Why Should We Study Pop Culture? - Madelyn Bushman
As I was going through the readings for this module, one thing that really stuck out to be was Chuck Klosterman (2013) stating: “What’s less clear – and much more important – is the degree to which all of culture is imperceptibly defined by whoever of its entities happens to be the most popular at any given time.”
It’s important to study pop culture to fully understand why and how it is defined based on what is popular around that time. What is popular now might have been completely irrelevant ten years ago and vise versa. Within each of our generations we have our own references, jokes, and ideas of what pop culture is. This is because people tend to have a strong attachment to the pop culture of their youth. Pop culture gives people an escape from reality which is why people will spend endless hours on social media, watching movies, reading, and more.
David Jacobson states “culture changes but it doesn’t disappear. It’s like energy that just seeks another form.” Pop culture is popular culture after all, which means that whatever is the most popular at the time will be considered or defined as pop culture. It is as if pop culture is constantly evolving and changing as time moves on.
Furthermore, Klosterman (2013) explains that one of the three basic kinds of information within any complex scenario is “information that you know you don’t know.” I found this one to really stick out to me because we can be aware of people making pop culture references yet still don’t know the information specifically or personally.
For example, my dad always references pop culture quotes that I am not fully versed with but I know that it’s supposed to be funny because others will laugh or add in. For example, he always made references to Big Business (1988) or Friends (1994) when I was younger and I would laugh along knowing that it was funny and was a reference but I didn’t know the movie or sitcom they were referring too. What was pop culture to them was not what pop culture necessarily was to me.
However, there are pop culture references that have continued to stay popular even through time. Klosterman (2013) also states that one of three basic kinds of information within any complex scenario is, “information that you know you know.”
When quoting in a big group with the intention of everyone knowing who or what you are quoting, there are certain quotes that will always pass no matter how old or new. For example, “With great power comes great responsibility” from Spiderman (2002) is a quote that you know you know. Same with the iconic quote: “May the Force be with you” from Star Wars (1977).
As time moves on, will pop culture still be defined in the same ways of popularity even if we have more access to social media where our influence is heavily weighted on the content that we see and others opinions that we read or listen to? Will we be more informed of pop culture or will there be so many more options to choose from due to having more access to entertainment that pop culture may become less relevant?
I liked that you posed the question about the overwhelming amount of pop culture information that is available to us through social media. As a lifestyle TV producer, I am constantly trying to keep up with trends for the show and I had to come to terms one day that there was no way we would ever be able to keep up with every single piece of pop culture. Especially considering that pop culture has so many subcategories. However, ignoring some of these can make us irrelevant! I was a big fan of what Klosterman said, “Ignoring a cultural phenomenon today may render you completely irrelevant in a few years. Just so you know.” I think at this point, we will all have to accept that we will be irrelevant in some parts of pop culture. There is just too much to keep up with! If we were to try to keep up with every single pop culture trend or piece of information, we would become a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
ReplyDelete