Assignment 1-3 Journal Article Analysis

Popular culture contributes vast amounts of revenue to the economy. Popular culture encompasses a wide assortment of things, but as for its impact on the economy the focus is primarily on two main sectors with each of these being made up of three sub-categories. The first main sector is the information sector and the three sub-categories that make the information sector are 1- companies affianced in producing and distributing information and cultural goods, 2- companies providing the means to broadcast and circulate particular goods including data infrastructures, 3- in addition, those that process data. Examples of the information sector are as follows; cable TV, films, broadcasting, the sound recording industries, newspapers, radio, periodicals, and books.
The second main sector is the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector and the three sub-categories that make up the arts, entertainment, & recreation sector are 1- companies involved in the production of promoting and participating in live performances, events, and exhibits for public viewing. 2- Companies that maintain and exhibit items and sites of historical, cultural, and didactic interests, 3- companies operating establishments providing services to clientele to partake in recreational behaviors such as seeking amusement, hobbies, and relaxation time. Examples of the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector are as follows museums, spectator sports, performing arts, art galleries, movies theaters, touring buses, gambling, helicopter rides, dinner cruises, cruise ships, etc…
The information sector, are companies that have based their industries to utilize types of media for production or distribution to consumers. The six major players in this sector are General Electric, Disney, News Corporations, Time-Warner, and Viacom of these six major players they are made up of smaller companies forming a conglomerate company. For example the five corporations making the conglomerate Viacom is Paramount, Famous Music, DreamWorks studios, Nickelodeon cable programming, and MTV. The article states, “Consumers spend more money on entertainment that they can see and hear than they do on print-based media or sound recordings.” (Cusic, D. & Faulk, G.K. 2009)
The arts, entertainment, and recreation sector are establishments providing consumers with services ranging from amusement, gambling, recreation, performing arts, sporting events, and historical items and locations. The information sector and the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, main interactions are in sporting events other areas of interacting are minimal. Unlike the Information sector this sectors organizations are made up from private individuals, partnerships, and individual investors within the sub-categories. The article states, “Most spending in this sector occurred in amusement, gambling, and recreation, which made up fifty-five percent of the sector output.” (Cusic, D. & Faulk, G.K. 2009)
In conclusion, popular culture and the economy are directly related by consumer’s tastes in services, products and goods provided by organizations within the information sector and the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector in a market-based economy. Trends show themselves in consumer spending, the article states, “In still other words, consumers vote for the most “popular” cultural items with their pocketbooks (or credit cards).” (Cusic, D. & Faulk, G.K. 2009) However, the marketplace is characterized by free trade of goods and services; in addition, it is still unregulated, and cultural products can be identified as being directly expressed in the attitudes, creative originality, opinions, morals, and ideas of the consumer in a market-based economy.



References

Browne, R.B. (2005). Profiles of Popular Culture A Reader. Madison Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press

Cusic, D. & Faulk, G.K. (2009). Popular Culture and the Economy. The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 42 No. 3, 2009, Wiley Periodicals Inc. Retrieved from
ohiolink.edu.olinkserver.franklin.edu database.
http://0- journals.ohiolink.edu.olinkserver.franklin.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=00223840&issue=v42i0 003

Petracca, M. & Soprapure, M. (2007). Common Culture Reading and Writing About American Popular Culture Fifth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.