Post #671 by Kawentzmann on Sat, Apr 13, 2002 2:36 PM

This is a very good point of view.
It makes me think of Thor Heyerdahl, who has been active in both fields dealing with polynesian culture. The pop part and the serious, in his case, scientific part. It was the mainstream pop appeal that made his serious work a possibility.
Today we see so many fierce confrontation where culture and religion is taking people further apart. Resulting in wars like in Israel. Everywhere you look today, you see the conequences of the seperating powers of religion. Popculture has many negative sides as well, but it has got the power to connect people, too. And like Bigbrotiki said, it might even be a route to investigation of the real thing.

Cultures, like everything else, are constantly being watered down. That’s not really caused by popculture being a false represantion of one particular culture, but due to the nature of the world and the people. Culture is already one half watered watered down, by the time you first become aware of it. You just think it’s pure the first time you realize it.

KK

P.S. My thoughts are with Thor right now.