Evalutating popular/mass culture Flashcards
What is an evaluation of Popular/Mass Culture?
Seen to have a harmful impact on the mass audience as it drives down cultural standards from those which have been established in high culture (art, literature etc.)
What did Frank and Queenie Leavis argue about Mass Culture?
Frank and Queenie Leavis argue that mass culture is processed, packaged, trivial, mindless escapist fantasy, and inferior in lasting artistic and literary value found in high culture. It is ruining the proper use of language, exploiting people’s emotional needs and fears and encouraging greed and mindless social conformity.
What is the argument about the passivity and unchallenging nature of Popular/Mass Culture?
It is passive and unchallenging. Some sociologists also argue that it is harmful as it discourages critical thought and is a corrupting influence on young people, such as the negative influence of rap music on attitudes and behaviour around gender, sex and encouraging violence (Snoop Dogg).
What did Marxist MacDonald in 1957 argue about Mass Culture?
Marxist, McDonald (1957), a critic of mass culture, argued that mass culture is undermining high culture as it was easier to enjoy, easier to understand and stopped people taking the trouble to try to understand a more worthwhile culture. He even went further, saying that it turned adults into children by getting them to consume child-like products (it infantilises adults). Modern examples of this would be Superman, Harry Potter, Batman, Star Wars and Star Trek which are enjoyed by adults but originally for children. For Postmodernists however, they view popular culture as just as valid and worthwhile as high culture.
Marxist Pierre Bourdieu in 1997 argued that High Culture is seen as more superior to Mass Culture because of what?
Marxist, Pierre Bourdieu (1971), argues that high culture is seen as more superior to mass culture because of the dominant class has the power to impose on the rest of society its own cultural ideas about what counts as good and bad taste, worthwhile knowledge, good books, music, art, films and so on. The rest of society are socialised into accepting the continuing superiority of high culture, although they themselves are more likely to participate in popular culture, which is regarded by the dominant class as an inferior and worthless low culture.
MacDonald in 1965 is critical of Mass Culture, but not Folk Culture. Why?
McDonald (1965) is critical of mass culture as unlike folk culture which is authentic and generated from ordinary people and high culture which expressed serious and long-established authentic cultural values, he saw mass culture as trivial and inauthentic.
Marxists argue that popular mass culture is a form of social control. Why?
Marxists argue that popular mass culture is a form of social control, giving the illusion of choice between a range of similar dumbed-down, standardised, trivial, uncritical media informant (information wrapped up to entertain) and escapist fantasy which maintains the ideological hegemony (dominant ideology) and the power of the dominant social class in society. Marcuse (2002) argued that consumption through advertising of media-generated mass culture, with its emphasis on relaxation, fun, entertainment and consumption through advertising, undermines people’s ability to think critically about the world. He saw this as a form of social repression – a means of locking people into the present system, promoting
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conformity and a passive acceptance of the way things are, and undermining the potential for revolutionary action to change society.
What was Marxist Ralph Miliband’s 1973 description of Mass Culture?
Marxist, Ralph Miliband (1973) argues that mass culture is the new ‘opium of the people’. His comments imply that this term was originally applied to the role of religion, but now mass culture has the ability to ‘drug’ the working classes and provide them with an ideology that they buy into without understanding the exploitation that they are experiencing.
As a criticism of the Marxist view of Mass Culture, Marxists argue that the Mass Media is generated by the ruling class. Why
Marxists argue that the mass media is generated by the ruling class (the bourgeoisie) as a method of control.
It is seen as giving capitalists too much power and people too little – are we really so passive and accept whatever is given to us? (See Neo-Marxism and postmodernism)
It assumes high culture is of greater worth than mass culture. Many argue this is a false division. (See postmodernism)
New forms of Media and production techniques have done what to High and Low Culture?
New forms of media (eg. internet) and production techniques has blurred the division between high and low culture.
Why did Postmodernist Strinati reject the Marxist viewpoint on Mass Culture in 1995?
Postmodernist, Strinati (1995) rejects the Marxist viewpoint. He doesn’t accept that there is one single mass culture where people passively and uncritically consume and points out the range of choice within popular culture from which people select from and critically respond to.
Livingstone disagrees with the Marxist view on Popular Culture being passively and uncritically consumed. What is his argument?
Livingstone (1988) argues that rather than the public passively and uncritically consuming popular culture, he argues that popular can have a positive benefit for society. The writers and publishers of media open up controversial debates, discussions which present a range of political opinions. Programmes, such as Hollyoaks, EastEnders and Coronation Street have actually exposed to the public to certain issues and actually generates widespread critical discussion, such as domestic violence, child abuse, eating disorders etc. Issues within these programmes have then attracted wider discussion within ‘red top’ tabloid newspapers promoting public discussion.
Neo-Marxists such as Stuart Hall and the CCCS (Centre for contemporary culture studies) in Birmingham believe a more neutral term Popular Culture should be used.
Why?
Neo-Marxists such as Stuart Hall and the CCCS (Centre for contemporary culture studies) in Birmingham believe a more neutral term popular culture should be used. This culture reflects the norms and values of the people.
Do Neo-Marxists believe that people actively engage with the Culture that they consume?
People actively engage with the culture they consume and reject what they don’t like. They may enjoy a program, but not agree with its capitalist values.
Does Popular Culture often form a protest against mainstream Mass Media?v
Popular culture often evolves as a form of protest against mainstream mass media and values (eg. the punk movement). They form counter-hegemonic cultures.
