A few thoughts on Pop Culture…

One of my more prized intellectual things is my “vast” knowledge of Pop Culture.  Now, there are lots of people n the world who knows lots  more  than me.  Still, I pride myself on my knowledge on the subject.

Now, as is the case with many of these posts, I started thinking about it after a conversation I had with some friends.  It was over G.I. Joe, which has been pushed back in the mainstream thanks to the upcoming movie.  (Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Find your closest dork, and they’ll tell you all about it.)  We were  talking about the mini-series which marked the birth of Serpentor, and specially all of the different  military leaders he received DNA from.

During the conversation, one of the folks with us had no idea of what we were talking about, and went to ask why we cared at all.  For the rest of us, it was just part of our childhood and was (at the time) important to us.  Of course I went on to explain that it was part of pop culture, and the response back was that they just didn’t care about that kind of stuff.  (Translation:  Took the wind out of my sails.)

The whole exchange brings up the larger question of why is pop culture important.  Personally, I think pop culture is important to all of us because it serves as a societal measuring stick.  It’s how we can measure what was important at the time, and what’s important now.  Take the pet rock from the 70s, or the macarena from the 90s.  In the moment, they captured the imagination of society and stuck with us.  When we see them years later, there is something comforting about them.

We all collect pop culture, whether we are willing to admit it or not.  Some people who would tell you that there’s not point in pop culture, might be able to tell you about Jon, Kate, their eight, and what lead them to divorce.  Or could name off all of the members of a particular band.  The trick is how they file them away in their mind.  Personally, I think of pop culture of a large topic that contains numerous topics.

I more remember lots of things that happen and connect the dots.  Basically, I’m a geek who likes to remember what’s in the news, movies, television, music, trends, etc. and brings it up at random time.  You can see me call to other pop culture geeks by the way that I make random references in everyday conversations.  If someone gets it, I know that they are in “the Fraternity.”  It’s like a foodie or a wine snob, they’re one of the good people who cares.

I wonder if when people stop caring is like letting go of their childhood or imagination.  Let’s face it, that would be sad…