A few years ago a the market for snow owls in England sky rocketed. Following this, sadly, many of the snow owls were found abandoned in garages and lofts. Turns out, snowy owls are fluffy, but they also have claws. Maybe not the best choice of pet.
Any idea why this strange phenomena appeared?
Need I remind you of a young wizard and his two friends? A wizard named Harry who was the proud owner of a snowy owl called Hedwig. A wizard who became wildly popular within the last decade.
I think it’s fair to argue popular culture influences what we like, don’t like, and what we think. People go to medical school because of the hot doctors in Grey’s Anatomy. Teenagers suck bottles so their lips can become like Kylie Jenner’s. Boys cut their hair so it looks like Justin Bieber, and they can get a girlfriend (this usually works).
The thing is, popular culture is like junk food for your brain. Yes, it is entertaining to watch seven episodes of The Bachelor in a row. And yes, it’s fun to flick through pictures showing which celebrity has the most cellulite. Especially when compared to the news, or a Shakespeare play.
Here’s the difference between consuming quality and consuming popular culture: take a McDonalds burger – it’s quick; there is no work to find it and consume it. It takes about three minutes, if you are very, very hungry. This burger offers your body no sustenance. Do this once or twice, and you’re fine. Do this for every meal, every day, and your poor body is going to implode. Your veins will become clogged with fat and you may get a heart attack; you may never fit into those size two skinny jeans again.
Compare this diet to a diet of good organic produce fresh from the farm. It may not initially taste better, but after a while your body will grow to like the taste of carrots which crunch. Yes, it takes longer to prepare and digest. Yet, the cost is worth it in the end. Eat this every day and you will feel stronger and have more energy.
It’s the same with our mind. We dull our ability to think with diets of popular culture. Our minds seek challenges, meaning, depth, and stimulation and we feed them fads, pictures, poorly written stories, greed, consumption, misogyny, and self-obsession.
I could watch MTV music videos all day for the rest of my life if I wanted, but I feel like my life is meant for more than that. I could gossip and follow the example of girls in Desperate Housewives but according to my compass for right and wrong, gossiping is not right, no matter how glamorous it may appear.
Popular culture at its core is not bad. It’s inevitable and it’s the product of free speech. It’s an expression of our collective experiences. What is bad, is the values popular culture esteems.
Ideally we need to be able to take in popular culture and decide what we will consume or won’t. Pull off the gherkins and leave the burger, so to say.
The way to do this is to know what you believe is truth. And to know what direction you wish your life to go in. I read my Bible and I follow the example of Christ because this has stood the test of time. Yes, current trends are interesting, but will we still care about Kylie’s lips in six months, one year, five years, or even a decade? I doubt it. The Bible has been passed from generation to generation and stood firm. People have died for it and it shows evidence that those who base their life on its values flourish.