A Conversation with: Power of Pop Fund

 Lisa Gardener in conversation with Maxine Thomas-Asante

On a slightly grey morning, Maxine and I hopped on a zoom call to discuss the radical potential of pop culture to create social change. At The Anti-Stigma Network, our work on stigma has naturally focused on our work with people affected by drugs and alcohol. We settled into what would be a meaningful, and at times humorous conversation about how doing great work can feel joyful and even entertaining. This blog post explores some of the themes of our discussion and aims to give those who are interested a little further insight into how pop culture can advance social justice. 

We’ve seen over the years how popular culture, and stories that reach the public have the power to change public opinion, break down stereotypes and helping to create understanding and awareness.

Can you tell us a bit more about the work that you do? What is Pop Culture for Social Change?

It would be my joy to share a bit more about the work. Pop culture for social justice, is a cultural change strategy that aims to meet the general public where they are, the TV we watch, the music we listen to, the content we engage with. Using these more accessible avenues for engagement, we hope facilitate meaningful conversations about big topics in a way that inspires action and changes attitudes.

A lot of the time in social justice, we lead with data first, which is important but does not always grip people’s hearts. On the contrary, storytellers and creatives have the unique skill of telling entertaining stories that make people feel things. The aim of cultural strategy is to optimise the skill of storytelling, with the expertise of changemakers, to inspire people to take action in building the world we would like to live in. In other words mixing together the talents of changemakers, researchers and creatives.

The other unique characteristic of pop culture for social justice, is that the conversation is multi-directional. While content provides the stimulus, pop culture is also about the ways audience come to reshape, challenge and engage with content, creating widely shared reference points. Pop culture means we are not just educating audiences unilaterally but actively engaging and hearing back.

What is particularly fun about pop culture for social justice is that we don’t have to be experts to engage. The only criteria to entry is existing in the context of society and enjoying entertaining content!

Can you give us any examples?

There are many ways that pop culture leads from social change, from the international scale, all the way to our interpersonal engagement with art. Whenever, I’m introducing people to the concept, I always ask: what piece of art or entertainment first made you think differently about a social issue? It could be a song, a TV show, even a painting, but most of us have had at least one experience where art challenged us to think differently.

If anyone, like me, is a bit of a TV fan, there are many examples in UK popular culture where entertainment has given us the opportunity to think differently about a topic. A recent example could include Adolescence, which gripped the heart of the nation and asked us to think carefully about how we are supporting children, particularly boys, in the digital age. Another example might be Mr Bates vs the Post Office which was a holiday moment, raising the profile of the treatment of sub-postmasters working for the post office and leading to a public enquiry. For the music lovers, an example could be when Stormzy used his performance at the BRIT awards in 2018 to pressure policymakers to support survivors of the Grenfell tragedy. As such, there are many examples of entertainment and pop culture highlighting social justice topics to audiences.

Could you talk a bit more about your approach to ethical storytelling?

​At the Power of Pop Fund, we often use the framing of authentic storytelling as our north star. We are hoping to contribute to practices in the creative industries that create opportunities for historically excluded communities to share their stories with mass audiences. We are also interested in the type of narrative framing that brings about hope, fresh insight and a call to action.

In the context of this, ethical storytelling is deeply important. Ethical storytelling is not just a principle but a commitment to justice, dignity, and integrity. Quality entertainment that is believable can lead to developing trusted messengers, promoting equity, and driving social justice.

How do you support organisations to think outside the box?

We are really fortunate that the organisations we get to work with are already thinking outside the box. The whole methodology of cultural strategy requires creative approaches to systemic problems. Our contribution as a pooled fund, is creating the scope for funded partner organisations to operate in dynamic ways, so that the governance of organisations is as creative as the work we are supporting with. We offer core and flexible funding, which supports our funded partners to experiment, try new initiatives and refine their own practice.   

Any thoughts on the stigma and discrimination faced by people affected by drugs and alcohol?

The work supporting those affected by drugs and alcohol is deeply important. Substance abuse does not sit on its own, but is deeply linked to gender justice, economic justice and environmental factors. For example, high levels of unemployment can increase the likelihood of people turning towards substances to cope with difficult times. Additionally, drugs and alcohol can exacerbate gender based violence. Our social values can put people under a lot of systemic pressure and normalise excessive drinking at the same time.

There are associations between a number of causes and it is worth considering this in our public response and engagement. With regards to the work we do at the Power of Pop Fund, we think deeply about how can we embed healthier cultural values collectively. Rather than stigmatising and blaming individuals, we need to make our society kinder and more equitable, which may in turn create the conditions for people to live more fulfilled lives.

Are there things you would encourage anyone to do in their day-to-day life to help create social change?

My encouragement for anyone reading this would be to start where you are. Sometimes social change feels like this big immoveable boulder. However, when we work together and act in our collective power, change is possible. Take whatever action you can, whether that looks like volunteering some hours with a local charity, having meaningful conversations with your loved ones, or engaging with some really high quality content that is using pop culture to advance social change! Society is not a distant concept, it starts with us.  

How can people get in contact with you if they would like to hear more. Is there anything else you would like to share?

If you would like to get in touch with the Power of Pop Fund, we would love to hear from you! Please do join our mailing list to hear about events or recent learnings in the pop culture for social justice field. Also, check out our webpage, to hear about the fantastic work of our funded partner organisations!