Globalisation and Popular culture Flashcards
1
Q
What is globalisations link to the media?
A
- world becoming more connected- barriers are disappearing, e.g. as a result of: deregulation of trade and global media and culture, travel, trade etc
- McLuhan-> ‘global’ village-> rapid technology changes has led to space and time barriers in human communication to collapse-> like cheaper air travel. People around the world can now communicate instantaneously on a global scale
- many people are now exposed to the same info, cultural products and message through media which at across all national frontiers -> some argue leads to a growing globalising of popular culture
2
Q
What is popular culture (mass culture) ‘low’ culture?
A
- passive and unchallenging entertainment, designed to be sold to a large number of people
- its dumbed down and demands little critical thought, rarely challenging existing cultural ideas
- cultural products designed to be sold on global mass market-> profits for large culture industry
- ‘low’ culture suggests popular/mass culture is inferior quality to high culture of elite- culture enjoyed by ordinary ppl- everyday easy unchallenging culture
3
Q
What is ‘High culture’?
A
- high culture should be treated with respect and reverence, bc it is of lasting and artistic volume, and part f a heritage worth preserving
- more m/c audiences
- ballet, opera, fine art, jazz etc- art galleries, museums, concert halls, theatres- aimed mainly upper-class or m/c with ‘good taste’
- Shakespeare, Dickens, Brontës, Picasso etc
4
Q
What and who are the ‘positive view’ of the global media?
A
- pluralists, postmodernists, hyper-globalists
- no such thing as popular culture, media offers huge range of media products, consumers across the world have a wide variety/ diversity of cultural choices
5
Q
What and who are the ‘negative view’ of the global media?
A
- Marxist/pessimistic globalist
- media owners create vast profits for themselves advertising products across globe
- advertising creates competition between media owners for audiences
- competition between media conglomerates has led to advertising news across world becoming tabloidised
6
Q
Evaluation of popular and mass culture from those not in favour of mass/popular culture?
A
- Marxists see mass culture as simply mass-produced manufactured products imposed on masses by global media business for profit
- mass popular culture is a form of social control-> giving illusion of choice
- creates standardised, trivial content. Media infotainment - escapists- maintaining ideological hegemonic control
- consumers made uncritical, passivity and mindless social conformity-> less likely to challenge
- Marcuse-> consumption of media- generated mass culture, with emphasis on: relaxation, fun, entertainment-> undermines ppls ability to think critically about the world- form of social repression
7
Q
Evaluation of popular and mass culture from those not in favour of mass/popular culture?
A
- Marxists see mass culture as simply mass-produced manufactured products imposed on masses by global media business for profit
- mass popular culture is a form of social control-> giving illusion of choice
- creates standardised, trivial content. Media infotainment - escapists- maintaining ideological hegemonic control
- consumers made uncritical, passivity and mindless social conformity-> less likely to challenge
- Marcuse-> consumption of media- generated mass culture, with emphasis on: relaxation, fun, entertainment-> undermines ppls ability to think critically about the world- form of social repression
8
Q
Evaluation of popular and mass culture for those in favour of popular/mass culture?
A
- Strinati-> doesn’t accept suggestion that there is a single mass culture and mass audience that ppl passively consume. Points to a wide diversity and choice within popular culture, which ppl select from and critically respond to
- rather than killing off public debate- lulling mass audiences into uncritical passivity
9
Q
What is Flew and Kellner’s of a global popular culture?
A
- evolution of new media has played an important role in the development of global popular culture
- global culture primary American in origin
- Globalisation has undermined national and local cultures, making it different cultures more and more alike- a cultural erosion if you will
- cultural homogenization- process of a powerful media making the cultures of different cultures more an more alike- may be more appropriate now to speak homogenized global culture
- Kellner- media power to globally produce images of lifestyle that increasingly become part of everyday life-> identities and views
10
Q
What is Sklair of a global popular culture?
A
- media blur differences between entertainment, information, and promotion of products
- it then sells across the world ideas, values, and products associated with what is presented as an idealised Western lifestyle
- then encourages acceptance of dominant ideology for Western Capitalism- he calls ‘culture-ideology of consumerism’- Marxists would agree to this - as seen in Papa New Guinea
- Same TV, foods, music, sporting events, clothing, and labels etc
11
Q
What is Ritzer of a global poplar culture?
A
- companies and brands now operate on a global scale, promoting a global culture along with the consumerist lifestyle associated with it
- companies use the transitional media to promote products on a global scale, making their logos known to everyone
- especially UK and USA will sell their programmes and programme formats globally- e.g. ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ had been distributed to 120 countries
- McDonald restaurants in over 160 nations
12
Q
What is Culture and Media imperialism?
A
- Fenton-> term ‘global’ rarely means universal and normally disguises the domination of Western culture over other cultures
- most media conglomerates are now based in USA, and US transational media and communications like Microsoft and Google dominate global communications
- processes described as cocacolonisation involving cultural imperialism or media imperialism
-CI- idea that Western culture and values is taking taking over, especially on non-Western areas, and damaging and undermining local culture
-MI- is the idea that Westerns media is becoming more important than local media. the may be from global adverts- often links with - cultural imperialism as media imperialism is a cause of cultural imperialism- can be critised as Coca-Cola adverts have changed many different adverts to fit and promote own culture in terms f product- balance of local and main culture- Disney also
13
Q
What is the pluralist view of the media and globalisation of popular culture?
A
- argue there is no such thing as popular mass culture- internet, cable, satellite, and digital TV, and the global reach of modern media tech all offer a huge range of media products
- this gives consumers across world a wide diversity of cultural choices
-Compaine- argues that global competition is expanding sources of info and entertainment rather than restricting them or dumbing them down - there is a hybridisation or mixing of cultures- ‘pick n mix’ on both Western global culture and their local own culture- in good McDonalds is catered via glocalisation to fit area needs
- New media tech like phones and computers through websites such as YouTube or Facebook enables consumers to create and distribute own media products and enables ppl to generate own popular culture as opposed to passive victims of Western media
- Even if Western is spreading their values etc- this does not mean all cultures will react in same way or adopt cultures and lifestyle the global media promote
- opposed to Marxists- consumers and audiences now have more choices and knowledge available to them than ever before
14
Q
What is the Marxist view of media and popular culture? How can this further oppose Pluralism?
A
- Thussu-> consumerist lifestyle and false global ‘feelgood factor’ diverts ppls attention away from serious issues like wars, destruction of native cultures by conglomerates, growing hegemony culturally of the West and global inequality- global mass culture lulls consumers into an uncritical, undemanding passivity, making them less likely to challenge dominant ideas, groups and interests in society
- critics argue global media actually led a less choices with outputs controlled by few media lords, who preside over dumbed-down, standardised mass entertainment, creating a cultural sameness- replacing serious and critical news reporting and documentaries
- local media and programme makers are increasingly unable to compete with the power and influence of global media conglomerates
- pluralists will argue there is no such thing as popular culture bc a wide variety of media products are available through the internet, satellite etc- as a result customers have access to a wide variety of cultural options. Compaine contends that rather than limiting or degrading sources of info and entertainment, global competition is growing them- cultures are hybridised or mixed- ‘pick and mix’ elements of both Western global culture and own local culture - customers can develop and disseminate their own media goods using new media technologies, such as phones connected to websites like YouTube and Facebook
- people’s attention is diverted from real issues like wars, eradication of indigenous cultures via corporations, expanding cultural hegemony of west, and global inequalities by consumerist lifestyles and illusory global ‘feelgood factor’ - consumers are lulled into passive, unquestioning state by global mass culture, which reduces their likelihood of challenging societal norms regarding ideas, groups, and interests
- opponents contend that the proliferation of global media actually reduces the number of options with dumbed-down, standardised mass entertainment- local media and programme producers are finding it harder and harder to compete with the strength and clout of multinational media giants
15
Q
What is the Postmodernist view of the media?
A
- similar with Pluralist view
- regard diversity of globalised media as offering worlds population more choices in terms of their consumption patterns and lifestyles, opening up a greater global awareness and access to a diversity of cultures, bringing them more opportunities to for identities unconstrained by limited horizon of local cultures
- Baudrillard-> now live in a media-saturated society, in which media images dominate and distort way we see world- media images replace reality- ‘laser technology’. TV news presents sanitised versions of war, with wars as media-constructed spectacles to gaze out - hard t distinguish between images and reality, as they appear like Hollywood movies- calls this distorted view of world Hyperreality- media presenting ‘simulacra’- which is artificial make-believe images or copies of real events which bear little or no relationship to the real world and which are viewed simultaneously across globe
- Strinati- emphasises importance and power of the media in shaping consumer choices. Popular culture- forms out of sense realty and increasingly dominate way we define ourselves- in this media-saturated society, media creates desires and pressures to consume, and many of us actually define our identities- how we see and define ourselves and how we want others to see us in terms of media imagery
- its not what we buy that matters, but whether they conform to media0induced images, styles, brand names and trends
- in the media saturated postmodern world, Baudrillard suggests we identify more with media images than we do with our own daily experiences and we increasingly live media-led virtual lives rather than real ones
