I’ll start off by saying that I love pop culture. Some would go so far as to call me a “pop culture addict” (though I prefer the term enthusiast.) With that said, I am constantly finding the pop culture system constantly and frequently letting me down. I’ll explain.
Traditionally, the arts were something left to a small minority who could really appreciate its greatness. We’ve discussed several times in class about how the rich would hire people they respected in a certain artistic area, be it theater, music, or painting, and pay them to produce quality art. This system had its positives and negatives. On the one hand, it kept the poor away from the arts and held them back from finer culture. On the other hand, it kept the arts in the hands of the experts, and in doing so, kept the quality up.
Pop culture however has the opposite problem. It purposely gives all the ability to obtain and appreciate “the arts”, but by doing so it changed the goals of the artists. The purpose of traditional artists was to produce good art. The purpose of the “pop” artist is to please as many people as possible. It is in this point that pop culture has met it’s Achilles heal. Instead of bringing culture to the people, artists now let the people define the culture. The quality is secondary to ratings and public interest.
Why then am I a self proclaimed lover of pop culture? It seems like I should hate the entire thing and stick to the classical, more refined tastes of old. It is creative freedom given to the pop artist which truly draws me in. A pop artist has almost no bounds. They are free to think outside of the box and create things that are so brilliantly clever. TV shows, movies, and popular music have the potential to influence more than just the small elite who can afford to pay someone. They can affect the multitudes, if the artists use this power correctly.
The problem then is that when something truly great is produced, it is often ignored because it can’t appeal to the insanely broad judgment of the general populace. The most classic example is the TV show Arrested Development. The show was cancelled after just three seasons for not pulling in the ratings. Yet, as the insanely vocal small group of people who are diehard fans of the show can tell you, it is one of the greatest shows to have ever graced a television set. It simply was too clever and quirky for the typical audience member. I can tell you the exact same story with some of my other favorite TV shows, including, but not limited to, Pushing Daisies, Better Off Ted, and the recently benched Community. (I would include the fantastic space western Firefly, but that had a whole different problem facing it.) Music is having the same problem, with quality music being replaced by danceable beats and rhythms, but I’ll try to stay focused.
I’ve had this conversation with many people and they all come back the same. “If they were so good, they wouldn’t be canceled!” But thats the problem. Despite having all the freedom in the world to come up with anything they want, they still have to pander to the public. They have to put up numbers, or networks will get other shows that will. There is no room for “niche” shows like Pushing Daisies and Better Off Ted. While unbelievably clever and undeniably brilliant, they are simply too quirky for a typical audience. They would rather watch something with corny jokes and a laugh track than satire that challenges you to think.
This is my love/hate relationship with pop culture. It has such potential, but the greatness is too often lost in favor of the mediocre. I can only hope that these tastes of brilliance, however short lived, can have a lasting effect on the tastes of the public. I dream of the day where a show like Arrested Development wouldn’t get cancelled.
(I apologize for my lack of pictures and videos. I just thought the post was long enough without them.)
The thing about pop culture is that it must appeal to the greatest number of people. The goal of each pop artist is to create something akin to the McDonalds Hamburger rather than create a classic dish that requires an acquired taste. There are, of course, many other things to consider, but the current dearth of good TV may get people thinking that a cult following (such as exists for Arrested Development) may be the best they can hope for.
An addendum, if I may.
I too have an ambivalent relationship with pop culture. Sometimes I dislike it a little, and sometimes I dislike it a lot. Admittedly, it has it’s pros, as you have laid out in your post. But I’ve just never been able to fully get on the pop culture bandwagon. It’s entirely a matter of preference, though.
The way I see it is this: there are certainly many great and vast culture around in this world. I do think there is absolutely, without a doubt a value to every one. But there are some that I choose not to partake in so readily. Pop culture is included in that category. Since as far as I can remember, I’ve been the type of person who would rather a museum over a movie theater any day. I know that it’s rather insular and even “nerdy” but I don’t see the point. It is like you said – pop culture has so much potential, but it is often compromised. It has churned out so many bland and unimaginative things that I’ve just given up entirely. Perhaps I’m just not as optimistic as you are.