What is Popular Culture?

Popular culture is transitory. It is the artifacts and institutions shared by a society, it represents the elements of everyday life.It influences peoples way of life. Popular culture is shared knowledge and practices of a specific group at a specific time. It is subject to change and often initiates change. It tells us who we are, what we are, and why.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

Popular culture is important to business and to my future career because it is trendy, it appeals to mass audiences, the elite, critics, children, and parents. It is what we base our societies wants and needs against. In business, if I know what is the current pop culture, for example the Ipod, then I can have my company focus on promoting and designing similar items or perhaps I may need to purchase this item to stay technologically advanced.

My present job is as a nurse. I believe the most current piece of pop culture I use is the PDA. This item stores everything I need to look up medications and diagnosis.

I have chosen Disney World, Mickey, and Minnie Mouse as my pop culture artifact.

I chose these items as my artifacts because they represent artifact from past and present. Disney World is diverse. It represents the young, the old, and all countries. It is the symbol of freedom for most high school graduates and college students out for spring break. It is the perfect place to vacation if you are a parent, a retired couple, or out for your honey moon. It has accomodations for the social elite and for the average person. It is where every child wants to go and every superbowl winner does go.

Mickey and Minnie are also perfect past and present pop culture artifacts. Every child has at least one mickey or minnie item. They adapt to the times. Mickey and Minnie are available as teacher, doctor, scientist, or even graduating dolls. Mickey and Minnie are appealing to all ages, whether you are 3 or 63, everyone loves this duo. We enjoyed them as cartoons, way back when, and we still enjoy them now.

Pictures retrieved from http://www.mickey-mouse.com/mickeyclipartmain.htm