Pop Culture
Popular culture is what is popular or socially accepted among a society. I think that there are many positive and many negative things that can come from popular culture.
One thing that I really like about pop culture is that magazines and websites focus a lot about celebrities doing good things for the society, such as volunteer work. I think this makes our society more willing to volunteer for different things because our role models are setting a good example for us. I think some stereotypes that come from this is that if someone is a celebrity or is making a lot of money, he or she has to donate money or volunteer in order to not be looked down on.
However, I think this is a good stereotype because our society can only benefit from people helping others in need. Although there are many other things that I like about popular culture, there are many more things that I very strongly dislike. For example, I can’t stand how Hollywood has made the stereotype that everyone has to be skinny. There are millions of girls who have suffered from eating disorders just so that they can look like Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie. Even people who think it is stupid to try to look like others or be skinny because it is considered normal subconsciously try to eat healthier and exercise more so that they can fit in.
Take a look at the picture of Keira Knightley below. She has bones poking out of her back. I’m sure many people look at this picture and think of it as “normal”. I hope that, one day, the view of women will change and it will be accepted to be a normal weight.
Another thing that I do not like about pop culture is how everyone focuses on celebrities lives, especially when a celebrity is going through an extremely hard time. I think everyone is entitled to his or her own privacy and I do not think we should spend so much time worrying about what a celebrity is doing at one specific moment. Celebrities get photographed while they are on honeymoons, going to the gym, and even grocery shopping. People act as if they are not normal people who do not need to buy groceries. One example of a celebrity who is constantly being photographed during a hard time is Britney Spears. She is in magazines almost every day talking about something she did that is “not acceptable”. I think that once someone is in a hard time, it is hard to get things back together when everyone is constantly watching his or her every move.
This picture of Britney was taken when she went to a coffee shop to get an Iced Latte. It seems that the paparazzi and everyone else can’t seem to get enough of her.
I think these types of things say that our culture is too obsessed with what is going on in other people’s lives. We should focus more on what we are doing instead of what someone else is doing or where he or she is buying his/her groceries.
