ABSTRACT
Popular culture pervades American society. It is neither good nor evil, neither beneficial nor detrimental. It is omnipresent. For English students and educators, the texture of contemporary language, the descriptions of modem institutions, and the quality of human relations cannot be explored apart from the jargon and imagery found in popular culture. Baseball metaphors, extending from recent governmental policy toward criminals (“Three strikes and you're out”) to romantic entanglements (“He can't get to first base with her”) and from business boardrooms (“Make a strong pitch so the client will feel safe at home with our product”) to street comers (“I'll pinch hit for you if necessary”). The melding of institutional language, symbols, and tasks with popular culture media illustrates the spongelike nature of popular culture. It not only circulates new terms but also absorbs and revitalizes descriptions of the most mundane human actions. One need only reflect on the lyrical adaptation of children's nursery rhymes (“Lib Red Riding Hood”), formal schooling (“Another Brick in the Wall-Part II”), or unemployment (“Allentown”) to note oral art reflecting life.
