"Culture from below" and "Culture from above"

Hello everyone and welcome to Ivan's blogs! To begin, most of my blogs will be about pop culture. So, what is pop culture? there are numerous definitions, but in my opinion i believe pop culture to be the way society connects as a whole. It could be through symbolic structures or ways of communicating such as Facebook. I believe pop culture has to do with connections people have at the present times. Culture has made its way through history, from art and literature to politics. Culture studies can be viewed in two different perspectives, "culture from below" and "culture from above." Of coarse there are different ways of interpreting what that means exactly, but i believe that culture from below, is not only about ways of music,  but also the patterns of behaviors that are influenced on to  those who do not have a high rank in social power or status. To me it is the common people. I think a great example of this can be how in the early 70's Woodstock was the place to be. The  media heavily influenced rock and roll etc. to the common people however, to the common people it was a way to connect. Today i believe EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) is the Woodstock of our generation. Thousands come together and connect through music and common interests, thus influencing the present society. Another example of what i believe to be culture from below is the way society depicts women. A very touchy subject however, it shows the power of influence and connections. Women were always shown to be housewives or simply objects of sex for the more "dominant" gender males. Throughout history women really have struggled to get to where they are today, and yet are still paid less for doing the same job as some men. I know times are changing and blah blah blah, but i believe the "glass ceiling" is still present even in today's work field. It is not fair to deny and underpay women, but because of the heavy influence back then, it is still part of the culture. Culture from above, in my opinion are those with the higher social status and power, feeding the world through media, politics, television etc. This is why women had to struggle. As i mentioned above they were seen as objects, the media seduced the idea that women should be sexy housewives, influencing the attitude of society as a whole. Magazines such as Vogue, only display images of the tall, skinny, beautiful women, displaying the idea that this is what a "real" women looks like. Most of the models are borderline anorexic. Not to disrespect any of them, i know they work hard to look the way they do however, it displays the power of pop culture and culture from above. This is why advertising companies are so successful, they are alter beliefs to create perceptions of what you should be or need. It is why Nike uses a guy like Tiger Woods to promote their products. The message they are trying to portray is that if you use Nike products, you will be able to be like Tiger. Alright then, hope this first blog is interesting enough, see you next time! Thanks.