The Value of Pop Culture
In this age of global massmedia and information explosion, there is a common perception of popularculture as the opposite of "traditional" or "classical"culture. With this comes the unfortunate implication that the former is somehowless valuable than the latter, that it is merely “distraction”. Some of the moreradical opponents against pop culture would even argue that it is of littlevalue at all - that our lives would have been better if we could just stick tothe classics and pretend that pop culture does not exist. I couldn't disagreemore with this unhappy line of thought. I am of the opinion that pop culture isof great value, both at present and in the future.
分析：开头段结合背景交代和反方观点，暗示反方观点对pop culture的定义错误，引出观点的方式简单自然。
Anyone who dismisses popculture wholesale is ignorant of the way culture grows and develops. Everycultural phenomenon has a beginning. When it first started, it was the popculture of its time. It is only later, with the passage of centuries that “pop“becomes ”classic”.
点评：此处重新定义pop culture
Is there any better exampleof "classical" culture than that of the Bard upon Avon, the greatWilliam Shakespeare? How many people adore and revere Shakespeare today as themaster observer of all aspects of the human condition? Yet the Bard was anextremely popular entertainer during his time - his works were greatly enjoyedand celebrated by not just the upper-class elite of England but the commonpeople as well. Ordinary Englishmen flocked in the thousands to watch theperformance of his plays. Most of his works, even the most famed ones such asHamlet, include bawdy jokes and double-entendres. His dramas displayed ashocking amount of violence for their time, which scandalized many of hiscontemporary critics. If the people of his time had dismissed him as “adistraction” because he was too "pop", we today would know of no Shakespeare,which would be a tragic loss.
点评：，细节处理到位，通过Hamlet这部作品中一样有’ bawdy jokes and double-entendres来进一步阐明’我们所认为的经典在当时一样是流行文化’。可圈可点的是，此段通过虚拟语气进行对比论证，丰富了文章的论证方式，值得借鉴。
Another example is FranzLiszt, now considered a master of classical music. But Liszt was a rock star ofhis time - his performance was dramatic and captivating and he had hordes ofscreaming fans that crowded his concerts. A new word was even invented todescribe the frenzy he generated: Lisztomania. The same can be said of NiccoloPaganini, Liszt's inspiration and predecessor and another giant of classicalmusic.
分析：能增强文章说服力的最佳方式就是有足够多的细节支撑，所以例子还是尽量丰富些。
Therefore it is extremelyunwise for us to dismiss culture today simply because it is "pop", asfew can predict which of the "pop" would become "classic"in the future. Much more recently than Liszt, the Beatles are now considered agreat classic of music, and yet they were "pop" some 50 years ago.
