The Media: A Catalyst for Modern Pop Culture

The Media: A Catalyst for Modern Pop Culture 

Interactivity has been boosted and facilitated by social media, which connects millions throughout the globe and enables the dispersement of information. With a mere click of a button an individual can be entertained for hours. This has also dynamically changed popular culture. Prior to the internet, pop culture solely depended on radio stations and television. Now, with google and streaming services like Youtube, Netflix, and Apple Music, according to Phil Miller (TED, 2015), one can watch and listen to whatever they want whenever and wherever they want. It has become a choice rather than a set exposure. However, despite Miller's claim, this does not necessarily limit group experiences. The basic purpose of social media is to share and react together as a community. If anything, it enables pop culture, acting as a fundamental catalyst in the 21st century.   

       Netflix, for example, promotes pop culture with their  "Trending Now" and "Top 10 in the U.S. Today" lists, which sways users into becoming a group that enjoys these movies and shows collectively. This method of popular entertainment with varying cinema is what can be described as fleeting pop culture. Generally so fleeting, in fact, that pop culture has become widely dismissed as trends are replaced by new ones and quickly forgotten. Philippe questions, "Why must we be so serious about what divides us and trivialize what brings us together" (TED, 2013). The new generations are accustomed to processing things quickly, and as a product of this newfound instinct, society fails to preserve pop culture properly. Optimistically speaking, that's the beauty of contemporary pop culture: Society will always be overwhelmed with novelties.

                 Let's consider Tik Tok, a social networking service that arose just last year and already occupies such an enormous part of our time. A wide variety of videos are displayed, like comedy, dance, and news, continuously gaining and losing popularity exponentially. With it, people and music have become "tik-tok famous", going viral with millions of likes and shares. In this way, Tik Tok is a great example of popular culture. Charli D'Amelio, a teenager that became Tik Tok famous overnight with her dancing videos, has become a social media influencer, and teens who follow her mimic the dances she has created. The power Charli has over viewers not only gains her an estimated $25,000 per Tik Tok video, but also partnerships with franchises like Dunkin Donuts, which have named an iced cold brew coffee with whole milk and caramel "The Charli", and Hollister. Oh to be Charli. 

With an ever-growing and ever-developing media, its safe to say that Pop Culture will remain a constant in our lives, uniquely inspiring and uniting us everyday. 

Until the next,

Adriana

References: 

TED. (2015, February 5). Pop culture is dead!: Phil Miller TEDxWoking [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkDYlQhx0wY

TED. (2013, July 15). Why Pop Culture?: Alexandre O. Philippe at TEDxMileHigh [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_3UYncNwz4

Literacy History- A.V.

  Born to immigrant parents 🛬, my personal development has been heavily influenced by both the Spanish and English language. The first words that came out of my mouth as an infant were spanish, and once I grew up, english became my second language. Raised in a spanish environment, I would pick up spanish words from my family’s conversations and in the spanish tv and radio station channels👂. Spanish literacy also allowed me to make connections with my grandparents, who didn’t understand english very well, that I never would have had the chance to if I solely spoke english. I owe this to my parents who persisted in teaching me spanish as my English skills skyrocketed in elementary school so I wouldn't lose the gift that is bilingualism.

   To further my spanish studies despite already being a native speaker, my parents enrolled me into Spanish school, also known as the A.L.C.E program. I began in Kindergarten and recently graduated from the program after 11 years, but can affirm that it has impacted my academic performance immensely and allowed me to truly feel literate. A.L.C.E taught me the importance of the Spanish culture, language, literature, and history, making me read a wide variety of texts, do grammar workbooks, and write. This, in turn, allowed me to develop the skills I apply in school on a daily basis such as literacy, multitasking, problem-solving, and quick decision making.

  Aside from my parents, my older sister served as a key role model in my personal literary development. She was always there supporting me every step of the way, helping me read the assigned books from both language literacy classes during my childhood. As a person that loves reading and writing, I was rarely discouraged. Books fueled my imagination and sharpened my skills. I joined book clubs, wrote in personal journals, and made sure to maintain literature as a part of my daily routine. I specifically enjoyed creative writing, especially as a child, eager to build fictional realities with pen and paper. My father, being a teacher, also brought home a lot of books for me to read, and that is when my love for dystopias and science fiction began. It was only in the event that I received a lot of writing assignments all at once that I became frustrated. 

  Bilingual literacy can offer you a variety of opportunities, both social and professional. I can personally attest to that statement as a Pharmacy Clerk at Levy’s Pharmacy. Since I am literate in spanish and english, I can help most customers who walk into the pharmacy and have questions. Moreover, I can take down messages for the pharmacist from Spanish customers and translated them to English efficiently. Out of all the encounters I’ve had, I distinctly remember one middle aged woman who came in, could not speak english, and needed to know where a specific item was. My coworkers found themselves incapable as they were monolingual, and I set out to guide the woman through the isles. She was very grateful and ended up telling me about her life here since she immigrated, later explaining how even though her grandchildren have tried to teach her some words she could never fully grasp the english language. The overwhelming sense of happiness is indescribable in these kinds of situations, and her genuine smile and gratitude made all of the years of the spanish language studies worth it. 

I find it necessary to digress that I look up to my parents and seek to make them proud with everything I do. I push myself to do better academically and as an individual, because they gave me all that I have today. It is because of them that I am continuously inspired to continue my literary development, whether english or spanish.

-Adri