Monday, 10 December 2012

Seminar Four - Lecture Analysis.

Group presentation points

Popular Culture

Summary:
  • a set of ideas followed by a set of people at a particular time, trends.

Key points:
  • authentic culture vs. popular culture
    • repetition of films/programmes
    • elite vs. masses
  • Frankfurt school
    • elitist view
    • maintains social order/authority
    • decline in western world, dumbing down of society
  • Marx's concept
    • base forms structure
    • base is skills and aspects a society has
    • superstructure is a direct result of the base

Links with graphic design:
  • fine art equals...
    • authentic culture
    • for the rich by the rich
    • in galleries
  • graphic design equals...
    • popular culture
    • for the masses by the masses
    • in the everyday environment

Celebrity Culture

Summary:

  • relationship between photography/film/tv
  • how contemporary identity and celebrity are entwined

Key points:
  • the reinvention of celebrity
    • lady gaga
    • madonna
    • new image for each album/daily appearance
  • mediums of celebrity
    • twitter for connecting with celebrities, links with their personal lives
    • youtube for creating new celebrities
  • politics
    • creating a celebrity status for political figures e.g Obama and Kennedy
    • makes politics more relatable to the masses

Links with graphic design:
  • people becoming a product
  • people branding themselves e.g David Beckham


Further analysis of lectures

Popular Culture
  • created by the people vs. created by the elite
  • class based analysis
  • culture vs. popular culture... art vs. graphic design
  • base
    • economic reality
    • factories
    • skills of workers
    • things society has to generate for itself
    • internet
    • produces wealth
  • relations of production
    • the relationship between aspects of the base
    • the links between different sectors
    • forms the superstructure
    • marx's theory - everything is created from this
  • superstructure
    • direct result of the base
    • fashion/music/art
    • ways of thinking/attitudes
  • contextual example
    • industrial capitalism emerges in Manchester where there is a strong class divide
    • culture emerges from this
    • working class subculture threatens elite
    • elite come up with ideas to retain control

Cities and Film
  • city and modernism
  • urban sociology
  • the individual and the city
  • the body and the machine
  • production and consumption
  • the city controls us
    • way finding/signage
    • advertising and consumption
    • surveillance

Subculture
  • group within a larger group
  • performance of the city
  • redefining the urban space
  • symbolic challenges
    • threats to attack and redefine
    • punks and anarchy
  • challenge the mainstream
    • subcultures challenge the mass minded popular culture
    • subcultures challenge the dominant culture

Celebrity Culture
  • identity and celebrity
  • recycling
  • changing focus
    • celebrity as 'artist'
    • celebrity as 'personality'
  • commodity culture
    • branded people
    • judging people as things

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