The contemporary global culture has continuously undergone a metamorphosis with the rise of the global popular culture. The global culture was based on different cultures where people maintained their identity based on class, race and social space. However, the pop culture has brought about integration of different cultures, which has led to the development of a blended multicultural society. This has been driven by various factors such as globalization leading to integration of different communities. In addition, the pop culture is dated back 1970’s when nonwhite Americans were fighting for equality. Therefore, pop culture was a development from the status quo of the society into a new era, which embraced people from different societies.
The pop culture has been propagated by different factors in the modern society characterized with improved technology. The pop culture has led to the development of mass media such as advertising, and entertainment industries increasingly growing in cultural and economic influence across the globe. In the current global economy, they have been identified as among the fastest growing sectors dominating majority economies across the globe. They present looming presence of people’s day to day lives based on images, narratives and fantasies of collective values. The pop culture also fought against the old order of segregation, dehumanization and discrimination. For example, fighting against apartheid in South Africa and nonwhite Americans fighting for equality characterized the pop culture. The second debate is based on the perception that American pop culture dominates the global pop culture and hence perceived as part of cultural imperialism. However, the media have facilitated postmodern thought of transnational culture from different locations.
In the analysis of pop culture, Reeds uses the South African case during the fight against apartheid. For example, he starts with lines used by the artists where they state that they were rappers and rockers who were united and strong to talk about issues affecting South Africa. The rock and roll activism was imperative during African Americans fight for equality, and still plays an imperative role in the modern global society. There were different artist from America and England who supported resistance of South African apartheid. For example, “sun city" music video project, as well as the "Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday tribute concert", which took place in England. The popular culture played an imperative role directly and indirectly supporting the resistance. Reeds observe that there has been a disintegration of the sub-cultures and self-definition, and the global societies have been integrated politically economically and socially.
Corporate mobilization and rock organizing presents a diversity in the way each presents its opposition and ideologies. For example, corporate mobilization reinforces the ideology of stressing rebellion based on massive media and publicity. However, rock organization authenticates rebellion where different artist use different means in relying their message to the people. For example, the Sun City concert adopted pop influence where the artists were able to influence a large group of people gaining collective power during live concerts.
In this paragraph, Reeds expresses the importance of innovation to ensure constant production of new products. He states that innovations are not based on the mass cultures, but from different subcultures, which has led to the development of different new music. Even if the pop culture activities re not commercialized they will spread out because they are needed in the pop industry. The inter-exchanges destroyed the subculture powers of self-definition uniting different rappers and rockers from different locations across the globe leading to the creation of a movement like culture.
