Midterm Flashcards
(84 cards)
1
Q
Culture
A
A system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artefacts that members of a society use to cope with their world and each other, and are transmitted from generation to generation
2
Q
Society
A
A large group of people who interact with one another in accordance with a common culture
3
Q
Culture vs. Socialization
A
Culture is a way of making sense of the world, whereas socialization is the process whereby we learn our society’s culture
4
Q
What are the four primary characteristics of culture?
A
1) it is learned
2) it is rooted in symbols
3) it is shared by all members of a society
4) the elements of culture are generally integrated
5
Q
Folk culture
A
The culture of a particular community or socially identifiable group of people who tend to be known to one another
6
Q
High culture
A
Consists of allegedly “superior” customs and values, historically seen as “good”; emerges out of the Enlightenment and education of humankind
7
Q
Mass culture
A
Usually refers to the crudest elements of society, panders to the masses, provides instant gratification through low-quality entertainment
8
Q
Popular culture vs. mass culture
A
- Mass culture depicts the working classes as people who follow mass media mindlessly (brainwashing)
- Popular culture depicts the working classes as people who consume mass media but appropriate them in a personal way
9
Q
Who is the key theorist of the functionalist perspective?
A
Emile Durkheim
10
Q
Functionalist perspective (3)
A
- Based on the belief that society is a stable, orderly system which works by society consensus
- If anything happens to the institutions/structures of society, then it cannot function properly
- Social bonds are essential for the functionality of society
11
Q
Who are the key theorists of the conflict perspective?
A
Karl Marx, Max Weber
12
Q
Marx and the conflict perspective
A
- Argued that conflict was between the capitalist class and the working class
- The capitalist class controls and exploits workers through alienation
13
Q
Weber and the conflict perspective
A
- Argued that social inequality could not be explained just through property relationships
- Argued that social inequality have 3 dimensions: class, status, and power
14
Q
Analysis of culture through the conflict perspective
A
The ruling class is able to manipulate the masses through hegemony
15
Q
Ideology
A
False knowledge created by the ruling class for their own benefit
16
Q
Cultural hegemony
A
The process through which the ruling class maintains their powers - Marx and later theorists describe force and coercion as the key to this process, they also stress the importance of ideology, which persuades the lower orders to submit to their subordination
17
Q
Ways of Seeing:
In what way do art historians hold power?
A
By having influence over what our culture believes to be true
18
Q
Ways of Seeing:
How has mechanical reproduction changed the way we think about art?
A
It allows us to make our own opinions about art by making it more accessible
19
Q
Ways of Seeing:
Magritte painting “The Key of Dreams”
A
- About mystification
- Sometimes we choose words that correspond to what we see in our own reality
20
Q
Ways of Seeing: How does the upper class maintain power?
A
By telling the lower classes that art (and other forms of high culture) isn’t for them
21
Q
What is mystification?
A
The process whereby the ruling class discourages the subordinate classes from forming their own opinions.
22
Q
Early capitalism (15th C)
A
- Markets emerged as a key site for the exchange of goods and money
- Merchants eventually began to control the entire production process, becoming a class of owners
- competition, profit and maximization of profits
23
Q
Marx’s 3 classes in a modern capitalist society
A
1) Bourgeoisie
2) Working class
3) Petite bourgeoisie – between the two, small business
24
Q
The American Dream
A
- Suggests that we live in a meritocracy
- Is it a hegemonic ideology, are workers more likely to ignore class inequalities?
25
What is the role of the media in socio-economic class?
- It is a hegemonic tool that forces the public to take the perspective of society's wealthiest members
26
What are the 5 working-class stereotypes in TV?
1) bad taste
2) lack of intelligence
3) reactionary politics
4) poor work ethic
5) dysfunctional family dynamics
27
Downton Abbey effect
British TV overrepresented upper-class lives and interests at the expense of working class points of view
28
What is neoliberalism grounded in?
The assumption that governements cannot create economic growth or provide social welfare, rather private companies and individauals are best able to generate economic growth
29
What is the main concept of the Butsch article?
That the working class is to belame for social inequality
30
Butsch:
| How were working men portayed as buffoons?
1) Dumb
2) Immature
3) Irresponsible
4) Lacking common sense
31
Butsch:
| What are the three levels of organization?
1) Network domination
2) The organization of decisions within the networks and on the production line
3) The work community and the culture of creative personnel
32
Butsch:
| How do corporations predict successful programming?
- Avoiding novelty and innovation
- Creative personnel with successful track records
- Stock characters and typecasting
33
Butsch:
| What is the priorty in the production of programming?
- Content that will attract viewers for the ads
| - Content cannot be offensive
34
Butsch:
| How does TV influence culture?
It influences how viewers see the working-class
35
Grazian:
| How is the creation of reality TV related to neoliberalism
It was created in response to the 1988 Writers' Guild of America strike, as a way to create programming free from union tactics
36
Grazian:
| How is the setting of reality TV related to neoliberalism?
Globalization, takes place in places without strict laws in order to be business friendly in the name of laissez-faire capitalism
37
Grazian:
| How do competitive programs celebrate free market Republic values?
Winner-take-all programs produce levels of social inequality
38
Grazian:
| What does The Hills glamourize?
Working in a deregulated labour market
39
Conglomerates
A combination of businesses, in different commercial areas, all of which are owned by one holding company
40
What are the 4 advantages of synergy?
1) Cross-promotion
2) Cross-production
3) Cross-advertising
4) Blockbusters
41
How are media a hegemonic tool?
Less government intervention means major media companies can merge and create less choice for consumers of their media
42
What kinds of films do the 6 major studios make according to Lynda Obst?
1) You must have heard the title before
2) It must sell overseas
3) It should generate a franchise/sequel
e. g. superhero movies
43
How does net neutrality prevent hegemony online?
Without it, ISPs could censor content they don't like
44
The internet may seem diverse, but is it?
Although anyone can publish anything online, issues of net neutrality are relevant, the internet is dominated by few companies
45
McChesney:
| What effect does the media's lack of diversity have on our culture?
It is detrimental to our culture, but in order to do something, we must be aware of it
46
McChesney:
| Why do artists compromise their work?
The formulaic demands of commercial media
47
Ways of Seeing:
| If oil paintings aren't inherently amazing, where does their quality come from?
They have been constructed to convince everyone that their owners are entitled to their wealth
48
Ways of Seeing:
| What does Holbein’s painting “The Ambassadors” represent?
The objects in it reflect the ambassadors' purported sophistication
49
How is it ideological that news reflects the "consensus"?
They are actively involved in defining the consensus
50
What tensions exist between the news media and the state?
The media apparently has a right to provide information to the public, but the state needs to censor information (e.g. War content)
51
The Vietnam War in media
- Had large-scale TV coverage at first "the living room war"
- Allowed the military to convince the public that they were winning
- Once TV aired stories the military sought to conceal, public opinion changed
52
The Iraq War in media
- Some outlets overtly acted as cheerleaders for the invasion (Fox News)
- Others regretted their coverage of the run-up to the invasion (New York Times)
53
How is the news a business?
- The news acts as the "fourth estate", the news media hold powerful figures accountable for corruption
- Most are profit-oriented and manipulate content to protect their parent companies
54
Why is news media a failing business model?
- There are fewer news reporters and more PR people than there was in 2000.
- The news is shared via Facebook and other platforms that don't give providers a share of the profit.
55
Echo chambers
A place where people only hear those views that they already believe to be true
56
Boyd:
| What happens despite our access to tools that allow us to connect?
We are still encountering fragmentation, polarization and de-diversification
57
Boyd:
| Why does the military have to wage war on prejudice?
Generals have fought to maintain segregation and limit the participation of women
58
Boyd:
| What happened to the military after 9/11?
- A large part became privatized
- As a result, recruit spend much of their time of the frontlines
- There's a focus on existing teamwork rather than building it
59
Boyd:
| How do college students self-segregate?
- Through platforms such as MySpace and Facebook
| - Cell phones (staying connected to high school friends)
60
Cromwell:
| What are the 5 filters of the Propaganda Model?
1) Ownership
2) Advertising
3) Sources of information
4) Flak
5) Anti-communism
61
Cromwell:
| What do the 5 filters do?
Determine what is news
62
Cromwell:
| Ownership
Although not in the newsroom, owners can control who is based on their ideological views
63
Cromwell:
| Advertising
- News media outlets have to attract and maintain a high proportion of advertising in order to cover the cost of production
- Content needs to be advertiser friendly in order to survive
64
Cromwell:
| Sources of information
- Corporations can't afford to have reporters everywhere, so they are kept at news terminals
- Professional journalism relies on official sources (the White House Press Secretary vs. a criminal)
65
Cromwell:
| Flak
Negative responses to a media statement
66
Cromwell:
| Anti-communism
The demonisation of enemies is useful to justify strategic geopolitical manourvering and the defence of corporate interests around the world
67
Video:
| Who is Eliza?
An AI psychotherapist, modelled off of Carl Rogers
- personable
- doesn't burn out or look down on you
- people like having themselves reflected back at them
68
Video:
| Intelligent agents
- Gather information about humans and tried to predict their future behaviour
- The online world is filled with these
69
Video:
| Rational agents
- Software that mimicked human behaviour in a simplied way
| - Act rationally in order to get what they want
70
Video:
| Filter bubbles
- People are only exposed to the information they will like, and aren't shown information that challenges them
71
The impact of Fordism on consumption
- Before mass production humans valued object for their use
| - Most industrialists sought to maximize productivity of the workforce in order to increase the output of production
72
What did early advertising seek to do?
- Create a market for existing commodities
| - Encouraged workers to see themselves as consumers rather than workers
73
Stages of Development in Advertising
| 1) Product-oriented approach
- Focus on primary function
- Provides motivation for using the product
- Appears in print (mostly magazines and newspapers)
74
Stages of Development in Advertising
| 2) Product symbols
- What does the product symbolize?
- Often had little to do with the primary function
- Based in social desire for glamour, status, and happiness
- Radio ads
75
Stages of Development in Advertising
| 3) Personalization
- Consumer-based knowledge is central
- What does the product say about the person who buys it?
- Advertisers gain psychological profiles of consumres
- TV ads
76
Stages of Development in Advertising
| 4) Market segementation
- What does the product say about the specific group that consumes it?
- TV grants access to specialized and local markets (e.g. MTV)
77
Stages of Development in Advertising
| 5) Demassifying
- How the products enables consumers to see themselves as unique
- Consumers seek to differentiate themselves
78
What is culture jamming?
A counterculture practice that targets consumer culture through parodies of well-known brands, calling to attention the ethics of consumption
79
How is culture jamming similar to advertising?
- Advertisers are already behaving like culture jammers by attempting to subvert traditional ad tropes
- They both want viewers to take their point of view
80
Frank:
| What is the main theme of this article
- Brands sell us the idea that buying their products will make us rebellious/dissent, when in reality we are just buying into mass culture
- Frank compares this to Beat culture
81
Frank:
| How was Beat culture rebellious?
1) they openly protested the effecs of capitalism and consumerism on American culture
2) their protests terrified portions of mainstream America
82
Ways of Seeing:
| How are oil paintings and contemporary ads similar?
Both indicate the subjects’ superiority
83
Ways of Seeing:
| How are oil paintings and contemporary ads different?
- Traditional oil paintings were not for peasant labourers but for wealthy people who were seeking to reassure their class position
- Contemporary ads targets working and middle classes
84
Ways of Seeing:
| What does publicity encourage us to do and why?
To transform ourselves by buying more in turn making us “richer” in a way and become more glamourous
