Popular culture

Popular culture is culture which interests the general masses of people. It is influenced and spread by mass media. People experience or learn popular culture by hearing popular music on the radio, watching television, playing video games, or reading popular books and magazines. Popular culture may affect all kinds of knowledge or thought, including art, religion, or language.

Popular culture does not follow any one system of ideas, customs, philosophy, religion, or morality. Some of its forms include grammar, language, or pictures that are not accepted under a society's customs. For this reason a society or government may not approve of popular culture. If a government thinks that any form of it may harm people or cause society to change in a bad way, the government may ban it. This practice is known as censorship. In some countries popular culture is protected under freedom of speech or other rights.

The United States is an industrialized country (see industrialization) in which citizens use mass media. Its government protects language and cultures under freedom of speech. The U.S. has had periods of popular culture since the 20th century. For instance, after World War II a group of children known as Baby boomers experienced a sudden expansion of popular culture.

• Folklore

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