How We’ll Forget John Lennon
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Fascinating article on the study of cultural memory.
"A few years ago a student walked into the office of Cesar A. Hidalgo, director of the Collective Learning group at the MIT Media Lab. Hidalgo was listening to music and asked the student if she recognized the song. She wasn’t sure. “Is it Coldplay?” she asked. It was “Imagine” by John Lennon. Hidalgo took it in stride that his student didn’t recognize the song. As he explains in our interview below, he realized the song wasn’t from her generation. What struck Hidalgo, though, was the incident echoed a question that had long intrigued him, which was how music and movies and all the other things that once shone in popular culture faded like evening from public memory."
http://nautil.us/issue/68/context/how-well-forget-john-lennon
I've long believed that most, if not all, of what we think of as important cultural artifacts will be minor historical footnotes in 100 years. It might actually happen sooner than that.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mylar
My son's name is Lennon. I
My son's name is Lennon. I may not even be around 10 or 20 years years from now, but my grandkids know how their father got his name.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
There are some pop culture
There are some pop culture figures that will last around longer than others. I think most people recognize Marilyn Monroe even though she has been dead for 57 years and most people under the age of 40 haven't seen any of her movies. Charlie Chaplin is another icon that people instantly recognize but I doubt that even 1 in 10 people can name a single one of his movies.
John Lennon and Elvis are two rock and roll icons that people will similarly recognize well into the 21st Century and beyond. And beyond just their image, the Beatles' music is still surprisingly popular with young people even today. Just a few years ago, I was on an Amtrak to Seattle and had to get up and switch cars because a group of teenagers were enthusiastically and loudly butchering Beatles song after Beatles song.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ausonius
The research this guy is
The research this guy is doing certainly questions the assumption that just because our generation sees people as icons of a particular genre means that others down the line will as well.
Folks in the comments thread made a good point that intellectual property law can be an impediment to passing along a cultural image by limiting access to it.
The article also mentions that the market for memorabilia often dies off with the generation that produced the memories (eg Elvis stuff has fallen in value as that generation dies off) so I might have to sell those box sets sooner that I had anticipated.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Scott Schaffer
Chuck Klosterman wrote a book
Chuck Klosterman wrote a book on this very topic, titled :"But What if Wer'e Wrong"? It gives numerous examples of how he believes many ideas and concepts which we believe to be important and "forever" right now, may in fact, wind up in the dustbin of history. He even uses the Beatles and Elvis as a good example. Pretty interesting conceit, as it goes into other areas. I often think of Elvis in this regard. He is regarded as the "King" and was larger than life in his time. But i can't remember the last time I heard an Elvis song or saw a photo or videp of him.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Franklin Page
I think most students at MIT
I think most students at MIT have other things on their mind than fretting over music history
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Johnny D
On a somewhat related note
On a somewhat related note (or perhaps not), my wife and I can't believe that both of our kids are convinced that they have no knowledge of the song "Home on the Range"
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Zoner
Who?
Who?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Def. High
https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajEN2n2sogs