Popularity and Effects of Pop Culture

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Popularity and Effects of Pop Culture

Pop culture or popular culture is the totality of memes, images, attitudes, perspectives, ideas and other phenomena that are considered per an informal consensus within the typical of culture, mostly early to mid-20th century of the western culture and the late 20th of emerging global mainstream and early 21st century (Holmes, 2009). Pop culture is influenced by mass media that permeates everyday life of the society. Mass media is a sacred and genuine way of expressing pop culture. Popular culture emerged from urbanization of revolution industry, and always changes uniquely arise in time and place. Mass media and popular or pop culture have a symbiotic relationship; each through a close collaboration, each will depend on the other. 

Pop culture comprises of customs, behaviors, preferences and tastes embraced by the American public broad mass at a time. American pop culture is similar to other popular cultures of the society with the aim of binding large, diverse individuals’ masses together into a unified cultural identity. (“Globalization & American Popular Culture”, 2008) Examples of pop culture items include clothing fads, slang words and catch phrases, films, TV programs and commercials, food, brand names and symbols, video games, internet memes and sports. Furthermore, internet pervasiveness of the 21st century considerably increases the communication speed that accelerates sharing of cultural items from one individual to another through social media and mobile devices causing an instant explosion of the popularity of pop culture (Holmes, 2009). 

Characteristic of American Pop Culture

The pop culture of America is different from other cultures in a variety of ways. Whereas high culture- like literary works, opera, and fine art- is intended for an elite group popular culture is easily accessible to the general community. An average consumer does not require higher levels of education or previous exposure to popular culture to consume it. Pop culture is different from the folk culture in that it is always changing while the folk culture that originates from tradition is more fixed and conservative. 

Origin of pop culture

According to (“Globalization & American Popular Culture”, 2008), American pop culture originality is from the late 18th century during industrial revolution after rural people migrated t the cities of America in vast numbers. Several factors exceptional to that era facilitated the development and flourishing of pop culture. For example, densely populated cities allowed cultural items news to rapidly spread by word of mouth, mass production news means made cultural items consumption more expensive, and an increasing middle class offered many individuals necessary income to consume them. Some examples of Western pop culture items are tabloid news magazine and serial novels.

American Pop Culture Abroad

The majority of American pop culture’s items experience a wide popularity globally. 70 percent of European box sales are American films. Mc Donald’s, an American company has a ubiquitous presence overseas with his symbol, the golden arches recognized in the United States. Different sociologists have different views about pop culture exportation. Some believe that the pop culture export has a harmless and neutral effect while others believe that the global dominance of American pop culture is dilutes local cultures and cause cultural imperialism.

American Pop Culture Effect on Day To Day Life

Studies have shown that pop culture of America has a positive influence on the global society (“Globalization & American Popular Culture”, 2008). This culture influences contemporary lifestyles through literature, music, and movies. It is also hard to ignore as it affects almost the daily life of everybody and acts as society’s social glue. Pop culture allows individuals to reflect complicated subject matter and gives a strong economic engine by encouraging new purchases.

Pop culture influences trends in technology, clothing line, television preferences, music tastes and popular cars. Although there is an excessive pressure to be ahead, consumers are pushed to put money back to the economy. Frequently, this pressure is viewed in a negative way, but in the long run, it produces an economic benefit as long as there are reasonable purchases. The pop culture has allowed people to express views, evaluate and consider issues that normally they would have avoided. Pop culture influences people to have considerations on cultural motifs, social propriety, and sexuality.

Pop culture is the primary starter in a conversation at school, people at work, and in everyday activity. It thus creates a unifying foundation which encompasses difference in individuals and allows extensions of the conversations from the point of unity (“Events of interest in Popular Culture”, 2004). It is also a social icebreaker that allows persons to overcome their shyness and engage in discussions and conversations within a group without fear of isolation. Another effect is that each topic in pop culture can be viewed from different evaluation points giving a person a chance to evaluate, assess and form the opinion. This allows different persons to be involved with the content as much as they wish.

Criticism of Pop Culture

Many sociologists believe that pop culture promotes negative stereotypes thus encouraging homophobia, sexism, bigotry, racism and class biases. It is always masquerades as true information which may create misinformation to individuals. It has diffused folk and regional culture forming a homogenized norm and reduces the unique regional cultural difference. Flattering version stereotype is created by the creation of compensatory myths that used a group of the minority making the victim group to uniquely enviable and heroic. It has also been known to influence the behaviors and morals of the audience. It lays its profit on the bottom line, and the process tramples the experimental cultural forms and instead relies on recurring formulas.

References

Events of interest in Popular Culture. (2004). The Journal Of Popular Culture, III(4), 886-886. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1970.0304_886.x

Globalization & American Popular Culture. (2008). The Journal Of Popular Culture, 41(4), 730-732. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2008.00544_11.x

Holmes, L. (2009). Chuck Klosterman’s ‘Eating The Dinosaur’: A Pop-Culture Writer Turns Inward. NPR.org. Retrieved 12 October 2016, from http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2009/10/chuck_klostermans_eating_the_d.html