What is “Pop Culture?”
According Wikipedia, “Popular culture (also known as pop culture) deemed as what is popular within the social context — that of which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularly accepted among society. Otherwise, popular culture is also suggested to be the widespread cultural elements in any given society that are perpetuated through that society’s vernacular language or lingua franca. It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural ‘moments’ that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream. It can include any number of practices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing, consumption, mass media and the many facets of entertainment such as sports and literature. (Compare meme.) Popular culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist “high culture,”[1], that is, the culture of ruling social groups.[2] The earliest use of “popular” in English was during the fifteenth century in law and politics, meaning “low”, “base”, “vulgar”, and “of the common people” ’til the late eighteenth century by which time it began to mean “widespread” and gain in positive connotation. (Williams 1985)
Pop culture finds its expression in the mass circulation of items from areas such as fashion, music, sport and film. The world of pop culture has had a particular influence on art from the early 1960s on, through Pop Art. When modern pop culture began during the early 1950s, it made it harder for adults to participate. Today, most adults, their kids and grandchildren “participate” in pop culture directly or indirectly.”
In short “Pop Culture” is the language of our country, whether we like it or not. Those outside the church & many of those inside the church communicate in the language of pop culture. They see the world through the filter of pop culture. Right or wrong, it is a fact.
If I mention the names Brittney or Paris, most people instantly think of Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. Again right, wrong, or indifferent, we cannot ignore the fact that the lens that most people view the world through is that of pop culture. TV Guide, People, & Us Weekly are among the most widely read magazines in the country. The average American watches four plus hours of TV a day. The average kid plays two plus hours of video games per day. The average adult spends three hours a day on the internet. Bottom line we are saturated in the popular culture.
Sure you can argue that millions of people in this country have no use for pop culture and could care less and that is true, but the bulk of the country does care and they are the ones we are trying to connect with and reach.
So my question is can we as the church afford to ignore Pop Culture or must we understand it and learn to communicate through it?
All you creepers (you know who you are) now is the time to enter the dialog.
