As members of a society in which pop culture and the media linger in the background of our busy lives, it can be easy to passively consume various art forms without giving much thought to the content.
In recent weeks, music has taken a front seat in students' conversations, challenging them to question the message behind musical lyrics and videos that may clash with personal beliefs. Some have questioned whether it is worth applying ethics to today's age of pop culture.
Since many students have concerns with what they see in today's pop culture, the interns of The Prindle Institute of Ethics created a series entitled "Popcorn and Pop Culture."
Their first event on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 4:15 p.m. will cover the issue of whether ethics should be applied to popular music and what the implications of the application may be. Prindle interns will mediate discussions in Reese Lobby with the help of Matthew Oware, a professor of sociology.
First-year Gesenia Viviescas believes analyzing what we listen to is important since music is hardwired in us.
"It's such a powerful socializer," Viviescas said. "Music before had a meaning behind it, had aspiration to it. There's still some underground music that still has that, but we don't see that in the vast media."
While Viviescas reflected on how the content of music used to have significance, senior Qurratul Prima believes that, depending on the demographic of people who listen to today's music, their perception may be different.
"The older generation who are a lot more conservative would say there should be ethics in pop culture," Prima said. "I don't think the younger generation cares as much. It's so normal for us. Our ethics have been evolving."
Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke are names that have been repeatedly hitting the headlines of magazines and other social platforms due to their controversial lyric content revolving around sex and rape culture.
Junior Meghali Deshmukh believes people in this generation are slowly desensitized to the content of music, which then becomes forgotten.
"What used to be considered wrong is not anymore," Deshmukh said. "[The music has] such catchy beats, so the lyrics are sort of down played."
Prindle Intern Ronnie Kennedy, a senior, believes that students should take a step back from what they're listening to and analyze what is being delivered to consumers.
"There's one thing to accept artistic freedom but for a type of music that is being so widely consumed, it's important to pay attention to the meaning behind it," Kennedy said. "Just as the artist has a right to release certain content, we have a duty to pay attention to what that content is saying."
While Kennedy believes that it is our duty to pay attention to what is being delivered to our ears, sophomore Dylan Wilson thinks that audiences who listen to this music play a part in what's being produced.
"Artists are influenced by consumers in the fact that we pay for them to do things like Miley Cyrus and going crazy on stage," Wilson said. "Consumers enjoy seeing that and the 'sexiness' of it. I would say, therefore, that it forces artists to do that in order to sell their product."