The Evolution Of Pop Culture

Over the last few decades, the world has witnessed the evolution of many different aspects of popular cultures, such as movies, technology, music, and fashion. Although the medium of Pop Culture has a lot to do with whether or not it actually causes change or if it just reflects on what has taken place. The general trend is that Pop Culture is utilized to reflect changes in people’s attitudes and beliefs, and only in rare instances does it actually cause significant changes. Movies in the 1970s and 80s are prime examples of how popular culture reflects on what is going on in society at the time, however, technological advancements in the 1990s is an anomalous example of when popular culture has caused changes in society.

Movies in the 1970s

Movies, along with Music are elements of pop culture that usually do not strive to trigger change; moreover, they are there for the entertainment of society. They struggle to deliver a message powerful enough to truly change societies morals, attitudes and

The 80s saw a massive boom in the economy (in the US). The period from 1982 to 1987 saw the greatest economic expansion, possibly in history. The ever-growing economy saw the emergence of many ambitious stockbrokers and made for the perfect environment for greed to arise. These real-life events were the basis for the movie “Wall Street” which came out in 1987, it conveyed the theme of greed and the potential consequences of bad decision making. Much like the 70s, although the movie was a realistic depiction of what could happen if stockbrokers grew to become too ambitious and greedy, it still failed to cause a substantial change on the target audience (stockbrokers) went about their business. While sequel was released in 2010, Variety Magazine made a comment about the original film which sums it up pretty well, it reads, “intended as a cautionary tale on the pitfalls of unchecked ambition and greed, Stone's 1987 original instead had the effect of turning Douglas' hugely charismatic (and Oscar-winning) villain into a household name and boardroom icon -- an inspiration to the very power players and Wall Street wannabes for whom he set such a terrible example.” Taking into consideration that this quote does imply change, the impact it had was still very minimal. It may be that the movie gave inspiration to aspiring businessmen, but the movie did not cause change, it