Pop Culture Artifacts...

Pop Culture, as defined by me, is a piece of our culture that envelops current art, music, icons, fads, and other pieces of our social experiences.  Generally we think of pop culture as being a tangible object or an intangible idea that affects a group of people in how they act, think, or feel.  Pop culture changes with its audience and is often the cause of changes throughout society.  Personally, I see pop culture as the face of generations, and way to watch the development of groups of people as we were influenced by music, television, and icons of our own times.  I believe that pop culture and the dissection of its histories is important for all generations in order to learn how to relate to one another.  Keeping current on its topics will only allow us as people to stay on the sharp in the ways of human relations.

In business, pop culture can teach us a lot about people we are currently working with and those that we are interested in dealing with.  Knowing how to relate to people of many cultures as well as generations can be important in developing and maintaining relationships.  Pop culture shows us what society deems acceptable in fashion, slang, discussion points, and other generalizations.  It is important for marketing and advertising campaigns, learning what will entice a group of consumers to purchase a product or service.  Pop culture can help a struggling company find a new niche in moving forward as much as studying pop culture can help a thriving company stay on top of the market share.  Businesses are founded on consumers needing their product, and these consumers are founded on the culture surrounding them. 

When I think of pop culture, and pieces that have had an impact on society, I think of Friends, the television show that ran from the mid ‘90’s to the mid 2000’s.  It was prime-time T.V. show that changed the way people dressed, cut their hair, ate, drank, and spoke.  Quoting the show quickly became a fad around the office the next day, as well as comparing our lives to theirs as if they were real friends of ours.  Friends, opened the door for many more sitcoms by tackling awkward moments, and other issues that people didn’t put on television before.  It still to this day has us looking as how Jennifer Anniston does her hair, and what is happening with Matthew Perry or the rest of the cast.  I believe that this was a sitcom that had a tremendous effect on pop culture.