Johnson- "sophisticatedly deliver stupidity"

Based on the reading I must admit that pop culture doesn’t seem to be doing what George Will describes. Johnson makes a good argument in favor of pop culture’s increasing demands on people’s intellectual abilities.

He argues that video games are anything but mindless; they’re difficult, complex puzzles that rely heavily on a delayed gratification reward system, decision making, strategies, and collateral learning. They force players to explore their worlds and decipher the rules of the environments for themselves. Players must manage multiple layers of tasks, mastering smaller goals that need to be completed before tackling the one larger goal or objective. These types of activities require attentive focus as well as long term planning abilities. Johnson also notes that “the games that people reliably line up to buy are the ones that require the most thinking” (p. 136).

Johnson also argues that television has grown to be more demanding on people today. With subtlety and discretion, TV shows challenge their audience to follow more complex and numerous plot lines. There are often a number of layers to TV shows, where regular viewers can appreciate references that new viewers may not even notice. Many reality shows also request audience participation, which is a fairly new concept in television. Reality shows are also often about strategy. In addition they evoke real emotional intensity from their contestants as well as their viewers. Just like today’s television, movies portray many plot layers and layers within the dialogue. Movies and television seem to be training people to follow multiple threads at once.

The Internet, which pop culture relies upon heavily, is also extremely interactive. Many people spend their time blogging (writing), surfing the net (exploring), and learning how to use many new technological devices, software, and systems.

Before I read Johnson’s book, I may have agreed with George Will, but I must admit, Johnson makes a good argument. He’s caused me to have second thoughts about the benefits of pop culture. As he said in his introduction, “the sky is not falling” (p. xiv)