Asher Period 1 Team 3 Contemporary Era Synthesis

Pop culture describes the popular ideas, images, and creations of a specific decade or era. Pop culture reflects the mainstream ideas of a period of time. Music best represents the pop culture of the Contemporary Era.

 Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” was a song that dealt with acceptance. Jackson sings of acceptance of others no matter their race. The lyrics to the song show that the mentality of this era revolved around equality. Jackson sings “See, it's not about races, just places, faces where your blood comes from is where your space is. I've seen the bright get duller. I'm not going to spend my life being a color”. Here, Jackson represents the pop culture that reflected the idea that race was an inferior factor in determining one’s character. Jackson continues with his message of acceptance by repeating the line “It doesn’t matter of your black or white.” Jackson captures the mentality of the generation, showing that race is irrelevant and that society is striving to become color blind. With another resounding message for equality, Jackson sings “I said if you’re thinking of being my brother, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white.”  This song gained popularity during the Contemporary Era because of its positive message. This song captures the pop culture of the era that dealt primarily with acceptance and equality; that race does not determine the composition of one’s being.

The sensibility of pop culture was a positive message for the Contemporary Era. The pop culture reflected the changing attitudes towards sensitive issues such as race and ethnicity. The pop culture of this era illustrates the overall increasing attitude of acceptance.

Works Cited

""Black Or White" Lyrics." MICHAEL JACKSON LYRICS. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/blackorwhite.html>.