YouTube: The Ultimate Pop Culture Tool

In today's society we are more connected then ever before. The internet and technology have provided us with systems and tools that can keep us in touch with each other and allow us to share information faster then any other time in history. But it's no longer just telephone calls and e-mails. Since the introduction of streaming online video people all over the world have been wasting their time at work, in the classroom, and at home on the ultimate pop culture tool of them all: YouTube.

There is truly no better way in the world to see glimpses of all aspects of pop culture then to watch videos on sites like youtube. You can watch videos on almost any single topic that interests you whether it be sports, politics, music whatever. Funny videos and dramatic documentaries alike can be found with a few strokes of a keyboard. I say this because i myself know this all too well as i have probably wasted more then a thousand hours of my life just browsing through videos on youtube. But the point is that being able to watch these videos can actually have a huge affect on peoples lives. Politicians are now even using it to campaign and put up ad's trying to sway the minds of viewers to their ways of thinking.

But the great thing about youtube is that it is not only limited to big important politicians and huge broadcasting companies like the standard news and entertainment that we see today. Anyone can use youtube and post videos about any topic under the sun. Granted there are some pretty shitty videos out there of people just siting in front on the computer doing stupid stuff. But there are also a lot of hilarious and useful videos out there to. It is the ultimate way to stay connected with what's going on in the world and what people are doing and thinking. That within itself is what makes youtube the ultimate pop culture tool.

Pop Culture & Politics

We often think of politics and pop culture as two very different subjects. After all, it doesn't appear as though politicians like John McCain or Barrack Obama have very much in common with celebrities like Brad Pitt or Jessica Alba. In truth it's likely that the latter two people named probably live very different lifestyles then McCain and Obama. But they all do share one thing in common: they are all huge pop culture icons. Some ad's released by the McCain campaign even feature pictures of Obama stating "He's the biggest celebrity in the world" and other such claims before slandering him.
So in a way politicians are just celebrities with jobs that actually matter to peoples lives. After all,not all older people know many current celebrities if they even follow any. Whereas younger people tend to be more aware of both politicians as well as celebrities. So the audience for politicians is much larger then audiences for celebrities. Take my grandma for example, there's no doubt that she knows who Obama and McCain are, but I'm pretty sure she would have o idea what i was talking about if i asked her who Jessica Alba was.

Can Pop Culture Bring Parents & Kids together?

If someone had asked me three years ago whether or not i thought pop culture could make my parents and I closer, i would have told them they were crazy. I had always thought of my parents as too old and too mature to really relate to me in terms anything that was entertainment related. Whether it be music, magazines or movies i had never even really considered the fact that my parents might like the same things as me. But a funny thing happened once i got into my senior year of high school. I had a lot of free time on my hands because i wasn't taking very hard classes, and I never really had that much homework to do. So instead of sitting at my desk all night I could finally just hang out in the living room and watch movies or tv.

I can distinctly remember one night when I decided to watch Wedding Crashers, my dad came into the room and asked me what i was watching. I told him, "it's called Wedding Crashers up you probably wouldn't like it". But he sat down anyway and before long we were both cracking up. I almost couldn't believe it at first because i thought there was no way he would find some of the dirty jokes and such funny. But there we were in the living room laughing our asses off watching a movie together. This was amazing to me because normally the only time we sat down in the living room to watch tv together it was always sports or the history channel. I guess i had to grow up a little before my dad found it ok to joke around with me about stuff that my mom would find appalling, but it eventually became a regular thing that we did together. So even if you think your parents are old as hell it might not hurt to remember the fact that they were just as young and immature as you once. You might have a lot more in common then you know.

Concerts

If you have ever been to a big concert of any kind I'm sure you could agree that there are few better ways to have a great time and meet new people then by attending one. Going to a concert is an over all great experience, and is yet another solid example of how pop culture can bring all kinds of people together. Take for example my experience at the Kenny Chesney concert last year. It was scheduled to start at 7:00 on Friday night, and my friends and i all wanted to go, but we knew there was no way any of us were going to be able to go up to Merriweather Post Pavilion together and still be able to operate any kind of motorized vehicle on the way back. So we decided to improvise by planning on renting a bus to take us there and back. However, this was going to be very expensive and we couldn't afford it by ourselves. To fix this we decided to put the word out to other kids who went to other schools around the same area as my high school. Some of them we knew pretty well, others we didn't know at all, but we finally got enough people together to pay for the bus so that it wasn't too expensive. So on the night of the concert we all met at a parking lot in the middle of our home town and piled into bus for our hour long trip.

At first it was a little bit awkward between me and the people i knew and the ones I didn't, but it didn't take long before people who were once complete strangers to start talking about how sick this concert was going to be and how much fun this drunken bus ride was. I met a ton of kids that i had never known before and made some great friends that i still keep in touch with today. So to make a long story short, we got to the concert, had an amazing time, and cruised back home with about thirty new friends each. And this may sound stupid but if you ever get a chance to go to a big concert, rent a party bus and fill it with booze and new people outside your own circle of friends. I bet you'll have a sweet time.

Music & Barriers

For as long as music has been around, people have found many different uses for it. They have used it to express themselves, relax, or just simply enjoy.But music can also be used as a great tool to bring people together and break down social barriers. A great example of this occured in 1986 when the song "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C., featuring Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry was released. At the time rap music was largely still underground and had never been included in what most people would consider popular mainstream music. It was not until the release of this song which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard top 100, that people started to look more closely at hip hop music. But more important then the ranking on the charts was the idea that rap music, which had predominantly been thought of as only part of black culture could be enjoyed by all people. In a sense, "Walk This Way" was a way of not only bringing different music genere's together, but also different ethnic groups.
The music video for the song symbolically placed Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. in a musical duel in neighboring studios before Steven Tyler literally breaks through the wall that separates them. It appears as if the director of the video was trying to symbolically display the barrier between black and white communities being broken through by using music. Not to mention the fact that "Walk This Way" practically paved the way for other hip hop artists and groups to break onto the music scene, and create the great variety of music that can now be heard playing everyday in America and around the world.Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8A0rhVG91U to watch this great landmark video and see musical and cultural barriers being broken down for yourself.

Movie Time

Is it just music? Or can all other forms of pop culture help provide people a common ground to stand on, or at least argue on. Movies are also a great way to bridge gaps or social differences between people. There are so many different forms and genres of cinema out there one would be hard pressed to not find something they could enjoy. I mean common: comedy, horror, thriller, musical, silent film, action, kung fu crouching tiger hidden dragon type shit. Whatever one’s taste might be, there is certainly something out there for everyone. So watch some movies, that way when you go out into the world and you meet someone that you have absolutely nothing in common with, and you think there’s no way in the world you would ever be able to get further then a “Hey what’s up?” conversation, ask them if they’ve seen a recent movie that you have watched.
Or you could try talking about movie stars. Even if you don't care about their pathetically over glamorized lives, it seems we always know every detail in them. try asking someone, "so did you see the Oprah when Tom Cruise went nuts, started jumping all over the furniture, and tried to kill Oprah?"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRbhE3GRiUE)

Write Like Britt: How Music Classifies You

Do you love music? If so, what does the music that you like say about you? After all it's a pretty important thing in our lives, music can be used to express yourself, relax, party, or just simply enjoy. How many kids do you see walking around college campuses these days jammin' out to i pods? I always wonder what they're listening to. Sometimes i feel like i could guess what song it was, or maybe what artist it could be.
I think the type of music people listen says a lot about who they are. I say this because for the most part people generally listen to music that speaks to their mood. For instance, if your feeling kind of run down or tired,you most likely wouldn't be listening to some crazy techno song. Just like if you were getting ready to go out to a party, you definitely wouldn't want to listen to a really slow downer song. But whether you play music, or just love listening to it one thing is for sure, your music says a lot about you...so don't listen to crappy music!