I've been on this kick as of late - a Gilmore Girls kick. This show serves as one of my favorites - I watched every episode weekly with my sister and mother (and now own the entire series). For one hour a week, the Steiner Girls wanted to be the Gilmore Girls. I often wanted to have my own Gilmore Girl moments fast gabbing throwing around witty remarks intermixed with pop culture references.
As I've been re-watching the show (currently perusing season 3 where one episode guest stars a young John Hamm), I've giggled several times as references that were current and fresh at the time of filming are old news. For example, a reference was made to the former power couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and that it would be mad if they were to end their relationship. Now, in 2013 - we're very aware that they broke up many years ago and Brad is happily apart of the Brangelina phenomena.
It got me thinking - when is pop culture no longer considered pop? Think of today's Kardashians'. Yes, Kimye is featured maybe on the daily thanks to Perez Hilton, but it will only be a matter of time before someone else comes along. I guess that's why their doing their best to soak it up while they can.
But seriously - what makes pop culture lose it's pop? And how is it determined that something stays important and becomes a part of history as opposed to today's tabloid news? Last night, I was listening to an old RadioLab episode on Emergence - the science of complex systems created from relatively humble beginnings. The internet is one example of emergence where from a micro level seems simple and from a macro level is a very complex system. With technology advances today, it makes it easy for us to obtain information about the new and exciting this and that of society. It's instant. It's user friendly. It's at our finger tips. We can Facebook, instagram and tweet information and use these avenues to find the latest trends. Its also an easy way to drop the old and embrace the new.
After some thought, it's pretty certain that a number of factors contribute to things losing their pop. When one thing loses it's pop, another thing will come to replace it. And although the topic of "thing" is different, the underlying themes remain. Think of my example of Brad and Jen. They were Hollywood's power couple in 2002. Now, one may consider Jay-Z and Beyonce' to be unstoppable. Regardless of the year, we still have a couple that many in society adore and reference. This keeps them relevant. This gives them their pop. And for now, that's all that matters.
As I've been re-watching the show (currently perusing season 3 where one episode guest stars a young John Hamm), I've giggled several times as references that were current and fresh at the time of filming are old news. For example, a reference was made to the former power couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and that it would be mad if they were to end their relationship. Now, in 2013 - we're very aware that they broke up many years ago and Brad is happily apart of the Brangelina phenomena.
It got me thinking - when is pop culture no longer considered pop? Think of today's Kardashians'. Yes, Kimye is featured maybe on the daily thanks to Perez Hilton, but it will only be a matter of time before someone else comes along. I guess that's why their doing their best to soak it up while they can.
But seriously - what makes pop culture lose it's pop? And how is it determined that something stays important and becomes a part of history as opposed to today's tabloid news? Last night, I was listening to an old RadioLab episode on Emergence - the science of complex systems created from relatively humble beginnings. The internet is one example of emergence where from a micro level seems simple and from a macro level is a very complex system. With technology advances today, it makes it easy for us to obtain information about the new and exciting this and that of society. It's instant. It's user friendly. It's at our finger tips. We can Facebook, instagram and tweet information and use these avenues to find the latest trends. Its also an easy way to drop the old and embrace the new.
After some thought, it's pretty certain that a number of factors contribute to things losing their pop. When one thing loses it's pop, another thing will come to replace it. And although the topic of "thing" is different, the underlying themes remain. Think of my example of Brad and Jen. They were Hollywood's power couple in 2002. Now, one may consider Jay-Z and Beyonce' to be unstoppable. Regardless of the year, we still have a couple that many in society adore and reference. This keeps them relevant. This gives them their pop. And for now, that's all that matters.
