Assignment 1-1

According to Gary Hoppenstand, “popular culture can, and should be anything: television, automobiles, movies, fast food, tattoos, best-selling novels, buildings, music, holidays – the list is potentially endless” (2003, p. 3). Popular culture can really mean anything to anyone. It is anything that a person finds relevant in society. The term “popular culture” is extremely broad, and there are many different perspectives on its meaning. I think it is any person, place, or thing that has made an impact on someone or a culture at any point in time.

Part of popular culture includes people’s tastes. If a company wants to survive, they must have an understanding of what people want in today’s society. People’s wants, desires, and tastes, are ever changing, so a business must be able to keep up with their customers and be ahead of the curve. A business is truly successful if they are able to create a new artifact of popular culture, giving people what they want before they even know they want it.

The understanding of popular culture is very important in the business world. Keeping up with popular culture keeps a business in touch with their clientele. If a company knows what is important to their customers, they will have a much better chance of success. In my business, we work with people of all ages. Being able to understand the parts of popular culture that are important to the different generations will help us better relate to our clientele, allowing us to give them what they want and need.

I would consider the television show Saturday Night Live to be a popular culture artifact. Saturday Night Live has been around for decades and it is something that everyone in America knows about. It is a show that has successfully kept up with each generation. SNL is always current and relevant to what is going on in the world. Along with being a creative and hilarious sketch comedy show, SNL brings the most popular actors and bands to their show, furthering their status as a popular culture artifact. Having these celebrities keeps the show even more up to date and keeps people watching.