In the end, what HIFs have done is render the term "pop culture" practically obsolete. I use it myself, reluctantly, because it's convenient. But it really can't be used accurately as a form of identification (Philip K. Dick, Homicide: Life on the Streets, The Velvet Underground, Jimmy Corrigan — are any of these good examples of popular culture?). And even if the term could be used that way, it still tells us nothing about the quality of the work. Both Lord of the Rings and Independence Day were successful. as were Half-Life and Myst, The Beatles and The Backstreet Boys.
Some bookstores may still have both a "fiction" and a "literature" section, but it really is time to concede the field to the HIFs. After all, it's not what medium or genre you choose that matters, it's what you say about them.
(Okay, that was a lame ending. Somebody else come up with the damn creed.)
Article comments
1 - HW Saxton Jr.
Paul, Great post man. Very interesting
and concise. By the way, the tag at the
end of your post was fine LOL. Peace.
2 - Shark
Nice post.
A few asides:
1) When "pop culture" cranks out about 15 billion products each and every day, it's hard to keep up, let alone digest, consume, 'categorize', and/or analyze.
2) I recently had a discussion w/a fellow museum professional; we were discussing (given #1 above) what and how the Smithsonian decides to 'preserve' of "american culture" -- currently, and in the future. They've got "Fonzie's" leather jacket, which surely won't be as important as Lincoln's hat, but do they also keep Pez dispensers? All 8 billion of them?
Name any 'artifact' of contemporary culture, and then try to figure out how it might have any 'historical' significance, and if so, what to do if it comes in thousands of variations. (Beanie Babies? Spiderman Toys? Rolling Stones Greatest Hits Collections?)
Imagine the problems facing other 'respositories' of culture; Radio & TV Broadcast Museum, fer instance -- do they keep "Three's Company" tapes? The Sopranos? "Famous" beer commercials? Which? How Many?
It's insane.
We'll build monuments to Spuds MacKenzie and the Taco Bell Dog and melt them down before the first pigeon is able to contribute God's own implicit cultural critique on their bronze brows.
3) Kinda hard on Neil Postman, imo. Too abstract? C'mon, only if you've got ADD, which apparently 99.9% of Americans do.
Oh Nevermind...
3 - HW Saxton Jr.
Shark, I think that your reference to
the late Neil Postman just sailed over
the heads of 99.9% of all those around
here. Sadly, they are same people who
need to read "Technopoly- The Surrender
Of..." Aww,ne'er mind.I'm just preachin'
to the choir now.
4 - hardcore
Shark, I think that your reference to
the late Neil Postman just sailed over
the heads of 99.9% of all those around
here. Sadly, they are same people who
need to read "Technopoly- The Surrender
Of..." Aww,ne'er mind.I'm just preachin'hardore
to the choir now.
5 - SFC Ski
It's a minor grammatical point, but I think it should be "Intelligent Hardcore Fans". There are hardcore fans, but what makes these above unique is their intelligence.