In Defence of Pop Culture

At a time when I am trying to choose a master’s degree, I am being forced to contemplate the ‘value’ of certain subjects. I am interested in culture and politics, and I’m especially interested in how they interact. But none of the master’s degrees that I have come across in my research seem to incorporate both of these topics equally; and, I feel that one of these subjects is considered more ‘valuable’ than the other, perhaps unfairly so.

Part of what I loved about my English degree was seeing how fiction is informed by, and then forms, the culture and politics of the time in which it was produced, and how it continues to influence the culture and politics of the time we live in now. I came to appreciate the value of literature as a vital cog in the societal machine, and, as a result of this, I am interested in studying other aspects of culture.

But many people see these subjects as ‘soft’, as not as important as science subjects. I always dispute this as I think the sciences and humanities cannot work without each other; they are less separate than we might have been led to believe. I also think there is a gendered bias here; is it a coincidence that the subjects and jobs that society as a whole deems as more ‘valuable’ are the ones that are largely male-dominated? This post isn’t about gender, but it’s something to consider.

There is a definite elitism which is leveraged towards people who take school subjects and degrees like media studies, gender studies or cultural studies. There is also an elitism in the attitudes displayed towards the pop culture that informs these subjects.

As a society, we love to downplay how valuable culture is, both in terms of its capital and its effects on the population. We watched a nation go into crisis as the majority of their cultural experiences were taken away from them during lockdown. But we also watched a nation turn to the only culture available to them in a time of crisis: TV, books, films, even streams of theatre shows. We then witnessed an industry, one that earns billions for the economy every year, have to scream in order to be heard, to be valued and to be bailed out, while at the same time everyone continued to lean upon that industry for sanity and reprieve from grief and panic.

Popular culture (also called mass culture and pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of the practices, beliefs, and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. (Wikipedia)

So I ask, is there not a value in something being popular? If millions of people enjoy something, does that not, in a way, make it equally as important as the media regarded as ‘valuable’ by the upper echelons of society’s critics and cultural connoisseurs? Can we consider that something can be popular AND culturally valuable?

Take Beyonce’s Lemonade, for example, an extremely popular album by a prolific, chart-topping, award-winning pop artist. But this is also an album that draws upon and critiques complex political, social and racial histories. It is an album that integrates these with personal and emotional experiences and trauma, and draws it all together with a multitude of cross-cultural musical references and samples.

Pop culture is how a society consolidates and builds upon its own history. Within it contains the possibility for political resistance and a shared understanding of a vast array of cultural influences. Pop culture is not in opposition to everything a society values, but an amalgamation of it. And the more people something is received and understood by, the more people it can influence.

While politics can be seen as elitist, inaccessible and hard to understand or engage with for a large proportion of the population, everyone has access to pop culture in some form. Popular TV, books, films and other art forms help to transport us from the daily grind and into other worlds. We can get an insight into people, communities and cultures we might not otherwise interact with in our daily lives. Pop culture has infused a dash of colour into our grey, locked-down lives.

Speaking of colour: for the last few years, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on Netflix. It is garish, camp and overdramatic. It is the epitome of reality TV. But through it I am not only entertained and transported to a different world; I learn about the struggles of people whose lives are so different from my own, and I see their joy, defiant individuality and resilience despite this. I celebrate it with them, and with others who watch it, through this collective medium. People may dismiss this show as trivial and trashy, but it is part of a larger movement to liberate and celebrate the LGBTQIA community. I hope that one day people look back upon it and see its significance in this way – its significance as a piece of pop culture.

If we take a second to delve into the meaning of pop culture, if we stop seeing it as something passive, both in its creation and its consumption, I think that action in itself can create and manifest value. Perhaps we should not be so quick to disregard something that constantly informs the lives of so many people every single day.