Though “The Rise of Popular Culture: A Historiographical Sketch” was insightful, it has not changed my thoughts on popular culture, but affirmed them. The notion that the media us solely shaped by corporate elites or influenced completely by the masses is only half right; it a symbiotic relationship. Popular culture is made up of the common beliefs we have, and it unites us and gives us that sense of community we crave as human being; a notion the article confirmed for me. The media feeds us information on what’s popular/ marketable, and we as consumers we buy these thing, or refuse to, and that influences the next line of popular trends after that. Within the culture there are, like all things in life, lines drawn by race, sex, and class that affect it, but it gives us enough accessibility and familiarity for it to survive, and for individuals to reside in it. I may not be the biggest fan of modern pop cultural trends, but I can recognize the importance of its study, and this article has made me more secure in that sentiment.
Your statement - "I may not be the biggest fan of modern pop cultural trends, but I can recognize the importance of its study, and this article has made me more secure in that sentiment" - cuts right to the gist of pop culture study. It isn't so much about whether we buy into the trends; rather, it's about what the trends reveal. This understanding results in knowledge and awareness that can inform our choices and participation in our culture(s) in meaningful ways.
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