Written by: Ethan Ong & Benjamin Lim
Pop culture is the abbreviation for popular culture. As the name suggests, it is mostly understood as the culture that is most prevalent in society. It stems from aspects like the same sets of practices and values that are commonly shared in the mainstream community. Thus, it is constantly changing to what is most prevalent at that point in time.
The beauty of pop culture is that it allows people from all over the world to relate to one another. So, what elements make up pop culture? It comes from multiple roots, and it is made up of widely disseminated practices like music, television shows, films, fashion and even literature.
In the 1970s, pop culture influences included popular movies such as the Godfather and Rocky. They had such a big impact that they are still often referenced in current-day pop culture. When the term ‘Godfather’ is mentioned, people instantly think of the infamous Italian mob boss. Rocky’s influence, on the other hand, is so big that it has a current-day sequel, Creed.
Other than movies, pop music is also constantly evolving. Nowadays, names like Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift come to mind when we think of pop artistes. But, back in the day, when the Rock genre was much more popular, artistes like David Bowe and Pink Floyd dominated the music scene. The fashion during this era was truly unique, with brightly-coloured and tight-fitting clothing heavily influencing the mainstream fashion sense.
Until now, pop culture has been heavily influenced by television programmes, movies, and radio broadcasts. But what is so different about the current era of pop culture? Pop culture today is heavily influenced by social media.
According to a study done by Statista, The average daily social media usage around the world is 2 hours 45 minutes a day, this is double what it was 10 years ago when the average usage was only 1 hour 30 minutes. The rise of social media can be attributed to applications like Youtube, Instagram and, most recently, TikTok. These platforms provide endless amounts of content daily available for users right at their fingertips. They churn out newer and fresher content each day, which has been key to engaging their audiences for long extended periods of time.
Social media has also eradicated the need for traditional news and entertainment mediums like newspapers and broadcast television. It has allowed the widespread of information, giving users the ability to comment on their thoughts and views, as well as share and reshare the videos with their followers. A silly video of a kitten chasing a laser around can go viral around the world in under an hour. But how do these social platforms keep on having the latest content for their viewers? These social media platforms are filled with content creators.
There are over 50 million content creators on the market. Who are these content creators, and what makes them so special? These content creators range from already famous celebrities like star athletes, famous singers and actors to self-made individuals like Pewdepie and RyanHiga to even ordinary people like you and me. Not only can users of these social media networks consume content, but they can also be creators and post their very own videos. With so many different content creators, there is something for everyone, for people who want to follow gaming content, to people who strictly want to have news updates or even people who are just looking for quick 30-second entertainment.
One recent example of pop culture being influenced by social media can be seen through the rise of popularity of the movie Minions: The rise of Gru. According to Box Office Mojo, the spin-off sequel of the famed Despicable Me franchise has grossed over US$924 million in box office sales worldwide since its release on the 1st of July. The mass appeal was so unexpected that the movie was only expected to make around US$ 70 million in US box office sales. However, the actual box office sales in the US were actually more than 5 times more! The film’s success can be largely attributed to the viral TikTok trend – #gentleminions.
This trend was started by an ordinary 18-year-old, Australian student Bill Hirst. He and his friends went to the cinema in their school’s end of years formal attire, fully suited up. They made a TikTok video with the song Rich Minion by Yeat. The video showed them in suits going to watch the movie. After posting it online, it instantly became viral, with the video getting over 38 million views. The #gentleminion has gotten over 285 million views on the platform, and it made minions such a trending topic that the #minions went viral with over 16 billion views.
After that video became a sensation, many others worldwide joined in the trend of wearing suits to the cinema to watch the movie and attempting to recreate the video. Even popular YouTube content creator Mr Beast, with over 100 million subscribers, has also joined in the trend. Some theatres even banned suit wearers from watching movies due to some of them having rowdy behaviour.
Whether we realise it or not, we are influenced by what happens around us. From what we see to what we hear, they all have an effect on us. The reach of social media is prevalent, and whether we like it or not, it will and can have an impact over what we do. While some trends, like #gentleminion, are entertaining and fun, there are darker and negative consequences to social media too. Media literacy is therefore important – and can play a big part in ensuring that social media trends are safe for everyone.
