Writer's Choice Pick

Jennifer L. Lewis Lewis 1

Professor Harrington/Huntington

English 101 O/L paper 3

27 May 2008

How Does Pop Culture Rock the Mainstream

Pop culture is what is hip today. It can be a new video game, a box office blockbuster movie, or a new type clothing that the everyone just has to have. Popular culture dominates the headlines, influences decisions, and can change the way we live of lives. Pop culture can change from one day to the next. What is the big thing today, can go out of style tomorrow.

Popular culture is a big deal in the news. Silly celebrities and trends are reported nightly. There are news shows, entertainment shows, and shows on VH1 about pop culture of past decades. These shows are edited to show us the good things about pop culture. There are things that happen in the world that just aren't fit for the public to see according to the government. One place to find it all is on 
the internet, more specifically, Utube. Anything that interests a person, can be found on Utube. Utube has invaded pop culture in a big way. It is everywhere. Most everyone knows of it, and it is referenced on TV shows, the news, magazines, newspapers and even in blogs.

What exactly is Utube. Utube is a website where anyone can upload video of anything. It is uncensored, anyone can post anything. There are movies of people falling off motorcycles, babies eating cake, and clips from TV shows. A TV personality had a meltdown on TV recently, and by the next day, he had over 1.5 million hits on Utube.
Utube has changed culture by creating this medium for people to do stupid things and have a place to show their stupidity. A person trying to jump a motorcycle over a fence, then hitting the fence, may seem funny to some, but others may not see any humor. Watching a person hurt themselves all for the purpose of 15 minutes of fame turns my stomach. Not everything on Utube is suitable for everyone. There are videos of actual murders taking place around the world. These videos serve a purpose,
allowing people to see what really goes on in the real world, but they really shouldn't be seen by children.

There are problems with posting on Utube. People post clips from their favorite shows and favorite videos on Utube. Many TV and movies are upset that their original content is ending up on Utube without their permission. We live in a bootleg culture. Pete Rojas writes in his essay “Bootleg culture” that “Bootleg culture is part of the natural evolution of all things digital”(385). Clips of movies, people dancing to music, even creating their own music videos to how they interpret a
song, are illegal activities. Before the internet and Utube, these people would have been prosecuted, but in today's culture, there are just too many people doing it. Some music studios have been stating lawsuits, but they are against a few people who they know have downloaded thousands of dollars worth of their products. The creators of the content simply cannot go after everyone who steals their original
content. Instead of being upset about it, they should embrace it. It seems like free advertising. If I saw a song video on Utube that I liked, I may go and purchase the CD and thereby supporting their product or artist. A clip of a movie could lead someone to go and pay to see the movie in the theater.

Utube has changed our culture. Last year, Utube sponsored a debate among political candidates, allowing watchers to log in and cast their votes on how the candidates did. This is something that has never been done before. Most information about politicians in the past has been gotten from the news shows and from the newspapers. Now, if a candidate does something or says something stupid, see it on Utube. President Bush is all over the place on Utube. The internet and the sites on it are replacing conventional means of gathering information. Newspapers and TV shows are being overshadowed by it.

Pop culture is changing. Utube has been around for a while, and will probably be a fad that stays around in the future. Our lives revolve around pop culture. Everyday we are affected by it. It's on TV, in the news, and on the internet. You cannot fight it, so embrace and enjoy it, because tomorrow it may be a different world.




Rojas, Pete Bootleg Culture pg 383-9 Remix reading + composing culture