Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich

Question 1

Clash of Cultures

Answer 1

Another clash is within the western society the lower and upper class of people

They tend use negative language and put down the different class use savage uncultured sexual repression  
Western civilization considered social celebrations to be primitive and less civilized compared to the colonizers. 
Within western civilization: higher vs lower class (carnivals)

Question 2

Rituals

Answer 2

Collective gatherings – dance, feasts, face and body decorations & seeking ecstatic states of consciousness, gatherings of like-minded people (communitas) seeking a positive collective experience (ecstacy, joy, pleasure)
A collective gathering of people who seek states of consciousness, ecstatic pleasure, connectivity, with dancing, feast, face and body decorations.
About a moment temporary erasure of signs of hierarchy.

Question 3

Function of rituals

Answer 3

= keep social structures from becoming overly rigid and unstable to provide occasional relief, provide occasional relief from rigid social structures
The function that rituals fill is an relief from social structures temporally
Keep social structures from becoming overly rigid and unstable, to provide occasional relief

Question 4

the ritual process

Answer 4

= spontaneous love and solidarity among peers

Spontaneous love and solidarity among peers within a community of equals (Communitas)

Question 5

Ethics of Capitalism

Answer 5

Individualistic relation to God, hard work, sobriety

Communism – spectacle of military parade

Islam – no drinking or dancing

Question 6

empowerment of rituals vs. hierarchical social order

Answer 6

Highly organized society wants to cling to their power and comes into contrast with the ritual which has more emphasis on sharing (like sharing the music and dance floor, share taste of common music being played or harvest festival = sharing of food.)

Question 7

Society of spectacle: Mass consumer culture

Answer 7

Media provides a spectacle.
Cinema: interact with the screen and not the audience → individual pleasure
Mobile device: one on one relationship with the media → individual pleasure

Question 8

what’s the effect of spectacle

Answer 8

Induce passivity.
Has it been less of experience or is it consumerism?
o Reason of product someone would participate in those festivals (consuming ecstasy) → this would end the meaning of rituals

Question 9

African rituals vs. Western

Answer 9

Carnavals is among the higher class is look as a lower class way of life to celebrate

Carnavals are negative during this time in society
Also it is looked upon that pleasure most only be with a partner or family members and not the outside community it must be private – only happens between communities of equals not others (communitas)

Collective pleasure was not accepted and everything in festival is shared which was viewed as negative

Question 10

Communism

Answer 10

authoritarian (top-down form of rule).
Collective and spontaneous ritual does not have a place in that form of social organization.
Communism might as an idea, promote a more sharing of the fruits of one’s labour but in actually there was bureaucratic elite in the communist regime. There was an effect of individualist hoarding of power and privilege.