What is Pop Culture (and its Role in Modern Society)?

Portfolio Entry #7

What is pop culture? Pop culture refers to a sub-culture of phenomena within mainstream culture (predominantly Western culture), including ideas/perspectives, internet phrases, memes/pictures, etc. While beginning to take effect in the early to mid-20th century, widespread pop culture developed in the late 20th and early 21st century.

In modern society, we are surrounded by pop culture. Whether it’s the screening of Ariana Grande’s music video on C4, posters of Beyoncé’s self-titled album, or pictures Rihanna’s scandalous dress at the 2014 CFDA Awards, pop culture has embedded itself into our day-to-day lives, where it has become almost unavoidable. Non-mainstream societies have often believed pop culture to be corrupted, sensationalist and most of all, consumerist.

Pop culture is known to delineate social boundaries and practically define and categorize an individual according to the clothes they wear, the television shows they watch and the music they choose to listen to. For example, the fashion industry vicariously expresses what is deemed “acceptable” and “unacceptable” in terms of clothing. These are reinforced through magazines, billboards and advertisements and strengthened by actors, musicians, celebrities and personalities.

In today’s society when a popular artist’s music video is uploaded to Vevo or YouTube, it is instantaneously available to everyone around the world unless specified otherwise. This video then circulates around social media networking websites such as Twitter or Facebook until it is finally broadcasted regularly on music television channels such as C4 or MTV, and through radio stations. Through mass media, this music video receives immense attention and becomes a part of pop culture.

Pop culture assumes that an individual who enjoys listening to AC/DC doesn't have anything in common with an individual who chooses to listen to One Direction—which is the defining role of pop culture and its habitation in modern society.

Pop culture is informed by and often interlinked with the idea of mass media. Mass media refers to widespread media coverage through media outlets such as radio, television, internet, etc.

“The average American is exposed to 61,556 words from the mass media each day which works out to just under 4,000 words per waking hour, about 60 words per waking minute per person per day.” — Paul A. Herbig

With regularity like that, it is no marvel that pop culture is influential of mass media.