Kem Kem July 10, 2012 Caruso English 1102: Proposal Popular Movie/Book Sagas popular culture: (definition

from dictionary.com) noun cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people. Contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population. Popular movie/book sagas are examples of pop culture because they are popular within the public and the popularity within these books/movies are overwhelming that it causes one to stop and examine why does it cause the extreme amount of commotion that it does within the general youth. 1. Why are the movie/book sagas popular within the public? 2. How does that reflect onto our public? Our values? What we find entertaining. 3. How the subject is influenced by an audience: a. Ex: How fans or blogs interact with the content b. Ex: How an audience can promote the subject 4. An issue portrayed in a popular culture setting a. Ex: Political agendas or demonstrations within shows or representations within artistic pieces I have an advantage in choosing this topic because I am considered as part of the general youth that contributes to popular culture and the movie/book sagas are popular and geared toward the youth. Therefore I am offering an insiders perspective. I am well aware of modern popular movie/book sagas. The most prominent ones are Twilight Saga Movies/Books, Harry Potter series, Transformers Movies, Pirates of the Caribbean Series and many more. I have an

advantage because I have seen every movie and read every book listed above. This will give me a more accurate perspective on all the texts. I am asking 1 to further explore the reason why those movie/book sagas cause so much commotion in the general youth. That question further explores and gives a more logical explanation behind the popularity because it will make it more easier for the reader to understand my paper. Once I explore the question of why is it popular then it will naturally lead to the question of how it reflects to the public which is question 2. The other questions will help further explain the two main questions. I plan to do most of my research through internet sources. Since my subject is geared more to liberal subjective subject than a logical concrete subject it will be more hard to find accredited sources such as scholarly articles etc. I will research fan sites/ blogs dedicated to each series listed. I will watch videos of interviews on actors, directors on popular television shows. I will also try to find some scholarly articles about the psychology of the general public and how it affects their entertainment choices.