Over the years, society recognizes a set of practices, beliefs, and objects that pose as prevalent facets at a particular time. The driving power behind the popular culture remains as the mass appeal stirred by the cultural industry in the society. Thus it is significant to acknowledge the significance of the society coming to its contribution to the popular culture during a particular time. Secondly, with the evolution of technology, mass media significantly influences popular culture. Due to the availability of mass media’s ability to permeate into the lives of thousands of individuals in society, its influence on specific topics remains significant. Therefore, the origin of popular culture stems from the cultural industry, which permeates society through the mass media. Furthermore, popular culture enables heterogeneous groups to identify as one unit due to the inclusionary role fostered by the ideals of acceptable behavior.
Popular culture stems from the hierarchical levels that exist within the society. The migration of individuals in urban setups inspired the evolution of popular culture. Thus urbanization is a critical aspect that led to the emergence of pop culture as it inspired a sense of togetherness amongst different individuals (Chang & Zach, 2019). Cultural diversity brought about by individuals from diverse backgrounds fuelled the formation of popular culture, which sparked a sense of unity. Therefore, acknowledging its emergence from people’s autonomous expressions, experiences, and interest stands as a vital phenomenon. Imposition from a position of power has no room coming to popular culture as the society willingly chooses to embrace the popular culture. Consequently, several scholars pointed out that the emergence of the middle class during the industrial revolution led to the rise of popular culture in that particular era. Furthermore, recognizing urbanization, technological advances, mass media, and industrialization shapes popular culture.
Industrialization and commercialization play a significant role in influencing the popular culture amongst society. Commercialization remains unappealing ethically; however, it is a pivotal phenomenon in the pragmatic world. Through commercialization, the popular culture finds its way to permeate amongst the society, primarily through the mass media, where the majority of commercialization takes place. The utilization of popular culture in the advertising sector has gained prominence, which boosts the growth of the popular culture. On the other hand, advertising, which is amongst the significant commercialization channels, has benefited by incorporating popular culture to make the advertisements more appealing and persuasive. Industrialization led to the emergence of the middle-class society, which led to the growth of popular culture with urbanization and mass media. Unification of the popular culture further sparked the development of the cultural industry fostered by the diversity of people brought together due to the industrial revolution.
The commercialization of pop culture introduced the ideology of reducing culture to a commodity. However, it is vital to acknowledge that the criteria of profitability and marketability do not at any point interfere with the precedence of the quality, integrity, and artistry of pop culture. By alleviating different facets, the pop culture encourages selling ideas that incorporate different pop cultures relevant to society(Nouri,2018). Thus it gives room for the improvement and spread of pop culture, which cuts across a wide range of social classes. The move to convert popular culture into a commodity in the universal platform corresponds with what people think to be valuable. The inclusionary role of pop culture encourages society to share a common approach to utilizing the culture to promote the commercialization of a commodity. Furthermore, it boosts the marketability and profitability boost the creativity in pop culture due to the increased competition in the market. Therefore, profitability and marketability fuel the cultural industry’s creative process apart from benefiting the business ventures.
Pop culture stems from a spontaneous burst of creativity that spans from the dominant group in society. Society is made of many individuals; however, none of the individuals is coerced by the power of a particular dominance of an elite group to adhere to and accept ideas and beliefs. Pop culture permeated through the mass media may be influenced by key personalities in the cultural industry; however, it’s a matter of choice to choose whether or not to identify with the particular pop culture in a given era. Therefore, pop culture should not pose as if its existence is utilized to control and brainwash society. Furthermore, the inclusionary role of pop culture fosters a sense of unity amongst a society that comprises diversity. The notion of pop culture brainwashing society should remain eradicated as every individual has freedom of choice.
Mass society is one of the theories that popular culture brings forth. A joint group of individuals from diverse backgrounds is brought together by the inclusionary role fostered by popular culture. Mass media influences the mass as an impersonal and social institution (Nurnazar & Atabek,2021). The strength of the mass society theory is the facilitation to boost mass production on a large scale. Secondly, the theory also enables mass consumption concerning the commercialization of a product in line with pop culture. In contrast, the mass society theory’s weakness is that it loses the sense of individualism in mass production. It also leads to the lack of consideration of the preferences of the niche population in the society as the majority of the decisions are based on the mass. Other than mass society, theories such as dominance and cultural liberalism remain depicted with the growth of the popular culture.
In conclusion, the significance of popular culture in society plays a significant role. The popular culture’s origin and growth span from industrialization, advancement in technology, growth in mass media, and urbanization that continue to fuel the culture. The Inclusionary role of pop culture explains the mass society theory driven by the mass media’s control over society.
References
Chang, H. J., & Zach, K. (2019). Industrialization and Development. Asian Transformations.
Nouri, M. (2018). The power of influence: traditional celebrity vs. social media influencer.
Nurnazar, P., & Atabek, S. (2021). Mass culture: towards the essence of the concept. Journal of Pedagogical Inventions and Practices, 1(1), 40-43.
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