Natalie Gibbons

ENG 102
Petcher
3-8-16

The community I am talking about in my research paper is the people who are living in a
post-apocalyptic world. I want to reach out to those who are able to take in the idea of the movie
they are watching. This specific community includes those between young adults and in their
middle 40s. I want to use this group specifically because the difference in movie genres produced
within their generations have grown tremendously. I think a lot of these people have a hard time
noticing the differences in movie productions. There are many changes happening in the movie
industry and sneaking by with more changes. The characters within these postapocalyptic
movies are what is supposed to represent the audiences watching these movies.
My main research question is: how does popular culture impact the film industry and the
new genre of post-apocalyptic movies being produced? This question is made up based on the
different amounts of genres for movies made up within the past two decades even. My question
has evolved from my concept in 60+ project idea of the Disney-fied Star Wars movie. I was
focused on the Disney aspect in the newest movie. Now, I am more focused on how the popular
culture beliefs of violence, humor, and vocabulary. I think my question is broader now but has
much more evidence supporting it and many different sources. I can also narrow this subject into
the specific idea of a new apocalyptic world that is much more violent and gory.
From the scholarly sources I found from the Universitys library, scholars answered my
question simply. There is a tracing all the way back to religious beliefs of an End Time where

there would be an apocalypse. This then relates to the new genre of somewhat horror but
apocalypse including zombies and other world ending events. I do agree with all of the sources
that I have found because there is a ton of evidence to support their arguments. I could always
research more but I think what I have found so far is enough for a strong argument. The only
other information I would still need to find is maybe some more recent secondary sources or
examples.
I have found scholarly journals and articles as secondary sources. These serve as
evidence tat my chosen audience is affected by the popular culture in film by having much
evidence themselves. The sources use many different movies as examples of audiences that each
movie attracts to. Each movie used is analyzed and the audiences it reaches out to are described
as the age groups I listed. The movies analyzed would count as my primary sources. I would use
The Hunger Games movie series, the TV show The Walking Dead, and other movies listed in the
articles. I might look into extremely recent movies or even cartoons to use as artifacts to discuss.
I would hope to find something that answers why film changes so much. I might also try to find
something that explains about how popular culture changes over time.
Many resources support that popular culture impacts the film industry productions and
create new or renovated genres, especially the post-apocalyptic genre, by influencing the
violence and vocabulary portrayed to the audiences. That would be my thesis statement because
it covers all parts of what I need to answer my research question and more to narrow the
argument. This will help me keep my argument organized within these three groups. I will have a
very strong argument to support this thesis statement. A couple sources from my annotated
bibliography that Ill be using in my argument is the article, Revising (The) Resistance:
American Guerrillas in Popular Film and Television, (Hill) by Matthew B. Hill and the article,

Christian Demonology in Contemporary American Popular Culture, (Maggi) by Armando

Maggi. Both of these articles support the argument of the changes in violence and vocabulary
have changed in film due to the change in violence and vocabulary accepted in popular culture.
My audience is everyone who is able to see a movie and understand what the main idea is
and how to relate it to a story or similar movies, which I would put into the age group of young
adults and adults in their mid 40s. This age group is able to have a large enough library of having
watched many movies and maybe even have gained a favorite kind. I can assume that my
audience will understand that the movies are made to attract to the audience. I think my audience
should expect an explanation of how the popular culture impacts the way movies are made
recently. I would like my audience to get a good understanding of how movies have changed
without them really noticing. I also think that my audiences will be able to recollect and compare
and contrast all of the movies theyve watched. There can also be an awareness of how movies
continue to change every day. There may also be a new awareness of how the popular culture in
society changes with every new day too.

Works Cited
Hill, Matthew B. "Revising (The) Resistance: American Guerrillas in Popular Film and
Television." Journal of Popular Culture 46.6 (2013): 1289-1309. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
Maggi, Armando. "Christian Demonology in Contemporary American Popular Culture."
Social Research 81.4 (2014): 769-793. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.