way of letting their stress out through cheering for a team or just forgetting about the worries in life.  This article might not be the most important piece ever written but there are some key lessons and different ways we interpret sports as a whole.

Formula

                A formula is something like a cooking recipe or instructions on how to put something together and make it work.  There can be many formulas involved when we talk about going green or eco-friendly movement.  Having a formula in place will help secure a positive outcome for any project.

                It is a good idea to have formula because it makes for an easier planned out way to complete things.  I think it is very important to have a formula in place to get everyone on board to become a greener society.  If there was a plan put in place to make it easier to recycle, I think more people would do so.  Providing a city recycling pick-up, mirrored to traditional trash pick-up, would make it more convenient for people to recycle.  This would reduce our consumption waste going into the landfills, making us more sustainable.

 There isn’t always funding for these types of services.  This is where a formula would come into play.  If there was a plan set forth on ways to reduce the cost of landfill use, this money could be used to supply the community with recycling pick-up.     

                Formulating a plan to provide consumers with vehicles that get better gas mileage, while providing new ways to run our vehicles.  This is very important for the movement of going green.  We need options besides fossil fuels to produce energy for day to day tasks.  If we force our government and putt pressure on them to provide us with a greener source of energy omitting less greenhouse gasses. 

                A formula is necessary in aiding the plan to make a greener society.  There are plenty of people who want to be more proactive in efforts to save our planet.  Sometimes we all need a push to get started; this is one of those cases.  When something is convenient it is easier to get people to participate.  Providing a formula to jump start this process will give other incentive to use a different source to get rid of their used items instead of putting them in the traditional trash dump.

               

           

Stereotypes and Rituals

There are stereotypes and rituals associated with the going green or the Eco-friendly movement.  Identifying what each mean to this movement could help boost it onto a platform to help educate others.  We all have rituals and stereotypes we associate with everyday life.  I will express my evaluation of each.

                Rituals are stereotypes and or icons performing actions.  Rituals are segments of our patterns of behavior which we have inherited and practice to pass on to the next generation.  A well-known ritual is Earth Day; many people participate in a variety of activities to help make the Earth greener.  On Earth Day, people will plant trees, pick up litter and introduce new greener products.  In many neighborhoods around the country, there is a truck that will come by and pick up any items which can be recycled, this is their recycling day.  I take my recycling into the local station every Sunday and most often see the same people.  This shows me, that not only my family has a ritual of recycling every week, but others in my town have the same ritual.

                Stereotypes concern people or people’s behavior.  I find there are stereotypes associated with being Eco-friendly.  Some people think just because a person is Eco-friendly or conscious of their footprint on the Earth that they are weird or different.  I have been stereotyped as a tree lover because of my concern for reducing my consumption waste.  They commented that I was weird and obsessed with the nonsense to be Eco-friendly, of which the media creates.  There are other stereotypes, such as, if someone is conscious of their effects on the Earth that they must be hippies or live off the land. 

 I feel as if the going green movement is one of the most important pop culture subjects to face our society today.  We need to make rituals within our own families to help support reducing our waste and become a greener country/world.  Also, if we all take part in the movement to go green, we can change the stereotypes some people have.  Instead of being weird for recycling, maybe one day it will become the norm and even be cool to recycle.

Heroes and Celebrities

Heroes are created by and used to fill the needs of individuals and society.  I feel as if there are many people who act heroic in regards to “going green” or Eco-friendly.  There are also celebrities who lend their persona or personal help to catapult this movement to the forefront of public attention. 

The real heroes in this movement are the people who are involved every day in their households.  These are the people who take the time to recycle items and learn which items can be recycled.  This takes time from one’s own life to help reduce waste from daily consumption.  We all need to be a hero and put others first when we consume items.  Less waste, more recycling and becoming more sustainable will make everyone involved heroes and putting others first in the fight to make the earth a cleaner, healthier place in the future.

There are a few people which have celebrity status who are into the Eco-friendly movement.  One is Woody Harrelson, he and his wife started an online community called Voiceyourself.  This website was dedicated to educate and give the option for people all over the world to provide information about sustainable living, tips on how to become involved with the environment and creating a place for people to talk about different issues facing the world today.  Sally Fox, inventor of Foxfire, is a celebrity of colored cotton.  In the textile world, she is the top dog.  This woman has introduced a way to mass produce natural colored cotton, no need for dye.  This is an important discovery for the textile business.  .  Another celebrity status forum is the media.   In today’s market and media efforts to advertise, we see a lot of companies like Toyota, Kohl’s and Glad trash bags stating they are energy efficient or use less materials.

                Celebrities and heroes fill our media outlets more than any other time in history.  We are a society who loves to watch what’s going on in other people’s lives.  Celebrities set trends and have followers who will try or wear just about anything their favorite celebrity does.  In many cases, these are the people who can set in motion important ideas.  Heroes are important to society because they provide the notion that good people are still out there and breathes life into the idea that good wins over evil.

Icons

The three icons I chose are Tim Tebow, Apple (Steve Jobs), and Elmo.  Tim Tebow has been a name which keeps evolving throughout his career as a football player.  Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple and an incredible inventor.  Elmo is a loveable red character from Sesame Street that children love.  I chose these icons for different reason as I will explain.

Tim Tebow has overcome many different critics that said he wouldn't make it as a pro-football player.  He has proven them all wrong this year with a winning record and is in the NFL playoffs.  Tim hasn't been afraid to show his doubters how much talent he possesses , he has tried harder to be the best athlete he can be.  I enjoy watching Tim praise the good Lord for his success.  It is so uplifting to see a celebrity openly be thankful, show his Christianity to the world and acknowledge his faith.

 

Steve Jobs was an amazingly futuristic human being.  He created the way we communicate in modern society.  Who would have thought we would have such items like the iphone, ipad or ipods, downloading music and apps from the internet?  He created an era of modern technology.  Apple is a revolutionary company, which has more inventions to come without their incredible inventor.  Steve has shown us all that a disease can't stop the passion of a determined person.


 


Elmo is a character I remember as a child and now my son loves to watch him on Sesame Street.  Elmo hasn't lost his luster over the years, he only seems to get better with age.  He is educational and fun to watch.  I love to watch my ten month old son Kingston's eyes light up when Elmo is on the T.V. or when they are playing together.