McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium is the Message.” From Durham, Meenakshi Gigi, and Douglas Kellner. Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2001, 107-117.
Argument
McLuhan addresses the focus of media critics on the content of new technology (TV, radio, film) rather than the effect and nature of these new, faster mediums themselves. The medium itself effects the society in which it exists to an even greater degree than the content it carries.
McLuhan uses the light bulb as a basic example. It does not have content, but changes society anyway by creating space in the dark. Similarly, a story about a heinous murder has less an effect on society due to the specific story itself then the fact that such a story will change attitudes and perceptions in society.
Critique
While I can see why McLuhan was considered a key scholar at the time, this essay feels a bit dated. I think post-modern media scholars (such as Jason Mittel in "A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory") have managed to heed McLuhan's advice and consider the nature of the medium itself, while simultaneously discussing content. While he makes important points about the power of the medium itself, I find his theories and argument rather elusive and tenuous.
Showing posts with label cultural criticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cultural criticism. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Gurstein - “On the obsolescence of "Puritanism" as an epithet.”
Gurstein, Rochelle. “On the obsolescence of "Puritanism" as an epithet.” From Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth, and Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn. Reconstructing History: The Emergence of a New Historical Society. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Argument
The term "Puritanism" was often used as an epithet by modernists such as H.L. Mencken and Margaret Sanger to criticize the attempts at censorship by Andrew Comstock and the Comstock Laws. Modernists such as Sanger celebrated the act of rebelling as a sign that they were on the forefront of positive change from traditional to modern world.
Gurstein concludes that, while freedom of speech and availability of birth control were positive outcomes, the argument has gone too far, forcing, for example, critics of pornography to demonstrate its relation to victims of sexual violence rather than arguing its negative effects on society as a whole. Thus, "Puritanism" as an epithet should be considered obsolete.
Key Terms
Modernity - Indirectly deals with modernity, and people who thought themselves modern relative to so-called-Puritans/those with Victorian values.
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
This relates closely to Hunter's Culture Wars who deals much more broadly and in a way more focused on religion on the cultural debates of the 80s and early 90s. (Gurstein writes in the late 90s, bracketing her discussion of early 20th century debates with contemporary issues.) The essay also somewhat relates to Lears' No Place of Grace which deals generally with antimodernists; however, the individuals Lears discusses do not agonize over slipping moral values as much as the psychic crisis they are dealing with in their rapidly changing world.
Argument
The term "Puritanism" was often used as an epithet by modernists such as H.L. Mencken and Margaret Sanger to criticize the attempts at censorship by Andrew Comstock and the Comstock Laws. Modernists such as Sanger celebrated the act of rebelling as a sign that they were on the forefront of positive change from traditional to modern world.
Gurstein concludes that, while freedom of speech and availability of birth control were positive outcomes, the argument has gone too far, forcing, for example, critics of pornography to demonstrate its relation to victims of sexual violence rather than arguing its negative effects on society as a whole. Thus, "Puritanism" as an epithet should be considered obsolete.
Key Terms
Modernity - Indirectly deals with modernity, and people who thought themselves modern relative to so-called-Puritans/those with Victorian values.
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
This relates closely to Hunter's Culture Wars who deals much more broadly and in a way more focused on religion on the cultural debates of the 80s and early 90s. (Gurstein writes in the late 90s, bracketing her discussion of early 20th century debates with contemporary issues.) The essay also somewhat relates to Lears' No Place of Grace which deals generally with antimodernists; however, the individuals Lears discusses do not agonize over slipping moral values as much as the psychic crisis they are dealing with in their rapidly changing world.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sontag - "Notes on Camp"
Sontag, Susan. “Notes on Camp.” From Against Interpretation: And Other Essays. New York: Dell Pub. Co, 1966.
Argument
If I may attempt to summarize a definition Sontag spends the entire essay grappling with, Camp is art, broadly defined, created with seriousness whose intended content is a failure and is thus appreciated, with nostalgia, ironic humor, and not too much cyncism, purely for its style.
It is almost impossible to intentionally produce camp, at least it is impossible to intentionally produce good camp.
Other Thoughts
Sontag's written reminded me of Bill Simmons's appreciation for "unintentional comedy."
She places homosexuals at the vanguard of camp taste, acknowledging that there is something propagandistic about that position. (That reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer deals with his homophobia as he interacts with the owner of a store that sells Camp-y knick-knacks.)
If anything, Camp has become more mainstream in the half-century since this essay was written. See: the Internet especially YouTube.
Argument
If I may attempt to summarize a definition Sontag spends the entire essay grappling with, Camp is art, broadly defined, created with seriousness whose intended content is a failure and is thus appreciated, with nostalgia, ironic humor, and not too much cyncism, purely for its style.
It is almost impossible to intentionally produce camp, at least it is impossible to intentionally produce good camp.
Other Thoughts
Sontag's written reminded me of Bill Simmons's appreciation for "unintentional comedy."
She places homosexuals at the vanguard of camp taste, acknowledging that there is something propagandistic about that position. (That reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer deals with his homophobia as he interacts with the owner of a store that sells Camp-y knick-knacks.)
If anything, Camp has become more mainstream in the half-century since this essay was written. See: the Internet especially YouTube.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Slater - The Pursuit of Loneliness
Slater, Philip Elliot. The Pursuit of Loneliness; American Culture at the Breaking Point. Revised Edition. Boston: Beacon Press, 1976.
Argument
Writing at about the same moment of American 70s malaise as Lasch (Culture of Narcissism) and Bell (The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism), Slater also begins with the assumption that America is in decline. He argues that three positive societal needs - community, engagement, and dependency - have been marginalized by American individualism. (p.33) Chapter two, "Kill Anything That Moves," expresses Slater's horror at the technological developments seen in the recent Vietnam war that allowed the American military to kill indiscriminately from the air with napalm and cluster bombs.
In chapter three, Slater briefly uses The Graduate along with a dash of Freud to critique familial relationships. He argues The Graduate shows how parents see their children in a "vimpiresque way. They feed on the child's accomplishments..." (p.66) Homebound mothers look to sons to provide the satisfaction and achievement they themselves cannot achieve and they cannot get from the absent working husband. Slater also critiques the concept of romantic love as another symptom of individual - a selfish belief that there is one match in the world that a person is meant to be with that leads the individual to close himself out to broader social relationships.
Chapter 5, "Divided We Sit," addresses countercultural movements that arose in the sixties. Slater approves of some of their ideas which encourage community and attack traditional romantic love notions. But he senses an undercurrent of individualism that encourages people to "do your own thing" without concern for the needs of the group. (p.128)
Proposed Solutions - Chapter 6 & 7
Slater proposes some radical (somewhat half-baked) ideas to address these problems. One goal he has is to remove the incentive to achieve wealth. To do this, Slater suggests a 100% tax on income beyond $100,000. He is also disgusted with inherited wealth, and similarly proposes strict limits on money that can be passed down to generations; he suggests estates be pooled and distributed fairly to all members of the following generation, perhaps in an education fund.
Use of Evidence
This is clearly written for a popular audience, and the footnotes are few and far between. Slater offers his own intellectual musings rather than rely on a body of research or connect with any other works.
Critique
Slater makes his claims without a strong base of evidence, so it is difficult to take him seriously. It feels like he is just throwing ideas up in the air. Still, he fits right into the Bell/Lasch category in underlying tone, if not in academic rigor. I'm not quite sure how useful a read this was, but it certainly was a change of pace from the academicky stuff I have been grinding through.
Argument
Writing at about the same moment of American 70s malaise as Lasch (Culture of Narcissism) and Bell (The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism), Slater also begins with the assumption that America is in decline. He argues that three positive societal needs - community, engagement, and dependency - have been marginalized by American individualism. (p.33) Chapter two, "Kill Anything That Moves," expresses Slater's horror at the technological developments seen in the recent Vietnam war that allowed the American military to kill indiscriminately from the air with napalm and cluster bombs.
In chapter three, Slater briefly uses The Graduate along with a dash of Freud to critique familial relationships. He argues The Graduate shows how parents see their children in a "vimpiresque way. They feed on the child's accomplishments..." (p.66) Homebound mothers look to sons to provide the satisfaction and achievement they themselves cannot achieve and they cannot get from the absent working husband. Slater also critiques the concept of romantic love as another symptom of individual - a selfish belief that there is one match in the world that a person is meant to be with that leads the individual to close himself out to broader social relationships.
Chapter 5, "Divided We Sit," addresses countercultural movements that arose in the sixties. Slater approves of some of their ideas which encourage community and attack traditional romantic love notions. But he senses an undercurrent of individualism that encourages people to "do your own thing" without concern for the needs of the group. (p.128)
Proposed Solutions - Chapter 6 & 7
Slater proposes some radical (somewhat half-baked) ideas to address these problems. One goal he has is to remove the incentive to achieve wealth. To do this, Slater suggests a 100% tax on income beyond $100,000. He is also disgusted with inherited wealth, and similarly proposes strict limits on money that can be passed down to generations; he suggests estates be pooled and distributed fairly to all members of the following generation, perhaps in an education fund.
Use of Evidence
This is clearly written for a popular audience, and the footnotes are few and far between. Slater offers his own intellectual musings rather than rely on a body of research or connect with any other works.
Critique
Slater makes his claims without a strong base of evidence, so it is difficult to take him seriously. It feels like he is just throwing ideas up in the air. Still, he fits right into the Bell/Lasch category in underlying tone, if not in academic rigor. I'm not quite sure how useful a read this was, but it certainly was a change of pace from the academicky stuff I have been grinding through.
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