Running head: POPULAR CULTURE REFLECTS SOCIETY

Popular Culture Reflects Society

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Popular Culture Reflects Society

Popular culture, commonly shortened to pop culture has been brought about by the

activities of modernization. Pop culture is made up of the beliefs, images, attitudes, perspectives,

ideas, and any other aspects that define a society. The wide range of genres such as film, music,

books, celebrities, cartoons, and comedy are what define pop culture. These genres have been

brought about by civilization and therefore, they can give answers to questions about the

influence of pop culture and the modernizing process. It is important to note that the

development of pop culture is very much dependent on the level of civilization. As the members

of a society get more information, their lifestyles also change. Increased availability of

information affects how the people make decisions, as well as their perceptions, and this also has

an impact on how they view the society and themselves. Songs, movies, and literary work are

some of the forms of pop culture through which people express themselves. Therefore, pop

culture reflects society because it tells stories about the human society involved.

According to Silverman & Rader (2018) it is difficult for culture, in general, to be

popular if it does not portray the lives and identity of a certain group of people. As previously

mentioned, pop culture is popular because it depicts a people’s way of life through genres such

as film and literature. Silverman & Rader (2018) describe pop culture as the culture of the

everyday lives of a group, which reflects their ideas, reveals a great deal about who they are as a

people, and also how their society has evolved through time. As an example, technology has

played a critical part in the development of the human society. It has changed how people think,

and therefore has had an impact on the kind of films that are produced, the music people sing and

listen to, as well as the books that people write and read.
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Some philosophy and sociology scholars argue that science fiction as portrayed in film

and literary works does not tell anything about the current human society. Rather the authors and

writes of these movies and books have been influenced by information that has reached planet

earth about the existence of other planets through science and technology. As per Graham (2002)

this is an example of a civilization that is entirely responsible for a certain genre of popular

culture. For instance, the numerous movies and books about aliens do not portray the way of life

of any human society. However, the fact that the movie directors and authors are part of the

human society means that their imagination is affected by events around them, and as a result,

the aliens in their stories behave like humans.

In the case of music, it is a form of art that can be associated with a certain group of

people depending on the genre. Music can easily be used to identify a group of people; as the

kind of music they listen to is likely to differ from that of another group. The kind of music

people sing and listen to gives them their identity and it could also represent a subculture. For

example, Rock n Roll, a popular genre of music is associated with hipsters. On the other hand,

country and rock music are genres that are associated with people from Canada or East America

(Weinstein, 2015). These genres are associated with these groups of people because they portray

their culture and identity. As a result, they are popular among these communities, which makes

them part of the many aspects of popular culture.

Personally, pop-rock music is my favorite genre of music. It, therefore, makes sense that

one of my favorite texts is ‘one life’ a song by James Morrison. The song talks about James'

hometown, which is famed for young people who often make poor decisions about their lives

because they always want to impress those around them. In the song, James Morrison. This is a

common lifestyle among the people at back at James’ hometown and he tries to advise them to
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change their ways and try to make decisions that are good for them in the long run. While being

interviewed in Cotswold Life, James explained “I just try to write simple lyrics that people will

understand from all walks of life. You can’t be too clever sometimes because people won’t get it.

And I always try to write lyrics where you understand every single line because the music is

theirs and speaks about ourselves.” (Jarvis, 2016). This response supports the argument that

depicts and also reflects the everyday lives of a group of people. In this song, James Morrison

the singer was able to incorporate the culture of his hometown and through his music, other

people got to learn about the issues affecting the people in that society.

Also, pop culture is closely related to Marxism, which is defined as the categorization of

people based on their social status and class. Originally theorized by German philosophers Karl

Marx and Friedrich Engels, this concept posits that most of the social phenomena have either

arisen from, or is been heavily influenced by basic economic principles. Religion, morality,

political and legal systems, as well as social relations are examples of phenomena that have their

basis in economics. Another argument by the Marxist school of thought is that capitalism, where

private business owners control the economy, has also contributed to class divisions in the

society. The argument is that conflicts in society occur because those from the lower

socioeconomic status perform the menial jobs while those from the higher socioeconomic class

are the ones that benefit from the profits of their hard work (those from the lower socioeconomic

status).

According to Fabian (1978, p. 315) “popular culture is the contemporary cultural

expression of the masses that challenges the notion of the superiority of ‘pure’ or high culture.”

On the other hand, high culture is associated with the rich. It is not prevalent among the majority

in society, who are the ordinary people, as it is only accessible to a select few in the upper class.
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Generally, high culture is inaccessible to the ordinary man because the venues where such is

offered are too costly. However, the lower class can easily access popular culture without having

to pay exorbitant prices. Popular culture is accessible to all people in the society, both the rich

and the poor. Since everyone can access to this particular culture, it proliferates to all segments

of the society, making it popular culture. My favorite text, the song by James Morrison also

demonstrates this argument. The people from James Morrison’s town are home town generally

belong to the lower socioeconomic status. However, the young people in that town like to

pretend to be from elite families, living unsustainable lifestyles which eventually cost them their

future. James also mentions the rocking chair, which is a reference to wealth in the small town. It

is common practice in the small town for anyone who is viewed as rich to get one of those

rocking chairs. The song demonstrates the social stratification because James also dreams of

getting a rocking chair. This song, therefore, shows the popular culture of the small town in

relation to class.

Interestingly, sometimes popular culture is derived from high culture. An appropriate

example of this phenomenon is computer development. When computers were first invented,

they were a reserve for the elite in society because only they could afford them. However,

nowadays almost every household can claim to have some form of a computing machine. Also,

technology has led to slow fading away of concerts, cinema theatres and operas, which used to

be forms of high culture no so long ago. for instance, increased penetration of internet services,

coupled with innovations such as YouTube have made concerts easily accessible for anyone. At

the same time, some forms of popular culture have become high culture. A good example is the

plays by William Shakespeare which were accessible to the general public but are now their

production has become reserved and the general populace lost interest in them. As a result,
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classical texts are now associated with a certain class in society. It is now easy to talk about

soccer with a stranger or even comment on a reality TV show and that person would have an idea

about these things. However, a discussion about classical texts is a subject only a few members

of the society would participate in.

The content in most genres of culture such as film and television programs is based on

the culture that is popular during that period. Because popular culture is accessible by all

members of the society, content creators include this kind of content in their films and TV

programs so that they can be seen and critiqued by all. An example of a TV program that has

been put on screens for people to patronize is the American show, Will and Grace. This show is

about the lives of gay men and their friends, hence it portrays the changing attitudes about

homosexuality in the world. This program was being run on TV at a time when the LGBTQ

movement in the united states was gaining momentum.

Another current issue that is being portrayed in popular culture is feminism. The history

of feminism in the west can be divided into three periods, where each of them describes different

aspects of the same issue. The first period, which was between the 19th century and the 20th

century, dealt with issues such as women suffrage, the working conditions of women, and

education for the girl child. The second period, between 1960 and the 80s, focused on

inequalities in law, cultural inequalities, and the role of women in society. The last period, from

the 1980s to the turn of the century, focused on the perceived failures of the past two ‘waves’ of

feminism. It is seen as a continuation of the second period preceding it (Dicker, 2016). Now,

feminism is part of the popular culture, especially in the west. Each of these ‘waves’ of feminism

has literary works that discuss the major concerns of women during that period. examples of

popular text that talks about women’s issues include reviving Ophelia and The Second Sex.
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The period between 1990 and 2000 also saw the subject of empowerment of the girl child

gain popularity all around the world. This was also the era of the third wave of feminism.

Authors capitalized on this wave of feminism, which was becoming part of popular culture to

sell their work. This shows that authors also focus on topics that are popular at the time to offer

their views and about what is happening around them. An example is reviving Ophelia by Mary

Pipher which is credited for putting the issues of women on the national agenda. The book

became wildly successful because it featured a current issue in popular culture, considering

feminism had gained momentum globally.

This paper argues that as civilization contributes to more information becoming available

to the society, popular culture increasingly reflects the ideas and thinking of that society. The

authors, film directors, and musicians who are responsible for producing the genres of culture

capitalize on what s popular at the moment sell their work because it is based on current issues.

Popular culture can be portrayed in film, literature, and music and presents a clear picture of

what is currently happening in the society. It can, therefore, be argued that popular culture is

important in telling something worthwhile about a group of people and the society in general
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References

Dicker, R. (2016). A history of US feminisms. Seal Press.

Fabian, J. (1978). Popular Culture in Africa: Findings and Conjectures. Africa, 48(4), 315-334.

https://doi.org/10.2307/1158799

Graham, E. (2002). Representations of the post/human. Manchester University Press.

Jarvis, K. (2016). Cotswold Life. Retrieved 20 April 2020, from

https://www.cotswoldlife.co.uk/people/celebrity-interviews/an-interview-with-james-

morrison-1-4589332.

Silverman, J., & Rader, D. (2018). The world is a text. Broadview Press.

Weinstein, D. (2015). Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History. University of Toronto

Press.