StudyGuide 8
Define: Critical Thinking
Define: Current Concerns, Views, and Criticisms of Popular Culture Imagery
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Media Imagery and Mass Art- shifting values in modern culture: arbitrary lines between
information and entertainment are now blurred.
SEE: Reason vs. Reasonless ads- now challenges us with ideas of
entertainment (see Internet examples for Nutrigrain and others.
Mass Media Images- news, television, magazines, films, paperback novels, electronic
mediated imagery, advertising imagery, etc…make use of storytelling to tap into our
shared beliefs and values.
**To develop a critical perspective towards this Mass Media Imagery, you must think
about values and ethics as a Routine and Integrated way as you experience media on a
daily basis.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND/ INFLUENCES
To help with your critical perspective and interpretation of these images you need to
understand some background as to why” and “how” our society has come to these types
of images and “how” and “why” we have come to classify them today as we do.
In our society we tend to think of “culture” (and the images associated with it), not as a
social process, but rather as a set of products sorted into high, low, or middle positions.
Like it or not, that’s how most people operate, it would be better thought of as a social
process, but since mass art and popular cultures are so ingrained into our culture this
way it’s hard to change.
See Ladder Graphic and Discussion Notes
In 20th century America, critics and audiences established a hierarchy of culture (keep in
mind at the time the integration of technology and imagery was not what it is today). The
top was frequently labeled “high culture” and included things like the ballet, the
symphony, art museums and classical music and literature.
At the bottom, was popular, or low culture, such as soap operas, rock and rap music.
Talk radio, comic books, and activities like Monster truck pulls.
High culture, identified with “good taste”, and often supported by wealthy patrons and
corporate donors, has now become associated with “fine art”- available through libraries,
theaters, or museums, etc…
In contrast, low or popular culture has become aligned with questionable tastes of the
“masses”, who enjoy the commercial “junk” circulated by the mass media.
Whether or not we agree with this cultural ladder, the high-low hierarchy has become
entrenched in our society. It often determines or limits the ways culture is discussed
today. As Artist you may find yourself at times “fighting” the current view of your artform
depending on the social and cultural perspective of the time.
CURRENT CONCERNS and VIEWS
1)
Some critics are concerned that popular culture (and its imagery) in the form
such as contemporary movies, television, and music videos distracts individuals from
serious literature and philosophy, imposing and/or conditioning the imagination
undermining their ability to recognize “better” or “good” art. (insert your view or
philosophy here).- The assumption is that because popular forms of culture are made for
profit, they cannot be experienced with the same personal intensity as more elite art
forms.
2)
Another view and concern is that popular culture exploits classics works of
literature and art. The best example may be Mary Shelley’s dark Gothic novel,
Frankenstein, written in 1818 and ultimately transformed into multiple popular forms.
(Many individuals have never read the original work, yet have seen and participated in
numerous parodies, spin-offs, and recreations).
Today the tale is best remembered by virtue of a 1931, Boris Karloff as the towering
monster. In addition to the movies, television turned the take into “The Munsters” a mid1960’s situation comedy. Eventually the monster was resurrected as a sugar-coated
Frankenberry cereal. In the recycled forms of the original story, Shelley’s powerful
themes about abusing science, and judging people on the basis of appearance are lost
and trivialized.
3)
Unlike an Italian opera or Shakespearean tragedy, many elements of mass
culture have a short life span. The average newspaper circulates for about twelve hours,
than lands in the recycle bin or bottom of a birdcage; the average magazine circulates
for about five to seven days; a new Top 40 song or video lasts about one month in top
rotation space. The average TV series survives for less than 10 weeks. Although
endurance does not necessarily denote quality, in the view of many critics, better forms
of culture have staying power.
4)
Popular culture and its imagery not only undermines or exploits high culture, but
has inundated the cultural environment, driving our higher forms of culture and thinking
in return “Cheapening” public life.
These critics argue that popular forms promote a culture that is
1)unstable and fleeting, 2) that they follow rather than lead public tastes. (In the
television industry, this is known as “least objectionable programming” or LOP: Network
gatekeepers pander to mediocrity by airing bland, disposable programming that will not
disturb or challenge the typical viewer.
Current studies show that TV sets are in use in the average American home for more
than nine hours a day, exposing adults and children each year to thousands of hours of
TV commercials and popular culture. According to the studies, the prevalence of media
products prevents and or influences the public from experiencing “genuine art”.
Forty or more radio stations are available in most cities; cable systems with at least 72
channels or more are in place 70% of all US households; (study did not include satellite
TV); CD/DVD players, Internet Services, and VCRs are now in most households. Some
critics feel that the media environment has “squeezed” out what little audience was left to
participate in higher art forms and ways of thinking.
POLITICAL CONCERNS AND DEMOCRATIC REASONING
5)
A final concern is that the impact of popular culture, especially in its visual forms,
has undermined democratic reasoning. According to this view, popular media may inhibit
social progress by transforming audiences into cultural dupes or drones- seduced by the
promise of product or ideas. A few multinational conglomerates, which make large profits
from media products and imagery, may be distracting citizens from examining economic
disparity and implementing change. Seductive advertising images contradict the actual
lives of people, who cannot afford the products offered in the market place.
In this environment, art and commerce have become blurred, restricting the audience’s
ability to make cultural distinctions.
Sometimes called the “Big Mac” theory, this view suggests that people are so addicted
to popular media menus that they have lost not only the will to challenge social
inequities, but also their critical thinking skills, and discriminating taste for better more
profound art and culture.