Importance of Popular Culture

Historically relegated, popular culture has managed in recent times to become a sociological phenomenon worthy of being studied and analyzed. With unique components, often disruptive of the order and with proposals or dynamic structures and always changing, the expressions that fall within the concept that we will define here continue to be transformed day by day.

Is there more than one form of culture?

through the history, the analysis of culture and art from different parts of the world was built customarily from the expressions of the most powerful classes, and this was so for two main reasons. On the one hand, from an intentional point of view, the powerful classes have always sought to create or consolidate their hegemony by establishing their expressions and cultural forms as the only ones, the preeminent. On the other hand, the culture of the elites was always the only one to be registered for practical reasons, since it was the only one that had the instruments to do so.

However, in recent centuries both the West and the East have shown significant progress in taking popular culture into account as one more form of human creation. In this sense, the culture of the working sectors, of migrants, of the declassed, of minorities has begun to establish itself as one more form of culture and has begun to be respected as such.

What elements characterize this form of culture?

When we talk about this type of culture, we refer to an endless number of expressions that remain outside of elite, academic or official culture. Thus, as the first element we must mention phenomena that escape officialdom and that are recreated in very diverse and dynamic ways, in almost permanent change.

For example, if the religion country is Catholicism, popular culture builds that form of religion through the worship of saints, emblematic figures, myths and legends that may or may not join Catholicism and become something only. In the same way it happens with painting (which usually escapes galleries and museums to be shown in the streets), the music (which does not follow the official canons and even has a much greater arrival in the town), the traditions, the festivities, celebrations and all kinds of expressive issues.

Why is it important to recognize these cultural forms?

Recognize and give value to the forms of popular culture that are born and develop in a society it is essential to understand the forms of mentality that can characterize the popular sectors. In this sense, we cannot really understand the idiosyncrasy of a society without taking into account the popular culture, respect it and allow it to develop in the same way as the official forms or elitist.

In general, the culture of the popular sectors encompasses much more people and symbolizes unimaginable emotions or expressiveness.

Images: Fotolia. nuanz – Gstudio