The Wholesomeness of Popular Culture
The wholesomeness of thoughts, viewpoints, photographs, phenomena, and altitudes within the mainstream of a given society is referred to as popular culture (Storey and John 3).
Influence of Pop Culture through Social Media
The accessible literature demonstrates Western civilization's potential to manipulate other people's views all over the world. These cultural shifts are greatly aided by social media platforms designed to link communities all over the world. Individuals' views toward particular thoughts and subjects may be influenced by pop culture. Furthermore, pop music is considered critical in providing awareness and acceptance to people from all over the world. This factor has massively invited criticism from a variety of conservative primarily the counterculture and religious groups that make the culture estimate it's superficial. Pop culture becomes recognized in the 19th century where it was linked to individuals with lower classes and those with weak education contrasted to the official culture of the rich and the educated (Storey and John 2). Towards the end of WW 2, there emerged changes in social norms and culture due to innovations in social media platforms and the definition of pop culture gradually changed to media culture. Cultural and social differences were first noted in America, and other western nations and the meaning of mass culture emerged (Burgess, Jacquelin, and John 5). This article focuses on various aspects associated with pop culture such as entertainment, politics, and sports. The literature will as well consider the effects pop culture has brought to some members of society around the globe.
The Evolution of Pop Culture
The earliest form of pop culture is the folklore and exists to the current world in a way different from social media facilitated culture. In this context, pop culture is propagated orally other than the use of social media platforms through urban legend or jocks. Besides, the commercial element engaging heavily with folkloric elements the public has its means to distinguish and embrace the favorable culture or subculture available in the market (Burgess, Jacquelin, and John 7). Another aspect is entertainment where it has been massively illustrated by utilization of music, television programs, movies, and video games. Television program as a form of entertainment can be fictional (dramas and comedies) or non-fictional (reality television, news, and documentaries). The on-air programs can be historical such as fictional series and documentaries. On the other hand, the applications can be topical in that they provide television movies as well as a local newscast.
Entertainment and Its Impact
Entertainment through television can be provided as educational, entertaining or instructional. Additionally, favorite music is one with the most significant appeal as it reaches large audiences universally (Brummett and Barry 5). Pop music present styles and forms that are performed and enjoyed by individuals with limited or low levels of musical training. On the other hand, pop music is contrasted to both traditional and art music since the two genre presents disseminated historical performances. Another aspect that popular culture is propagated is through sport. This form contains games and competitive physical activities that require organized or casual participation. Popular culture utilizes sport to improve or maintain individual's physical abilities as well as enhancing their enjoyment as a participant. In addition, the aspect of sport in some contexts, it is used to offer entrainment for spectators.
Negative Impact of Popular Culture
In addition to entertainment, popular culture has a negative impact towards societies around the globe. It massively has its effect on youths and women where young girls sit down and gossip about hot people, favorite songs, and breast implants. Pop culture has incredible psychological effects on women in various societies although it does not limit them from reaching worldly desires. Through mass culture, teens acquire overwhelming want to fit in the current issues that may lead them to pre-mature sex and the use of drugs and later give them a false image of real life. A variety of publication and media platforms have recently created unachievable objectives for millions of youth (Brummett and Barry 14). The rate at which these factors affect teenagers is massively increasing, and it is not limited to age. In the modern world, it is not surprising to see a young girl of about 12 years of age dressing in a way that imitates a famous icon on the social platform. The social media helps less in this section where pictures of slim women are posted in the mass media misguides young women, and they tend to think that the only way to become acceptable in the society is imitating favorite stars. These mischievous imitations have paralyzed self-esteem of millions of youth due to billions of desires to become famous that is a merely attainable dream.
The Influence of Popular Culture
Currently, the definition of pop culture has been simplified into a culture that makes youth desire to move along with the trending issues so that they can fit in the society. Arguably this factor not only affects teenagers in the current age and date but also their future in that it makes them believe that they should measure up with the rest to achieve acceptance in the corporate world.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Popular Culture
Popular culture is advantageous in that it forms a common ground for individuals from various parts of the world and with different backgrounds. Pop culture offers a platform where persons from different parts of the planet can discuss favorite books, sports, movies, music, games, and other kinds of entertainment that are helpful in human life, creating an excellent sense of communityhood worldwide (Storey and John 8). In addition, this may influence the potentially distinguishing characteristics in the local forms of creation negatively as individuals compete to be famous cultural icons.
Conclusion
To conclude, pop culture creates a unified measure of excellence that revolves around the acquisition of worldly wealth an idea limited on a global scale (Burgess, Jacquelin, and John 10). It is evident that popular culture surrounds only those who take part in it. Although the content that consists of popular culture has changed, the idea behind it has not been adjusted. It is still perceived as a pool of ideas and ideals that are created for a particular group of people. A subculture formulated to provide an escape route has also become a kind of popular culture that fulfills the desires of a specific sector of society; therefore, pop culture deserves criticism but not respect.
Work Cited
Brummett, Barry. Rhetoric in popular culture. Sage Publications, 2014.
Burgess, Jacquelin, and John R. Gold, eds. Geography, the media and popular culture. Routledge, 2015.
Storey, John. Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction. Routledge, 2015.
