Culture Flashcards
What is Culture?
Culture refers to the way of life of a society, which includes values, morals, beliefs etc (Key thinker: Williams)
What are Values?
The principles and beliefs that a society judges to be important
What are examples of British values?
Tolerance, Freedom of speech, Equality, Respect for the rule of law, Democracy
What are Norms?
Norms refer to behaviour which is normal and therefore socially acceptable
What are examples of Norms in British society?
Politeness, Queuing up, Eating using a knife and fork (a lot of Asian cultures use chopsticks or their hands instead) etc
What is a Subculture?
A minority group of people who share values and norms, beliefs and dress codes among other things which mark themselves as different from the mainstream dominant culture which they exist alongside
What is meant by the term ‘Culturally diverse’?
Societies that contain a variety of cultural or ethnic groups
What is High Culture?
The culture of the Upper class, usually exclusive and containing high status products/activities e.g. opera (need high levels of education due to foreign languages), polo, ballet etc
What is Popular Culture?
The culture of the masses, the activities in which are viewed by the upper class as shallow, dumbed-down, inferior etc. Activities include watching soap operas, football etc
What is Global Culture?
The growing trend whereby some cultural products and services are becoming universal as they are produced and marketed by global corporations e.g Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Apple
What is Consumer Culture?
In consumer culture, the mass media and advertising encourage individuals to value materialism and consumerism- high status brands have moved to a main source of expressing identity and shopping has become a major leisure activity.
What is Cultural Diversity?
Refers to the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society
What is Cultural Hybridity?
It comes about when cultures mix e.g. British drink Australian wine, watch American shows on Japanese TVs
What did Stiniati say regarding the media?
Media is largely responsible for creating popular culture and that consumption plays a key role in popular culture
What does Adorno say regarding the media?
Sees the bombardment of mass culture through the media distracts us with trivial celebrity culture and deflects our interests from more important social concerns (distraction from expoitation of the masses and gov corruption)
