What Is Pop Culture?

Quickwrite #1: What is “Pop Culture”? Write about a favorite band or musician, movie, or TV show of yours. Why is it a favorite? What do you think makes your favorite popular? (Why does your favorite appeal to lots of different people?)

What is “Pop Culture”? In the introduction to our textbook Mirror on America, pop culture is defined as “all of the objects, people events, and places to which most of us readily relate and which comprise a society at any given time” (xv). What this means: Pop culture is short for “popular culture.” This means it has a broad appeal. (A large cross section of society relates to it.) Pop culture is sometimes defined in opposition to “high culture” (which is a label I’m not fond of). “High culture” is thought to be more accessible to the educated/elite, while “popular” cultures is thought to be the art of the “masses.”

Group List of Pop Culture What are some specific examples of pop culture you we can come up with as a group? Again, we’re talking about TV, Movies, music, books (yes, comic books count) that have a broad appeal.

Why study “Pop Culture”? Historically, academia (schools, universities, professors) put a lot of emphasis on “high culture” and disregarded “pop culture,” thinking it wasn’t worth studying or analyzing. Recently, many scholars and universities have recognized the value of pop culture as an area of study. Some general assumptions that the study of pop culture makes: – The art (this includes movies, music, tv, etc.) that a culture produces reveals what that culture values. – The art a culture produces reveals widely held attitudes about important/controversial issues. – While Pop Culture can reveal attitudes, it can also change them. – In other words, the pop culture that we are exposed to can affect how and what we think.

Class Discussion of “Pop Culture: An Overview” What, according to the author (Delaney), is the purpose of popular culture? What does it do for us as a society? Do you agree with his observations? How does popular culture help people to create identity? What is the connection between popular culture, social media, and mass media?

Analysis of Pop Culture Look at the list of examples of pop culture on p. xv – xvi in your Mirror on America text book, and consider our class list, then answer the following question: “We’ve made lists, individually and as a class, of examples of pop culture that we enjoy. What are some important issues that your examples of pop culture brings up?” In other words, what important issues/ideas might these examples of pop culture lead us to discuss? By answering these questions, we are beginning to do the work of analyzing pop culture.