Popular Culture, Module 1, Assignment 1-2

Popular culture is made up of events, people, fads and trends that get the attention of the public. It is current trends and trends of the past that have achieved enduring and popular status. Cultural icons can be anything such as celebrities, athletes, political figures, cartoon characters and even people such as lottery winners, criminals and inventors. Also, animals like Benji, Lassie or Flipper are popular culture icons because of their celebrity status. Animals can also be popular culture icons because of their association with a human celebrity, like Paris Hilton’s dog, Tinkerbell. Pop culture is most appealing to the younger crowd, but it certainly draws the attention of all age groups (Glynn, Jerry. What Is Popular Culture?. Articlesbase. 2008. http://www.articlesbase.com/. Accessed January 9, 2010.).

To me popular culture is a way of life. It is all around us. It is on television and radio, in movies, books, and newspapers and at work. Understanding pop culture is relevant in a business environment because it brings about the latest technology and trends. All businesses need to stay up-to-date with the latest technology and trends to be successful and compete with each other. At my place of employment we are constantly trying to keep up with new technology and trends to be able to compete with other banks and give our customers excellent customer service.

An example of a current popular culture artifact that I chose is the iPhone. The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia enabled smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It functions as a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client. It is all touch screens. Most people use their iPhone for personal reasons, like entertainment, but some use it for business and work-related needs. Many people use it for day-to-day activities like getting local forecasts, turn-by-turn directions and nearby restaurants.