Off the Record

"Yet it is precisely the recognition of jingles and brand names, precisely what high culturalist abhor, that links us as a culture"~ Adcult USA



In Twitchell's Adcult USA, it is stated that if a monolithic order were to exist, it would be at the hands of an ad saturated culture where the worlds of high culture and pop culture merge. Of course, I didn't give this concept a second thought until I came across the sound clip of Barack Obama calling Kanye West a "jackass."

President Obama called Kanye a "jackass." It is probably one of the few things that people will remember about Obama's presidency. However, the one thing that is particularly fascinating about this sound clip is its ability to link us together in the name of pop culture while simultaneously enforcing limits on appropriate presidential speech.

On the one hand, I can't name any other time in American history when a president managed to muster up the support of so many people in strong opposition to his policies (at least in the context of this comment). Here, we can see liberals and conservatives uproariously agreeing with each other regarding the character or West.

At the same time, we can hear a few others expressing their anger toward Obama's "unprofessional" comment and fear that our country is headed in the wrong direction.

Strictly examining this from a pop culture perspective, Obama's intonation and words serve for a basis for listeners to gauge his character in a less critical manner. It's as if the policies and the work fade into the background. After hearing the sound clip, many from differing political viewpoints voice that Obama is "human" and "cool." This stresses the fact that certain types of speech are acceptable while others are not. Here, Obama can speak about a pop culture figure and amass approval. However, when he speaks about health care reform, there is much more resistance.

What does this sound clip suggest about our culture?

Although this comment probably won't be documented in a history book, it will resonate in the minds of people from all political perspectives. In other words, it is technically spoken off the record, but it also reaches well beyond the bonds of the record. Popular culture is becoming one of the ways that we subconsciously navigate ourselves because it offers something for everyone; something we can all agree on.