What is pop music?

After reading the articles on pop culture, I was able to develop a more condensed definition of pop culture even though it is composed of several genres of music. I was really shocked at the beginnings of pop culture which started in minstrel shows. I was surprised to discover that these parlor songs were so popular and accepted by white audiences. The minstrel songs were used to depict Blacks as a part of the underprivileged class while simultaneously saying that they were happy people living in this condition. This pop music was used to express social and political incorrectness while revealing the desires of Whites to consume the identities of Blacks. This seems logical, because to some degree the text (song) is somehow connected to the individual whether it is directly or indirectly.

The article that discusses how pop music originated in Britain illustrates how tragic life would be without music. Pop music brought pizzazz and enthusiasm to the lives of British youth. Before their own British pop culture developed, British youth mimicked the fashion and styles of American youth. Pop culture allows for the transformation and globalization of identity/music to occur even when components are rejected and then popularized to be accepted. The awesome aspect about British pop culture is that is served as the rehabilitation mechanism for America during its tragic loss of President Kennedy.

My view of pop music was extended even further after reading the article on Arab pop culture. It seems as if music videos are produced more abundantly in the Arab world than they are in American music industry. Not only is Arab pop music selling, but it is also selling sex. Arabic women have escaped the traditional values of the Arabic world and are demanding respect and attention through exploitation of their bodies. I am sure this is no more sexually explicit than American videos, but this has to be so much more of a “big deal”. I think it is wonderful that women have found voice and identity via the use of pop music and culture. I also agree with the Arab critics who find these sexually exploited women to be demeaning as it is demeaning also for American women. Access to the freedom of individuality is a privilege, but at what expense will this identity be acquired?

The article written by the University of Chicago put into perspective the disconnection between academia and pop culture. I really agreed with the notion that students are not taught to criticize the arts. If you are receiving information that is condoned and approved by mainstream society, then there is no reason for this information to be rejected. Many music artists do use their music to question several social and political aspects, but this is not a skill that is encouraged in schools. Why are schools encouraging the popularization of simple-minded thinking students and later bashing them for not delving further into inquiry? What schools have failed to realized is that students are aware of the important topics that matter in their world and in society, and are using pop music and pop culture to express themselves. Youth’s responses are being expressed, while all may not be with academic jargon, they are expressing their agreements and disagreements via the agency of the pop world.