When Will Rogers said, “everything is changing people are taking comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke”; he ought to have included that the masses are taking seriously what they consume through Pop and High Culture. Mainly TV, Film, Books and Musical Lyrics, and Art.
The times the world finds itself in the entertainment industry has never been more important being as our outdoor activities have been rife with interruptions due to the pandemic that has crippled the world. Globally we are in a paradigm of lockdowns, spending more time indoors unprecedentedly. Consequently, screen time has increased for many if not all as we follow the progress on war against the virus, plus recreational be it Ebooks, Streaming Platforms etc. Pop and high culture have the power to inspire both good and bad.
We are binge-watching our favourite programmes from all genres to keep our lockdowns meaningful and less dull. Apart from filling the blank spaces, films educate and reinforce our collective learnt values and beliefs. With subtlety, one of the things Pop and High Culture has done repeatedly with success is to create a national if not international opinion. Amongst these opinions is the perpetuation of gender roles, namely, the expectation of women and men. Through my years of watching TV and films, reading books, listening to musical lyrics, visiting art galleries, there is a glaring difference in the portrayal of women and men. While there has been a little change historically to date through stories, women and girls have been afforded passive roles as opposed to their counterparts males’ dominant roles.
Without going into the masculinity discussion, not only are women often depicted as weak and vulnerable but also as second class citizens and are to stay under male domination. One of the most dangerous narratives on women in some pop and high culture is the one that seems to say females are only here to serve the needs of male. As such, males retain the right to control women if they are to maintain their position on the hierarchy of patriarchal society. Driven by the desire to keep this socially created mythical role assigned to him by society and later reinforced by pop and high culture man uses different techniques such as coercive control, intimidation, gaslighting, and violence leading to injuries and at worst death.
These films we like so much trend because the creators can manipulate emotions through perpetuation of myth, collective values and beliefs to create a shared opinion. There are many stereotypes in all art forms, negative and positive, for instance, Disability, Mental Health, Single Mums, Black, Homeless, LGBTQ+, only to mention a few.
Recently, I watched ‘Rebecca’ on Netflix. As the story reaches a climax, we discover through the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter’s confessions to his new wife Madame de Winter that he had killed his previous wife for the reasons that he hated her for what she had done and said to him. Of course, here, filmmakers often claim such a portrayal of events is necessary for dramatisation; however, the far-reaching effect of the subtext could be interpreted as, if your wife does or say something you do not like you respond with violence. With so much male power aimed at women and girls through different art forms, could it be argued that men aren’t born violent rather, it’s a learnt behaviour in line with behaviourist psychologist claims? It’s learnt through primary socialisation and later reinforced through secondary socialisation mediums, in this case, pop and high culture.
If the dangerous male view of women is learnt or acquired from somewhere, isn’t it time we address the source? At the centre of big TV and Film is a force to produce what retains high ratings but sadly at times, it’s done at the expense of the ‘other’. At times the content that makes a TV show or film grand is the dramatisation of the undesirable fictional roles of the ‘other’, in this the depiction of gender roles. However, producers of such work do not seem to stop and think of the real-life consequences of their fictional work. Creators of art forms will argue they are only reflecting society but can’t they set the standard by perpetuating a specific narrative in line with the protection of the ‘other’ women and girls?
In his book Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, Curtis Jackson talks about how Oprah Winfrey refused him to be on her show because she disapproved of his gun violence and misogynistic lyrics. For instance, his song,’ Get in My Car’, goes,” I got no pickup lines, I stay on the grind / I tell the whores all the time, bitch, get in my car.”. How far will such lyrics go in shaping the minds of the next generation on their views of women and girls?
While the nature versus nurture debate is still ongoing you are free to join me in the belief that men aren’t born woman batterers, therefore, the violence placed on women and girls; the coercive control; the male domination, where does it come from? Is to do with the culture men are raised, or is it partly due to primary and secondary socialisation or it is a combination of both? Only a male brain understands the effects of being born and raised in a society plagued with a misogynistic mentality and later as he grows only for that mentality to be further reinforced by mechanisms of society.
While our entertainment world seems guilty of birthing divisive and derogatory content with priority placed on ratings, the consumers aren’t as innocent, as cognitive dissonance seems to be at play. For instance, recently there was an outcry of the depiction of the transgender group in JK’s new book “Troubled Blood” with an underlying theme that seems to say never trust a man who wears a dress. Despite this, according to official figures, the book went on to sell 65000 copies in its first week. Suggesting, while art content can be seen as damaging towards other groups, society will indulge without due consideration of the lasting impact. I am not sure if the community is saying, if it doesn’t affect me I will look the other way, but what I am sure of is that every man is a child to a woman and every daughter is a child to a father. While art forms have shadowed women; it is hard to ignore efforts of films like, Shonda Rhimes’s Grey’s Anatomy, that can be said to have inspired young females to become doctors—demonstrating that art can also be a force for good.
As more and more women are battered or at worst killed every day around the world, we should seek a way to prevent the perpetration of women and girls before it happens. In a world, the masses are not only likely to pay more attention to the comedians over their politicians but also likely to enact what they learn through pop and high culture. Isn’t it time creators of all entertainment content be reminded of the far-reaching impact of their work? Pop and High culture are both educational and influential; they leave an everlasting legacy in our society. Therefore, writers, painters, musicians and filmmakers can set a standard by creating content that promotes ZERO Violence Against Women and Girls as they are coming across as the gatekeepers of society. As I am writing this, it has just confirmed that Kamala Harris is the Vice President-Elect. I want to take this moment to congratulate her on that milestone achievement and remind all girls across the world; they now have a role model in the Whitehouse.