Effects Of Functionalism In Popular Culture

The emphasis of this chapter was on examining popular culture and its effects from the functionalist perspective. By using the functionalist perspective, sports, celebrities, and other mass media can be explained in terms of their function in generating solidarity (25). Functionalism (perspective) seems to have roots within religion as it was considered the structure of what kept society and cultures together. Solidarity can bring people together in the way that they emphasize symbols, rituals, and practices. An example of such could be American sports such as baseball; the rituals that occur during the game have a much larger meaning. Concerts and music festivals can also produce solidarity as they bring people together by allowing them to all partake in the collective experience. The various types of media, sports, and celebrities within our culture come to be of so much importance and “value” because it gives us a sense of what being a human is like; it also allows us to examine our lives by talking about ourselves to ourselves. With celebrities, the …show more content…
2) Myths and entertainment (fictional or not) gain their power from their ability to express what it feels like to be human but to also tell stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves (33).
3) In our culture, we fear discussing larger issues (such as rape, murder, addiction, racism, etc.) unless it is in relation to a celebrity [as though they are not normal people] because we can discuss them in terms with celebrities without repercussions”
4) “These collective rituals of solidarity ultimately bolster the legitimacy of those in power by artfully appropriating dissent, other celebrations of popular culture reinforce norms of social inequality in far more obvious ways” (41)
3: Personal response to