Popular culture is a multifaceted concept influenced by industrial character and often involves resistance.
Industrial Character of Popular Culture
Industrial Revolution (1760-1840): This era spurred factory and office work, leading to the rise of the middle class and a new media environment.
Mass Production:
Popular culture items are mass-produced and sold.
They must be widely liked to be successful.
Media plays a critical role in their dissemination.
Examples:
Music
Visual Art
Dance
Literature
Messaging: Popular culture involves messaging "by/for 'the people'," often related to leisure and entertainment, but is subject to corporate control (e.g., Disney).
Frankfurt School of Critical Theory:
Associated with Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) and Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969). They examined the effects of industrialization, fascism and authoritarianism on culture.
Cultural Production Under Capitalism:
Maximizes resources and profits.
Uses assembly line techniques for efficiency.
Emphasizes standardization, sameness, and repetition.
Contrasts with the artisan approach, which values craftsmanship, dedication, and uniqueness over profit.
Standardization in Film: Evident through sequels, spin-offs, reboots, remakes, and crossovers, indicating the recycling of old ideas.
Examples:
Highest-grossing films of 2019, such as Avengers: Endgame (2,797,800,000), The Lion King (1,656,940,000), and Frozen II (1,450,026,900).
Highest-grossing films of 2022, such as Avatar: The Way of Water (2,176,229,105) and Top Gun: Maverick (1,488,732,821).
Television:
Examples:
Reboots like Fuller House.
Reality TV shows such as Real Housewives.
Game shows like The Price is Right and American Idol.
The Millennial Whoop: A common musical phrase used in pop music, exemplified by Katy Perry's "California Gurls" (2010).
Cultural Hegemony and the Culture Industry: Terms that describe the imposition of culture from above, leading to standardization among audiences.
Messaging By/For
Leisure
Entertainment
Disney
Resistance in Popular Culture
Popular Culture as Contestation: Stuart Hall (1981) views popular culture as a site of struggle for and against the culture of the powerful. It is a stake to be won or lost, making it a significant area of study.
Cultural Studies: Culture is ideological, emphasizing the struggle for power and change.
Political Economy, Gender Studies, Critical Race Studies, Sociology, Media Studies: All play a role in analyzing popular culture.
Expressions of Resistance: It's crucial to distinguish when resistance is emancipatory versus when it is simply integrated into the established system.
Protest in Film:
Examples: How to Survive a Plague, Gasland, Selma, and Milk.
Protest in Sport:
Athletes using their platforms to address social issues (e.g., Black Lives Matter).
Protest Music:
Examples: Bob Marley and the Wailers - “Get Up, Stand Up” (1973), Dead Prez - “Be Healthy” (2000), Joni Mitchell - “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970).
Associated with anti-war and civil rights protests of the 1960s.
Includes various artists and genres addressing anti-colonialism, environmentalism, vegetarianism, and animal rights.
Agency: The ability for self-motivated activity or action, with ideas entering the public realm from the bottom-up.
Hopeful Popular Culture: Aims for an equitable, egalitarian, and just society, often oppositional to the dominant culture.
Elites
Aristocracy
High Culture
Class, Intellect, and Civility
Ethnocentric
Western Classical Tradition
Examples:
English Literature
Musicology
Art History
Key Factors
Key to any definition of popular culture is that it's a terrain upon which the struggle for power gets played out.
Under capitalism, the role of industry is key in determining the products of the culture industry and the cultures that emerge as a result.
Popular culture isn't solely determined by industry alone: people too can have a say and exercise ideas that can build a better democracy.