Why is it that people spend the majority of their time in pop culture, when they could be spending it doing something else? What is pop culture anyway? Pop culture is a general idea, perspective, attitude, image, or other phenomena preferred by an informal consensus of the people, at least according to wikipedia. In the world of pop culture everything is for sale and nothing is held back. Privacies are non existent in pop culture and the possibilities are endless.
Widely watch television shows, music, and fashion are only a few of the things pop culture directly defines. On one hand popular culture is directed by the people. If the majority of the “general public” watches a show on television it stays on television, but as soon as that show loses its audience, it disappears from television. The music world works almost the same way. Fashion though, works much differently. Fashion is dictated by whoever creates it. If the creator can get it out there, it can become fashion if accepted by the decision makers. The decision makers that decide what fashion is and is not are fashion magazines. Vogue is one of them. Fashion magazines decide what we are wearing today and what we will wear tomorrow. The public does have a say in fashion but they will generally follow the “experts” because they are the only ones that know what fashion is.
The media through advertisements, news, and many other types of shows is another big component of pop culture. The average child watches 20,000 commercials on television per year. If you add those to the thousands more you see in the internet, billboards, buses, train stations,…etc. you get too many to count. Advertisements help decide what is popular by simply being there. “The more an item is advertised the more ‘popular’ it must be” is the general impression. The news too are affected by pop culture. Most news articles are meant to impress or amaze. Something must be interesting to be on the news and if it’s not it’s just ignored. Pop culture has grown as communication become more accessible. The media is a huge communication device; henceforth, it helps communicate what is popular and what is not.
The “famous” factor is another contributor to pop culture. The public idealizes famous people and they have a big say on pop culture even if they’re not the brightest people out there. People admire the famous either for a specific skill, talent, looks, or just because. The famous are singers, actors, models, athletes, the rich, and others. When someone famous wears something, people from the others will want to wear the same thing. If a famous person buys something others will emulate. The lives of the famous are usually not private and anything they do or say will be found out. The famous are used as tools of advertisement and have lives others would want (except for the no privacy thing some will say).
Pop culture has created a materialistic world where success is measured in what one owns. Pop culture is not based on intelligence but on something everyone can relate to. Pop culture tries to include everyone by staying simple so that anyone can understand it. No matter how different two peoples may be, pop culture can unite them through their love of “Brad Pitt, Twilling, House M.D., Lil Wayne, The Yankees…” Pop culture offers common ground for people. Some people may not agree on who’s a better singer or actor, but they eventually will find someone that agrees with them because otherwise that singer or actor would not be famous. Pop culture is the entertainment of world and the world is the stage.
I like how you start the entry by posing questions about pop culture--questions that I'm sure many people ask themselves every day. I like the whole first paragraph, where you define pop culture after posing your questions, and then state your opinion ("everything is for sale..."). Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI see the meaning in this piece as the process you go through to define each asspect of pop culture (talking about fashion, the media, etc), and the conclusion you come to. You really poke at what Pop Culture is, and what it has created.
Something I wonder: is Pop Culture so simple so everyone can really understand it? Sometimes I feel that it's not so simple. Sometimes TV shows have complex plot lines, or there's more than one "in" type of clothing.
One thing I would have loved to have seen more of in this write-up is how pop culture affects YOU. What part of pop cultures speaks the most to you ? Do you think pop culture is a positive thing? Do you spend the majority of your time in pop culture?
Your blog is very thought evoking and describes at a deeper level how pop culture works. This makes me think about how pop culture affects me and society. However while all your points are very valid I feel like you don't describe how popular culture affects you. Do you think these "factors" in popular culture that you wrote about are biased from popular culture affecting you? What are some specific ways or people that affect you and society and how do they change people? Overall an interesting analysis of popular culture and a good insight into our society.
ReplyDelete-Jonathan
I love the overall idea. You took the idea that people were supposed to look into and you made it in to one and commented on it-genius! When you talk about Vogue, maybe go in to a little more detail about what makes them a decision maker. Is it the reputation? Why do people listen to them? That sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you hit on all different types of pop culture. It was clear you spent a lot of time with the facts and your opinion. I liked that you added facts btw, it made the text very legitimate. The only problem I saw was just a few title mistakes and stuff. Awesome blog though I loved it!
Gus
Hey Ivan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people are so obsessed with pop culture because I remember tuning in on Extra to hear about celebrity news. I have some questions for you though:
1. How does your picture of "everything is for sale" relate to pop culture?
2. I also feel that you should evaluate more on the differences between the medias.
3. Would you actually consider ads as pop culture?
4. How does pop culture effect YOU? You talk so much about pop culture in general but what about you?
Your blog post was very informative into the American obsession with pop culture.
Jenni
I find it interesting that you take on Pop Culture as a whole. You offer a sweeping overview and the tone seems to suggest that you take issue with its power over the masses. Then, by the final paragraph, you seem resigned to pop culture as a phenomenon: it's here and has been here, it bonds strangers, it determines cultural imagination.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciate the overview, I would have found it more compelling if you shortened it and then took actual icons/pop culture products to talk about as examples (the links you chose often do this). I'd also like to hear more of your stance or opinion being full blown in the blog. The last paragraph is swingin' and I'd love to see more of that style and inclination in the writing.
I'm curious: do you see yourself or your own friends swayed by pop culture? Which facet? Also, I found it interesting how you noticed fashion to be different in its influence and effects than other forms of pop culture. It would be cool to see if you think that's more admirable.
eder