Is Americas pop culture getting a bad rap?
Something often is missed in the argument about the state of American culture: Many aspects of our cultural situation are healthy. As I have argued in Values Matter Most, political leaders should act boldly and dramatically on social issues. But I am dubious about the idea that we will get much done by slaying fire-breathing cultural dragons. Some of those dragons are friendly critters. Let us look at pop culture, a big cultural issue. Movies and television make up a large and contentious part of that issue of pop culture. I concede that too much tawdry, violent, promiscuous and evil material is being purveyed. Still, I suggest that American movies and television, deservedly subject to much criticism, are monumental assets.
