How "Psych" Rewards Useless Pop Culture Knowledge

Psych is a popular television series about a private investigator who uses his powers of deduction to solve cases under the guise of psychic abilities. The investigator, Shawn Spencer, has a reputation for making reference after reference to various movies and shows. The clip below gives some examples of the back-and-forth references he makes with his partner, Gus. 

Klosterman suggests in "Death By Harry Potter" that while a lack of pop culture knowledge may not affect your life on a practical level, there are intangible social impacts when we lack what others consider to be "common knowledge." Klosterman mentions Kevin Smith's filmography as an example by pointing out how boring his movies would be to someone who has never seen Star Wars. 

Psych is a perfect example of how pop culture knowledge can make us feel "plugged in," while a lack of knowledge limits our ability to understand the world around us. I'm willing to bet that every movie reference you understood in that compilation endeared you to the characters a little. If you didn't recognize any of the movies or celebrities mentioned, that clip was probably fairly boring. We're rewarded for consuming media that is deemed valuable by society. 

Although you might not find the show enjoyable if you don't understand Spencer's references, I wouldn't say that viewers are punished for not getting the joke. Klosterman says there are three basic kinds of information: what you know, what you don't know, and what you don't know you don't know. When a reference is made that you don't understand, it's simply taking something you didn't know you were ignorant in and making you aware of its existence. 

When I was younger, I didn't understand the majority of the references in Psych, but it didn't stop me from watching the show. Instead, it made me aware of the information I didn't know about and encouraged me to orient myself. Now that I'm older, I've seen a lot of movies referenced in the show and enjoy it a lot more because I recognize the cultural context behind each joke. 

Sometimes, a lack of information can 

make us uncomfortable, like going on a blind date or accepting an invitation 

from Bear Grylls. People might say pop 

culture knowledge is less pressing, and 

therefore more of a commodity than a necessity. Sellnow says otherwise, arguing that popular culture has major influence over our societal beliefs and values. The more conscious we are of the media we consume, the more deliberate we can be in responding to the persuasive messages within. 

Maybe pop culture knowledge isn't so useless after all.