nan | 楠木

Hope this helps you dear. 587 words, written in half an hour, very rough.

Issue 6. The most effective way to understand contemporary culture is to analyze the trends of its youth.

In my view, contemporary culture is most distinctively shown in the trends of its youth. Therefore, it would be an effective and necessary way to understand contemporary culture through the study of the youth. However, to fully comprehend all aspects of contemporary culture, one must dig further and investigate more into other areas of related interest.

Contemporary culture, by definition, could be interpreted as the culture of the modern society. And in any society, it is always the young generation that is at the forefront of the culture, leading the fashion and setting the trends. They not only represent the most advanced sections of the culture, but also play a crucial role in defining contemporary culture, shaping it to their tastes and advancing it. For example, in the 60s and 70s of the US, in the great social change that was brought about by the anti-war movements, the sex revolution and the rock and roll phenomenon, it was the young people who were leading these changes and drastically changing the values of society. What they did may seem radical and extreme at the time, but in hindsight, we can find that their efforts were perhaps one of the most important elements in bringing about what we now consider contemporary culture. Therefore, to understand contemporary culture, it would be mandatory to investigate the behaviors and actions of the young generation. Their tastes and trends constantly shape contemporary culture as we know it.

Yet I believe it is not enough to only emphasize focus on the trends of the youth. Indeed, society is formed by all age groups, and it would be prudent to say contemporary culture is formed by all parties of society. Politicians, the media, and certain other groups with influential power, sometimes play especially important roles in the trends of culture. One example that immediately jumps to mind would be the Cultural Revolution of China in the 60s and 70s. This is a movement that was brought about by the leaders of the state, and it brought about huge social change, redefining China’s contemporary culture with vast differences. To understand this change in culture, it is crucial to analyze the actions of the government during this period. Likewise, the media often has huge influence on the mass public, leading us in the direction it chooses. Thus they also contribute to defining culture, and therefore were one to study culture, an analysis of the media would also be greatly helpful.

In addition, perhaps it would be imprudent to simply categorize the different parties of society and analyze each party’s contribution to contemporary culture. Society is a mass web of interaction among all its constituents, and the results and effects of these interactions―the effect the youth has on the politicians, the effect the media has on the youth and vice versa―should never be underestimated. Perhaps it would be an effort in vain to try to seek who is ultimately responsible for the change in culture―instead contemporary culture should be viewed as the combined result of the dynamic interactions that take place in society, and therefore, to understand it, we must always study all elements of society.

In conclusion, while I do believe that an analysis of the trends of the youth is crucial towards understanding contemporary culture, it is nonetheless far from enough. All aspects of society must be investigated to form the true understanding of culture.