Popular culture

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Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art [cf. pop art] or mass art, sometimes contrasted with fine art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. Mass media, marketing, and the imperatives of mass appeal within capitalism constitute the primary engines of Western popular culture—a system philosopher Theodor Adorno critically termed the 'culture industry'. Heavily influenced in modern times (after World War Two) by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of people in a given society. Therefore, popular culture exerts a significant influence on an individual's attitudes towards certain topics. However, there are various ways to define pop culture. Because of this...

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