Popular Culture and Media

The use of media and popular culture is a sociological phenomenon wherein the structural changes to society, which accompany the emergence of new forms of communication and accessing information, can be examined. There are many differing views regarding whether media and popular culture are necessary to the functioning of a democratic and egalitarian society or whether they actually further social inequality and inhibit political discussion or involvement. Although both interpretations are arguably valid, it can be seen that it is not popular culture and the media in and of themselves but rather how they are consumed by the public that determine how these mediums influence individuals and by extension the wider society.

Through examining the implications of popular culture and media on the structure of society, the prevalence of differing forms of social inequality becomes a pivotal issue. Barnett (1998: 58) suggests that despite theories pertaining to the influence of culture over social inequality, such as Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital which advances that cultural forms are exclusively accessed by the higher classes in order to maintain a distinct separation between social classes, popular culture is considered neither high nor inferior culture and therefore does not discriminate between social classes but rather accommodates to the changing nature of class. While it is proposed that the notion of popular culture and media being available to all ensures that it does not contribute to the maintenance of social classes, the content that is presented through these mediums tends to encourage a less sympathetic public attitude towards those experiencing the repercussions of social inequality, in particular poverty and unemp...

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