What is a home?

“It raises the question whether or not home is (a) place(s), (a) space(s), feeling(s), practices, and/or an active state of being in the world? Home is variously described in the literature as conflated with or related to house, family, haven, self, gender and journeying. Many authors also consider notions of being-at-home, creating or making home and the ideal home.” – Shelley Mallett, Understanding home: a critical review of the literature

“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” – James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

What is pop-culture?

“Sejal had not thought of her home, or of India as a whole, as cool. She was dimly aware, however, of a white Westerner habit of wearing other cultures like T-shirts – the sticker bindis on club kids, sindoor in the hair of an unmarried pop star, Hindi characters inked carelessly on tight tank tops and pale flesh. She knew Americans like to flash a little Indian or Japanese or African. They were always looking for a little pepper to put in their dish.” – Adam Rex, Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story

“A lot of my friends have tattoos; I realized that it’s not only just a part of pop culture, but a bit of a map on someone’s body, which says something about people. A part of their life, like an armor or a crest.” – Christian Louboutin

Define Home:

noun:

• a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual resident of a person, family, or household
• the place in which one’s domestic affections are centered
• an institution for the homeless, sick, etc.
• the dwelling place or retreat of an animal
• the place or region where something is native or most common
• any place of residence or refuge
• a person’s native place or own country

adjective

• of, relation, to, or connected with one’s home or country; domestic
• principal or main
• reaching the mark aimed at

adverb

• to, toward, or at home
• deep; to the heart
• to the mark of point aimed at

verb (used without object)

• to navigate toward a point by means of coordinates other than those given by altitudes
• to have a home where specified; reside

verb (used with object)

• to bring or send home
• to provide with a home
• to direct, especially under control of an automatic aiming device, toward an airport, target, etc.

idioms

• at home

-in one’s own house or place of residence

-in one’s own town or country

-prepared or willing to receive social visits

-in a situation familiar to one; at ease

-well-informed; proficient

-played in one’s hometown or on one’s own grounds

• bring home to

-to make evident to

-clarify or emphasize for

Other Notable Definitions:

• one’s place of residence: domicile
• the social unit formed by a family living together
• a familiar or usual setting: congenial environment
• the focus of one’s domestic attention
• a place of origin
• an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs
• the objective in various games
• a place where something flourishes, is most typically found, or from which it originates

Synonyms for Home:

noun: place where a human lives

• strong synonyms: apartment, cabin, condo, condominium, cottage, dormitory, dwelling, farm, hospital, house, hut, mansion, palace, place, residence, resort, shelter, trailer
• mild synonyms: abode, address, asylum, bungalow, castle, cave, co-op, diggings, digs, domicile dump, fireside, flat, habitation, hangout, haunt, hearth, hideout, homestead, joint, manor, nest, orphanage, pad, roof, roost, shanty, turf, villa
• weak synonyms: boarding home, commorancy, crash pad, hole in the wall, home plate, living quarters, parking place, rooming house, where the hat is

noun: birthplace, environment

• strong synonyms: country, family, farm, hometown, household, land, neighborhood, site
• mild synonyms: abode, element, fireside, habitat, habitation, haunt, haven, hearth, hills, homeland, homestead, locality, range, roof, soil, territory
• weak synonyms: camping ground, home ground, neck of the woods, stamping ground, stomping ground

adjective: domestic

• strong synonyms: *none*
• mild synonyms: central, familiar, family, household, local, national, native
• weak synonyms: at ease, at rest, down home, homely, homey, in one’s element, in the bosom, inland, internal

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Define Pop-Culture:

noun

• cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people
• contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population
• modern popular culture transmitted via mass media and aimed particularly at younger people
• entirety of attitudes, ideas, images, perspectives, and other phenomena within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid-20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century; heavily influenced by modern media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of society

Examples

• entertainment (movies, music, television, games, memes)
• myths/folklore/legends
• art
• food
• sports
• news (people/places in news)
• politics/attitudes
• fashion/clothes/aesthetics
• technology
• slang
• advertising

In Summation:

My personal definition of home utilizing my own opinions and experiences with the commonly accepted definitions would have to be “Where you feel you belong.” But deciding that place/existence doesn’t always feel like an autonomous choice. Social and cultural conditioning may leave you doubting yourself or even self-deception. You might consciously or unconsciously label and categorize yourself somewhere you may later realize you don’t feel or want to belong.

So I propose I’ll write about feelings of belonging through representation in the media. Media is often also shaped by politics, traditions, and taboos so the historical and cultural context of how much of our media came to be will be a prominent part of my paper.