Pop culture’s power to overthrow other cultures
Mesa Legend
Can pop culture get too popular for its own good? We should share some concern about the possibility of it becoming the only culture we can identify with. It might already have. Like any popularity contest, whoever can be liked the most, gains the most influence. When put up against actual ethnic cultures, its proven to be dominant enough to digest, and then redistribute through mass media, oversimplified versions of them. Not long ago in the dwarf month of February, we so-called celebrated black history. The holiday is more of a pop icon that even has a sneaker endorsement with Nike, who releases a commemorative shoe every February usually in black, red, and green color ways. Thats so African dude.Thanks
Left undone of course is the rest of an extensive history that came with the people Kendrick Lamar raps in his record “Blacker the berry,” “…came from the bottom of man kind.” I loved “Selma,” but can we all get familiar with any time period that was before those ass-whippings on Edmund Pettus bridge or in the era of slavery? Another native people with rich and deep roots in human history, are noticeable in this pop cultural landscape merely through names and logos for sporting teams. Degrading nicknames at that .
Just recently all in one day, green, leprechaun hats, and a more than normal consumption of alcohol was enough to not have to remember anything significant about the beauty of Ireland, its people, or the sacred meaning of St. Patrick’s. PBS also recently aired a couple special documentaries about Italian Americans. Another group of unique people with valuable additions to our society only to have their cultural identity become a product of popular culture. Stereotypes of being only mob criminals left dense blood and tomato sauce stains on their cultural identity.
This is what’s most insidious about pop culture’s dominance. It has the power to control the way we view ourselves and other people of different backgrounds. It’s left to us as individuals to not remain content with all of pop culture’s basic offerings.Especially as it has to do with how we view the culture and history of human beings.
