WEEK 3- STRUCTURALISM

Today’s lecture focused on the concept of Structuralism. In order to grasp this complex term, Richard began by using a simple example we may encounter on a daily basis that demonstrates a series of opposites that create meaning. For instance, the human brain is able to differentiate between the actual word ‘cat’ and the mental image of a cat. In this sense it is the grammar that makes the meaning possible. However, within films, instead of using words and grammar we use pictures and imagery, thus structuralism is formed. From this it then became apparent that structuralism can be applied to almost all movies. In relation to American cinema, structuralism acts a framework that carries the story. A vast majority of films will use binary opposites, such as good and bad, strong and weak, that will depict the narrative to the audience. Richard asked us all to think of our favourite film and discuss how these binary opposites within the film help structure it. My favourite film ‘Taken’ by Pierre Morrell, highlighted binary opposites such a ‘good ‘and ‘bad’ and ‘inside society’ and ‘outside society’. We then concluded with discussing how Laura Mulvey’s theory of feminism can be applied to a number of movies such as ‘Bend it like Beckham’ which we will be looking at next week. Again structuralism is used throughout this film, and we see binary opposites such as ’identity’ and ‘gender’.

James Bond Lecture

James Bond Lecture
This lecture concentrated on the phenomenon that is James Bond, with particular attention paid to the novel ‘Casino Royale’. The Bond books were one of the first cheap, affordable paperbacks available to the consumers of Britain, the first being Casino Royale (written in 1952). This was the premier of the James Bond character, he was presented as a gambling, drinking, smoking(70+ a day), luxury consuming jet setting spy, with the confidence of a ‘colony controlling’ Britain behind him. James Bond was a symbol of consumerism; he was a promoter of Great-er Britain, and anti Americanism, perhaps considered a xenophobe.

The reason perhaps for the success of these James Bond novels was a combination. The novels were readily available for the masses to buy, through paperback production, but also the spy-genre of the books interested a lot of people at the time, with the cold war still present in people’s minds spies were a reality, the media were always publishing stories about the capture of spies. The books also could be considered to present this capitalism vs communism war.

The author of the Bond novels, Ian Fleming was educated at Eton and Sandhurst Military school, he like Bond worked in the secret service and was arguably through his presentations of Bond was a Pro-English supporter, the middle class man also as Bond did, played cards, and consumed luxuries. He was once described by Dominic Sandbrook as having “mystery” and “arrogant charm” (similar to Bond). When Fleming was told the next James Bond would be Sean Connery he was unhappy, James Bond was English and always had been, however he came round to the idea after watching Connery play the role and even then wrote Scottish ancestry into the character.

The James Bond novels were incredibly successful during the 20th century; by 1964 they had sold 22million copies. The novels were successful due to their accessibility; they were an insight for the working class, to experience luxury lifestyles and exotic locations. They appealed to a range of people, and when they eventually hit the cinema their success continued.



Kieran Hipkins

093585

Newspapers and Magazines

Session 9: Newspapers & Magazines

In the previous lecture we found that the film Quadrophenia is about Media construction and representation of events of the 1960’s, primarily through newspapers. This lecture showed how the media still plays a large part in modern popular culture.

In recent times there has been a dramatic change in the focus and style newspapers are presented. During the 1830’s-1850’s newspapers contained just text and no pictures. All headlines were of a serious tone and certain papers were targeted at certain audiences. Plus they were often written in small concentrated. However in contrast, today’s newspapers often contain large colour pictures with small text and tend to centre on more trivial topics such as popular TV show ‘The X Factor’. Such a focus has also found people questioning some newspapers priorities.

One such newspaper is ‘The Sun’ which contains serious stories but with a more relaxed and joke-like attitude. The ‘demotic’ tone used in this paper can be related to ‘the voice of the people’, which in order to appeal to the mass amount of people means prioritising shallow news over serious news.

In more recent times newspapers and magazines have become more of a commodity, which for some have taken on an entertainment stance in order to sell more. This is the commercialisation and commodification of the media. In 1896 the Daily Mail newspaper was founded and was designed to be “a compact reader friendly newspaper” aimed at the lower middle class.

Overall, the newspapers have lost their original aim – to tell the news. Many are now a commodity companies sell to certain groups to make money.

James Bond Lecture

Popular Fiction Lecture: James Bond

The Aim of this week’s lecture was to examine popular fiction as a cultural phenomenon. The James Bond book Casino Royale’. The James Bond series is an example of how popular fiction has become acceptable rather than a secret vice to be ashamed of. Casino Royale the novel was released in 1953 and by 1965 it had sold 27million copies, as it was available in paperback it was available to everyone and was easily consumed.

The novel is advertises loads of consumer luxuries, the character of James Bond loves fast cars, beautiful women, cigarettes, luxury food and to gamble. In the book we see Ian Flemming list Bond’s breakfast and his cigarette count. This book becomes a consumer product about consuming products. The audience for these novels were primarily the working class, as they were cheap and easily consumed. The books also show the readers a flashier life style. In the novel women are also presented as consumer items, who can be brought and sold like women.

In the 1950’s Britain faced an identity crisis as they had lost its colonies and was dealing with shortages after World War 2. America was now seen as the ultimate country. James Bond helped to deal with this crisis and Bond became an icon, as he helped to promote Britishness, Bond was a suave and sophisticated British man who always got the beautiful women and caught the baddie. Bond always saves the day before the American C.I.A. With During the War it was seen that American helped to save Britain during the war, yet in the bond films it seems that it Bond himself that saves the day instead of America, this helps with Britain’s identity crisis to promote Britishness. We also how current events in society were portrayed during the Bond series; we see the battle between Britain and Russia representing the cold war.

The Bond films still represent consumerism however there seems to be a switch in the luxuries that bond indulges in. In the films today Bond is more interested in the gadgets. However we still see him dressed in the best suits and driving the best cars. James Bond has now become an iconic figure in Britain today and has become easily recognisable. Bond is so iconic that the franchise provides intertexuality in other forms of popular culture such as films like Austin Powers which is loosely based on the bond novels.

The union Jack is also seen various times in the bond films, however it is not used to show how great Britain is, instead it is used as a symbol of sarcasm to show that Britain has gone downhill. We see the parachute open after Bond falls off a cliff and Union Jacket parachute opens, this now mocks britishness.

The Culture Industry

The aim of this lecture was "to examine the culture industries, and the work of Walt Disney as an example". We looked at and recapped such topics as Adorno's concept of 'candyfloss entertainment', fordism, fandom, Andy Warhol and standardization among others.

The culture industry covers many topics and themes. One dominant figure regarding this area is Theodor Adorno -  a German sociologist/philosopher who was known for his critical theory of society and was very pessimistic regarding the concept of the culture industry. He came up with the phrase 'candyfloss entertainment' and is believed to have had fascist, revolutionary views.

Standardization and mass production are reoccurring phrases when looking at the culture industry and relate to the term fordism (like a car manufacturer) meaning something is being standardised and made to be exactly the same.

On the handout given (p. 121) the quote "Movies and radio need no longer pretend to be art. The truth that they are just business is made into an ideology in order to justify the rubbish they deliberately produce"   demonstrate Adorno's view of the culture industry and how he views art as hiding real economic qualities of social reality. Culture can be seen as being injected into us through the "hyperdermic syringe", classifying, catergorising ans labelling consumers, limiting our choices as consumers.

Rebecca Smith

Press and Popular Culture Review

In this lecture we looked at how the press represents stories in newspapers and how newspapers in general have changed more into a commodity based product rather than a reliable source of information. It is quite evident that the media like to construct stories creating myths and ideologues however it is also important to know that it all depends on how the reader receives and interprets the information, whether he/she is a passive or active consumer. As time went on newspapers eventually became much more visual in it’s layout, saturating the page with pictures and keeping words to a minimum and straight to the point. When looking at newspapers from the 1830s we can see that there are much more stories on the page but no use of colour what so ever. Nowadays many newspapers rely heavily on adverts and commodity based items on the front page in order to draw more people into buying them. “The image does not illustrate the text; it is the text which amplifies the connotative potential of the image.” Only in the 1980s did colour start to feature in newspapers.

It can be argued that the press has become more of a commodity and are purposely more colourful and entertaining, sensationalising quite trivial events on the front page while leaving the more serious stories as an afterthought. Stories can often be exaggerated, creating a blur between fiction and reality. Is this becoming way of dumbing down news papers for it’s target audience? The Sun newspaper can be considered as a demotic voice of the people in which it addresses it’s readers in a language they can understand whilst celebrating quite consumerist values at the same time. It is important to realise that we don’t all believe what we read and we are not as passive as we used to be. Although there is still an attraction to gossip and exciting stories, audiences still need to challenge stories and make their own meanings of what they read. Interpreting current media in this way can be seen as a form of empowerment.

Quote from, Pg 107 from Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture, John Storey.

The Press and Popular Culture

In the last lecture on Quadrophenia, we saw the construction of media. As shown in today's lecture, media plays an important role within popular culture.

The change in newspapers from 1830 till today is drastic. In the 1830s front pages of newspapers were black and white, contained no pictures, and had serious headlines. Thus, these newspapers were targeting older generations. Now, we have colour pictures throughout newspapers, minimal text and headlines contain puns, aiming more at younger generations. This leads us to the question: Does image triumph over stories?

We now look more on trivial news than serious headlines by putting trivial headlines on front pages and serious ones further into the newspaper. An example of this is 'The Sun'. This newspaper prioritises shallow over serious news stories. This is because they try to relate to the masses by showing a demotic voice. Another example was the New York Sun (“it shines for all”), where they made a joke about the length a new telescope could view, in the same week that slavery was abolished.

Over time, newspapers and magazines have become more entertaining in order to sell, and so have become commercialised. When the Daily Mail started in 1896, it wrote that is was “a compact reader friendly newspaper”, and was aimed at lower middle class people (such as office workers). This was a way to sell to the masses and become commercialised.

Commercialisation of newspapers creates people who resist, and people who are dominated. There is a constant ebb and flow between people and dominant ideas. Finally, popular newspapers use a popular folk voice as a way of backing up a view. For example, The Sun portrays a conservative view within the popular voice.

In conclusion, the press have started to address ordinary readers in a voice they can understand.

John Storey: 'Newspapers and Magazines': page 87

Quadrophenia Review

“I don’t wanna be the same as everyone else, that’s why I’m a mod – see?” In that sentence Jimmy Cooper sums up the feeling of many teenagers in the early 1960s, mods or not the general consensus was that this generation set out to be different and to leave their mark on the world forever.
Quadrophenia (1979) is a film about a young mod called Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels.) Jimmy, like many young working class men of the time, had a reasonably well paid job which funded his fast lifestyle, he was intent on being “one of the faces” and this eventually costs him everything, his family, his job, his friends and most painfully to Jimmy, the love of his life Steph (Leslie Ash). Although there are historical inaccuracies, such as the pork pie hat worn by several of Jimmy’s friends, the film really encapsulates what it was like to be a mod in 1963. The soundtrack especially, which includes The Ronette’s, The Who and the mod anthem ‘Green Onion’ by Booker T, gives the film an authentic feel.
The sharp suits, the Vespa’s and Lambretta scooters, the coffee bars where they would hang out, the music show on Jimmy’s television, the Bank Holiday weekends in Brighton and the ‘Blues’ (Amphetamine) they took tell us how Britain was changing into the consumerist society in which we live today. For the first time the working classes had spare cash and they were ready and willing to spend it on looking and feeling good!

Television Lecture

In the late 1940s, two-thirds of the population had never seen a television. By 1960 72% had access to ITV or BBC. People immediately identified with TV and it quickly moved from being a luxury to a necessity. Some of the most popular shows of the time were game shows, soaps, and American crime dramas. In the 1950s Opportunity Knocks, an older version of X Factor, pulled in 20 million viewers. Coronation Street, which premiered on the 9th of December 1960, was popular among the working class. By October 1961 it also had 20 million viewers. Still on the air, it is Britain's most popular programme.
BBC viewers were more middle class than ITV viewers. BBC became worried by ITV and added chat shows and comedies to their schedule but their programming still remained more serious than ITV's. The Wednesday Play, a show with serious topics, was BBC's response to Coronation Street.
Television became worthy of serious critical attention. The left was very hostile toward television as they thought it created "doped" people. For a long time people stopped going out to cinemas, theatres, etc. and preferred staying home to watch television for entertainment.

Over the past years, TV has become more of a necessity than a luxury within a domestic environment, which can be seen through the ownership in 1940 where no-one hardly ever watched television until the 1960's where 72% of the British population now had owned a TV.

In the early years of the BBC dominating over television, ITV a commercialised channel made a breakthrough during the mid 1950's aiming mainly at the working class audience. ITV popularity grew as they brought to us popular quiz shows such as 'An Opportunity Knocks' which grossed over 20 million viewers. It also launched the very first episode of the family soap called 'Coronation Street' . this drama highlighted the working class society of Salford. By thios time ITV had become a great success and forced BBC to imitate the style and format of ITV programmes, targeting a much broader audience, yet keeping their purpose to inform and educate such as; documentaries, educational quiz shows, popular crime drama etc.

Television

‘Television is the popular cultural form of the twenty-first century’ (Storey, p9). We know this because between 1936 and 1940 no-one had even seen a television but by the 1960’s 72% of people owned one. This shows how much culture has changed as a owning a television has changed from being a luxury item to a necessity, and is indicative of working class affluence and the way in which they entertained themselves.

Just as ownerships of televisions have grown so have studies on the ways of looking at television i.e. audience receivership. As Richard mentioned there are several different ways of looking at how audiences receive television, the glance is one way of looking at audience reception of television and occurs within a domestic environment. There is also The Hypodermic Needle Model where television is seen as a ‘narcotic where messages are injected into the mass audience as if from a hypodermic syringe’ (Abercrombie, p4). This is a view with which Adorno would agree as he views all popular culture as ‘rubbish’. The Uses & Gratifications Model takes the opposite approach whereby it insists that viewers create their own meanings from the text, this is also supported by the Encoding-Decoding Model because it says the ‘output of media is polysemic’ (Abercrombie, p13).

I'm Only Dreaming by The Small Faces

Joe Dwyer wants you all to watch I'm Only Dreaming by The Small Faces on You Tube. It is a Fan Vid which includes most of the main pop icons of the 1960s.

How many can you name?

LECTURE SUMMARY: THE POWER OF THE CONSUMER

The theory of Consumerism is that the consumption of goods is of economic benefit. This couldnt be more true, and upon closer study it becomes apparent just how huge a factor Consumerism is within economy.

The key factor in the success and effectiveness of Consumerism lies with the 'Teenage Consumer'. Rooted mainly in the 1930's, teenagers had more money to spend, and began spending this money on clothes, dances, records etc. This was due to Determinist philosophies making a revival of the economy possible, especially within sudden new industries e.g electrical equipment, pharmaceutical companies, car companies etc.

By the start of the 1950's, British society was starting to become more and more like America.

Leisure times for families increased, with smaller families and less working hours in the day. Middle-Class consumers were buying electrical appliances, cookers, washers and even family cars, and by 1960 the majority of Middle-Class families were enjoying the full benefits of electricity.

The Working-Class also shared the perks of this rise in the economy, with families now able to afford regular cinema trips, television sets and cars.

The power of the consumer was rising with the now cheap and dependable electricity on offer.

This change in society had a widespread effect of British culture.

People were now staying in more as they had television sets to replace the vaudevilles that they would normally have to leave their homes to see. The introduction of the T.V was very important for this reason as it gave people the option of not having to leave the comfort of their homes for entertainment.

Britain became even more like America still as it began to copy it's integration of fast-food into society. In 1954 the first 'Wimpy' was opened, the British answer to 'McDonald's', and by the 1960's over 500 Wimpy's were running in Britain.

The apparent option as a consumer to choose from a 'list' of options for entertainment was never really there, as the consumer was still choosing from a list provided by an industry. For this reason this type of consumerism is both creative and restrictive.

This returns to the importance of the teenage consumer. Infant mortality had fallen by 1950. As a result, children were suddenly healthier, taller, fitter and were hitting puberty quicker. They were spending longer in school and, were also wanting things more.

People were beginning to migrate to towns, where moe things were going on, and as a result less people were living in the countryside.

They also had a better health service, living longer and healthier due to the introduction of the NHS in 1948.

The power of the consumer was very important in developing a new culture for Britain, and is just as important in today's society, boosting the economy in a constant circle of financial flux.

Summary of Lecture: The Power of the Consumer

One of the main questions raised when thinking about consumerism is whether it is seen as creative or restricting. This view on consumerism roots back to the 1950's/60's as the combination of Britain becoming an affluent society and the rise of teenage domination meant that there was more time for leisure, not only for those of middle class but working class families also. Alot of this is due to the fact that within the early 60's many within Britain were enjoying electricity, this ensured that there were many more activities and consumer products to be enjoyed and bought in to.

It is widely thought that the power of the consumer lies with young people and it is in fact their input that deems consumerism to be creative. Teenagers were spending money on luxury items and entertainment, meaning that they were spending more money of consumer products. They were spending a lot of money of clothes, music and socialising. This is something that helps to show consumerism in favour of being creative as young people were buying into such consumerism products but were however, turning them into their own. They were using consumption to form an identity and this is something that can be seen within the rise of the Mod culture.

Mod culture represents this period perfectly as it indicates the use of consumerism in the rise of creative culture within teenagers. Mod's were using such consumption products as music, fashion and leisure activities to define their identity. This helps to argue that consumer products can be used within a creative manor in which to produce selective and individualist groups.

However, it is argued that consumerism cannot be creative and that it is only restricting to those who buy in to it. It is thought that even though we are using consumer products to almost form an identity, it is never really truely individualised as we are chosing from a list that has already been given to us. Therefore, it is thought, that nothing can ever really be new or individual and that consumption will remain a dominant power.

London = A Theme Park

Conclusion to yesterday's lecture and a few discussion points for next week: Did London become a theme park in the 1960s? Was all the pop culture of the 1960s all about about money and manufacturing?


Five points to remember from the 'Consumption Lecture':

1) We looked at the growth of youth culture in the 1960s, the case study we chose was the Mods.

2) There was increased ability to spend

3) Consumerism and shopping were seen as creative and empowering activities (see lecture notes and John Storey's chapters on music and consumption).

4) Young people not dupes, but creative consumers.

5) What part does media hype play in our perceptions of the 1960s?

We Are The Mods

By the 1960s there was a ready market for teenage consumers with disposable income. There was an infrastructure of pop charts, magazines and pop television programmes to support the music industry. As well as the Beatles, the Mods were, in part, created by the infrastructure of this nascent pop industry.

When we watch Quadrophenia in week 8, look at the Mods' fashion sense: Button-down Ben Sherman shirts, short three-buttoned jackets, narrow trousers, desert boots, cropped Italian haircuts, Italian suits and Fred Perry shirts.

The Mods listened to the Who, the Small Faces and American Rhythm and Blues. they also rode Italian scooters and took amphetamines.

Bear in mind, that Quadrophenia was made in 1979. So see if you can notice any historical inaccuracies.

Any comments on the You Tube clip we watched of P.P. Arnold and the Small Faces.

White Heat

In the 1950s and 1960s Britain was obsessed with consumerism and the 'white heat' of technology.

Dominic Sandbrook appropriated this phrase as a title for his book from a speech by Harold Wilson.

The Affluent Society

All the culture industries we have examined in the lectures so far: James Bond films and paperbacks, The Beatles, theme parks, Mods, the British Press and British film are predicated on the revival of the British economy in the 1930s. 'New' industries such as cars, pharmaceuticals and electrical appliances made it possible for teenagers in the late 1950s and early 1960s to enjoy television, record players, glossy magazine and televisions. Their 'pop' culture is based one very important technological determining fact: electricity made this proliferation of popular art possible.

The affluent society meant Britain was becoming more like the USA. Not only in terms of popular culture, but also in diet. For the first time there was a food processing industry: baked beans, tinned pineapple, fish fingers, frozen chips and frozen peas.

Philip Larkin, 'Here' (1961)

Some of the students wanted to know the poem I quoted at the start of the 'Consumption' lecture. Here is the first verse: Cheap suits, red kitchen-ware, sharp shoes, iced lollies, electric mixers, toasters, washers, driers.Philip Larkin is critical of the consumer society. He was one in a long line of elitists who are worried about encroaching materialism in 1960s British society

Lecture 5: The Beatles, Popular Music as Cultural Phenomenon

This picture is from 1960 in the Cavern before The Beatles were signed and commodified.

Standardisation and commodification both play key roles in building a cultural phemomenom, the cultural machine that runs the music industry is churning out mass produced repetive artists, even John Lennon believed The Beatles sold out, which is easily seen from the above picture and the clean cut image that everyone associates with them. In this LA press release after their album 'Revolver'  http://youtube.com/Irw1OCWp1Gs

 In the clip George says 'our image is how you see us' showing us how important fans are to an artist and there is 'not art without an audience'. Fandom especially for The Beatles was why they became such a phenomenon. Youth create a vibrant culture to create their own meanings, from things such as the way they dress by adopting the production line to their own needs for example the mods, as resisting the dominant ideology or creating fanzines to integrate or participate in the commodity. 

Overall texts are designed to be relevant in the moment and by commodifying the artist it helps them stay relevant longer. 

We Are The Mods!

For tomorrow continue reading John Storey: Chapters 6 and 7 ('music' and 'Consumption in Everyday Life'. . The lecture is entitled 'The Power of the Consumer' and I will adapt Storey's writing on youth subcultures and music to 'Mod' culture. Sandbrook also looks at the roots of this youth phenomenon in his two books: White Heat and Never had It So Good.

Topics to be discussed are: lived cultures, Mods, cultural imposition, fan culture, shopping as a creative activity and production of texts.

Try to watch The Small Faces performing Tin Soldier in 1968 with P.P. Arnold, they are the ultimate 'Mod' band.

This lecture is also preparation for the screening of Quadrophenia later in the course.

Keep blogging!

Richard

Summary of lecture: The Beatles A Hard Day's Night

Standardisation is an important factor to cultural phenomenon, in which music becomes standard and repetitive. The Beatles image became standardised moving from leather jackets and jeans to identical suits and hairstyles. Image influenced youth and style, the standardisation of their image made The Beatles commercial to adopt the production line to produce own art forms, this challenges their authenticity.

All art is a commodification as there is no art without an audience. Some would argue that The Beatles are capitalists, that art is packaged and sold; a culture industry. It is important to note the album ‘Beatles for Sale’ could demonstrate this. However they became subversive when they moved from a subculture to a hippie stage.

Fandom played a role within The Beatles, this is obvious from the beginning of the film. Extremities of fandom led to the death of John Lennon and the stabbing of George Harrison. The Beatles have a huge label attached to the 60’s, not musicals such as The Sound of Music which we discussed. Harold Wilson latched onto The Beatles influencing politics; illustrating how big they had become. A Hard Day’s Night contributed to the acceptability of regional accents and Englishness, moving away from received pronunciation seen on television etc.

In conclusion The Beatles and the film demonstrate that the relationship to commodity can lead to an authentic self expression, an emotional realism. Hybridity of young people creates vibrant cultures to express own meanings. The way music is produced is down to industry but the way it is used cannot be predicted. The Beatles lead us to ponder: Is commodity there to sell itself?

This link may be of use ‘I was there when The Beatles played the Cavern’. First two minutes of part two discuss image and interviews with fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNXnv8ltVcQ&feature=channel_video_title

Bend It Like Beckham - Seminar Write up

In this session we examined the film “Bend it Like Beckham”. We tried to analyse the film in terms of the representation of it’s races and ethnicities.

We looked beyond common sense meanings and got into different levels of understanding. It is clear that the different cultures interpret the events differently. For instance, Jules’ dad encourages her football, and yet Jess’ dad forbids her from it. This is a constant theme in the film as Asian Sikh culture is contrasted with more liberal gender equal British culture. It is also significant how much more Jules’ knows about the female game, in comparison with Jess’, who is largely oblivious. This again shows the cultural divide. Also, the black girl on the team, Mel, is the captain, which suggests she is a strong powerful captain as she is the on field leader. Jess is rather timid in contrast.

The film is a representation of modern, multicultural Britain, but it also highlights some of the conflicts and problems that can arise in such a system.

Week 3 - Structuralism

In this lecture we started off the discussion with the question of what exactly Structuralism was. Yet being hard to define we all agreed that it distinctly resembles a chessboard. There are two sides, all with positions, hierarchies and meanings within the board, each piece has a certain role or function and consequences arise when certain movements are made. Therefore through the interplay of relationships within the board, by different configurations, for example from different movements on the board, the meaning is made possible: structuralism is the grammar that makes meaning possible.
Saussure’s theory of how the signifier+signified= sign, helped us understand structuralism by realising how elements of language or objects can be read. Structuralism can be viewed as a text, visual imagery can be viewed through stereotypes and then work in binary opposites (touching on Levi Strauss theory), like the chess board these meanings can only be produced and work within such structures.
The use of narrative within a text is a structure itself, and the most common of these help us read it. Propp’s Narrative theory gives us a clear indication even today of certain heros, villains, princesses yet in contemporary films they may be harder to find. Disney films are a clear distinction of this which may have seemed a bad influence on children at the time, a naïve representation on a structured society (fantasy or not), expecting women to be vulnerable and having a knight in shining armour to rescue them, when in reality, it is a myth, men on white horses don’t seem to be around the corner very often.
This also draws on Laura Mulvey’s feminist approach we discussed in the lecture, as women were most certainly always used in such narratives as the damsel-in-distress or prize for the male hero, however increasingly since the 1980s luckily more women are becoming heros themselves. It proves that films show an evolution in socio-cultures within society as well as whole cultures themselves.
It also shows how economic statuses have changed in consumerist films such as James Bond films, or in Westerns as we discussed. Such films elaborate Marxist views of celebrating capitalism, consumerism and individualism all together. Films in a sense always have these within their structures, and their purposes are for escapism, identification and consumerism. Through studying structuralism, texts’ pragmatic and semantic meanings are clear. Therefore structuralism is the key that makes such meanings possible.

The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night (1964)

The theme of tomorrow's lecture is to examine popular music as a cultural phenomenon. The case study we use is Richard Lester's 1964 film about the Beatles: A Hard Day's Night.

You should re-familiarise yourself with Adorno's work on popular music, especially his assertion that popular music is 'standardised', 'Popular music is a production line that churns out inferior commodities'. This links to a key scene in A Hard Day's Night: 'A clue to the new direction', where George Harrison argues with an opportunistic advertising executive.

In this film we have an authentic subculture colliding with an inauthentic mass produced mainstream culture. You should read what John Storey says about this, and also his use of the term 'structured irresponsibility'.

I will also introduce the term 'subterranean values' in this lecture. Research this term and tell me its meaning.

The seminar discussion will look at ideas such as fan culture as a creative and productive process, George Melly's phrase 'Revolt into Style' and folk culture versus consumerism.

I will give you a handout looking at the following issues: The Affluent Society, Pop and Consumerism, pop and Politics, Englishness, Regionalism and Identity, Surrealism and Film and the media creation of the 1960s: The Sound of Music sold more than Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Remember to watch A Hard Day's Night in the LRC, there is not a screening of the film on the course, but (technology permitting) we'll look a key scenes tomorrow.

This lecture also relates to consumption, so read Storey's work on commodification and consumption.There is a chapter called 'consumption' in his book.

Keep blogging,

Richard

Introduction to PC200

Modules main themes and whatever else I thought interesting and wrote down.

History for the class of PC200 (with Dr Richard Mills down in the bowels of St. Mary’s or D10) starts in 1956 (approximately), a year of significant change for Great Britain. The Suez crisis effectively spelled a mayor change in international political power for the once great empire and a change in political balance around the world. The tensions of the cold war and the influence of the America became all too real for the financially struggling island. The irony of the Suez crisis to the modern viewer is the change in roles that we see in the international sphere today. When Britain (with the help of France and Israel) attempted to invade Egypt, to gain back control of the Suez Canal and the important oil importing trade route America stepped in with the help of the U.N. (Ironic when we look at more recent American behaviour towards the U.N. and its own crusades for oil within the middle east.) The political balance of power between the U.S. and Britain can also be seen to be mirrored by the change in the balance of cultural influence that America has over British popular culture.

The many strains of influence which form the cultural fabric of Britain today where touched upon; the end of the British Empire and the cultural influence of the immigrants from the former empire, the rapidly growing youth culture of American consumption, the rise of what can essentially be seen as uncensored entertainment in the form of texts such as ITV and just to make Richard happy; the emergence of a little know four piece from Liverpool called the Beatles.

The introductory session of this module did exactly what it said on the tin (How about that for a cultural reference?). It introduced the module but more importantly for myself it introduce the idea that when looking at cultural texts the influence these have, not only influence society in a great many ways that they themselves are permissive to influence. So do we look at the picture of Harold Macmillan on the front cover of our module guide as clever photo opportunity for him or the persuasiveness of popular culture on our lives? Or rather more interestingly does the truth lie somewhere in between with both ideas influencing and reacting as whole?

Lecture 4: Bend It Like Beckham

Tomorrow's lecture will introduce some new critical terms: hybridity, post-colonialism, 'double-identity', 'cultural polyvalency' and 'third space'.

The main focus of the lecture will be two areas: identity and gender. These themes will be discussed in the seminar. As as mentioned at the start of the course, there is not a screening of the film , but make sure you watch the DVD in the LRC. However, we do look at some key scenes in the seminar.

I will introduce some of the key texts on post-colonial theory and identity. Most of these texts are in the LRC. So it is important that you familiarize yourself with names such as Homi K. Bhabha, Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Hanif Kureishi and Richard Kearney.
The core reading for the module is Storey and Sandbrook, but make sure you do some independent reading and find out who these people are and their contribution to British cultural life.

There are still some blogs due, there may be problems with students accessing the blog. Tell me if you are having any problems and I'll do my best to rectify it quickly.

Best,

Richard

John Storey on Film

For next Tuesday (September 27th) read John Storey's chapter on film in Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture. He references two seminal essays on film: Will Wright's 'Sixguns and Society ' and Laura Mulvey's Visual Pleasure'.

To fully appreciate these essays re-read your notes on structuralism from the first year, it will be a great help in this lecture.

It would also be a great help to think of the cliches of Hollywood films, I will use a Western or 'Cowboy' film as my example to explain structuralism, but any visual text will do. So come prepared thinking about Storey's essay and about predictable and hackneyed story lines we often see in films.

A James Bond film is also useful for this analysis of predictable plots in movies.

Lecture 3 (next week) is also preparation for the Bend it Like Beckham lecture in week 4, so also think about how national and cultural identity is portrayed in films. Again, does popular cinema put a series of stereotypes into effect?

Keep blogging and keep reading Storey and Sandbrook.

Summary of lecture: 20/09/11

Dear Richard,

I am fully aware that my contribution to the blog is considerably over the 150 word limit, but I think it’s relevance to the lecture will be apparent to anyone who wishes to read it. I do this in the full knowledge that I risk losing 10% of my overall mark, but I would ask you to put the issue to the class should there be any ambiguity over the way my grade is marked. If the majority of the class finds it useful in disseminating the lecture I would gratefully ask that my marks’ be awarded in the same manner that everyone else’s are. If, however, the majority of the class finds it irrelevant and a complete waste of time to read, I will happily concede 10% of my overall mark for this module.

Not only is my submission relevant to Baudrillard’s theory on simulation with regards Disney and Americanisation, which I took to be the main issues of our last lecture, it also aims to present these theories in a humorous way. Sometimes the best way to demystify something is to laugh about it. I recall fond memories of sitting around the fire at Christmas  time with my family, uproariously pissing ourselves about the time my father sharpened his index finger to a point using an electric pencil sharpener; this was just before “the incident”. . .  but I digress, the point I am making is that humour can help shed light on the most perplexing issues. So, without further a do, I hand over to Armando Iannucci with an article (clearly inspired by Baudrillard) from his book, The Audacity of Hype (2009 p106).

Suppose we woke up to discover America was a lie?

Monday. It suddenly dawns on me that though I think Casablanca is one of the best

films ever made, I still haven’t managed to see it. I’ve heard a lot about it, though, and today I decide to go and speak to all those people who recommended it to me.

It turns out none of them has seen it either. I ring Warner Bros, but it goes quiet and tries fobbing me off with a free ticket to see Scooby-Doo. I think something’s going on.

Tuesday. A scandal in Hollywood. Warner Bros admits that Casablanca was never made. When pushed, it also reveals that Humphrey Bogart was mostly wishful conjecture. ‘We had an actor under contract in the 1940s and 1950s who looked 

a bit like what we imagined Humphrey Bogart to be,’ said a Warner Bros

spokesman, ‘and we’d always planned to make something like Casablanca, but

never got round to it. Then, when people started talking about how good it was, we 

just played along with it.’

Soon every other major Hollywood studio makes a similar confession: 20th 

Century Fox admits that The Return of the Jedi was never made, while Francis Ford

Coppola confesses to having made The Godafther, Parts Two and Three, but not Part One.

By nightfall, I sit stunned by the realisation that the American film industry 

does not have as successful a back catalogue as it has always claimed. I go to bed

furious, just as Gregory Peck is arrested for claiming to have been in more than 

thirty-five films, when in fact, for the past fifty years, he’s just been a baker.

Wednesday. Wake up to hear America admit it only has one-twentieth of the wealth

it claimed to have. The dark news emerges when all the casinos in Las Vegas confess they’ve been operating for the past seven years on an average profit of 

four hundred dollars.

By noon, most of the board of directors of the Disney Corporation is being taken in for questioning for saying their company is stinking rich when in fact it owes

someone ninety pounds. The discrepancy was spotted by a quick thinking FBI official, who realised that nobody had ever liked Mickey Mouse and therefore 

Walt Disney’s claimed wealth may not have existed.

Thursday. Phillip Roth is taken away from his house in handcuffs. He may have written only one novel. It’s now dawning on the world that, for about the past hundred years, America has been taking all of us for a ride.

The Statue of Liberty turns out to be made of cork. Mount Rushmore is a

backlit projection. The Lincoln Memorial is a giant hand puppet. The film Capricorn One was filmed entirely on a studio lot on the Moon.

With every hour, it’s becoming clearer that America has been pretending to 

be more influential than it actually is. Its official claim to be a superpower is slowly 

being rescinded as people learn that its intelligence network is dumb, its armed 

forces unsuccessful and the bulk of its population incapable of affording the most 

basic of medical attention.

Friday. Hysteria in America when 100 million people suddenly become confused; the

mental strain of spending a lifetime trying simultaneously to oppose abortion and support the death penalty turns them all to idiots. Millions of God-fearing capitalists

confess to thievery and agnosticism.

I wake up to the morning of the first day in the modern era, in which no one

believes in America anymore. And it doesn’t feel good, just frighteningly ridiculous.

This, I feel, adequately relates to this weeks' lecture in a way that I, for one, certainly find amusing. As I expressed during the class, my own belief is that if you follow Baudrillard’s theory to it’s natural conclusion everything man made is a simulation and nothing exists; which could equally be considered ‘frighteningly ridiculous’, as is Milton Keynes.  

Bibliography:

Ianucci, A. The Audacity of Hype, London, Little Brown, 2009.

PC200 Popular Culture and History - Lecture 1 Review

Our first lecture was an introduction to the module and we gained an understanding and outline of its main themes. After taking us through the module requirements and assessment arrangements, Richard began by informing us of the origins of cultural studies.

We were told that cultural studies is used as a synonym for ‘popular culture’. We discussed grand narratives and micro narratives, and how popular culture reflects bigger events, for example: Disney 1955/1956-Theme Parks.

The lecture then progressed to Richard talking about the Americanisation of popular culture, and the fact that America dominates Pop culture, and Britain is influenced.

We were informed that we were going to be studying the strands of meaning that interconnect to form British Popular Culture, and that these strands create a very colourful picture of contemporary Britain. The ideas of our module span the last fifty years, approximately 1956 to 2006.

Discussion of 1956 as a key year helped us understand how the past has influenced our lives and culture today. It was the year of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and the Comets and The Suez Crisis. The topic of Britain always having been a multi ethnic society because of commonwealth and empire brought us on to think about how Britain’s culture has changed very significantly through its eating habits, and we discussed relevant examples that were on our handout.

The differences between high and low culture were introduced to us by discussing television. Hugh Carleton Greene, brought the BBC into the sixties, and we compared the BBC to ITV, which was launched in 1955. ITV was initially seen as common and vulgar, soon had 72% of viewing public. Hoggart and Williams hated ITV and described it as shiny barbarism, anti culture and synthetic culture. We discussed

Coronation Street

which was introduced in 1960, which was loved by the working class people it represented, but hated by middle class critics. The last point we discussed about TV was that television was seen as a threat to the theatre and cultural elitists.

The Sun newspaper was introduced in 1955, captured working class, as they were drawn to consumerism.

We briefly heard about The Beatles and ‘The Menace of Beatlism’. Private Eye regarded the Beatles with contempt. They were seen to have no aesthetic worth.

Overall, the lecture introduced many ideas and themes that the module involves, and we learnt a lot about the cultural industry in Britain and also the influences that other countries cultures had, and are still having, on British popular culture.

Supermarkets are new!

Another iconic 1960s spy film, The Ipcress File, staring Michael Caine(1965) comments on commercailisation. In it, his boss upbraids him for shopping in a supermarket. Supermarkets were new in Britain in 1966, and again, were seen as examples of crass commercialisation and Americanisation.

See if you can find the clip. Sandbrook mentions it in his book.

Richard

On You Tube watch Adam Adamant Lives from 1966, Episode 3, 1 minute and 55 seconds.

Here is the link: http://youtu.be/VHTBDmdZ-lY

Sandbrook mentions it in his sixties book as an example of how commodification, Americanisation and commerce has taken root in London. The character Adam has been frozen for 60 years, he wakes and doesn't recognise London: this is an Edwardian gentleman and his shocked by what he sees. That is the neon of Piccadilly Circus, the noise (transistor radios, the advertisement hoardings and the crowds of people.

To Adam, the commercialisation is Hell. He panics and yells, 'What infernal place is this'?

Sandbrook reads this as a critique of England's infatuation with the tawdry, the shallow and the vulgar.

Richard