Does Pop Culture Turn Us Into Slaves – Stephen Sewell

Screenwriter Stephen Sewell rails against the social effects of consumerism, stating that modern pop culture serves to “enslave” people in a endless cycle of insatiable desire. “Popular culture isn’t culture at all,” argues Sewell. “It’s commerce.”

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The first of the 2010 season of the ever-popular IQ2 debates took the crowd-pleasing topic: “Popular Culture: We’ve seen the future, and it’s junk.” Some big-name thinkers and writers lined up to do battle. Is popular culture an annoyance that keeps the masses in a state of stupor? Or does it shape our society in an important and entertaining way? – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Stephen Sewell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter, whose works include “The Boys,” “The Secret Death of Salvador Dali” and “Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America – A Drama in 30 Scenes.”