Popular Culture and Politics

Instructions:

Please post 2 peer responses.

In the response post, include the following:

· Respectfully share your own perspectives and ideas with classmates you may disagree with.

· Add new ideas to the discussion instead of just agreeing that something in the reading was interesting or reiterating what others said in the discussion.

· Find an additional source online or in the library that adds a new perspective to what has already been said.

· Offer an opposing viewpoint that is supported by facts and research.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Estimated time to complete response posts: 2 hours

· How were politics apparent in popular culture during the most recent presidential election? Give specific examples.  

The example of pop culture getting into politics I think of the most is celebrity endorsements. I remember during the last election I would see on social media celebrities who were supporting a presidential candidate.   

· What effect can popular culture have on people’s political opinions?  

I think that having celebrities and other people of influence has a big sway on how people feel about politicians. “Being the focus of attention also gives celebrities significant power to influence political agendas. For example, a large-scale media analysis of the 2016 U.S. election found that Donald Trump used his celebrity profile to effectively set the political agenda. (NIH,2021)”   

· Is pop culture’s effect on the communication of political ideas beneficial or harmful to society? Support your argument.  

I think it’s harmful to society because I feel that people are less likely to form their own educated ideas and opinions about politics and or politics and what they truly want for themselves and the country just based on the fact that they idolize a celebrity. “More recently, Archer et al. (2020) have argued that celebrity involvement in democratic politics is problematic because celebrities possess significant levels of epistemic power (roughly the power to influence what people believe) that is unconnected to any relevant expertise. (NIH,2021)” I don’t like to listen to what celebrities have to say as much because I feel like they are so out of touch with how regular people are living and are ultimately just trying to do whats best for their own agenda.   

NIH (2021 Oct 11) Celebrity Politics and Democratic Elitism, National Library Of Medicine 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8503715/#:~:text=BeLinks to an external site. 

Politics and Popular Culture

Talking about politics and popular culture after the recent presidential election, we can see that they’re closely connected. In the last election, politics was everywhere in popular culture. Shows like “Saturday Night Live,” social media sites like Twitter and Instagram, and TV programs played a big role in shaping how people saw things. Think of it like those funny sketches on TV making jokes about politicians – that’s one way politics showed up in everyday entertainment.

Popular culture, like music, movies, and social media, really influences how people think about politics. Imagine watching a documentary that gets you emotional about a political issue or listening to a song that makes you see things in a new way. Social media, like Twitter and Instagram, also play a big role. Sometimes, it creates groups where people with similar views share and strengthen their opinions. So, what you see and hear in popular culture can shape what you believe about politics.

People are still figuring out if the way pop culture talks about politics is good or bad for society. On one side, pop culture makes political info interesting and easy to understand for a lot of people. It helps more folks get interested and involved in politics. But, on the other side, there’s a risk of getting wrong info, making things sound too exciting, or making complex issues seem too simple. It can also create groups of people who only hear what they already agree with, which makes it tough to have a good conversation about politics.

In the end, looking at how politics and popular culture mixed during the recent election shows that it’s a dynamic relationship. Pop culture is a strong way for people to express and share political ideas, but it can also have both good and not-so-good effects on what people think. It’s important for all of us to really think about where we get our information and how it might shape our views.

Reference:

Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication Mass Communication [AUTHOR REMOVED AT REQUEST OF ORIGINAL PUBLISHER]. (2016). 
https://www.palomar.edu/users/lpayn/115/GC115-Understanding-Media-and-Culture-An-Introduction-to-Mass-Communication.pdfLinks to an external site.