British Popular Culture
Popular culture or pop culture is defined by Wikipedia.org as the vernacular (people's) culture that prevails in a modern society. The content of popular culture is determined in large part by industries that disseminate cultural material, for example the film, television, and publishing industries, as well as the news media.' In this essay, Great Britain and the United States of America will be the modern societies discussed and analyzed. Since the end of World War Two in 1945, Britain and the US have shared much of their popular culture with one another. It is widely accepted that a majority of America's pop culture has infiltrated Britain since 1945 but only a small portion of Britain's has found its way into the main stream media in the States. Although there are numerous types of pop culture this essay will primarily focus on television, pop music, and films. It will site specific examples of shared culture and follow trends from America across the Atlantic, and into British homes.
The most well known piece of American popular culture is without a doubt the film industry. Hollywood, California became the birthplace of American movie production and soon the Mecca of all of cinema. During the war, many Americans and Britons alike flocked to movie theatres to hear and see updates on the war effort. For many, this was the only way to see and hear actual footage from the war front as most did not own televisions of their own. Also, there was comfort to be found in motion pictures. While a war was being waged and many families had to sacrifice relatives and overall hardships, the cinema served as an escape from reality. It was also a social event in which friends and family would meet to spend time away from the house. With the great influx of cinematic patrons, Hollywood producers and script writers worked feverishly to meet the demands of the public. Both the British and American people wanted to see there hero's either win the war or win the...
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