Meaning of the term "Popular Culture"?

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I've heard the phrase before, but I've never really understood what it means. Can someone please enlighten me on the definition?

Popular culture is best described as the "culture that is popular amongst the general population". To make a very rough effort, it basically includes anything mass marketed or spontaneously generated in a culture that gains a large amount of attention in the population, and usually is implied as a culture that is lacking in "refinement", a quality distinctive that may or may not relate to an objective reality. Usually it includes things such as tv shows, movies, music, internet memes, celebrity acts, games, etc.

I think you know the use in context, so, what would be the best move to clarify the situation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture

It originally meant entertainment that lower class people like: upper class people supposedly like museums and opera, while lower class people like TV and sport (or its nineteenth century equivalent).

In general it can refer to ANY common idea that is not based on science or logic, but usually only academics use that meaning.

These days it usually means passing fashions in entertainment: e.g. the TV stars, games, movies, etc., that you identify with a particular era, E.g. I grew up in the 1970s so for me 1970s pop culture is the best kind: optimistic over the top songs, the end of the space race, women with wavy hair, etc.