What comes from the people or is linked to them can be described as popular: popular demonstration, popular struggle, etc.
From the Latin popularis , popular is an adjective that indicates that which belongs to or is relative to the people . The term has different applications within this same universe of meanings: it can refer to anything that comes from the people , that is typical of the lowest social classes , that is within the reach of the majority or that is known by society. in general .
For example: “A popular demonstration gathered in front of Congress to ask for the resignation of the deputies” , “Stew is a popular food in Argentina” , “The artist decided to relaunch his albums with popular prices so that all his followers could have access to his music” , “The popular actor revolutionized the city by starring in an advertisement in which he danced like Fred Astaire” .
Popular culture is known as the artistic manifestations created and consumed by the people, as opposed to academic culture , which is more elitist and is often mistakenly perceived as something inaccessible to the majority. A manifestation of popular culture, in any case, can reach all social classes and vice versa.
The key to popular
One of the great mysteries of the market is the key to popularity . First of all, it is known that many successful works do not have an acceptable level of quality , or that they are not completely authentic, and that there are also creations worthy of being admired by the entire world, but that sleep in the darkness of a drawer. On the other hand, various industries have seen the failure of ideas very similar to others that, a short time before, had achieved disproportionate success.
Although the exact formula is not known to ensure that a product reaches a high degree of popularity, it can be said that there are certain fundamental points, one of them being to embrace the massive trends of the moment . It is true that great ideas tend to break many conventions, but it is not necessary that all creations generate a revolution; On the contrary, improving existing proposals is essential for the advancement of the different fields of knowledge.
The popular can be associated with the mass.
Different cases
Many celebrated authors from various fields and genres claim that they owe the success of their works to the freedom with which they create them, to the fact that they seek to create a story that they themselves would enjoy . Pixar and Nintendo are two companies that work in this way, guided by this way of thinking, and it goes without saying that they are two of the most important names in the entertainment industry worldwide. Leaving money aside and focusing on capturing an idea that, in principle, satisfies us on a creative level, can be one of the secrets to popularity.
Jazz is an example of black popular culture in the United States. Over time, however, it spread to the rest of North American society and reached other countries around the world. In recent years, hip hop has experienced a similar story, moving from black neighborhoods to other regions and achieving international acceptance.
Pop is a musical genre whose name is an abbreviation of the popular term, and both names can be used interchangeably. It is a style that preserves the verse-chorus-verse structure and is executed in a melodic and catchy way, so that it can be assimilated by as many people as possible, regardless of their cultural differences.
The popular vs. the academic
As mentioned in a previous paragraph, the term academic is usually opposed to popular , and this occurs especially in music.
While it is true that opera and music written for orchestras and chamber instruments is more technically complex than pop, this does not mean that any popular musician has academic knowledge, nor that a work by Rossini can be compared to one of Michael Jackson , much less that one should be considered better than the other.