I read an interesting article today from Esquire in which the writer, Chuck Klosterman, examines his complete apathy towards Harry Potter. He touches upon the importance of popular culture in society which I think fits really well in with my blog. His article examines what happens when someone doesn’t know about the latest pop culture trend and how it’ll affect them in the future:
It's not just that someone who hasn't seen Star Wars won't appreciate Kevin
Smith films or that any person who doesn't know about the Beatles won't
appreciate the Apples in Stereo; those connections are obvious (and usually
meaningless). What's less clear -- and much more important -- is the degree to
which all of culture is imperceptibly defined by whichever
of its entities happens to be the most popular at any given time.
I have to admit it, I’ve read only the first Harry Potter book, none of the Lord of the Rings books, and I sort of know about Star Trek but never saw an episode. I know a bit about Star Wars but got my ass handed to me playing Star Wars Trivial pursuit. On the flip side my knowledge of the Joss Whedon created properties could secure the virginity of 10 geeks. But can I say that not having certain knowledge of popular culture can negatively affect your future social interactions? Not sure, while I’ve never read more than one HP book, I’ve seen the movies and know pretty much the plot of each book and key characters. That’s just me though, my brain pretty much absorbs pop culture information in the way other people might know sport stats or whatever. Because of this I am often met with blank stares when I reference old shows that lasted less than a season, or some obscure movie that I might have been the only one in my state to have seen.
Though living in this internet age that we live in, it is important for us to be aware that pop culture has an importance placed on it that didn’t exist in the past. TV shows rely on pop culture references, youtube creates them or mimics already established fads, and we are all expected to absorb this. How weird do you feel when everyone at work is talking about a tv show or movie or viral video and you have no idea what they’re talking about?
So what in pop culture have you missed out on?
Death By Harry Potter
