Contributors: Malik Brizan-Reed, Marissa Braswell, Madison Gusler, Whytni Kernodle, Tatiana Pinheiro, Jiana Smith, and Meron Tebeje
With the lyrics “don’t want to be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media,” the band Green Day created a lasting impact on the music scene. Ranked at number 248 of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time, their 2004 punk rock album tells a story of political and social turmoil throughout middle class America. The song, ‘American Idiot’, is inherently political, placing the blame on American media for the hysteria and panic of the public.
But while the United States of America is one country, the song misses the mark in that we are more than a nation. We are made up of 50 states, several regions, over 300 million people. Our country is made up of various generations, backgrounds, ethnicities and religions. We’ve had different life experiences, access to education, different climates and seasons. We’re made up of a host of different factors that make us all individuals. At one point in time, we were all informed by mass media, receiving the same information on different channels. That is not the case anymore.
People are informed about the world around them through a wide array of channels, from TikTok influencers to your morning news. You’re no longer fed one narrative, but can find a news stream that caters to you. You have the choice to engage with media that aligns with your views, as there’s endless content available to you over the internet. If you don’t like or agree with a show or book, you can choose a different one. If you don’t agree with a song’s message, you can listen to different music. You can shape the information you receive to meet your needs and interests, but this poses a danger as well. This creates a narrative where people can be misinformed or led astray, as information is unregulated and seeps into every part of our lives. The way politics has made its way into every aspect of the media has benefits, but it can also pose a threat to our electoral system in this election. As reporters from The Pop-ular Vote, we wanted to speak with people around the country about how pop culture and politics intersect in their daily lives, and have influenced their decisions this election season.