Here's my argument: nothing is worthless, nothing is without value: everyone needs a bad example. I often find myself looking at popular media, top 40 music and reality telivision to be specific, and thinking that it is meaningless and not worth my time or energy, but then i feel like one of those art school kids who doesn't value art that is not underground or "original," and I want to slap myself for that. Obviously, the top 40 and the reality producers are doing something right, because they are making a shit-ton of money, and most underground, original artists are poor and working minimum wage jobs just to pay their rent because their art won't support them.
Also, the "popular," or majority, opinions regarding the things we use to entertain ourselves says a lot about the choices we make regarding other aspects of society. I'm not sure how to articulate this, but the popular choices in media are important to study for the same reasons we listed in class for studying Cultural Studies.
I think the reason people assume popular culture is meaningless is because, typically, if it is relatable to the masses then the educational level required has to be lowered, thought I'm not sure how much education you have to have to like symphony music. I think the assumption that popular culture is better is just an elietest idea that separates the classes based on education and money.
1 comment:
What does class and money have to do with popular culture? Don't rich people watch Baywatch? Don't poor people read Dickens?
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