Popular culture refers to things such as movies, music, art, and fashion that are consumed by common people. The views on popular culture are always controversial. Most people often treat it as insignificant and primitive, a phenomenon that is considered “cool” at the current moment and has no long-term effects on culture in general. The main argument of this essay is that popular culture is used by the upper class to control those below them with the help of mass media.
We are surrounded by pop culture. It creates social norms. The upper class uses mass media to spread ideas in society. I believe this view is crucial for understanding how popular culture produces social norms. Clothes are a clear illustration of this phenomenon. The fashion magazines and TV shows tell people what to wear, and most of them tend to follow the advice. Shops usually sell only clothes that are popular, and it becomes more difficult to avoid the influence of these trends. Fashion is not the only sphere where popular culture creates norms for society. It affects almost all aspects of everyday life, from music people listen to to type of food they eat.
Popular culture is one of the main reasons why we live in a consumerist society. We are influenced by popular culture — it makes people buy more things. As a result, our world becomes more materialistic. Some researcher argues that people have become dependent upon things they own. In “Burdens of a Modern Beast,” he states belongings burden them. He says that people are laden with books, newspapers, Gatorade jugs, personal stereos, knapsacks, briefcases and canvas totes with high-heel shoes inside. They have iPods strapped to upper arms, fanny packs buckled around waists and house keys Velcroed to shoelaces. According to Weeks, every person uses these objects as replacements for stability and relationships.
Besides creating social norms, popular culture also forms social bonds. We all listen to different music, wear clothes of various styles and watch different types of movies and TV shows. It is what shapes us as individuals. At the same time, it helps us find people who have similar tastes and are more like ourselves. Because of the spread of popular culture, we have some particular musical tastes, which allow us to find friends with the same tastes. Pop culture gives us the opportunity to identify people who are like us.
Popular culture can be easily found in the rituals that it produces. Young people gather in dance clubs, students spend time together watching TV, comic book fans wait hours in line to watch the first showing of a film. All these rituals make people feel bonding with other members of society. Such rituals can be graduate reunions, cultural and sports events (for example the Super Bowl), or holidays (for example Halloween and Christmas).
Millions of people of all ages are connected by a common interest. Visiting a music concert can give a person a sense of social unity, while he or she sings a song along with hundreds of other people. Some kind of social bonds are created despite the fact that people do not know each other. They share a common interest, and their sense of meaning is the basis of their social unity.
Popular culture influences the way people spend their spare time. They watch TV programs or movies, listen to popular music, read popular magazines, comic books and fiction, etc.
Along with being an instrument for the dominant groups to control the society, popular culture serves the very opposite purpose. It can become a tool of rebellion against the culture of the upper class. This purpose is the most important one as popular culture helps our society to make different social changes. In fact, it has been the instrument of social changes many times. This argument can be illustrated by the example of Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle”, which was published in 1906 and helped to make a revolution of the food industry in the United States.
Another example of popular culture serving as a driving force to make a social change is involvement of celebrities in presidential elections, mainly in the campaign of Barack Obama. Such well-known celebrities as Robert DeNiro, Scarlett Johansson, Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, John Mayer and many other actors, sportsmen and musicians showed their support of Obama. Their participation in the political campaign was very influential and contributed greatly to Obama’s victory.
In fact, the influence that celebrities have on American people is well known not only by many political parties but also by commercial companies. Enterprises have been using help from famous people to promote their products for a long time. Many celebrities take part in various social events. An example is Lady Gaga’s involvement in the Gay Rights movement.
Therefore, people do not just come under the influence of those who want to control them through popular culture. Regardless of the marketing actions, some products may become popular, and others experience a failure. There are many reasons why some movies, clothing items, or songs have great success while others do not. People make choices because some things satisfy their needs or suit their values and wishes.
Thus, when one looks for things that are popular, it can be compared with looking into a mirror in which they recognize a lot about themselves. By this argument, I do not mean that, for example, popular TV shows describe our own lives precisely, but that there should be some reason why we choose to watch them: for supportive messages, or a sense of adventure, or just to relax. It is not just a question of taste because people’s preferences for different types of TV shows or movies are caused by various factors.
For example, in his essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, King asserts that society appreciates friendship, love, and loyalty. Nevertheless, horror movies have become very popular even though they do not provide such emotions. Anticivilization emotions do not go away and demand periodic exercise. In his article, King claims that we seek forbidden emotions and shows frighten us because it “re-establishes our feelings of normality.” Thus, we can characterize ourselves and society as a whole by the type of movies we watch.
Popular culture can be used to reflect the society in any given place and time. Whether we talk about playing games, ways of spending leisure time or mass media, pop culture or 'the culture of the common people' is an essential part of life.
It can be argued that the upper class does not control the lower one by means of popular culture because studying the latter helps one to develop a critical approach to the so-called mainstream trends. This argument is supported by the claim that such exercise encourages critical skills rather than passive receipt of information. However, we should not forget that the upper class also uses popular culture to distract people from significant current events. That is why we should devote our time to more relevant issues, such as social engagement or political involvement.
To conclude, popular culture plays an important role in society. It has a great influence, whether good or bad, on the lives of the people. It produces social norms, forms social boundaries and rituals that create social unity. Therefore, popular culture cannot be treated as just a primitive phenomenon that has no value. It is a powerful tool of control. However, it can be used by the upper class to manipulate the masses whereas a society can use it to rebel against the culture of the upper class and make social changes.
About author
Monica is the author and she is working on dissertation writing now . She always dreamed of working in this position, working with texts and new information. After all, her credo in life is to develop daily in different fields and be an interesting person. She is fluent in three languages and holds a Masters Degree in Philology and Translator, and is also trying to master new fields in order to be knowledgeable in everything.
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