Final Class Questions

Considering I was unable to attend our final class, I thought I would address these questions in the form of a blog post. 

Also, props to Kevin for nabbing the 200th post on this blog.


"Once when tens of millions of people listened to the same summer hits, watched the same sitcoms and cried together in movie houses, the mass media defined what mainstream meant--what ideals we valued, how much change we would tolerate. If it's harder and harder to define mainstream pop culture, is there a mainstream at all?"

I see two sides to this issue.  On the one hand, there was less media to consume back then.  But I feel that while there is much more media to consume today, there are increasingly few and larger companies controlling that media.  With this condition in mind, there is most definitely still a mainstream. A few big brains are determining from the top down what we consume on a massive scale.  We still see the same watered down plots, the same generic humor and the same distilled, mindless entertainment being pumped out year after year.  This is the present.  The question is, what is the future?

The internet has somehow managed to exist as the bane of mass media for almost 20 years now. Only in the last 5 or so has it really taken off in terms of independent, thought based entertainment.  When I was a kid, AOL ruled my internet life.  Nowadays, I choose which blogs to follow, which articles to read, which music to listen to and movies to watch.  The internet has in many ways democratized consumption of media.  Will I buy this video game? Only if people I trust have reviewed it favorably.  Will I read that book?  Did a blogger I trust talk about it and how it can help me?  Then yes maybe I will.  In this arena, individuals carry huge voices and even if they don't, their voices carry to the exact right people.

While many people will mindlessly consume whatever comes their way, a few of us, and an increasing number of us, are finding autonomy in consumption beyond what was possible even 5-10 years ago.  This is a definitely a revolutionary age. 

"We are less influenced by books, movies, CDs and plays--who has the time?--than by what we hear about them through the media." Is all of our culture second-hand?

Second hand maybe but by whose hand?  Like I mentioned before, we are way more capable of skirting the big brain companies who distill us down to the least common denominator. So hearing about a new book might now come from the author him/her self or from a small niche website we subscribe to.  Then with the digital age we can be savvy consumers before we decide to invest our time into a form of media.  In this respect, second hand is a powerfully informed hand.  The key is to know who to trust.  Seek authenticity and transparency over "brandability" and facade.

"In American culture, as in American politics, it's possible to assemble a case for two entirely different visions of the  mainstream: one libertine, irreverent and p.c., the other traditional, devout and PG." Which is it?

I think from an outsider's perspective, the first scenario is likely the truth. Our mainstream television and cinema is probably what most of the world sees and associates with the US.  This week I filmed a movie scene where a successful investment firm throws an office party with a half naked marching band, booze, gymnasts and strippers (more than half naked).  While this is above average for a typical American movie, those sort of themes run rampant in our big name media.

Internally, I think it depends entirely on who you ask and is what makes this question so tricky.  I'd be a fool if I believed avoiding mainstream media was entirely possible.  Then again, being foolish can sometimes be a useful trait.

"The pop culture mainstream is a family that used to get together for dinner once a week but now does so only at weddings (or dating-who finales anyway)--and funerals." If there is no mainstream left, what is alternative?


I'm not sure if this question is dealing with the family unit alone or using the family unit as a metaphor for the country as a whole.  Sadly, family units do seem to be less important than ever these days.  Young adults move around the country seeking independence and people do not seem to stay as close even when they do live together.  Nobody talks to their neighbors (myself included).  Is this a product of the digital age?  Perhaps.  I would need to do about 3 years of research to even come close to half an answer.  


Overall, I see many drastic changes to come for mainstream culture.  

More predictions to come.