Popular culture can mean different things to different people. In most cases though, popular culture reflects culture activities and products that are usually aimed at certain group of people. That can be anything from religion to music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, and television.
For me, popular culture means that it is a way to keep involved in society. It is a way for me to keep updated on what is going on around me and also a way to keep connected to people who share the same interests I do. Most people view pop culture as way to see what "younger generations" are into. Someone who may like the same things I do may not see them the same way. Take the recent phenomenon about vampires in our culture. In the past few years there has been an influx of the vampire into our culture. Now, vampires have been a part of pop culture for decades, but within the last few years there have been several "vampire" TV shows, movies and books being released. Most are targeted towards younger viewers, the teenage population mostly, but there are a few that are targeted towards adults. In the 1990's there was a small influx in the vampire culture surfacing, but it was mostly kept to certain groups that were considered "outsiders". This new rise in the interest of all things vampire seems to be more "mainstream". It is more "socially acceptable" to "like" vampire books, movies, TV shows, etc. An example of this would be the "Twilight" series of movies. For someone like me, those series of films and the books they are based on, didn't really interest me because it seemed targeted more towards a younger market of viewers.
This is a perfect example of how to keep connected with what younger viewers are finding worthwhile. From a social standpoint, the vampire is an outsider who is always looked upon with fear and prejudice, and most young people can relate to how that feels. This is reflected in the target audience as most people who enjoy this genre are young ranging in age from early teens, to early 30's.
Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?
Understanding popular culture is important in any business, regardless of what business you are in. Most businesses wouldn't survive in today's market if they didn't have some understanding of pop culture and social media. An example of this would be that most young people today would prefer to shop online or off their smartphone then deal with the tediousness of driving from store to store to find what they want. This is why most companies have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and Instagram accounts.
In my present and future career, it is important to understand what your customer wants so it is very important to understand the social world through popular culture. Most customers want a simple and easy, affordable way to get the products they want without having to deal with too many people. They know what they want when they want it and they don't want to be hassled about it. This is why company websites are so important and also why I decided to study for an "internet/social media" marketing degree. I have several friends that work in the advertising field and social media is becoming so important to that field, that most "print" marketing is dying out. It is why it is so important to what the social networking sites to see what is new and exciting that your target market is looking at.
I plan on pursing a career in "research marketing" once I finish school. I already have a degree in commercial design and my goal is to become a research annalist for an advertising agency.
What would you consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact and why would you choose it?
A pop culture artifact is something that you can see, hear or expiercence that helps you regonize someone or know what the product represents. For example, the image of the "golden arches" of McDonald's. Everytime you see the golden arches you know immediately that it is McDonald's. You might start to feel hungry or nostaglic for the taste of a Big Mac. Another example would be "catch phrases". What immediately comes to mind when you say the words, "I'll be back" or "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn". You are immediately brought back to those movies and the expiernces that you had when you watched them. It might even make you want to go home after work and watch "Terminator" or "Gone with the Wind" if you haven't watched them in a while. It's all about the power of suggestion and that is popular culture's, and the business world's, most valueable tool.
When you see images from your favorite movies or TV shows, or you hear the soundtrack to your favorite movie, it change your whole mood. It is something to identify with and it can change the way you feel because it is something you can connect with. I chose the below images as examples of pop culture artifacts because they are instantly recognizeable and even if you have never seen the movies or read the books, you understand what is being communicated and even if you don't like vampires, you can identify with the actors/actresses playing the roles.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI loved your views on how popular culture can be seen as keeping up with the younger generation. I too feel, even as a young adult, pop culture is what the "it" crowd is doing. Icons are who we are trying to emulate and become, and artifacts are what we know certain movies, songs, or people by. I actually thought of choosing the golden arches for my artifact, because I believe that is one that can be identified all over the world. It was interesting to read that when you see that big golden "M" you start to crave the actual food, and I didn't realize how true this was until I was reading about it and then was fixated on getting a sweet tea!! Great blog!