What is not immediately obvious is that the culture of today is still progressing, and that the materials available for today regarding our current times are far more extensive and far more available. The internet has revolutionized communication, and in doing so, has spurred a cultural revolution that may very well be unmatched.
Specifically, it has spurred pop culture, which has managed to capture the minds of people all around the world. From musicians like Drake and Adele and Beyoncé, to popular T.V. shows like Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead, we have been creating a more unique and unified culture that speaks amazingly to our specific generation. It is so influential, in fact, that it has leaked from being popular in America to being something that is known globally. Our singers, our directors, our models and entertainment-- is truly a global phenomenon.
It is, however, a difficult area to study. What makes something pop culture? Why can two new music videos both made within our country and by Americans, in fact, take on such vastly different interpretations? This is something that we strive to understand.
Personally, I don't have an understanding. This is just a starting point into my journey into exploring pop culture, and so learning about it as a reflection.
A reflection of our generation.
It is, however, a difficult area to study. What makes something pop culture? Why can two new music videos both made within our country and by Americans, in fact, take on such vastly different interpretations? This is something that we strive to understand.
Personally, I don't have an understanding. This is just a starting point into my journey into exploring pop culture, and so learning about it as a reflection.
A reflection of our generation.
I really appreciate the fact that you brought up how much the internet has changed our ways of establishing communication. Connecting with our peers (and with contributors to our media, our twitter-led figureheads) has become so immediate and so plentiful that I feel like we as a whole have begun demanding more intimate connections to the pieces of media we consume (be it characters in television shows/movies/books, or the creators behind visual/audio/performance arts, or any other person who has found some other slice of the internet to find some length of fame, and thus some period of time in which they could use their audience to make their voice heard). The advancement of technology has caused the way with which we consume our media to advance so rapidly that the difference between generations seems to be much more stark these days than how some older folk I've spoken to about the subject seem to feel it was "back in the day." It's exciting to think about just how much media consumption will continue to change from the point it is now within the next few decades.
ReplyDeleteI feel like accepting a lack of total understanding in a subject is a great way to start off a class about trying to wrap our brains around the way in which we take in the world around us. Definitely an appreciably insightful post. Kudos, man.