What Exactly IS “The Mainstream”?

Sure, I’ve lamented the depressing-down of pop culture over the past 30 years.  And yes, we in the social media field often debate whether or not what we’re doing has “become mainstream.”

But what (or where?) is the mainstream?  And when does a creation of the culture become popular enough to qualify as “pop culture” — and to whom?

If we start with Wikipedia (because we must), we learn the following:

“Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority….  It is a term most often applied in the arts (i.e., music, literature, and performance). This includes:

• something that is available to the general public;
• something that has ties to corporate or commercial entities.

As such, the mainstream includes all popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media. The opposite of the mainstream are subcultures, countercultures, cult followings, underground cultures and (in fiction) genre.”

Given this definition, let’s deconstruct it further.  For example, the opening sentence: “Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority.”  Thus, in order to be considered “mainstream,” a thing must be thought of:

• commonly
• currently
• by the majority

For example, swing music was “current” 60 years ago, but it’s not “commonly” enjoyed “by the majority” today, so we can conclude that swing music is no longer mainstream — although it once was.  This means that mainstream has a shelf life dependent upon the immediate popular tastes of “the majority,” as epitomized by fashion.  (“When does something become retroactively cool?” is a discussion for another time.)

But there’s another spot of vagueness in the whole debate: how do we define “the majority”?  Are we talking about the entirety of the world’s population?  If so, then only the most basic concepts like food, water and shelter can be considered mainstream, since I doubt most of sub-Saharan Africa has ever seen Star Wars or an NFL game.  Or maybe we mean the majority of Western (or Eastern) culture, AKA the majority of geographically separate citizens who still share a common lifestyle?  Or do we mean the majority of a certain country, a specific gender or an age-defined demographic?

NASCAR is mainstream among the red half of America.  Richard Dawkins is an international expert and best-selling author whom the majority of NASCAR fans have probably never read.  Have either of them reached a critical mass of popularity across enough demographic segments to be considered “mainstream”?  (Can something ever be mainstream if it polarizes the population, or must it be universally embraced?)

Iron Man, a film based on a semi-popular comic book (which is a literary subculture, according to the above definition), is the 53rd largest-grossing film of all-time, out-earning all of the X-Men films, which are based on a better-known property.  Since film is mass media, whereas comic books are not, does that mean the character of Iron Man has finally escaped the alternative media ghetto and can now be considered mainstream?  Or would he have to reach the heights of Spider-Man 3 at #13 all-time, or The Dark Knight at #4?  What’s the Mendoza line for the mainstream?

CNN and Nightline regularly quote tweets from their Twitter followers.  Facebook helped power the “Super Duper Tuesday” election extravaganza in February 2008.  Does mass media’s use of a social media tool mean that specific tool can now be considered mainstream?  Or does one tool’s reach raise awareness of social media itself to mainstream heights?

Perhaps none of these questions have clearly-defined answers, and this is all an exercise in semantics.  But if we’re interested in how the world around us perceives what we’re doing — and how we’re influenced by what the world around us is doing — it helps to understand our own presumptions and expectations.  Otherwise, you’ll never know when those UGGs you insist on wearing have gone out of style.

Tags: art, audience, comics, history, movies, perception, pop culture, Social Media, Sociology