Consumer and Global Culture Flashcards
what is folk culture?
folk culture - local culture = created by the people who consume it
- authentic = they do it for themselves e.g. local folk music
- recipes e.g. haggis, dress e.g. kilts, dialect accents
what is consumer culture?
cultural products bought in shops, promoted through advertising
- pop music = you listen to it
- supermarket brands, fashion brands = carry out lots of status
- subscriber-only channels = entertainment produced by large corporations eg. Netflix
what is consumerism? (inclusive, exclusive, stigmatised)
lifestyle of shopping, surfing the internet, and wearing the latest fashions
consumer culture inclusive: available to anyone who pays for it
consumer culture exclusive: luxury consumer goods for the wealthy
LINK to high culture and popular culture
can be privileged - if you are ‘on trend’ –> latest fashions, latest products - phones
stigmatised: if it’s cheap, off-brand or unfashionable
what is global culture?
culture that is shared all over the world
e.g. american pop music, hollywood films, global foods - burgers, noodles, pizza, global sports starts + celebrities
worldwide brands - nike, apple, coca-cola
how is global culture linked to consumer culture?
global culture linked to consumer culture
- high culture is global too - horse-racing, yachts, art galleries, operas
global culture is linked to colonialism - european + american culture spread by force e.g. chinese food, japanese animated movies
global culture has a legacy of exploitation and unfariness
reverse colonialism - non-european culture is part of global culture too
how had global culture led to debate about homogeneity?
- people are concerned that global culture will lead to emergence of bland worldwide culture with no variety
- others point out that global culture might be safer + wealthier = less room for conflict and misunderstanding because we would share so much in common
key study - Jean Baudrillard (hyper reality and media saturation)
the consumer society 1970 - people acquire their identity from being consumer ‘you are what you buy’
- he believes as society we are overdosed with media = media saturation - you can’t escape from television, movies, radios internet
- claims that we no longer have access to the real-world we live in
- believes we are living life through media images - hyper reality
what is the authenticity of consumer culture? (what does marxists predict + functionalists and what does baudrillard argue)
authenticity - consumer culture is inauthentic because people are not producing it for themselves it’s being handed over to them
marxists - predict this will lead to alienation (deep unhappiness)
functionalists - predict anomie will lead to crime, drug addiction, suicide
Baudrillard argues even our anomie is inauthentic we cannot escape hyper reality
key study - Anthony Giddens (global culture, cosmopolitanism)
Giddens 1999 - runaway world
argues we are developing a ‘global outlook’ –> as media brings new stories this leads to cosmopolitanism
cosmopolitanism: a culture that sees itself as not belonging to any particular place or country
LINKED TO THIS: de-traditionalisation - people questions traditional beliefs and lifestyles
cultural defence: when people resist global culture by intensifying their traditional beliefs
e.g. religious fundamentalism attempt to keep global culture at bay
EVAL of culture - perspectives on consumer culture (functionalists)
functionalists - critisce it for abandoning traditions (folk culture)
- they do believe in march of progress –> would say that consumer culture might function better than folk culture
- they have concern about anomie from disconnection to tradition
EVAL of culture - perspectives on consumer culture (marxists)
marxists: critisce it for abandoning working class roots
critics –> would say consumer culture is a product of capitalism and thus creates alienation
LINK: jock young bulimic society leads to crime
EVAL of culture - perspectives on consumer culture (feminists)
Fem: critisce it for subordinating women
- women are objectified (treated as sex objects) in advertising
- porn is a huge part of consumer culture and objectifies women
EVAL of culture - perspectives on global culture (functionalists)
funct: critisce it for undermining national identity
- however, do believe in march of progress: see global culture as a result of the success of european + american culture –> spreading around the world because it functions better
EVAL of culture - perspectives on global culture (marxists)
marx: critisce it for spreading capitalist ideology
- some call it cultural imperalism: another way for europe and america to dominate the world
some marxists say: global cultures enables other societies to resist european and american capitalism
EVAL of culture - perspectives on global culture (feminists)
fem: critisce it for spreading patriarchal ideology
- but leads to arguments: what are we to make of cultures that resist global culture but have their own patriarchal gender roles –> should we spread global culture of women’s rights or respect local cultures that view women differently.
summary of consumer and global culture
consumer C - available to everyone for a price superficial replacing folk culture
global C - taking over the world, euro-american culture imperialism, triggers cultural defence, allows reverse colonialisation
Baudrillard 1970: we are defined by consumer C, media saturation, hyper reality
Giddens 1999: ‘global outlook’ is cosmopolitan, de-traditionalisation triggers reactions like religious fundamentalism
