I really liked today’s podcast about popular culture and leadership. It made me reflect about all of the popular culture I see everyday and how often I don’t think deeper about what I am seeing and just take it at face value. Even when we just accept popular culture at face value the popular culture is making arguments about the culture around us. To just merely dismiss something as entertainment would be to lose those important arguments that provide commentary on our society and relevant issues. For example, I had obviously heard the Robin Hood story before where Robin Hood steals from the rich to give to the poor, however, I never knew the story behind it, the purpose it originally served in its creation, or the impact it had on society. That opened my eyes to how storytelling in popular culture is a powerful tool that can be used to accomplish goals or unit a group of people together. Especially in today’s society where exposure to popular culture is at an all time high, it is important to recognize how the popular culture we view influences our social and political opinions through the arguments it makes and how it could be used positively to unite people together over common issues.
Dr. Bezio ended the podcast with the idea that the stories that we tell matter because they shape our imagination which in turn shapes our world which resonated with me. Popular culture has a massive influence on what we accept as normal and what we believe an ideal society should look like. Representation in the media is very important so that in our ideal society everyone is included and considered valued members of society. If the entertainment we watch reflects a diverse society, we will be more likely to emulate what we see and want to copy what we are viewing, as Dr. Bezio mentioned in the Harry Potter example. It is important as a society that we have a commitment to continue making entertainment such as Hidden Figures and Black Panther that tell an important narrative of the viewpoint of people who have been largely underrepresented in entertainment and popular culture in the past.
Beyond Bezio’s discussion of the movies that are making a real impact on representation in the entertainment industry, I think TV shows are also beginning to reflect a more ideal society that represents people in a more truthful way. TV shows, or streaming shows, seem to be embracing representation just as much as the movie industry in my opinion. And, as you said, I think it is so important that both areas are showing this improvement so that it can begin to impact our established norms.
Diversifying movies is defiantly a huge factor that needs to occur. I think the thing that people need to watch out for is that diversification is often misrepresented in favor of a specific demographic. For example, most recently Asian hate. The shootings that occurred that were targeted towards Asians got significantly less airtime than they did for other occurrences. Fewer celebrities talked about it, fewer companies made statements, and it already seems like an afterthought. Diversification really needs to be pushed with an equal drive for all races.
I agree, I often dismiss content as just entertainment without thinking about its content, purpose, or intended audience. And I am sure that is something we all do…because culture and entertainment is constantly engaging us through the form of social media. I love how you talk about the influence of movies on changing our norms — exposure allows us to eliminate our biases, and things like movies and television shows that have such a broad reach are a really powerful place to start.