Chapter+2-+Culture

Chapter 2- Culture

Terms:

Culture shock- personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life
 * When Olive becomes " the school slut" she is surprised that everyone knows who she is and the amount of attention she recieves.

Society- people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture
 * Ojai high school students interact in school and work towards individual achievement to accomplish their goals.

Symbol- anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture
 * The "A" that Olive wears on her clothes is a symbol for adultery, which goes against the standards set up by society.

High Culture- cultural patterns that distinguish a society's elite.
 * The Doctor who helped Micah is considered to be one of the individuals at the top of society, because he helps people with medical problems ,which is really important compared to many other occupations.

Cultural universals- traits that are part of every known culture
 * Olive's family is an example of cultural universals because all cultures' have the family unit.

Popular culture- cultural patterns that are widespread among society’s population
 * Olive is mad when her friend Rhiannon broke popular culture by kissing Todd, the guy Olive likes.

Subculture- cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population
 * Brandon is homosexual, which makes him part of a subculture.

Counterculture- cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
 * Mrs. Griffith becomes part of a counterculture when she cheats on her husband.

**Values:**culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living


 * One value in //Easy A// is beauty. In this movie, the characters are considered “cool” or “popular” based on their physical features. For example, Olive’s friend, Rhiannon, receives a lot of male attention because she is beautiful.

**Norms:** rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
 * One norm presented in //Easy A//, is the expectation that teenagers will abstain from sexual intercourse. When Olive violates this norm, her peers respond by punishing her to encourage conformity to cultural norms in their high school.

**Mores:** norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance
 * One way a more is violated in this movie is when the school counselor is caught in a sexual relationship with an underage boy. Not only is it inappropriate to participate in sexual activity with a minor, but it is not socially acceptable to have a sexual relationship with someone who is married and has a job at the high school. Fraternization between teachers and students is strongly discouraged.

**Folkways:** norms for routine or casual interaction
 * A folkway that is shown in Easy A is the appropriate way to dress in high school. When Olive begins wearing provocative outfits and stiches an ‘A’ on her clothing, she violates what society considers an acceptable dress code. Olive’s attire causes her peers to label her a harlot and reinforce their belief that she is immoral.
 * [[image:http://www.genderandeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Easy-A-All-Eyes-on-Me-16-9-10-kc.jpg width="570" height="334"]]