A
Popularity Contest for the Ages
When one uses the
word culture, many things come to mind: television, advertisements,
clothes, attitude, education and beliefs. However, how one person may
perceive a cultural amenity they consume or enjoy may not be
perceived the same way by those around them who might come to a
different conclusion about its cultural value and status. By
considering the content of the cultural products they consume, who
the consumers are and the effect the consuming has on them, the
difference between high and low culture will be explored.
One of the major
differences between high and popular/low/mass culture is the content
of products consumed and the perception of the consumers whether they
are "easy" or "hard". When looking at a product
of any kind, when the consumer feels challenged by it, when the
product seems tough to understand, or full of beneficial information,
or perceived as classy and expensive, it is seen as very high
cultured. On the other hand, when a product appears easier to
understand, or less expensive, and without apparent moral benefits,
it is looked at as just a more low cultured product. For example,
when referring to movies, one who imagines themselves "high
cultured" would rather watch a documentary or a very serious
movie, such as a drama, as opposed to someone who might be perceived
as "low culture" who would choose to watch a comedy. The
documentary or drama is filled with all of this "brain food"
and keeps the consumer thinking, but they imagine it is worth it
because they will walk out feeling smarter than they did before; as
opposed to the comedy, filled with humour and silliness, not
requiring the consumer to think at all, and one will walk out feeling
entertained but not at all any smarter than the moment they walked in
because that was not their intent. Interestingly enough, the factor
of time can make the perception of a product's cultural status, going
from low to high. A great example of this is The Beatles who when
they first appeared were seen as uncultured, an immoral mop-headed
quartet because of their mass popularity and their music was seen as
rebellious towards the more classic tunes of that era. Looking back
now and considering the relatively innocent lyrics and use of
innuendo, and knowing how outwardly sexual lyrics are in contemporary
music, listening to them is thought of as very high culture. They
have become old news, and compared to today's musicians, who have
mass popularity, they are what people call classic. The content does
not change but the perceptions of the content over time have evolved
and categorized them as high or low.
Another factor of
high culture clashing with low culture is the people who consume the
products. Based on content, we can see if the product itself is
believed to be high or low culture, which directs you right to the
people who consume them. For example, at John Abbott College, there
were tickets to the opera available, and the price for people under
18 was free, whereas tickets to see the Vagina Monologues the
tickets were $15. This shows how anyone over 18, thus considered
adult, would pay to see the opera, because it is a product perceived
as being of higher and older culture, and the opera is imagined as
"good for you". This is different from the lower youth
culture who wouldn't pay to see an opera because there is no
perceived entertainment attached to it but when the school offered
tickets to Vagina Monologues, it appealed greatly to youths
because of raging hormones and sexuality, so they would pay the money
to see something that has to do with sex. Another instance is when
one turns on the television and sees that the news is on, but so is a
hit new reality show where a group of young Italians live together
and party day after day. The uneducated and ignorant culture, the
popular culture, will go straight to the reality show (Jersey
Shore), while the educated and not as easily manipulated higher
cultured will watch the news because they believe it will better
themselves to know more about the world around them. Though the
people consume different products based on their own sense of taste,
they might not realize how they are culturally perceived as a result.
Finally, and maybe
most importantly, the biggest contrasts between high and popular
culture are seen in the effects it has on the consumers. When one
person decides to go to the mall and is walking around looking for a
store in which to buy clothing, if they stop at some place like
Forever 21 or H&M and they buy the newest "in fashion"
jeans and top, even if they don't like it that much, the effect it
has on them is that they are looked at as part of the popular
culture, because everyone is wearing those clothes. However if that
same person decides instead to go into a Hugo Boss or a Zara store to
buy a nice set of clothing for a higher price, the effect on them is
that they are seen as being of a higher culture, because they went to
get something fancier and more expensive which then makes them be
perceived as somewhat superior. Not only are they classified into
higher and lower culture for what they dress like, but they are
judged accordingly. If one has their hair dyed blue they are
immediately lower culture, even if they are interested in the opera.
Interestingly enough, no matter how high cultured someone is, if they
like one thing low culture, then they are automatically perceived as
low culture, but it's almost not allowed to be the other way around.
Once low culture is connected to you, the effect is permanent and it
is difficult to undo.
Whether one
consumes a cultural product with an intention in mind or not does not
change the fact that one is not in control of how that is perceived
by others. Therefore, high and low culture is a matter of perception
for each individual to come up with on their own. Before one chooses
to consume a product, the cultural classification may already be
attached to it because of the people who consume it, such as the
example of all Jewish people loving bagels. Now, societies are
comparing themselves to other societies,
to see who the higher
cultured population is.
Forget about thinking that popularity contests were for high school
kids; how far would a
whole country go to make
themselves seem the highest in culture?
hope you enjoyed it!
