Reflective
Writing II: Popular Culture
There is an
extraordinary number of ways that us as people are shaped in today’s society,
most commonly, popular culture. Delaney (2007) defines popular culture as the
behaviours, beliefs, customs, tastes and attitudes that are moulded by our
interactions with culture and our society. This reflective writing piece will
further look at popular culture as to how it relates to concepts of culture and
society, including diversity and change, my beliefs and values, human rights,
and how it connects to my discipline of hospitality and can be interpreted in
other areas of study as well.
Conceptually,
popular culture is formed through the rebellion of a few individuals that
spreads to a larger audience, thereby becoming a part of the culture of that
particular group (Miller, 2015). Popular culture is created through numerous
forms of art, music, dance, food, fashion, media etc. Danesi (2008) also makes
mention that popular culture is not only created from what is happening in
society today, it has historical influences that work with the nostalgia of
those who engage in it to generate powerful and entertaining messages. Society
participates in popular culture because it is a way for them to express their
own identity and connect to others, this is done very differently than it would
have been 100 years ago as Phillipe (2013) explains. In his speech, Phillipe
(2013) describes how communities would watch plays and go to the theatre, but
that this was very limiting as not everyone could be a part of it. Then the
wireless radio came along so more people could engage with popular culture and
now with the internet and social media, we can connect to content whenever we
want, stream music and film at any time of the day and view a huge number of
photos and texts. He implies that popular culture has become very open and
connected, it has become a part of our lifestyle and a way to identify
ourselves.
This theme of
popular culture relates to social and diversity issues and change in society as
it is very much focused towards the youth of today. Popular culture for one
group within society may be different to the types of things seen as popular
culture in another group. This, therefore, encourages diversity in society. Since
New Zealand is a super diverse nation, we see influences in our culture,
including popular culture, from all over the world. Asia and the United States
are big contributors to popular culture in New Zealand especially through film
and music. The internet also contributes to this as it connects everyone through
social media, creating an outlet for popular culture all day, every day.
However, social issues can also be shaped by popular culture due to what is
seen through the media and other outlets. It is especially influential for
young people as they are seen as the creators of popular culture and will
follow others around them (Denesi, 2008). If it is seen in popular culture,
like television, movies, or heard in music, social issues, like domestic
violence, discrimination and a lack of education, can be encouraged as younger
people see this as the ‘cool’ thing to do. For example, a young person may see
their favourite TV character say something demeaning to someone from a
different cultural background, so then think its ok for them to do the same, or
they hear their favourite Rap artist sing about sexually assaulting women to
get respect from their friends, so they may go out and do the same. However,
popular culture can also encourage change and working to fix social issues, for
example, the ice bucket challenge to combat motor neuron disease and 22 push-up
challenge to beat PTSD and suicide (Phillipe, 2013). Viral trends can move
positive messages to stand up to social issues throughout the world over night,
creating a positive change, especially among youth as they want to feel
involved and connected to their friends who are already a part of the movement
(Phillipe, 2013).
I believe that
popular culture is very important in our society as, like Phillipe (2013) says,
it encourages fun as well as seriousness, pop culture brings us together with
amusement rather than dividing us. I also believe everyone should be allowed to
express themselves in any way that they choose and like whatever they want,
otherwise life would be boring. This is paralleled by Articles 19 and 20 of the
United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 which states every person
has the right to freedom of expression, opinion and assembly. As a young person
in today’s society I see the positive changes made through social media with
popular culture, like the examples mentioned earlier. I am glad that these
types of initiatives involve so many people, bringing them together for a
common cause and that I can be a part of it. It helps me to identify with the
surrounding community. I connect with others in my area who share the same
interests in popular culture making me feel like I belong to society. However,
I do also see the negative outcomes of social media and popular culture. From
the fun and amusement created with photos posted on the internet, harm in the
form of cyberbullying is also created. As I studied this social issue for my
group assignment, I found that McLoughlin, Meyricke and Burgess, (2009) explained how posting
information, gossip or degrading photos on the internet intending to cause
harm, is also in direct violation of Article 5 of the Declaration of Human
Rights (United Nations, 1948). To combat this in New Zealand though, education
programmes are being put in place in schools and at home, to reduce the rate of
cyberbullying through popular culture mediums, which I believe to be a step in
the right direction.
My discipline of
study, Hospitality, is definitely effected by popular culture. Celi and Rudkin
(2016) explain that food trends are natural occurrences that change with seasonality
of food and ideas that are spread through communities. Current trends include
Paleo, a caveman style diet that cuts out processed food, dairy and grains and
the gluten or dairy free diets (Fittall, 2016). These change over time with
whatever is most popular at the time. A lot of these diets are currently spread
through popular culture mediums like social media where people can share their
ideas to anyone who wants to look at it (Celi and Rudkin, 2016). Where popular
culture has positive effects in my discipline, it doesn’t in others.
Criminology, for example, may be effected by an increase in criminal offences
that are triggered because someone thinks it would be ‘cool’ to rob a dairy or
assault another person because that’s what they saw in a film. This creates a
negative cycle of violence within a community which can be hard to stop, once
the group thinks it is cool and acceptable Tourism, on the other hand, can gain
positive effects from popular culture. Take New Zealand, for example, we have
gained a lot in tourism from popular culture, especially Lord of the Rings
(Firnigl, 2009). This film series has been a great drawcard to bring tourists
from all corners of the globe who have an interest in seeing where this
legendary trilogy was made. This has also encouraged further films and spending
within the New Zealand economy, popular culture and us as a nation (Firnigl,
2009).
In conclusion,
popular culture is all around us and effects many parts of our lives. It
encourages diversity and has changed over the years as people grow and trends
change. The internet has had a big impact of the recent evolution of popular
culture. I truly believe that popular culture has a positive impact on the
world and the Declaration of Human Rights supports this claim. And while my
discipline is a positive outlet for popular culture, it can encourage violence
and bullying if the mediums are used incorrectly and abused. However, for the
majority of the world’s population, popular culture brings fun and enjoyment to
the everyday, which is what it was made to do.
Word count: 1349
Reference List
Celi, M., &
Rudkin, J. (2016). Drawing food trends: Design potential in shaping food
future. Futures, 83(SI: Futures for
Food), 112-121. doi: 10.1016/j.futures.2016.05.002
Delaney, T.
(2007). Pop culture: An overview.
Retrieved October 22, 2016 from https://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Pop_Culture_An_Overview
Denesi, M.
(2008). Popular culture: Introductory
perspectives. New York, USA: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Firnigl, D. E.
(2009). Tripping the light fantastic: Exploring the imaginative geographies of
Lord of the Rings ‘film tourism’ in New Zealand. (Doctoral thesis, Durham
University, Durham, United Kingdom). Rerieved om October 24, 2016 from http://ethos.bl.uk.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.512958
Fittall, K. (2016). The truth about food trends. Good Health (Australia Edition), 76-79
McLoughlin, C., Meyricke, R., & Burgess, J.
(2009). Bullies in cyberspace: How rural and regional Australian youth perceive
the problem of cyberbullying and its impact. Improving
Equity in Rural Education, 178-187. Retrieved from http://simerr.une.edu.au/ISFIRE/pages/ISFIRE_proceedings.pdf#page=185
Miller, P.
(2015, February 5). Pop culture is dead:
TedxWoking. Retrieved October 22, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkDYlQhx0wY
Phillipe, A. O.
(2013, July 15). Why pop culture:
TedxMileHigh. Retrieved October 22, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_3UYncNwz4
United Nations
(1948). Declaration of Human Rights. Retrived on the October 23, 2016 from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
