Media Studies Question 2:
Is popular culture by definition “dumbed down”?
The term ‘popular culture’ is defined as meaning the opposite of ‘high culture’ and is also commonly known as ‘mass culture’ and ‘low culture’. It is generally considered to be the works of writers, artists and composers who are considered to appeal to a mass audience from all areas of society. Pop culture is mainly from the late 20th Century and tends to take on the forms of entertainment that have mass appeal so that it can appeal to all areas of society and gain more profit, for example, television shows, the cinema and popular music.
However, by definition popular culture can be considered as being a “dumbed down” form of culture. There are arguments both for and against this statement as it is really a matter of opinion.
The definition of popular culture can lead to it being attacked and being classed as “dumbed down” for many reasons. A popular argument for this is that popular culture is easy to understand and designed for instant pleasure. Unlike works classed as high culture, there is no requirement for people to think long and hard about their meaning to fully understand and appreciate them. Also, by definition popular culture is mainly works from the late 20th century, a time when gaining money is the main objective for many people now, so arguments for popular culture being “dumbed down” look at the fact that it is designed primarily to make money. The only way of doing this is to attract a mass audience by making it simple and easy for anyone to understand rather than by creating something which has more of an intellectual and aesthetic value to people. To appeal to a mass audience as the definition of pop culture states, many forms of popular culture will concentrate on stimulating the basic instincts of people rather than their more refined qualities, as this means that a wider audience can be reached and can gain immediately from the work. Finally, by aiming to appeal to a mass audience, popular culture works must cater for the tastes of the majority of people in society now. There is an opinion that society now is “dumbing down” due to the lack of interest in more intellectual activities – such as reading classic novels and visiting the theatre and historical places. Therefore, works which are considered to be popular culture must cater to this and “dumb down” themselves to appeal to the majority of society.
