In an average week, I spend far more time consuming media labeled as popular culture than I do things considered high art—and I am not alone in this. Recent reports show that the average American watches more than five hours of television a day, in addition to time spent consuming other media through the internet or radio (Hinckley). Those who bemoan these types of statistics as a sign of society’s downward spiral fail to consider the possibility that the narratives taking place on the small screen of today are just as artistic as those that took place on the stages of past centuries. In the same way one can study the literature of ancient cultures to discover how they thought and lived, studying popular culture grants insights into the modern consciousness, and often deals with the same weighty themes—from love and friendship to life and death and the nature of existence—that give such importance to works in the academic canon. The breadth of its influence alone makes popular culture worth of academic study, but it also warrants inclusion in the classroom because it can be a gateway for a more diverse array of voices—and because, as the line between high art and popular culture is increasingly blurred in the internet age, works considered to be popular culture may have equal intellectual and artistic merit to those classified as high art.
Widespread appeal is inherent in the definition of popular culture. It is the media of the masses, and a study of it can reveal what we value as a culture. In other words, how we portray our heroes and our villains, the narrative styles we use, and what we consider to be funny or scary all grant insight into the values of our culture and inform the way those who consume popular culture construct their individual values. It simultaneously informs and is informed by those who consume it, and this duality distinguishes popular culture from the more static study of high art. In the context of a classroom, studying popular culture empowers students to think critically about the media they consume in their daily life. As Cultural Studies scholar William M. Reynolds says, “critical analysis of popular culture artefacts is crucial to understanding ourselves, our identities and the world that surrounds us” (24). This is not to say high art doesn’t inform one’s identity. Reading the works of Shakespeare certainly expands your understanding of the human condition, but from the point of view of sixteenth century England. Studying popular culture alongside these canonical works serves two purposes. Firstly, it lets the student make comparisons, letting them see why the canon remains relevant in the modern world; secondly, it shows them as equally deserving of analysis, encouraging the student to turn that same critical eye on all the media he consumes.
Furthermore, by expanding study beyond the boundaries of the canon, the inclusion of popular culture in the classroom also diversifies the voices that are given scholarly consideration. Limiting academic study to the canon guarantees study of high-quality literature, but it allows inclusion only of the voices that have been approved by the academic gatekeepers. Historically, this has all too often meant the exclusion or under-representation of queer, female, and non-European voices. This issue is widely recognized; in May of 2016, English students at Yale University circulated a petition calling for the school to “decolonize” the introductory curriculum, calling it unacceptable “for prospective English literature majors to study only white male authors” in certain required courses (Wang). While studying popular culture is no substitute for acknowledging these long-neglected voices, it can help to diversify the classroom experience while the canon catches up with the times. As popular culture scholar Charity Fowler says, the literature of the past is valuable for “seeing the issues surrounding gender, race, repression, colonialism, constructions of nationalism and heroism and more,” but how these issues are represented in the media of today shows “where we are going and what we still need to change” (Fowler). By studying popular culture, students are both exposed to a greater diversity of voices and learn to question how various groups are represented by the media.
Finally, the line between what is high art and what is popular culture has blurred in the last few decades, making distinctions of “highbrow” and “lowbrow” feel increasingly arbitrary. The distinction between art and entertainment is relatively new. From Homer’s epic poetry to Wagner’s operas, many of the works labeled high art in the modern canon were a form of entertainment for the people of their time; therefore, we cannot dismiss popular culture because it is designed as entertainment. One could argue that the ultimate goal of art is to encourage higher thought; if this is the case, popular culture satisfies that criteria, as well. In October 2011, the UChicago Conference on Jersey Shore Studies saw hundreds of attendees discussing the popular reality show in an academic setting (Caramanica). Online forums dedicated to various TV shows and movies encourage critical discourse, while face-to-face discussion happens at conferences and conventions. If Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is seen as worthy of continued study because of its class commentary, it seems silly to dismiss something like The Wire—which also addresses issues of poverty and class struggles—simply because it is conveyed through a different medium.
Studying popular culture grants insights into the current culture, allows for a greater diversity of voices, and is capable of producing works equal in artistic merit to those found in the literary canon. Its detractors often balk at the idea that there could be something of intellectual value to take away from a television show, seeming to forget that the works of William Shakespeare served the same function as television for people in his time. Whether or not something is popular does not determine its intellectual or artistic merit—but the fact that it is popular is itself worth examining to see what that says about modern culture and its values. Popular culture is indeed worthy of academic study. In the same way we look at the artistic work of past cultures to understand them better, scholars of the future will examine the works now called popular culture to better understand our society. We would do ourselves a great disservice not to pay these works equal attention in the now.
Works cited
Caramanica, Jon. “’Jersey Shore’ Arrives in Academia. Discuss.” The New York Times, 30 October 2011. Web. 28 July 2016.
Fowler, Charity Ayn. “Why Study Popular Culture?” Fandom in the Academy, 10 February 2013. Web. 28 July 2016.
Hinckley, David. “Average American watches 5 hours of TV per day, report shows.” New York Daily News, 5 March 2014. Web. 28 July 2016.
Reynolds, William M. “Why Popular Culture in Education Matters.” Popular Culture. Intellect, January 2012: 24. Web. 28 July 2016.
Wang, Victor. “Student petition urges English department to diversify curriculum.” Yale News, 26 May 2016. Web. 28 July 2016.
