Assignment 1-4-6

Theories of Pop Culture and Energy Drinks

Kristen Watson

HUMN240-H3WW

Assignment 1-4-6

Gregory Smith

December 13, 2012

Theories of Pop Culture and Energy Drinks

            A few of the theories that I thought best related to my topic of energy drinks were myths and beliefs, stereotypes, and rituals. Someone who consumes energy drinks most likely does not think about these different theories that relate to them but it just shows you how much pop culture plays a role in society. There were other theories but I felt the ones that I chose best describe the relationship between energy drinks and pop culture.

            When it comes to myths and beliefs it was clear that most of the people that drink the different kinds of energy drinks often feel happiness or satisfaction with the results directly after, which is close to how Browne defined the term myth. That being said, those people also have the belief that energy drinks are not harmful and consume as many as they want to. This isn’t true and I mentioned it in another analysis also. The drinks could be very harmful if too many are consumed because the ingredients aren’t good for you in large quantities.

            When I think of stereotyping and energy drinks, I automatically think of the marketing side of the products. The makers of these types of products use stereotyping in order to sell their drinks and make a profit. They target certain types of people such as college students, third shift workers, athletes, party-goers, and much more. They don’t necessarily use stereotyping in a negative way, they have just found that there are certain types of people who consume the product and use it towards their advantage.

            I found rituals very interesting when relating it to energy drinks. There are many people who drink energy drinks every single morning to wake up, just as people drink their daily coffee. It has become a part of their daily routine and some feel that they can’t go on with their day if they haven’t had their morning energy drink.

            When applying the different theories to energy drinks, I have found that I look at the product in a different way now. I no longer just see a drink on a shelf. Now I relate the different theories that I have learned and think about the different types of people that consume them, whether they do so routinely and so forth.