Media- topic 2

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What is popular culture?

Popular culture is the culture enjoyed by the majority, it is higly commercialised, mass produced, short lived and trivial. Popular culture is everyday culture, simple undemanding, easy to understand entertainment, rather than something special. Such products aimed at popular tastes  are the produucts of mass culture such as mass circulation magazines. Popular culture is largely linked to passive and unchallenging entertainement, designed to be sold to the largest number of people possible.

What is high culture?

High culture is seen as something apart from everyday life, something special which must be treated with respect, it involves things of lasting value which requires intellegence to understand. High culture can often be found in special places such as theatres and museums. High culture ia aimed at upper-class individuals and professional  middle class audiences. Products produced by high culture include news programmes and documentaries, as well  as well established newspapers. 

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

How has the distinction between high and popular culture changed?

Postmodernsits argue that the distinction between high and popualr culture is weakening. The global reach of contemporary media, the mass production of goods on a world  scale, and easier international transportation makes a huge range of media and cultural products available to everyone. This is cobined with the huge expansion of media-based creative and cultural industries, such as advertising and TV, which has made the distinction meaningless. Such changes enables music, art and other cultural products to be consumed by the mass of  people in their own homes without visiting specialised institutions. 

Give an example of the blurring distinction between high and popular culture?

  • There has been an increased popularity in TV shows such as  the big band. These shows are intellectual but are produced for the mass population.
  • Many computer games such as GTA now show greater creativity, and are also produced for the mass popualtion. 
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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What does Strinati argue about the blurring in the distinction between high and popular culture?

Strinati argues that elements of high culture have now become a part of popular culture and elements of popular culture have been incorporated into high culture, so therefore there is no longer a real distinction between high and popualr culture. 

How is popular/mass culture criticised?

  • It is often attacked for diverting people away from more useful activities, for driving down cultural standards and having a harmful effect on mass audiences. 
  • Marxists see the mass culture as mass-produced, manafactures products, imposed on the masses by global media for profit. 
  • Strinati rejects the view that there is a single mass culture and mass audience, which people passively and uncrtically consume, and points to a wide diversity and choice within popular culture, which people select from and crtically respond to. 
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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What is the global culture?

Refers to the way cltures in different countries of the world have become more alike, sharing increasingly similar consumer products and ways of life. It has arisen as globalisation has undermined national and local cultures.

What has created the global popular culture?

An evolution of new media technologies, such as satelitte TV and the internet. 

What does Kellner argue about the global popular culture?

Kellner argues that the media has power to globally produce images of lifestyles that increasingly become a part of everyday life and through which people form their identities and views of the world. 

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

How has the global popualr culture spread?

Globalisation has undermined national and local cultures, as the same products are now sold across the world, inspired and promoted by global media content and advertising. These products then become part of the ways of life of many different countries, spreading a popular cultures, which makes what were one different cultures more and more alike. 

What is cultural homogenization? Give an example:

The process whereby the seperate characteristics of two or more cultures are lost ot erased, and instead become blended into one uniform culture. For example Mcdonalds are present all over the world.

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What does Sklair say about the global popular culture?

Sklair suggests tha the media which is largely American base, spreads news, informatiion, iideas entertainment and the popular cultrue to the global market. The media blurs the differences between informatiton, entertainment and the promotion of products, and sell across world  ideas, values and products associated with what is presented as the idealized, happy and satisfied consumerist lifestyle. This encourages the accpetance of the dominant ideology of Western capitalist societies. 

What is cultural and media imperialism?

The suggestion that the media-led global culture-ideology of consumerism has led to Western and especially American media products and cultural values, being foced on non-Western cultures, and undermining of local cultures and cultural idependence. 

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

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

Pluralists argue there is no longer such things as mass or popular culture. Instead the internet, cable, satelite and digital TV and the global reach of modern media technology all offer a huge range of media products. This gives consumers across the world a wide diversity of cultural choice. 

What does Tomlinson argue about the media and the globalisation of popular culture?

Tomlinson argues that globalisation does not involve direct cultural imposition from the Western world, but instead there is a hybridization or mixing of cultures. People pick n mix and draw on both Western cultures and their own local cultures. Increase choice promotes different cultural styles around the world in which a range of local  and westernised global cultural influences are combined into new hybrid cultures.

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What do pluralists argue about media audiences?

They believe consumers and audiences now have more choices and knowledge available to them thsn ever before in history. This makes it ever more difficult for any one set of ideas or culture to dominate the world, leading to cultural diversity.

How can the pluralist view be criticised?

  • It ignores the extent in which cocalisation has occured, forcing Wetsern culture on other individuals. E.g. top 10 films on IMDB are American.
  • Not ereyone is able to access consumer goods e.g. Nike is advertised in poor countires. 
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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What does the critical view argue about the media and the globalisation of popular culture?  

It argues that the globalisaton of popular culture is a great advantage to media owners, who gain huge profits from exporting and advertising their products across the globe, along with promoting the identities and lifestyles that encourage people to consume them. This has led to a decline in the quality of media products as films for example water down story lines to make them more popular across the globe. 

What does Thussu argue?

Thussu argues that the globalisation of TV and competition between media conglomerates for audiences and advertising has led to TV news across the world becoming more tabloidized or more like entertainment- what he calls global infortainment, designed both to entertain and inform- with an emphasis on celebs and crime. He argues that this diverts peoples attention away from more serious issues such as war.

How can the crticial view be criticised?

  • Social media gives a wide range of people a voice, so they can reject the lifestyles.
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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What is the postodernist view of the media?

Postmodernists regard the diversity of globalised media as offering the worlds population more choices in terms of their consumption patterns and lifestyle, opening up a greater global awareness and access to a diversity of cultures, bringing them more opportunities to form their identities. Postmodernist argue the media no longer reflects reality but instead actively creates it. 

What does Bauldrillard argue?

Argues that we now live in a media saturated society, in which images dominate and distort the way in which we see the world. This distorted view of the world is known as the hyper-reality, in whcih appearances are everythin, with the media presenting what he calls simulacra- artifical make believe images which bare no relation to the real world. 

Give an example of how reality is unclear?

Reality TV shows such as TOWIE distort what is mean by reality- we are unclear of what is real and what is set up for entertainment. 

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Media- topic 2- globalisation and popular culture-

What does Strinati argue about greater consumer choice?

Argues that the media can shape our consumer choices, popular culture such as the culture of celebrity and media images bombard us daily through magazines and dominate the ways we deine ourselves and how we want others to see us. A woman for example shaped herself to look like barbie. 

How does society becoming more media saturated effect people?

With the media becoming more saturated, people become more cooncerned with media products than reality. We are more likely to care about the winner of the X factor than people who live on our street.

How can the psotmodernist view be critcised?

  • Unfair to say humans are unaware of what is reality and what is not.
  • We all respond to the media saturate world differently- older people do not have a smart phone so it effects them differently. 
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