One. Lexicon
1. ubiquitous
2. conflict of evaluation artistic juggernaut: do we
critique the art itself or the juggernaut that follows it?
3. Synergies: overkill of a product, which manifests in a
myriad of forms: books, films, videos, toys, holiday tours (I remember tourism
to New Zealand soared after Lord of the Rings was made into film) commentaries on these,
commentaries on the commentaries, etc. (Twilight and vampire novels are the new hot thing as I write
this)
4. The dilemma of good art: It starts out as a worthy,
compelling entity and grows into mindless consumerism when it becomes a
blockbuster. This happened the band Coldplay, U2 (I Still Haven’t Found What
I’m Looking For in supermarkets), Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon on a
Circuit City commercial), Mini Cooper.
5. Tipping Point, a term coined by Malcolm Gladwell, the
author of a book with the same title: are "the levels at which the momentum
for change becomes unstoppable." In effect, the "underground becomes mainstream."
Part Two. Malcolm Gladwell’s Laws or Characteristics of a Tipping
Point or “Epidemic”
1. The Law of the Talented Few
2. The Stickiness Factor: Does the art have the ability
to “stick” in our memory?
3. Power of Context: Lord of the Rings came out during
9/11 and the theme of good vs. evil had more of a compelling impact on society.
It captured the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times.
4. Word of mouth starts with a small group but spreads
until it reaches a tipping point. It works for or against something.
5. Good or bad buzz from word of mouth or Twitter. See
Bruno as example. The worst bad buzz results in "jumping the shark." Remember the low-carb diet craze which hit its peak around 2004? Now all the low-carb stores are gone.
6. Once momentum develops, it’s hard to stop. In fact,
the growth becomes exponential. This happens with certain videos on YouTube.
This happened with Facebook a couple of years ago.
Part Three. Links to Tipping Points
3.4 Years for Facebook to Reach Tipping Point
Arrested Development (never went mainstream or achieved a tipping point so it "stayed true to its fans)
Four. Writing Option
In paragraph 1, define the "tipping point" in a paragraph. Explain the characteristics of the tipping point as it relates to "Pottermania." Compare these tipping point characteristics to a film, an actor, a band, an Internet website, a blog. You can use as many (or few) examples as you like.
Five. Class Activity
Write down 3 or more things that you used to like until they became too big and too mainstream.
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