Popping became confused with breaking when the media began calling all the styles of the era under one term 'breakdance'.
Under this definition they included popping, boogaloo, locking and breaking and called them all breakdance instead of identifying them as separate and unique dance styles.
Perhaps it was easier for them without having to recall all the different styles differently, perhaps they didn't know the differences themselves.
But anyhow popping became engulfed in this new coined term by the media called 'breakdance.'
When the film "Breakin'" released in the 80s things may have got worse. As the film was called Breakin' they perhaps felt that it was ok to call the other styles breakin' (or breakdance) too.
When of course it was merely just the title of the film, not an exposition into the contents or the dance styles present in the film.
As more and more people in the absence of knowledge mistakenly refer to popping and locking as breakdance, the truth becomes harder to emerge.
And hence we are left in a position where much of the media still today cannot distinguish between them. Perhaps it is their disinterest in finding out the truth or their belief that "everyone else is doing it, why not me?".
Unless the media correct their usage of these terms, it will be up to the dancers of these styles to uphold the heritage of their own styles.
Or perhaps the media should take a few trips to the Bboy Championships, consume the different battles and awaken their minds to the reality that these styles look nothing like one another.
On the next page: Music For Popping