LECTURE 2 - Popular Culture

REMINDERS
1. Week 2-3: June 29

2. Week 3-4: July 1
3. Week 4-5: July 4
4. Module 1 Major Assessment: July 6
Double Check your Gradebook
for Missed Activities
All concerns must be
through MS Teams
SYNCH CULTURE:
- There are discussion questions that
will be asked, your answers in the chat
will be counted as a grade
participation.
- Take down notes
- Cameras On are highly encouraged
- If you have questions, you can chat
or unmute.
POPULAR
1. What is the deeper
meaning of Popular
Culture?
2. What is PH Pop Culture?
Popular Culture is whatever is widely popular
The term “Popular Culture” itself suggests

that it is essentially ‘popular'
But then again, how can one really

quantify ‘popular’? Is it really quantifiable
at all?
Popular Culture is whatever is widely popular
Popular culture can refer to any culture which

appeals to a large group of people, quantifiable
through number of sales, downloads etc.
However, any cultural artifact can sell large

numbers. Does this alone determine it as
“popular”? Why or Why not
Pop is cultural refuse
Popular C ulture can also refer to what

remains after a society distinguishes
what is “high culture.” Popular C ulture
is then categorized as “inferior”
Society sets qualifications for “high

culture” such as “complexity” “realism”
etc. P.C. Is what “fails”.
Popular Culture is mass commercial culture : Mass - produced
for mass - consumption
Unlike the first definition, this one takes into

consideration the role the marketplace plays in
the success of popular culture
This idea is often used against

popular
culture by countless critics
Such complaints are almost

‘Leavisistic’
These critics’concern is that a kind

of culture controlled by profiteers
is something that caters only to
people who reside at the bottom
of the social ladder, has little to no
merits, and is made only for
FR Leavis mindless consumers
Consistent exposure to this kind of

product will make people more
susceptible to manipulation, and would
make the transition to totalitarian ruling
all the more easy
Producers of mass culture = mind

controllers
Popular Culture is created by the people
Unlike what the previous definition

suggests, this one states that popular
culture is created by the population
itself in relation to what they see as
correct and to their values and belief
system
Popular Culture is created by the people
The downside is this:

Though it is music to the ears that people
(the general populace) are in perfect
control of their own culture, it is still yet
to be proven that we can really create
cultural products enough.
In the end, we are still but ‘consumers’

Popular Culture is a cultural battlefield
This approach to popular culture was

adopted from the writings of Italian
Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937).
It was an assumption of Marxism that

the oppressed would rise up against
their oppressors and form a new
society based on equality.
The reason for this, according to

Gramsci, is that the relationship
between workers and capitalists are
built around compromise
Popular Culture is a cultural battlefield
For example, if workers complain about

their wage, the capitalists would strive to
meet them in the middle (or ‘haggle’ with
them, if you may), appease them with a
salary agreement, and then reaffirm the
power structure
Therefore, Popular C ulture can refer to the

terrain of struggle between the forces of
“resistance” and “incorporation”
All culture is commercial culture
The final major definition circulating in the

study of popular culture is the
postmodernist approach.
Postmodernists deny that any divisions exist

in culture.
There is no high culture, no folk culture,

and no popular culture: there are simply
too many exceptions to allow for a rule
All culture is commercial culture
All culture has hence become one large

commercial culture.
The trouble with this definition, or the eradication

of popular culture as a term in itself, is that it
competes with what seems to be reality.
The majority of us still recognize divisions in

culture, though we may not wish to categorize
exactly why we think one creation belongs to one
division over another.
Many of us are disappointed when we learn that

an artist we liked suddenly becomes widely
popular (i.e. ‘selling out’).
DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF POPULAR CULTURE
• Popular Culture is whatever is widely popular
• P o p is cultural refuse
• Popular Culture is mass commercial culture:

Mass-produced for mass-consumption
• Popular Culture is cre ated by the people
• Popular Culture is a cultural battlefield
• All culture is commercial culture

Go to our discussion board and
answer the question:
What definition of Popular

Culture do you agree the most
and why?
POPULAR

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REMINDERS

1. Week 2-3: June 29

The term “Popular Culture” itself suggests

But then again, how can one really

Popular culture can refer to any culture which

However, any cultural artifact can sell large

Popular C ulture can also refer to what

Society sets qualifications for “high

Unlike the first definition, this one takes into

This idea is often used against

Such complaints are almost

These critics’concern is that a kind

Consistent exposure to this kind of

Producers of mass culture = mind

Unlike what the previous definition

The downside is this:

In the end, we are still but ‘consumers’

This approach to popular culture was

It was an assumption of Marxism that

The reason for this, according to

For example, if workers complain about

Therefore, Popular C ulture can refer to the

The final major definition circulating in the

Postmodernists deny that any divisions exist

There is no high culture, no folk culture,

All culture has hence become one large

The trouble with this definition, or the eradication

The majority of us still recognize divisions in

Many of us are disappointed when we learn that

• Popular Culture is whatever is widely popular

• Popular Culture is mass commercial culture:

• Popular Culture is cre ated by the people

• Popular Culture is a cultural battlefield

• All culture is commercial culture

What definition of Popular

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