Audience Role in the Popular Culture Movement Essay Example

Without the audience, there would be no media. In the same vein, pop culture cannot be considered popular when nobody reads, plays, watches or interacts with popular culture. The most challenging aspect of content creation in every form of media is how it will be received and how it will impact the audience. It is a daunting task to find and keep an audience, as content creators always compete for the attention and interests of their target groups. People perceive and react to content differently. Popular culture, as shown through stories, images, literary works, performances, sights, and sounds, helps to create national interests and identities founded in a set of common beliefs, objects, and practices of particular society. In this sense, pop culture has the power to influence peoples' attitudes and behaviors toward specific topics and ideologies and core to this influence is the audience that consumes it. Popular culture is generally perceived by people as a means of attracting attention or seeking a certain kind of acceptance from the mainstream. This paper presents the role played by the audience in the creation of popular culture and also analyses how Hollywood manipulated and reflected the pop culture in the 1950s and 1960s through film.

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The audience plays an integral role in leading the popular culture movement. This role is played through association with the popular culture and identifying with it in various ways such as dressing, a way of life, and embracing every aspect of it. Pop culture was a commonality in Hollywood in 1950s and 1960s because young Americans, unlike their forebears, enjoyed a better income and material comfort. This aspect allowed them to consume popular culture at the time as they could afford both time and finances to do this. The major audience for pop culture in the post-WWII America was the baby boomers, a generation which was the majority in the form of teenagers and young adults. Thanks to their large numbers, they were targeted by film producers, marketers, designers and musicians. As a target demographic, they never disappointed because they showcased a lot of generational consciousness and they sought every opportunity to not only define but also tune their identities through music, movies, and television. This is the time that rebellion against adult authority was popular-these forms of media available reinforced patriotism, religious faith as well as conformity to norms that governed the American society at the time. The audiences attended cinemas because of the stories that were told that featured rock stars and music idols (Schneider, 2009).

While most films predominantly showcased themes related to the upper class and the White populations, others showed themes revolving around the lower classes and the African American families. The post-WWII period interested the rebellious baby boomers who found deep interests in rebellious films and those perceiving mixed-race relations and associations which were earlier prohibited (Schneider, 2009). Also popular with this audience was the thrill of adventure, love affairs, freedom, and love for art, and this is what is portrayed in "An American in Paris (1951)", a musical by Vincente Minnelli. The film depicts lavish sets, romantic love story infused with music and dance. Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly), an America ex-GI who is also a painter meets and falls in love with Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron) in Paris. The film combines various elements to bring relatable thrills and adventure to its audiences. It attracted huge audiences and was also got eight Academy Award nominations.

After WWII, most people could afford televisions and TV, and radio shows took over so much that filmmakers in Hollywood could not make enough money from filmmaking. Film viewership reduced, and filmmakers struggled seriously to recapture their audiences. Due to this reason, they had to find a way to either adjust or lose, so they manipulated the system to attract film viewers through organized campaigns such as "Movies are better than ever" (Schneider, 2009). When these failed, they changed to make films more exciting and presented their audiences with special 3D glasses to enhance their viewing experience. This trick never lasted long before the audiences got tired, so the filmmakers began to create blockbusters to attract more people. They regained the capture when they began producing movies with roles that conformed to societal norms of the time so that the audiences would relate with the content. This is the time when roles were created in films for African American cast. They were given roles that were either discriminatory or related to stereotypical issues at the time. Roles were also created for single mothers or who were not married, and this was often portrayed by actors like Marilyn Monroe who was a crowd magnet. Most actors at the time were idols whose fashion sense and styles were trademarks for popular culture in America. Films which had influential characters attracted more viewers who later embraced, championed and led popular culture movements across the United States.

Conclusion

In conclusion, popular culture promoted certain identities in America. Films and other forms of media were responsible for driving pop culture, but the reception and internalization of the cultural concepts by the audiences were key. This aspect indicates that audiences play an integral role in promoting pop culture.

References

Schneider, E. (2009). Social History of the United States: The 1950s. The Journal Of Popular Culture, 42(4), 797-799. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2009.00707_14.x