A Destination Between Popular Culture And Nostalgia

The desire of consumption become a gigantic aim for our society, for a long time, as we all know; especially in near 21th century. We become the tools as long as culture and popularism, capitalism and the phenomenon of consumption get enlarged, thus we have become superficial automatons, trembling at the thought of losing our humanity, while afraid of translating into that. It becomes like a contagious disease in our century: We subconsciously know that popular culture constantly encourages us to consume, but the perceptions and tools created and employed are so powerful that perhaps we are unable to resist them. From this perspective, we observe the superficiality and homogenization that has emerged. The decline in cultural diversity, monotony, and the distancing from local culture are examples of this homogenization that come to mind. As Dominic Strinati indicates directly, popular culture is in the location of ideological center as an ideological role, he demonstrates: “The ideology of mass culture influences the evaluations audiences make of popular culture even if it gives them obvious pleasure. The production of aesthetic value judgments, and hierarchies of cultural taste, together with the conflicts they give rise to, are therefore relevant to this argument.” Alongside all of this, there is also a commercial orientation, as mass culture is produced for commercial purposes. It is very easy to observe the restriction of diversity and the formation of target audiences; all it takes is turning our heads and looking at each other!

Apart from all these thoughts and notions, it is also important to note that we observe an increase in accessibility due to mass culture. Unfortunately, especially in our country, new things happen every day, most of them negative, and we become aware of them through social media and the spread of cultural elements. For this reason, I prioritize popular culture in terms of accessibility. Likewise, we should also recognize that it creates social bonds by generating a shared cultural experience. In this century, where communication is so difficult and valuable, I believe that sharing something and feeling united on the same front is incredibly important and special.

In terms of historical context, we clearly understand that in the 19th century, popular culture became a phenomenon that shaped the public's understanding of entertainment and culture in a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing world. New technologies not only helped bridge the gaps between social classes, but also facilitated the rapid spread of cultural elements among the masses. Books, newspapers, theater, music, and visual culture emerged as significant elements of popular culture during this period, appealing to broad audiences. (As I indicated above, it creates a bond between people, like a sociological dynamic.)

We know that war, social developments, cultural and technological innovations have always had an impact on culture and popular culture. Consumption patterns have changed radically and we know that the Industrial Revolution, urbanisation, increased education and training have led to changes in entertainment and cultural consumption patterns. It has become accessible to the masses, and as I mentioned above, the perception of accessibility created by popular culture is large and profound. Mass productions, wars, the industrial revolution, publishing and educational technologies, music, entertainment, globalisation have a lot of influence on popular culture, all of them significant influences. In my opinion, the most important aspect is literature, because all these factors have influenced literature and led to the emergence of different literary movements. Let’s see the first paragraphs of one of the my favourite book that I love very much by having mixed emotions: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." We can directly understand how it affects and guide us to understand this century.

Therefore, new social classes, urbanising societies, the working class and the middle class began to give voice to previously ignored communities. In this context, 19th century literature became a medium that reflected the differences and transformation between social classes.

When I was thinking of choosing a popular hobby or one item to discuss, a few items came to my mind, and I wanted to deal with them on literature. Because I think especially newspapers, magazines and popular books have been produced to meet the entertainment and information needs of the masses under the title of popular culture. And it was during this period, in the 19th century, that folk literature and popular novels became readable by the masses, in contrast to the literature that had previously appealed to the elite. Realist and socialist writers became the mirror of the period with works depicting social injustice, poverty and urban life. In this context, I would like to add that we know that the widespread use of the printing press in the 19th century and the increase in mass media such as newspapers and magazines enabled literature to reach a wider audience. The development of the printing press made books cheaper and more accessible, thus making them available to more people. At the same time, performance arts such as theatre and folk music gained an important place as elements of popular culture that appealed to large masses. These means of communication had a great impact on the shaping of popular culture in this period. Popular culture has also been influential in the shaping of society, and the dualistic combination of these two is very effective in terms of sociology and culturology.

In general, the 19th century marks a period in which literature became an important cultural element not only for the elite but also for the masses. The spread of mass media, the social changes brought about by industrialisation and new technologies played a decisive role in shaping popular culture, a deep and sharp role. In addition to shaping the cultural life and entertainment of the public, literature has also been an important instrument of social criticism and the search for individual identity. I think this is an important point that is also analysed from the point of view of existential philosophy and sociology. In other words, literature in this period gained importance not only as a form of cultural expression, but also as a symbol of social change and individual freedom. As a personal opinion, I really don't like the current positioning of popular culture. The fact that dubai chocolates, which cost the same as our electricity bill, are being sold like hot cakes is a summary of our situation and a summary of popular culture. I wanted to analyse literature and communalism in the context of popular culture, because at that time knowledge, culture and sharing things were valuable, they were not trampled on as they are now.