Pop Culture And Its Influence On Society

It started when I was three and was ignited by the hails of children everywhere. Hannah Montana (the TV series) was my introduction to the world of pop culture. In 2009, every kid sat down in front of a screen and immersed themselves into the double-sided world of Hannah Montana. It was a cultural rest.  The defining point where the idolization of celebrities leveled up from past measures of iconolatry. So far in the media, shows that provided characters that lived a double life were one-dimensional; in that, the characters were living in our reality, but we couldn’t socially interact with them. For instance, the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a show that focused on the life of a girl struggling through while also learning to be a witch. Likewise, a teen named Miley Cyrus must juggle her school work, social life, and family; while also being an internationally famous pop star aliased as Hannah Montana. Even so, they contrast in the ways they publically interact. Outside of the show Melissa Joan Hart was allowed to dwell in her reality and discover outside of televised witchery, whereas Miley Cyrus was compelled to play  Miley Cyrus in her daily life. Conversations, theories, and ideologies that surround topics such as this are the foundational core of popular culture. As time progresses, the culture expands, leaving a maze to travel and get lost within. Pop culture is fascinating because it’s never-ending. It runs with time. A trend  will be forgotten over time, but then somehow picked up and lost again. The popular taste itself is so broad and widespread that getting lost in the decades of culture and trends is inevitable.   

As defined by Oxford Dictionaries, pop culture is a culture based on the tastes of ordinary people rather than an educated elite. It’s sociology at its finest, in the way its mass depicts the popular interest of the general public. What makes popular culture so interesting is that it survives as a ground-level commutative topic; while also serving as a criterion for marketers. An explanation would be Tik Tok. A large majority of trends that transpired in 2020 were due to Tik Tok, being that it’s what the younger generation uses as a way to entertain and communicate. A trend that involves eating as many skittles as one can in a minute would allow for a spike in skittle sales and a likely spike in skittle advertisement.  Popular culture is everything that keeps a society thriving; word of mouth, functioning advertisement, and prominent approvals.

Nevertheless, Popular culture is a concept that can engage my attention endlessly. The up and downshifts of style and craze highlight the bland pages of everyday life. They allow for a continuous stream of data, which one can jump in and out of. You pick up a new trend, follow it out, and when it’s over a new one proceeds. It’s a never-ending rollercoaster, that you can jump off at any time, and to get back on you can look at the things that are around you.