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As such, popular culture can also be classified based on its appeal to

The Creation and Consumption of Popular Culture the people it caters to.
• Flops (or Bombs) are popular culture icons that did not meet the
Table of Contents
standards for them to be considered successful. Not everything
Contemporary Trends 1-6 that becomes part of popular culture is famous. Some examples
include the Sony Betamax, the Apple Newton, and Nintendo’s
Enduring High and Folk Cultures 3-4
VirtualBoy console (Gilbert, 2019). It also includes box office
Celebrities 4-6
bombs such as the musical film Cats (by Tom Hooper), Final
Marketability and Industry for Popular 6-7
Fantasy: The Spirits Within (by Hinorobu Sakaguchi), Disney’s
Culture
References 7
live adaptation of Mulan (by Niki Caro), and Emir (by Chito Roño).

Popular culture can be categorized into six (6) major groups. These
major groups are the things that affect everyone as humans, as people
living on the same planet. However, it can also be classified according
to its influence and impact. After all, popular culture is a form of
contemporary trend.

Contemporary Trends
Contemporary trends can be defined by combining the definitions of
the individual words that comprise them.
• The term contemporary is defined as anything existing or Figure 1. Some popular culture icons can become flops despite their fame, and not all flops are unpopular
Source: https://deadline.com/2020/04/box-office-bombs-2019-list-1202918753/
happening within the same period (Merriam-Webster, n.d. (b)). As
an example, Andy Warhol and Lino Brocka were contemporary
artists of the 1900s despite having wildly contrasting creative • Fads are popular culture icons that gain a significant following.
styles. However, they do not last long and can be replaced by the next
“big thing” if given enough time and clamor. People who tend to
• The term trend means either a prevailing inclination, a general
enjoy fads tend to seek variety (Davis, 2021). Some examples
movement, or a current preference (Merriam-Webster, 2021b). As
include the original Justice League (by Zack Snyder), the Aktins
an example, the social media site Twitter keeps track of the
and the South Beach Diet regimens, Flappy Bird, and
current trending topics, events, or people through the use of
Tamagotchi.
hashtags.

As it stands, contemporary trends are current preferences occurring

within the same time period. As an example, social media sites such
as Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are all
trends that became famous in the early 21st century and are
contemporaries with each other, while the social media sites
Friendster, Imeem, Multiply, Vine, and MySpace were all
contemporaries of each other despite their fame in the 21st century.
This is because the Friendster-period social media sites were different
Figure 2. Some fads are memorable because they have become part of our childhood
than the ones in the Facebook period. Source: https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/36376/10-unforgettable-s-fads

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• Sleeper hits are popular culture icons that started out as weak • There are things that are so well-liked by everybody it leaves a
but became famous over time. This is usually applicable in lasting impression on them, be it through the experience of peer
movies. Some examples include I’m Drunk; I Love You (by JP reviews. They are considered blockbuster (or widely
Habac), Ma’ Rosa (by Brillante Mendoza), and Four Sisters and acclaimed) materials. When they become part of popular culture,
a Wedding (by Cathy Garcia-Molina) (Romero, 2019) sometimes they are memorialized for their expressed qualities,
such as aesthetics, creativity, and impact, among others. Some
examples include our national heroes, films such as Titanic (by
James Cameron), My Amnesia Girl (by Cathy Garcia-Molina),
and 3 Idiots (by Rajkumar Hirani), and in literature such as Bata,
Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa? (by Lualhati Bautista), The Fault in
Our Stars (by John Green), and The Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants book series (by Ann Brashares).

Figure 3. It takes a really long time for something to become a sleeper hit
Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/popasia/blog/2019/03/06/7-stories-behind-unexpected-k-pop-sleeper-hits

• Some popular culture icons cater only to certain subcultures

because these subcultures deem that only they show appreciation
to these icons. These gain a cult following because of the fans’
devotion to them. Some examples include Invader Zim (by
Jhonen Vasquez), The Big Lebowski (by the Coen Brothers),
Star Wars (by George Lucas), Mean Girls (by Mark Waters), and Figure 5. James Cameron has directed box-office hits that became part of popular culture
Sources: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/
The Wizarding World (by JK Rowling). In our country, love teams
get a cult following from them, such as Alden Richards - Maine • Parodies, samplings, and remixes are popular culture icons that
Mendoza (or AlDub), Nora Aunor - Tirso Cruz III (or Guy and are made by the people that are consumed by other people. Each
Pip), and Kathryn Bernardo - Daniel Padilla (or KathNiel) to of them aims to provide entertainment, but how they achieve this
name a few. is done differently.
o When something becomes a part of popular culture, expect
that people will create something out of it either out of
appreciation, mockery, or some other reason. When this
happens, parodies are made. Parodies are designed to
imitate or satirize something using the same form
(Vocabulary.com, n.d.). Some examples include Michael V’s
parody songs, which include Bathroom Dance (parodying
Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance), Uh-Oh (parodying UDD’s Oo),
and Isaw Nga (parodying South Border’s Ikaw Nga); “Weird”
Figure 4. Fans who enjoy some cult-following icons feel like their icons are “too good for its time.” Al Yankovic’s parodies such as White & Nerdy (parodying
Sources: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235923/,
https://www.reddit.com/r/invaderzim/comments/cs8yzy/can_we_just_appreciate_the_anime_opening_of_the/ Chamillionaire’s Ridin’) and Perform This Way (parodying

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Lady Gaga’s Born This Way). Parodies can also be seen in

videos, T-shirt prints, and stage performances.

Figure 7. Ava Max is famous for using samples to other songs, such as Aqua
Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH1RNk8954Q, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhrYis509A

o Some people completely “rip apart” one (1) music piece and
Figure 6. Can you tell which is Lady Gaga’s and which is Michael V’s?
Sources: https://mega.onemega.com/10-years-later-lady-gaga-proves-why-bad-romance-was-ahead-of-its-time/, “repurpose” it in another song, combining two (2) or more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2pSh9t3L5k
songs into one (1) cohesive piece that is altogether a new
thing for others to consume. This is what people refer to as
o Other people use some elements of popular culture and reuse remixing, defined as a variant of an original recording made
them to create new things from it without the intention of through rearrangement of the piece or by adding more layers
satirizing it or completely imitating it. Particularly used in the to the original piece (Collins Online Dictionary, n.d.). Music
music industry, some singers do samplings for their music. producers and disc jockeys (or DJs) cater to the creation of
Sampling, simply put, is a reuse of a particular song’s portion remixes.
in another recording (Cornell, 2016). Famous songs such as
Ava Max’s Kings and Queens and Coolio’s Gangsta’s Enduring High and Folk Cultures
Paradise use samples from Bonnie Tyler’s If You Were a It has been stressed that popular culture is made by the people, for
Woman and Stevie Wonder’s Pastime Paradise, the people. It has also been stressed that the working class dictates
respectively. Whether intentional or otherwise, it allows other which aspects of their cultures shall be retained and which ones will
people to experience the other icons they are not exposed to. be removed. Despite the various popular icons that have come and
gone and the intense scrutiny of the masses to popular, folk, and high
cultures, some parts in both folk and high cultures endure to this day.

These icons are what people call the classics. Depending on the
spectrum being observed, one (1) classic to one subculture is different

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from other subcultures – although there are icons that are not For folk culture, the Philippines has a multitude of folk instruments;
completely exclusive to a particular subculture. As an example, in the some of them are featured in the works of ASIN and in the 2013
ballet subculture, Tchaikovsky’s The Nut Cracker is a must-have for Department of Tourism ad campaign, “WOW Philippines” through their
dancers who wish to perform in a standard recital. This enduring high music video, Biyahe Tayo.
culture icon is also shared with the Christmas subculture in the West.

Figure 10. ASIN is a Filipino folk-rock band that uses its music to spearhead topics that require discussion and
change
Figure 8. Another of Tchaikovsky’s work, “Swan Lake”, is already made into different iterations, but somehow Source: https://www.last.fm/music/Asin/+wiki
retaining its plot and some characters
Sources: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383206/reviews, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9499432/,
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/
Celebrities
On September 30, 2021, YouTube gamer Charles “Charlie” White
Another example is Lea Salonga. She is an icon of both popular and Jr. (known online as penguinz0 Cr1TiKaL) commented about the
high cultures because of her diverse theater musical, play, and film rapidly declining health of YouTuber Nicholas Perry (known online as
performances. Her notable roles include Eponine in Les Misérables, Nikocado Avocado) due to his mukbang content – which led to Perry’s
Kim in Miss Saigon, the singing voices of two (2) Disney Princesses obesity while also gaining Perry’s fame. This comment video started
– Jasmine and Mulan, and Gail in Yellow Rose. an online tirade between the two (2) YouTubers, which sparked the
conversation about health, well-being, and body positivity.

Both YouTubers are considered online celebrities, with White

appearing alongside US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, during the 2020 US Elections, and with US rapper T-Pain
playing the famous online Mafia-like game Among Us.

But what is a celebrity? What makes one a star?

Being a celebrity is defined as the state of being celebrated (Merriam-

Webster, n.d. (a)). Therefore, in this context, it is a general recognition
of a person or a group as a result of fame given to them by the mass
Figure 9. Lea Salonga is famous worldwide for her contributions to Disney and theater
Source: https://www.playbill.com/article/from-miss-saigon-to-once-on-this-island-celebrate-lea-salonga-on-stage media. As such, whether in film, television, and (currently) on the
Internet, anyone can become a celebrity – given that the mass media
give them attention and publicity (Sasson, n.d.).

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What makes them part of popular culture is their genesis – celebrities • Actors are people who perform visual entertainment with varying
are made, not born. They can either be short-lived or enduring, genres. These can include stage and theater plays, television
depending on their rise to fame. Such stars can also be categorized shows, films, and (currently) web series. Examples include Chris
the way popular culture is categorized. Pratt, Winston Duke, Lea Salonga, Eva Noblezada, Hugh
• Entertainment: Some examples include Briliante Mendoza, Jackman, and Lee Young-Ae.
Lualhati Bautista, Dingdong Dantes, Angel Locsin, Guillermo del • Reality show participants are people who join game shows shot
Torro, Marilyn Monroe, and Selena Quintanilla. live for others to watch at home. People who enter these
• Lifestyle: Some examples include Ben Cab, Vera Wang, Jose competitions eventually become famous themselves. Examples
Nepomuceno, as well as chefs and foodies such as Pablo “Boy” include Kim Chiu, Melisa “Melai” Cantiveros, Ejay Falcon, James
Logro, Erwan Heussaff, Gordon Ramsay, Tonipet Gaba, Roger Reid, Mark Herras, Jennylyn Mercado, Jeric Gonzales, LJ Reyes,
Mooking, and Adam Richman. Aljur Abrenica, Sandara Park, David Giuntoli, and Melissa Ricks.
• Sports: Some examples include competitive eSports gamers • TV presenters are people who host events that are seen on
such as Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, Jinn television. These include newscasters, event hosts, radio DJs,
Marrey “Palos” Lamatao alongside traditional athletes such as and masters of the ceremony (MCs). Examples include Mel
Kobe Bryant, Kiefer Ravena, Chris Tiu, Willy Wang, and Bea Tiangco, Tim Yap, Jeffrey “Mr. Fu” Espiritu, and Raymond
Binene. Gutierrez.
• News: Some examples include Anderson Cooper, Henry Omaga- • Athletes are people who compete in sports events. Nowadays, it
Diaz, Noli de Castro, Mike Enriquez, and Kara David. It can also also includes eSports players. Examples include Alvin Patrimonio,
include infamous people on the news, such as Charles Manson, Marc Pingris, Danil “Dendi” Ishutin, Ryan Jay “Raging Potato” Qui,
Ted Bundy, and Asiong Salonga. and Hidilyn Diaz.
• Politics: Some examples include Aung San Suu Kyi, Harry • Politicians are people who run for government office and are
Roque, Ernesto “Che” Guevarra, Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” sworn to help their countrymen and protect the country from
Aquino III, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Chiang Kai-shek, foreign interests. Examples include Rodrigo Duterte, Corazon
Mao Zedong, Shinzo Abe, Vladimir Putin, Margaret Thatcher, and Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, and Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao.
Kim Jong-Un. • Persons-of-Interests are people who become celebrities either
• Technology: Some examples include Laina Morris (“Overly through association or infamy. The term used for this
Attached Girlfriend”), Kyle Craven (“Bad Luck Brian”). It also contemporary trend is called celebrification, the process wherein
covers YouTubers such as Lloyd Café Cadena, Helen Payawal an individual (ordinary people or public figures) become a celebrity
(“HelenOnFleek”), Tyler Oakley, and Jimmy Donaldson (or famous).
(“MrBeast”) alongside casual gamers such as Gian Lois o People become celebrities through association if they have
Concepcion (“GLOCO”), Mark Edward Fischbach (“Markiplier”), prior connections to any existing celebrities or well-known
Sean William McLoughlin (“Jacksepticeye”), and Felix Arvid Ur groups and made names for themselves independent from
Kjellberg (“PewDiePie”). their associates. Examples include Kim Kardashian (as the
stylist of Paris Hilton), Jacksepticeye (after being given a
As one would notice, each celebrity can also be classified into seven shout-out from PewDiePie), and Tessa Prieto-Valdes (being
(7) main groups of celebrity fame (or infamy). A celebrity can dabble a member of the wealthy Rufino clan).
into more categories than they originally classify as. o People would become celebrities through infamy if they
• Singers are people who perform vocal performances called earned a negative reputation for themselves, usually through
songs. Examples include Jasmine Trias, Regine Velasquez- crime. Examples include Charles Manson (for starting a cult),
Alcasid, KZ Tandingan, BTS, and Blackpink.

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Janet Lim-Napoles (for swindling money via PDAF scam), and their marketing campaigns. As an example, Stranger Things became
Osama Bin-Laden (for acts of terrorism). a hit phenomenon – and as such, companies such as Nike, Burger
King, and Coca Cola recognized the potential in this and began to sell
But why do we idolize them so much (and yes, there are people who merchandise that surrounds Stranger Things (Claybrook, 2019).
worship criminals)?
But, remember, in the previous modules, it has been established that
There are a few reasons why: popular culture is also made by businesses to capitalize on the
1. The public idolizes people because they are viewed as important, working class’ consumer-based actions. As such, companies also
powerful, or even famous – and because many people know about drive popular culture through selling merchandise that surrounds
them. popular culture icons and trends. Without them, the general public will
2. Most live vicariously (i.e., watching other people do something and not be able to fulfill their function to filter out the ones that will stay and
imagine that they did it) through them because man desires to be the ones that must be left behind (McAllister, 2003; Crossman, 2019).
recognized.
3. Following celebrities drive some people to lead different lives However, businesses can do more with popular culture than using it
because of their vicarious actions, which can be both a positive for relevance.
and a negative.
4. Gossips involving celebrities seem livelier and more valuable. As studied by Magna Global, IPG Media Lab, and Twitter, entitled “The
5. Some are attracted to the aesthetics of their idols. Impact of Culture,” businesses can capitalize on popular culture to
6. Curiosity is the main driving factor why people are fascinated with grab the attention of consumers – especially to the younger
celebrities. generations (Sharpe, 2021). This is because people are starting to
7. There is a certain amount of affinity between the audience and the look at what is present in today’s culture that can help them decide
celebrities they follow each time they see them. what to buy.

Celebrities are people, too. It is just that mass media (sometimes, As revealed in the research, 83% of the sample population think of
even the paparazzi) keep on following them, giving the average Jane culture as more than just traditional. As the consumer sample put it,
and Joe a glimpse of their lives. businesses should be more involved in popular culture, particularly in
addressing social issues and movements (Magna, 2019).
Marketability and Industry for Popular Culture
As discussed earlier, popular culture is made by the people, for the
people. As such, businesses can capitalize on popular culture to sell
their merchandise.

But why do businesses use this tactic?

Simply put, relevance.

Businesses are now beginning to pick up on this trend and have

started to change their marketing strategies to stay relevant in the
public conscience and entice more customers. In the United States, at
least 28% of the most successful businesses use popular culture in Figure 11. People begin looking to culture as a basis for brand involvement
Source: https://magnaglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Magna-IPG-Lab-Impact-of-Culture-US.pdf

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To summarize, McAllister, M. P. (2003). Is commercial culture popular culture?: A

1. Businesses create a popular culture to stay relevant. In the past, question for popular communication scholars. Pennsylvania
it is effective to keep on top of every working class’s mind. State University.
However, with today’s standards, consumers are now expecting http://php.scripts.psu.edu/users/m/p/mpm15/CommercialCult
businesses to be more involved with other aspects of popular ure.pdf
culture, such as addressing social issues. Merriam-Webster (n.d.). “Celebrity”. Accessed October 5, 2021, from
2. While businesses can jump into the popular culture bandwagon, it Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: https://www.merriam-
does not mean that every business should do the same. webster.com/dictionary/celebrity
Businesses should be insightful in their approach to ensure Merriam-Webster (n.d.). “Contemporary”. Accessed September 29,
authenticity and maintain appropriate brand alignment. 2021, from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
3. In terms of ad presentations, culturally-focused advertising https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemporary
performs differently based on the target audience and their Merriam-Webster (n.d.). “Trend”. Accessed September 29, 2021, from
environment – in all spectrum ranges (i.e., traditional (or folk), Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: https://www.merriam-
popular, and high). webster.com/dictionary/trend
Romero, M. (2019, June 20). Sleeper hit movies are our local film
industry’s wake up call. Inside Manila.
References: https://insidemanila.ph/article/645/sleeper-hit-movies-are-
Claybrook, A. (2019, August 8). How Brands are Using Pop Culture to our-local-film-industrys-wake-up-call
Boost Their Relevance. Market Scale. Sasson, R. (n.d.). Why do we idolize and admire celebrities. Success
https://marketscale.com/industries/retail/brands-pop-culture- Consciousness.
relevance/ https://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/happiness-
Collins Online Dictionary (n.d.). “Remix”. Accessed October 1, 2021, fun/why-we-idolize-and-admire-celebrities/
from Collins Online Dictionary: Sharpe, N. (2021, January 28). Make it pop: How brands boost their
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/remix relevance with pop culture. Spiralytics.
Cornell, K. (2016). Music sampling: Breaking down the basics. https://www.spiralytics.com/blog/boost-relevance-with-pop-
Tunecore. https://www.tunecore.com/blog/2016/08/music- culture/
sampling-breaking-down-the-basics.html Vocabulary.com (n.d.). “Parody”. Accessed October 1, 2021 from
Crossman, A. (2019). Sociological definition of popular culture. Vocabulary.com:
ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/popular-culture- https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/parody
definition-3026453
Davis, B. (2021, February 25). What are examples of fads?.
Mvorganizing.Org. https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-are-
examples-of-fads/
Gilbert, B. (2019, October 18). 25 of the biggest failed products from
the world's biggest companies. Business Insider.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-product-flops-in-
history-2016-12
Magna (2019). The impact of culture - Magna Global. Author.
https://magnaglobal.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/05/Magna-IPG-Lab-Impact-of-Culture-
US.pdf

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