Introduction:
In today’s day and age, social media is the next big thing and this has become intrinsically part of our popular culture in many ways. As argued in Reading the Signs, popular culture can be defined in several ways which include the portrayal of adverts in a given commercial and other similar issues.
However it is social media which is now gaining the upper hand in popular culture and this is reflected in the phenomenal growth and success of sites such as Facebook and Twitter which dominate everything these days. Before popular culture was more centralised in issues such as pop songs and other articles which brought along the message of being apart or different from one another.
Communication jargon
Today the whole jargon of communication between young people and adults has changed completely especially with the singular phrases which are turned out by these social networks that are always different and always strange. This has redefined popular culture in a way which we cannot truly pin down accordingly although one has to admit that life is not always a bed of roses.
A typical example where popular culture is at the forefront of proceedings is when a social network such as Twitter begins to create a situation where a topic trends much more than another does. This means that people will interest themselves in that topic in a way which will bring out the core values of the topic and this will start being talked about all the time. This means that culture will have been portrayed in a sense that everything will be focused on the fulcrum of life without borders.
Popular culture myths
However popular culture can also be seen in different ways especially when one focuses on how life today is so different than what it used to be. With advertising continually playing a hugely important part in our life, one has to learn certain advertising techniques so as not to be caught out in the cold when certain products are advertised. For example the myth that women are all out to have unprotected sex with men is regularly portrayed in advertisements and commercials which also show this sort of promiscuity. The truth is obviously very far from all this although advertisers would not admit it and continue to portray this situation with regular monotony.
This brings about a considerable dilemma when one is faced with popular culture mannerisms which infiltrate our everyday lives. Everything changes when life takes on certain aspects and we are all faced with moral dilemmas which show us the importance of controlling popular culture and its pervasive influence on everything we do.
However the importance of popular culture is also prevalent in the way we view it from a distance. Perhaps a tweet on Twitter about the Hollywood glitterati would make us all jump up accordingly or else we would be looking at the same tweet from a different viewpoint. The same goes with Facebook as a particular group would appear to be trending substantially higher at some stage although when it is viewed a few weeks later, this group would have vanished into oblivion with no more heard of it.
Generation gaps may also exist in the way we define popular culture and this is immediately apparent when discussing the interpretation of a book as a typical example. Popular culture may also be prevalent in political issues of the day and where politics is important this often takes pride of place. The way a t shirt is worn also indicates the importance of a certain viewpoint which might mean that life is simply the way forward in this respect but could also mean that some others are being blocked in achieving what they want or need.
Conclusion – is popular culture a myth?
Popular culture remains important in every respect but one must also observe the subtle nuances and viewpoints which might be achieved if this is not properly maintained. Yet again one has to observe the strict behaviour that some cultures adhere to before everything comes together into one fell swoop. Comparisons may be odious here but there’s no denying that popular culture makes up a crucial and important part of any nation’s psyche.
Bibliography:
Maasik, Solomon, Signs of Life in the USA, Readings on Popular Culture for Writers; New York, Bedford St Martin’s 2010, Print
Rod Windle and Suzanne Warren (2008).Communication Skills. http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section4.cfm. Resourceful Internet Solutions.
Varenne, H. (1977). Americans Together: Structured Di-versity in a Midwestern Town. New York and Lon-don: Teacher College Press.
Donna Bellafiore (2011). Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://www.drbalternatives.com/articles/cc2.html
Sole, K. (2011).Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
