Final Reflection and Observation

The theme of culture, identity, and society were exemplified in several ways throughout the reading, writing assignments, and class discussions. How our society is viewed through the porthole of the media, primarily visuals was a major topic brought up several times through the semester. With our first major paper, the visual rhetoric assignment, I was able to look at able to observe a particularly brutal photograph intended to bludgeon the viewer into accepting a radically view than what other branches of the media would want viewers to see. Most members of the class focused on one or a few interconnected advertisements and analyzed the strategies used by the marketeer to get the consumers attention. These observations help one to see what people in our society desire to see and what gets peoples' attention. These visual images in a way show us the good and bad of our culture, because they reflect the societal norm, our expectations and our desires.

Our second major assignment was the research paper. In this paper we were able to find any topic that appealed to us and research it. My topic was the Dave Matthews Band, who in my opinion is a social phenomenon. They have been one of the most popular bands in America for the past 15 years, but they fit hardly any of the criteria of the "hip" music performers. A large part of this argument had to do with the societal implications of their music and tours. The identity of the band is an enigma that is difficult to grasp. By identity I mean the style of the music, their very diverse fan base, and the way they advertise their music by touring rather than relying on other forms of media to sell albums. The "cult" that has developed around the Dave Matthews Band is not really a cult at all, it is a mixing pot made up of different strata of our society.