Why We Should Study Popular Culture

Sellnow states, “Because it is impossible to avoid popular culture, we must become educated consumers of it.” Before college, I may have disagreed. I’ve always enjoyed television and music, but I felt that focusing on those things wasn’t necessarily “correct.” I thought I was supposed to be buried in history books, or studying fine arts. Obviously those things are important, but now, more than ever, I feel popular culture has just as much importance. And the more I learn, popular culture includes subjects such as history and fine arts.

As Sellnow discusses, popular culture helps shape beliefs and behaviors. Teen Mom on MTV is a great example of shaping behaviors. Teen Mom follows teenage girls who are usually trying to finish high school while balancing the birth of their first child. Twenty years ago, it was a big deal for a girl to show up at her high school pregnant. Now, it is so much more common. This show does not promote teen pregnancy, but it does allow girls to feel more comfortable, knowing that other girls their age are sharing some of the same experiences. I have many friends who are addicted to this show. Teen Mom is important popular culture because it is real. It is something that is happening all across the country. It’s almost as if people are more willing to talk, and share struggles they are having because we see real people struggling on television.

By becoming educated consumers of popular culture, we are keeping ourselves aware of what is going on in our country. Sure, some “texts”, such as reality television shows, can be seen as trashy and a waste of time. But a lot of popular culture also has great motives behind it. I’ve watched multiple celebrities contribute time and money to Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Extreme Makeover brings a crew of people in to completely re-build dream a dream house for a family that deserves it. This show has been extremely successful. It shows how kind our country can be towards families that need or deserve help.

These are just two of the thousands and thousands examples of popular culture that can be studied. Popular culture is important because it’s real. We might as well consume it, because it’s not going anywhere.