In light of the murder and mayhem that was taking place in the streets, Pokémon Go’s popularity might seem like a small and frivolous thing. But to dismiss it on those grounds would be to miss the point. Pokémon Go is important entirely because it’s a small and frivolous thing. What holds communities together, after all, isn’t lofty ideals or strict law enforcement—it’s their shared stories, their rituals, their songs. You may doubt this, but in the case of Pokémon Go, the results are hard to argue with: neighbors who previously had no reason to interact are now greeting each other and working together to turn up nests of Squirtles and Charizards across the nation.
Trends like this, by the way, are why we care so much about pop culture here at CaPC. Lofty ideals are important, but people can’t strive after them 24/7. We get tired—and when we do, the culture we fall back on matters. Like liturgy, our art and entertainment shape our lives and our communities from the outside in, and the best of it teaches us to love our neighbors, serve God, and pursue whatever is good and true and beautiful.
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