Pop Culture A-1-4

Okay, so who hasn’t seen the ‘Team Jen’ and ‘Team Angie’ tee-shirts? If you’ve turned on the television or opened a magazine in the last year and a half, I’m sure you’ve been subjected to the Jen, Brad, and Angie circus. Not only have you been subjected to it, but I’ll bet 9 out of 10 people could give at least a high level overview of the story that has the three of them connected forever. Why is it that we as the general public are absolutely fascinated by what goes on in the lives of celebrities? We have a need to know what goes on in their lives and we act like we’re perfectly entitled to know every detail about them. With the help of the media, we’ve elevated celebrities to the status of pop culture icons.
This morning I was browsing the internet and located a website called Pop Culture Madness at http://www.popculturemadness.com/ (2009). There were truly no less than 20 celebrities on the home page. I was hooked! Not only were there real people, but also celebrities in the form of cartoons (Family Guy) and celebrities in the form of action heroes (Iron Man). This website epitomizes popular culture by feeding our fix for what’s happening now. Impressive! Not only did I find the requisite Brad and Angie article, I also found out Madonna’s IQ (125) and that the family from the TLC show, 17 Kids & Counting, will be changing their name as a result of the birth of their 18th. In fact, the website states that their motto is "All The Pop Culture News That Fits, We Print!"
Websites like this are evidence that our need for pop culture is fed by the media and the media strongly influences pop culture. Where else would we go to find out what’s hot and what’s not? Many websites, magazines, and entertainment shows give us their version of the ‘hot or not’ philosophy, and I find myself remembering that information when we do our annual Goodwill donation. Clothes that still fit get sent off to the Goodwill because they’re out of style. How do I know that? In Style magazine arrives in our mailbox each month.
I appreciate the media pulling together my pop culture fix for me. I have to admit though that I’m biased as a self-proclaimed news junkie. I love CNN, but I’m just as likely to pick up an issue of In Touch along with my USA Today when I’m heading out for a flight. If it’s a really long flight, I’ll grab an issue of Star as well!

References
Pop Culture Madness (2009) Retrieved January 10, 2009 from http://www.popculturemadness.com/index.html