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5-2 Final Project Milestone Three: Popular Culture, You, and Society

Melonie Schellhas
IDS 404 – Popular Culture
Benjamin Hedge Olson, Ph.D

Figure 1. Screen shot, episode 26. (Yang et al., 2000).

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I. A. �

MDZS fandom:

Novel (complete)

Donghua (ongoing)

Manhua(ongoing)

Audio Drama (complete)

Live-action TV series (complete)

Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS)

Trans - Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

MXTX fandom:

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (人渣反派自救系统, Rén Zhā Fǎn Pài Zì Jiù Xì Tǒng; 2014) (SVSSS)
MDZS (2016)
Heaven Official's Blessing (天官赐福, Tiān Guān Cì Fú; 2017) (TGCF)

Figure 2. Heaven Official’s Blessing Manghua, ch 6. STARember. (Mo Xiang & STARember, 2021).

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LGBTQ Representation in Media

I. B. �

Fans often resort to creating their own media due to low queer representation

STARember, the artist for MXTX’s TGCF manhua adaptation (Figure 3.) was one such creator. Their art generated such a large following that they were signed on as the official comic illustrator.

Figure 3. TGCF official art by STARember. (n.d.)

MDZS has an interesting relationship with pop culture as it can also be considered a part of the danmei genre. Danmei, meaning indulgence in beauty, is a genre that deals with the beauty of romance between men. In a society with continuous struggles for the LGBTQ rights and a dearth of representation, a well-written, plot-oriented novel with the central couple being gay became a huge hit. Fandoms, fanart, and fanfiction have long been an outlet for queer representation and the MDZS fandom today is no exception that that (Duggan, 2017). While not everyone in fandoms are representee of the LGBTQ community, there is a lot of content created for it. The need to preserve that content created the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), “a nonprofit organization established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms,” and An Archive of Our Own (AO3), one of the largest fanfiction sites today (What We Believe). It currently houses more than 33,000 LGBTQ MDZS related works and has helped develop an open-minded online community where fans interact.

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I. B. �(cont.)

Figure 4. Image of OTW’s various projects. https://www.transformativeworks.org/flyers/

Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is “a nonprofit organization established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms (What We Believe).

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MDZS by Pop Culture Genre

Original work – Books
Manhua/Donghua – Newspapers, Comics and cartoons
Audio Drama – Radio
The Untamed – Television
The Untamed OST + Cast of Singers – Music
The Untamed Celebrity Fan Following – Celebrities
Cosplay from all media forms - Fads, Fashions, and Trends
Twitter, Tumblr, AO3, Discord, Facebook community – Social Media

I. C. �

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The Shutdown

II. A. �

Figure 5. GeoCities notice. (2019). https://www.pcguide.com/news/what-happened-to-geocities/

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The Vampire Bandwagon: Twilight Incites Vampire Uprising

II. B. �

Figure 7. Nosferatu Vampire Graduation Project. (2019) Narozanski, Adam & Saczko, Ewa Miriam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnNYS7fPNBI

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III. A.

Pop culture analysis gives insight into the culture the artifact is from

MDZS analysis teaches fans basic Daoist principles

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Writing and Publishing�Trends

III. B.

Genre Themes

Language and Writing Styles

Marketing Designs

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Exercise + Trends = Fun

IV. A. �

Teachers use pop culture trend Pokémon Go! to encourage more outdoor activity.

As with everything else, pop culture in its various forms comes with its share of benefits and challenges. One of which is simply just trying to incorporate pop culture into another aspect of life to gain a benefit from that popularity. It runs the risk of flopping if the audience isn’t interested enough or fading quickly when the artifact in questions turns out to be a minor trend. One aspect that struggles with this constantly is physical fitness. A vast majority of people do not enjoy fitness and as such there is a multitude of workout incorporating the newest gadgets and trends to make it more fun and inviting. There is a running in the iOS Apple store that lets you run with an audio app that generate a zombie apocalypse story. Better run fast! Another idea is using Pokémon Go! to teach children about geocaching and how to use it for increased outdoor activity (Bruno, 2018).

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IV. B. �

Pop culture influences both professional and personal interactions.

It enables cross cultural communication and enhances business practices through marketing trends.

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References

Bruno, L. E. (2018). Embracing Technology and Pop Culture Trends in Physical Education: Ready, Set, (Pokémon) Go! JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 89(4), 45– 51.

Cast, P. C., and Kristin Cast. Marked. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. Print.

Deng Yu, Zhu Shuanli, Xu Peng, Deng Hai. (2000). “Characteristics of Yin and Yang of the Five Elements and New English Translation” (J., Trans). Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

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References

Delaney, T., & Madigan, T. (2016). Lessons learned from popular culture. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest- com.ezproxy.snhu.edu

Duggan, J. (2017). Revising Hegemonic Masculinity: Homosexuality, Masculinity, and Youth-Authored Harry Potter Fanfiction. Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature (Johns Hopkins University Press), 55(2), 38–45. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1353/bkb.2017.0022

Mo Xiang, T. X. (2016). Mo Dao Zu Shi: Vol. English (A., Ed.) (K., Trans) [E-book]. Pinsin Studio. https://exiledrebelsscanlations.com/novels/grandmaster-of-demonic- cultivation/

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References

Mo Xiang, T. X., & STARember. (2021, April). Heaven Official's Blessing. comic strip, Bilibili. https://www.bilibilicomics.com/detail/mc55.

What We Believe. Organization for Transformative Works. (n.d.). https://www.transformativeworks.org/what_we_believe/.

Yahoo to shutdown GeoCities. (2009, April 27). International Business Times - US Ed.

Curzan, Anne. (2014, March). What makes a word "real"? [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_curzan_what_makes_a_word_real.