Popular culture, or pop culture, is the currency or iconography of a contemporary culture. An example is United States popular culture.

For example (from wikipedia) "The giant panda...is a favorite animal in popular culture."

Esotericism, although nominally the opposite of popular, may be part of popular culture, for example, freemasonry.

Popular culture is constantly changing and is specific to place and time. One may speak of mainstream popular culture, thus contemplating subsets, "Kraftwerk have impinged on mainstream popular culture to the extent that they have been referenced in The Simpsons and Father Ted."

Many scholars study popular culture. They come together through associations like the Popular Culture Association, and print articles in the Journal of Popular Culture.

See also: Pop music, Canadian popular culture, British popular culture, List of popular cultures by country, American popular culture

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