What struck me in particular about Williams’ article was the attention to detail when emphasizing that culture is ‘ordinary’. As described by Williams, popular culture is made for and by the people of a particular society regardless of status. He notes the individual characteristics, professions, and inner workings of the town he grew up in to highlight that each person, each town contributes to the whole while maintaining their individuality. Simultaneously, people can contribute and ascribe to a shared set of practices and beliefs on the national level and in their own localities. Culture is a common resource, and its validity exists outside social hierarchies.

From that point of view, it is easy to find euro-centrism as an elitist critic of cultural practices in the Global South. The events and rituals that are performed by the marginalized are often dismissed despite defining many moments in popular culture. Reggaetón, for example, was created by Afro-Latinx communities in the Caribbean but became popularized through Spanish artists in recent years, as well as these same popular artists borrowing clothing and hairstyles from the African diaspora to promote their music without acknowledging the cultures that inspired them.

That being said, do any of you agree with the sentiment that popular culture is ordinary? That it exists outside the bounds of social class?