Movies, music, fashion, food, technology, advertising. Pop Culture. This blog will be devoted solely to Popular Culture, hence the blog's name. :) So what is Pop Culture? It is what the media puts out there to catch everyone's attention, whatever is appealing to the masses . Contemporary society is all about new media --- the internet, television, radio, cellphones, etc. --- all modes of communication which make it possible for the rest of the world to share the love for pop culture. At first thought, one would think it's just all about the entertainment but what we don't realize is that it has a huge influence on setting social roles and codes and has played a major role affecting our views of seeing the world.
"The Politics of Culture" by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan talks about culture as a means of domination as well as a mode of resistance. This justifies the "culture from above" and "culture from below" settings. Culture from above patterns human activity and the symbolic structures such as large billion-dollar companies, that give such activities. Those born in the upper-class would grow up to enjoy and appreciate some forms of culture different to the working class, who may get their inspiration through their families, school, friends and their surroundings. That being said, culture from below characterizes the significance often defined by mass media. For me, both cultures are interdependent, they all affect each other in some way. Everything around us, our way of life, is culture. Just like anything produced and shared in all contexts of media, popular culture has its share of positives and negatives. It is entirely up to us if we choose to be consumed by what the media wants us to see and believe, or simply enjoy the essence and everything there is to Pop Culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment