'The coming of the mass media and the increasing commercialisation of culture and leisure gave rise to issues, interests and debates.' pg 2 Dominc Strinati
'What or who determines popular culture? Does it emerge from the people themselves as an autonomous expression of their interests and modes of experience, or is it imposed from above by those in positions of power as a type of social control? ... Or is it rather a question of an interaction between the industrialisation upon popular culture.' pg 3 Strinati
'Does the emergence of culture in commodity forms mean that criteria of profitability and marketability take precedence over quality, artistry, integrity and intellectual challenge? Or does the increasingly universal market for popular culture ensure that it is truly popular because it makes available commodities people actually want?' pg 3 Strinati
'The mass production and consumption of culture, the rise of fascism and the maturation of liberal democracies in certain western societies' pg 4 Strinati
Due to technological advancements it has allowed Western culture to become highly standardised in the sense that nothing is original. As a result of manufactures means of mass production allowing everything to duplicate a single product it grants society the ability to purchase the same product over and over. This westernised way of living has become encrypted into the ideologies of most classes who live with this modern way of thinking. Instead of travelling to a farm to obtain fresh produce its now more convenient for most to simply go to the supermarket to purchase food and this is what we are conditioned to believe. Print adverts, TV Advertisements and Radio all support supermarkets through advertising stores for their low prices and providing deals to benefit a mass audience. However, independent farms for example don't have media power in the sense they aren't funded by a company to advertise there products thus taking the simpler route, which we are encouraged to, powers over the traditional way of life.
The main division between middle and working class is the income. Being a working class citizen, from a Marxist perspective, means you willingly sell your labour to dominant classes in exchange for the value of money which conforms to the 'survival of the fittest' mindset of a right-wing system in which we currently live in. However, as a middle class citizen you stand higher in terms of heirachy and have a greater disposable income to afford more than just the basics of survival. Middle class have the ability to be materialistic and a product of Media consumption influence in which the media can use different forms to influence those with disposable income, such as 'unique' selling points of products, in order to win over that income to make a profit. With this in mind what can be said about culture? Marxism states the media is in favour of the upper classes and therefore media products such as newspaper and TV are put forth to only serve to them. However, is this truly the case? As without the upper classes making the decision to indulge in media consumption industries wouldn't be able to survive without profit. Therefore are the media truly supportive of the middle class as a way of setting an example to society to form a culture enriched with the ideas of upper class ideology or are the upper classes merely targeted and focused on as oppose to the working class as they are the ones who fuel the finance of the Media.
'Human beings as individuals and as social actors, make their own history, while they can merely observe the history of the natural world.' Samir Amin ( Spectres of Capitalism: A Critique of Current Intellectual Fashions, New York, 1998, pg 27-47)
'A general equilibrium is produced through the self-regulating nature of the market' -Samir Amin
'Among the entirety of conceptions making up the bourgeois thought, that one which responds best to the demands posed by the particular phase of captialist development under consideration easily wins its place of itellectual dominance; it becomes the 'single thought' of the moment' - Samir Amin
Social thought & Social power
bourgeois = Belonging to the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes. e.g a bourgeois family
Commercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market
Facism - an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.
Right- wing system - conservative = survival of the fittest, they believe that if you have more money, you should get to keep it, and buy better education and health services for yourself
Left wing system - Labour = progressive in nature, they look to the future, aim to support those who cannot support themselves, are idealist and believe in equality. People who are left wing believe in taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth - things like a national health service, and job seeker’s allowance are fundamentally left wing ideas. They believe in equality over the freedom to fail
Is culture ordinary? Before we can determine whether or not culture is ordinary we must ask ourselves what exactly culture is, paying close attention to the effects of a class specific society
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