Pop Culture Blog

 Is Pop Culture Good for You?

    I think pop culture is good for you. It keeps people informed about things happening in the world. Although people may complain about how modern shows have become more graphic, they are not focusing on the bigger picture. These shows are made to emphasize themes that they want the audience to understand. In Steven Johnson’s article, Watching TV Makes You Smarter, he gives the great example of Family Guy. This show uses satire to reference social issues that are still relevant today. There are people, such as myself to be honest, who may not be fully aware of things that are happening in the world. There are many more shows such as South Park and The Simpsons that follow this same format.

 

     There are fans who have taken time to make wikis for these shows that provide the details of plot and the references that are made per episode. Thus, this may encourage people who are not aware of certain references to look up more information. As a result, they have enhanced their knowledge of the world that they live in. In Alexandre Philipe’s Ted Talk, he praises Star Wars for how much it has advanced us as a society. It is not just a movie. Rather, it encouraged such technology advancements as Dykstraflex. This camera was a motion-controlled system. This franchise alone changed the way battle scenes were produced. Star Wars has made many movies throughout the years. One of the biggest plot twists was in Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader, the bad guy, told Luke Skywalker, the good guy, “I am your father.” This notorious scene shocked the minds of audiences everywhere. Pop culture urges people to go back to the previous sequels where it hinted Vader was Skywalker’s father the whole time. It did not take one movie for the audience to discover this huge twist.

    As Johnson highlighted in his article, television has become much more complex. My group highlighted how Johnson's article makes the audience more engaged. Despite the complaints of violence and gore, there is a bigger message within pop culture. My group also highlighted how much society has evolved from modern shows. The fact that people are now wanting complexity proves how much people have evolved. Plots in the past would be considered boring to audiences used to these complicated plots. There was no need to follow along for seasons. One conflict would be solved by the end of the half hour episode. People have become stimulated by having to follow along with different character arcs that are all connected into one show. Complex storylines such as Star Wars encourage audiences to pay attention to all the details. If they closely examined them throughout the franchise, there would be people who were not surprised by this revelation. They would have used their critical thinking and analysis skills to predict this plot themselves. Although Phil Miller argues in his Tedtalk that pop culture is forcing people to become robots in what they believe, Johnson's article proves him wrong. While not telling people they need to believe in the trends, it allows people to have their own opinions. A person needs to be informed in order to make their own opinion.