Is Pop Culture Good For You?

The debate about whether or not Pop Culture is good has been around for a long time, and the answer might vary depending on who you ask. Many people believe that Pop Culture has been hijacked by mainstream media and now they are using the name to try to brainwash people into following the new ‘pop culture.’ Others disagree and claim that not only is pop culture good for them, but it is also beneficial to the world as a whole. Google describes ‘pop culture’ as “modern popular culture transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people,” so it’s no surprise that many of the bashings that pop culture receive are from people in the older generation. In his Ted Talk, Alexander O. Phillippe makes the claim that Pop Culture is actually more than just ‘a movie’ or ‘a popular meme,’ but it is good because it brings people together. If a funny picture, video or tweet went viral on a social media platform, the assumption is that a lot of people probably saw it and said picture, video or tweet can be referenced in a conversation as a way to lighten the mood or make someone’s day; like Phillippe starting his Ted Talk by telling a Star Wars story. Star Wars is so well-known that even people who have never seen the movies probably have heard some references to them and have some idea of what they’re about. Using that as an opener made him relatable to the audience, and further proved his point of Pop Culture’s impact. The display of the ‘Gangnam Style’ video had the same effect of grabbing the audience’s attention, it even managed to pull me into doing the dance and singing the song. This Ted Talk goes hand-in-hand with the ‘Watching TV Makes You Smarter’ article as they both shed some positive light on Pop Culture. But as stated before, not everyone agrees with this belief. Contrary to Alexander O. Phillippe’s belief, Phil Miller claims that Pop Culture as we know it, is dead and people are now being brainwashed by the mainstream media. His Ted Talk focused more on how much Pop Culture has changed, much like the article, ‘Small Changes,’ which stated that because of social media, the way that we, as a society, go about invoking change has become mostly performative. So while there are some positives to the ‘new’ Pop Culture, there are definitely some negatives to go along with it. Personally, I believe that Pop Culture is good for us in the way that it influences our daily lives and can be used to shine a light on serious, unpopular issues. Take into consideration the show ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ a show about doctors navigating through a hospital, boring right? Wrong. Over its 18 seasons, it has picked up fans from every generation and has managed to keep them captivated throughout the years by  highlighting issues such as racism, discrimination, mental health etc. A lot of people, including myself, had different opinions or misinformation about a certain topic but watching this show has opened our eyes to see things from a different point of view. Let’s also look at ‘The Originals,’ a show about vampires, werewolves and witches, not very useful, right? Wrong again! In this show the protagonist, who was previously the villain in the original show, is a paranoid hybrid, that’s half vampire and half werewolf, who just wants love but doesn’t always go about it the right way. Now are we ever going to need to know spells or watch out for a full moon? Probably not, but throughout the show, we learn to love and sympathize with Klaus, an impulsive, paranoid psychopath. There’s a lesson in there somewhere. All that to say this, modern Pop Culture is not brainwashing us. Like in the example with shows, going online you’re going to see a lot of people who may agree with a certain take that you have but also a lot of might disagree, and that right there is us exercising our free will and formulating our own thoughts on the shows. So yes, Pop Culture is good for me.