Just when in history did the nebulous notion of “pop culture” as we know it actually begin? And what particular person or event kicked it off? Were there any D-list celebrities to venerate in the ancient world, for instance? RobertosMitch, via email
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Readers reply
The Romans were no strangers to the D list. The Colosseum regularly played host to the hugely popular spectacle of Celebritas Sum… Exi Me Hinc!. EddieChorepost
We know the names of hundreds of the ancient Olympic champions from 776BC to AD385. That’s quite an achievement based solely on being the fastest runner, or throwing furthest, on a particular day about 2,000 years ago. leadballoon
I think “as we know it” requires the advent of radio and celluloid film – the advent of the affordable kinematograph ticket and, a bit later, the radio receiver in most homes. From about 1910 wouldn’t be far off, I would suggest. However, in general those who became world renowned had to possess extraordinary talents.
Therefore, to be absolutely accurate, pop culture as we know it is a very recent phenomenon – a decade or two – relying on volume level (noise), access to decision-makers with vast amounts of cash and persistence in pushing to the front, rather than a seldom and peculiar ability. bricklayersoption
Sinatra and the phenomenon of the bobby-soxers is often cited as an inflection point in popular culture. harpedonaptae
If they mean when the term “popular culture” was coined, the earliest known use was in a speech by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi in 1818; the shortening to “pop” dates from the 1950s. But humanity has probably always been broadly self-aware of a “popular culture”, since classes became stratified, yet aspects of culture remained broadly appealing across classes. There are hence two definitions of “pop culture”, both of which are unsatisfying. One is the notion of everything that’s left once you remove “high culture”; the other is anything that is so broadly appealing as to transcend class. It is debatable whether or not the first has ever existed, given that popularity isn’t just defined by who can partake in something, but also how many would like to partake if they could – and there has never been an example of “high culture” that didn’t also have (theoretical) mass appeal.
We know from history that people of all classes would readily visit the theatre, read “high” literature, watch sports and eat in restaurants, the only limit being the ability of many people to be able to afford to do so regularly. The same jokes would be told in the highest courts as would be told in the streets; the same songs regularly sung. As the industrial age created a new kind of upper class – the members of which became wealthy through commerce and investment as opposed to hereditary nobility – those lines became even more blurred. When the broadcasting age meant music and film could be disseminated even more democratically, the boundaries became lost entirely.
We’ve also done such a good job of tearing down our nobility in the past century that the notion of “high-class values” has become basically non-existent; if anything, it’s more of a punchline. I’m sure they would like to pretend there is still a difference; I can’t imagine, for instance, that the queen was a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. But the idea that there is a subset of culture that appeals only to “the masses” and another subset that appeals only to “the elite” is a fiction – and maybe always has been. thisisanicknamelol
Stages of pop culture:
1. The emergence of urban working and middle classes in the 19th century.
2. The discipline and stress of the new industrial economy that encouraged people to find escape. New entertainments and sports evolved to meet these needs.
3. The growth of the press and improving rates of literacy.
4. The arrival of film, radio and photo magazines at the turn of the 20th century.
5. Jazz and other popular music styles from the 1920s to the 1940s. Radio broadcasts of sporting events. Cheap portable record players from the 1920s.
6. Prosperity after world war two. Younger people with more income.
7. The advent of television and the portable transistor radio. Celebrity and fan culture. Collectable merchandise relating to film and pop stars: posters, photo cards, special magazine editions. Fan clubs.
8. Rock’n’roll and youth culture.
9. The internet.
10. Social media. Tara_King
