What is Popular Culture?
Popular culture is simply culture which is popular…right? However this statement is a bit shallow because I have not defined popular or culture. Both of which are very tricky to define as they seem to require a subject, and seem to change their meaning based on the context they are used in.
Something which is popular in Uganda to a Canadian would be referred to as part of Uganda’s culture, however for someone in Uganda it would seem quite accurate to call what ever is popular around oneself popular culture. I think the term popular culture is a bit shallow in that all cul-ture should be examined on equal fitting, wether that culture be-longs to two billion or two dozen. It is what is common among cultures, in my opinion which is of real importance.
For example why do humans all around the world mutilate their bodies(piercing, tattoos, etc.) Body mutilation is a very popular thing for humans to do, but we do not do it simply because it is popular… at least not all of us. I would argue the real heart of these trends must come from something more universal or we would not see trends which tran-scend cultures who have had no contact with each other. However this kind of study might fall under the subject of anthropology or simply cultural studies. A more accurate name for what is usualy refered to as “Pop-ular Culture” classes would be mass produced culture, which wouldn’t sound nearly as nice.
Article written by Philip Kirkbride to read more Popular Culture
