Popular Culture: 101

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?

Popular culture is the term for items people find currently popular. Some examples of popular culture items are technology, entertainment, and news. Popular culture can be seen in every day society constantly. From your smartphone, to your favorite television show. Popular culture has been a part of my life since childhood. I can remember playing Pokemon as a young child, which was a staple of popular culture. Another example of a recent popular culture phenomenon is the Youtube hit "What Does the Fox Say?" This song hit Youtube in 2013, and currently has over 500,000,000 views. This is what popular culture means to me, the gathering of people to a common source of entertainment.


Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

An understanding of popular culture is very important to my current career as a librarian. Many kids visit our branch, and I am in charge of "developmental assets". This requires me to be knowledgeable on current popular culture so I am able to relate better to the kids. As for my future career as a computer programmer, popular culture is the reason I would even have a job. Technology is the driving force for the need for programmers.


What would you consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact? And why would you choose it?

The example I chose for my pop culture artifact is the television show My Little Pony. I chose this artifact because My Little Pony has been around for generations, slowly changing to fit the demographic need. My Little Pony has become even more popular in recent years, and has created its own adult fandom base. This fandom base refers to itself as bronies, and has spawned conventions, online discussions, and more.

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