Design Context: Lecture Six - Popular Culture.

What is culture?

general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development of a particular society, at a particular time
a particular way of life
works of intellectual and especially artistic significance

Marx's concept of Base/Superstructure

base > determines content and form of > superstructure > reflects form and legitimises > base
base = industrial capitalists and workers
superstructure = systems of law, ideology and religion, politics, army

Raymond Williams (1983) 'keywords'

well liked by many people
inferior kinds of work (base culture)
work deliberately setting out to win favour with the people
culture actually made by the people themselves, made by the masses for the masses

Examples

Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane (2005) 'Folk Archive', work that wouldn't normally be displayed in a gallery, ask the question why are these not classed as culture?
Graffiti in South Bronx and Banksy piece exhibited in Covent Garden, stolen buy culture

Evolution of the Base

E.P Thompson (1963) 'The making of the english working class'
heavy industrialisation, process of urbanisation, growth of the city, hyper development of industrial capitalism
clear who the rich and poor were
clear lines of class separation
before it was believed culture was shared but it was made by the elite
then a culture made by the workers for the workers, done for profit, entrepreneurial
entertainment - music magazines
political literature - speaking of classes
independent living was ground upon by the upper classes
birth of chartism, movement to get working class people the vote
backlash from the 'taste makers' of culture.
Matthew Arnold (1867) 'Culture and Anarchy'

''the best that has been thought and said in the world'
culture is a study of perfection
attained through disinterested reading, writing thinking
the pursuit of culture
seeks to 'minister the diseased spirit of our time'
anarchy should be seen as the working class who dare to stake a claim or write a culture of their own

similar views to Matthew Arnold
still forms a kind of repressed, common sense attitude to popular culture in this country
standardisation and levelling down
'culture has always been in minority keeping'
believes culture is on the decline as society has become more developed
culture is more standardised and stupid
'the minority, who had hithero set the standard to taste without any serious challenge have experienced a collapse.

collapse of traditional authority comes at the same time as mass democracy (anarchy)
nostalgia for an era when the masses exhibited an unquestioning deference to (cultural) authority
popular culture offers addictive forms of distraction and compensation
emergence of mass democracy

Frankfurt School

institute of social research, University of Frankfurt, 1923 - 33
University of Colombia New York, 1933 - 47
University of Frankfurt, 1949 -
argued that popular culture maintains social order
doesn't present a challenge but strengthens the system that we live in
isn't a threat to social order
Reinterpreted Marx for the 20th Century - era of 'late capitalism'
defined the culture industry, two main products: homogeneity and predictability
'all mass culture is identical'
'as soon as the film begins, it is quite clear how it will end, and who will be rewarded, punished to forgotten'
all uniform and identical: films, tv, music
people are fed a monotonous stream
why are people so pacified in the modern world? endless stream of popular culture, reaches you prescribed views stops you trying to change it
culture acts as a fog that makes things seem ok

Authentic culture v popular culture

x-factor - sympathy stories, creating a system that is self perpetuating, teaching us that way out is to go on a talent show and be judged, not saying the way forward is to start a revolution
hollyoaks calendar - presented as sexual objects
big brother

Design Context