Getting into the nitty gritty of what pop culture actually is in Doctor Bezio’s article was so interesting to me. As is said, pop culture is commonly viewed as juvenile, airheaded, and meaningless; a conflagration of what is popular with the young and or the dumb in the mainstream. When I hear pop culture, I immediately think of tik tok and other social medias and the newest pop music and reality television and the like. But the point about Shakespeare, and how he was lambasted for being vulgar in his time, actually took be aback. I mean, of course Shakespeare was considered pop culture in his days; it was what was popular within society… pop culture. What really hit it home for me was the discussion about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Once again, definitely pop culture, which sparked much discussion and social change and movement at the time of it’s publication. It lit a fire under many of it’s readers, and contributed to the social changes that predicated the Civil War. As Doctor B said, it is easy and wrong to dismiss pop culture (again, a meaningless and airheaded term) as “low brow” but really, it actually isn’t. When I think about pop culture, and at the very least moments in it I’ve been alive for, I realize that I have been around for some pretty impactful moments. The rise of amazing new artists, the release of incredible new technology, the rise of internet culture; all of these things are now accepted as normal. It is, as Doctor B says, a focal point at the center of civilization, but people are just so accustomed to it they don’t notice it.
Critical Thinking
I think you make a lot of interesting points here. I definitely have noticed that people are quick to judge and dismiss anything that is pop culture or trendy, especially the older generations. It’s often “Oh these kids and their crazy music these days….” or “all this social media and hashtags…”, but the new advancements in technology and social media or new artists singing or rapping about social issues are making real impacts in our world today. News and information has been spread faster to millions of people, people are able to work from home during a pandemic, or connect with their loved ones on the other side of the world, all because of new technology and social media. At some point, the music of the 80’s was different and new and unfamiliar to generations that came before it. At some point, everything is new and unfamiliar, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s a bad thing.
I completely agree with your points. People like to dismiss pop culture as “low brow” and insignificant, but trendy elements of our society make real impacts. Tik Tok, for example, has been incredibly influential for Generation Z, crafting social movements and social trends all throughout the app. Like you said, Shakespeare was once considered vulgar and “low culture,” but today he is seen as an extremely intellectual and high society playwright. Elements of our popular culture make real impacts in the schools of thought of the time, and deserve to be treated with respect and serious consideration.
I think its crazy to think how pop culture can change into high culture after some time right in front of our eyes. A
I think its crazy to think how pop culture can change into high culture after some time right in front of our eyes. And how you are able to still reach the same connection with certain people whether you bond over high culture or low culture. In our current society it seems easier to connect with some of the smallest things that fall under low culture and grow from there to bigger things.