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WHAT IS CULTURE?

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  WHAT IS CULTURE?

What is culture?

Culture is a set of ideas or behaviors to which a group of people adhere. This could come in the form of the culture of a nation, or it could be a group of people with a similar interest, such as a baseball stadium culture, where there is hot dogs, popcorn and a song during the 7thinning stretch.

What is popular culture?

Popular culture is the collection of ideas, attitudes, images and perspectives that are in the mainstream of the culture. The perspectives associated with popular culture are heavily influenced by the mass media, and the objects and attitudes that are a part of the popular culture are common on a daily basis.

What are three major trends in popular American culture?

Three major trends in popular American culture are pop music, tattoos and yoga. These three aspects are hard to ignore on a daily basis, as they are major parts of our lives every day. This type of culture is often believed to be dumbed-down so that it is more digestible for the masses. Dumbing it down also allows it to find more acceptance among the masses. Many other groups say it is driven by consumerism, sensationalism, corruption and superficiality.

How does popular American culture affect personal decision making?

Popular American culture affects personal decision making predominantly in young people. It controls the way many people behave, and what they buy. For example, if listening to a certain style of music is deemed acceptable by the masses, many people will start listening to that type of music. Essentially, popular American culture effects the way we eat, dress, listen to music, watch movies and whether we have something tattooed to our bodies, for example.

Personal experience with pop culture

Pop culture affect me nearly every day of my life. However, I would argue that I am less affected by pop culture than most people. I don’t have cable television, and I instead watch television shows and movies on my computer. That’s where I also receive news. However, this medium also affects the way I think, dress and behave. For example, the characters in the movies I watch are dressing a certain way. I now, whether subconsciously or not, dress similar to many of the characters I see on TV. After all, I am not wearing bell-bottom pants. Furthermore, the stores that I shop in are catering to the masses, so I am going to have the option to wear a variety of clothes that the masses would wear.
But I think that, in a way, I tend to stop and look around me to observe the pop culture, and realize that everything is just a fad. I wonder to myself about whether people 20 years from now will look back on us the way that we looked back on people in the 1980s (which is often considered the worst fashion decade ever). Even the 1990s grunge era looks ridiculous now. For this very reason, I refuse to get a tattoo. In fact, I had wanted a tattoo, but then saw that nearly everyone around me has one. That’s a pop-culture mark that I can’t take off – without a great deal of expense and pain, that is.

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By Hanna Robinson

Hanna has won numerous writing awards. She specializes in academic writing, copywriting, business plans and resumes. After graduating from the Comosun College's journalism program, she went on to work at community newspapers throughout Atlantic Canada, before embarking on her freelancing journey.