Popular culture recycles stigmatized knowledge out of sealed subcultures

Evidence

The volume and infl uence of stigmatized knowledge have increased dramatically through the mediation of popular culture. Motifs, theories, and truth claims that once existed in hermetically sealed subcultures have begun to be recycled, often with great rapidity, through popular culture. Although this movement may be observed in a variety of forms, including television and mass-market fi ction, the most important and visible venue has been fi lm. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 216

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the mechanism by which stigmatized knowledge moves into the mainstream.
• XREF: connects to: Crossing internet fame into traditional media fails when subculture humor cannot translate — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 196; Marginalized subcultures fuel mainstream cultural innovation, not the reverse — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 860; Appropriating edgy subculture signifiers for mass consumption erases their meaning — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 253

Broader Connections

• Marginalized subcultures fuel mainstream cultural innovation, not the reverse #contradicts (0.85) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 860
• Appropriating edgy subculture signifiers for mass consumption erases their meaning #qualifies (0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 253