MTV Culture And Music TV In Popular Culture - Research Paper Example

College: MTV culture and music TV in popular culture Introduction There is no doubt that music TV has influenced the culture of the people who view the channel and other music TV channels in the entertainment and communication industry. Popular culture as dictated by lack of any consigned knowledge has been the trend in the current world and none of the communication channels has had huge influence on the evolution and growth of popular culture like MTV and music TV. MTV and music TV have played a great role in shaping the public opinion about life and use of leisure time, filmmaking, newsgathering techniques, popular politics and public figures, and the world politics in general. The range of MTV and music TV coverage on life issues has been a major factor in shaping public opinion. Importantly is the coverage of life issues, entertainment, and world issues that affect the young people. This paper will focus on MTV and music TV’s role in the evolution and development of popular culture. Brief background The term popular culture emerged in the 19th century to denote the cultural and education disposition of the lower classes. Popular culture can be defined as ways and means of life that are communicated by messages that have little or no intellectual and aesthetic demands through content that is designed purposefully for amusement and entertainment. Popular culture includes music, sports, and other activities that have huge audiences. Popular culture is different from other forms of messages like artworks, classical music and opera that require high intellectual capabilities to decode the meanings and underlying messages (Berrong 13-15). Popular culture is the epitome of mass communication and is distributed across all forms of mass communication like newspapers, radio, televisions, novels, books, cartoons, comics and advertisements. Popular culture emerged during the Industrial Revolution due to increase in leisure time that led to need for increased amusement and entertainment. Further, the increase of goods production led to increased need for advertisements so as to attract customers. This led to growth of mass media. With the desire to have huge following and cover, mass media engineered strategies to influence as many people as possible. Some of these strategies revolve around creating a culture that is consistent with the needs of the people, the products being advertised, and that can influence the beliefs, behaviors and attitudes of people regarding certain products and services to the targeted audience (Crothers 113-114). Music TV, MTV culture in popular culture One of the most popular culture edifices is music. Music stalks all life realms and it is impossible to find an individual who does not like any kind of music. Since its establishment in 1981, MTV has had a great influence in the way popular culture especially in music industry has evolved and developed. It is hard to distinguish pop culture, MTV and music TV. There is no other mass media communication network that has had such influence and control over popular cultural evolution than the two networks (Rojek 199). MTV as a mass media communication network has greatly impacted the way people hold beliefs about politics, dressing, public figures, and other life elements that the network communicates to the audience. One of the credits that MTV has had is the way it has shaped the music industry. MTV and other music TV networks have taken a revolutionary turn by airing certain types of music that are conversant with the audience. For example, MTV has shaped people’s taste of music through repeated airing of pop music and gangsta rap that dominates the world popular culture. The repeated airing of these types and genres of music has also impacted on the way people live their daily lives (Rojek 195). The huge impacts of MTV and music TV is the change of belief, behaviors and attitudes associated with some life aspects. For example, the popular dressing styles found in many parts of the world have been created by influence of the MTV and music TV through adopting the styles used by the music figures (Artz and Kamalipour 231). MTV and music TV influence on popular culture can also be credited to the strategies that the networks use in changing the beliefs and attitudes of people to certain products and services that they advertise. Mass media has been left mainly to the private sector which uses it for profit making purposes only. To gain as much profit as possible, mass media communication networks must influence the culture of the people through airing attracting media. In particular is the use of music as an entertainment and advertisement tool (Rojek 198). Many companies use music icons to influence the tastes and preferences of people pertaining to certain products and services. For example, Elvis Presley was a music icon who companies used for advertisement in his pop music. One of the recent MTV and music TV media is the rap music (“Magazine Americana” n.pag). Rap music evolution and development has been greatly aided by the two mass media communication networks. Rap music has increased in popularity owing to the media coverage it enjoys mainly in MTV and other music TV networks. The influence of rap music as popular culture is evident in the popular, movies and vocabulary used by both the whites and blacks in America. Of interest is the unchecked influence that MTV and music TV networks are having on the young population. Mass media communication networks have devised strategies that revolve around influencing the beliefs, behaviors and attitudes of people from a young age. The contents in the networks thus have a huge influence on the evolution and development of the popular culture that the young generation is socialized in carries with it to adulthood and in turn uses it to socialize the next generation (“Magazine Americana” n.pag; Artz and Kamalipour 232). It is important to note that MTV and music TV has given the youth and the oppressed groups a forum to express their desires, needs and wants. In essence, the networks have provided a forum for people to rebel against the culture they see as oppressive and too much demanding. MTV and music TV thrive and derive following from the choice of music that transcends the cultural and socio-economic boundaries that defines genres of music like classical music. These genres of popular music express the desires of young people and the oppressed, which has played a great a huge role in shaping the behaviors, beliefs and attitudes of these groups towards life. The consequences are clearly exhibited by the expressions of these beliefs, behaviors and attitudes in the popular of these groups. It can be argued that throughout history, media has defined the range of behaviors and beliefs accepted by a society. Further, the expression and display of behaviors and beliefs is contingent with the approval of the society, which in most cases is propagated by the mass media. Owing to this fact, the likes, preferences, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and disposition of people towards certain aspects can be studied by observing the contents of mass media (Artz and Kamalipour 231-232). Music covers many aspects of life including language use, fashion, political opinions, expression, and other life elements. These aspects form the popular culture of a people in that they dictate their lives. Thus, MTV and music TV express the popular culture through airing contents that touch on the life of the people. A major function of the mass media and in particular MTV and music TV is creating awareness of products, services, and new life elements among the people. Through repeated airing, the new aspects are assimilated into the existing culture forming a part of it. This is the scenario in popular culture where MTV and music TV introduce new elements that influence the way popular culture changes with time (Artz and Kamalipour 232). MTV and music TV has attracted wide criticisms from many people who view it as a distraction from the meaningful culture that many would like people to adopt. But the problem begs the meaning of the term meaningful culture. The establishment of MTV as an entertainment network targeted the young people and the baby boomer of the late 1980s. MTV success depended on the nature of entertainment content and the future effects it would have on the people in relation to music consumption and its appeal on the culture of the people. Perhaps, the criticism of the music TV is misplaced. Goodwin argues that the cultural paradigm of music and the critics that have followed its influence on popular culture are misplaced. MTV music must be understood in the context of the meanings that people derive from the visual intents and dispositions (Goodwin 3-4). It is within these interpretative contexts that the influence of MTV and music TV on popular culture can be understood. However, the contents and context of MTV and music TV and its connotation with popular culture and especially to the young people are true. One of the most intriguing aspects of MTV and music TV is the choice of music and iconography. The extent of influence that MTV and music TV have on popular culture can be represented by the creation of popular figures in the American perspective. Before MTV, important people and society icons were picked out due to their deeds that benefitted the society, for example, Neil Armstrong, George Washington, and scientists. However, MTV and music TV have evolved the type of national heroes and elevated music icons to national heroes. Musicians like Elvis Presley, Tu Pac, Ice Cube, and Michael Jackson, among other musicians have taken the world of heroism. Popular culture has been greatly influenced by MTV and music TV to change the beliefs about heroism in the country. MTV and music TV continues to influence the lives of young people, which shape the popular culture in the society. In spite of the criticisms of MTV and music TV roles in shaping popular culture, it is good to note that the influence shapes and drives out demand for art and higher culture. Conclusion Popular culture as a characteristic of people’s life has evolved over time to the current one. The mass media has played a great role in influencing the evolution and development of popular culture. In particular is the role of music in shaping popular culture that has been propagated by MTV and music TV. The search for larger following, coupled with the need to make profits by the mass media has increased the need for contents popular with the people. MTV and music TV has targeted the young people, oppressed and the minority, which has created a revolutionary culture aimed at rebelling from the existing culture. The music has greatly influenced the revolution, which has been manifested in behaviors, beliefs and attitudes of people. MTV and music TV continue to influence popular culture through commanding huge following from the young people. Works cited Goodwin, Andrew. Dancing In the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1990. Print. Magazine Americana. Music: Rap and Young, White Males: Masculinity, masking and denial. 2001. Web. 1 April 2014. Berrong, Richard. Rabelais and Bakhtin: Popular culture in Gargantua and Pantagruel. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1986. Print. Rojek, Chris. Pop Music, Pop Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011. Print. Artz, Lee and Kamalipour, Yahya. The Globalization of Corporate Media Hegemony. SUNNY Press, 2003. Print. Crothers, Lane. Globalization and American Popular Culture. 3rd ed. Plymouth: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Read More