Not knowing much about pop culture will yield some social capital
A cartoonist once drew a parallel between life before technology, when parents struggled to gather tired and dusty kids from the playground late at night, and today's world, where parents face a challenge in pulling obese kids away from their gadgets to the playground.
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Of all the definitions of Popular Culture, I choose to go with the Mediated Popular Culture definition by Ray B. Browne, which defines it as the everyday objects, actions, and events we experience through a media channel. It is obvious that, in the near future, those less knowledgeable about popular culture will be perceived as more trustworthy and credible.
Consider instances like Katy Perry's appearance on Sesame
Street and similar occurrences in kids' movies, contemplating their potential
impact on future preschool teachers. Between the exposed and the non-exposed,
whom would you entrust your little ones to?
One prevailing notion about pop culture is that possessing
knowledge about it can yield social capital. This holds true because
understanding and analyzing the well-prepared messages around us make it easier
to fit into society, projecting an image of importance and usefulness. However,
how long will this trend persist amid the insanity overflowing in the media
mainstream?
When reading between the lines, pop culture is neither a
news provider nor an educator about anything indispensable in human life. As
Stephen Sewell said, it can turn us into customer slaves, creating endless new
urgencies and indispensable needs that demand your time and money. According to
Sewell, 'Pop culture is not culture at all; it is commerce,' with its sole
intent being money and more money.
Pop culture is arguably detrimental to humanity because it
has the same effect on the brain as normal drugs. Can drugs provide some social
capital? Perhaps only in the world of addicts.
You bring up some really interesting arguments here. Your conclusion that “pop culture is neither a news provider nor an educator about anything indispensable in human life” rings true to an extent. On one hand, pop culture artifacts can detract from important, real world issues or relationships in life and cause us as consumers of pop culture to have a fragmented sense of reality. I also understand and agree that some of pop culture is rooted in consumerism and money, though I disagree that it is its sole intent. On the other hand, I think pop culture can teach us something about ourselves as it serves as a reflection of broader sociological and cultural perspectives. It can help us reflect on our actions, beliefs, and norms - whether individually or as a society. Take, for example, the video clip exploring whether “24” was promoting torture and the concern that what soldiers were seeing on TV was translating into the battlefield. Whether we agree or disagree with the messaging, popular culture still acts as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, I was surprised and impressed by the direction of your post. Quite an interesting twist you presented here. Although I do agree that there are some detrimental aspects to pop culture (such as "mob mentality" or "group think"), I believe that there are also positive aspects that are valuable in society. Social capital isn't just for having the ability to say that you know something that the masses know. It's also a way in which people can be brought together. It can create a bond between participants that might otherwise be non-existent. I look at social media in the same way. It has the potential to bring millions of people together in a meaningful and prolific way, but it's mostly used for much shallower purposes.
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