Define the notion of culture as opposed to popular culture/mass culture.
Discuss culture as an ideology.
Interrogate the social function of popular culture.
Raymond Williams "one of the most difficult terms in the English language."
Marx's Concept of Base/ Superstructure.
Base- Forces of production/ relations of production
Superstructure- Social institution/ forms of consciousness
Marx argues that all forms of culture are a direct reflex of the primary base relation to production, ie capitalism. Capitalism produces capitalist culture- in a crude way. The dialectic method is that this is reciprocal, the culture which emerges from the base, strengthens supports and maintains the base ideology.
The Proletariat (base reality)
The bourgeoisie
Instraments of the state idealolocal and physical coercion
The state
Based on the super structure, culture is produced by the basic reality of the world.
So what is popular culture. Value judgements say that popular culture is an inferior for of culture, its is deliberately popular, "culture actually made by the people themselves".
Jeremy Deller produces a show 'Folk Archive' where art by everyday people is shown in an old institution.
You can trace the distinction between popular culture and 'real culture' to a point within British history, with the working class of Britain during industrialisation. It was clear who the workers were and who the rich were. Very clear segments of society.
The lower classes did begin to break through into culture, music halls, satirical papers, literature and political comments on working life.
Mathew Arnold (High class) 1867
-"the best that has been thought and said in the world"
-Study of perfection
-Attained through disinterested reading, writing and thinking.
-He is effectively arguing that new culture or popular culture is bad and unintelligent.
-Cultures aim is to maintain the status quo
F.R Leavis
-With the growth of industrial capitalism, he sees the world on a slow decline towards the gutter. We had a time where we had great culture with great intellectual fabric. The world has slowly dumbed down into insignificance.
-Worried about the elites fall of authority, allowing masses to control the culture.
-By following popular culture people are effectively tuning out, ignoring reality.
Frankfurt School- Critical Theory
-Equally critical of popular culture, but from the opposite position.
-Engaged in the radical study of popular culture
-Nazi's forced them out of Germany, travelled to America, saw the epitome of popular culture at the time.
-Argued that popular culture maintains social order, its not a threat at all, it is actually a tool of capitalism, to help perpetuate itself
-Culture under capitalism is produced in exactly the same way as other capitalist objects, cars, toasters, horror films etc.
-All Mass culture is identical
-People are sucked into a vacuum where all culture is the same. Music, Television, Movies etc.
-Herbert Marcuse: -what happens when you feed people this endless stream of monotonous rubbish, it reduces peoples capacity of independent thought. You are taught prescribed attitudes, an inaccurate view of the real world.
-Culture acts as a blanket over the real world, makes everything seem ok.
The Culture Industry
-X factor, Big Brother etc. Produces an affirmative culture, serves to de-politicise the populous.
-Everybody has a name and a personal story, no money, needs to win. Goes on Xfactor to 'make it big'. People vote for him, he wins, the leaders make it big. Exploits people, emotionally, monetarily, teaches the lesson that the way out of the lower class is to go on a talent show, rather than getting into politics or education.
Adorno 'On Popular Music'
-Music is produced on a production line.
-All music is standardised, selling the same thing over and over again.
-Pop music is easy to produce and make, easy to consume. Consumption is done in an easy way, a chain of consumption that you are lead through.
-Acts as a social cement, we are being sold something that someone else likes, or wants to sell
-Changes our actions, reflects the docility of real world, people who like dance music are particularly mindless. Desire to obey, even to repetitive mindless music.
-Instead of reinventing yourself you give up and blow your brains out like Kurt Cobain.What's the point in facing reality? Starting a revolution.
Walter Benjamin
-The work of art in the age of macanical reproduction.
-You can create meaning at the point of reception.
-Watching Xfactor doesn't necessary lead to indoctrination, buy a CD to make fun of it, watch it to laugh at how crap it is.
-The world of popular culture is a world of revolutionary challenges.
-In popular culture we are all the judges, whereas high culture is controlled entirely by an elite of that particular culture, Fine art for example.
Hebdige
-In culture like Punk music we have a challenge to popular culture which systematises itself into mainstream culture, "the best of puck music 3". What was about individuality and self expression becomes something that is bought and recycled again, mindlessly.
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