Seeds of Peace

Pop Culture, the present expression of culture, which includes music, fashion, tv, computer games, new trends, movies, commercials, and radio, is a form of expression we interact with everyday. Because of this constant exposure, pop culture can powerfully affect the way we feel, and the ways in which we express those feelings. Often times, the information transmitted through pop culture can cause misunderstandings — intentional and unintentional — both between different cultures and inside of one culture. These misunderstands can cause conflict which in turn can lead to violence. Through music and movies prejudices may develop into stereotypes. Too many times, black Americans are constricted to violent criminalized roles in American films and television. Some people of other ethnicities take this to mean that all blacks are violent criminals. This phenomenon is not limited to American society, as the Middle East is often depicted as an uncivilized, uncultured area as well. Often in our societies we see elements of pop culture which are used to antagonize us against the so-called enemies of our countries. Many countries feel that violence is caused by the pop culture of the "enemy." They feel that their own pop culture is different from that of the opposition and make slanderous statements about the other's pop culture that antagonize people. This causes dissent among people and ill-feeling towards the other culture. Depiction of the other culture as dangerous, different, or lesser turns people completely against it. For example, in some of our countries songs and jokes depict people from the other side to be lowly and dangerous, causing people to refrain from interacting with them. Also, because there are multiple pop cultures, tensions can arise when they interact. That is to say, the producer, distributors, and marketers of the global pop culture mainstream often leave out the voice of the third world. This can cause a sense in the citizens of the third world that their culture is on the verge of destruction. This also causes a separation between the two cultures, as the third world feels rejected and shunned. The citizens of the third world therefore often feel the need to defend their culture and to retrieve their pride, even violently. This does not mean that pop culture is by necessity bad. On the contrary, pop culture can be used by the producers to express their feelings of shame and anger, and also show their belief in themselves, and in that way gain back their pride non-violently. At its best, producers of pop culture give people ways to come out of depression and provide them with hope. Popular culture can bring people together, but there are some who feel excluded because of the difference in taste. Some people may not like certain forms of music which are considered violent and sexist. Because of this, they tend to be alienated by the majority, which can lead to unhappiness and eventually to violence. There are pressures on us as individuals to act in certain ways; pressures such as religious or family traditions. Thus we need to adjust the way we express ourselves through popular culture depending on the occasion. Through listening to expressions of other popular culture we can learn about their experiences, suffering, motivations, and frustrations. We therefore need to respect each others' personal choices about pop culture. We can come together through differences just as through similarities instead of having them divide us. Sometimes people initially reject the culture of another society, but soon learn to adopt it, as in the case of conflict stricken regions such as India and Pakistan, and their famous kite flying festival which brings the two nations together. Or in the case of Cyprus, where the first time Greek and Turkish musicians performed together, less than twenty people attended. Today bi-communal concerts are attended by hundreds of youth from both sides of the island. Mozart said, "Music soothes the savage beast," and Madonna adds "Music makes the people come together." The consumer must always be wary of pop culture. The messages in it can be both good and bad and so it is the duty of the consumers to be conscious of the choices they make and not blindly follow the misunderstandings they receive. Statement of the Committee on Declaration of Principles Statement of the Committee on Media Statement of the Committee on Education Statement of the Committee on Religion Statement of the Committee on Economic Disparity Statement of the Committee on Principles of Governing Statement of the Committee on Safety and Security To return to the Main Conference page, please click here.