Going with the Popular Flow

By Jonathan Lam on 01/29/16

Tagged: the-homework-life the-homework-life-opinion

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Hello debutted a few months back, and it has dominated the radio since. People love it! But every time I hear it, I become severely irritated. Even angry at times. Sure there's "passion" in the song, but there's not much to the melody or musical elements. And the lyrics? They're the same as every other Adele song: lost love and an aspiration to be more. But I'd say it isn't the best music. And I don't like it. But other people do. And I just don't get it.

When it comes to pop culture, I'm strictly a critic. Whether it concerns sports or music or even food, most anything that is "hot and trending" (except hot StackOverflow questions) means little-to-nothing to me. Simply put, I don't get it.

One side of pop culture is driven by a few talented stars and an enormous fanbase of aspiring or admiring people. This is the slightly-less-irrational side to popular culture, the one that makes sense. Talent is something to be admired and to show off for enjoyment or entertainment. We like what is "good" or "funny" to us. If you think Taylor Swift is a talented singer and that's why you go to her concerts, then that makes sense. Go for it. Only when it gets to crazy concertgoers or even crazier artists does it become senseless.

The other side is more mysterious to me — the part that is driven by everyday people. Contrary to the societal hype over talent, these are the strange "fads," the short-lived bursts of societal energy that suddenly boosts a product's popularity: anything from Silly Bandz to fad diets. Millions of hashtags or likes or views or sales come and go in the matter of weeks. We as a society obsess ourselves with what has become popular, just to fit in; or is it really possible that everyone likes the same thing. In my opinion, it's the same mob mentality that killed Socrates.

Once one of these fads start up, it quickly becomes a social norm— it's everywhere at school and in public; and then it dies. Silently. No warning. It suddenly becomes strange to hold onto something for too long if you like it; it's just "not a thing" anymore. The crowd is supposed to define you.

And then there's the paradoxical phenomenon of the revival. The second debut. It's not impossible; Trivia Crack just made its way back into existence amongst our student population on a lesser scale, but nonetheless enough to be significant.

As always, this can be rooted back to human nature. Everything can— in fact, I've turned all of my essays this year into discussions about the evil within us. (Consequently, I believe this is one reason for my relatively skimpy marks on essays.) Yes, we find confidence in the "popular flow" of society— if we fit in, we feel safe and comfortable. Simple as that. Problem solved.

But, just like in any English paper, there's an exception. A complication. And that's me. Where do I fit in to this "normalcy" of what is "popular" and what is not? I simply don't agree with it— even my other family members, all studious Asians, have given in to the allure of American culture. But not me. I've always consciously resister the urge to give in to this pull, this attraction to the impulses of Americans as a whole. In a conscious manner, I reject having interests one and the same as many others, especially in my age; instead of memorizing songs and artists and sports teams and great movie scenes, I invest my interests into programming and schoolwork. I like to be different, to "go against the [popular] flow," but what does this say about our nature? What am I in our overall existence? Where is my place?

Again, I believe this goes back into the feeling of comfort. I was raised to be STEM-inclined, to love the beauty behind the concretes of maths and sciences. Others find comfort in looking up to others and enjoying the aura of greatness and empowerment they feel in the presence of a superstar. However, I detest that feeling; as I mentioned in my previous post, I am competitive and narcissistic. I want to be the best, and working towards it — with hard-earned education, not by talented performance — and studying is my outlet. Not a love of pop culture.

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Previous post: To Keep or not to Keep?
Next post: Ignorance, Knowledge, and Bubbles

I want to be like water. I want to slip through fingers, but hold up a ship.

Michelle Williams