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Wednesday, December 15, 2004
What is Popular culture ?


Popular objects and identities are well known and well liked by most people. They are welcome with open arms and accepted for their originality and significance from the norm. Many cultures throughout the world have their own distinctive identity and in some multi-racial countries like Singapore, considered part of daily life. Since people tend to emulate useful examples that aid in their daily lives, things like cultural activities naturally fall into place when we think of introducing something new to the system.

One of the most popular and dominant cultures in the world is the Western culture. Its influence has taken the world by shock. What contributes to the influence of the western culture in other parts of the world? Recent articles have shown that the English Language is more commonly used around the world compared to the French or German, mainly because of its practicality and importance around the world. (multimedia) Its uniqueness and flexibility have proved that the Western culture is probably the most versatile. Take Christianity for example, its popularity has risen throughout the decade mainly because of how it has been able to properly assimilate the various important traits of the culture. Even with regards to the food industry, notice that western food outlets have been heavily patronized throughout the world - for instance, franchised outlets such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Besides that, being one of the countries that incorporate the traditional convenience of "drive-thru", Singapore has its own drive-thru cinema and fast food outlet.

One must agree that the modern world has gained much influence from the western culture. Speaking about the modern world, men and women of all culture groups tend to mimic the fashion sense of that in the United States of America. Comparing cultures with different traditional identity, it is made known to the public that a traditional style of dressing is affixed. Nevertheless, people follow the trend. But not in the modern world, for one to have what is considered as fashion sense, he or she has to dress up looking like a westerner. In other words, dress up looking "cool". Weird, it may sound but this actually takes place in our own country as well. According to recent observations, 80% of the people in Singapore are very self-conscious, with regards to their dressing, and are easily affected by the opinions of others.

In addition to that, speech has been re-defined in the world. In the recent years, English has been forged into what we call the “modern” form. How so? It all started with the hip-hop trend, which originated from the African Americans. Referred to as the entrepreneurs of hip-hop, these people set the standard and spread their influences to young kids. These kids blindly imitate their speaking patterns. It is possible to see the major evolution that language has undergone. Grammar has been re-structured. All these factors contribute indirectly to how the media is shaped, we shall look further into these points.






Globalization of the American culture

A majority of Americans has a favorable view of American popular culture. Even though a large minority of the public is pessimistic about the quality of US movies and television and has mixed feelings about the globalization of US commercial culture, only a small minority considers the dominance of US culture a threat to other cultures. A very strong majority of Americans thinks the US has had a lot of impact on popular culture in the rest of the world, and a majority thinks it will have even more of an impact in the future.
One of the most controversial aspects of globalization is the worldwide spread and dominance of American culture. Just as US goods flooded world markets in the post-Word War II era, US culture is now penetrating every continent through the dramatic growth of mass communications such as music, television, films and the Internet, as well as through the penetration of American corporations into foreign countries. From China to France to the Middle East, foreign leaders and activists have expressed fear that global culture may become too Americanized, destroying their own cultural, economic, and religious traditions. Where does the majority public stand?
Polls show that Americans generally have a positive view of US culture. In the October 1999 PIPA poll, a strong majority (60%) said they had a favorable view of "American popular culture, such as music, television, and films" (21% had a very favorable opinion). Thirty-nine percent found it to be unfavorable (14% very unfavorable). [1]
In addition, a strong majority thinks US culture had a lot of impact on other countries in the 20th century, and an overwhelming majority believes it will have equal or greater influence in the 21st century. When asked in a December 1999 CBS News survey "how much impact…the United States has had on popular culture in the rest of the world" in "this past century", 70% said it had "a lot." Another 22% said it had "some" and just 6% said the impact was "not much" or "none at all." Perhaps surprisingly, given the remarkable global impact of US culture in the 1900s, an overwhelming majority thinks the impact will be equal or greater in this century. In the same CBS survey, nearly 9 out of 10 said the US would have either more impact (34%) or the same impact (55%) on popular culture throughout the world than it has now. Only 20% felt the impact would be less. [2]
Yet there is no indication that the majority has a desire to spread this culture. In fact, a plurality of 48% said they feel either mixed (43%) or bad (5%) feelings when they "hear about McDonalds opening up in cities around the world, or…the popularity of US TV shows in other countries." Forty-three percent had "good feelings". [3] Indeed, in a 1998 Yankelovich poll, a near-unanimous majority (91%) agreed, "the global economy makes it more important than ever for all of us to understand people who are different than ourselves." This is hardly an endorsement of US cultural imperialism.

Impact of Popular culture

Globalisation of the American culture is very significant in more ways than one , it can be seen in many various forms of the media we see today.

One of the most important form that shows the manifestation of the American culture is liberalization .

In music , the impact is very obvious , as Asian musicians adopted the western’s way of making music , be it in the form of Rap or Jazz .

Lyrics became more explicit too.

In advertising , what used to be just plain information providing has morphed into a mish-mash of visual assault , from scantily clad models to suggestive words being spoken.

In movies , what used to be taboo in a conservative Asian society is now being constantly portrayed in Asian movies , from drug abuse to sex. And they are being accepted as readily.



posted @ 2:12 PM