poptimism
nounUS /ˈpɑptɪmɪzəm/ · UK /ˈpɒptɪmɪzəm/
Etymology Blend of pop + optimism.
1
The belief that pop music (or pop culture in general) is worthy of professional critique and interest.
- Rockism lost, and poptimism won. All cultural snootiness is now tedious.2022, W. David Marx, chapter 10, in Status and Culture, Viking, →ISBN:
- Soon poptimism—an ideology that maintained that authenticity was a pose and conventionally unserious music (and, later, film, TV and books) had inherent value—became the status quo.2025 September 28, Rachel Aroesti, “In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Related terms
- poptimist