Contemporary Literacies Spring 2023

       In a way, fast food has become the new tobacco in the sense that it has become an addiction for some. Although personal responsibility is an important factor within this issue, the real source of the problem is large corporation. Fast food companies, like McDonald's, have gained so much wealth, influence and other resources that they use to target certain types of people to become their permanent customers. Specifically, people and families of low income, some but not all, tend to eat fast food often because of the affordable prices; not everyone can buy healthy food long-term at grocery stores due to high prices. Big companies know this, so they are able to make their products obtainable and, to keep customers clueless, do not put detailed nutrition labels on any of their foods, they may label calories at most but that is about it. Obviously, people know that fast food isn't the healthiest, however not many realize just HOW bad it is, more than they are guess...

  When it comes down to the question of "is pop culture good for you?" I feel as though pop culture is not only good for us, but its good at teaching things in a way that keeps you interested. As Steven Johnson argues, pop culture has actually done a good job at exercising their audience's mental functions that are important for everyday life. An example used by Steven Johnson is 'The Sopranos', and how complex plot threads can get; the audience is forced to keep track of all the different flashbacks and present day events because it is vital for understanding the characters in order to follow along with the story. Put simply, by directly interacting with an audience like this; including them/immersing them in the experience, making them play detective, they are training their cognitive functions without realizing. People have argued that modern day media isn't as intelligent as older media, because it depicts more violence and gritty realities. Steven argues ...