Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Culture, Ideology, and The Music Man



Above: A live performance of "Ya Got Trouble" with Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill.  The Music Man won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical after opening on Broadway in 1957.

The following two quotes are from Barker's book that reemphasize and reinforce the idea of the "above" culture, a dominating force in society:
  • "...the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class" (56).
  • "the production of popular music, film, felevision and fashion is in the hands of transnational capitalist corporations" (50).

We started today's class with "Ya Got Trouble" from the The Music Man, which couldn't have been any more brilliant, being that I love musical theatre and all :)  In the musical, Hill creates the illusion that pool (billiards) is a major threat to the "above" culture, circulating the fear that their very morals and ideologies are at stake.  Most importantly, their kids need to be saved from this trouble before they, too, become immoral individuals.  Just as the Wizard says in the musical Wicked, "Where I come from, everyone knows the best way to bring folks together, is to give them a really good enemy!"  Hill does exactly that, essentially brainwashing them into thinking that they need to do something about this growing, pool-playing culture and maintain their place in society.  He brings together the parents and guardians of the children (basically, those who have the power) in a sort of rally-cry, presenting them with the opportunity to follow him in this movement to rid of pool.

The ideas just mentioned fit within Rivkin and Ryan's broad definition of culture as a "...means of domination, of assuring the rule of one class or group over another, and a means of resistance to such domination, a way of articulating oppositional points of view to those in dominance."  The dominating group being the parents and political leaders of the town, and the resisting group being the pool-players.  The setting of the musical seems to be a mimetic portrayal of a small town in the early 1900s, which brought about a discussion of nostalgia and how "the powers that be" can use pathos to influence consumerism of certain products and beliefs in today's economically-driven world.  i.e. If I feel dissatisfied with certain aspects of my current life, I can buy one or several products that will give me satisfaction.

What are the implications of the following picture from an advertisement for Snuggies?


Becoming a cultural phenomenon, the creators of the infamous Snuggie attempted to get consumers to believe that this sleeved blanket would allow them to curl up to their kids or spouse and spend quality time together, especially in this 21st century society where technology has taken over and, instead of gathering around the dinner table after a hard day at work and school, both teens and parents sit in front of the television, Tweeting from their Blackberries.  If these profit-motivated corporations can get Americans to buy millions of Snuggies, what else can they get us to buy into?


Barker, Chris.  Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice.  Los Angeles: Sage, 2008.  Print.

Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds.  Literary Theory: An Anthology.  Malden: Blackwell, 1998.  Print.

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Just because: Matthew Broderick as Hill and Kristen Chenoweth as Marian in the 2003 film adaptation of The Music Man, performing one of my favorite songs from the show, "Till There Was You".

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Politics of Culture

In their introduction, “The Politics of Culture”, Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan introduce the modern definition of culture as an extension of the prominence of language and the arts in society, the earlier definition of the term.  Specifically in traditional, high society, individuals were considered sophisticated to be educated in particular, classy arts.  The modern concept of culture has significantly evolved to include the actual behavior which groups identify with, carry out, and sustain.  An intriguing idea that Rivkin and Ryan suggest is that both extremes of society use culture as a way to represent and respond to society – culture as domination for the rulers, culture as resistance for the rebels.  Those in the upper-class use mediums, such as the media, to maintain order and control, while those in the lower classes use their expressive behavior to set them apart and react against those in power.

One of the most important points that Rivkin and Ryan present is Pierre Bourdieu’s belief that “...culture is a way of distinguishing between positions in the social hierarchy”.  Each group within a society actually consists of its own, discernible “culture”, influenced by unique backgrounds, environments, education, etc.  Today’s idea of American popular culture, as depicted to other countries through television and film, incorporates the emphasis on independence, beauty, equality, and money.  Although certainly not all Americans behave the same way or believe in the same ideas, the majority culture needs the majority of the population to be yanked in a common direction, driven by a common thought.  Alternatively, culture is also the expression of one’s self, when movements against the popular beliefs and trends occur, usually by the lower-class or individuals with less authority over the majority.  The politics of culture is, in itself, a paradigm of what is and what is not.

As we discussed the chapter in class, the most interesting topic became Rivkin and Ryan's notion of the "above" and "below" cultures -- the idea that people are placed in certain levels of the social hierarchy based on the culture that they take part in.  We took a look at the artists that we now consider popular rappers: Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Eazy E.  Does their participation in the economic realm of high society actually contradict their initial motives for creating complex rhymes?  Following this notion, if these rappers can be considered to be in the "above" culture, do we then put Bach and Beethoven in the "below" culture?  Indeed, pure classical musicians and fans alike would not be able to participate in the urban culture, and vice versa.  Depending on the context, all individuals can be deemed both "above" AND "below" -- where we place ourselves and what defines "above" and "below" can be relative.  No doubt, modern-day mass media constantly and implicitly encourage the more-prominent "above" culture in this social hierarchy.

Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds.  Literary Theory: An Anthology.  Malden: Blackwell, 1998.  1025-27.  Print.
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A recent cover of Eazy E's "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by post-grunge band Dynamite Hack.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Causational Love

Causational Love: The idea that love can be both a cause and effect of actions and thoughts, represented by mass media and created by the individual.

In English 313: Popular Culture, we'll be focusing on the "Radical Romance" and seeing how the world and, specifically, our American society views and portrays love.  What is love, and what are its implications on our own lives?

I originally became interested in this course after Professor Wexler came to my English 455: Literacy, Rhetoric, and Culture class as a guest lecturer in 2009 to help us discuss the evolving concept of technologically-based literacy.  Extremely intrigued by the idea of integrating blogging with literature, in addition to finding out that the theme would be the "Radical Romance" once again, I simply had to jump at the opportunity to take this course!

As I dive into this semester, I personally hope to take an in-depth look at how love can be both real and fake, but also how it is a cause, effect, and catalyst for much of what we do and who we are as human beings.

:)


Following my notion of how love is causational, I'll end this first post with a prime example of love, as represented by a modern-day movie: my favorite scene from the 2006 film, Casino Royale.  Vesper has just witnessed James Bond recklessly and viciously kill Steven Obanno, a leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, and his bodyguard after a brutal fight in the stairwell in the hotel.  Extremely shaken by the event, Vesper withdraws to the shower, where Bond finds her.  This is just one of the multitude of scenes in the movie that show how the more-popular personality of Bond develops.  Bond's love for Vesper becomes the reason for his careless behavior and, at the same time, is the consequence of becoming a young, double-0 agent for the MI6.