There are many differences between popular culture and Life of the Mind. First, popular culture is at odds with Life of the Mind on the value principle. Popular culture is in great demand by the vast majority and satisfies the daily need for entertainment. Mass culture simplifies everything and makes it accessible and understandable to everyone without exception. It is focused on the average audience, on simple pragmatics, as it is addressed to a vast audience of viewers and readers. In turn, the goal of Life of the Mind is to convey the traditions of spiritual values and cultural and artistic experiences of generations. It promotes spiritual development, obtaining information about the intellectual heritage of previous generations. In this regard, mass culture is primitive and cannot help in the development of the level of intelligence and education. It does not affect the depths of the human soul, does not seek to know the essence of being, and adapts to the requirements of the time and the consumer’s desires.
An equally significant aspect that characterizes the difference between popular culture and Life of the Mind is speed. Modern people live at a swift pace. They prefer fast technology and speedy cars, and they find long movie scenes unbearable and prefer brevity and speed. Williams asserts that this is due to the lack of patience that is characteristic of popular culture (74). On the contrary, Life of the Mind involves the endurance, patience, attentiveness, and perseverance necessary for learning and learning.
Finally, popular culture is at odds with Life of the Mind, which is associated with the marginalization of Christian life in modern culture. Initially, the phenomenon of marginality was interpreted as an intermediate position of a person who simultaneously exists in two different cultural groups. But today, marginality is understood as a universal cultural phenomenon rooted in the group conditions of human existence. Williams finds a correlation of this concept with such terms as alienation, atypicality, and otherness (77). Mass culture is outliving religion, and only a few manage to maintain their faith under the mob’s pressure. Thus, the critical differences between mass culture and Life of the Mind are values, the rhythm of life, and religious consciousness.
Works Cited
Williams, Clifford. The Life of the Mind: A Christian Perspective. Baker Academic, 2002.