Identity In Pop Culture

Pop culture boiled down is essentially culture that connects to the widest breadth of the population. However, when contrasted with less accessible forms of interest, it is often seen as the bread and butter of the arts. This polarizing analysis stems from the need to create a clear distinction between classes, driven by the hunger to feel above the masses in an individualistic and refined way. This is a very common mental route taken by those in the film community, as well as by fans of music outside the reach of top 100 radio hits. Even more so for those in my age range, since at this stage of life the search for one’s own “unique” identity is a fervent effort; this of course plays as a conflict of interest to the instinctual need to fit into some community. All things considered, whatever holds more weight in the mind of each individual creates their relationship with pop culture. One either takes the road less traveled and finds a more select community to identify themselves with, or they go along with the trends that define the current zeitgeist. Since my taste delves into what is considered more alternative, I often get into
Seemingly enough the value of a band goes down as the size of the fan base goes up. This is because a rise in popularity seems to be attributed to “selling out” or a decrease in the music’s quality in order to be more accessible. Though this can be the case, these concepts can also be slapped onto the event of the increasing success of a band just because it upsets the original fans since they are no longer much different than everybody else. The taking away of what one considers an aspect of their distinctive identity through homogenization causes outrage, since it was a small piece of their precious individualism. This is the “they were good before they were popular” phenomenon. I hear such expressions all too often in my everyday life, being a part of these communities