Stacy Takacs notes that culture is the, “active process of generating and circulating meanings and pleasures within a social system” (Takacs, S. 2015, p.3), with the strand of Popular Culture identifying the, “ways that mass cultural texts, objects, and performances are created, circulated, and received by individuals in their everyday lives” (Takacs, S. 2015, p.8).

Having visited a health food store recently it was startling to see how many products made of coconut were available, the most prominent being the several choices of coconut oil. Coconut oil has turned into a health food trend with endorsements from nutritionists claiming it plays a positive role in preventing disease (Jacob, A. 2013), to celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow who gargles it in her mouth for fresh breathe and Channing Tatum rubbing it all over his wife’s pregnant stomach (Hou, K. 2014). These, “popular… people and their practices of creation, interpretation, and agency,” (Takacs, S. 2015, p.8) appropriate the commodities usefulness within society. Thus by sharing what they use the oil for they provide a, “culture… embodie[d]… in the things people do with the commodity,” and, “excorporate,” the artefact within society to make it popular (Takacs, S. 2015, p.6).

The concept of using coconut oil for wellbeing is not new within certain cultures as it’s been a, “staple in tropical regions of the world for thousands of years” (Jacob, A. 2013). What’s surprising is how it’s recent accent into popular culture through celebrity and health outlets has led to a response in the market to introduce more products, therefore, “transform[ing]… cultural traditions into commodities that can be bought and sold” (Takacs, S. 2015, p.2). The products health benefits also has the ability to overshadow its material value allowing consumers to get disillusioned in the craze and forget the intention for, “mass-production [of] commercial profit by centralized cultural industries” (Takacs, S. 2015, p.4-5).

References

Hou, K 2014. ‘25 Weird Things Celebrities Have Done With Coconut Oil,’ The Cut – New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/10/25-things-celebrities-have-done-with-coconut-oil.html, March 2015.

Jacob, A 2013. ‘Coconut Oil – Learn More About This Superfood That Contains Healthful Saturated Fats,’ Today’s Dietitian, vol.15, no.10, p.56: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100713p56.shtml, March 2015.

Takacs, S 2015. ‘What is Popular Culture?’ (Chapter One), Interrogating Popular Culture: Key Questions, Routledge, New York, pp.1-17.