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POPULAR CULTURE IS THE `LITTER CULTURE'

November 1999

Popular culture today is open to numerous interpretations. As a whole the general mass of people alive today are participating in some aspect of popular culture. This modern concept encompassing the global the society, has ramifications beyond anything human civilization has ever witnessed. Pop culture has evolved into an accepted behavioral pattern which devalues interpersonal relationships, allows virtually unrestricted capitalization, promotes violence and noncommittal sex through the media, allows the corruption of other societies by having them believe western ideology is necessary and places industrialization and convenience above environmental health.

Technology by far has thrust the world into a whole new realm. We who are living today are in a transition period between the industrial age and the information age. How we adapt will undoubtedly be the subject for later historians. Perhaps the largest innovation to come out of the information age is the Internet. The possibilities for this are absolutely astounding. For the first time in the history of the human race, everybody regardless of race, religion, or social class can share their thoughts, beliefs and ideas without censorship or fear of retaliation. This has great potential, however the Internet is also a magnet for those whose ideas are rejected by society, giving them access to virtually the world (including our kids). As this is a current problem, the larger issue is the future of the Internet. As computers will soon be as common as televisions more people will turn to the Internet out of convenience. It is possible to order clothes, food, music, books, and even sex over the net. Add that to an ever increasingly fast paced, urban-bound society and interpersonal relationships become less a necessity and more of an option.

The modern trend in our popular culture is to have both parents working full time either out of necessity or to feed our addiction to material items. As a result children are not being raised and taught the crucial values associated with basic human existence. The basic relationships between children and parents isn't even insisted upon, the number of single parents today has never been greater. Children are basically raising themselves, learning their principles from the television and Internet. Just in the last quarter-century divorce rates measure about 50% and more people are staying single into their 30's and 40's than ever before. As we continue to allow ourselves to devalue interpersonal relationships and increasingly become dependent on technology to fulfill our needs, these trends will only increase.

Today's popular culture perpetuates itself on unrestricted capitalism. Although capitalism is the hallmark of a free society, it can also lead to its deterioration. Capitalism allows for the production and distribution of goods to the people at fair and competitive prices. However, when a society such as ours allows virtually universal freedom to its citizens, capitalism becomes a machine no longer meant as a service to produce goods to a society but driven to maximize profits at the expense of the moral and physical health of the people. Through clever marketing, the general masses are willingly allowing themselves to be manipulated into sacrificing dignity for vanity and wholeness for convenience. Children are targeted relentlessly through every facet of the advertising media, seeing music “artists”(as they are misnamed) wearing pants 5 sizes to large and listening to them “sing” about their girlfriends calling them bitches and whores and that murder is just a way of life. This is a far cry from all levels of society who once were striving to be ladies and gentlemen. Adults are targeted and manipulated to not only believe that the more you have the more status you will command, but the bigger of what you have is what now matters. The SUV craze is a perfect example, especially in the South. People in the subtropical climate need an SUV no more than they need a snow cat. However, it is the notion that the sport utility is a luxury vehicle and having one physically and socially puts you above the rest. The marketing hype has been remarkable successful as SUV sales account for half of all automobile sales in the United States.

The trend towards convenience has taken commercialization to a critical level in this country. Urban sprawl is blurring the boundaries between suburbia and urban areas. With this commercialization follows. It is more uncommon today to find a town without a fast food establishment, and very likely to have several. Television has raised us to believe that fast food is good, healthy and an all around family experience. It is a convenience all too accessible and severely abused. The 33% of the American population who are obese are a testament to that. Even our most treasured national areas are selling out to commercialization, driving up to Mt. Rushmore one will drive through the most serene beautiful landscapes, only to approach the mountain which is circumferenced by hotels, RV parks, fast food and other utterly disgraceful CLUTTER. If the general masses could gather some pride in the appearance of our national treasures, we would demand that these commercial institutions work with the physical environment and not be such and eyesore. However, that is not likely to happen in this generation or the next as these fundamental values are not being taught to children.

Another aspect of today's pop culture is the omnipresent and influential media. Cable television and satellite technology have made available literally hundreds of channels. Unfortunately, most of these channels are nothing put useless productions made to draw in a specific demographic to attract advertising to that channel. Production companies know that violence and sex will attract a large audience, thus we see such shows as Jerry Springer becoming very popular. While the advertising during these shows may be geared to the uneducated, unemployed demographics, children are often home watching as well. Even cartoons have become vulgar and filled with violence. There is very little positive reinforcement found in any television programming. Parents are not there to censor what the children watch, and if they were chances are they can watch it somewhere else or simply find it on the Internet.

One overt consequence of popular culture is pollution. This dilemma is a social burden as well as an individual problem. With the advent of the industrial age, the production of materials increased dramatically, then when the assembly line came to fruition production increased exponentially. The onset of mass production has proved convenient of course, but a disaster for the environment. We use a vicious amount of raw materials to allow for mass production of everything, and somehow we feel the need to discard these materials as if they are no longer useable or recyclable. Take a plastic bag for instance, you use it to hold your purchases until you get home then apparently it somehow becomes unusable so it is thrown away. I can't understand the mentality of that, it is impractical and a waste of raw materials. Why can't people use canvas bags to carry their items in? It is sturdier, reusable and stores wouldn't have to purchase bags. Apparently society will sacrifice practicality and responsibility for convenience.

Landfills have unfortunately become a common cultural landscape. These mounds give testimony to our grievous legacy of material gluttony and our unwillingness to produce in a responsible fashion. If there is a positive angle to landfills it will be 3,000 years from now as an archive of non-degradable materials as archaeologists discover what a wasteful society we indulged ourselves in.

This essay has merely scratched the surface of some issues resulting from popular culture. Although they are negative, they are true and at some point must be addressed as serious flaws in our global society. Our pop culture today is a result of to much uncensored freedom coupled with the severely undisciplined, irresponsible upbringing of our children. By to much uncensored freedom I mean a society which allows itself to publish such disgraceful music and allows capitalism to run our government and dictate what our children and ourselves think is moral and just. Society as a whole will change for the better, reject the nonsense and accept responsibility only when it is forced to. Only an environmental catastrophe which effects all people will make everyone change their habitual wasting. Only when our over indulgence and irresponsibility begin to erode the very fabric of what constitutes a civil society will we overhaul our behavior.

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	The American Alternative \| home recent disappointments \| Society \| Environment \| religion \| Fuel \| Pop Culture \| Editorials \| Ignorance-American Style \| In the News Pop Culture POPULAR CULTURE IS THE `LITTER CULTURE' November 1999 Popular culture today is open to numerous interpretations. As a whole the general mass of people alive today are participating in some aspect of popular culture. This modern concept encompassing the global the society, has ramifications beyond anything human civilization has ever witnessed. Pop culture has evolved into an accepted behavioral pattern which devalues interpersonal relationships, allows virtually unrestricted capitalization, promotes violence and noncommittal sex through the media, allows the corruption of other societies by having them believe western ideology is necessary and places industrialization and convenience above environmental health. Technology by far has thrust the world into a whole new realm. We who are living today are in a transition period between the industrial age and the information age. How we adapt will undoubtedly be the subject for later historians. Perhaps the largest innovation to come out of the information age is the Internet. The possibilities for this are absolutely astounding. For the first time in the history of the human race, everybody regardless of race, religion, or social class can share their thoughts, beliefs and ideas without censorship or fear of retaliation. This has great potential, however the Internet is also a magnet for those whose ideas are rejected by society, giving them access to virtually the world (including our kids). As this is a current problem, the larger issue is the future of the Internet. As computers will soon be as common as televisions more people will turn to the Internet out of convenience. It is possible to order clothes, food, music, books, and even sex over the net. Add that to an ever increasingly fast paced, urban-bound society and interpersonal relationships become less a necessity and more of an option. The modern trend in our popular culture is to have both parents working full time either out of necessity or to feed our addiction to material items. As a result children are not being raised and taught the crucial values associated with basic human existence. The basic relationships between children and parents isn't even insisted upon, the number of single parents today has never been greater. Children are basically raising themselves, learning their principles from the television and Internet. Just in the last quarter-century divorce rates measure about 50% and more people are staying single into their 30's and 40's than ever before. As we continue to allow ourselves to devalue interpersonal relationships and increasingly become dependent on technology to fulfill our needs, these trends will only increase. Today's popular culture perpetuates itself on unrestricted capitalism. Although capitalism is the hallmark of a free society, it can also lead to its deterioration. Capitalism allows for the production and distribution of goods to the people at fair and competitive prices. However, when a society such as ours allows virtually universal freedom to its citizens, capitalism becomes a machine no longer meant as a service to produce goods to a society but driven to maximize profits at the expense of the moral and physical health of the people. Through clever marketing, the general masses are willingly allowing themselves to be manipulated into sacrificing dignity for vanity and wholeness for convenience. Children are targeted relentlessly through every facet of the advertising media, seeing music “artists”(as they are misnamed) wearing pants 5 sizes to large and listening to them “sing” about their girlfriends calling them bitches and whores and that murder is just a way of life. This is a far cry from all levels of society who once were striving to be ladies and gentlemen. Adults are targeted and manipulated to not only believe that the more you have the more status you will command, but the bigger of what you have is what now matters. The SUV craze is a perfect example, especially in the South. People in the subtropical climate need an SUV no more than they need a snow cat. However, it is the notion that the sport utility is a luxury vehicle and having one physically and socially puts you above the rest. The marketing hype has been remarkable successful as SUV sales account for half of all automobile sales in the United States. The trend towards convenience has taken commercialization to a critical level in this country. Urban sprawl is blurring the boundaries between suburbia and urban areas. With this commercialization follows. It is more uncommon today to find a town without a fast food establishment, and very likely to have several. Television has raised us to believe that fast food is good, healthy and an all around family experience. It is a convenience all too accessible and severely abused. The 33% of the American population who are obese are a testament to that. Even our most treasured national areas are selling out to commercialization, driving up to Mt. Rushmore one will drive through the most serene beautiful landscapes, only to approach the mountain which is circumferenced by hotels, RV parks, fast food and other utterly disgraceful CLUTTER. If the general masses could gather some pride in the appearance of our national treasures, we would demand that these commercial institutions work with the physical environment and not be such and eyesore. However, that is not likely to happen in this generation or the next as these fundamental values are not being taught to children. Another aspect of today's pop culture is the omnipresent and influential media. Cable television and satellite technology have made available literally hundreds of channels. Unfortunately, most of these channels are nothing put useless productions made to draw in a specific demographic to attract advertising to that channel. Production companies know that violence and sex will attract a large audience, thus we see such shows as Jerry Springer becoming very popular. While the advertising during these shows may be geared to the uneducated, unemployed demographics, children are often home watching as well. Even cartoons have become vulgar and filled with violence. There is very little positive reinforcement found in any television programming. Parents are not there to censor what the children watch, and if they were chances are they can watch it somewhere else or simply find it on the Internet. One overt consequence of popular culture is pollution. This dilemma is a social burden as well as an individual problem. With the advent of the industrial age, the production of materials increased dramatically, then when the assembly line came to fruition production increased exponentially. The onset of mass production has proved convenient of course, but a disaster for the environment. We use a vicious amount of raw materials to allow for mass production of everything, and somehow we feel the need to discard these materials as if they are no longer useable or recyclable. Take a plastic bag for instance, you use it to hold your purchases until you get home then apparently it somehow becomes unusable so it is thrown away. I can't understand the mentality of that, it is impractical and a waste of raw materials. Why can't people use canvas bags to carry their items in? It is sturdier, reusable and stores wouldn't have to purchase bags. Apparently society will sacrifice practicality and responsibility for convenience. Landfills have unfortunately become a common cultural landscape. These mounds give testimony to our grievous legacy of material gluttony and our unwillingness to produce in a responsible fashion. If there is a positive angle to landfills it will be 3,000 years from now as an archive of non-degradable materials as archaeologists discover what a wasteful society we indulged ourselves in. This essay has merely scratched the surface of some issues resulting from popular culture. Although they are negative, they are true and at some point must be addressed as serious flaws in our global society. Our pop culture today is a result of to much uncensored freedom coupled with the severely undisciplined, irresponsible upbringing of our children. By to much uncensored freedom I mean a society which allows itself to publish such disgraceful music and allows capitalism to run our government and dictate what our children and ourselves think is moral and just. Society as a whole will change for the better, reject the nonsense and accept responsibility only when it is forced to. Only an environmental catastrophe which effects all people will make everyone change their habitual wasting. Only when our over indulgence and irresponsibility begin to erode the very fabric of what constitutes a civil society will we overhaul our behavior. back