I am a huge fan of Pop Culture. I find it fascinating to watch the evolution of what is “in” and watch it, these days especially, very quickly move to being “out”. I love movies and TV and all sorts of communication but one of my biggest interests when it comes to pop culture is music.
When I was a kid my parents were not fans of Pop(ular) music. My dad was a huge classical music buff and still is. My mom held a more mom-like interest in the songstress Anne Murray and the warblings of Placido Domingo and John Denver (remember Perhaps Love? Still reminds me…) My sisters and I, on the other hand, fully immersed ourselves in everything from David Bowie all the way back to his Ziggy Stardust days and Billy Idol at his peak to Michael Jackson (I figure I don’t need to link to him!), WHAM and Duran Duran to name just a few. We also listened to CCR, the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison, and others. As students of pop culture we ate it all up!
Duran Duran’s Rio Video.
And I am still a fanatic, taking my kids to see the Justin Bieber movie, downloading everything including the explicit Cee Lo Green F*&% You and Lady Gaga, Train, Drake, PINK, Adele, Emminem, Linkin Park, Mumford & Sons just to name a few.
But something in Pop Culture is seriously wrong. Recently I have been spending a lot of time at the gym in my quest for Fit By 40 (I have about 4 weeks to make this happen…). And in my time sweating on the treadmill and lifting weights I have been seeking motivation by watching MuchMusic. Dudes, I am no prude but COME ON. These are not music videos they are pornos.
Yup, it’s Miley.
With songs like Enrique Iglasius’ “Tonight I’m Loving You” (actually called “Tonight I’m F’ing You” which is MORE than obvious in the music video), Rihanna’s catchy but disturbing tune “S&M” (why? WHY? This song forced me to face the question, “what does sex smell like anyway, mom” from my 11 year-old), and Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell” among many, many others accompanied by the constant bumping, grinding, arm candy and girly bits everywhere in most music videos I worry about the impact it is having on my children’s perception of themselves as sexual beings and sex itself.
Ludicris and his women. Where’s the self-respect?
In fact, I have said many times recently to my nearly 12 year-old son, “you do realize this is not real life.” I have been forced to make statements about respect and love and pleasure and self-confidence all the while pining for the days when all my mom was forced to discuss with my 11 year-old self were periods and B.O. Or when I was a teenager and had to explain to my mom what the song “Hungry Like a Wolf” by Duran Duran was really about and that the girl in it was not actually yelling “MOM!”. Still makes me snicker.
These things were subtle, not in your face. The message was in there but it was not spelled out. If you didn’t “get it” it was because you shouldn’t…or you were my mom 😉
Enrique and his half-naked groupies. This is what our kids look up to?!
I know that Pop Culture is unavoidable so I keep the lines of communication open but, come on, is this really what we have become? Are we completely irresponsible? Are we blind to what this type of lifestyle is doing to the very same young people who promote it? Are we OK with our children, our future, being numb to these graphic sexual images and thinking that this mixed with fast cars and lots of money will make them happy? I am a pretty easy-going mom but I know I am not.
I am curious, am I the only one? What do you think about Pop Culture’s influence on our kids?