The death of mass culture. Shared cultural reference points that helped us communicate by doing things like citing an incident from Seinfeld to illustrate a point are disappearing fast

... not that there's anything wrong with that!

Yea, shared cultural reference points have jumped the shark.

Darmok and Jilad at Tanagra?

7of7: Darmok and Jilad at Tanagra?

Shaka, when the walls fell.

Good riddance. Culture is overrated anyway.

crypticsatellite: Shaka, when the walls fell.

Sokath, his eyes opened.

Shared cultural reference points...are disappearing fast

Like the ability to find one's own nation on a map?

/a problem for many U.S. Americans...

Good. I hate so-called "mass culture".

Lionel Mandrake: Shared cultural reference points...are disappearing fast

Like the ability to find one's own nation on a map?

/a problem for many U.S. Americans...

Its because the children of Africa and the Iraqs and such as, don't have maps.

Seinfeld irritated me. Most references to the show will make me shrug.

Ric Romero disagrees.

If you have no idea what's talking about, TFA may have a point.

bitteroldman: Yea, shared cultural reference points have jumped the shark.

Damn. That was much better.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The music industry has become obsessed with people stealing their products electronically, but the real problem is a lack of compelling talent.

TRUTH. It bothers me when I see people chanting "Who Let The Dogs Out."

Mass culture care for have not I.

7of7: Sokath, his eyes opened.

Kailash, when it rises.

Well, duh. We're supposed to celebrate what makes us different, not what we share. If we did that we might all get along & politician would have nothing to save us from. Where's the good in that?

I can't think of anything I would embrace more than the death of communication based on the mutual understanding that we have both seen the same TV show.

閉嘴，您很不體貼的男生！・闭嘴，您很不体贴的男生！

crypticsatellite: Kailash, when it rises.

The river Temarc, in winter.

7of7: The river Temarc, in winter.

Kiteo, his eyes closed.

Hindmost: 閉嘴，您很不體貼的男生！・闭嘴，您很不体贴的男生！

Why did you write the same thing once in traditional and once in simplified?

Maybe in Canada, this is true, but you can't go anywhere in America it seems without running into folks quoting The Family Guy, The Daily Show or muttering about 24 or some other drama.

This sort of "death of the culture" rant comes up every few years, when folks suddenly realize that the references that they found the most resonance with have become passe, and they realize that folks have moved on. The lack of "talent" rant comes when folks suddenly look up and can't find their old comfort zone of characters, actors, or directors, save as guest spots on game shows, or doing cameo slots on shows that they haven't bothered to watch and feel threatened that they don't understand.

It's hardly a new argument. What's entertaining is that the very artist he points to as being the great lights, were themselves seen as a threat to the very culture back in the day. The Beatles and Elvis were supposed to be the deathknell on the culture.

What's even more amusing, is that he cites American cultural models as being the sign of the coming Apocalypse--apparently, the US is in charge of keeping Canadians entertained, informed, and culturally united. Who knew?

Perhaps if Canadians weren't buying Celine Dion albums and watching American TV, they might realize that they have a vibrant and active film making community, that both pushes--say like Better Than Chocolate--and entertains.

It's sort of sad that this sort of rant gets trotted out every few years, as writers look up and realize that they're getting older, and don't understand what's up with the popular culture, calling it greasy kids stuff, and unwittingly falling into the same trap that they mocked folks for only years before...

In short: it's not the mass culture that's dying. It's a culture that scares the bejeebus out of the writer, because he hasn't bothered to keep up.

Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel

OH COME ON!

HansensDisease: Seinfeld irritated me. Most references to the show will make me shrug.

And you want to be my latex salesman..

What's up with _____? Did you ever notice that _____ is _____? And how about _____?

My head asplode!

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Yea, like when my boss says something about a sports team, I yell, "..and Duke sucks." He totally doesn't understand what I mean. Did he grow up in a cave?

BobtheFascist

Got a newsletter? A cult?

good! this is long overdue

Dennis Miller will starve to death!

Darmok and Paul at Des Moines

So people were once complaining that increased technology and communication was leading to the destruction of provinical cultures due to a shallow, more common brand...

Now they are complaining this is all leading to fragmentation of culture?

WTF????

7of7:
crypticsatellite:
shidekigonomo:

You guys really need to get out more.

/sad that I remembered the episode as well.
//I really need to get out more too.

mediaho, that seems like a great counterpoint until you realize that Fark is a subculture rather than mass culture. In other words, Ric Romero is an inside joke, not a outside joke. Your mom, your boss, and the guy next door don't get it. The only people who get it are us. And so your counterpoint actually corroborates rather than contradicts TFA.

"Me, and Julio, down by the schoolyard."

Also..

Rai and Jiri at Lungha. Rai of Luwani, Luwani under two moons. Giri, or Ubaya. Ubaya of crossroads, at Lungha. Lungha, her sky gray

Huggermugger: Dennis Miller will starve to death!

no problem there. he stopped being funny, interesting or relevant 15 years ago

This fellow appears to be writing to us from under a rock and has not encountered the internet.

His Monty Python reference illustrates the failing of his thesis. If he'd tried a Python quote in generic company 10 years ago everyone around him would have asked him if he was having a stroke. But now, thanks to the Internet, more people know about Monty Python and fans can find communities of similar tastes where "nothing is obscure".

bitteroldman:
Its because the children of Africa and the Iraqs and such as, don't have maps.



Luckily, Fark culture is thriving.

Dennis Miller has never been funny, interesting or relevant.

I can think of only one cultural phenomenon right now that has truly broad appeal...

Lolcats.

It's funny that the article only focuses on television and popular music as a culture meter.

Something as superficial as these examples do not deserve to have a mainstay in mass culture.

We lack major figures such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Each redefined pop music and drew vast audiences that crossed generations. Literally no one is doing that now.
The sad, sad, SAD thing about this perspective, is it means this fellow is looking for ONE icon (or a few) to lead us through an already transformative age in music and stand out from all of the other talent. It's true, there is no "Nirvana" right now, but believe me, if Jack White, of the White Stripes were shot tomorrow, he would be a HUGE ICON and fit nicely on the pedestal with the others "Kings" and "Queens" we put there. That's true whether you like his music or not. From his contributions to Cold Mountain's soundtrack, to his Raconteurs presence, and of course, his roots, The White Stripes on to his input with Loretta Lynn. I think people are looking so much for a hero, that they forget the few we do have.
One aspect of the picture he's missing is that there's been a HUGE movement in music that is radical and transformative. That is the advent of the digital age and MP3 swapping online in the first place. It's an actual revolution. Where bands can make themselves, for the first time really, in a relative instant. Gaining traction that took years and several label-dispatched henchman to accomplish formerly, by just exposing themselves on the internet. Before any band becomes a phenomenon there is a lengthy part of their history where they were building a foundation. A collective shift has happened because of all of the artist's contributions to the internet. They can do it themselves and it's the brilliant breakdown of the corporate regimes. You don't HAVE to buy a mass produced album to enjoy the intricate fabric out there now. If the writer even bothered to go online and listen to what "unknown" (to him, but certainly not thousands and thousands of others) artists are out there, rather than waiting for a label to deliver him a package, he'd be surprised. Go Fark yourself Canadian "expert". You're just humming some corporate tune and we're all listening to, and enjoying, a plethora of artists and their offerings in a way unknown to us before. Sorry if you're more comfortable with the artists churned out by the machine, but seriously, get out of your box and your lower cavity.

karmaceutical: Dennis Miller has never been funny, interesting or relevant.

Who's Dennis Miller?

Irony: this doofus is conveniently ignores that his own nation had shiat for media since the beginning of time and is now finally coming into its own in film, television, and music. There are Canadian TV shows that Canadians are watching, Canadian films contending for Oscars and the Juno Awards ceremony sells out in minutes. But oh noes! We don't have a Seinfeld any more!

What a ninny.

How else will I be able to get validation that I'm clever and witty, without other people writing my material?

The author correctly sees the agent as fragmentation. He incorrectly sees this as a problem. One size does not fit all!

[Fark.com, your one-stop shopping source for shared cultural references.]