Who would guess that ABC's Dancing with the Stars would have something in common with CMT's My Big Redneck Wedding? Who would have thought that contemporary and renaissance paintings by artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo would somehow be associated with Brooklyn’s best graffiti artists? As farfetched as those analogies must sound, popular culture is what holds these very diverse anomalies so close together.
The understanding of popular culture is what makes the business and culture world go round, and the pocket books go broke. Although not to be misunderstood, popular culture isn’t always a materialistic item. It could be the way you walk, talk, or smell; it could even be the way you sit. Popular culture to me is a very complex and perilous thing. It could be the sole reason for the Ferrari you drive and the beach house in Palm Springs, or it could be the underpass on Hwy 35 of Rosedale street that you call home. To me it all comes down to choices, and this is what so significantly determines the variety of cultural experiences.
In 2005 a book was published by Stephenie Meyer led by a series of three more, which triggered in my opinion mass hysteria. Twilight, which tells a story of a young girl head over heels for a vampire, sparked a “pop” culture craze. The final book in the series Breaking Dawn sold a whopping 1.3 million copies in its first day of release. “These record-breaking figures prove that Stephenie Meyer is a pop culture sensation,” said David Young, CEO, Hachette Book Group USA.
Although this is a very straight forward example of pop culture, it can’t always be so defined. The media and advertising companies think they have it figured out. I read an article that titled “ Teen Christian Campaign against Popular Culture,” how can that be when some would argue Christianity is popular culture in itself. Is there anything in our life that hasn’t been determined by popular culture?
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