There are certain elements in one’s everyday ordinary life that is shared by a society and is considered common knowledge. Their patterns of behavior, beliefs, customs, traditions and more are all a composition of culture. Popular culture offers common ground as the most visible and pervasive level of culture in a given society (Petracca & Sorapure, 2012). I believe popular culture is a way of life. The environment in which surrounds us has a great influence in the choices we make and the opinions we have. This is just one of many influential factors which help us make our decisions in everyday life. The media, for an example, helps form ideas and images that inform our daily activities. We learn this even from a very young age. Children and adults often try to mimic actions taken by a certain celebrities or professional athletes. In doing so they are discovering role models which start to form certain patterns of behavior, beliefs, tradition and so on.
Understanding popular culture is not only relevant to your personal life but it is relevant to the business environment and future career opportunities. In many ways, technology is heavily depended on in our everyday activities especially at work. The phones we answer, the computers we use and the copy machines we rely on are all apart of most business environment. Technology is a subject of common culture and greatly influences our life by defining who we are as an individual and as a worker. Without the common knowledge of technology used in a business environment many of us would be without a job. Technology has evolved throughout the years and will continue to get better to suit our needs. Therefore, it becomes very important to embrace it and have it impact our lives to enhance our abilities for future career opportunities. After all, it is a way of life we inherit, practice, change and then pass on to our descendants (Browne, 2005).
When I think of popular culture I think of entertainment and the influential aspects of the entertainment industry. Many of us try to relate to the stories told in movies, magazines, books and television. I believe the entertainment industry paints the American dream that many of us will aspire to become, have or obtain. People magazine is something I consider to be an example of a pop culture artifact. It is the number one magazine that keeps America informed on the lives of the celebrities. It introduces style, political views, music, books and decorating ideas. People magazine to me is a prime example of popular culture.
Browne, R.P. (2005). Profiles of popular culture a reader. Madison, Wisconsin: Popular press.
Petracca, M., & Sorapure, M. (2012). Common culture: Reading and writing about American popular culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
