“I don’t know that Billy Joel album.”
“I haven’t seen Toy Story…nope, none of them.”
“No, of course I know the general idea of quidditch. I’ve seen a parody of Harry Potter.”
I have sheepishly admitted all of these things at some point, along with the fact that I am pop-culturally illiterate.
Recently, a friend of mine noted that she wants to become more culturally literate.
“I just don’t understand the references people make,” she said.
At this point, I had to wonder: how important is it to grow up in world ingrained in pop-cultural relevancy?
I must define what I mean by a childhood pop-cultural illiteracy because it does not mean that I haven’t listened to Taylor Swift’s new album, or heard the Office and Arrested Development quoted verbatim (and understood the references). Nor does it mean that I haven’t binge watched Gilmore Girls before.
It means that I grew up in a fairly sheltered home, as many other Hillsdale students have. It means I did not read the Harry Potter series, listen to the Backstreet Boys, or, this one will be a shocker to all female ’90s babies, watch Lizzie McGuire.
I do not want to diminish the points of similarity and value of finding common ground with people in these things. The number of conversations in which I’ve been lost reaches an increasingly high number, when you add the fact that, besides not reading Harry Potter, I have not seen all of the Toy Story movies. Although, I have seen Finding Nemo, and quite a few of the Disney Princess movies.
Yet my ignorance of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Lizzie McGuire, and all the rest has not harmed my social development, as far as I’m aware.
Instead, my parents emphasized the importance of spending time with each other—attentive, focused time. Rather than watching a movie together, we’d play a game as a family. We were allowed to watch TV and go online, but for limited amounts of time.
In the midst of the limitations, I am even thankful for the fact that I didn’t grow up around pop culture. It’s not because I dislike pop culture, but I’m not in love with it either.
I’d venture to say that my childhood ignorance to pop culture has given me some sense of perspective.
Having not grown up around a thing, there’s a different taste that flavors pop culture. Although I dislike Taylor Swift’s earlier albums simply because of her sound, that’s a matter of personal preference, as is my dislike of classic rock.
It’s like being introduced to a different kind of food as an adult. I didn’t grow up eating kimchi, so as an adult, it takes some getting used to. And although many people in the “real world” find it necessary to keep up to date on all of these things, I can find enjoyment, without attachment to them.
There are certainly things I keep up-to-date with, such as the news or the lives of my friends. I do like social media, on occasion.
Yet the times I spent playing Scrabble with my family on a Friday night, the cello and violin concerts I went to for my brother and sisters, the time spent weeding the garden, and listening to my mother read books out loud, those are memories, experiences, and time spent that I do not wish I would had spent keeping up with Disney channel.
Amanda Tindall is a junior majoring in English. Minoring in journalism through the Dow Journalism Program, she is the assistant editor of the Collegian’s news page.
