What is the main argument the author is making?
The main argument the author is making is popular culture can encourage political culture. Many people are more up-to-date with popular culture than they are with political culture. However; when the political sphere used different techniques and technology that the popular sphere used more people became interested in political views and voting.
What support does he offer?
The support that the author offers is by using technology and fan communities can encourage voter participation. To increase voter registration the author suggested advertising at concerts and performances because that is what more people are interested in. If you advertise voting at a concert or performance which people enjoy going to then they might see that voting is important because it is being advertised at the event they are attending. Other support the author provides is using films for political discussion and public outreach. He suggests using Photoshop to capture political debates. Games were also built where people could imagine they were governing the world themselves.
Do you agree or disagree with the main argument?
I agree with the argument. Being a young person myself I have a difficult time following politics in general. I try to but sometimes it is just hard to comprehend what is going on and which candidate supports what issue etc. It is much easier for young people to follow popular culture because it is being fed to us everywhere we turn. From waiting in line at the supermarket and seeing a magazine with your favorite celebrity on it to turning on the radio and hearing a new song, popular culture is everywhere. When it comes to politics it is not always in our face, one has to choose to find it. For example if you want to find out what President Obama is doing about the Endangered Species Act then you are going to have to go online and look it up. I think that what the author is saying about using popular culture techniques to address political issues is a great idea. More people would become interested and I think it would make it easier for people to understand the issues.
Is the author's support relevant and believable?
I think the author’s support is relevant and believable. He provides examples and ways to go about converting political issues to being popular issues.
In what ways does this chapter relate to the 2008 presidential election? In what ways did the 2008 election seem different?
I think more people probably voted in the 2008 election because they were more familiar with the political issues because of the mobilization in popular culture. I think more younger people voted than ever before because they saw voting material and presidential news on their facebooks and on the television shows they watched (for example MTV). I am not really sure how this election seemed different I just think that there was more advertising for candidates on the Internet and through other technologies. For example I recently learned that in a video game there were advertisements’ stating to support Obama which I don’t think has ever happened before.
What is digital democracy?
Digital democracy is bringing together electronics and democracy. It involves using communication technologies for example the Internet to enhance democracy. It is a new political development that brings about much debate. An example of digital democracy is creating Alphaville, an online Sims game where people can govern themselves by voting on who they want to represent them.
Discuss your understanding of the term culture jamming.
Culture jamming is a type of political communication. It is taking a political issue and altering it to make it more humorous. Many times they will make a satire or irony story to get more people interested in the political issue. An example is the video of Howard Dean grabbing Janet Jackson’s boob. It is meant to start conversation and be talked about to get people interested in political issues.
Discuss the connections between fan culture and politics.
Fan culture can help people become more active in politics. Fan culture is when people who are a fan of a movie for example all go to one website and discuss their thoughts and feelings about the movie. Sometimes they will make comments and other times they make suggestions. If fan cultures can be started for certain candidates running for office then people can go on and give reasons why they support the person or not.
How does the idea of "play(ing) with power on a microlevel" (p. 239) relate to the readings and discussion from last week?
I think the reading from this week supported microlevel playing while last week’s reading there was more controversy. In both games people were learning. In last week’s game children learned how to become better writers and readers. In this week’s game people learned how government and voting works. With last week’s game there were issues with the website being sued by Warner Brothers but with this week’s game there was no fight for ownership. People can learn and grow through microlevel playing however; I do not think people should only use microlevel playing as there only way to learn.
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