Pop culture doesn’t have to be all about escapism and empty distractions. It can also provide valuable opportunities for personal growth if we approach it with intentionality and balance. The issue of risk in the film industry is reflected in other cultural occupations. We may know a great deal about audience tastes, but we can never really be sure of what will be a hit. It is hard to be sure if investment in developing a new artist, a new musician, a new play, or a new novel, will pay off.

How to Fix It: Launch team building activities and company-wide initiatives to get teams talking and working together, even if it’s not work related. Breaking down these initial walls between teams and even within teams can help information flow better when it comes to everyday work. Additionally, creating open-door policies at the leadership level can work wonders for communication. When engagement and transparency are encouraged from the very top, information is less likely to get trapped. It can be difficult to abandon the styles of communication cemented in a company’s foundation but it’s worth the work. For people working in the sector, the first thing to draw attention to is campaigning and activism. There’s organisations operating in and around cultural work that are drawing attention to the inequalities in culture, and doing things about it – I’d particularly highlight Arts Emergency, who both campaign around these issues and work directly with young people from historically marginalised to improve their chances of working in culture. People working in and around culture can support campaigning charities like Arts Emergency as individuals; they can also try to convince their organisations for an institutional commitment. We should recognise that the unusual working patterns of a large number of people in the sector aren’t symptomatic of a stereotypical contract – although the precarity associated with cultural workers goes far beyond them – and defend and extend workers’ rights and conditions through trade unions. Then, talk to employees — especially long-term employees — to get a sense of what’s kept them around. Consider conducting an employee engagement survey and carefully analyze the results. Once you know what you need to improve, act on it. The Fix: Lead by example and hold everyone accountable. Core values are important to your culture and your success as an organization, so ensure they are upheld by every member of your team. Holding all employees to the same set of standards will foster an open culture based on equality. This will also help promote your core values across all departments so they become ingrained in your culture. In addition, pop culture can perpetuate stereotypes and reinforce social norms, which can contribute to prejudice and discrimination. Pop culture can shape our expectations of others by constantly presenting us with specific images and messages, leading to strained relationships and misunderstandings.To the outsider’s eye she had every possible advantage to ‘make it’ in her chosen cultural career. Yet she was blunt about the reality of working life: In addition, technology has facilitated the spread of false information and misinformation through pop culture content. This can have a detrimental effect on critical thinking and the ability to distinguish fact from fiction. People are likelier to believe false information when presented in a pop culture context. The Take Part-survey used in Culture Is Bad for You makes clear the need for better surveys to measure cultural consumption. Since defining culture is closely related to inequalities, as academics we should not reproduce these distinctions like the survey does. Cultural hierarchies are made through space: cultural consumption at a venue is ‘attendance’, cultural consumption at home is ‘leisure’. Especially in a pandemic, we should attribute more value to how culture is lived informally at home and on the streets. Similarly, the highbrow-lowbrow distinction is reinforced in the way nightclubs are grouped together with bars and pubs, in a way that would never happen to opera, theatre and classical music (all distinct categories). As we strive to balance the enjoyment of pop culture and personal development, developing skills for critical consumption and mindful use of the media surrounding us is essential. Unrealistic expectations: Exposure to airbrushed images and seemingly perfect lives can contribute to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem as individuals struggle to live up to these impossible standards.

Another problem is that pop culture can perpetuate stereotypes and reinforce social norms, leading to prejudice and discrimination. The images and messages we see in pop culture can shape our expectations of others and make effective communication difficult, which can strain our relationships. In this extract, they share their interview with ‘Henna’, an aspiring creative, and introduce some of the book’s findings:I triangulated all that data – pupils on free school meals, their attainment levels and the proportion going on to higher education, and creative work – and mapped that against universities to help them identify where would be good places to focus their efforts and try to expand. It was never going to be a hard and fast you must go here; more a suggestion of areas that may be more fertile ground.” This emotional connection fuels our passion for reliving those moments in songs, movies, and other cultural artifacts. Social isolation: The constant need for digital connection through social media platforms and online forums could lead some individuals to social withdrawal.

Cultural production and cultural consumption are the two areas of focus for our story about culture and inequality. These two areas have seen a longstanding and rich set of research traditions and agendas associated with them. We’re contributing new data and new analysis to this already extensive academic work… The Fix: Build out your employer branding strategy. While you can’t control the public’s perception of your company, you can help shape the story. Of course, it’s important to build an accurate employer brand, which can only be done if you first create an exciting workplace culture.In addition, the increasing influence of pop culture in the digital world can contribute to feelings of social isolation. The more people follow and consume pop culture online, the more they may prefer virtual interactions to face-to-face communication. This can lead to weakened interpersonal skills and diminished empathy, making it challenging to maintain healthy relationships. AB - In Culture is Bad for You: Inequality in the Cultural and Creative Industries (Manchester University Press, 2020), authors Orian Brook, Dave O’Brien and Mark Taylor cut through a Gordian Knot of interconnected and complex factors that create and maintain multiple inequalities within the UK Creative and Cultural Industries (CCIs). Exhaustive research in micro and macro detail is presented over eleven chapters, drawn from a wide range of sources. This includes previous research projects that the core group of authors and others have produced including Panic! (2018), statistical evidence, surveys and longitudinal data. It also includes qualitative data in the form of extensive interviews with cultural and creative industry workers. The result is as much a manifesto for change as well as a valuable addition to scholarship countering the ‘celebratory discourse’ in relation to the CCIs over the past 25 years. The Fix: It’s time to double down on your company culture strategy. To do that, however, you need to understand the root of the problem. Probe employees during exit interviews on their reasons for leaving. Try to understand what it was about your culture that frustrated them and which aspects they found difficult to part with. The Fix: Praise in public, correct in private, and present the error as an opportunity to learn and grow. A healthy work environment allows employees to learn from their mistakes without shame.