Reflexive Report: Art & Popular Culture PDF

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Reflexive Report: Art & Popular Culture...

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Art, Popular Culture and Society - 6472294 Reflexive Report Introduction to art/popular culture object The art/popular culture object I have chosen to analyse in this essay is the 2018 Netflix original ‘Bird Box’ (2018). Bird box is a doomsday thriller which revolves around the uprising of supernatural characters who highlight the worst fears and regrets in the minds of people who make visual contact with them. There is no explanation to the arrival of the creatures, however, they induce a wave of suicides that rapidly sweep across the whole world. Most people die, and the survivors must blindfold themselves to escape death. However, humans who already have mental health issues consider the creatures to be an act of ‘divine cleansing’ and force others to see them. The overall theory is that the characters who suffer with mental health issues have already been through extreme sorrow, despair and are immune to the creature’s advances. Discussion of reflection approaches to art and popular culture Popular culture and art are often seen as a reflection of mainstream society. If we study the reflection of popular culture, we learn and are more aware of how society works, which truths and rules are in place and where overall power resides. Society is reflected by art, meaning we can identify when significant events have taken place i.e. fluidity of jobs and employment in sitcoms and changes in traditional family structures. Pop culture and art reflect society and its power structures, which could potentially keep the masses ignorant to unfair distribution of power and wealth within society. There are two opposing ideas in relation to popular culture, with the suggestion that the elites use it to control those less powerful than them because it makes them passive, or that popular culture is a vehicle against dominant groups. Popular culture is produced for mass consumption by non-discriminating consumers. It could be regarded as “formulaic (and) manipulative” [ CITATION Joh12 \l 2057 ] as the product/brand is sold to the audience by its reflections and messages. By bombarding society with their own faults, society reacts and consequently helps the product find a place in popular culture. 1

Art, Popular Culture and Society - 6472294 Analysis of identified reflections Bird box is one of the most intriguing films in our contemporary climate. It is a science fiction film which reflects the ease in which art can imitate life. The viewer is consequently is dragged down a metaphorical path and is exposed to the ignorance and forced behaviour that occupies a contemporary society. Bird Box predominately tackles and questions the treatment of mental health within society. It explores how it is perceived by those who are affected the most, and by those who observe from the outside, forming and developing attitudes. The film reflects a split within society, with the characters possessing an ‘us and them’ mentality, comparing people with mental health problems and people of sane mind. It potentially also reflects the struggles of motherhood and the overwhelming control and threats of social media. Through the symbolism of the film, society is successfully reflected as being ignorant and blind to the problems that others may face, mainly the taboo around mental health problems. The viewer is subjected to acknowledge the unseen force that holds the overwhelming power to cause people to feel overwhelmed and unbalanced, leading to them committing suicide. This consequently leads to the main characters wearing blindfolds in public to try and remain unaffected by the creatures. The symbolism of the blind folds is reflective of society being unable to acknowledge the problems some people may face. Instead, they pretend they don’t exist, or turn a blind eye to them, reflecting the unsympathetic nature of society regarding invisible illnesses. The film reflects the culture of ‘turning a blind eye’ in society, with the creatures remaining frustratingly unseen and invisible through the whole movie. The blindfolds not only reflect ignorance to mental health issues, but also can be reflected on the lack of empathy and care we possess for those less fortunate than us. Are societies blindfolds the inherent reason humans choose to ignore world wars? Or why after continuous signals about the dire effects of climate change they continue to produce plastics at alarming rate? As quoted within Birdbox, the protagonist is told “just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there”.

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Art, Popular Culture and Society - 6472294 Another point where symbolism is used to reflect society’s views on mental health is at the end of the movie, where the characters reach a ‘safe haven’ within a school for the blind. This is a reflection as the characters have their eyes wide open but are unaffected by the illness. They are not afraid and able to confront the creatures without being affected, again highlighting the blindfolds as a reflection of ignorance and fear of the unknown within society when discussing mental health. The birds that the main protagonist carries around could also reflect the stigma that is carried in society which warns people from addressing the unknown. The bird’s tweet when they sense danger, encouraging the characters to stay away, to not explore, and reflects self-preservation. The use of voices to communicate throughout the film, and the struggles of losing vision is also reflective of the challenges faced by people. The main protagonist and her two children repeatedly rely on their voices and speech to communicate emotion and instructions to one each other. As the characters face more problems, the reflection of the difficulties of being understood in society is prevalent. This can be related to the struggle to be understood by so many in society, especially those who are suppressed as they try and come to terms with mental health issues. This can be reflected in examples and movements within society due to the introduction of ‘Mental Health awareness week’ which has been implemented to educate school children more about invisible illnesses. However, even this has faced criticism, as those who suffer have protested that “mental health issues impact a significant proportion of the population for 52 weeks, not just one week of the year”[ CITATION Nat18 \l 2057 ]. The film also potentially reflects the challenges of motherhood, and the pressure to be a ‘good mum’ whilst facing the worries of the evils that their children may encounter. Birdbox reflects a deep insular and paranoid parenting style. “Keep running an don’t stop until you get there” (Birdbox, 2018). This reflects the overwhelming knowledge that there is evil in the world that children can’t be protected from. In society, children’s innocent nature is exploited by evil within the world, and therefore they rely on their mother’s knowledge and guidance to protect them. This links to Parson’s ‘primary socialisation’ theory, in which the children rely on their parent for the teaching of norms 3

Art, Popular Culture and Society - 6472294 and values[ CITATION Tal98 \l 2057 ]. The evil and danger in Bird Box reflects how society cannot be changed, almost in a post-apocalyptic way - it is past saving. Mothers can therefore only look out for themselves and their children, and nothing else. This bleak narrative may seem like an oppressive reflection but is the harsh reality of a society where fear reigns. Society isn’t powerless against the horrors of the world but are just deliberately blind to them. If the problems aren’t affecting them, their vision is blurred and unfocused, leaving other overarching problems behind them such as racism, poverty and sexism. Bird box reflects how mothers teach their children to become blind, to have one straight path that you mustn’t deviate from, and to keep running and not to stop until they get to their final destinations. However, as supported by the concept of ‘fun house mirror’ [CITATION PDe89 \l 2057 ], this view offers a non-precise reflection of society due to its lack of male parenting figure, which encourages the stereotype of the maternal role being the most vital one. This encourages traditional gender roles, which relates to the functionalist perspective of the family. The monsters in Bird Box also could be a reflection on society’s obsession with technology and social media. This is evident due to the high levels of mental health issues and suicides that have been associated with social media. This threat has even seen as recently as the last couple of weeks in relation to the ‘Momo suicide game’, in which an online game encourages young people to harm themselves, and in some cases even take their own lives[ CITATION EdR19 \l 2057 ]. Society and its population may be slowly killing themselves with one of humanity’s worst inventions, which hold a highly exploitative and toxic environment. The main protagonist paints a picture of figures seemingly looking at a screen and is seen quoting “Loneliness is just incidental…it’s really about people’s inability to connect” (Birdbox, 2018). The film also makes other references to social media, reflecting how dangerous it is. The reflection on society is shown in a scene where one of the main characters goes to look at one of the monsters on a digital screen, as he’s convinced he’ll only be watching “pixels and heat”. However, despite that the viewer is still affected and ends up killing himself. This reflects how even though social media is hidden behind a screen, it still had the ability to deeply affect and harm others, evoking fear and anguish through pixels. Through this and the imagery of the 4

Art, Popular Culture and Society - 6472294 screen being stomped on, Bird Box gives very literal hints and reflections about the real dangers within society. Conclusion – 100 In conclusion, to say that art or popular culture reflects society is to say that the works that are created in society show an image of show society works and functions, and the narratives and structures that it follows. Bird Box is a perfect example of how art can reflect messages of how society functions, and the criticisms of it. Bird box reflects the dangers and challenges of three main topics in my opinion, those being mental health, motherhood and social media. It reflects how through human’s ignorance, they can become blind to others suffering and be unwilling to change. It also reflects how damaging the affects and expectations put on society are, which leads people to self-destruct instead of encouraging communication and support.

References Devon, N. (2018, May 14). 'Schools can help Mental Health Awareness Week'. Retrieved from tes : https://www.tes.com/news/schools-can-help-mental-health-awareness-week P. Desan, P. Fergurson, W. Griswold. (1989). Literature and Social Practice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Riley, E. (2019, February 27). Schools warn parents sick Momo suicide game is now being spliced into videos of Peppa Pig and Fortnite on Youtube. Retrieved from MailOnline: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6750761/Schools-warn-parents-sick-Momosuicide-game-spliced-YouTube-videos.html Storye, J. (2012). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction . Routledge . Talcott Parsons, Robert Bales. (1998). Family Socialization and Interaction Process . Psychology Press.

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