Introduction
Pop culture also known as popular culture is the whole entirety of images, attitudes, perspectives, and ideas that are usually within the mainstream of a specific culture. It refers to learned and shared human trends or patterns for living; day by day living trends. These trends pervade all aspects of social interaction. Different sets of people share a common culture that can be depicted through things like the language they speak, the foods they eat and the homes they live. It is believed that to learn about the finer things in life, such as priceless art and high social class would make an individual “cultured” because most material high class are usually historical.What makes Pop Culture Popular?
A cultural object becomes internationally popular through its relevance to the people. They key word when some popular object or item is talked about is relevance. If the product, service or person talked about is relevant to the user, it inadvertently brings the person much closer to their sense of self. Therefore, the more relevant a specific thing is to a larger set of people, the more popular it becomes. Popular culture is a trend that has been observed worldwide as it often exploits the idea of people’s desire to be associated by the deemed famous and of high class in the society. Nowadays, teenagers are going extra miles to ensure their relevance to the pop culture idols with the aim of being cool.My Pop Culture Artifact
I choose Ronaldinho as my pop culture artifact. Ronaldinho de Asiss Moriera was born in March, 21 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He came from a very humble background. His father, Joao Moreira, was a local footballer and a shipyard worker He died from a fatal heart attack when Ronaldinho was still young (8 years old). His mother, Dona dos Santos was a salesperson. Ronaldinho’s elder brother, Roberto Assis, signed a deal with Gremio and the family shifted to the more affluent Guaruja part of Porto Alegro. Unfortunately, Roberto’s career was cut short by injury. The family plunged back into poverty as Roberto was their bread winner.Background
Ronaldinho started playing organized soccer when he was seven years old. It was as a young youth player that he received the nickname “Ronaldinho,” derived from Ronaldo. His football skills started to blossom at the tender age, he was also the smallest and youngest player in the team. Growing up in a poor neighborhood, his youth team made makeshift playing field as the only grass in the pitch was in the corner. In addition to football, he also played futsal-a type of football played indoors on a court with five players on each side. His experience with futsal abated shaping his unique playing style, connoted by his close control and touch on the ball.
Ronaldinho first brush with the media happened when he was 13 years old, when he scored all the goals in a 23-0 victory against a local youth team. He immersed himself in studying Brazils past glorious football greats such as Rivelino, Ronaldo and Pele and dreamt of following their footsteps. Then, in 1997 he was called to play for Brazil’s under 17. The team won the championship. He was identified as a promising rising start at the FIFA under 17 World Championship and also the best player of the tournament.Enviable Professional Career
Ronaldinho’s career started at the Gremio youth club. He made his senior debut for Gremio in the 1998. In 1999, he was called to join the National team playing in the confederations cup. Brazil finished runners up. Ronaldinho won tournament’s best player and the golden boot as the tournament’s leading scorer.
Strongly established as a football star, Ronaldinho left Brazil in 2001 for Europe and signed a contract with PSG in France. In 2002, he played his first World Cup and scored two goals in five matches including a winner against England. Brazil went on to clinch the title by defeating Germany.
In 2003, Ronaldinho fulfilled his lifelong dream by joining Spanish giants FC Barcelona and wore the legendary number 10 jersey traditionally worn by the clubs most creative players. In the 2004-2005 seasons Ronaldinho won two Fifa World Cup player of the year, football’s highest individual accolade. In 2006, Ronaldinho spearheaded Barcelona’s to win the prestigious UEFA Champions league trophy, the pinnacle of club football in Europe (McCurdy 7). The following month, he was in the talented Brazilian squad that entered World Cup with high hopes. The tournament ended with disappointment as they were bundled out by France.End of Career
In 2008, Ronaldinho left FC Barcelona to join AC Milan, another European giant, but his performance in the Italian Series A was dismal (Landolina 2). The mostly nondescript performance kept him out of the Brazil 2010 World Cup squad in South Africa.
In 2011, he went back to Brazil to play for Flamengo. The club won the 2011 Campeonato, but things turned bad the next season as Ronaldinho avoided practices and performed poorly in matches. His contract was eventually terminated due to unpaid wages. In June 2012 he signed with Athetico Miniero and rejuvenated his amazing playmaking skills; he was then given a chance in the Brazil’s national team to try and make the 2014 World Cup squad.Relevance to Pop Culture
Evidently, from my pop culture example, to be transiently famous someone must possess special skills that people find remarkable and amazing. At least, in football that’s the case. Ronaldinho is considered by many the greatest player of his generation, widely regarded as a wizard with a soccer ball. Former teammates agree that he had a supernatural ability to dominate the ball. His skills were extraordinary and outlandish. He gained a robust following worldwide because of his background which most people were empathetic to. His story had a shining light that people liked as he was a very special player. Ronaldinho gave an array stamped Brazil’s future in football. With his exemplary skills and funny celebrations he gave the world a taste of Brazil. He normally celebrated his goals with a trademark Samba dance popular in Brazil. Thanks to Ronaldinho, a little kid in Scotland can now also do the Samba. His skills have redefined football as more people have gained a new interest in the sport due to his somewhat magic skills.Writing Format
My paper is in the form of a research story. This is because am talking about an interesting topic about a person that most people can relate to. The article mimics the model of human interest story, elucidates the player's life and his impact on pop culture. This is a paper about trending issues and patterns of pop culture. I choose to write as a feature story as the paper involves intense research and commentary on the subject topic. I chose to write it as a research story citing the fact that the heading attracts the reader and he has to read it to know what it is about. It is a story you have to read it to know what is in it format.
In writing, the paper is a research paper in MLA format. The sub-topics are in bold the research theory form of writing blends in seamlessly with this format as the bold sub-topic are hypnotizing to the reader's eye and may sway them to read topic after topic. Research format allows me to research a lot and express my genuine tone in the story in the form of commentary. The research complements my tone as Ronaldinho is an iconic player; therefore, my tone has been happy in the story.
My audiences are football fans, inspiration seekers, teens and fellow researchers. This article appeals to mostly football fans who want to know the story of their icon. Also, people who want inspiration stories on how one can start from the bottom and through hard work and skill reach the top may find this appealing. Teens who want to know who do not know anything about football can find this article helpful. Fellow researchers would use this to complain and compliment my research skills so they are potential audience.
Works Cited
Landolina, Salvatore. "Ronaldinho Training Longer & Harder than Rest of the Milan Squad - Report." Goal 12 October 2009: 2.
McCurdy, Patrick. "Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3: Bernabeu forced to pay homage as Ronaldinho soars above the Galacticos." ." The Indepedent 21 November 2005: 7.
