The Culture Of Popular Culture

Pop culture, what does this term even mean? It seems to be a word that contains subjects of media, social structure, and society as a whole. According to the dictionary, pop culture is defined as “cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people”. In the society we live in today, we are constantly surrounded by pop culture, either that is with television, magazines, different sources of social media and/or exposure to others. Due to pop culture being such a dominant contribution into our world today, it has effected many parts of society. The domination of social media has created idealistic views that are stressed upon female adolescents in particular. Upon media’s influence, traditional tactics and work have been modified in order to keep up with our technology oriented society. This alters the schools and education systems. Through the use of television, social media and other means of pop culture, serious study is necessary due to the negative effects it has on the younger generation and the effects it has for their futures.

Why do I care so much about the lives of celebrities? (Why do I ‘Keep Up With the Kardashians’?) Do I want to be like the celebrities I glorify? Is my desired profession for working in the film industry driven by popular culture eminence? How influential or ‘brainwashing’ has popular culture been a factor in my lifestyle? Is it a good or bad influence? Does popular culture have an effect on my self-esteem? Has popular culture prematurely exposed me to social vices? (Sex? Drugs? Violence?) Why do I identify with the hip-hop culture? What is the message that I am given when listening to hip hop music? What does my taste in music say about me? Am I defined by society due to popular culture stereotypes? Is my judgment or perception on beauty along with different races, gender, and sexualities skewed by popular culture standards and stereotypes? What benefit or significance do I receive from consuming popular culture news? Does popular culture offer me any more than just material to fill my time with frivolous talk and gossip? How much time am I consuming because of popular culture? Why do I feel ‘out the loop’ if I’m not immersed in the latest trends? How am I empowered of my knowledge about popular culture news? Do I get sense of shared identity, meaning and purpose through popular culture? Does popular culture sell me as a

In the first chapter of The Rhetorical Power of Pop Culture by Deanna Sellnow, the author defines popular culture and explains the importance of studying the subject. Sellnow begins with a short explanation of ethics to convey that the influence popular culture has is not always used ethically. Secondly, Sellnow compares the different contexts of culture, elitist and diversity, to explain what popular culture is not. Popular culture is compiled of everyday things that influence people through subtle messages such as what is appropriate and inappropriate, good and bad, and so on.

Popular culture is consumed through interaction in the social media that includes television programs, movie theaters and virtual social networks. From the media, interests lie in the political developments and discussion concerning governance. These media satisfy appetite for political information while guiding an understanding on the national issues and choices made.

In ours’, it’s everything from MTV hits, to Breaking Bad to Miley Cyrus. But historically, pop culture derived from the lower classes and the “low” culture, the exiled counterpart to “high” culture. High culture was considered to compose of art, literature, and classical music created by and for the most prestige. Over time “pop culture” slowly began to replace the phrase “ low culture,” pop culture or low culture was defined by what it wasn’t; elegant, refined, high culture, than rather by what it was. Mass culture. The masses looked for entertainment and distraction, soon enough it was assumed for pop culture to simply just amuse. However, pop culture can never be dismissed as being “just” entertainment or for “only” amusement.

In the chapter “What is Popular Culture and Why Study It?” from the novel The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture, author Deanna Sellnow deliberates on the influential supremacy of popular culture in our current society. Sellnow wrote this passage to inform those affected by pop culture on a daily basis. Everyday individuals in first world countries are somehow impacted by pop culture. Pop culture’s influential power can often times mold our outlook on the world around us. It is important to realize when pop culture is trying to reevaluate your ethical beliefs so you can have a say in whether or not you want your morals to be altered.

The idea of pop culture has many different opinions surrounding it. Some people believe that it’s a God sent to us, others think it's the devil. Chris Hedges and Melissa Ames both have opposing opinions on this topic. Hedges, in “American Psychosis,” discusses that pop culture is bad because we focus too much on superficial topics and not enough on the real problems in our world. Whereas, Ames, in “Engaging ‘Apolitical’ Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and Educational Potential of Dystopian Literature Post-9/11,” suggests that pop culture is a unique tool that you can use to understand politics and our world’s problems. Both authors struggle to convince their peers to believe their ideology and they both have unique ways of doing so. By

In order to understand the topic that is to be discussed in this essay, one must first understand two seemingly unrelated topics. Those topics are feminism and punk rock. These two social movements spawned the love child that has come to be known as the riot grrrl movement. The history of the riot grrrl movement is deep and intensely intertwined with themes of monumental social change, musical evolution, and the previously unseen all-encompassing nature that is unique to third wave feminism.

Around the middle of the 20th Century man cultures started to grow beyond what they previously were thanks to different mediums (such as television and music) helping to push boundaries; with this came the birth of pop culture. Considering pop culture is a shortened version of popular culture it’s clear that many of the things in pop culture would be short lived. The short lived trends and happenings are labeled as “fads”. Strangely enough, some fads are made to transform and actually become a mainstay in the varying international cultures. One such example might be familiar as it is common in today’s society. This example is, indeed, video games.

The question I have posed is a very contentious one, which has been debated by scholars and graduates for some time, with many arguing that popular culture and mass media are ways of brainwashing the 'masses' into the ways of a dominant social order. Others believe that popular culture is a type of 'folk' culture which encompasses the idea of an 'alternative' culture incorporating minority groups, perhaps with subversive values sometimes challenging the dominant control groups, as was scene with the advent of the 'Indie' music scene in the mid nineteen nineties. In this dissertation I aim to uncover whether aforementioned 'subversive values' can be uncovered in popular culture or whether popular culture is really a means by which the masses can direct dominant controlling forces.

However, what is popular culture in the context of society? Popular culture is the accumulated store of cultural products that are consumed primarily by non-elite groups such as the working, lower, and middle class. Thus, popular culture involves the aspects of social life most actively involved in by the public. As the people’s culture, popular culture is determined by the interactions between people in their everyday activities: the use of slang, styles of attire, greeting rituals and the foods that people eat are all examples of popular culture. Popular culture is also informed by the media; people have certain interests that appeal to them and they seek more information regarding it. Media thus helps to propagate this popular culture because in addition to reaching those who have already adopted society’s popular culture, so too can the people who have yet to be exposed to it join in. This is a phenomenon that we also see with the emergence of soccer. Soccer had first started out as a way for English elite to socialize among themselves. The inception of modern soccer was actually due to the ‘import’ of European soccer to the countries they were

Popular culture can be defined as “The knowledge of current or up-to-date events. It can refer to music, television, film, sports, and anything in the public domain.” (reference.com.n.d.). MTV operates globally and one may argue that MTV shapes their audience tastes however in present times the public has vast options and therefore can easily dictate by choosing the channel that best suits their tastes and wants. MTV’s power to adapt to change has worked to their advantage as they have been able to capture their target audience throughout their existence.

What pops into your mind first when you think of popular culture in today’s day and age? The latest dirt on celebrities or the latest iPhone release? The latest controversial issue or the latest iTunes hit? Regardless, pop culture encompasses all four of these concepts and many more, which consume the world we live in each and every day. Think about education. At first thought, your mind may not make the connection between the newest Taylor Swift song and the highest ACT score, but the linkage between the two becomes undeniable when you dive deeper. Ponder this: each day millions of kids walk into school buildings across the United States, each of them glued to a little slice of pop culture, a.k.a. their phone. And each day these millions

The study of popular culture is useful in many ways. To be more specific, this course has reached its three intended main ideas: what it means to be American, how to be more consumption-conscious, and how to apply these studies in our own lives. Jim Cullen puts this in a less specific sense, arguing that the study of popular culture can “afford valuable clues – about collective fears, hopes, and debates” (Cullen, The Art of Democracy, 2). We use these clues to understand the world around us, as well as why we do what we do as Americans and as humans. I will be touching on themes that relate to this quotation by Cullen, escapism, exploitation, and globalization, as well as how these themes relate to the course goals.

Popular culture is generally believed to be comprised of a variety of elements. For example, popular culture covers the most contemporary and instant aspects of our lives. These aspects can often show the characteristics of rapid change, especially in today’s highly technological and informative world in which, people are highly influenced by the universal media. Certain standards of behaviour and common beliefs are reflected in pop culture. Because of its cohesion, pop culture both influences and reflects people’s daily life. Moreover, brands can reach iconic pop status. However, these aspects are not constant and may change rapidly. (Abbott and Sapsford, 1987).