Clair Fuller
Alex Tranquada
Laurel Kitada
Yee-Lum Mak
Team Dragon
Per. 4
Contemporary Era Synthesis
Wikipedia defines pop culture as “the totality of
ideas,
perspectives,
attitudes,
memes,
images and other
phenomena that are
preferred by an informal
consensus
within the
mainstream
of a given
culture.” To
be sure, contemporary art and media influence pop culture, but with the level
of integration that technology sees today in the daily life of almost everyone,
the pop culture or zeitgeist of the time is also affected by the medium through
which it is spread. In this era, that medium is the internet.
Dominated by social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter,
tumblr, YouTube, or the now-extinct MySpace, social media has become what some
would characterize as the ultimate homage to the individual. It is true that
constantly documenting one’s daily life via Facebook statuses, blog posts,
tweets, etc may seem an exercise in self-importance. The incredible power
communicative power of the internet, however, has lead almost ironically to a
connected population of online users able to seek out like-minded individuals
who share their interests. This has lead to a remarkably pluralist culture, in
which sects exist within subgroups of subcultures. Art and culture has become
widely branched and specific—for example, among the hip hop dance genre alone,
a staggering amount of separate “styles” of dance exist (jerking, krumping,
bboy, etc).
With so many distinct subcultures, it is difficult to define what
exactly constitutes “mainstream” culture or “underground” subcultures at all.
In fact, they frequently overlap. The ubiquity of nerd culture is an example.
Art such as literature, cinema, and television (as well as their surrounding
fan cultures) that would normally be considered specialty interests have become
mainstream, partially because the aforementioned connectivity of the internet
has allowed fans a place to share their enthusiasm without fear of alienation.
Combined with the commodification of quirkiness, these former niches have
become global phenomena, as seen with the Harry
Potter series. Television series such as The Big Bang Theory attempt to capitalize upon and capitulate this
“nerdy” zeitgeist.
In a similar vein, that which is culturally acceptable and that
constitutes counterculture has become a blurred distinction. Unlike the clear
distinctions between standard and deviant behavior found during 60s and 70s, it
now seems that what is mainstream and what is counterculture are sometimes one
and the same. Graffiti artist Banksy, for example, is known for the social
critique present in his illegal street art. The same art, however, is purchased
by collectors at high price and mass produced as merchandise. This is perhaps
because our mainstream culture seems to be one rebelling against itself.
Reeling from tragedy, global catastrophe, and a sense of upset, today’s
American population shares nothing as much as a sense that something is wrong.
Attempts to come to terms with these wrongs subsequently appear in art and
literature, such as Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, dealing with the aftermath of
the September 11th attacks. Interestingly, in another example of
mainstreamed counterculture, this novel was adapted to a major motion picture.
It
is also worth noting that attempting to analyze the zeitgeist of the
contemporary era is a difficult, and perhaps dangerous, task. Commenting on
current social trends is a universal experience, and something I feel
reasonably qualified to do. Yet making an effort to holistically examine and
historically contextualize the 20 years immediately prior is, in my opinion,
ultimately futile, as there is as of yet no way to determine the historical
significance of the time in which we currently live.
