10 myths from pop culture history that are redefining celebrities and events

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Popular culture is one of those things that people think they know everything about (as well as politics). After all, most people are constantly exposed to popular culture, so they think they have a good grasp of it. However, everyone tends to come up with an idealized version of the most popular and beloved celebrities or past events and eras, and also tend to forget about the realities of the situation … especially if those realities are unsightly.

1. It is mistakenly believed that Marilyn Monroe was fuller than today's models

Marilyn Monroe really needs no introduction. Everyone knows the basics of her biography, and she often appears in memes. And quite often you can see claims that Marilyn was more … plump than modern models. This only testifies to the fact that society is becoming more and more strange in the tastes of beauty, and soon the actresses will be skin and bones.

However, the truth is that researchers who tested Monroe's clothing on modern mannequins and compared the difference in sizes of women's clothing years later found that Marilyn probably had about the same weight and body shape as the modern average, idealized model or actress.

2. Prince is considered a gay icon, but he was Jehovah's Witness during his lifetime

This may come as a big surprise to those who are oblivious to the religious views of their favorite celebrities, but music legend Prince was a devout Jehovah's Witness and reportedly even went to people's homes to try to convert them.

In one of the last times a performer ever gave a truly in-depth media interview, he stated that homosexuality is not good in the eyes of God. He never publicly renounced this belief, and when Prince died, drugs such as fentanyl and heroin were found in his body, which he regularly used. During his lifetime, he claimed that he often wrote at home, but did not release all the songs. There may be a good reason he didn't release them - heroin isn't great for inspiration.

3. Lady Gaga is a lady of free morals

Lady Gaga once shocked the world with her crazy antics, such as dancing the floor with a loud, catchy rhythm, in an almost nude state, a dress made of natural raw meat, etc. Reactionaries around the world accused her of all deadly sins, and also claiming that the singer is a threat to children. Lady Gaga has been the target of some of the dumbest and most ridiculous conspiracy theories imaginable.

However, the show diva today is actually quite a "boring" and "positive" person who speaks openly about her past substance abuse problems. When a singer isn't on tour or working, she usually doesn't even leave the house. She does not believe in premarital sex and once tried to dissuade teens from it live on the show. She also recalled the machinations of Satan in interviews, talking about how evil is trying to sneak up on people and lure them into their networks. And, of course, she believes that loving others and doing good is the best solution.

4. Oscar-winning films were without main characters

When the Star Wars prequels appeared at the turn of the 21st century, some of the older fans were very upset and extremely disappointed. During this time, a reviewer named "Mister Plinkett" became popular (under this pseudonym Michael Stoklas was hiding), who smashed "The Phantom Menace" to smithereens, and continued to revise the mistakes of subsequent films in the prequel trilogy. These reviews were wildly popular and seemed like fresh air to some of the more vicious fans.

One of Plinkett's main arguments for why the films were so terrible was that they only needed one main character. He argued that The Phantom Menace simply wasn't good enough on a technical level because it didn't have a strong protagonist. However, this is a rather weak argument. There are tons of Oscar-winning films that didn't have them.

5. Rock and metals disappear due to economic problems

Right now, rock and metal as genres of music are starting to fade into obscurity. While there will always be people who will continue to listen to the old bands, there will still be new ones. Some people think it's because people just don't like this type of music, or that the younger generation has gone bad on the Internet and only like electronic music. However, the truth can be much more commonplace and simply depend on economic conditions. The thing is, the middle class has been shrinking for some time now, so the idea of starting a garage group with a few friends has become something less realistic for most teens.

Even those who are middle class often do not have the purchasing power they had a couple of decades ago, so they are more likely to choose interesting electronic music as it can be made with a computer without buying a bunch of expensive equipment. There are also very few people living in private homes large enough not to annoy neighbors with music.

6. Elvis Presley was just a white performer in the "black" genre

Many people like to think of Elvis Presley as the king of rock and roll and are unaware of a number of nuances. Despite the fact that Presley was a very fat man before his death who regularly abused drugs and overeat, many people still revered him today as a sex symbol. Also, many people think that he wrote all of his own songs, but most of them had a co-writer, and Presley's personal contribution was extremely small.

Sometimes he swapped words or added a word at a time, but for the most part Elvis didn't write the lyrics. In fact, most of his songs were written by black writers such as Otis Blackwell, many of whom have worked in genres such as R&B or soul. It can now be argued that Elvis was a friend of black artists and helped bring music to white people that they would not otherwise have listened to.

7. Trap music is gaining popularity again

For those who do not know this term, "trap music" is a style of rap created mainly in the southern states of the United States. It is characterized by aggressive lyrics as well as more synthesizer use. Trap is music about drugs and the hardships of life on the streets. This type of music has become more and more popular in recent times, including among the middle class, thanks to artists such as Migos and Gucci Mane.

Some people believe that the surge in popularity is due to the fact that rap itself and the electronic style that is often combined with it today is just in vogue. However, even when white people rap today, the songs that become hits are written in the trap style. The reason for this is almost certainly due to a depressed economy and a steadily shrinking middle class.

eight. Censorship is getting stronger, but that doesn't mean people are no longer rude

Today, many might think that films used to be much cruder, more violent and "direct", because censorship did not exist. It is worth remembering at least the series

Leave It to Beaver or Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. In fact, the truth is that even though a lot of things are forbidden to be shown on the screen today, people are just as happy to re-watch and laugh at old "dirty" comedies.

9. Marvel and popular superheroes

Today Marvel has one highly successful and long-running franchise. A huge part of her success lies in the crazy amount of long-term planning "for the future", the slow "promotion" of new heroes and artificially holding back the development of lines of new heroes. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and Thor have become synonymous with Marvel and The Avengers, but that wasn't always the case.

The truth was that characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man had only recently gained legal rights to use them in both standalone and Avengers films, but they were extremely important characters in the comics, and if Marvel launched them into films in the first place, they would have eclipsed many of the characters that Marvel has promoted. Iron Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy are extremely popular now, but before the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they could hardly even be called superheroes.

10. DC Shouldn't Be Excused, But Superman's Story Is Harsh

DC gets a lot of well-deserved scolding for its recent films. The company wants to achieve the same as Marvel, but without the same level of planning and progressive character disclosure. However, it's worth remembering that DC is extremely dependent on one of their characters. A huge part of the problem is that Superman's story is incredibly difficult, and much of the new DC film series has been based largely around him as an introspective character.

You can think of literally anything about a character who is an omnipotent god for most of the time, until he encounters kryptonite and turns into a helpless baby. His inner struggle is also completely unrelated to any of the people. In truth, Superman would look his best as a side character helping out from time to time, without the need for self-determination. DC itself has set a very high bar for heroes with Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. With the billions in cash from Batman, DC has made the decision to present all of its heroes, including Superman, in a darker, darker setting. And to be honest, this is not exactly what people would like to see from the last son of Krypton, who should inspire hope.