Mini Quiz 1

Question 1

metalinguistics

Answer 1

the study of culture and language

Question 2

3 meanings of culture that has shifted over time..

Answer 2

1) a whole way of social life

2) a name for “serious” works of music, art, literature and film

Question 3

2 parts of pop culture

Answer 3

mass culture and folk culture

*lines between the two are often blurry

Question 4

mass culture

Answer 4

entertainment produced by commercial media

ex) TV, film, music

Question 5

folk culture

Answer 5

what ordinary people do or make in everyday life

Question 6

popular culture

Answer 6

the communicative practices of everyday life
-it does not refer directly to a clear cut group of texts or practices, but is a site of struggle between groups and individuals over the production of meaning

Question 7

when did cultural studies emerge? where? what does it look at?

Answer 7

in the 1950’s in Britain
-looks at social relations and power, asks us to examine our our practices, pleasures, experiences and beliefs in light of broader social structures

Question 8

why study culture studies?

Answer 8

it is necessarily political as it is concerned with the distribution of social and economic power in the world
-helps us to understand how pop culture works

Question 9

3 summary points about pop culture

Answer 9

1) power is a central issue for understanding pop culture (critical thinking)
2) it has a history
3) it can be a useful tool in helping us transform our social world

Question 10

cultural studies helps us move past 3 things..

Answer 10

1) unconscious consumption
2) contemptuous dismissal
3) cynical consumption

Question 11

1) unconscious consumption

Answer 11

passively taking everything at face value

Question 12

2) contemptuous dismissal

Answer 12

trying to escape or live outside of commercial culture (this is nearly impossible)

Question 13

3) cynical consumption

Answer 13

knowing something is ‘bad’ for us but doing it anyway

Question 14

Kellner reading highligts

Answer 14

• studying subcultures helps us understand group membership, power & oppression of culture
• why pop cult is important to study (critique the media)
• identifies power relations coded in cultural texts
• reveals how people challenge and resist these powers

Question 15

ideology

Answer 15

reduce social relations of domination and subordination

• makes inequalities seem natural and just
• induces consent to relations of domination

Question 16

multiculturalist approach

Answer 16

demonstrates how culture reproduces racism, sexism and bias against subordinate classes, social groups and lifestyles

Question 17

multiperspectival analysis

Answer 17

a broad but guided way for students to examine culture, politics and society

• encourages individual empowerment
• critical to cultural studies

Question 18

3 ways to analyze media culture.. look at

Answer 18

1) production and political economy of culture
2) textual analysis
3) audience reception and use of media culture

Question 19

the history of pop culture

• when?
• where?
• how?

Answer 19

when: 18th-19th century
where: Britain.. during the Industrial Revolution
how: shift from agricultural to mechanical, capiltialism & liberal democracy

Question 20

Industrial Revolution caused the work industry and social lives to change how?

Answer 20

-alienated workers from their products (production lines)
-master and servant laws
-working class struggled to define their lives outside of work.. needed recreation (separated work from home)
-created opportunities for class mobility
-

Question 21

rational recreation

Answer 21

activities that foster self-improvement and focuses on on the development of discipline, skill, knowledge and moral development

• conservative entertainment
• middle class, 19th century

Question 22

individualism

Answer 22

the idea or belief that the interest of the individual is the most important

Question 23

liberalism

Answer 23

a belief that the state will provide equality for all citizens

Question 24

liberal democracy

Answer 24

emphasizes political and civil freedoms based on notions of individualism
-emphasizes private property rights, market forces, and no interference from the Gov unless it benefits citizens

Question 25

early capitalism

Answer 25

• colonial exploitation of land & resources
• non-Euro slave labour
• accumulation of wealth enjoyed by few

Question 26

social fragmentation

Answer 26

• unequal distribution of wealth

- the idea that everything could be bought or sold

Question 27

class consciousness

Answer 27

recognition that class determines one’s identity and behaviour

Question 28

working-class consciousness

Answer 28

political awareness in 19th century for worker solidarity and democratic rights (collectivism)

Question 29

pop culture has been shaped by 3 main things…

Answer 29

1) working class activism
2) middle class reform
3) economic liberalism

Question 30

culture industry

Answer 30

draws attention to the commodification of culture

• refers to the production of modern culture via modern technologies
• arose during Industrial Revolution

Question 31

culture industry thesis

Answer 31

Adorno and Horkehimer’s idea that mass media and pop culture are instruments of mass deception that serve capitalist ideologies

Question 32

3 ways mass deception is achieved

Answer 32

1) instrumental rationality
2) standardization
3) pseudo-individualization

Question 33

instrumental rationality (the logic of efficiency)

Answer 33

is concerned with critically evaluating actions, instrumental rationality tends to focus on the ‘hows’ of an action, rather than its ‘whys’
-the most efficient way of doing something and making profit
Ex) overuse of the environment

Question 34

pseudo-individualization

Answer 34

false sense of choice and individuality

ex) American Appearal t-shirt colours

Question 35

PROS of the culture industry thesis

Answer 35

• draws attention to production in pop culture

- allows us to see the powerful role that pop culture plays in managing social order

Question 36

CONS of the culture industry thesis

Answer 36

• doesn’t acknowledge individual agency and resistance

- doesn’t pay attention to practices of consumption and the emergence of subcultures

Question 37

hegemony

Answer 37

ability of ruling class to exert control over subordinate groups without using force or domination but through constant justifications so that inequalities seem legit and natural

• never complete
• subordinate groups can push back
• society’s norms

Question 38

conspicuous consumption

Answer 38

refers to a pattern of behaviour resulting from increased income and leisure time 
-consumption symbolizes class distinctions

Question 39

survivance

Answer 39

indigenous media activism and political resistance

-survival + resistance + persistence

Question 40

authenicity

Answer 40

a positive quality of genuineness and originality

Question 41

branding

Answer 41

• trend in early 1990’s
• companies shift their resources from producing goods to producing a corporate image defined by abstract or spiritual qualities

Question 42

commodity fetishism

Answer 42

describes the “magical” value attributed to objects in a capitalist economy

Question 43

Marxism

Answer 43

emphasizes the primacy of economic and structures in determining all social activity