What Does Pop Culture Say? Essay

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.

The exporting of American pop culture has been going on ever since America has become a big world power along with other countries. Sometimes we don’t know how westernized we are since it’s all around us. There are some positives to this export to other countries, but there is also negatives. Some negatives to the exportation of American pop culture are the misrepresentation of other societies, teachings of extreme beliefs, and the erasing of other cultures around us.

People take what they see and hear and apply it to their everyday lives. This may lead younger audiences to make poor decisions or develop bad habits. Children who may hear bad words in a movie may repeat them thinking it is okay since their favorite actor said it. American pop culture is becoming more popular in other countries and may one day replace their own cultures. People might begin to adapt to American traditions and forget their distinct culture. Moreover, pop culture is negatively displaying American, as well as, other countries and religions. People from other countries know America by the violent and offensive works they produce. Overall, popular culture should change to positively display all countries and teach teenagers and kids healthy

“It was around the time of the First World War that things began to change, that America first began to export some of its home grown culture abroad through films and music.” (Access - International 1) Besides ideals and government, America had many things to share in the ways of entertainment, as well as sports, food, etc. America was soon recognized for more than its history and democracy; it was establishing its own culture. Fareed Zakaria says, “…the United States has been the creator and sustainer of the current order of open trade and democratic government—an order that has been benign and beneficial for the vast majority of humankind.”

Several decades, post and after 9/11, America is known as the most influential nation in the world or the world super power. She has influenced other cultures and is known for her morals, her freedom, her aids to other nations or charitable organizations and her democracy. Nevertheless, America had positive reputation decades ago, but of recent; America’s image throughout the world vary, 9/11 brought light to that. NBC did a recent survey which shows that American’s image in our countries or nationalities is bad and worsening. What do other countries think about American’s culture? Why America reputation is worsening? What reasons are behind America's reputation, good or bad? How do Americans view American?

Cultural imperialism can be an issue and worsen people’s perception on how they view other cultures they aren’t familiar with. Internet and the entertainment industry are big contributes for serving

America is not becoming a universal nation. However, it is in the process of redefining the identity of what an American is. The fault for this is widespread growth of certain ethnic groups caused by immigration, paired with technology that allows for unprecedented connectivity. Consequently, this allows minority groups to rapidly spread their culture and ideas throughout the country and influence the majorities like never before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in pop culture; where Bollywood, Korean dramas, and Japanese animation have had a significant impact on the tastes of America as a whole.

A pop culture element that is important to me is music. Music has had a major impact on my life, and I am thankful for it. I truly believe I would be a lost soul without music. It speaks to me in a way that many people would not understand. This element brings me ideas in many different ways and it helps me to be a better me. Music speaks to my mind and sooths it also.

This will lead to the mass media homogeneity that will dissolve cultural differences. Cultural imperialism started right after decolonization when political or military control of another country could not be practiced. Psychological forms of control began to be used and were facilitated through the rapid integration of global telecommunications systems. They pushed American culture that promoted the ideas of consumption and instant gratification that would spread global capitalism and increase profits. The cultural imperialism argument has several strengths as well as weaknesses. It’s main strength is based on the idea that mass media from larger nations negatively affects the smaller nations because the national identity of smaller nations is lessened or lost due to media homogeneity inherent in mass media from the larger countries. Sometimes local interpreters keep some cultural diversification by transforming the imported media to meet local demand. The media is still influenced by the core but is also still unique and successful. Examples of this include the success of Korean pop music and Bollywood cinema in their respective “geolinguistic region.” The media imperialism theory fails to fully understand the internal historical and social dynamics within periphery countries. The West may have implanted the model of television consumerism, but the West is not required to sustain it and today many US programs lead the world in their transportability across cultural boundaries but are rarely the most popular when viewers have reasonable local options. (L&B p340-342)(Peripheral Vision) The social construction of reality theory attempts to explain how and why individuals view the world in a certain way and what role the media plays in shaping that view. It suggests that the media actually

I admit there are fantastic films worldwide; however, there are no countries that truly attract the attention of global viewers, like the American Hollywood Film Industry. I say this as recently the 88th annual Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles. This is, unsurprisingly, an American event looking at the successes of American films. Yet the whole world tuned in to see the results. Leo won his first Oscar and everyone, everywhere, was very excited for him. People in this very classroom brought it into discussion as well as other occurrences from the night. Everyone spoke about an American succeeding at an American event, and yet no one here has any direct relation to the country.

Pop culture has always influenced the American way. In fact, there is a saying that politics is downstream from culture. What this means is that laws, policies, and guidelines that the government enforces are all influenced by what is being said and done in pop culture. It may be hard to see this example today, but there were certain parts in time where this idea could be easily seen. One of these eras was the 1960s.

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).

Throughout the world, popular culture has made an impact, especially on especially to people living throughout the world. The impact of popular culture has several benefits on both individuals and society. Several of the benefits that popular culture has on society are entertaining, informing, and interactions.