Saturday, January 2, 2016

What Is Popular Culture?

Popular culture is really anything that is popular or shapes society in some way, despite how ridiculous some of the things might be.  Remember pet rocks?.  Whether it involves movies, TV shows, music, video games, comic books, etc. It is all a form of popular culture.  Popular culture is important because if you don’t know anything about any of it, some people will probably just frown on you, and unfortunately, some things in pop culture we don’t agree with.  There is a lot of pop culture these days I don’t agree with because of the negative impact on our society.  Miley Cyrus as an example, is a bad influence on young girls.

Popular culture is also very important because these days, it affects who we become.  It shapes our careers.  We may see a great show or movie and want to become filmmakers or actors.  We may hear great songs that influence us to become musicians.  We may even see parts in movies that influence us to become something a movie is based on.  Space movies influence people to become astronauts, racing movies influence people to want to become racers, for example.


There are several different popular culture artifacts, where should one start?  For me, on a personal level, I’ll choose the film “Back To The Future.”  I saw it for the first time in 1990 when I was 10 years old, and I was hooked.  Ever since, I wanted to become a filmmaker.  I thought it was very amazing all of the things involved, in making a story on paper become visual and realistic looking.  I have yet to become a filmmaker, but I still have dreams of making one great film.  That’s the impact the film made on me, but look at the impact it’s made on the world: even though there hasn’t been a film made for the series since 1990, it has inspired people to want to buy DeLorean cars (even though the company ultimately went under, the car became massively popular because of the franchise), there are fan based discussion groups and websites all over, back to the future events held worldwide, and sometimes at comic-con events, people will dress like their favorite “Back To The Future” character.  When I attended a “Back To The Future” showing at a local movie theater on October 21st, 2015, there were several dressed in their favorite film character outfit, and one person even had a replica hoverboard.


7 comments:

  1. Mike,

    I enjoyed that you tied together the idea behind movies giving the viewer the idea that they may too do exactly what they are dreaming. In the instance of time warping...might prove difficult. Non the less the better and more realistic movies become the more possible and obtainable wishes become. Thank you.

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  2. Mike, this blog is really good! I enjoy that blogger is simple and easily organized. I enjoyed reading about your love for back to the future, it shows that you enjoy this movie and that this movie motivates you to create a great film! I will be sure to look out for your name in the future! Next time, maybe get more into depth about what you personally think? This along with the wonderful descriptions you have added will make your post stand out for the best! Great job!

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  3. 100% agree with back to the future. there are so many things in that franchise that are just iconic. delorean is just a defunked car company but this movie makes them relevant and that amazing in itself! great post i really enjoyed it

    Alec Fraser

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  4. Mike,

    Great Blog! It is clear that you have a ton of experience with blogging. Your definition of popular culture was very informative. I also agree that a lot of pop culture these days has a negative impact on our society. I believe that over the years music artists and movies have gotten very raw. Its tough just to sit down and watch TV these days. I enjoyed your Back to the Future artifact, it brought back memories of my youth.

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  5. Great blog Mike! I agree with your definition fully, pop culture does shape society. Pop culture has its positive attributes but can be very negative and it almost takes away a person's individuality. I also love the Back to the Future artifact-it will always be a popular movie. Thanks.

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  6. Really enjoyed your blog. It was a great read. I like how you included the negative impact of pop culture, Miley Cyrus. That opened my eyes a bit, I was only looking at positives. I completely agree with Miley being negative, who wants to see their daughter twerk, I mean really! So glad I don't have a daughter. I hope your dreams of becoming a film maker come true, good luck! I like how you used Back to the Future as an impact on pop culture. I had not thought of that one yet either. With having a kid and a very small nephew my brain was stuck on Minions!

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  7. Hello Mike,
    I liked your blog post; it's informative and well written.
    As with everything, there's a good side and bad side to pop culture, and with your post, you showed both sides. Nice job!

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