Tags: art/music, capitalism, commodification, consumption/consumerism, media, social mvmts/social change/resistance, theory, creativity, culture industry, frankfurt school, mass production, max horkheimer, theodor adorno, subtitles/CC, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2009 Length: 2:12 Access: YouTube Summary: In their chapter entitled "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" from their book Dialectic of Enlightenment, critical theorists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer conceptualize power as an absolute, all-encompassing force, driven at unrelenting speed by the engine of capitalism. They argue that culture is an important site where power in contemporary society is demonstrated; here, cultural productions have transformed from pure art forms to gimmicky imitations in which the aesthetic appeal is now simply a response to consumers' "tastes" and the goal is no longer to evoke truth but rather to merely “entertain.” Horkheimer and Adorno refer to this routinized and commodified feature of contemporary culture as the culture industry. This short montage of various scenes from different Disney movies is one illustration of how cultural products can be seen as an imitation of one another, recycled formulas sold to cultural consumers as entertainment. As an assignment or topic for class discussion, students can be encouraged to cite other examples of interchangeable formulas sold in popular culture through the mass media, which might include formulaic narratives, images, and characters sold through hip hop, action movies, soap operas, romance novels, among many others. Yet, students can also be encouraged to critique Horkheimer and Adorno's totalizing take on the culture industry, as they essentially argue that there is no escape; even when we believe we are freely making choices in the cultural marketplace or, worse yet, even if we recognize the culture industry’s suffocating strength and intentionally try to resist it, our actions and cultural creations have already “been noted by the industry” and become part of the system. Since present-day art is only a vehicle for entertainment and amusement, it is stripped of emotion, tragedy, and truth, and merely exists to appease and distract us. In this state, we are defenseless and unable to resist. As such, the cultural actor “creating” under capitalism’s oppressive rules is (often unknowingly) fated for unoriginal imitation. According to this theory, none of us are actually behaving as individuals and our creations, which are in essence predictable simulations of other commodities circulating in the culture industry, ultimately fuel the engine of capitalism’s absolute power and the monopoly of mass culture. Do students agree that they are cultural dupes and incapable of original artistic creation and innovation? And what does cultural creation and consumption have to do with "resistance" and "distraction"? Distraction from what? Finally, can students think of examples of popular cultural creations that serve to challenge capitalistic power and the status quo? How would Horkheimer and Adorno respond to these examples? Submitted By: Valerie Chepp
2 Comments
Paul Flores Tags: art/music, immigration/citizenship, nationalism, social construction, race/ethnicity, theory, war/military, culture, latino/a, poetry, racism, stuart hall, symbolic interaction, subtitles/CC, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2010 Length: 2:18 Access: YouTube Summary: I first started using Paul Flores' spoken word poem with adult intermediate English language learners as an example of an activity called "list poems," where students explore different ways of expressing descriptions with one adjective (here, "brown"). The students write their own list poems, we share them, and then we talk about how meaning is social—how the context in which the descriptor is used, the social interaction itself, and the ways the participants interpret both the words and the interaction, shape the meanings made of the words. In teaching sociology, I would place this activity in a discussion of social theory—perhaps in a discussion of social constructionism, symbolic interaction, or cultural studies. Stuart Hall, for example, describes the making and sharing of meaning as a social process. It is possible to see the social process of meaning-making here in the different feelings one might get from the poem when reading it silently as compared to watching it performed, or when reading/viewing it alone as compared to reading/ viewing it with others. The poem can be read at www.marcusshelby.com. Submitted By: Margaret Austin Smith Tags: art/music, bodies, discourse/language, gender, sex/sexuality, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2011 Length: 2:25 Access: YouTube Summary: In a recent post entitled, "The Clitoris: Most. Awkward. Discussion. Ever!" Sociologist Sarah Nell Rusche draws attention to the way culture and power act as a guiding force, "not only for what gets constructed as acceptable sexuality, but also comfortable conversation topics." Rusche begins by recounting her rather awkward experience of saying the word "clitoris" to a classroom full of snickering undergraduates. The above clip might be a way to move past the anxieties students typically have about discussing sex and sexuality. In only 2 minutes and 25 seconds, the clip (created by loveyourvagina.com) compiles a massive list of possible nicknames for vaginas into a song. More than an ice-breaker, the clip could also be used to introduce, trigger, or promote a rich discussion related to the representations and language associated with sex in American culture. It could also be a way of drawing attention to the meaning and purpose behind the countless euphemisms used to describe the penis, the clitoris and the downtown dining and entertainment district. Submitted By: Jessica Leveto Tags: art/music, discourse/language, knowledge, media, advertising, art history, culture, feminism, film studies, media literacy, representation, semiotics, sociology of culture, walter benjamin, subtitles/CC, 61+ mins Year: 1972 Length: 120:00 Access: YouTube (Episode 1: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4) (Episode 2: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4) (Episode 3: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4) (Episode 4: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4) Summary: This classic BBC miniseries, narrated by John Berger, critically examines Western visual culture from the Renaissance to today (or at least 1972). Together, four episodes focus on the role of context in creating meaning, the male gaze, and the different functions of depictions of wealth in early modern and late modern imagery. In episode 1, Berger remarks on the way meanings and interpretations of paintings and photographs can vary depending on context. For instance, the way in which a viewer sees an image can change depending on how the viewer confronts the image. In episode 2, Berger draws on paintings and photography to explore his thesis that Western culture is one in which "Men look at Women," and "Women watch themselves being looked at," thus locating the nude in Western art as an objectification of women. In episodes 3 and 4, Berger argues that oil painting was a medium, which celebrated the privileged lifestyle of European aristocrats. If oil painting was developed to represent the texture and tangibility of objects, then color photography serves a similar function today and is carried forward in the work of advertisers. Clips from Ways of Seeing can be used as an effective way to introduce students to the study of semiotics, and more broadly, the sociology of culture. Submitted By: Matt Tags: art/music, media, race/ethnicity, comedy, representation, stereotyping, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2006 Length: 6:58 Access: Dailymotion Summary: Danny Hoch tells his story of almost appearing on the hit sitcom, Seinfeld, which ran successfully for nine seasons until finally ending in 1998. In the clip, Hoch explains that he was cast as Ramone, "the pool guy," a character who awkwardly attempts to befriend Jerry Seinfeld, gets rejected, and eventually exacts his revenge by stuffing dirty towels in Jerry's locker. On the set, Hoch was unexpectedly asked to play his character as a stereotypical Latino with a heavy Spanish accent. Much to the chagrin of his agent, Hoch ultimately denied the request and never appeared on the show. Still his story serves to illustrate the way stereotypes continue to find their way into popular comedies. Upon refusing to act the stereotype, Hoch recalls Jerry Seinfeld's exasperated response, "Why? Is it derogatory?" While Hoch leaves this question unanswered, instructors can usefully press students for their answers. As I have argued in other posts, racialized stereotypes have a particularly troubling history in American cinema (e.g., here, here, here, here, and here), making it worthwhile to investigate why they are so persistent. Hoch's backstage account of his experience on the set of Seinfeld is a rare look at how racist stereotypes are reproduced in popular sitcoms. Among other things, the clip illustrates a form of institutional racism. Although Hoch ultimately walked away from the project, one can see how well meaning individuals often reproduce such stereotypes because they are pressured to conform to the demands of institutional patterns. Submitted By: Lester Andrist DJDave raps about consumption at Whole Foods Tags: art/music, class, consumption/consumerism, environment, food/agriculture, health/medicine, marketing/brands, theory, conspicuous consumption, privilege, thorstein veblen, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2011 Length: 3:55 Access: YouTube Summary: In this rap parody, DJDave (aka David Wittman) raps about his frustrations shopping at Whole Foods, which includes over-priced grocery items, loud shoppers on I-Phones, and over-crowded parking lots. To illustrate useful sociological concepts using this YouTube summer sensation, instructors can begin by simply asking students: Why is this video funny? Instructors can facilitate a conversation about middle- and upper-class consumption practices; specifically, the clip might be useful in a class discussion on Veblen's notion of conspicuous consumption, whereby upper-class consumers carry out very specific consumption practices in an effort to wield social power, whether real or perceived, thereby conveying a particular social status. The video's portrayal of a "typical" Whole Foods shopper involves a host of recognizable consumption patterns, including the foods they eat (organic chicken, kale salad, pinot noir, gourmet cheese, quinoa, kombucha tea), the cars they drive (e.g., a hybrid, Prius, Mini Cooper), the health practices they engage (yoga, cleansing diets), the gadgets they use (I-Phones), and even the social justice initiatives they are financially able to support (e.g., the environment, natural/organic/sustainable foods). A critical perspective might involve a conversation around whether health is a class privilege, pointing to the high costs associated with a healthy American lifestyle. Instructors can further unpack the humor of the clip to illustrate sociological insight by pointing to the choice of musical genre deployed. Given that rap music's origins are largely rooted in a form of social commentary on the struggles of poor and working-class urban communities of color, the "struggles" that Whole Foods shoppers endure while purchasing groceries is clearly cast tongue-in-cheek. Like other clips featured on The Sociological Cinema, this rap parody shows the ways in which art can provide a useful medium for social commentary, as well as sociological insight (e.g., see here). Submitted By: Valerie Chepp
Tags: art/music, consumption/consumerism, environment, gender, knowledge, marketing/brands, media, social mvmts/social change/resistance, culture jam, détournement, guerrilla semiotics, sociology of culture, subvertising, 00 to 05 mins
Year: (1) 2007; (2) 2008 Length: (1) 1:20; (2) 1:27 Access: (1) YouTube: "Onslaught" (Dove) (2) YouTube: "Onslaught(er)" (Greenpeace) Summary: The pair of clips above by Dove and Greenpeace are excellent examples of commercials which appear to transcend the narrow concern of increasing market share and actually aim to promote social justice. However, more cynical viewers will likely protest that, at least in regards to the Dove spot, the appearance of corporate social responsibility is little more than a sophisticated marketing ploy. By attempting to raise public awareness about the role visual media play in rigidly defining what counts as attractive and truly feminine, Dove is actually attempting to position itself as a responsible brand. In response, Greenpeace created a spoof of the ad, but unlike the original version, viewers are not urged to talk to their daughters before the beauty industry does; rather, they are urged to talk to Dove about Dove's use of palm oil and its role in the destruction of Indonesian forests in order to harvest this oil. The Greenpeace clip can be understood as a practice of détournement, which is a concept originally developed by a Paris-based group of radical artists known as the Letterist International. Détournement refers to the practice of "finding" an artifact, then reconfiguring or re-situating it with the goal of making it newly relevant. The reconfigured artifact typically suggests ideas, which are in opposition to the those promoted by the creator of the original artifact. Thus a commercial about a caring company which bravely invests in exposing dangerous media messages about feminine beauty standards is reworked to expose the caring company's role in the destruction of Indonesian lowland forest. This post is just one in a growing number of posts on The Sociological Cinema, which feature examples of détournement or what is sometimes called culture jamming (see here, here, and here). In the sociological classroom, the clip might work well as a way to discuss what sociologists mean by culture and cultural resistance, which often involves the transformation of meanings and meaning-making practices. Submitted By: Lester Andrist Tags: art/music, children/youth, discourse/language, education, knowledge, pedagogy, performance poetry, spoken word, 11 to 20 mins Year: 2011 Length: 18:29 Access: TED Talks Summary: In this TED Talk, 22-year-old spoken word poet Sarah Kay discusses her personal and professional experience with spoken word performance poetry. Throughout the talk, Kay highlights the pedagogical possibilities of spoken word, describing the ways in which New York City’s Bowery Poetry Club became her “classroom” when she was just 14 years old, as well as her current educational work with students across the country, using spoken word as a site of engagement. Such pedagogical possibilities point to the ways in which spoken word poetry might serve as a productive site for sociological analysis as well, in that it provides an accessible and entertaining medium through which students can “figure things out,” allowing them to draw upon their personal stories and experiences to explore something previously unknown to them. Echoing insights from C.W. Mills, Kay describes the pedagogical utility of using our personal stories (i.e., biographies) as a way through which to discover and connect to social phenomena “out there," seemingly detached from our own lives (i.e., history). As sociology instructors, we can draw upon this pedagogical approach. A class assignment might ask students to write (and perform) a spoken word poem about a topic germane to the class content; this can involve an explicit requirement for students to weave their personal stories into a potentially abstract sociological concept or subject area (the subject can be anything, e.g., social networks, gender violence, disability, stratification, hegemonic masculinity, rural poverty, conspicuous consumption, etc). This video clip can serve as an introduction to the assignment, providing a background on spoken word performance poetry; Kay also offers a few poetry writing exercises in the clip. Examples of how spoken word poetry can serve as a site for sociological analysis can be found here and here on The Sociological Cinema. Other TED Talks on the site can be found here, here, and here. Submitted By: Valerie Chepp Tags: art/music, bodies, commodification, gender, inequality, intersectionality, media, race/ethnicity, sex/sexuality, social mvmts/social change/resistance, hip hop, masculinity, poetry, popular culture, sexism, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2002 Length: 3:16 Access: YouTube Summary: Spoken word artist, Sarah Jones, performs at Def Poetry Jam. Remixing Gil Scott Heron's famous piece, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Jones asserts "your revolution will not happen between these thighs," drawing attention to the assertions around power and privilege that are made in hip hop lyrics at the expense of women. Jones points to what the "real" revolutionary potential of hip hop might entail. Submitted By: Valerie Chepp Tags: art/music, gender, media, inequality, sex/sexuality, social mvmts/social change/resistance, feminism, lady gaga, popular culture, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2009 Length: 2:44 Access: YouTube Summary: In this clip, Lady Gaga explicitly articulates feminist sensibilities, most notably critiquing the sexual double standard that exists for men and women. Yet, when asked by the interviewer whether she is a feminist, Lady Gaga responds, "I'm not a feminist. I hail men. I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars, and muscle cars." Here we see the ways in which feminism is misunderstood and how celebrities (and people in general) distance themselves from claiming feminist identities, even when they agree with feminist ideals and are disadvantaged by patriarchal structures. This clip is useful for initiating a discussion with students about the meaning of feminism and questions around why people might disassociate themselves with feminism. Submitted By: Valerie Chepp |
Tags
All
.
Got any videos?
Are you finding useful videos for your classes? Do you have good videos you use in your own classes? Please consider submitting your videos here and helping us build our database!
|