Pecking into Popular Culture

Authenticity

There is a lot of talk in our pop culture about authenticity in media, but what exactly is authenticity? Theo van Leeuwen from Cardiff University answers this very question in his article entitled, What is Authenticity?

In his article van Leeuwen gives several definitions of authenticity. One definition being when “its origin or authorship are not in question, and it is not an imitation or copy.” That definition is pretty self explanatory; when some one credible created something brand new.

Another interpretation of authenticity van Leeuwen gives is a “faithful reconstruction or representation.” The example he gives of this is when baroque music is played on authentic instruments in historically accurate ways.

Last, he states that something can be authentic when it is “thought to be true to the essence of something, to reveal a truth, a deeply felt sentiment, or the way these are worded or otherwise expressed.” An example of this could be the style of an artist or the voice of a singer. van Leeuwen elaborates to say that singers can perform in many different styles, but in order to be distinct and viewed as having an authentic style or voice, they must adopt just one style

and abandon the others.