Theories of CultureTheories of Culture

February 17February 17thth

How Culture WorksHow Culture Works

• 2 views of what culture does:

Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

Dominant IdeologyDominant Ideology

• A dominant ideology is a set of ideas that prevail in a society in a given time period.

• As Marx says, “In every age, the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class.”

• In this view, culture tells us what to think and do. Culture makes it very hard to rebel and to do things differently. Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

Tool-KitTool-Kit

• A tool-kit is a set of resources—knowledge, experiences, ideas—that we draw from to make decisions, construct our lives, and make sense of the world.

• This view of culture emphasizes human agency and says that culture gives us a set of optional ways to engage the world. Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

Culture Can Be PowerfulCulture Can Be Powerful• Both of these views start with the

assumption that culture can be powerful. It can tell us what to do, or it can serve as a weapon in our arsenal.

• But they also recognize that culture might not be powerful. It may tell us to do something that we refuse to do, or it may be an ineffective weapon. Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

Cultural PossibilitiesCultural Possibilities

Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

Culture that Works

Culture that does not Work

The First AxisThe First Axis• We cannot solve the debate about

whether culture is a dominant ideology or a toolkit. The reality is that both are true, depending upon the form of culture, its relationship to the recipient, and the actual experience the recipient has with culture.

• At times we are passive dupes to culture; at times we are empowered by culture.

Dominant Ideology

Toolkit

The Second AxisThe Second Axis

• Schudson wants to focus on why some culture works and other culture fails.

• Culture that works may succeed in producing a dominant ideology (it actually influences us) or it may succeed in being a useful resource.

• In my view, the video from this week illustrates culture that powerfully creates a dominant ideology, but does entirely describe all popular culture.

Culture that Works

Culture that does not Work

The 5 Dimensions of Cultural The 5 Dimensions of Cultural PotencyPotency

• Schudson suggests 5 aspects of culture that can help us to understand why some culture works and other culture does not.

• This does not yield a quantitative formula where we simply tally up the dimensions that are upheld and culture with the biggest total wins. It’s more complicated than that.

• But we need to think about all 5 dimensions to make sense of why some culture succeeds where some other cultural forms fail.

RetrievabilityRetrievability

• Key Question: Can you get it? – How do you get access to this piece of culture?– How does the access compare with other forms of

culture?– How many people can get to it?– Does wealth, race, gender, education or some other

issue produce unequal access?

• Location of analysis: where the item sits in social structure.

Rhetorical ForceRhetorical Force

• Key Question: Is it powerful?– Does it have anything eye-catching,

memorable or catchy in it, such as a great beat, a sexy image, or a slogan you can chant (wassup,

– How does the item communicate? What tools does it use to communicate?

• Location of Analysis: the content of the culture itself.

ResonanceResonance

• Key question: Does the item tap into an on-going conversation? – Is there some piece of the content that is “ripped from the

headlines?”– Does the cultural item help us to explore an on-going social

issue? – For instance, notice any messages about imperialism in the

last Star Wars movie, or about just war in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

– Location of analysis: the content of the culture and its relationship to the audience.

Institutional RetentionInstitutional Retention

• Key Question: are there any formal or informal pressures to engage this piece of culture?– Do formal institutions—schools, corporations, the political

system, etc.—push the cultural item on you in any way, such as when a school assigns a novel?

– Do formal institutions discourage you from using this culture, such as when a business refuses to give tech support to a Mac user, or when a school bans a novel.

– Informally, has engaging this piece of culture become a norm, or does it violate a norm?

• Location of analysis: Formal institutions and social norms.

ResolutionResolution

• Key question: Does it give you something to do?– Are there more products you can buy?– Is there a sequel? A website? An event to go to? A

book to read?– Does it give you a checklist to help you act on it?– Do you finish with the cultural item and know what to

do next?

• Location of analysis: the message of the cultural item and its relationship to other items and activities.

SummarySummary

• Our goal, as students of the sociology of popular culture, is to use these 5 dimensions of culture as tools in conducting comparative content analyses that examine how culture works as a mechanism for the transmission of values.