Ooooooh boy, where do I start?! I was looking for a critique of mass culture theory and I came across this video. This video is blaming pop culture for the end of society as we know it. He's touting it's all trash, hyper-sexualized, vulgar, immoral, and even the reason for the rise in teen suicide. While I do agree that television shows and music have become much more sexual and violent in nature over the last 20 years, I don't agree that anything that strays from that isn't or can't be popular. Reality TV isn't all bad. I am a BIG fan of Chopped. While most of us will never have to make a dinner using Cheetos, cinnamon candy, and tuna cheeks, it showcases critical thinking and ingenuity.
He states that "postmodernists want to annihilate the distinction between high culture and popular culture. They want to turn everything on its head." The goal in this, he says is to "completely undermine the foundation of Western civilization and leave us open for subversion and capitulation." I don't agree that the distinction should be annihilated, but nor should it be what it was. Our heritage and art should be available and accessible to anyone and not all modern art are bad.
A prime example is the Okuda installation in the Seaport district. It's an outside installation and therefore accessible to everyone. I think the pieces are cheerful and intriguing. This art is popular and encourages healthy activity, going for a walk.
He references one of my favorite movies "Ideocracy" in his rant. While I used to agree that we were heading down that road, and the current world situation seems to support it, there are rays of light everywhere. I don't agree that if we do end up there, that popular culture will be the cause of it. More information is available to anyone at any time of day than at any time in history. Of course, turning on a screen and jumping on the internet immediately immerses you in pop culture. Designs, colors, ads, and paid search results are all there to try to influence your thinking but it's not a guarantee that they will.
Paul attempts to make the case that counter culture doesn't exist anymore, that teens are depressed because they have no outlet for their angst. I don't find this to be true. In music, alternative music is huge, and one of my favorite genres. Skater culture and grunge are still very much alive. Rock and roll is still alive.
There is so much in this video, I could write for hours analyzing every minute of it. Perhaps I'll come back to it again in another post.
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