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Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Em Maskrey
almost 7 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| The mass media has played a key role in enabling globalisation. Advances in what have transformed the world's concept of time and space? | Advances in mass communications, digitalisation and cyber technology. |
| What is the result of these advances? | Information in all its varied forms can now be transmitted instantaneously, regardless of time or location. |
| What has assisted the globalisation of media outlets and products? | The economic growth of transnational media and cybercorporations, such as News Corp, Apple and Microsoft, which has resulted in a concentration of ownership. |
| It is widely accepted that the media has enabled the globalisation of culture. Which two sociologists define culture? | John Scott and Gordon Marshall. |
| What does the term 'culture' refer to? | All that is learned from others in society. |
| What are the three types of culture most societies differentiate between? | 1. High culture. 2. Folk culture. 3. Popular culture. |
| What is meant by 'high culture'? | The term refers to what is regarded as the highest intellectual achievements in areas such as art, music, literature, poetry and theatre. |
| High culture products (e.g. ballet, opera, modern art paintings) are considered aesthetically superior to all other cultural products. Why? | Because they are regarded as 'saying' something profound about the human condition. |
| Why is high culture seen as vital to the social and cultural health and wellbeing of a society? | Because societies globally judge one another on the basis of standards such as creativity, expression and philosophy. |
| The significance of high culture can be assessed by examining what? | Its existence in various forms of mass media. |
| Television devotes considerable time to high culture. Which channels regularly feature or are entirely dedicated to high culture? | BBC 2, BBC 4, Sky Arts, etc. |
| What does 'folk culture' refer to? | The traditions and rituals of societies which have been passed down, usually by word of mouth, through the generations of hundreds of years. |
| Give examples of folk culture in the UK: | Bonfire Night, fairs and festivals, morris-dancing, etc. |
| Why is folk culture considered authentic? | Because it shows the everyday life of local communities. |
| What evidence is there that folk culture is increasingly becoming globalised? | Tourists demand to see the performance of 'traditional' dance and/or song, eat 'traditional' delicacies, and experience the 'traditional' way of life in the countries they visit. |
| How is popular culture also referred to? | As 'mass culture'. |
| What does 'popular culture' refer to? | The products of the mass media in modern capitalist societies, such as television programmes, films, popular fiction, magazines and comics, and popular music, which are enjoyed by the majority of the population. |
| What are these products primarily focused on? | Entertainment, although new forms of media have extended the function of popular culture to include both the exchange of information and the construction of identity. |
| According to some sociologists, what is this type of culture manufactured for? | Mass consumption. |
| As a result of being manufactured for mass consumption, popular culture has little aesthetic nor artistic merit compared to the products of high culture. Rather, it is a "candyfloss culture" speaking to no one in particular. Which sociologist coined this term? | Sylvia Harvey. |
| Entertainment media has become globalised through satellite TV, mobile phones, computer technology, films, music and user-generated social networking sites. What is the result of this? | Homogenisation - people's consumption habits in the field of popular culture are very similar, regardless of their physical location. |
| A number of different perspectives comment on the effects of globalisation on popular culture. What two perspectives are covered in this chapter? | 1. The postmodernist perspective. 2. The cultural imperialist perspective. |
| According to postmodernists, what has the rapid expansion in media technologies between 2005 and 2015 resulted in? | A media-saturated society. |
| As a result, the media and the popular culture it generates are now more influential in shaping personal identities and lifestyles than traditional influences. The postmodern perspective can be divided into five distinct areas. What are they? | 1. The mass media and identity. 2. Media-saturation, the rejection of metanarratives and the relativity of knowledge. 3. Participatory culture. 4. The globalisation of media and popular protest. 5. The effects of global media on local cultures. |
| What is meant by 'the mass media and identity'? | Postmodernists argue that the media has changed and shaped consumption patterns by making consumers more aware of the diversity of choices that exist in the postmodern world. |
| What is meant by 'media saturation, the rejection of metanarratives and the relativity of knowledge'? | Postmodernists argue that people are disillusioned with grand 'metanarratives' about the way society works or should work. All knowledge and perspectives are now relative, meaning they all bear the same weight. |
| What is meant by 'participatory culture'? | Christian Fuchs defines the term as "the involvement of users, audiences, consumers and fans in the creation of culture and content". |
| Fuchs argues that participatory culture has made global culture and society more democratic. How? | Users and audiences are able to produce culture themselves, rather than just listening and/or watching passively. |
| Which sociologist argues that this participator culture creates new communities? | Henry Jenkins. |
| What has enhanced participatory culture, according to Jenkins? | The extremely fast spread of social media. |
| Jenkins states that participatory culture empower consumers. What example does he give of this? | Fans of television shows that have been cancelled have lobbied for the return of the programmes. This was recently seen following the cancellation of Brooklyn Nine Nine. |
| What is meant by 'the globalisation of media and popular protest'? | Dhiraj Murthy argues that gobal social media sites can help increase political awareness of issues (e.g. human rights abuses) and help organise a mass political response to such issues. |
| Which social media site in particular did Murthy empirically investigate? | Twitter, which he concluded had the potential to shape many aspects of people's social, political and economic lives. |
| Which sociologist also argued that new media has an incredible global reach, which can raise awareness of political issues? | Owen Spencer-Thomas. |
| What does Spencer-Thomas note about the mass anti-government demonstrations in Burma in 1988? How does this compare to the mass demonstrations in Burma in 2007? | The 1988 demonstrations didn't receive much media attention because the military regime banned overseas journalists from entering the country. The 2007 demonstrations received far more global attention because the Burmese people had access to new media technologies, such as mobile phones and the internet. |
| What is meant by 'the effect of global media on local cultures'? | The globalisation of communication has become so intensive and extensive that all consumers of global media are now citizens both of their locality and of the world. |
| However, John Thompson states that global media products are often domesticated by local folk cultures. What does this result in? | A hybridised media culture that makes sense within local communities. Local cultures are thus not engulfed by global media culture - they simply adapt to it. |
| Which two sociologists argue that local people typically do not abandon their cultural traditions, duties and religious beliefs, because they consume global media? | Robin Cohen and Paul Kennedy. |
| Instead of abandoning their culture, what do Cohen and Kennedy claim local people do? | Appropriate elements of global culture, mixing and matching them with elements of their own culture, which results in greater hybridity. |
| As a result of the above factors, postmodernists do not believe that we are experiencing global homogenisation. Rather, what is the norm in our postmodern world? | Cultural hybridity. |
| Postmodernists are accused of exaggerating the degree of the social changes that they associate with global media and popular culture. What do surveys indicate? | People still see social class, ethnicity, family, nation and religion as having more influence over their lives than global media. Media influence is undoubtedly important, but it is not the determining factor in most people's lifestyle choices. |
| The postmodernist analyses have also been deemed rather naive. Why? | They fail to recognise that a large proportion of people are unable to make consumption choices due to traditional forms of inequality (e.g. unemployment, poverty, racial discrimination and patriarchy). |
| These inequalities mean that access to the internet, digital television and so on is denied to many people in the UK and across the world. How many people aged 65+ in the UK don't have access to the internet at home? | 40%. |
| The second perspective considered in this chapter is the cultural imperialist perspective. What heavily influenced this approach? | The marxist Frankfurt school. |
| According to the Frankfurt school (and thus the cultural imperialist perspective) what can popular culture be seen as? | An ideological product aimed at distracting the working class from their exploitation at the hands of the ruling class. |
| Marxists argue that popular culture encourages conformity and a lack of critical thinking, especially regarding capitalism. Instead, audiences are encouraged to subscribe to which three ways of thinking? | 1. Commodity fetishism. 2. False needs. 3. Conspicuous consumption. |
| What is meant by 'commodity fetishism'? | This is the idea that the products of popular culture have 'special powers' that somehow better the life of the user. For example, Sherry Turkle found that many people see their smartphone as an extension of their self, and feel lost and disconnected when they are without their device. |
| What is meant by 'false needs'? | This is the idea generated by the media that, in order to fit in with the modern lifestyle, consumers need to own a particular product. These products aren't essential, but the consumer is persuaded that the items are central to their lifestyle, identity and happiness. |
| In order to maximise profits, these 'must-have' products are deliberately designed to have a short lifespan. For example, how many iPhones have been released in the past 11 years? | 15. |
| What is meant by 'conspicuous consumption'? | Particular products of the media are presented as having more status and importance than others and therefore give the consumer more status than other products would. People are thus encouraged to conspicuously consume - that is, to buy the 'right' items. |
| Cultural imperialists argue that 'globalisation' is actually 'Americanisation'. Which sociologist first presented this argument? | Terry Flew. |
| What does Flew mean by 'Americanisation'? | America is imposing its media products, and therefore its popular culture, on less powerful nations. American audio-visuals, fast-food restaurants and clothes are are frequently sold and bought in other countries, whose citizens are now coming to see the world through an 'American' mindset. |
| According to Robert McChesney, what is Americanisation a direct consequence of? | The world's media companies being in the hands of a select few powerful American transnational media corporations. |
| Americanisation is regarded as having a number of interrelated effects on cultures across the world. What are the two effects put forward in this chapter? | 1. Americanisation may marginalise or even destroy rich and diverse local cultures and identities. 2. Americanisation may prompt the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. |
| Firstly, cultural imperialists argue that mass advertising of western cultural icons such as Coca-Cola may result in the logos becoming powerful symbols to citizens of developing countries. What is this replacing the authenticity, vibrancy and diversity of local cultures with? | The homogeneous, dumbed-down and standardised sterility of American popular culture. |
| Which sociologist argues that this global media is about 'sameness' and the erosion of individuality? | Douglas Kellner. He fears that, in time, we will all be the same - soulless consumers simply looking for the next thing to buy. |
| There are a number of alternative terms that describe this process. What term did Ulf Hannerz use? | "Coca-colonisation". |
| What term did George Ritzer use? | "McDonaldisation". |
| Secondly, cultural imperialists fear that Americanisation has increased Islamic fundamentalism. Which sociologist put forward this suggestion? | Benjamin Barber. |
| According to Barber, how do fundamentalists see American popular culture? | As a threat that undermines their people's commitment to God and therefore a target for violence. |
| Christian Fuchs is critical of the postmodernist view that new media now allows for more consumer choice and greater democracy. What does he counter? | In dominating world trade in popular culture, transnational corporations prevent consumers from having true choice. In disproportionately influencing governments, they threaten democracy and freedom of expression. |
| Why is Fuchs extremely dismissive of the idea of participatory popular culture? | Because he believes "an internet dominated by corporations...can never be participatory". |
| Similarly, Andrew Keen argues that global media such as Twitter and facebook are ineffective tools for social change, contrary to postmodernist claims. Why does he hold this view? | He believes they are too wrapped up in "me culture" and are merely tools for narcissistic self-promotion. |
| What has Sherry Turkle voiced concerns about? | Civic disengagement - online communities are increasingly replacing real communities. |
| Not everyone agrees with the theories put forward by cultural imperialists. According to David Held et al, cultural imperialists suggest that the flow of culture is one-way, from the west to the developing world. Why does he criticise this? | In contrast, he believes that there are 'reverse cultural flows', with the west being enriched by inputs from the popular culture of other societies. |
| What may the cultural imperialist perspective underestimate? | The strength and richness of local cultures - young people in developing countries may enjoy aspects of American culture, but this doesn't mean that they are going to abandon their own customs, family, religion or national identity. |
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