Prompt 2: The Global Dimensions of Pop Culture and Health

    In today’s world, there are different groups of people in this world that have different lifestyles, routines, and much more. But there are also things that are common between these types of people, one of them being pop culture. Pop culture is considered modern trending culture transmitted through social media and the internet that is aimed towards whoever needs to see it, it could be either the general population, specific age group, or other types of groups. Pop culture is also one way to communicate health and safety issues to the general population through user-friendly and accessible ways. 

My first video, it discusses how a post on the popular social media platform TikTok shows how a Vietnamese creator created a dance that went along with a song released by the Vietnam National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health. This public service song sings about how to wash hands properly, not to touch our eyes, nose, and mouth, and not to visit crowded places where 6 feet is not possible. With the dance, people are starting to do it as well to spread this information and it has done just that. Vietnam had a hard time dealing with COVID-19 with more than 10 million affected and more than 40,000 that died from it. By releasing a song like this and influencers creating dance from it, it helps spread the word and made an impact almost immediately. 

        

        My second video, it shows how 12 of Sierra Leone’s artists and musicians created a song as part of the Pan-African Zero Malaria Starts With Me. The language that this song is in is called Krio language. The song tells listeners how Malaria is such a large issue and that to fix this problem, it must first start with us. The singers say how people need to start this fight against Malaria by getting up to make sure they are treated, and they don’t have the potential of spreading it. Africa has been dealing with Malaria for a long time because it is responsible for high transmission and is dangerous if not dealt with. By releasing pop culture content like this, it communicates to the general population of Africa in a creative and gets people to follow the message behind the song.