Taboos and Popular Culture

Your heart is closed and in my hand I’ve got so many keys.
Which secret key will ever let me open your heart?
Once I open your heart, tell me, will you accept me?
I can’t stop this TABOO, that undeniable TABOO.


Those words were written by the Japanese lyricist and artist Koda Kumi that simply shows how some of our instincts are incontrollable or to vulgar that the society can’t accept. TABOO, reaching number one in the Japanese Oricon Charts, is also the strictest and most highly regulated norm of all the norms. In this case, Koda Kumi lyrics clearly states that even though there are a lot of unaccepted sub-cultures in one’s society, there mighty still be some part that will open the society’s “heart by a key.” That is not true to all cultures because it’s affected by the history, the religious beliefs and other factors. With popular music, movies and culture, other cultures around the world start to accept these forms of taboo and might have an influence on the today’s and future generations.

Photo on the right: CD single of the #1 song TABOO by Koda Kumi.

Some of these cultures include people who believe they’re vampires; groups of homosexuals; groups of drug dealers; or groups that enjoy an unusual form of pleasure, like Rihanna likes to say it “but chains and whips excite me.” There’s a strong message in that song. It became popular and Rihanna has a huge fan base ranging from adults to teenagers to kids. The reason this is shown to the society now without having a lot of conflict or controversy is because it’s already accepted. How? By the over exposure of music videos and movies that contain such themes.
Picture on the left: Rihanna on the Cover of a 2010 G.O. Magazine issue promoting sexual images and themes.



The Simpsons, Ugly Betty, Family Guy, Six Feet Under; these are just a list of popular TV shows and top rated that shows either hidden or exposed themes of sexual jokes and humor, drugs, drinking and homosexuality. People become more addicted to this and keep watching while their subliminal mind starts to slowly accept taboos.

So, back to Koda Kumi’s song, TABOO, the media holds a lot of keys that slowly unlocks the “closed-minded” society’s heart. Not all societies are accepting yet, and some are still strict and reject but not as 3o years ago. More promotion happens and generations are affected. So the question is, how far will this acceptance go? Until when will this norm breaking habit continue? We don’t know but we can observe and witness the spread of acceptance and tolerance thanks to popular culture and popular media.

PS. TABOO is capitalized because that’s the official way of writing the song through its official profile on the website.

The video below is the music video of TABOO, where the general story shows Koda Kumi's interest in a man who later on disappears and she finds him with, not much of an interest to the opposite sex. But, unexpectedly, she smiles and accepts it. This message makes her fans accept this along with her as well.

Are We in Qatar or The States?

It’s very interesting for me when I find out that people do things differently than what I’m used to. Few days ago, I was invited to spend a day on the beach with some friends. We get there and we park next to a huge portacabin with a wide area in front of it. In that area, the owner of the place has set different tents. One of them was closed and the others were open. The closed one had fancy couches while the open ones had mats on the ground set up for coffee gatherings when the weather is nice.

The set up was a beautiful combination of the west and the Middle East. In the closed portacabin there were laptops with wireless connection and a huge T.V playing Prison Break. Outside, there were Qatari guys dancing to traditional Khaliji music.

The majority of the people there, were American ladies who didn’t even know who the owner of the place is. Astonishing enough, he didn’t seem a bit annoyed by the fact that he doesn’t know these ladies. He was very welcoming and hospitable. I have seen Jassem, who is in his late 40’s many times in public. He had his Qatari “Thobe”, walked slowly with a constant frown on his face. That day, he wore shorts and a t-shit and was very hyper and loud. For me, it was like a different person with dual identities. I understand that, being in Qatar for 7 years and knowing the restrictions of the culture, especially the fact that you need to be very contained and cautious in public, which does not encourage Qatari-male and expat-female gatherings.

At lunch, we all sat on the ground around two humongous trays of rice and lamb. They started eating rice with their hands! They tried to teach me how to do that but it was very hard for me, coming from a culture where you absolutely have to use a fork and a knife even while eating pizza or french fries. I also learned many norms related to eating Qatari style. You have to sort of take a portion of the tray that is yours. You cannot not reach to the other end of the try and try to grab a piece of lamb or a handful of rice because it’s considered disrespectful just like eating from another person’s plate. I also learned that you CAN NOT use your left hand, It has to stay behind your back or to your side at all times. According to my Qatari friends, it is religiously not favorable to eat with your left because when you do, it’s like the devil shares your food or something.

Background Music in Retail Spaces: Can it make you a loyal customer?

I know there are a lot of Mango fans out there. A lot of women are fond of Mango’s fashions and accessories. But based on my visit to Mango as one of the locations for my paper on music in retail spaces, I found that the music they play in their stores plays an integral role, in keeping you ladies in there longer, and keep you coming back for another taste of trendy, young, chic enjoyable atmosphere. I was unable to cover the account of my study of the Mango fashion store in my paper, so I hereby spill the study of the use of background music in one of Doha’s popular fashion stores.

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When I went to Mango with my sociological intentions in mind, the store was not having a sale (sadly). Their final promotion ended over 3 weeks ago. And being a frequent visitor to the store, I realized that the music they played during sales varied in pace and volume from that played when they were not having a sale. There was definitely an added effect from the background music. The fast paced, loud music created the feeling of rush and anxiety, that “shop till you drop” sensation. It invoked feelings that urges you to hurry and grab as many merchandise as you can lay your hands on. People were loud and the music even louder, immersing shoppers in a “hungry for more” vibe, unbeatable prices that must be taken advantage of while they last. It was almost as though the music narrated the chaotic rapid random movement of clients in and out and within the shop, distracting us from the mess, and pulling our focus to one thing and one thing only: to shop, and to shop as much as you can. The music heightened the enthusiasm, and stamina in shoppers to keep digging through heaps of clothes, and grab whatever even if it wasn’t their size, because you don’t want to regret it later, when it has all run out. Moreover, the music stimulated my subconscious keeping me “into” what I was doing – shopping.



However, when I visited Mango just a few days ago, the ambience created by the music was not at all the image I described above. The mess and chaos was gone, the heaps of unfolded clothing transformed back into neatly, spotless, immaculate small piles of eye-catching fashions, and delicately hung dresses, skirts, and shirts on glistening racks. And the music echoed this fashion sophistication. Mango’s slogan, found on their catalogues and website reads: “Fashion for the young urban woman”.



And the music definitely compliments this statement as well as their arrangement of clothing and fashion styles. The type of music didn’t change much, they were still pop songs, a variety of remixes, techno music and popular hits, but the volume was marginally reduced, and the pace of the song played reasonably slower than what I had experienced about a month ago during the winter sale. The music played invoked this sense of “young” “trendy” and “urban” complimenting their products and creating an attractive environment for their target audience. I felt comfortable in their store, the music adding to the enjoyment factor, and kept me entertained as I browsed through the items on display. The beats varied from slow to faster, from warm to hip and cool and modern keeping my senses from getting bored. It kept me in this “urban” environment, making feel as though I were part of this preppy, trendy lifestyle, elegant while still youthful and casual. Positive emotions harvest positive experiences, and positive experiences harvest more visits, and more visits render more purchases and ultimately this is a business, and increased consumption is what they are after.



The critical theory best fits the analysis of my experience of background music in Mango. The pace, type, choice of music was used to fit the brand, market it, sell you a “lifestyle’ and pleasant experience, to keep you buying more of their products, and keep you entertained while you’re doing so that you’ll come back for more. The use of background to distract us from anything else but shopping relates to the critical theory’s main concept about the culture industries transforming us into mindless, materialistic, consumers, providing us with entertainment designed to distract us from other important dimensions of our lives.



There are organizations that help shops find the right music for their shops, restaurants and other retail spaces, and create the perfect match that is best for their marketing strategy to help increase sales. Shops are now paying more attention to the background music they play, as studies proved their effectiveness in increasing sales and customer loyalty.



Though I‘d hate to think I’m being manipulated by industries, evidence does suggest that background music in retail spaces is just another tool for enhancing the shopping experience making it memorable and enjoyable, so that we can all enjoy shopping, and if we do, we’ll probably consume more and more, which according to the critical theory is the focal point of the machinations of culture industries.