It is not difficult to see the evidence of popular culture in nearly every aspect of the life of a student. The music we listen to, the posts we retweet, the memes we reblog, the sly underhand “shade” we throw at each other: they are all indicators of the effect that our entertainment has on us as a body of young people. Take a moment to observe the cheerleaders “whipping” at the next football game, recognize the jokes about Donald Trump floating around on the lips of your peers, and acknowledge the references to the favorite boy bands of an achingly large demographic. There are many examples of pop culture overtaking our lives.
The important thing to recognize is that despite being a fun, unifying thread students can all relate to, its themes of sexism, violence, racism, homophobia, and substance abuse are often apparent. There’s Dr. Dre beating women, Josh Duggar molesting his sisters, Buzzfeed posting articles about young girls and “hot teachers”, YouTube stars promoting drinking to excess with bits like “My Drunk Kitchen” and “Drunk Makeup Tutorial” (looking at you, Jenna Marbles), and stars like Chris Carter, who told new NFL rookies that if they have a “...crew, one of them fools need to know that they're going to jail…get yourself a fall guy.” Twitter accounts like “@TheFunnyRacist”, and “@TheMeninist” are depressingly not few in number, despite posting no lack of offensive content.
So, why is it necessary to talk about the things that are widely talked about? Here’s a hint: although popular culture affects more than simply young people, its largest viewership is students. Its offensive innuendos are present in all high schools; it’s in pep rallies, football games, classrooms, and even the mouths of teachers. In an environment with a frighteningly high suicide rate, full of bullies and tyrants, perhaps we can point our little accusing fingers at the not-so hilarious jokesters, the "trolls," of the internet and the media.
No, that doesn't mean that “Pepe” should take all the blame. A meme about a sad frog doesn't have much to do with racism or the oppression of women. However, the people who create these images of delightfully funny disrespect- these entertaining mirages of hidden insults- and choose to seek the bad and the offensive in the memes, posts, videos, and gifs to then exploit it among their classmates should probably shoulder the blame. Most would agree that it is not wrong to laugh at a slightly racist joke while scrolling through your Tumblr. After all, being gay, black, or a girl isn't an insult until someone makes it one. The same is true with popular culture. Those who enjoy a good meme or “My Drunk Kitchen” video should not be ostracized. It is the people, the students, who strip away the funny and comedic and leave the bare, offensive underbelly who should be recognized. It is those who use the funny, relatable content of most popular culture to exploit, bully, and insult others who are the real criminals here. Laugh and smile at YouTube videos or gifs of fat cats, but leave the associated “shade” and “roasting” for the Twitter feeds.
