this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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This is an impossible question to answer. But, I'll give it a shot anyway. I've expanded the meaning of "franchise" to include "all properties sublicensable for the purposes of profiteering."
If "popular culture" refers to the recognizable and persistent elements of living in society that the majority people share in common without having to communicate that recognition, I'd regard the following franchises as having broad impact worldwide:
McDonalds/Subway and all attendant advertising as a signpost for food. Franchises abound.
Esso/Shell/BP as gateways to modern conveniences and transportation. Every gas station, residence, farm house, hen house, outhouse, and dog house is connected to these franchises in some way.
G4S/Securitas/Garda as the front line protecting the 'haves' from the 'have-nots'. Franchises abound.
Most athletic, luxury vehicle, and brands as the status symbols they want themselves to be. Franchisees promote the brands as a means of collecting clients.
If, on the other hand, "popular culture" is, 'traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of a society's population. ... types of media that have mass accessibility and appeal' (ThoughtCo.) then the following are some fairly strong indicators of popular culture:
Hello Kitty (be pleasant)
Pokémon (pursue goals)
Superman/Batman (masculinity, vigilantism)
Paw Patrol (institutions are essential)
the Olympics (do athletics)
Michael Jordan (be excellent)
Mickey Mouse (dream big)
Star Wars/The Bible (G vs. E)
The ones I wish would take hold and have more of an influence:
X-men (biodiversity is good)
the Expanse
Battlestar Galactica (genocide, rebellion, impersonation, terrorism, coups d'état, civil war, infidelity, succession, military conflict, asymmetrical warfare, treason, mutiny, pirate broadcasts, nuclear warfare... and that's just the first half of the series)
Tony's Chocolonely (ethical economics)