Pop-Culture Growing!

The tendency to classify texts as either high culture or low culture has diminished greatly, or at least has been complicated. The pervasiveness of media in all aspects of our lives and the ability to access any media at any time one wants, has increased the amount of “culture” we take in, and increases the breadth of what is “popular culture.” With the mixture of mediums and sheer amount of artistic content available to consume at any instant, pop-culture continues to encompass more and more. Anything that was once limited to being a part of popular culture can now achieve legitimate esteem—pop music is continuing to be appreciated by music critics, as albums such as Beyonce prove to be both critically and commercially successful, and enjoyed by music snobs who once denounced anything remotely in the realm of “pop.” Beyonce’s visual album counterpart embraces the convergence of modern media—being both a film, or a series of films, and an album. This has made it difficult to reach any sort of objective consensus on what is culturally significant, or of high quality, and what is essentially worthless—as though such a thing would have ever been feasible. The difference,  between something being deemed “high culture,” or “low culture” then, if there is one anymore, is a matter of artist intent. If it is created sincerely out of the desire to create something significant, or to create art, then it is “high culture.” If it has no other intended purpose or actual value, then it would be “low culture.” But no one would ever say the show they enjoy for hours each week has no actual value, so nothing could be said, objectively to be “low culture.”