Contemporary Synthesis - Asher P4 T5

“Pop culture” is that which is determined by the popular preference of the people living in the era.  During the contemporary era, “pop culture” can be defined by the dance, music, painting, drama, and novel writing of the current time.  With the aid of the media’s influence, “pop culture” has enveloped the lives of the majority living in the technological age of the 21st century, bringing a sensibility of competition in advancement and digital connections.
Hip hop dance has become popular during the contemporary era.  Although it was conceived during the 1970s, teenagers express themselves in this way by break dancing both when spending time together and at organized functions such as formal dances.  This type of dance goes hand in hand with the type of techno and dubstep music that has given rise during the contemporary era.  Instead of merely vocals and an instrumental accompaniment that dominated the culture in previous eras, digital sounds are incorporated in the vast majority of the contemporary era’s “pop culture” music.  For example, in Rihanna’s “Love in a Hopeless Place,” not only is her voice autotuned, but technology is utilized to create a beat in the background of the song and add an energized harmony to her singing.  Artists compete to be the most popular among those that are completely involved in the “pop culture” of the contemporary time period in order to be successful.  Through smart marketing in the media and the ability to key into the musical preference that is influenced by technology, these musicians have been able to move to the top of the charts.
The trend of writing that incorporates a teenage girl who saves the world while living in a dystopia has dominated the plots of popular books.  Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, entranced the “pop culture” of today with the story of Katniss and her quest to survive the brutality of the Hunger Games.  The male dominant media emphasizes the importance of body weight, skin tone, the “right” clothes to wear, etc., and has shaped society’s mind about what “beauty” is.  Girls who feel like their value has diminished when they do not reach the media’s standards turn to characters like Katniss for the strength and motivation to break the limits they have been living with and become their own hero.  Books like this have appeared eBooks, both on the Internet and on handheld devices.  This portrays society’s preference to have information and entertainment literally in the palm of the people’s hands.  
The theatre in today’s era is very open to provoking thought about controversial issues.  For example, “The Book of Mormon” by Matt Stone and Trey Parker comically show thoughts about Mormonism in today’s context.  In terms of paintings, massurrealism rose in popularity, in which artists emphasize technology in combining pop art, mass media and surrealism.
Technology has played a large role in the zeitgeist of the contemporary era.  “Pop culture” has proven to adapt to the media’s influence, thus spreading society’s value of digitized forms of artistic expression to all those living in the contemporary era.