Dillon Kupferschmid Contact Info: E-Mail: dk526a@lab.icc.edu
Log InSo as stated before, pop culture is an important thing because it brings people together, but now we're going to talk about how it is important when it comes to familiarity.
Take a look at this table containing information about pop-culture:
| Pop Culture Statistics | |||
| Media in Question | Popularity | Current Fanbase | General Reception |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Currently Inactive | Mostly Positive to Mixed |
| Strong | Currently Semi-Active | Generally Positive |
| Strong | Currently Active | Generally Positive |
| Weak | Currently Semi-Active | Somewhat Positive; Mostly Mixed to Negative |
When it comes to each of these different products, each one has a dedicated fanbase, and familiarity within that fanbase is a large determinant in how popular something in within the realms of pop-culture.
When it comes to each of these franchises, each one has a difference in what makes it familiar, such as:
- Shrek was initially created popular for its immersive storytelling for the first two films, but by the third movie, people felt the series was on a downward spiral, and it was seen as nothing short of a meme in the eyes of the public. Evenetually, Shrek Forever After released in 2010 and the fanbase was divided, with some calling it a great cult classic that ties up the series well, and others believing it to be even worse than Shrek the Third. Generally however, Shrek was given importance by becoming a fan's paradise of content, and thus it became very familiar to many people. However, Shrek concluded a decade ago and thus the fanbase has become rather inactive with it due to this reason.
- The important thing to note however is Shrek is familiar not only from his legacy, but the people who come back to his content even now, and the important thing is sometimes it doesn't matter if something is current, its legacy can still leave it recognizable.
Credit to YouTube user: TheBlackCube17 and all of the creators of The Shrek Franchise
Musical Credits go to: Weezer for their Cover of "I'm a Believer", performed originally by Smash Mouth, and Stevie Wonder for "For Once in my Life"
- The Toy Story franchise is similar in this regard, as it is also a heavily recognizable series of four movies, but the important thing about it is that it is recognizable to many people, and serves as a major capital in animation history. Toy Story is something that brought many families together with its masterful writing and animation, which is why so many people love and recognize it.
- So far, Toy Story has brought in generations of fans spanning across four totally successful movies, and the importance of that is that so many people have bonded over their fond memories towards the first two movies from 1995 and 1999, as well as the more recent outings of 2010 and 2019, showing that Toy Story is like a universal language that brings people together with one united passion.
- Familiarity can come in all shapes and sizes, and Mario and Sonic are no exception. If you remember in the last page, Mario was featured prominently for the first subject which was how pop-culture affects media, but this is about how familiarity is important. You see, so many people have been brought together using video games, and these two characters are no exception since they are two of the most famous video game icons of all time.
- Provided that Sonic may have had a rough streak with his "fanbase", there is no question about it that these two's familiarity brought so many together, either to play some Mario Party or Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, but that's the point. I've met my two closest friends because of our same love for Sonic, and it's because of that reason I wanted to show why familiarity in pop-culture is important. If it wasn't for Sonic the Hedgehog, or Dragonball Z, or even Lego Ninjago, I would have never had the same relationship with my two closest friends like I do now, and that is the moral of the story.
- So in essence, the moral of the story so far is that pop-culture can affect people, and sometimes even bring them closer together. Human beings love having common interests, and it is that which drives some friends to become friends, and that is also what can really teach people about when it comes to the value of opinions and their own feelings towards something. The important thing is that passion is something that comes from the heart, and when multiple people have the same kind of passion, they can become a healthier society and community as a result of that.
Be sure to check out Page 1 if you haven't already, and check out Page 3 for more content on the Pop Culture in Society.
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