My article for Malaysia's "The Vox" weekly magazine

Below is an article I wrote for Malaysia’s “The Vox” weekly magazine while I was studying for my first degree in Mass Communication in Malaysia:

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Driving me crazy

On one fine shiny day, I found my 13-year-old cousin in tears. With some prodding, she told me the reason: somebody had called her ‘brainless’ and ‘stupid’. Why? Because she loved listening to Britney Spears. Should that be a problem? Certain sections of the society seem to think so.

I wasn’t surprised at my cousin been demonized because, even earlier, I had personally come across incidents where ‘Britney-haters’ (or haters of manufactured, ready-made boy bands or girl bands for that matter) had made scathing remarks about those who didn’t share their taste in music.

Now, should that be a problem? As human beings, each is an individual. As individuals, each is different from the other. One’s outlook on life, and one’s beliefs and opinions will always differ from that of others. That’s what makes us human after all. Otherwise we would not be ‘individuals’. We would resemble the aliens in “Toy Story 3” which are linked by a ‘uni-mind’ and therefore have the same uniform thoughts and tastes. God forbid!

Once, a friend and I were strolling through a flea market in Kuala Lumpur where I spied some cheap CDs on sale. At that time, rival boy bands ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys had just released new albums, and out of curiosity I looked through the song list of ‘N Sync’s “No Strings Attached” album. As soon as my friend saw me looking at the ‘N Sync CD, he commented: ‘I’d never buy that. I never listen to those’. I didn’t even ask him for his opinion! Why did he make such a comment? Then of course I realized why he had said that: he was self-righteously declaring himself as ‘not’ a member of the ‘boy band club’. He was professing himself as an ‘intellectual’ -- a person of great taste and class. In his opinion, those who listened to Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync or any other boy band for that matter ‘had no taste’ or ‘class’ and therefore he had quite a low opinion of them.

‘Popular (pop) culture’ vs. ‘intellectual culture’ is not a debate that is ongoing only in Malaysia. It is hotly debated everywhere. But does anyone actually stop to really think what this debate is about? Does anybody care to find out what makes ‘pop culture’ pop and what makes ‘intellectual culture’ intellectual? In the case of music, what makes pop and what makes it intellectual (or art)?

Mass communication scholars claim that the differentiating factor between intellectual and pop is critical thinking. Hence, a piece of music becomes pop when it is manufactured, played, or sung, in a way that do not demand any critical thinking on the part of the listener. In such a case, the aim of the listener is totally different from that of the ‘intellectual listener’. The casual listener listens to the music as a hobby, as a pastime, or for pure, simple pleasure. My cousin fits into this category.

Her purpose in listening to Britney Spears is because she gets a kick out of it; she likes to dance to Britney’s catchy beats. She says the fast music helps her to do her work at home at a fast pace. And she adds that Britney’s music provides ‘good background noise’. So there it is. We now understand the purpose of boy band and girl band music. It doesn’t demand anything from us. It is so casual. Which may be why it is also considered ‘superficial’ by the ‘intellectuals’.

On the side of the intellectuals, a piece of music becomes intellectual when the music, the lyrics or vocals have deeper meaning, is thought-provoking and demand that the listener employ critical thinking. No problem with that, either. So let’s just leave everyone in peace. You can’t say pop is bad and rock is good. Similarly, you cannot say that rock is bad and pop is good either!

In a world where everything is subjective, nobody can define what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It’s just a way of looking at things. One person’s perception may be different from another’s. That doesn’t necessarily make a thing good or bad. Ultimately, it all depends on our personal tastes, or personal likes and dislikes. George Michael and Bono once said that ‘pop music is about good, beautiful songs with great hooks’. So why should anyone have a problem with pop songs?

Although most of the boy bands and girl bands are artificially assembled and ‘manufactured’, and even though they themselves are not well-versed in singing or playing musical instruments, the music and tracks produced for boy bands and girl bands come from famous and respected DJs. Hence, it is not surprising that Spears and the rest of the pack do make the top of the charts every time they release a single or an album.

We cannot force someone to like something that he or she hates. Similarly, we cannot make him or her dislike something that he or she likes. But then, intellectuals will never be happy keeping quiet. They see it as their social or moral responsibility to uplift the ‘illiterate’ classes, to help them develop ‘high cultural tastes’, and to encourage them to like and understand ‘art’.

This brings to mind a sad chapter in the recent history of the world -- when Western colonialists saw it as their duty to help ‘civilize’ the rest of the world. The result? They conquered our lands and destroyed our local cultures. They justified their actions because of their false belief that Western civilizations had attained the peak of ‘civilization’ and that the rest of the world was still in the Dark Ages.

They never realized that there is no such thing as high or low culture. Culture is a way of life that is defined over time by a particular way of living. Nobody can say that one culture is superior to another. If only the colonialists had had an open mind, it might have prevented the gross wrongs and injustices that were inflicted on their colonies.

Only now do open-minded scholars understand that different ways of life produce different cultures. A Westerner might think eating with the hands distasteful. This is a habit some Muslims adopt because it is part of their culture. However advanced we become, however many technical innovations we adopt, however much we are exposed to other cultures, I can bet that Muslims will not think that eating with hands is distasteful.

Hence, ultimately, all things are subject to perception.

Critics may claim that this is a fantastic way of looking at life; that we are ignoring the harsh realities, of life which are, by the way, the subject of many though-provoking songs performed by respected rock, grunge and other artistes.

Critics may claim that by promoting pop culture, we are presenting to young people only a rosy picture of life -- a fantasy picture devoid of any conflict; that we are closing the door that should otherwise be left open for the youth to wake up from their slumber. But the question is, is our pop-loving youth ready for this?

We might have this noble intention of persuading our young people to open their eyes to the real world. But that doesn’t mean we have the right to force anything on them.

During the period when young people are entering their adolescence, what they are looking for is quite different from what adults look for in life. Although they know that life is not a bed of roses, they are not yet ready nor do they want to be bothered with the harsh realities of life. And although we may be appalled by this attitude of the youth, there is no reason to fear for them because over time, they will outgrow pop culture.

So there is no reason for us to play Big Brother by monitoring what they listen to or forcing them to like certain music which we may deem intellectual. Let them grow out of pop culture at their own pace. My cousin may love Spears for now but I am sure that once she is past the age of being awestruck by goatee-sporting boy bands, she will grow to love bands such as Nirvana.

I remember myself as a kid, reading those ‘Famous Five’ books. Over the years, I made so many transitions; from Enid Blyton to The Hardy Boys and on to Sidney Sheldon. But now I prefer Annie Proulx, David Gutterson, Michael Ondaatje -- so-called intellectuals. I am way past ‘Famous Five’ or The Hardy Boys (although I still cherish my memories of them because they were part of my growing-up). It wasn’t a conscious decision. I didn’t wake up one day and decide: ‘Okay, from now on I will read only Booker Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors’.

The transition was made unconsciously because I outgrew them. The transition from pop culture to intellectual culture is not a deliberate, conscious decision. The transition comes when you want something more and when you are on the lookout for something more challenging.

Everything is part of the growing-up process. If everyone followed the same policy of live and let live, without demonizing anyone we come across as being different from us, I’m sure this world would be a much happier place. Everybody would mind his or her own business and everybody would be able to live their lives the way they want.