What Is Pop Culture? Why Study
It?
Quickwrite #1: What is “Pop Culture?”
• Choose a favorite or familiar piece of
pop culture (a band, a musician, a film,
a sports team) and write about it in the
context of the essay we read for today.
In what ways does your chosen piece of
pop culture fit in with at least one of
Delaney’s ideas about what pop culture
is and how it functions in our society?
What is “culture”?
• cul·ture
• noun : the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a
particular society, group, place, or time
• The word “arts” in this definition is what we are
most concerned with. Now, this doesn’t just
mean “art” as in drawing, painting, etc.
• The art of a culture is ALL of that culture’s
methods of creative expression. What are some
of the ways people express themselves creatively
in the culture of early 21st century America?
What is “Pop Culture”?
• One possible definition is in the introduction to our
textbook Mirror on America, where pop culture is defined
as “all of the objects, people events, and places to which
most of us readily relate and which comprise a society at
any given time” (xv).
• What this means:
• Pop culture is short for “popular culture.” This means it has a
broad appeal. (A large cross section of society relates to it.)
• Pop culture is sometimes defined in opposition to “high culture”
(which is a label I’m not fond of). “High culture” is thought to
be more accessible to the educated/elite, while “popular”
cultures is thought to be the art and creative expression of the
“masses.”
Group List of Pop Culture
• What are some specific examples of pop
culture you we can come up with as a group?
• Again, we’re talking about TV, Movies, music,
books (yes, comic books count), fashion icons,
artists, and brands that have a broad appeal.
Some Other Features of Pop Culture…
• Pop culture is dynamic. This means it is constantly
changing and in motion. This is always been true,
but the speed at which pop culture shifts has
increased as mobile internet technology and
social media have become more and more
popular.
• Pop culture is not monolithic. This means that
while we may talk about pop culture as a whole
in order to understand it, the individual pieces
that make up pop culture are diverse, and
sometimes contradictory.
Why study “Pop Culture”?
• Historically, academia (schools, universities, professors) put
a lot of emphasis on “high culture” and disregarded “pop
culture,” thinking it wasn’t worth studying or analyzing.
• Recently, many scholars and universities have recognized
the value of pop culture as an area of study.
• Some general assumptions that the study of pop culture
makes:
– The art (this includes movies, music, tv, etc.) that a culture
produces reveals what that culture values.
– The art a culture produces reveals widely held attitudes about
important/controversial issues.
– While Pop Culture can reveal attitudes, it can also change them.
– In other words, the pop culture that we are exposed to can
affect how and what we think, while at the same time forcing us
to examine commonly held assumptions.
Class Discussion of “Pop Culture: An
Overview”
• What, according to the author (Delaney), is
the purpose of popular culture? What does it
do for us as a society? Do you agree with his
observations?
• How does popular culture help people to
create identity?
• What is the connection between popular
culture, social media, and mass media?
Analysis of Pop Culture
• Look at the list of examples of pop culture on p. xv – xvi
in your Mirror on America text book, and consider our
class list, then answer the following question:
• “We’ve made lists, individually and as a class, of
examples of pop culture that we enjoy. What are some
important issues that your examples of pop culture
brings up?”
• In other words, what important issues/ideas might
these examples of pop culture lead us to discuss?
• By answering these questions, we are beginning to do
the work of analyzing pop culture.
Everyone’s a Critic
• Because you will be doing the work of analyzing pop
culture, you will be taking on the role of pop culture
critic.
• The word “critic” here doesn’t mean that you are only
going to be saying negative things about pop culture.
Instead, it means that you will…
– Examine the pieces of pop culture you are studying
carefully and thoughtfully.
– Examine the assumptions, trends, and social issues are
brought to light by your examination of pop culture.
– Make claims about what your examination of popular
culture tells you about the society that produced it.