Since the media is a primary source of today’s popular culture, it strongly influences the public perception of news. Various media platforms perform as lenses through which society observes the main events because they usually support the presentation with historical background and give an overview of public debates on the topic. The cases of «intersectionality wars», or conflicts regarding Amazon’s CEO, provide shining examples of how popular culture shaped people’s reaction to the news. This paper will observe those events and attempt to explain them through the studies on popular culture and media.
First of all, popular culture should not be perceived solely as a source of entertainment. Purnima Mankekar’s (2015) article explains that major social and cultural changes are often influenced by popular culture. In particular, it effectively manipulates people’s attitudes to social groups and the institution of the family. The same study provides an example of how television sitcoms changed the traditions of the family organization from a heteronormative nuclear family to a broader interrelated group with multiracial and multicultural relationships (Mankekar, 2015). A similar effect was noticed after the concept of intersectionality was introduced in the media. According to Coaston (2019), although the spread of this idea has provoked many critical reactions, it brought the tradition to emphasize how people from different backgrounds encounter the world. Those changes are remarkable, and the role of popular culture in them should not be denied.
Another essential side of media studies, especially on popular culture influencing people’s worldview, is institutions producing media products. It matters because the sources of information, for instance, companies, newspapers, or websites, serve as parts of culture themselves. A video by The Media Insider (2017) comments on the difference between large companies and indie developers in the way they market and distribute their products, in their case, video games. The variation in sources, of course, separates the target audiences of the products and affects social groups that will receive information and become aware of that particular pop-cultural product or concept. For instance, since the term «intersectionality» was introduced by a distinguished professor in an academic paper, it was initially noticed by well-educated, politically active, and often conservative people (Coaston, 2019). This case illustrates that the «author» of each cultural concept plays an important role in how it will be perceived by society.
Finally, all of those findings can be applied to a specific case: a piece of news regarding Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos. At the beginning of February 2021, the company announced its chief executive officer leaving his position in a few months (BBS News, 2021b). Amazon is a well-established company, but its reputation is not excellent, and it affects people’s attitudes toward them. A day before this news came out, it was revealed that Amazon’s delivery service was cheating on some drivers, leaving them without tips (BBC News, 2021a). Consequently, the reaction to the change was different: some people considered it a huge opportunity for the new chief executive, Andy Jessy, while others thought it was a monopolistic move aimed to fool customers (BBC News, 2021b). Additionally, it is very likely that this «optimistic» administrative change not caused by any scandal or tragedy will set a new trend for other businesses. Amazon, undeniably, is an important figure in the cultural field, and it continuously influences public attitude to various business decisions.
To summarize, the impact of popular culture on daily life and global social organization is noticeable. It is a universal trend for popular products to provoke changes in familial or corporate behavior. In those cases, the crucial factor defining the target audience of each particular cultural phenomenon is the source of the news. Whether it is an academic paper, a popular television show, or a large corporation creating a trending topic, the demographic it hits and their reaction will be different. The case of Amazon is an excellent example of how an inner change in the company can become a trending topic and possibly influence other businesses in the future.
References
BBC News, (2021a). Amazon settles claims it pocketed delivery drivers’ tips. BBC.
BBC News, (2021b). Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon chief executive. BBC.
Coaston, J. (2019). The intersectionality wars. Vox.
Mankekar, P. (2015). Popular culture. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences,18, 528–532.
The Media Insider. (2017). What is media studies? Key concepts explained! [Video]. YouTube.