Popular Culture - Meaning & Importance

• What is popular culture, and what does it mean to me?
I see popular culture items as a symbol of an important aspect to a group of people. This can be something written, oral, viewed, etc. It can be anything from a hot dog to Rap music to Mickey Mouse. These items affect the way people act, even by changing such things as their personality traits, speech, and actions. As an example, my 21 year old son still speaks with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent at times. We are exposed to popular culture so many times a day how could it not affect us? This can be a good way to connect with others. I believe that in our day to day lives this exposure helps to bond people, groups, and even countries.

• Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to me in a business environment and in my present and future career?
I believe that the United States is one of the most important places in the world to study a wide variety of popular culture studies. Our melting pot of nationalities means there is an almost limitless amount of pop culture icons to learn about. This creates a desire to learn what is culturally important to people from different backgrounds. The awareness can lead to sharing thoughts and having discussions with persons you may otherwise not talk to, many times because you feel there is nothing to say. It is important to be able to relate to coworkers and other people you come into contact with. I plan to continuously seek and be aware of pop culture items from the many nationalities I know now and will meet in the future. I am currently employed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Public Affairs. I am consistently speaking with people from other parts of the country and foreign nations. I think it is especially important to have topics to discuss with a large variety of people. I am the first contact with many of these people and might spend a substantial amount of time with them, while they are either on a tour or just waiting for a meeting to begin. The ability to have knowledge of their popular culture creates a better variety of topics in our interactions.