From Raymond William (British philosopher) - one of the most complicated words in the English language. 3 ways starting to think about it:
- General process of intellectual / spiritual / aesthetic development in society at a particular time - "shared development".
- Way of life - e.g. the sports we engage in, the T.V. we watch etc.
- The works of intellectual and artistic significance - music, art etc. To signify practices to represent your world.
Society (all) are based around:
A base (core):
forces of production - materials, technology, tools, knolwedge etc.
Relations - employer / employee, master / slave, upper / lower class.
This brings about a superstructure.
Social institution - legal, political etc
Forms of consciousness - ideology.
E.g. art - formed out of interests of the ruling class - legitimises status in the world.
Society fudenmentally antagonistic - struggle between - oppressor and oppressed, rich and poor etc.
Base ----> determines content and form -----> superstructure ------> reflects form and legitimises ------>back round to base.
Culture emerges from base - culture justifies the base.
Myth of culture - ideas determined by the individual. When actually people's thinking about culture is determined by the society it is born into.
If we change the base we change the way people think about the world.
Easy to determine a shift in base - less easy in superstructure.
Marx - labels all culture as ideology.
Ideology - 1. ideas / belief system e.g. political party. Produced by strata (dominant class of society).
2, Mashing distortion or selection of ideas to reinforce power relations - through creation of false consciousness.
At the bottom - base - workers - oppressed - supporting the top.
Top - superstructure - emerges from base.
Top keeps the oppressed oppressed.
Williams - Popular - 4 Definitions.
- Well liked by many people.
- Inferior kinds of work.
- Work deliberately setting out to win favour with the people.
- Culture actually made by the people themselves.
Oppositions between:
Popular press vs. Quality press.
Popular cinema vs. Art cinema.
Popular entertainment vs. Arty entertainment (documentaries etc).
Graffiti - made by the people for the people.
By Banksy - does this now become high culture when put into a gallery - into 'high society'?
Labels of popular culture involve some kind of value / political judgement - revolves around class and identity.
Evolution of cultural studies:
Popular culture - can trace development back to early modernity.
Birth of industrilasation - clear line / divisions of classes.
Become separated - inetellectually / spiritually. Culture becomes a status symbol. Popular culture emerges to represent to new class.
People start o become anxious about what the new culture will have upon the high elitist culture.
Arnold (1867) 'Culture and Anarchy'.
'Diseased spirit' (working class) - possibility of a social revolution. (Worried people).
The uncultured should strive to become cultures and not set their own instead.
Leavisim - F.R. Leavis & Q.D. Leavis. - extension of Arnoldism.
"20th century - decline in quality in culture - becomes standardised, shattered - the working class have a voice because of shear growth of their 'population'.
Leavism - attack on the effects of popular culture as opposed to elite culture.
Popular culture offers addictive forms of distraction and compensation.
Threat to dominence of elite class.
Frankfurt school - critical theory - group of thinkers.
Combines Marx ideas and pshycoanalysis.
They explore culture as a product of the base and how it pshycologically effects people.
Main people:
- Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, Lowenthal.
"All mass culture is identical - comes from production line."
Argues that people who engage with popular culture conform to the interests of the elite. Meaningless of popular culture reinforces the elite.
Starts to stop people thinking (theoretically) - e.g. a film - we know the plot before it pans out - imprinted.
Marcuse - Popular culture - affirmative culture - not independent - locks you into the Status Quo.
Maintains social order.
All mass culture teaches intellectual / emotional responses to the world - becomes a way of life - illusion that this is better and we don't change.
Products of contemporary culture - affirmative culture - Big Brother, X Factor, etc.
Qualities of authentic culture:
- Real
- European
- Multi - dimensional
- Acute consumption
- Individual Creation
- Imagination
- Negation
- Autonomous
Important to strive to this (instead of the mass produced popular culture).
Adorne on Popular music:
- Standardisation
- Social cement
- Produces passivity through a rhythmic and emotional adjustment - 2 effects on audience - self regulate - obidient to a rhythm. Rhythm to explotation - ordered and structured dancing.
Walter Benjamin 1936 - The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction - idea of mass produced and the effects of what was thought of as high culture.
Idea of mass produced and new technology - new development - changing the direction of culture.
Possibilities of challenging high culture - concept - aura - in modern, mass produced age, mass capitalism - aura removed and becomes less important.
E.g. Mona Lisa - constantly told it is of high, social importance.
Now it's printed everywhere - challenges the authority and becomes less important, thus aura starts to become removed.
Democractic - attack on the old regime.
Aura - broken down or removed.
Working class can shape culture - make their own meanings.
Allows people to pick and select their way through life - create own path, choose own identity.
Conclusion -
Attitudes of civilised culture emerges from working class - worries elitists - working class threaten cultural standards.
Frankfurt school - see threat but have a different view - they see it as maintaining social order, depoliticises the working class.
Normative value judgements on popular culture - disguises social interests.
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