by Greg Ellstrom
I've been thinking about writing a pop culture blog for several months. I even chose the title a while back, calling it "Coulson's 'Vette" in honor of the sweet ride that goes everywhere with the resurrected Agent Coulson in the television series "Marvel Agents of Shield." I hope to make this blog a cool "ride" for its readers, and what better metaphor than Coulson's candy apple '62 Corvette, a car he calls "Lola."
Needing to clarify the meaning of "pop culture" or "popular culture" in my mind, I did some research and discovered that this term dates back to the 19th century when it referred to "the general 'culturedness' of the lower classes." I think, though I'm not sure, that that definition would have pissed off Andy Warhol. A more recent definition suggests it is "the culture that is 'left over' when we have decided what high culture is." That reminds me of the famous comment about pornography: "I can't tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it." The definition that most pleased me and which was closest to my vision of what I wanted to write about was, that pop culture is the stuff "mass-produced for mass consumption by mass media." So, I'll be writing about television shows and movies, comic books and paperbacks, pop music, and maybe some classical. I'll also be writing about the characters who occupy these creations, and the people who create and consume them. I imagine this definition will evolve as I devote time and effort to this blog, and I'm sure there will be times when I'll find pop culture bumping into or, heaven forbid, breeding with high culture.
Needing to clarify the meaning of "pop culture" or "popular culture" in my mind, I did some research and discovered that this term dates back to the 19th century when it referred to "the general 'culturedness' of the lower classes." I think, though I'm not sure, that that definition would have pissed off Andy Warhol. A more recent definition suggests it is "the culture that is 'left over' when we have decided what high culture is." That reminds me of the famous comment about pornography: "I can't tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it." The definition that most pleased me and which was closest to my vision of what I wanted to write about was, that pop culture is the stuff "mass-produced for mass consumption by mass media." So, I'll be writing about television shows and movies, comic books and paperbacks, pop music, and maybe some classical. I'll also be writing about the characters who occupy these creations, and the people who create and consume them. I imagine this definition will evolve as I devote time and effort to this blog, and I'm sure there will be times when I'll find pop culture bumping into or, heaven forbid, breeding with high culture.
I had initially decided to write my first entry about the amazing number of actors from the Former British Empire who currently have featured roles in American TV and film. Then I saw "The Night That Changed America: the Grammy Award Tribute to the Beatles" on the 50th anniversary of their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, and I knew that a guy my age, 66, writing about pop culture, had to start with the Lads from Liverpool, for me the greatest "pop culture" act of all time.
The Beatles were a musical/cultural leviathan, who swept into the United States in late 1963 and early 1964. They sang "I Want To Hold Your Hold" and youthful America reached out and offered theirs. The world is aware of the amazing cultural effect they had on music with their personal genius and the advent of the "British invasion," fashion, thought, mind-alterint substances, art and politics. I can't begin to talk about all those things, so I'm going to talk about the effect the Beatles had on one young American, me.
I remember the first time I heard of the band. I was a junior in the room of one of my high school English teachers, when Jack Hill, a senior, asked me what I thought of the Beatles. I told him I didn't know who they were, and so he informed me of this British singing group with mop of hair falling over their foreheads. The fact that I remember that moment has always amazed me. I think we tend to remember the end of people and things more clearly, ie. John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the Berlin Wall. Yet, I clearly remember my personal beginning of the Beatles.
The Beatles played pretty constantly on the soundtrack to my senior year in high school and my years in college. I'm sure I know more Beatles' lyrics than I do the lyrics of any other pop group. I have worn my hair combed down and across my forehead for about 50 years because of the Beatles. Millions of others have done the same. I even remember the first time I wore it that way. It was at a party at a friend's house, and the response was positive, so I kept my hair that way. Forever! This, of course, required that I grow my hair a lot longer than it had been Especially when I went off to college. I remember that my dad was kind of shocked with my college hair, although, he grew to accept it and eventually like it. I think it's amazing how now buzz cuts coexist with dreadlocks and Beatle-like mops. Thank God for the Fab Four, lest guys might still be using Brylcreem!
I remember going to see "A Hard Day's Night." That fantastic black and white first Beatle film was a fun romp with the boys themselves. I like the bright, colorful "Help," too, but the first film still evokes an era for me. I'll never forget my friend Tom running across an icy pavement, in his black peacoat, his arms held out, shouting he was in "Hard Day's Night," and falling on his butt!
During college, my fraternity brothers and I looked forward to the next Beatles album release. We listened, too, to their comments, especially those of the genius John Lennon, about war and giving peace a chance. It was an exciting, sometimes troubling time, and the Beatles were an essential part of the evolution of youth culture. Hanging on my office wall today is the poster below which was a prize at our Alpha Lambda Chi 40th reunion, with the Beatles wearing our fraternity jackets.
I'm not going to say much more except to mention how amazing it was watching the 50th Anniversary special and seeing that people of every age knew all the words to every song that was played. There was in the audience the 3 or 4 year old daughter of guitarist David Grohl who performed that night. From the stage, Grohl told Paul and Ringo that the Beatles was his daughter's favorite band. She hadn't been born until 46 years after they appeared on Ed Sullivan.
Were the Beatles "mass-produced for mass consumption by mass media" as my pop culture definition suggests? I think of two quotes in answering that. John's infamous statement that the "Beatles were more popular than Jesus" and the lyric from Andrew Lloyd Webber's early 70's rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," ". . .if he'd come today he would have reached a whole nation/Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication." The phenomenon called the Beatles couldn't exist without mass media, but I think, on occasion, they transcended the "pop" and became high culture, too.
The Beatles were a musical/cultural leviathan, who swept into the United States in late 1963 and early 1964. They sang "I Want To Hold Your Hold" and youthful America reached out and offered theirs. The world is aware of the amazing cultural effect they had on music with their personal genius and the advent of the "British invasion," fashion, thought, mind-alterint substances, art and politics. I can't begin to talk about all those things, so I'm going to talk about the effect the Beatles had on one young American, me.
I remember the first time I heard of the band. I was a junior in the room of one of my high school English teachers, when Jack Hill, a senior, asked me what I thought of the Beatles. I told him I didn't know who they were, and so he informed me of this British singing group with mop of hair falling over their foreheads. The fact that I remember that moment has always amazed me. I think we tend to remember the end of people and things more clearly, ie. John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the Berlin Wall. Yet, I clearly remember my personal beginning of the Beatles.
The Beatles played pretty constantly on the soundtrack to my senior year in high school and my years in college. I'm sure I know more Beatles' lyrics than I do the lyrics of any other pop group. I have worn my hair combed down and across my forehead for about 50 years because of the Beatles. Millions of others have done the same. I even remember the first time I wore it that way. It was at a party at a friend's house, and the response was positive, so I kept my hair that way. Forever! This, of course, required that I grow my hair a lot longer than it had been Especially when I went off to college. I remember that my dad was kind of shocked with my college hair, although, he grew to accept it and eventually like it. I think it's amazing how now buzz cuts coexist with dreadlocks and Beatle-like mops. Thank God for the Fab Four, lest guys might still be using Brylcreem!
I remember going to see "A Hard Day's Night." That fantastic black and white first Beatle film was a fun romp with the boys themselves. I like the bright, colorful "Help," too, but the first film still evokes an era for me. I'll never forget my friend Tom running across an icy pavement, in his black peacoat, his arms held out, shouting he was in "Hard Day's Night," and falling on his butt!
During college, my fraternity brothers and I looked forward to the next Beatles album release. We listened, too, to their comments, especially those of the genius John Lennon, about war and giving peace a chance. It was an exciting, sometimes troubling time, and the Beatles were an essential part of the evolution of youth culture. Hanging on my office wall today is the poster below which was a prize at our Alpha Lambda Chi 40th reunion, with the Beatles wearing our fraternity jackets.
I'm not going to say much more except to mention how amazing it was watching the 50th Anniversary special and seeing that people of every age knew all the words to every song that was played. There was in the audience the 3 or 4 year old daughter of guitarist David Grohl who performed that night. From the stage, Grohl told Paul and Ringo that the Beatles was his daughter's favorite band. She hadn't been born until 46 years after they appeared on Ed Sullivan.
Were the Beatles "mass-produced for mass consumption by mass media" as my pop culture definition suggests? I think of two quotes in answering that. John's infamous statement that the "Beatles were more popular than Jesus" and the lyric from Andrew Lloyd Webber's early 70's rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," ". . .if he'd come today he would have reached a whole nation/Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication." The phenomenon called the Beatles couldn't exist without mass media, but I think, on occasion, they transcended the "pop" and became high culture, too.
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