(Pop) Uncultured

For all those who surreptitiously google pop culture references to sound smarter; for all those who have been threatened with disownment for not having watched some sitcom or a movie trilogy; this is for the ones united in their laziness, or maybe the lack of a good WiFi (BSNL, cue sobbing). Join the club because “YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED SHERLOCK? Never speak to me again”.

Go ahead, judge us. Wrinkle your noses. Look down upon us. Treat us like the lowly mortals you believe we are for not being up to date with the world of American drama and give us disdainful looks for not being able to quote minute 34 of the eleventh episode of the third season of XYZ show. We are used to it. In a world where the pressure to see every possible latest drama and sitcom is greater than the pressure of having a thigh gap (thanks for that, Spongebob and Cara Devegline), and lifelong bonds are formed on the basis of fangirling over Benedict Cumberbatch, hard times confront the pop uncultured. So you rely on iMDB and Tumblr for random smart quips to toss around without having watched the show, which guilt trips you into promising to yourself, “I shall watch this. Soon. SOON.” Only that’s later than sooner. Or maybe never. Meanwhile, your hard disk sits there mockingly, whispering sweet nothings you’ve mastered to be deaf to. While some fall prey to these luring lullabies of endless and in depth analyses of how the characters of Community essentially reflect the complexities of human nature, and how Taylor Swift’s Blank Space video is the perfect response to the media mocking her relationship status, and succumb to the pressure of updating their pop culture knowledge bank, many remain defiantly lazy and unwilling, and some try to balance precariously on the tightrope of the middle path.

Regardless, your choices or lack of pop cultured-ness don’t define you, as much as they make you believe otherwise. Hold your head up high, you’ll get through this too. The journey is hard, involves sacrifices and many judgmental looks. Some mental breakdowns too maybe. Threats of break ups and the possibility of the end of friendships. Maybe limited potential for making friends and a drastic reduction of conversation topics and a lot of awkward silences. Stay strong and stay lazy though, it doesn’t make you foolish. Meanwhile, I’ll quietly sneak away to watch Breaking Bad. Season one. *scuttles away*

© Snigdha Shahi
(Pol Science First Year)