Lecture four; critical positions on the media and popular culture.

Culture? 
- One of the two or three most complicated words in the english language. 
- A particular way of life. 
- Works of intellectual and especially artistic significance. 
- General process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development of a particular society, at a particular time. 


- Marx's concept of base/superstructure links. 


Raymond Williams four definitions of popular;
- Well liked by many people. 
- Inferior kinds of work. 
- Work deliberately setting out to win favour with people. 
- Culture actually made by the people themselves. 


- Anything that aims to be understood by everyone could be described as popular. 


Inferior or residual culture.
- Popular press VS quality press.
- Popular cinema VS art cinema. 
- Popular entertainment VS art culture.


- Popular culture can begin as something which is passed by until it is created by the 'right' person. 


- The physical separation of classes eventually creates own cultures. 


Matthew Arnold culture is; 
- The best that has been thought and said in the world. 
- Study of perfection. 
- Attained through disinterested reading, writing and thinking. 
- The pursuit of culture. 
- Seeks to minister the diseased spirit of our times. 


Leavisism; "Culture has always been in minority keeping" 


Frankfurt school - critical theory; study of culture took place here. 
"The culture industry" This is an idea of culture but more like culture produced in a factory. 


- Culture in capitalism was mass produced. "All mass culture is identical" 
- Culture for the masses. 
- The idea of art as a culture is gone due to art as mass production. 
- Influences cause us to be one dimensional, creating a false consciousness. 


- Popular culture was a threat to the upper class. 
- Working class culture was bad because it 'dumbed down' thinking about political situations. 


- Contemporary culture industry for the working class de-politicises because it makes us think unacceptable things are ok for example, women flaunting themselves. 


- The culture industry is standardised so it does your thinking for you. 


Qualities of authentic culture; 
- Real
- European 
- Multi - dimensional 
- Active consumption 
- Individual creation
- Imagination 
- Autonomous (independent from the rules) 


- What happens to the cultural value of something when it's reproduced?