Week 5 (part 2): Divisions within Culture and Media

Question 1

what is “elite” or high culture?

Answer 1

the physical items. beliefs, ideas, practices shared by the social elite (people with higher wealth and education)

Question 2

what does elite culture include?

Answer 2

Includes status symbols:
designer clothes
luxury cars
understanding classical music
also includes an understanding o the informal norms around appropriate ways of consuming
high /elite culture

Question 3

what is mass culture?

Answer 3

refers to the physical items, beliefs, ideas, and practices shared by the masses and are mass-produced

Question 4

examples of things that are massed produced?

Answer 4

toys, food, culture, novels, blockbuster movies, clothes

Question 5

what are subcultures?

Answer 5

cultures within a culture that have their own norms, values, beliefs, and practices that are often different from those of elite or mass culture.

Question 6

example of subculture?

Answer 6

music subcultures (rap, punk), fan subcultures (fans of Justin Bieber), food subcultures (slow food movement), sports subcultures (roller derby)

Question 7

what is cultural consumption?

Answer 7

the process by which cultural goods are consumed; this reveals a great deal about your social class location.

Question 8

what are countercultures?

Answer 8

cultures within a culture that aim to challenge existing norms, values, beliefs, and practices of elite and mass culture.

Question 9

example of counterculture?

Answer 9

many social movements in the 1960s: the feminist movement, Civil Rights Movement, American Indian Movement, Gay Liberation, etc.
Contemporary: Black Lives Matter

Question 10

what are cultural representations?

Answer 10

connect meaning, language, and culture
They are part of the process in which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture.

Question 11

what do cultural representations do?

Answer 11

reflect reality or authorial intent and actively involve the social construction of reality

Question 12

what is mass media?

Answer 12

communications that target mass audiences either in print or electronic format, e.g., books, newspapers, tv, film, and social media.

Question 13

what does mass media reflect?

Answer 13

shapes our social reality, e.g., through the reproduction of stereotypes.

Question 14

what does negative stereotypical media portray?

Answer 14

adverse impact on people’s attitudes toward different social groups in society, and policies regarding those groups.

Question 15

what are activists and scholars doing?

Answer 15

working toward challenging stereotypical representations.

Question 16

what is misinformation?

Answer 16

working toward challenging these stereotypical representations.

Question 17

what is disinformation?

Answer 17

deliberate and includes malicious content such as hoaxes, spear phishing, and propaganda. It spreads fear and suspicion among the population.