Lecture 2 - Mainstream vs Carnivalesque Flashcards
Leisure shifted to what with modernism
Central to identity
Who came up with leisure carnivalesque
Mikhail bakhtin
What was bahktins carnivalesque
Spirit of carnival
Temp liberation from society
Normal world upside down
Anti heirarchical
Fantasies of reprisal against the powerful existing moral codes
Pearson
MAYDAY
Pre Christian Beltane day of fire
End of winter
Election of may queen to rule the crops - life symbol of life into the fields
Appointment of the green man
Maypole dancing
Drinking rudeness sex
Up to 16 days of celebrations
When was mayday abolished
1708
Repossessed briefly in 2002
Who didn’t like mayday
Wealthy and powerful and church
Why was mayday not like
Immoral
Unchristian
Backward
Barrier to rational clean order
Carnivalesque survived tho right?
Yep
It was pruned and replanted in the margins - rojek
ESP in liminal zones “Places of in betweennessl”
Carnivalesque is an expression of human need of
Collective joy
Carnivalesque is a temp exp in temp place
Liminal
Not genuine freedom or control
Not so radical?
Harris on leisure
Long tendency of young people to associate together and adopt distinct styles
ESP 1960s on
Suggested youth cultures formed due to social pressures and problems eg London
Eg problems magically left behind mods and clubbers to form new group
Teddy boys clothes n fight when mocked present in loads of places
Press polarised new differences
Skinheads seen as violent youth
Bikers celebrate their own skill
Authorities don’t like acid house as it can be categorised in several headings each with vast political meaning, the music threatened social order, created excitement, threatens values associated with English countryside , illegal parties an invasion,
Creswell in place out of place
Women of greenham freq expressed their refusal to accept the order of things in carnivalesque ways eg dancing and singing to keep themselves amused with painted faces and wacky haircuts
Even dressing as bunnies and holding a picnic
Even when the women went to court they didn’t stop challenging
Danced and sang in courtroom ( dancing and the courtroom clearly not meant to be )
Ehrenreich dancing on the streets
History of group festivities
Pre bistoric rock drawing of dancing stick figures
Evolution a part of it
Rhythmic activity would have helped overcome the fear of confronting predators
Just as marching music pumps up soldiers
Yet celebration comes hand in hand with those who seek to repress it
Very religious v similar in Islam and Protestant reformation in England to stifle festive traditions
Decline and suppression of festivity means for depression. Now
Robinson carnival against capital
Carnival occurs on the border between art and life
No boundary between performer and audience
For bakhtin Rep freedom and social space rank is abolished and everyone in equal
Alternative way of living based on pattern of play
In carnival everything is playful and undefined silenced voices are heard
Bakhtin says in decline since 18C
carnivals turned into state controlled parades or privatised holidays , no more second life
Carnival grotesque eg human animal gargoyle anti capitalist
Folk culture combats fear created by cosmic terror
Carnivalesque remains a potential counter power for activism but is cramped in its potential by repressive
Now portrayed in graffiti
Some authentic in Caribbean
