What is popular culture, and what does it mean to me? Popular culture, or pop culture as it commonly referred to are the things most of us(around 80% of us) enjoy. Pop culture can be most anything, some common forms are movies, fashion, music, art, and so on. Pop culture can also encompass more complicated things like home decor, to the type of car we drive. Popular culture artifacts are the everyday things that fill our lives.
Understanding popular culture is relevant in a business environment, because by nature businesses are in business to make money. To do that they have to provide their clientele what they want. It is awfully hard to make money selling a good or service no one wants or needs. Being in tune with popular culture in regards to my career, helps me better serve my customers. I currently work for a company that sells high performance automotive parts and accessories, by knowing what is currently popular I can help ensure the customer gets exactly what they want. After graduation, it would not be helpful to myself, to show up for an interview wearing a leisure suit from the seventies.
I have chosen two popular culture artifacts to share with you. The first a can of mountain dew. I must admit , and my dentist will attest to this I love mountain dew! There are several thing that make mountain dew a pop culture artifact. Soda its self is part of pop culture, because up until a little over a hundred years ago it didn't exist. Humans had to drink water, milk, fruit juice, wine, or beer. The dynamic soda has on society has yet to be determined. In my case, cavities! In other cases it can cause significant weight gain, or even diabetes. Society may one day deem soda unacceptable, because of certain health risks, much like tobacco, and revert back to the basics. One of the other aspects that makes Mountain Dew part of pop culture is the fact that its packaging and labeling have changed over the years. In fact now days the can doesn't even say Mountain Dew any more, it reads Mtn Dew. This maybe do to the current popularity of text messaging.
Second, is good old sponge bob square pants. If you have young children, you know what I'm talking about! I'm not exactly sure how long sponge bob has been around, but in terms of culture, not very long. My son is five years old, and every morning we end up watching sponge bob. When I was that age; I watched reruns of Looney Toons, and tom and jerry. When I was a little older I remember watching teen age mutant ninja turtles, transformers, and G.I. Joe. While certain aspects of these cartoons still exist, they no longer have the popularity they once had. Sponge bob is the latest greatest thing, and I'm sure in time, he too will be replaced.