Prose Essay Summary

In her essay, Voting Democracy off the Island: Reality TV and the Republican Ethos, Francine Prose unveils a peculiar relationship between reality television and the Republican Party.  She draws parallels between the Social Darwinist, "anything goes" strategies of the contestants and the Bush Administration's decision-making process.  Prose begins by describing the nature of reality shows.  The contestants are placed in a dog-eat-dog situation that requires everyone to do whatever it takes to further their chances of winning the prize.  This often includes sabotaging their fellow group members.  She then suggests that viewers are compelled to eventually support one of the contestants, condoning their actions in the process.  She goes on to state that this paved the way for the American people's tolerance of what she sees as government travesties against the law and human rights.

1. Pop Culture Images

#2. Each image in the Portfolio represents famous people in recent (last 40-50 years) American history. Even though half the images are from well before I was born, I know who they are and what they represent. This is because these images have made lasting marks on American society through the avenue of popular culture. An event can create a lasting mark on popular culture by a mixture of immediate significance and historical context. Immediate significance, sort of like the "wow" factor, is required in order for the occurrance to be labelled as noteworthy. After this, historical context is necessary for the event to be remembered for many years to come. This is what separates the "15 minutes of fame" status from the "cultural icon" status.

#3. A slight progression can be seen in the Portfolio. Most of the images seem to be the same thing; that is, simply a celebrity who provided an innovative chapter in pop culture. The second to last picture, Britney Spears, shows how celebrities are desperately trying to come up with new ways to get noticed. Simply coming up with a catchy song with vague lyrics that can be plastered onto any advertising campaign doesn't do it anymore. Many are resorting to shock-and-awe, which is represented by her lack of clothing and the ridiculous (and possibly meaningless) snake around her shoulders. The last picture, which is a screenshot of a Youtube page, shows the new cultural phenomenon of internet services. Many people become obsessed with these in a similar way as they used to with celebrities in the past. I do not recognize the video in the shot, but if it is a well known movie then the image can also represent the new means of gaining fame. Now, any person can become famous without the assistance of an agent by coming up with a video concept that will interest people in such a way that it will spread like a virus across the world wide web.

#4. I would choose an image of James Bond. The secret agent has been a huge pop culture icon for decades, captivating the imaginations of men and fantasies of women all around the world. I think the James Bond movies are rich with popular culture information. James Bond himself exemplifies the dream almost all young people have of action, adventure, wealth, and pleasure. The movies also provide snapshots of the different socio-political situations throughout the last few decades of world history. Each plot is usually somehow related to the contemporary world problems.