Before getting to Part II of Mass Madness, I want to address something Mike brought up in a recent comment. Responding to Mass Madness Part I, Mike wrote:
"This whole thing makes me wonder to what degree the 'culture industry' is following the populace, and to what degree it's leading it. Suppose the powers that be in entertainment decided that we all needed to be listening to Mozart...."
This is an interesting question. What would happen if the powers that be decided to mass market Mozart? Not a whole lot, I think. I doubt very much that Mozart, in his classical form, would catch on with the general populace. Hooked on Classics (remember that classical music set to a disco beat drivel?), on the other hand, might make a splash.
If an artifact is to catch on with the masses, it must be both physically and psychologically accessible. Physically accessible means an artifact must be both available (carried in stores) and affordable (priced so that most people could purchase the product). Fish sticks are physically accessible for most us; caviar is not. A product that's psychologically accessible is one that most people can comprehend; the product isn't too intellectual, complex, outlandish, offensive, or different. Once again, most of us can wrap our minds around the idea of eating fish sticks. Caviar is a little too different for a great many people.
The idea of a High Culture/Mass Culture/Low culture hierarchy or continuum compliments the notions of physical and psychological accessibility. An artifact that falls in the category of high culture is something that's inaccessible to most of the mass public. A high culture artifact might be too intellectual, complex, or expensive for the average person. For instance, most of the general populace doesn't have the knowledge necessary to really understand and appreciate a Jackson Pollock or Matisse. At the opposite end of the spectrum, low culture, are artifacts from street and folk culture. While most of the these artifacts meet the affordability requirement, they might not be available or easily understood. New musical genres often start as low culture art forms; bluegrass, jazz, punk, and hip hop all started as folk practices. Jazz, even though it's readily accessible in most music stores, perplexes the average listener. Certain styles of fashion, like Goth or Punk, are considered too different or abrasive and never clear the psychological accessibility hurdle. Mass culture, then, is the area occupied by those artifacts generally accessible, both physically and psychologically, to most people.
Back to Mike's question. Classical music, despite its widespread physical availability, is psychologically inaccessible to a great many people. Oh, they enjoy a good classical score to a movie, but they're unlikely to sit down and listen to Mozart. Why? Classical music is extremely complex and requires at least some musical training to fully understand the nuances. So, even if the cultural industry started marketing Mozart like mad, I doubt we'd see classical music rise to the level of pop music. People treat Shakespeare in a similar way; they won't attend a classic performance ("I can't understand a thing they're saying!"), but they'll sit down and watch West Side Story (Romeo & Juliet), 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew), or O (Othello).
My question as a popular culture critic is this: Are we in danger of losing an art form when we see classic literature "rewritten" in what many consider a watered-down form?
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Walk
I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality.
People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"
People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"
Friday, December 23, 2005
Mass Madness: Part I
This piece, devoted to the supposed death of mass culture, and this piece, discussing another down year for the motion picture industry, got me thinking. Is mass culture really dead? Have consumers finally grown tired of stale, repetitive Hollywood fare?
Part I
The basic argument underlying the notion of mass culture isn't difficult to understand. In the early 20th century, largely as a result of the Industrial Revolution, the United States experienced a significant population migration from agrarian to urban communities. When this shift occurred, and continued through most of the 20th century, people lost many of the socializing institutions and organizations that contribute to the development of cultural attitudes, values, and beliefs. Becoming increasingly distant from our comrades, we see a reduction of face-to-face interactions (e.g. cell phones, email, text messaging), have less contact with extended family, and we might not know our neighbors (e.g. tall fences separate property where there used to be known). As a result of this atomization, mass culture theorists argue we've become more susceptible to the influences of institutions like popular culture. With fewer friends, family members, and socializing institutions in our lives, we turn to popular culture to learn appropriate behavior, fashion, and the like.
With me to this point? Okay, the culture industry, the producers of cultural products for consumption by the masses (e.g. television programs, films, books, music), have one basic goal: profit. As such, the powers-that-be within the culture industry almost always strive to make their product as consumable by as many people as possible. More people buying a product = more profit. Economics 101. Here's the rub: most people within the culture industry don't care that popular culture has become a major socializing institution. Money becomes the driving force and healthy cultural values, a sense of ethics, takes a back seat.
What we wind up with, and I think there's evidence of this just about everywhere we turn, is a kind of cultural homogeneity; our cultural products become vapid and vacuous, devoid of any significant meaning. The trend is toward producing another highly consumable My Humps, The Dukes of Hazzard, or yet another horrifyingly bad reality television show, rather than a product that asks us to consider important moral or ethical questions. In the hopes of making loads of money, everything starts to look the same. We see one boy band start to cash in, we see a dozen boy bands flood the market. Art, music, and fashion that doesn't prove immediately profitable gets pushed to the side making it more difficult for consumers to procure. The end result is bland, non-intellectual, morally ambiguous fare foisted upon a consuming public comprised of cultural dopes. In essence, people within the culture industry say to the consuming public, "If you'll keep lapping this crap up, and pay big bucks for it, we'll keep pumping it out."
Ultimately, mass culture critics ask a fundamental question: if our society lacks significant socializing influences and popular culture has become a major variable in socialization, should the cultural industry be more congnizant of their role in society? Should the culture industry strive to produce quality material that takes more than the bottom line into consideration? This doesn't mean the culture industry has to agree on what values are good for our society; a variety of viewpoints encourages consumers to engage in public dialogues about issues of importance.
Time for a break and some holiday errands. In Part II I'll return to the original question at hand: Is mass culture dead?
Part I
The basic argument underlying the notion of mass culture isn't difficult to understand. In the early 20th century, largely as a result of the Industrial Revolution, the United States experienced a significant population migration from agrarian to urban communities. When this shift occurred, and continued through most of the 20th century, people lost many of the socializing institutions and organizations that contribute to the development of cultural attitudes, values, and beliefs. Becoming increasingly distant from our comrades, we see a reduction of face-to-face interactions (e.g. cell phones, email, text messaging), have less contact with extended family, and we might not know our neighbors (e.g. tall fences separate property where there used to be known). As a result of this atomization, mass culture theorists argue we've become more susceptible to the influences of institutions like popular culture. With fewer friends, family members, and socializing institutions in our lives, we turn to popular culture to learn appropriate behavior, fashion, and the like.
With me to this point? Okay, the culture industry, the producers of cultural products for consumption by the masses (e.g. television programs, films, books, music), have one basic goal: profit. As such, the powers-that-be within the culture industry almost always strive to make their product as consumable by as many people as possible. More people buying a product = more profit. Economics 101. Here's the rub: most people within the culture industry don't care that popular culture has become a major socializing institution. Money becomes the driving force and healthy cultural values, a sense of ethics, takes a back seat.
What we wind up with, and I think there's evidence of this just about everywhere we turn, is a kind of cultural homogeneity; our cultural products become vapid and vacuous, devoid of any significant meaning. The trend is toward producing another highly consumable My Humps, The Dukes of Hazzard, or yet another horrifyingly bad reality television show, rather than a product that asks us to consider important moral or ethical questions. In the hopes of making loads of money, everything starts to look the same. We see one boy band start to cash in, we see a dozen boy bands flood the market. Art, music, and fashion that doesn't prove immediately profitable gets pushed to the side making it more difficult for consumers to procure. The end result is bland, non-intellectual, morally ambiguous fare foisted upon a consuming public comprised of cultural dopes. In essence, people within the culture industry say to the consuming public, "If you'll keep lapping this crap up, and pay big bucks for it, we'll keep pumping it out."
Ultimately, mass culture critics ask a fundamental question: if our society lacks significant socializing influences and popular culture has become a major variable in socialization, should the cultural industry be more congnizant of their role in society? Should the culture industry strive to produce quality material that takes more than the bottom line into consideration? This doesn't mean the culture industry has to agree on what values are good for our society; a variety of viewpoints encourages consumers to engage in public dialogues about issues of importance.
Time for a break and some holiday errands. In Part II I'll return to the original question at hand: Is mass culture dead?
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Good Day Sunshine
Happy Yule, everyone. STK, TLO, and I started our Yule celebration last weekend with the local Unitarian Universalists.* I'm drawn to the Unitarians in that the organization doesn't celebrate one particular spiritual but all of them. That's right, you'll find Christian, Earth-based, Hindu, Jewish, [insert belief system of choice here] practices throughout the year. As someone who self-identifies as a Tao Buddhist Witch, the eclectic spiritual mix from one worship service to the next appeals to me. Go figure. With the Solstice, Hannukah, Kawaanza, and Christmas celebrated in close temporal proximity, the theme for Sunday's gathering was birth and the return of light.
Last night, Wednesday, we celebrated the return of the sun and warmer weather (which can't come too soon for me) by opening our holiday gifts. Boy, did TLO clean up on the goodies. He was more interested in the wrapping paper, of course, but he'll enjoy the toys, books, and clothes for many months, maybe years, to come. STK and I didn't make out too poorly either. STK's folks hooked me up with six months of fresh Kaladi Bros coffee beans delivered right to our front door. I received a pound of Starbucks winter blend from my sister-in-law and her family. You just can't go wrong giving me coffee . . . unless you try to give me decaf anything or Folgers/Whichever-crappy-commercial-blend-packed-in-a-can/Maxwell House. That will score no points and might result in a horribly tacky gift sent your way the following year. We received an assortment of appropriate holiday ornaments and decorations; a black and silver ornament scored big points. All in all, our first Yule with the TLO proved a joyous occasion.
And for all those who think war has been declared on Christmas (I'm talking to you, O'Reilly), I wish you Happy Holidays!
*One of STK's acquaintances refers to the local Unitarian group as "The hippies." I can think of worse groups with which to be affiliated.
Last night, Wednesday, we celebrated the return of the sun and warmer weather (which can't come too soon for me) by opening our holiday gifts. Boy, did TLO clean up on the goodies. He was more interested in the wrapping paper, of course, but he'll enjoy the toys, books, and clothes for many months, maybe years, to come. STK and I didn't make out too poorly either. STK's folks hooked me up with six months of fresh Kaladi Bros coffee beans delivered right to our front door. I received a pound of Starbucks winter blend from my sister-in-law and her family. You just can't go wrong giving me coffee . . . unless you try to give me decaf anything or Folgers/Whichever-crappy-commercial-blend-packed-in-a-can/Maxwell House. That will score no points and might result in a horribly tacky gift sent your way the following year. We received an assortment of appropriate holiday ornaments and decorations; a black and silver ornament scored big points. All in all, our first Yule with the TLO proved a joyous occasion.
And for all those who think war has been declared on Christmas (I'm talking to you, O'Reilly), I wish you Happy Holidays!
*One of STK's acquaintances refers to the local Unitarian group as "The hippies." I can think of worse groups with which to be affiliated.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Forget it, Ming; Dale's with Me!
Someone is finally speaking some sense about the religious sham known as intelligent design.
ID is not Science.
ID is a sham in that the entire concept is faith masquerading as science. If someone believes the universe was created by a supreme being, fine by me. I don't happen to agree, but you have the right to follow your own belief system. What you don't have the right to do is expose my child to your religious beliefs in a public school classroom. Intelligent design clearly crosses that boundary and I'm thrilled to see a judge making a decision that protects my right to separation of Church and State.
ID is not Science.
ID is a sham in that the entire concept is faith masquerading as science. If someone believes the universe was created by a supreme being, fine by me. I don't happen to agree, but you have the right to follow your own belief system. What you don't have the right to do is expose my child to your religious beliefs in a public school classroom. Intelligent design clearly crosses that boundary and I'm thrilled to see a judge making a decision that protects my right to separation of Church and State.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Hell to the Chief
The President is giving a speech this evening. Let me save you the 20 minutes. Here's what you'll hear:
The recent elections are a testament to the will and determination of the Iraqi people. Let freedom ring. Stay the course. We will not give in to terrorists. Freedom. Safety. All that jazz. Democracy is hard work. Stay the course. Victory. We will not leave the Iraqi people until the job is done. Freedom. Safety. Stay the course. Victory. Terrorists!
How many times are we going to hear the same thing? You know, I have no doubt the recent elections are an amazing accomplishment. My biggest gripe with this entire war, besides it being a violent solution to a problem that had non-violent solutions, has to do with the means by which the administration is trying to accomplish their ends. It's as if the administration decided the ends justified any means. I've been thinking about this for a couple days now; stay tuned for my discussion of ethics, means, and ends.
The recent elections are a testament to the will and determination of the Iraqi people. Let freedom ring. Stay the course. We will not give in to terrorists. Freedom. Safety. All that jazz. Democracy is hard work. Stay the course. Victory. We will not leave the Iraqi people until the job is done. Freedom. Safety. Stay the course. Victory. Terrorists!
How many times are we going to hear the same thing? You know, I have no doubt the recent elections are an amazing accomplishment. My biggest gripe with this entire war, besides it being a violent solution to a problem that had non-violent solutions, has to do with the means by which the administration is trying to accomplish their ends. It's as if the administration decided the ends justified any means. I've been thinking about this for a couple days now; stay tuned for my discussion of ethics, means, and ends.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Fragments
One of STK's aunts died last Saturday; she and TLO have been out of town since Sunday morning. The house is too freakin' quiet.
Finals week is coming to a close and I'm staying on top of all the grading. Barring a natural disaster, I'll submit completed course grades tonight. With grades finished, I'll turn my attention to my upcoming science fiction and fantasy as electronic equipment for living course. I have a primary textbook picked out and I'm pulling together a collection of articles for electronic reserve.
I treated myself to the Wednesday 21:01 premiere of King King. If you liked the original, you must go see this movie. I absolutely loved it. Reviews of the film are overwhelming positive, as they should be.
Edelstein.
Rainer
Puig
Next up, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Finals week is coming to a close and I'm staying on top of all the grading. Barring a natural disaster, I'll submit completed course grades tonight. With grades finished, I'll turn my attention to my upcoming science fiction and fantasy as electronic equipment for living course. I have a primary textbook picked out and I'm pulling together a collection of articles for electronic reserve.
I treated myself to the Wednesday 21:01 premiere of King King. If you liked the original, you must go see this movie. I absolutely loved it. Reviews of the film are overwhelming positive, as they should be.
Edelstein.
Rainer
Puig
Next up, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Conversational Realities
SP: Can I help you?
Me: I'll have a vegetarian burrito with black beans.
SP: No meat?
Me: Uh, what?
SP: No meat on your burrito?
Me: No meat. That would be vegetarian.
Me: I'll have a vegetarian burrito with black beans.
SP: No meat?
Me: Uh, what?
SP: No meat on your burrito?
Me: No meat. That would be vegetarian.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Bad Santa
STK and I are not Christian. That said, we do celebrate the holiday season . . . the Winter Solstice season. The tree in our house is a Yule tree, not a Christmas tree. We won't attend a Christmas worship service, although we'll likely celebrate the season of light with a group of Unitarian Universalists. Recently, STK and I had a discussion regarding whether or not we'll deceive our kid with the story of the big red man in the suit. Even though he's typically associated with Christmas, Santa's pretty secular. To make a long story short, we've decided we won't tell TLO that Santa Claus is real. We'll read the stories, watch the holiday specials, and even put a present under the tree from Santa, I suspect. However, our child will always know Santa is a figment of our imagination, that he's a character who represents the true spirit of giving.
When we made the decision, I knew most people would disagree with our choice. What I didn't anticipate was the reaction from some unexpected quarters. The most disturbing response came from one of our close friends who essentially accused us of depriving our child of a magical part of childhood. She proceeded to lecture us on the secular nature of Santa Claus, his pagan toots, the magic she experienced as a little girl, blah, blah, blah. The funniest part of the diatribe is that she recently discovered paganism, like four months ago; STK and I have affiliated with pagan traditions for nearly a decade. Uh, we understand the similar light imagery across all the spiritual holidays from this time of year. We understand Santa's secular nature. The idea we're stealing some magical aspect of childhood from TLO is laughable. As parents who do acknowledge pagan traditions, our child will probably know a bit more about real magick than most.
There's also apparently some concern our child will spoil the Santa secret for other kids. We'll teach TLO about honoring other beliefs and traditions and we'll remind him that it's not his place to dispell the myths in which others believe. We'll go out of our way to exposehim to as many of the various holiday practices as possible and teach him about the validity of all spiritual paths and beliefs. I wonder if other parents teach their kids similar lessons? Can I say TLO will never spill the beans? No. That would be a silly assertion to make. So, I can't say TLO will never say to another kid, "My folks say Santa isn't real" but he'll be encouraged to keep silent. We'll do our best but, as with most things concerning children, never say never.
I wonder if dispensing with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy will garner a similar response?
When we made the decision, I knew most people would disagree with our choice. What I didn't anticipate was the reaction from some unexpected quarters. The most disturbing response came from one of our close friends who essentially accused us of depriving our child of a magical part of childhood. She proceeded to lecture us on the secular nature of Santa Claus, his pagan toots, the magic she experienced as a little girl, blah, blah, blah. The funniest part of the diatribe is that she recently discovered paganism, like four months ago; STK and I have affiliated with pagan traditions for nearly a decade. Uh, we understand the similar light imagery across all the spiritual holidays from this time of year. We understand Santa's secular nature. The idea we're stealing some magical aspect of childhood from TLO is laughable. As parents who do acknowledge pagan traditions, our child will probably know a bit more about real magick than most.
There's also apparently some concern our child will spoil the Santa secret for other kids. We'll teach TLO about honoring other beliefs and traditions and we'll remind him that it's not his place to dispell the myths in which others believe. We'll go out of our way to exposehim to as many of the various holiday practices as possible and teach him about the validity of all spiritual paths and beliefs. I wonder if other parents teach their kids similar lessons? Can I say TLO will never spill the beans? No. That would be a silly assertion to make. So, I can't say TLO will never say to another kid, "My folks say Santa isn't real" but he'll be encouraged to keep silent. We'll do our best but, as with most things concerning children, never say never.
I wonder if dispensing with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy will garner a similar response?
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Toasty
I'm wearing new slippers, wool hiking socks, long underwear, and a quilted flannel. For the first time in several days, I'm warm. Oh, and it's -17 outside. Eek! To quote Yukon Cornelius, "It's not a fit night for [human] nor beast." Just watched Rudolph a couple nights back--that program never gets old.
Not a whole lot going on right now. The semester is winding down which means I'll have a stack of papers to grade by this weekend and a stack of final exams to grade next week. I think we have nearly a week after finals to get grades calculated and turned in so no great stress there.
Not a whole lot going on right now. The semester is winding down which means I'll have a stack of papers to grade by this weekend and a stack of final exams to grade next week. I think we have nearly a week after finals to get grades calculated and turned in so no great stress there.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Unselfish Attitude
We confuse attachment with love. Attachment is concerned with my needs, my happiness, while love is an unselfish attitude, concerned with the needs and happiness of others....
A relationship free of unrealistic grasping is free of disappointment, conflict, jealousy, and other problems, and is fertile ground for the growth of love and wisdom.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
A relationship free of unrealistic grasping is free of disappointment, conflict, jealousy, and other problems, and is fertile ground for the growth of love and wisdom.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Terror in the Midwest!
It's been a very scary week for a couple of reasons. First, we're experiencing the first real cold snap of the winter months . . . and I'm not liking the start of the midwest chill. Not. One. Bit. It hasn't been above freezing for over a week and isn't supposed to climb above 20 until Friday. That's six more days of freezing my ass off. I'm usually not all that susceptible to the cold but something is amiss these days. Seriously, I haven't been warm in at least 10 days, maybe a couple of weeks. Yes, I know about layering. In effort to warm my chilled bones--STK says it's because I don't have more than an ounce of fat on my body--I've been wearing four shirts: undershirt, long-sleeved thermal shirt, another t-shirt, and a quilted flannel. That's right, a quilted flannel. Look, I was sporting the grunge look before anyone even knew Kurt Cobain. Off my back. Even with my not-so-alternative quilted flannel, I still can't manage to get warm. The problem is the lower half of my body. STK, TLO, and I hunted and gathered a couple pairs of long johns yesterday and that helped a little. Still, despite wool socks my toes are perpetually cold. That's one of the hazards of wearing steel-capped boots; once those caps get chilled, they take forever to warm. Slippers solved the problem for a couple of days but, as you'll soon understand, the toasty footware ultimately met a rather unceremonious demise. Sierra Trading Post to the rescue. Please get here soon! I mentioned my freezing problem to my mother a few days ago. I received an email this morning that said, "Keep an eye on the mail. Warm clothes are on the way. I've sent some wool socks, thermal underwear, and a couple more quilted flannels." Too funny.
The second moment of terror, and far more serious than me freezing my ass off 24/7, involves TLO. As a result of my old slippers, slippers with a rather slick bottom, I slipped down the stairs leading from the 2nd to 1st floor. TLO had just finished his evening bath and I was carrying him back downstairs. With about five stairs to go, my feet totally slipped out from underneath me. Not a little slip, but a complete loss of footing. Think feet-shooting-out-from-underneath-on-a-patch-of-ice kind of slip. To make matters worse, I typically carry TLO facing forward. For whatever reason, he's not much for the head on the shoulder thing. He's much more of the "let me face the world head on" type. So, I usually carry him in the crook of arm, his legs dangling and his hands free. When I fell and crashed on the stairs, I managed to keep him out in front me; thank the goddess I didn't drop him in an attempt to catch myself. I slammed into the stairs, TLO pitched forward, I started to slide down the few remaining stairs, shot my right arm forward to catch a flying baby, twisted my body around, and crashed into a bookcase/curios type thing. Despite the pain shooting through my body, I jumped up, ran to the sofa, and immediately did a first aid assessment of TLO. TLO cried, while STK and I freaked out. TLO escaped without a scratch; I wound up with bumps, bruises, and one scratch. If that's the price for keeping TLO safe and sound, I'll take it. Once I knew TLO was unharmed, I marched myself to the kitchen and deposited the slippery slippers in the garbage.
The second moment of terror, and far more serious than me freezing my ass off 24/7, involves TLO. As a result of my old slippers, slippers with a rather slick bottom, I slipped down the stairs leading from the 2nd to 1st floor. TLO had just finished his evening bath and I was carrying him back downstairs. With about five stairs to go, my feet totally slipped out from underneath me. Not a little slip, but a complete loss of footing. Think feet-shooting-out-from-underneath-on-a-patch-of-ice kind of slip. To make matters worse, I typically carry TLO facing forward. For whatever reason, he's not much for the head on the shoulder thing. He's much more of the "let me face the world head on" type. So, I usually carry him in the crook of arm, his legs dangling and his hands free. When I fell and crashed on the stairs, I managed to keep him out in front me; thank the goddess I didn't drop him in an attempt to catch myself. I slammed into the stairs, TLO pitched forward, I started to slide down the few remaining stairs, shot my right arm forward to catch a flying baby, twisted my body around, and crashed into a bookcase/curios type thing. Despite the pain shooting through my body, I jumped up, ran to the sofa, and immediately did a first aid assessment of TLO. TLO cried, while STK and I freaked out. TLO escaped without a scratch; I wound up with bumps, bruises, and one scratch. If that's the price for keeping TLO safe and sound, I'll take it. Once I knew TLO was unharmed, I marched myself to the kitchen and deposited the slippery slippers in the garbage.
Cool Pic
Check out the cool lava waterfall!
Someday, I hope to see this kind of thing in person. From a distance, of course.
Someday, I hope to see this kind of thing in person. From a distance, of course.
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