Mussings on "Popular Culture"
It goes without saying that there has always been a divide, or, difference of opinion, between popular culture of the masses and alternative culture of the, what some might say, ‘elite’. In light of this, after hearing Eminem’s, new song, I Love The Way You lie, I began to wonder why there is such an aversion to popular culture, specifically with respect to chart-toppers and Hollywood blockbusters…
One of the first articles I read about Eminem’s new song, featuring Rihanna, was a small piece of work condoning the song and its video for glamorising domestic violence. For those of you who haven’t heard ‘Love the Way You Lie’, (very few I’m assuming), it tells of the twisted psychology of those involved in abusive relationships, interesting when you remember Rihanna’s episode with Chris Brown earlier this year. Of course I am no supporter of domestic violence but I was a bit taken aback by this blatant put down of a brilliantly written song. As Eminem tries to persuade himself, his other half and us as listeners that he will never be abusive again, outbursts of;
‘Next time I’m p****d I’ll put my fist through the dry wall.
Next time, there won’t be a next time’
and ‘I Know that I’m lying’ show a caged animal within the rapper trying to hide under false words and social restrictions. Meanwhile Rihanna’s indignation of her lover standing and watching her burn is contradicted by her hopeful and forlorn admission that she likes the way it hurts. A song exploring denial, paradox and messed up emotions, one can only think that if this were some obscure novel written by an unknown author, it would be praised. Because Eminem is ‘popular’ he thus has a duty to perform in being aware of his capability to influence and not to use this power to ‘glamorise’ domestic violence.
Yet ‘popular culture’ can’t seem to win. Full of mindless chick flicks and textbook pop songs, it is often criticised as shallow. I’m not saying there isn’t a lot of twaddle out there, yet there is just as much ‘alternative’ stuff that lacks any depth. There is also the classic complaint of ‘I liked them/it/her/him before they got big/famous/popular’. In other words, the classic sell-out. I’m not denying those who love to hate that there are plenty of people who exchange money for integrity, or whatever you want to call it. But fame changes people; forget that, life changes people. Gaining fame may mean change but not necessarily in a negative way. For example, ‘*Insert band name here* lost what made them different; their sound became too mainstream’. How about that same band, having been in the music industry long enough, refined their sound to the best of their ability, thus making their music more streamlined/likable, which in turn meant they were liked by more people and hence were played on mainstream radios and whatnot? Or ‘*Insert movie name here* is too Hollywood.’ How about that movie had all the best technology and equipment available, so that, consequently, the end result was a genuinely mind-blowing film that was a pleasure for everyone to watch? I think what maybe the problem is the masses themselves, not the object that draws the masses. Who doesn’t squirm at the twi-hards or Gaga’s little monsters?
Thus, maybe the obvious difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, if we’re going to be so black and white, shouldn’t be dictated by what is popular and not popular but rather what is actually true talent and what is garbage, regardless of how many people like it. Surely the reason so many things are big and popular is because they are good and hence people like them? Now, maybe I am overestimating the stupidity of most people and that all the rubbish in popular culture is because of the majority of people having bad taste. Yet, no one can deny that the Killers have talent, or that Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ is a stand out film. True, for every Emimen, there is a JLS, for every Dark Knight, there is a Jennifer Anniston chick flick. But for my part, I can’t see too much wrong with this ‘popular culture’.
Roisin O’Brien
