The media globalisation and popular culture

What is the idea of popular culture

Popular culture is culture enjoyed by ordinary people, such as TV soaps and is also known as mass or low culture. Mass culture is highly commercialised and standardised in order to make a profit

Popular culture involves unchallengimg, dumbed down entertainment so that all can be involved in it. The mass media is now spreading mass culture globally

What is high culture

High culture is seen as something that is set apart from everyday life, something ‘special’ to be treated with respect, involving lasting value. High culture products are often found in places such as art galleries, museums etc…

Describe the changing distinction between high and popular culture

Postmodernists argue that mass production and distribution have blurred the line between high and popular culture, making art and music accessible to all, not just the elite. Strinati suggests that high culture now influences popular culture, and vice versa, erasing any real distinction. For example, famous paintings like the Mona Lisa and Starry Night are widely reproduced and displayed in homes.

Evaluation of popular culture

Marxists see popular culture as social control, creating an illusion of choice and promoting conformity, weakening critical thinking. Strinati rejects this, arguing popular culture offers diversity and choice. Livingstone found soap operas educate audiences on issues like child abuse, racism, and domestic violence.

Describe the idea of a global popular culture by Flew and Kellner

Flew argues that new media technologies, such as satellite TV and the internet, have been key in developing a global popular culture. Kellner suggests that the media shapes lifestyles and identities by producing globally shared images. As a result, globalisation has weakened national and local cultures, as the same cultural products are consumed worldwide, leading to cultural homogenisation.

What is Fenton’s view of culture and media imperialism

Fenton points out that the term ‘global’ rarely means ‘universal’; instead, it often masks the dominance of Western culture over others. Globalisation is frequently portrayed as a neutral or inclusive process, but in reality, it tends to reflect the spread of Western values and interests. American media conglomerates, such as Google and Microsoft, now control much of global communication, shaping the flow of information and culture on a worldwide scale.

This process is sometimes referred to as "Coca-Colonisation," involving cultural and media imperialism — the idea that Western consumer culture and ideologies are being imposed on non-Western countries.

What is the pluralist view of the media and globalisation of popular culture

Pluralists reject the idea of a single popular culture, arguing that modern media offers a vast range of products, providing global consumers with diverse cultural choices. Tomlinson argues that globalisation isn’t just a one-way cultural imposition from the West but a process of hybridisation, where people blend Western and local cultures, creating unique cultural styles worldwide.

What is the critical view of media and globalisation

The critical view sees global media as spreading Western values, causing cultural homogenisation and reinforcing inequality. Media conglomerates concentrate power, limiting diversity and promoting consumerism. Thussu’s global infotainment highlights a focus on entertainment over serious news, discouraging critical thinking. Marxists argue mass culture is a tool of ideological control, distracting people from questioning inequalities. Media imperialism marginalises local cultures, with global narratives shaped by Western interests.

What is teh postmodernist view of the media

Postmodernists, like pluralists, see media globalisation as increasing consumer choice and diverse lifestyles. Baudrillard argues we live in a media-saturated world where images distort reality into ‘hyperreality’, such as sanitised war coverage. Garrod suggests reality TV and YouTube blur reality and hyperreality. Strinati emphasises media’s role in shaping identities through popular culture.

What does Skliar (2012) argue about media globalisation for popular culture

Media globalisation spreads a Western, largely American, consumer culture worldwide. The media presents an idealised, happy, and satisfying consumerist lifestyle, encouraging acceptance of Western capitalism. Western companies dominate global markets, reinforcing consumerist ideologies and weakening local cultures.

What does Ritzer (2008) argue about global brands in popular culture

Global brands operate on a worldwide scale, promoting a uniform consumer culture tied to Western lifestyles. Companies like Apple, McDonald's, and Nike use transnational media to expand, making their logos and products globally recognisable. This weakens local cultures by replacing traditional consumer habits with Westernised ones.

What is a hyperreality

Hyperreality is the condition in which reality and its representations become blurred, with simulations or media often taking precedence over actual reality.