Cultural taste 5.1: What is this Pop Culture of which you speak?

From time to time, I like to scroll through the latest snippets of “news,” courtesy of America Online (AOL for you cool kids). These are deep, hard-hitting stories of piquant flavor and Conrad-level prose; I could rhapsodize over their relevance to (and intense impact on) the human condition. Witness the following titles:
– “Robber dons empty beer carton as mask.”
– “Demi Moore rocks the ‘Deliverance’ look.”
– “Mom and daughter Botox addicts.”
– “Bizarro game of strip vandalism damages 14 cars.”
Just think- all of these wonderful images in a single scanning of the top 10 featured stories!
At any rate, it boggles the mind to read what passes for news (I can almost hear my grandparents saying the same thing fifty years ago). We (meaning people who are not me, of course) have devolved into a nation of shallow, vapid caricatures- poor shadows of our former selves; we elevate the mundane, laud the mediocre, and celebrate the trivial. If you need proof, I submit the following five question quiz; try it out on a few colleagues and see what happens…

1.) Whose picture are you more likely to recognize: Paris Hilton or Aaron Copland?
2.) Name three national parks other than the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. Name three cell-phone service providers.
3.) In what year was your home state founded? Whom did Tom Cruise marry?
4.) What does the phrase ‘E pluribus unum’ mean? Who made the phrase ‘that’s hot’ popular?
5.) Name the first five Presidents of the United States of America. Name five “Reality-T.V.” programs.

The results should sicken you if you have any conscience whatsoever; if not, you needn’t despair: you are firmly in the ranks of the vast majority.