Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad

Leeds Railway Station is located right in the heart of central Leeds and surrounded by a flourishing, upmarket retail and leisure district filled with shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. I plan to look at the station and its surrounding area using Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad.

In practice the space provides a very important function in allowing travel in and out of Leeds, however, I think the environment surrounding the station, and to some extent the station itself during its remodelling in 2002, is likely to have been designed and developed to fulfil a secondary role of pulling money into the city’s economy by funnelling new visitors directly into this area of Leeds.

From the moment you exit the station you are funnelled towards either the Queen hotel and City Square; a grand, central European plaza-style space with upmarket restaurants and shopping centres surrounding it, or the Corn Exchange and the main shopping district, which includes the Victorian Quarter and an array of well-known upmarket brand-named shops. Such a position can often seem coincidental, however, the rental prices of the properties in this area reflects the high demand to be located in such proximity to the regular flow of new visitors. In this sense, I think the representation of space has been effective because the station not only serves its primary function as a gateway into the centre of Leeds, it helps to influence new visitors to spend money both inside the station, which has a line of food and retail options inside, and out.

The representational spatial ideas; the ideals, imagination, theory and visions surrounding Leeds Station, seem to be to present Leeds in the most attractive light to new visitors. It is a space which saw 21.98m passengers in 2010 and therefore every visitor will view and experience the space in a different way, from a child that imagines Harry Potter on every platform due to the cultural influence the books have had on the perception of stations in general to an elderly person whose memories of the building in an earlier era outweigh the new image of the space.

Homophobia, Masculinity and Othering in Black Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-Hop has become synonymous with homophobia and hyper-masculinity, the latter of which manifests itself in overtly masculine posturing for music videos, album artwork and magazine articles, which are then distributed throughout mainstream media and perpetuate the image of black males as tough, dominant, aggressive and emotionless. I would maintain that this hegemonic idea of black masculinity, although it seems empowering on the surface, is in fact damaging at an individual and cultural level within the wider black community as well as specifically the black Hip-Hop community; not to mention the harmful effect it has on the already slow process of gaining acceptance for the homosexual community within mainstream culture.

It could be argued that the ‘gangterisation’ of Hip-Hop music (e.g artists such as N.W.A whose attitude and approach to their music was much more aggressive and told a grittier, and perhaps arguably more ‘real’ story, than previous incarnations) is to blame for the hyper-masculinisation of black males in Hip-Hop, however, in his book Hip-Hop America (1998) Nelson George argues that “the values that underpin so much Hip-Hop - materialism, brand consciousness, gun iconography and anti-intellectualism -  are very much a part of the larger American culture”. This suggests that rather than creating a morally damaging image of black masculinity, gangsta rap has merely capitalised on the success of the image in mainstream culture. Byron Hurt provides a great example of America’s pre-existing hegemonic idea of masculinity in his documentary, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, using a video clip from a speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger (as governor for California) telling “those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy” not to be “economic girlie men’”. He also references the violence and hyper-masculinity portrayed in video games and Hollywood films (as far back as black & white Westerns) to confirm the notion that American society has historically celebrated the tough, “Marlboro Man” image of masculinity. Bakari Kitwana (in Saddik, 2003, p. 115) confirms this theory, stating that “‘gangsta rap’ is just one manifestation of the culture of violence that saturates American society as a whole”.

Hurt asked a group of young black MC’s free-styling outside a Hip-Hop event why each time he has young kids ‘spit’ (perform a rhyme) for the camera, they always talk about “gun play, killing other men, being tough and invulnerable, feminising other men and putting fear into another mans heart”. One of the MC’s stepped forward to argue that he could (and implied that he would prefer to) perform verses like:

“I coulda been a doctor, or I coulda been a pops,

I wonder what woulda happened had I woulda been a cop,

Would I help the block? Protect the good from the bad?

Or just be killin’ niggas ‘cuz the power of my badge…

But they don’t wont to hear that right now”

The problem seems to be that the major record labels that mainstream rappers such as 50 Cent and Lil Wayne are signed to (run by predominantly white, middle class males) are pushing this style of violent, misogynistic and intellectually-lacking Hip-Hop as a profitable commodity and in doing so are perpetuating the notion that the only way to be a “black man… is to be hard, to denigrate women, to denigrate homosexuals, to denigrate each other [and] to kill each other” (Kevin Powell in Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, 2006). They have created a scenario where you have to live up to their notion of a black rapper in order to have a chance at a career in Hip-Hop, which has led to a generation of young MC’s emulating this style, despite whatever issues they may want to put across themselves, in order to get a record a deal.

This leads on to a theory presented by Saddik (2003) in her essay Rap’s Unruly Body: The Postmodern Performance of Black Male Identity on the American Stage. Much like Erving Goffman’s (1959) theory of dramaturgical perspective - the theory that we change our masks (the way we portray ourselves) according to the stage (the specific context) we find ourselves in - in his book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Saddik suggests that Hip-Hop (and gangsta rap in particular) is a post modern performance rather than a realistic portrayal of life as a black male in America. The problem with this theory is that for those that don’t see through the mask for whatever reason - be it age or lack of understanding - this image becomes the reality of who they feel they have to be. It seems irresponsible to justify an issue as damaging as the perpetuation of homophobic & warped-masculine ideals as just a performance. 

There are interesting parallels between the homogenisation of mainstream Hip-Hop music and the theory in Adorno’s essay, On Popular Music (1941), that Popular Music (e.g mainstream Hip-Hop), as opposed to ‘Serious Music’ (he was referring to Classical music), has been standardised so that all songs use the same subjects and rules. As a result of this no intellectual effort is required on the part of the listener because it is “pre-digested” (something we have essentially heard before in other songs), which creates apathy - popular music “maim[s] the consciousness of those exposed to it”. In the case of mainstream Hip-Hop, the standardisation and mass production of songs that celebrate anti-intellectualism ensures that nothing but the hegemonic idea of masculinity is portrayed, which further ingrains the negative idea of black masculinity perpetuated by such songs. This idea that those in charge of the proliferation of mainstream music are, as suggested by Kitwana (in Saddik, 2003, p.113), maintaining the historic discourse of white domination through the promotion and commodification of “distorted images of black identity” is both interesting and worrying.

I agree with Saddik that there is an element of post modern performance within Hip-Hop music, however, there is also undeniable evidence in the form of documentaries (e.g Style Wars, 80 Blocks from Tiffany’s), books and historic discourse to suggest that the environment from which Hip-Hop culture emerged was a hostile one and, as a result, the need to appear tough in order to survive became part of the culture of Hip-Hop. Foucault talks about the influence institutions have on the construction of identity and the way we begin to occupy a subject position relating to our social environment. This can be seen in the way Hip-Hop artists have created their hyper-masculine identities through the lens of their environment, which have then been capitalised on by record companies and has arguably contributed to the violent power structures that constructed their identities by perpetuating the hyper-masculine image.

A study conducted by Ford for her essay, Doing Fake Masculinity, Being Real Men (2011), using a range of black, male college students (from a variety of classes, religions, sexual orientations and year groups) looked at (among other things) their views on what black masculinity is and how the hegemonic view of black masculinity presented in Hip-Hop music affects their identity. It showed that despite “these men’s ability to analytically deconstruct the thug image” they still “engage in it”, which “shows how entrenched the image has become”. One student referred to it as “default” or something to fall back on as a “safe” way to portray yourself in order to authenticate your masculinity as a black male. In Black Men on Race, Gender, and Sexuality (Carbado, 1999) a quote from Marlon T. Riggs introduces an interesting link between masculinity and sexuality. Speaking in reference to the portrayal of black gay men in the media he says “because of my sexuality I cannot be black. A strong, proud, ‘Afrocentric’ black man is resolutely heterosexual, not even bisexual. Hence, I remain a Negro. …I cannot be a black gay man because by the tenets of black macho, black gay is a triple negation”. The idea that he is viewed by the black community as a Negro (a term used to dehumanise slaves throughout history) rather than a man because he is gay brings in to question where the homophobic attitude that is “rampant” in black American culture comes from? 

According to Dawson (in Ward, 2005, p. 494) “97% of black people in the USA claim some religious affiliation”. This suggests that black churches hold a huge influence over their communities and therefore it is easy to imagine theologically-driven homophobia playing a key role in the homophobic conditioning of religious followers. According to a bisexual student in Ford’s study his church has taught him that his sexuality is a “sign of weakness” and a “sin” and he prays that he will one day change. Along with most of the other students, he says he feels pressure to look and act masculine so he is not a “disgrace to the race”. Douglas (in Ward, 2005, p. 495) claims that, despite a concerted effort by biblical scholars to clarify and contextualise the meanings behind some of the most homophobic passages in the bible, “Scripture is often the cornerstone of homophobia in the black community” and goes on to explain how “black people’s use of the bible to condemn homosexuality is understandable in their historic experience, as enslaved blacks sought refuge and found freedom in the literalness of Scripture”. Crichlow (in Ward, 2005, p. 495) draws another link between homophobia and slavery, emphasising the notion of “race survival consciousness”. As an enslaved people there was an urgency to preserve their race and culture, which relied on heterosexuality for procreation and led to an understanding of homosexuality as “weakness” in the struggle against white domination. Conversely, black masculinity has been constructed in hyper-masculine terms. Lemelle and Belle (in Ward, 2005, p. 498) found that “among black men, regular church attendance was significantly associated with more homophobic attitudes towards gay males”. Riggs suggests that stigmatisation of gay men in the black community is the result of a “desperate need for a convenient Other… to blame for the the chronic identity crisis afflicting the black male psyche”. Othering is present in many aspects of mainstream Hip-Hop music as a device to further strengthen the hyper-masculine image.

Ironically, in Hurt’s Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, Gay rapper Tim’m West of the gay rap group Deep Dickollective suggests a further complexity in understanding the relationship between homosexuality and hyper-masculinity in Hip-Hop culture by pointing out that there is a lot of homo-eroticism in Hip-Hop imagery. He uses the example of LL Cool J’s video for Paradise in which he is shown soaked in water, with his shirt off and licking his lips as well as numerous other rappers like 50 Cent who are regularly photographed without their tops on for promotional material. It is no doubt an attempt to portray a hyper-masculine, muscly image of themselves, however, it adds an interesting dynamic that it is seen as eye candy for the very people many rappers write so aggressively about.

As a fan of Hip-Hop music I am discouraged by the continuing complacency towards homophobia in commercial Hip-Hop but I am also pleased to see positive artists such as Atmosphere, P.O.S and Brother Ali who are promoting a change in attitudes towards both issues with lines such as “I don’t say faggot cuz I don’t think it’s right, I know my boy struggled with that for over half his life”. The source of the issues of hyper-masculinity and homophobia in Hip-Hop music are clearly complex and deeply ingrained in Hip-Hop as well as the black community and American culture as a whole and will require serious acknowledgements from the music, film & television industries, churches and government because if Foucault is right and our identity is subject to such institutions then there won’t be any change until these institutions change.

Notes:

1. I have used the terms Hip-Hop and Rap to refer to Hip-Hop/Rap music in general, however, Rap is widely understood to mean the music side of Hip-Hop culture specifically, whereas Hip-Hop refers to the culture as a whole including graffiti and break dancing etc.

Sources:

Adorno, T.W (1941) On Popular Music. Studies in Philosophy and Social Science, Vol. 9, p.17-48

Carbardo, D. W (1999) Black Men on Race, Gender, and Sexuality New York, New York University Press

Ford, K. A (2011) Doing Fake Masculinity, Being Real Men. Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 34, p. 38-62

George, N (1998) Hip-Hop America New York, Penguin Books

Goffman, E (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life New York, Doubleday

Gray, H (1995) Black Masculinity and Visual Culture. Callaloo, Vol. 18, p. 401-405

Hurt, B (2006) Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes Arlington, PBS

Saddik, A. J. (2003) Rap’s Unruly Body: The Postmodern Performance of Black Male Identity on the American stage. The Drama Review, Vol. 47, p. 110-127

Ward, E. G. (2005) Homophobia, Hypermasculinity and the US Black Church. Culture, Health & Sexuality, Vol. 7, p. 493-504

Lecture Notes: Cities and Film

The City in Modernism:

George Simmel (German Sociologist)

• Wrote Metropolis and Mental Life in 1904).
• Dresden Exhibition 1903 - his lecture was given as part of this celebration of German Industry.
• Urban Sociology: resistance of the individual is swallowed up in techno-social mechanism.

Louis Sullivan (Architect 1856-1924)

• Created skyscrapers after the fires of Chicago in 1871.
• “Skyscrapers represent the upwardly mobile city of business opportunity”.

Charles Scheeley

• Commissioned to take photos of the architecture at River Rouge, Ford’s motor factories.

Fordism: Coined by Antonio Gramsci in Americanism and Fordism

• “The eponymous system designed to spew out standardisation, low cost goods and affords its workers decent enough wages to afford them”.

• In Modern Times (1936) Charlie Chaplin works in a factory; a comment on the Ford-style production line of modern industry.
• Stock market crash in 1929. Factories close and unemployment goes up dramatically.
• Modernist Photography highlights the tall buildings by photographing from the building itself to show unusual angles.
• Flaneur; A character in literature and art who strolls throughout the city as a bourgeois person just to experience the city. Walter Benjamin uses the Flaneur as an analytical tool in male texts.
• Calle’s Sweet Venitienne(1980) followed (with a camera) a stranger and took photos of their movements. Venice is perfect for this idea because it is a labyrinth of streets with finite limits in size. The Detective (1980): wants to provide photographic evidence of her existence by hiring a private detective to photograph and follow while she also documented him and his movements - she wrote in a love narrative too.
• Wegee (Arthur Felig), press photographer, followed emergency services to crime scenes and documented them in The Naked City.
• L.A Noire - first game to be shown at Tribeca film festival.
• Fritz Lang’s Metropolis presents a futuristic city that incorporates the old city too (as does Blade Runner).
• Lorca Di Corcia’s Heads (2001) was a collection of photos in which a special light is triggered as people walk by and illuminates them specifically in order to take a photograph of them as individuals within a crowd.

Post Modern City

• The Bonneventure Hotel used as a metaphor for the de-centering and feeling of being lost in the big city. You are lost in its size and therefore have to submit authority in order to find our way.
• 9/11 Citizen journalism: the end of the flaneur. Images are shared instantaneously (Liz Wells).
• Walking in the city has changed; there is a constant fear of threat (from terrorism) and we isolate ourselves from the city with headphones.

Lecture Notes: Walter Benjamin

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Frankfurt School

Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse, Lowenthal, Horkheimer

• hot bed of radicalism & marxism
• based in the Frankfurt University’s Institute of Social Research from 1923-33
• fled to USA during the Nazi regime and continued their work at Columbia University, New York from 1933-47
• from 1949 onwards they were back at Frankfurt University
• Walter Benjamin didn’t flee but ended up killing himself before the Nazi’s got to him

‘The Ancient Craft of the Beautiful’

How has new technology changed art?

• Superstructure changes slower than the Base
• not writing about works of art by working class, or looking at art in a ‘classless’ society but how the current art world is influenced by the ruling class
• art is a weapon to arm the proletariat

• essay starts by looking at methods of reproduction on a mass scale in context of works of art - what effects do these copies have on the value of the original?
• originals seem to have more presence, status and authority (and suggest creative genius etc) than reproductions - Benjamin calls this ‘Aura’
• ability to reproduce art erodes the ‘Aura’ over time
• detaches the reproduced (original) from the traditional domain (it removes the traditional elitist control in the art world)
• no longer have to visit gallery/art owner’s house to see art because it is accessible to the masses, which allows us to react to it in our own way
• the original is no longer ‘unique’
• the ‘shrivelling’ of ‘Aura’ leads to the liquidation of the traditional value of cultural heritage (the culture of the elite) and replaces/modifies it with the culture of the masses
• democratises art
• in modern terms you no longer even have to travel to see art - you can see it online, on your own terms and rationalise/evaluate it in your own way
• plurality of copies diminishes the authority of the original and allows you to choose a version and think about it on your own terms
• ritualistic, cult-like view of art still exists
• comparison between religious pilgrimages and travelling to art gallery - in terms of Mona Lisa you have to travel to Paris, pay, queue for hours, walk up the stairs  (a symbol of raising yourself to the level of the art) to the ‘palace of culture’ and then walk past it in a queue to see it behind a glass case without any dialogue existing between you and the art
• art is ritualistic; you follow the coded rules of behaviour, thought and analysis (a picture makes you sad because you’re told it should)
• reproduction removes art from the ‘parasitic rituals’ of the art world
• Louise Lawler challenges status of art by photographing examples of art in unusual places

To an ever greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproduction

• Sherrie Levine tried to present a photographing replica of a famous Walker Evans photo as a new work of art and was taken to high court

The Cult of the Beautiful

• new technologies make the cult of the beautiful irrelevant
• when photography emerged realism in art was threatened and the art world resorted to creating subjective and abstract pieces of work that try to add emotion and present an ‘Aura’
• art was never meant to be seen by the masses, rather to be coveted and hidden by the elite and a certain strata of society

Collective Experience

Mechanical reproduction changes the reaction to the masses towards art. The reactionary attitude to toward a Picasso painting changes to a progressive reaction to a Chaplin movie. The progressive reaction is characterised by the direct, intimate fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert.

• with cinema, the film is presented to you to be evaluated and appreciated individually instead of being told what to take from it
• a shift from autocracy to democracy. films feel like we can judge their value whereas art is still dominated by cults of self-appointed experts coveting the mysticism of said art

Opposite to Adorno’s belief that mass production creates apathy - Benjamin suggests we’re not just manipulated; we have the ability to create our own views

• With hip-hop as an example of meaning being produced at the point of consumption (instead of mindlessly consuming); the use of jazz, soul and funk records being carefully mixed together to create a new song around which a culture developed that incorporated black empowerment.
• advancements on technology allow us to craft our own identity (you can now be part of a course from Yale via Youtube where traditionally it would cost hundreds of dollars)

Duhamel

• viewed cinema as a ‘diversion for uneducated, wretched, worn-out creatures who are consumed by their worries’

Conclusion

• ways of thinking about yourself and the world which make fascist dictatorships impossible (the mindset that there are geniuses, eternal value, autonomy is linked with the idea of fascism)
• if people think about the world (and art)as free of genius, mystical (better people making it) fascism will not hold influence over their minds
• shift from an autocratic culture to a world where people take charge of what they think and do

Task 4 - Essay proposal

Title:

Homophobia, Masculinity & Othering in Hip-Hop Music

Main Points:

• Homophobia and exaggerated masculinity are both common in hip-hop culture (particularly in the US)
• Exaggerated masculinity and subsequent othering plays a role in the perpetuation of homophobia
• Images used in the context of hip-hop help to solidify stereotypes and alienate homosexual rappers and potential audiences
• Has the history of racism and white-dominance had a role to play in the over-maculinisation of rappers in the early, black-dominated roots of the genre
• How is the overtly masculine/homophobic image of men in hip-hop music regarded in society
• What role does religion play in the homophobic area of hip-hop culture

Sources:

• Gauntlett, G (2002) “Media, Gender and Identity” London, Routledge
• Adams, R & Savran, D (eds) (2002) “The Masculinity Studies Reader”, Massachusetts, Blackwell Publishers
• Foucault, M (1998) “The History of Sexuality Vol III (The Will to Knowledge)”, London, Penguin

Task 3 - Constructing The Other

This article from The Independent is an example of the middle-class readership ‘othering’ low-income and working-class households.

The subject of the article is ‘pay-day’ loan companies, which are essentially loan-sharks, that offer loans to just about anyone but charge a phenomenal rate of interest so borrowers can end up being in huge amounts of debt for a relatively small loan.

I think this is a good example of othering because, while I do feel it is important that these businesses are shown for what they are and are subsequently far more regulated, the majority of readers of The Independent are likely to be wealthy enough and in secure enough jobs to not need the services of these companies. Therefore, the man featured in the article who ‘spiralled into debt’ because of his high-interest repayments is the ‘other’ because he is removed from and different to the readers.

The images, saturated in red for emphasis, are of websites, shop fronts and adverts belonging to the loan companies, which themselves are generally aimed at the working-class and naive young adults who are deemed to be more likely to need a quick fix for money problems. For instance, many of the adverts on TV show characters from the North (a stereotypically poorer area of the country) and narrated in a simple, ‘matey’ way to appeal to their target audience.

Task 2 - The Gaze

Memling, H (1485) ‘Vanity’, http://www.friendsofart.net/static/images/art1/hans-memling-vanity.jpg

Titian (1538) ‘Venus of Urbino’, http://www.arts-crafts-hobbiesanddiy.com/venus%20of%20urbino.jpg

Unwerth, E (2011) ‘Rosie Huntington- Whiteley’, GQ Magazine, http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/642x390/o_r/rhwhiteley8_gq_27may10_evunwerth_b.jpg

‘according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ (Berger 1972, 45, 47)

I think this contemporary image illustrates Berger’s statement concerning “the male gaze” clearly. The inclusion of the video camera, similar to the use of a mirror in Memling’s ‘Vanity’ to imply the subject is vain, suggests she is acting provocatively for the camera (and subsequently for the men who will then watch the video) and is therefore to blame for being sexually objectified.

Despite posing for an audience (the video camera), her closed eyes suggest she is unaware of the second audience (the photographer) and don’t meet the gaze of the audience. Foucault’s see/being seen dyad is therefore broken, allowing for objectification without being objectified in return.

There is also another interesting parallel between this picture and Titian’s ‘Venus of Urbino’, which both suggest the subject exists only to satisfy their husband (or sexual partner) respectively. They lay waiting in sexually provocative poses with no distraction.

At first the glamour industry’s depiction of women in comparison to nudes in classical art seemed odd and a little off-the-mark, however, it is interesting to consider the similarities despite the obvious differences in circumstance; the subject is being paid to pose for the image and the image is aimed at a male audience for sexual interest while representing a false reality.

Also, I can’t help feeling the phrase ‘mens mag’ only serves to perpetuate the attitude that “this is what men are supposed to look at and therefore you should too”.

A modern take on Venus of Urbino:

Lecture Notes: Popular Culture

What is culture?

• Raymond Williams says “it is the most complicated word in English language”.
• The general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development of a particular society at a particular time
• Works of intellectual and especially artistic significance

Who decides what culture is and is not?

Popular culture is:

• Well liked by many people
• Inferior kinds of works
• Works deliberately setting out to win favour with the masses
• Culture actually made by ‘the people’ themselves

Inferior or Residual Culture

• Popular press vs. Quality press
• Popular cinema vs. Art cinema
• Popular entertainment vs. Art culture

Art has been validated by the discourses “experts” have created.

Class Divisions

• Industrialisation brought workers to the city and led classes to divide into separate locations where working class/proletariat started making their own culture and demanded it be accepted and equal (as equal as possible).

Matthew Arnold - Culture & Anarchy

Culture is:

• “The best that has been thought and said in the world”
• Study of perfection
• Attained through disinterested reading, writing and thinking.
• Culture ‘polices’ “the raw and uncultivated masses”

Leavism - F.R Leavis + Q.D Leavis (Mass Civilisation & Minority Culture)

• Pop culture has caused our society to decline
• “Culture has always been in minority keeping” - “the minority who had hitherto set the standard of taste without any serious challenge has experience a collape”
• Viewed mass democracy as cultural anarchy

Frankfurt School - Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, Lowenthal, Benjamin

• Reinterpreted Marx for the 20th Century era of “late capitalism”
• Defined “the culture industry”
• 2 main products = Homogenity and Predictability
• “Flooding society with low quality, mindless products”
• “All mass culture is identical”
• Example: “as soon as the film begins it is quite clear how it will end and who will be rewarded”

Herbert Marcuse

• Popular culture vs. Affirmative culture
• Suggests pop culture is addictive
• “One dimensional man” -only thinking in the way you are ‘supposed to’
• “depoliticised the working class”

Products of the “culture industry”

• Reality TV
• National lottery

Both seen as ways to escape working class but only ‘taxes hope’ and creates apathy.

Adorno - ‘On Popular Music’

• Standardisation
• Mass produced commodity
• Monotony based on successful formulas
• Pseudo-individualisation = gimmick that makes product seem unique.
• Produces “passivity through rhythmic and emotional adjustment” and stops us questioning

DANCING TO THE RHYTHMS OF YOUR OWN OPPRESSION

Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (1963-2002)

• Looks at positive side and importance of working class and their culture
• Pop culture can be a ‘weapon’ against ruling society (e.g Punks in 70’s)

Conclusion

Cultural & civilisation tradition emerges from & represents anxieties about social and cultural expression. They attack mass culture because it threatens cultural standards and social authority.

Task 1 - Panopticism

The government’s proposal of mandatory Identification cards, which contain personal details, biometric measurements such as fingerprints and will be required in order to travel, work and even access the NHS will allow the government to conduct “meticulous and ever more analytical observation” and surveillance of its citizens. In the same way Bentham’s design was back-lit to allow constant scrutiny of the subject, the ID card will illuminate our behaviour and allow analysis and scrutiny of the citizen.

The individual will be “replaced with a multiplicity that can be numbered and supervised” and because it is “permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action”, it means the mere idea that we are being surveilled and judged is enough to make us “self-regulate” our behaviour. 

The “guardian” (in this case any government department) - with help from mainstream media - has made it clear what the implications of an identity card are, which plays into the idea that the subject (the citizen) “is seen, but does not see; he is the object of information” and will consciously adhere to the social expectations of behaviour in order to avoid punishment (also well documented by mainstream media) at the hands of the surveillor.

Foucault said of the Panopticon mechanism that “power should be visible and unverifiable”, which is certainly true in the case of identity cards because we know it is possible for us to be watched and monitored at anytime but have no idea when or what additional information may be gathered about us and stored in a database for the rest of our lives.