Pop Culture, Stereotypes and Californication

This picture doesn't belong to me but I thought it would be really interesting to include in today's post due to its relevance.

I came across this picture you see above while surfing for images about stereotypes and pop culture.

I've been thinking about the media's influence on society, both on a negative and positive foundation. Indeed, it is very interesting to fashion and chart societal trends based on the media's influences.

Has our society deteriorated to such a state where trends and routes are charted based on whatever that's coming out of the television channels or radio stations?

To some extent, I believe that the media can be considered a tool to lead as well as to assert certain ideologies into the typical society. The evident presence of "pop culture" is an obvious symptom that the society is very much influenced by the media.

Pop culture is actually, Popular culture in short and simply put, it refers "contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted" (as cited from dictionary.com). And by the term "generally accepted", I can safely assume that it means "generally accepted" by the society.

An intervention?

Certainly so as the media is the one which defines and tells the society of what's "generally accepted". Things like profanities are often shun upon in society as with certain issues like homosexuality, freedom of speech and even parenting issues.

We see pop cultures everyday, right from the minute you wake up as the radio blares from the kitchen while your mother makes you breakfast till the time comes for bed in the evening, with the late night news flashing images of destruction, chaos and poverty around the world.

We then come to the issue of stereotypes.

This, I feel, is a largely interesting topic to talk about. Especially since there are such a big myriad of different societal stereotypes that at some point their lives, everyone will be classified as a certain stereotype.

Again, we see stereotypes everyday and largely deduced from the way a person carries himself/herself and the general physical appearance as perceived by the general society.

Lets look at a couple of examples to start with;


Case 1: A teenager with streaks of red in his hair standing outside a train station smoking.

Case 2: A blonde having trouble at the counter with her payment causing a huge delay at the lines of a supermarket.

Case 3: A street performer playing the guitar along the underground subway.


I'm sure that most if not all of you have, in some form or another, came across such scenarios.

From the society's viewpoint, the teenager in case 1 would be commonly themed as a "gangster" or an individual with little or no education, someone's who's destined for failure in life. But what if I told you that the person in case 1 was an aspiring and rising young acting talent on the streets of Hollywood?

As with case 2, there is this common stereotype that "all blondes are dumb". But what if I told you that the reason of the delay was due to the lady not being able to find her credit card instead of her wits?

Case 3 is a common scenario. We see someone basking in the underground passageways with his guitar case opened in front of him and we automatically deduce that he's begging for alms. What if that street performer was a rich retiree with nothing more then a deep love for music running in his veins?

We see here that stereotypes are scary as it transforms people into something that they ain't suppose to be.

Personally, I have been the subject of stereotypes, as with my friends and the people around me. I'm sure everyone has been, at some point in their lives.

And I guess that was why the Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote the song "Californication" (as seen/heard here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn28aGYytxs).

This song tells of the media's negative impact on society, which I feel, demonstrates and illustrates the situation perfectly.

Below is one of my favorite lyrical verses of the song;

It's the edge of the world
And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the East
At least it settles in the final location
It's understood that Hollywood
sells Californication

Pay your surgeon very well
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin
Or is that war your waging

[Chorus:]
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication

There are various issues being talked (or sung, rather) about here. Things like Plastic Surgery, Hollywood and Pornography. The rest of the song talks about other social issues like natural disasters, the credibility of space travel and even teenage pregnancies.

The term Californication derives from California, the State (or was it county, I'll need verification on that) which Hollywood is located at.

I appreciate songs like these with deep meaning embedded in their lyrics though it must be noted that one a musical front, the Red Hot Chili Peppers is an awesome band in itself.

Moving slightly away from that, the new school semester is approaching and it spells a new chapter with newer challenges in the field of media.

I hope to revolutionize the media and its function for the better good. The media is a powerful thing in itself and when harnessed correctly, the possibilities are endless.

I foresee the new semester to be tougher than the previous and with good reason too; life is of course, based off improvements. And only then will we be able to develop further and better.

This will also see a personal challenge for me to juggle both my personal and professional mindset together in a delicate pendulum.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post as much as I did though I have to admit that its a wee bit wordy for an "update" (but too informal for an article post).

But before I end this post, let me post a question back to you guys;

"Do you think that there should be Stereotypes in Society?"

So yea, just a little something for all of you to chew on and think about. I appreciate feedback so I'd love to hear from all of you!

Remember to check back for updates and article posts as I await the coming of the new semester.

Also, my best of wishes for all those who're en route to taking their major exams (ie. O levels, A levels, PSLE etc).

Cya'll later.

*All references made in this insight post is purely made up and fictional. Resemblances are strictly by coincidence. The owner and its management team does not, in any way, support smoking prior to the references made and hopes that all readers to lead a smoke-free, healthy lifestyle.*

Differentiation; Not Your Average Math Question.

(A response to http://afrotoast.blogspot.com/, check it out)

As mentioned, this article is dedicated to a request from afrotoast, a friend of mine.

Since I had nothing else but (school) work on my mind these few days (refer to the previous post for details), I'll conjure an article up within 30 minutes or so.

Incoming Wall of text; you have been warned.

Our society has it in such a way that when an individual is adversely different in a certain way or manner, other people will tend to look at him or her differently. This is what we call a generalisation or the more commonly used term, stereotyping.

"A simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group" (as cited from dictionary.com) defines the term "stereotype".

But what does stereotyping got to do with being different in the society?

As mentioned earlier, the act of stereotyping or generalisation is very often used when someone tries to stand out in a crowd. Obviously, this is very situational in a sense that you doing something perfectly normal in a set group may seem like taboo in another group.

Stereotyping is used to treat people acting differently in a group due to the fact that we as humans have this "oh that person is so different from the rest of us, so he must be a weird-do thus lets stay away from him" mentality. You can't say that you've never ever encountered a situation like that ever before haven't you?

This is harsh but its evident and happening in our world as we speak. Its due to this type of stereotyping that actually discourages creativity and discourages people to go "beyond their limits".

What is it with our modern society that condemns such individuals with stereotypical equations? Is it wrong to afterall, be different?

I personally believe that everyone, and I really mean everyone, at some point in their lives, will develop an urge to be different in a way or another; superficially or otherwise. This is largely due to the fact that when you're in a group, you want to stand out from the mass of other people and thus the only way to stand out is to portray yourself differently.

Notice that this can work both ways; positively and negatively.

The effects of both ways elaborated are rather straightforward as standing out from the crowd would either mean you're exceptionally good versus the person that gets left out or gets picked the last at football games.

But should people let the society dictate the way their lives should be led and lived?

I think not.

I'm sure I've mentioned in my previous blog entries that it is always good to "get out of your comfort zones" and "go over your personal limit" as it often reaps unexpected results, so as long as one doesn't overdo it. When you live in a society and are part of it, it is very much likely that you as an individual will get influence at how the way things work throughout the society and naturally, you'll not even think about distinguishing yourself as peer pressure is an element and you're not comfortable to being treated differently.

But lets face it realistically, who likes being treated differently? I'm sure and assume that everyone wants to be treated as an equal in society and nothing less and to be totally honest, I'm not even sure myself if I can personally withstand being treated as a lesser in society; its not that simple and easy to get by.

This is also the reason why racism is such a controversial topic in the world as it talks about the different in skin colour and the inequality faced. I'll not go into explicit detail due to the controversy (as mentioned) but i feel that people shouldn't be judged based on their skin colour and race; its just not fair.

Coming back on topic, certain aspects of being different from the masses are critical in understanding human behaviour and actions (some of which I've already elaborated on).

In a way, we say everyone is different. That claim holds a certain degree of truth as yes, we are very different living beings individually due to a number of aspects, like the way we think for instance, but what if the way people think about a certain subject is altered by the way the society is structured and worked? Aren't we all the same and back to square one?

No, I have my own belief that everyone is different in their own special way no matter how much influence and grip the society has on them. In a sense, every living organism on the planet is different; even twins share distinct differences, be it mentally or physically.

Being different doesn't always have to be an outright action or having a distinct personality so as long as we believe that we're all unique.

So the next time you feel left out and ostracized in a group remember that you're afterall, you and no one will be able to replace that no matter how different or similar you are as compared to the rest of the group.

And thus, the next time you smile at a stranger and the person looks at you funny, think not of it as a social faux pas, but as a step towards a different and more enriching life.