The Anthropology Of Ourselves Flashcards
What could we potentially call the aristocracy the face of in 20s 30s?
The face of mass culture
What does mass culture make the aristocracy into?
Celebrities
What does Lord Monomark control in Vile Bodies?
Controls what is published from behind the scenes - satirizes the large media owner
What is their a blurring of lines between after the war and why?
Because a lot of heirs have died out and aristocracy suffering during the war moneywise, they began to blur the lines between upper classes and aristocracy and let new money people in
What is a perfect example on the Northfield Ordnance Survey which reveals the struggles of the upper classes?
Manor house became a hotel
Who were generally the protagonists of Hollywood films?
Rich upper class people
What challenged the political power of the aristocracy?
Mass democracy of Britain and the politicians shift to focus on everyone not just the rich
What does Patrick Balfour in Society Racket suggest Society is?
Superficial, he calls it ‘a fiction’
What does the newsreel showing the spectacle of debutants reveal?
The importance of Society, seen as the pinacle
If the aristocracy hadn’t eroded what had it done?
Transformed
What two things could the advertising on the Bystander Magazines 1938 jacket reveal?
Either that the magazine needed more advertising because it wasn’t selling enough magazines, or that more people were wanting to advertise with the magazine because it was popular
What quality did readers who read gossip columns like The Bystander have?
Aspirational
What was the private lives of the aristocracy up for in 1920s 30s?
Consumption
What does Voyeurism mean?
It is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature
What gets blurred in depictions of the aristocracy in Society magazines?
Public and private - public advertising of really private parts of people’s lives - somebody’s daughter died in one extract
What does showing the private lives of the aristocracy do to their status?
Brings them down to the level of everyone else
What happens to the figure of the gossip columnist in the 20s 30s?
Increases in popularity and comes to stand in for society racket - a way of satirising Society
Who is hovering behind the dominance of our idea of the Bright Young Things in 20s 30s?
Gossip columnists, they are creating this image
What critiques and fear arise after Vile Bodies is produced?
Fear around gossip columnists and critiques of the aristocracy and Society
What other notorious figure does the popular press make accessible through their sensationalised stories?
Criminal lives
Why are Josephine O’Dare’s second accounts of 20s 30s Society likely to be truthful?
She has nothing to lose, not bound by loyalty because she is of the working classes, fresh out of prison and needing money
What did Josephie O’Dare threaten specifically?
Heirarchy of the aristocracy/their power to differentiate themselves from other classes
What did Vile Bodies and Society Racket’s publications open the door for Josephine O’Dare to do?
Criticise the aristocracy
Who does Josephine O’Dare sue?
Every newspaper that prints a story of her in 1926 and 1927 for libel