From the Kore: no. 27:   Social Happiness

February 1, 2005

Sort of realized something.  Well, more like something clicked in my mind and I was reminded of the things that I wrote about in high school.  I’m in university now, which is a little different, since peer pressure isn’t shoved into my face and I have created a bubble for myself. But I was sitting in Literary Theory, and the lecture was about social realism and something clicked. 

The point that culture drills definitions into people’s brains, and thus we get our definitions of beauty, justice, good and bad, was made in the lecture.  (For my purposes, I’m currently including religion as a part of culture.  Just so that you know.)  This is fairly easy to see, but are we really aware of how much this affects us? 

I’ve never really understood culture to begin with, so it’s easier (in my opinion) for me to step back and totally ignore popular culture.  Actually, popular culture disgusts me.  My roommate was telling me about a few popular TV shows, and I felt like I had to puke.  That’s what is considered entertainment?  No wonder people are messed up and so easy for popular culture to latch on! 

When I want to escape reality (because that’s what entertainment is, escapism), I want to totally escape reality.  Dreaming about things doesn’t make things happen, and I’m not sure that I’ll be happy with what people tell me that I should want to have, in order to be happy.  Money doesn’t last forever.

But this makes me ask, who really profits from popular culture?  Really, who?  Mostly big companies who leech the money, just because they think ‘money is everything, money makes me happy’.  Really, does it?  If I had to be a part of the whole scheme, I’d rather just give them the money and save my brain from rotting. 

The beauty of this is that I don’t have to.  I’m free to make my own choices, think for myself and defining my own definitions. 

Now I ask you, how much of what you do is because everyone else is doing it, or because that is what other people says is right?  Are you other people?