Pop Culture

The votes are in, the competition was hot, and after a grueling survey, the subject 3 out of 7 people most want me to write about is......my thoughts on something pop culture related!

I could rave about an English folk rock band that I recently discovered a love verging on obsession for (Mumford and Sons).

I could write satirically about a frivolous tween celebrity whose fame is falling just as rapidly as it rose (Justin Who?).

I could even ramble in great detail about a cunning and witty new television series centered around two tantalizingly gorgeous lawyers, which I tune into diligently each week (Suits).  

Although any of these three topics certainly would have made a promising blog post, recently there is an issue far more pressing on my mind.  It is not my thoughts on something pop culture related that are begging to be written.  It is purely and simply, my thoughts on pop culture.  

I was reflecting yesterday on just how much pop culture has changed in the last 10 years, from when I was in elementary school to now.  To be blatantly honest, the assortment of movies, television shows, books, and music that is known collectively as "pop culture" has  become nothing more than a cesspool of filth.  Remember when the Spice Girls first came out and they were considered pretty risqué because of some short skirt lines and bare midriffs?  (At least in my home, I remember being told they were inappropriate).  In  comparison to today's artists they were tame, if not conservative.  Indecency, rather than vocal ability, is used as a means for attention and fame, and I'm not just referring to Lady Gaga.  It's everywhere.  Just take a look at any modern music video.  Many of them would have been considered pornography just ten years ago, and now it's just accepted as a standard in the music industry.  It's no longer prancing around half naked on stage, but essentially, actually naked.  I'm not even going to attempt a search for a picture to post as an example.  I'll spare you the offense, but trust me, it's out there.

While it's more than prevalent in the music side of pop culture, it doesn't end there.  Movies and television programs are just as bad, if not worse.  What was once considered Rated R is now PG-13 and verging on PG.  (I have had to turn of a PG movie before.)  Mainstream entertainment is full of immorality, innuendo, and just plain vulgarity.  I cannot name one modern television show outside of the Disney Channel that does not glamorize and portray sleeping around as acceptable.  (I haven't even mentioned language.  It's horrific how often the F and B words are used regularly. Is swearing not offensive anymore?) Books are getting just as bad. I won't get on my Twilight soapbox...but let's just say the only lessons teenage girls are learning from those books is how to be in an unhealthy, obsessive relationship based primarily on physical attraction, and to think it's normal/cute when your boyfriend climbs in your window and watches you as you sleep. I'm just sayin'.  

I could go on and on detailing the filth that litters today's pop culture.  (I honestly could write an entire book). And it's not just the fact that indecency is displayed so casually and even glamorized.  Sadly, people with values, morals, and virtue are mocked and ridiculed in mainstream media.  Having traditional standards is viewed as archaic and scorned.

But the reason this all is so appalling and I've really reflected on the messages that today's pop culture sends is because of a newly coined term that I heard spoken by my brother last night.  "Sexting."  From wikipedia: "Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. The term was first popularized around 2005."  Maybe I'm behind the curve, or maybe it's because I've been safely tucked away at BYU for a few years, but it's 2011 and it's the first I've heard of this behavior.  According to my brother, it's a common thing at school and he was shocked to learn at Standards Night last night that it's even a problem with girls at church. 


How is this all related?  There's so much explicit reference to, portrayal of, and aggrandizement of sex in pop culture, it's no question where young children are learning this behavior from.  We gape at shows like "16 and pregnant" and are mortified when we hear stories of middle school-aged kids having sex, but accept all of the immorality in the media around us.  It's just interesting horrific.   


That's my soap box of a blog post on my thoughts on popular culture. Sometimes we don't even realize just how indecent the music we listen to, shows we watch, or books we read are, but it'd do us all good to take a step back and reflect on just what it is we allow ourselves to be entertained by.