Took the US as an example because of a fundamental reason. It is the US, and mainly the US, that invented "pop culture". The triumph of American pop culture was indicative of the devotion that went into it. Britain contributed to it as well, especially when rock & roll, a subsegment of the pop culture phenomenon is concerned. There was undeniable quality, cultural significance and innovation in it. What is today's iteration of this pop culture?
Even if we consider rap/hip-hop, it went from something fundamental, a sort of African American punk, a cry from the gutter, it levelled off as tough guy street poetry. and today, today it is an absolute disgrace!
Why did I take the US as a major example? Because as the Dead Kennedys once said, "shit runs downhill". I am sorry I have to be explicit, but anything that's hot today in the US, has at least a 50% chance of being replicated in other cultures tomorrow. I didn't use the US as an explicit example to scorn it, because the situation is frankly no better elsewhere. Bollywood...why did it take a Brit to make a meaningful Indian picture and stun the world with it? Because Bollywood is too busy pitching ridiculous romantic fantasies. When "Devdas" came out, it was supposedly a triumph of the Bollywood impossible love story. I haven't seen a movie less relevant and more turgid in my entire existence. Somebody is out there lapping up this junk! Just like the garbage that is drowning Americans. All of it has a common thread to it. LIES. Feed the populace some hyperboles of the jet set and classy living. To me, this is plain insulting, watching people get mushy over things that shouldn't even be an issue, or propagating ideas that money and wealth and status can be attained with no effort whatsoever. It's more important to act like you're someone or have something than to actually have it!
Social skills, once upon a time you had to have a certain character, you had to have some eloquence, today people ask, on TV, when they interview kids, "How many Facebook friends do you have?" Sorry kids, facebook friends don't mean you have friends, and being popular on the internet doesn't mean you can land a job, seal a deal, in all honesty, it means nothing in real life. Another chunk of time and effort blatantly wasted on vain pursuits.
I will agree with you, there are exceptional people in any society and there will always be, but looking at the mainstream, one can easily conclude that any such folks in the future will have to go against the grain even more than their predecessors did.
Took the US as an example because of a fundamental reason. It is the US, and mainly the US, that invented "pop culture". The triumph of American pop culture was indicative of the devotion that went into it. Britain contributed to it as well, especially when rock & roll, a subsegment of the pop culture phenomenon is concerned. There was undeniable quality, cultural significance and innovation in it. What is today's iteration of this pop culture?
Even if we consider rap/hip-hop, it went from something fundamental, a sort of African American punk, a cry from the gutter, it levelled off as tough guy street poetry. and today, today it is an absolute disgrace!
Why did I take the US as a major example? Because as the Dead Kennedys once said, "shit runs downhill". I am sorry I have to be explicit, but anything that's hot today in the US, has at least a 50% chance of being replicated in other cultures tomorrow. I didn't use the US as an explicit example to scorn it, because the situation is frankly no better elsewhere. Bollywood...why did it take a Brit to make a meaningful Indian picture and stun the world with it? Because Bollywood is too busy pitching ridiculous romantic fantasies. When "Devdas" came out, it was supposedly a triumph of the Bollywood impossible love story. I haven't seen a movie less relevant and more turgid in my entire existence. Somebody is out there lapping up this junk! Just like the garbage that is drowning Americans. All of it has a common thread to it. LIES. Feed the populace some hyperboles of the jet set and classy living. To me, this is plain insulting, watching people get mushy over things that shouldn't even be an issue, or propagating ideas that money and wealth and status can be attained with no effort whatsoever. It's more important to act like you're someone or have something than to actually have it!
Social skills, once upon a time you had to have a certain character, you had to have some eloquence, today people ask, on TV, when they interview kids, "How many Facebook friends do you have?" Sorry kids, facebook friends don't mean you have friends, and being popular on the internet doesn't mean you can land a job, seal a deal, in all honesty, it means nothing in real life. Another chunk of time and effort blatantly wasted on vain pursuits.
I will agree with you, there are exceptional people in any society and there will always be, but looking at the mainstream, one can easily conclude that any such folks in the future will have to go against the grain even more than their predecessors did.