McRobbie, Angela. Postmodernism and Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 1994.
Happy Thanksgiving! I just finished my grading, which gives me... 1 week after break without grading to continue comp reading. Ugh. The grind continues...
Argument
In this collection of essays, McRobbie argues for a feminist postmodernism. "...a feminist postmodernism forces us to confront questions which otherwise remain unasked...we also find our academic practice and our politics undergoing some degree of transformation and change." (p.2) She goes on to say (on page 9) that the essays focus on "some aspect of social change." McRobbie uses feminist postmodernism to explore "how social relations are conducted" in popular culture. Thus, popular culture studies symbolize and reveal the experience of change.
Part I - "Postmodernity and Cultural Studies" [4 historiographic essays]
It seems to me, and perhaps this is an indication of how my brain works and how I learn, that collections of essays like this one are often organized backwards. I would prefer to start with examples of what the author is doing (as McRobbie offers in the last section) and then finish with an overview of the field, thus placing the author's work amongst the work of others. Of course, the historiography always comes first in a dissertation, and in a book proposal; the habit must emerge from those understandible practices.
Anyway, these four essays blur together in my memory. They discussa range of authors that are somewhat familiar, and who I have read only a tiny portion of. I'll list most of them below, for future reference, as well as to highlight names McRobbie is particularly interested in-
1 - "Postmodernism and Popular Culture": Jean Baudrillard, Umberto Eco, Dick Hebdige, Andreas Huyssen, Frederic Jameson, Susan Sontag, Gore Vidal
Originally written in 1986, McRobbie defends postmodernism. (p.23) "The reason why postmodernism appeals to a wider number of young people [and intellectuals]...is that they themselves are experiencing the enforced fragmentation of impermanent work and low career opportunities. Far from being overwhelmed by media saturation, there is evidence to suggest that these social groups and minorities are putting it to work for them. This alone should prompt the respect and the attention of an older generation which seems at present too eager to embrace a sense of political hopelessness."
2 - "New Times in Cultural Studies": Jameson, Stuart Hall, Jacques Lacan, Louis Althusser, Hebdige, Sontag, Zizek, Frank Mort, Andre Gorz, David Harvey
Originally written in 1991, McRobbie explains the term "New Times," a term coined in Britain, and connoting the social and political upheavals of the 1980s.
3 - "Post-Marxism and Cultural Studies": Homi Bhaba, John Fiske, Stuart Hall, David Harvey, Jameson, Ernesto Laclau, bell hooks
This 1992 essay discusses the state of Marxism, connecting it to postmodernist cultural studies. McRobbie admits the state of Marxism's usefulness remains unclear, but she is far from dismissive of it.
4 - "Feminism, Postmodernism and the 'Real Me'": Bhaba, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, Stuart Hall, David Harvey, Jameson, Laclau, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
"The passage of feminism into the 1990s should not be seen... as a process of political dismemberment, leaving behind a sadly dispersed band of individuals... Nor should it be understood, after postmodernism, as a politics of difference based simply on pluralism, on everyone going their own way. In short the strength of feminism lies in its ability to create discourse, to dispute, to negotiate the boundaries and the barriers, and also to take issue with the various feminisms which have sprung into being."
Part II - Key Figures in Cultural Theory
Essays on the work of Susan Sontag and Walter Benjamin, and an interview with Gayatari Chakravorty Spivak.
Part III -Youth, Media, Postmodernity [McRobbie's own work]
McRobbie delves deep into various aspects of youth culture, using sociology, cultural analysis, and her own journalistic observations. These essays were all written in the early 1990s.
8 - "Second-Hand Dresses and the Role of the Ragmarket": A discussion of the emergence of "retro-style" dress. McRobbie does a particularly good job of analyzing not only the clothes of youth, but the place where those clothes are displayed and purchased. Her conclusions are somewhat incomplete. She notes that the frequent criticism that retro-style dress is a characteristic of rich kids, and thus demonstrates their disconnect from the poor they claim to be trying to connect with, is no longer accurate- students are often poor and the working-class itself is no longer predominantly employed in (and dressed for) the factory. The pastiche style of dress reflects a common theme of postmodernism that McRobbie observes elsewhere, but she hesitates to explain its precise significance. She also notes that the designer is playing less of a role in fashion trends then commonly assumed.
9 - "Shut up and Dance: Youth Culture and Changing Modes of Femininity": This essay is typical of McRobbie's "Feminist Postmodernism" project. She offers numerous examples of "how fluid gender practices and meaning structures are." (157) The replacement of Jackie with Just Seventeen as the most popular magazine for girls from 12 to 16 is a positive move from a magazine that emphasizes a more traditional perception of the female as an object and victim of romance to a more autonomous being with a wider (at least relatively) range of identities. She brackets the essay with a personal anecdote about her parental worries about her daughter attending raves, noting that the underlying importance of the rave for youth culture is its separation from adult supervision, thus allowing the freedom for experimentation (drugs, sexuality) as the youth seeks his/her own identity.
10- "Different, Youthful, Subjectivities: Towards a Cultural Sociology of Youth": This essay reviews work on youth in both sociology and cultural studies in an attempt to bring them closer together. Her conclusion explains, (194) "...the emphasis in this chapter has been to encourage cultural studies away from an exclusive concern with texts and meanings, this is not to say that such an approach has no value and meanings, this is not to say that such an approach has no value whatsoever. Here I have been arguing for a return, not to the real world, as it is sometimes seen, but rather to the terrain of how young people live and how they experience the changed world around them."
11- "The Moral Panic in the Age of the Postmodern Mass Media": "Moral Panics" are moments of extraordinary public anxiety toward a particular incident of violence that are acted out in the news media. The term was analyzed in depth by Stan Cohen in his 1980 book Folk Devils and Moral Panics. McRobbie includes an examination of how a moral panic works through mass media.
Critique
McRobbie is an excellent writer, and a creative researcher making this book a difficult yet enjoyable read. Occasionally, she is too Britain-centric for an American reader, but most of the time this is not a problem. Part I is somewhat dated, but individual essays from parts II and III could be useful for a graduate seminar.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Comstock and Scharrer - Television
Comstock, George A., and Erica Scharrer. Television: What's on, Who's Watching, and What It Means. San Diego: Academic Press, 1999.
Gist
This is a synthesis of television laboratory-type studies and quantitative research. The authors reviewed a vast array of data and analyzed its meaning for the medium of television.
Key Arguments (by chapter)
Chapter 1 - There were three eras of American television. 1.) The early years - late 1940s-1950s. 2.) Equilibrium - 1960s-70s, 3 networks spread over rising number of stations 3.) Transition - 1980s to present (1999), rise of cable and number of stations in general
Chapter 2 - Focuses on commercials, studies about their form, public opinion of, and effectiveness. Nothing too surprising here.
Chapter 3 - How people watch. Again, nothing I haven't heard.
Chapter 4 - News is controlled by gatekeepers, and shaped by journalists who strive for objectivity. However, it is also designed to be viewer-friendly and to attract viewers. The numbers of viewers who watch some form of TV news is surprisingly high, even among younger viewers, but their retention is surprisingly low.
Chapter 5 - Television has become increasingly important in politics since the 1952 election, with the Nixon-Kennedy and then Carter-Ford debates as key moments. The authors focus on Presidential elections in this chapter. They conclude that debates receive a high amount of attention but have little effect on the election results.
Chapter 6 - How does television news shape public thought and action? Observations include: "relevance to the consumer and magnitude of the occurrence" are the two key factors in determining whether a viewer will take action because of some threat or other news story. As newspaper reading declines, television is becoming more influential in setting the civic attention.
Chapter 7 - Does television have an adverse effect on scholastic performance? (262) "Viewing not only interferes with and displaces scholastic endeavors but also shapes the motives and directs the preferences of the young toward the trivial and the banal."
Chapter 8 - Does television lead to antisocial behavior? (310) The Surgeon General "was correct in arguing that television violence increases aggressiveness." It also influences illegal and harmful behavior, social functioning of the young.
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
Putnam's thesis, that civic participation has declined in inverse proportion to television's rise, is noted, expanded upon, and somewhat complicated. The authors conclude that the news media serves interested voters positively, and could find no inverse relationship between TV news or newspaper reading and political participation.
Critique
There is a wealth of useful information synthesized in this book. Unfortunately, little to no effort was put toward the prose. Some sections read like this, "X and Y studied this problem, with these results. A and B studied this problem in a slightly different way, with these results. We, the authors, support the results of A and B for these reasons." Clearly, a vast amount of work was done in compiling this work. But this book could have benefited from a year's worth of editing, moving the studies into footnotes and actually writing an interesting argument based on the data. I hope I never fall into the trap of writing a book like this.
Gist
This is a synthesis of television laboratory-type studies and quantitative research. The authors reviewed a vast array of data and analyzed its meaning for the medium of television.
Key Arguments (by chapter)
Chapter 1 - There were three eras of American television. 1.) The early years - late 1940s-1950s. 2.) Equilibrium - 1960s-70s, 3 networks spread over rising number of stations 3.) Transition - 1980s to present (1999), rise of cable and number of stations in general
Chapter 2 - Focuses on commercials, studies about their form, public opinion of, and effectiveness. Nothing too surprising here.
Chapter 3 - How people watch. Again, nothing I haven't heard.
Chapter 4 - News is controlled by gatekeepers, and shaped by journalists who strive for objectivity. However, it is also designed to be viewer-friendly and to attract viewers. The numbers of viewers who watch some form of TV news is surprisingly high, even among younger viewers, but their retention is surprisingly low.
Chapter 5 - Television has become increasingly important in politics since the 1952 election, with the Nixon-Kennedy and then Carter-Ford debates as key moments. The authors focus on Presidential elections in this chapter. They conclude that debates receive a high amount of attention but have little effect on the election results.
Chapter 6 - How does television news shape public thought and action? Observations include: "relevance to the consumer and magnitude of the occurrence" are the two key factors in determining whether a viewer will take action because of some threat or other news story. As newspaper reading declines, television is becoming more influential in setting the civic attention.
Chapter 7 - Does television have an adverse effect on scholastic performance? (262) "Viewing not only interferes with and displaces scholastic endeavors but also shapes the motives and directs the preferences of the young toward the trivial and the banal."
Chapter 8 - Does television lead to antisocial behavior? (310) The Surgeon General "was correct in arguing that television violence increases aggressiveness." It also influences illegal and harmful behavior, social functioning of the young.
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
Putnam's thesis, that civic participation has declined in inverse proportion to television's rise, is noted, expanded upon, and somewhat complicated. The authors conclude that the news media serves interested voters positively, and could find no inverse relationship between TV news or newspaper reading and political participation.
Critique
There is a wealth of useful information synthesized in this book. Unfortunately, little to no effort was put toward the prose. Some sections read like this, "X and Y studied this problem, with these results. A and B studied this problem in a slightly different way, with these results. We, the authors, support the results of A and B for these reasons." Clearly, a vast amount of work was done in compiling this work. But this book could have benefited from a year's worth of editing, moving the studies into footnotes and actually writing an interesting argument based on the data. I hope I never fall into the trap of writing a book like this.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Hunter - Culture Wars
Hunter, James Davison. Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. New York: BasicBooks, 1991.
I've hit a busy stretch with job search reading and grading, but I managed to grind out Culture Wars, so let's get right to it...
Scope & Argument (and connection to Election Night 2010)
Published about a year before Clinton's election and three years before the 1994 Republican Revolution, Hunter describes the cultural tension between conservative Orthodox religious groups (Protestant, Catholic, & Jewish) and Progressivists in America from the late-1970s. On its shallowest level, this is a book about the key political issues contested by the two sides. Going deeper, it is about the core Religious beliefs held by both sides that make it nearly impossible for both sides to engage in a constructive debate. (Using a broad definition, Hunter argues that even the moral framework under which the most secular Progressives act constitutes a Religious belief. p.119)
Hunter levels some criticism at the media, which boils dialogue down to short soundbites and thus adds to the polarity of cultural and political discourse. But most of all, the problems lies with the methods and language of both sides. Admittedly, it is difficult to foster a polite discourse between two sides with such drastically different core values. Nevertheless, Hunter shows how both sides seek to discredit the opposition rather than understand, de-legitimize rather than engage, and describe with hyperbole rather than fairness.
Indeed, it is ironic that I am writing this on the night of the 2010 election, one of the most bitter in recent memory. It feels to most observers that America has never been so divided. The campaigns seemed to emphasize this division, with ever-increasing negativity typifying races across the country. Furthermore in light of the economic woes, there is a strong anti-incumbent mood. The Tea Party seems to have taken advantage of the setting, channeling voter anger towards their anti-government, libertarian message. Conspicuously absent from the main Tea Party (and indeed, Republican) professed ideals is a strong emphasis on Orthodox religion. Their influence, even on the right, seems to have faded somewhat, perhaps after the failure of Bush II. Perhaps 1994 was their pinnacle, a point that supports Hunter's argument in 1991 that, contrary to what some observers believed and in light of the decline of the Moral Majority and televangelist scandals, the Orthodox right had not run out of steam.
Hunter correctly describes the important coalition between neo-conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and the Orthodox (socio-cultural conservatives) that led to Ronald Reagan. I wonder if perhaps this coalition has re-aligned slightly, taking more of a libertarian stance in 2010. We shall see how the Tea Party candidates mesh with the Republican party once tonight's turnover is in place.
Key term
secular humanism - The Orthodox "dirty-word" for the Progressivist agenda which the Orthodox say is anti-religious belief and anti- moral absolutes. The Progressivists respond by saying they are merely upholding American ideals of nonsectarianism and individual autonomy and responsibility. (202-3, 206)
Outline
Hunter spends parts I-III describing the historical roots of the conflict, drawing the fault lines, explaining their respective moral visions, and comparing the discourse of the two sides. Part IV describes, in turn, five "fields of conflict" - family, education, media and arts, law, and electoral politics.
Critique
This is a splendidly written book, accessible to a wide audience. The introduction sets Hunter's balanced tone brilliantly, with a series of "dispatches" from the culture front, each revealing the background and beliefs of key actors on both sides of key conflicts. Thus, Hunter humanizes both sides, giving the reader a chance to develop sympathy and understanding towards the characters. The balanced tone continues throughout, as Hunter delves into both sides of controversies with fairness and understanding. The book is itself, thus, a model of a better discourse.
Recommendation
Most of my friends, from the more Orthodox who tend toward conservatism to the more Progressive, could learn from this book. I wonder what each side's reaction would be? My gut tells me an Orthodox reader would have a more difficult time with the scholarly tone, detached as it is from the Orthodox conception of a moral authority.
I've hit a busy stretch with job search reading and grading, but I managed to grind out Culture Wars, so let's get right to it...
Scope & Argument (and connection to Election Night 2010)
Published about a year before Clinton's election and three years before the 1994 Republican Revolution, Hunter describes the cultural tension between conservative Orthodox religious groups (Protestant, Catholic, & Jewish) and Progressivists in America from the late-1970s. On its shallowest level, this is a book about the key political issues contested by the two sides. Going deeper, it is about the core Religious beliefs held by both sides that make it nearly impossible for both sides to engage in a constructive debate. (Using a broad definition, Hunter argues that even the moral framework under which the most secular Progressives act constitutes a Religious belief. p.119)
Hunter levels some criticism at the media, which boils dialogue down to short soundbites and thus adds to the polarity of cultural and political discourse. But most of all, the problems lies with the methods and language of both sides. Admittedly, it is difficult to foster a polite discourse between two sides with such drastically different core values. Nevertheless, Hunter shows how both sides seek to discredit the opposition rather than understand, de-legitimize rather than engage, and describe with hyperbole rather than fairness.
Indeed, it is ironic that I am writing this on the night of the 2010 election, one of the most bitter in recent memory. It feels to most observers that America has never been so divided. The campaigns seemed to emphasize this division, with ever-increasing negativity typifying races across the country. Furthermore in light of the economic woes, there is a strong anti-incumbent mood. The Tea Party seems to have taken advantage of the setting, channeling voter anger towards their anti-government, libertarian message. Conspicuously absent from the main Tea Party (and indeed, Republican) professed ideals is a strong emphasis on Orthodox religion. Their influence, even on the right, seems to have faded somewhat, perhaps after the failure of Bush II. Perhaps 1994 was their pinnacle, a point that supports Hunter's argument in 1991 that, contrary to what some observers believed and in light of the decline of the Moral Majority and televangelist scandals, the Orthodox right had not run out of steam.
Hunter correctly describes the important coalition between neo-conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and the Orthodox (socio-cultural conservatives) that led to Ronald Reagan. I wonder if perhaps this coalition has re-aligned slightly, taking more of a libertarian stance in 2010. We shall see how the Tea Party candidates mesh with the Republican party once tonight's turnover is in place.
Key term
secular humanism - The Orthodox "dirty-word" for the Progressivist agenda which the Orthodox say is anti-religious belief and anti- moral absolutes. The Progressivists respond by saying they are merely upholding American ideals of nonsectarianism and individual autonomy and responsibility. (202-3, 206)
Outline
Hunter spends parts I-III describing the historical roots of the conflict, drawing the fault lines, explaining their respective moral visions, and comparing the discourse of the two sides. Part IV describes, in turn, five "fields of conflict" - family, education, media and arts, law, and electoral politics.
Critique
This is a splendidly written book, accessible to a wide audience. The introduction sets Hunter's balanced tone brilliantly, with a series of "dispatches" from the culture front, each revealing the background and beliefs of key actors on both sides of key conflicts. Thus, Hunter humanizes both sides, giving the reader a chance to develop sympathy and understanding towards the characters. The balanced tone continues throughout, as Hunter delves into both sides of controversies with fairness and understanding. The book is itself, thus, a model of a better discourse.
Recommendation
Most of my friends, from the more Orthodox who tend toward conservatism to the more Progressive, could learn from this book. I wonder what each side's reaction would be? My gut tells me an Orthodox reader would have a more difficult time with the scholarly tone, detached as it is from the Orthodox conception of a moral authority.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ellis - Visible Fictions
Ellis, John. Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video. New York: Routledge, 1992.
Argument
An extensive comparison between cinema and TV (despite the title, the VCR is barely mentioned), Ellis perceives fundamental differences between the two media based on their respective images and sounds, their narrative styles, their spectators, and their stars. Part I and Part II deal with cinema and television respectively in each of the above categories. Part II compares the institutions of cinema and TV.
Originally written in the early 80s, Ellis spent the next decade working as a television producer. His 1992 "Postface" (ch. 17) nevertheless is not moved in his conclusions by the changes in the television industry.
Note also: Ellis is predominantly writing from a British perspective, and the vast majority of his examples are British.
The Nitty Gritty of the Comparison
Scheduling: it's hard to catch a TV program "tomorrow." Schedule is geared toward assumed daily routine of families.
Setting: public versus domestic.
"Flow" (a la Raymond Williams): Television is continuous. Films are shown separately. [Ellis agrees with the concept of flow to a point, but notes that the stream of items on TV are read by viewers as separate items much more than Williams seems to suggest.]
Segments: Much smaller in TV... about 5 minutes long generally. Editing is much tighter
Sound: much more important for TV to draw viewers' attention.
Images: TV is much smaller, lower definition
Assumed Audience: TV assumes a nuclear family, heterosexual, 2-child, etc.
Format: Single view film v. series and serial format of television
Viewer: Voyeuristic gaze (film) v. distracted glance. Assumption of semi privacy in the public setting of a darkened theatre v. the direct address of TV.
Stars: Film stars are distant and somewhat incomplete in their construction in the media, with the film being a chance to see their image completed in fiction. Television stars are familiar, repeating their situations in fiction or directly addressing the audience in news programs.
Industry: Film emerged out of the studio system. It is still dominated globally by Hollywood because of the initial advantage the U.S. had after WWI, and a natural market size that dwarfed individual national markets in Europe. Major studios fill the American market with a calculated number of films, making it difficult for foreign films to break in. Television production is divided between the networks and independent studios under a complex management structure that emphasizes the replaceability of all the individuals involved in the production - directors may change but their style will not be differentiable in television.
Key terms
photo effect - the paradoxical nature of an photographic (and video) image in which the figures portrayed are present in their image but not actually existing there at that moment. Ellis notes that the photo effect is not as fixed in television, which often maintains a sense of live and instantaneous.
Critique
The density of this book makes it feel almost like an abridged version of Ellis's career of theory, though in fact he is merely applying his career of thinking about film criticism to television. It says quite a bit for its size, even if it doesn't feel like it's breaking new ground theory-wise. I think Ellis is too stubborn in his "Postface" in not acknowledging the significant changes in the television medium in 1992 - for example, he dismisses the suggestion that Twin Peaks is groundbreaking. Of course, it is easy in 2010 to perceive how much television series have become more cinematic since the early 80s. In some ways, then, this book is something of a prequel to BT's Television's Second Golden Age.
Recommendation
Despite - or perhaps because of - the fact it is dated, this book provides an excellent overview of the crucial differences between film and television. Thus, it would be perfect for any graduate student entering the field or interested undergraduate. In fact, I could see myself assigning the first two sections to an undergraduate media history class, though the third section is probably the most fatally dated.
Argument
An extensive comparison between cinema and TV (despite the title, the VCR is barely mentioned), Ellis perceives fundamental differences between the two media based on their respective images and sounds, their narrative styles, their spectators, and their stars. Part I and Part II deal with cinema and television respectively in each of the above categories. Part II compares the institutions of cinema and TV.
Originally written in the early 80s, Ellis spent the next decade working as a television producer. His 1992 "Postface" (ch. 17) nevertheless is not moved in his conclusions by the changes in the television industry.
Note also: Ellis is predominantly writing from a British perspective, and the vast majority of his examples are British.
The Nitty Gritty of the Comparison
Scheduling: it's hard to catch a TV program "tomorrow." Schedule is geared toward assumed daily routine of families.
Setting: public versus domestic.
"Flow" (a la Raymond Williams): Television is continuous. Films are shown separately. [Ellis agrees with the concept of flow to a point, but notes that the stream of items on TV are read by viewers as separate items much more than Williams seems to suggest.]
Segments: Much smaller in TV... about 5 minutes long generally. Editing is much tighter
Sound: much more important for TV to draw viewers' attention.
Images: TV is much smaller, lower definition
Assumed Audience: TV assumes a nuclear family, heterosexual, 2-child, etc.
Format: Single view film v. series and serial format of television
Viewer: Voyeuristic gaze (film) v. distracted glance. Assumption of semi privacy in the public setting of a darkened theatre v. the direct address of TV.
Stars: Film stars are distant and somewhat incomplete in their construction in the media, with the film being a chance to see their image completed in fiction. Television stars are familiar, repeating their situations in fiction or directly addressing the audience in news programs.
Industry: Film emerged out of the studio system. It is still dominated globally by Hollywood because of the initial advantage the U.S. had after WWI, and a natural market size that dwarfed individual national markets in Europe. Major studios fill the American market with a calculated number of films, making it difficult for foreign films to break in. Television production is divided between the networks and independent studios under a complex management structure that emphasizes the replaceability of all the individuals involved in the production - directors may change but their style will not be differentiable in television.
Key terms
photo effect - the paradoxical nature of an photographic (and video) image in which the figures portrayed are present in their image but not actually existing there at that moment. Ellis notes that the photo effect is not as fixed in television, which often maintains a sense of live and instantaneous.
Critique
The density of this book makes it feel almost like an abridged version of Ellis's career of theory, though in fact he is merely applying his career of thinking about film criticism to television. It says quite a bit for its size, even if it doesn't feel like it's breaking new ground theory-wise. I think Ellis is too stubborn in his "Postface" in not acknowledging the significant changes in the television medium in 1992 - for example, he dismisses the suggestion that Twin Peaks is groundbreaking. Of course, it is easy in 2010 to perceive how much television series have become more cinematic since the early 80s. In some ways, then, this book is something of a prequel to BT's Television's Second Golden Age.
Recommendation
Despite - or perhaps because of - the fact it is dated, this book provides an excellent overview of the crucial differences between film and television. Thus, it would be perfect for any graduate student entering the field or interested undergraduate. In fact, I could see myself assigning the first two sections to an undergraduate media history class, though the third section is probably the most fatally dated.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Abel - The Red Rooster Scare
Abel, Richard. The Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1999.
Argument
Abel traces the rise and decline of Pathé Films, a French company notable for its red rooster brand. He argues that after 1907 Pathé began to lose it's strong market share in America as theater owners were persuaded by the calls of progressive reformers (as well as American film makers) that the best films in terms of moral quality were those that promoted American ideals. It is no coincidence that Pathé's decline occurred after 1907 when immigration hit a peak of almost one million. Critics believed European-made films would have an adverse effect on the process of assimilation for new Americans. While Pathé attempted to respond to these pressures through marketing efforts and by adding to the emerging "American" genre of westerns, it nonetheless relinquished its market share in America and soon turned its attention to maintaining its supremacy in Europe.
Things that Made Pathé Such a Successful Brand in the First Place
Who went to the cinema
- Women and children, who Progressive reformers were particularly preoccupied with.
- New immigrants
What was the cinema like - Blend of vaudeville with films gradually becoming the feature presentation. This was the peak of nickelodeons, which allowed a long stretch of various entertainment for five cents. The cinema was a place of congregation, where people would meet and chat and pass their free time.
Critique
This case study fits early film history neatly into the history of the Progressive Era. It feels more like a long essay than a book. The final chapter on the rise of the western genre as an American genre is somewhat disjointed from the Pathé story. Intriguingly, Abel presents his work in the style of a vaudeville variety show; each short chapter ends with 1-3 short primary source documents as well as an "Entra Acte" (written by Abel) which goes into more detail on a tangential topic. I was concerned the documents would be a distraction but I was pleasantly surprised at the end result. Much like a variety show, the presentation worked to keep my interest from one item to the next. It's an interesting way to write history.
Argument
Abel traces the rise and decline of Pathé Films, a French company notable for its red rooster brand. He argues that after 1907 Pathé began to lose it's strong market share in America as theater owners were persuaded by the calls of progressive reformers (as well as American film makers) that the best films in terms of moral quality were those that promoted American ideals. It is no coincidence that Pathé's decline occurred after 1907 when immigration hit a peak of almost one million. Critics believed European-made films would have an adverse effect on the process of assimilation for new Americans. While Pathé attempted to respond to these pressures through marketing efforts and by adding to the emerging "American" genre of westerns, it nonetheless relinquished its market share in America and soon turned its attention to maintaining its supremacy in Europe.
Things that Made Pathé Such a Successful Brand in the First Place
- Color: Pathé films were widely considered the best in terms of colorization (40-47). Pathé developed a stencil technique (similar to Méliès) "by which 'colorists' (all women) could apply up to three different colors within a single film frame, with greater precision and uniformity." (p.43)
- Branding: The red rooster logo (itself notable for its red color) helped Pathé counter an early problem it had as it entered the American market: its films were being ripped off and shown under competing brands. Pathé was eventually able to develop a few ways to protect its films, and in the process elevated its brand as a signal of quality to theatre owners and viewers.
- Viewer comprehension: Because the films were made by the French for viewers in America who didn't speak French, Pathé films tended to have storylines that were comprehensible through the visual action as opposed to through added text. This was critical in making the films appeal to new immigrants... a fact that would be used against Pathé by critics concerned over its relative failure to serve as an Americanizing agent.
- Overall quality: With less reliance on added text, the acting had to be better. Plus, Pathé just made good films. Furthermore, at the turn of the century France was considered a leading nation in terms of technology, on par with, if not ahead of the United States.
Who went to the cinema
- Women and children, who Progressive reformers were particularly preoccupied with.
- New immigrants
What was the cinema like - Blend of vaudeville with films gradually becoming the feature presentation. This was the peak of nickelodeons, which allowed a long stretch of various entertainment for five cents. The cinema was a place of congregation, where people would meet and chat and pass their free time.
Critique
This case study fits early film history neatly into the history of the Progressive Era. It feels more like a long essay than a book. The final chapter on the rise of the western genre as an American genre is somewhat disjointed from the Pathé story. Intriguingly, Abel presents his work in the style of a vaudeville variety show; each short chapter ends with 1-3 short primary source documents as well as an "Entra Acte" (written by Abel) which goes into more detail on a tangential topic. I was concerned the documents would be a distraction but I was pleasantly surprised at the end result. Much like a variety show, the presentation worked to keep my interest from one item to the next. It's an interesting way to write history.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cohen - A Consumers' Republic
Cohen, Lizabeth. A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. New York: Knopf, 2003.
Argument/Key Terms
Consumer's Republic - During the two decades of post-WWII prosperity, Cohen perceives the broadly-held belief that America's mass consumption would lead not only to widespread prosperity but also help achieve social and political ambitions for a more equal, free, and democratic nation. (13) There was an underlying assumption that the government would support the consumers in the marketplace, even more than they supported the producers. This lasted until Nixon, Ford, and Carter began to pursue supply-side policy even before Reagan.
Cohen is essentially writing a traditional history book that supports the criticism raised in intellectual history/cultural critics of the Lasch variety. Writing in the 70s at the tail end of the Consumer's Republic, these critics were musing about how individualism went to far. Cohen traces its slide.
She is also preoccupied with the ramifications of the Consumer's Republic on Blacks and Women. Blacks notably exercised their position as citizen consumer, through boycotts and sit-ins, to negotiate and improve their position in society. The rise of segmented marketing coincided with the rise of Black Nationalism, strengthening Black identity. However, segregated neighborhoods and (thus) schools remain as evidence of the suburbanization that left the poor- mostly black - population behind. The ideal of equality within the Consumer's Republic thus failed largely to benefit black citizens.
Cohen analyzes advertising strategies to show how after WWII women lost the gains they had made during the war, both as laborers and as consumer citizens. Ads emphasized the father as the primary consumer of the house, and thus advertised accordingly, the ads themselves (as well as ad-driven TV shows like Father Knows Best) emphasizing women's proper role as submissive wife. Women eventually gained social status at the end of this period, and organized as consumer citizens - boycotting and protesting for key consumer issues.
Other Big Concepts
citizen consumer - The Roosevelt administration thought of consumers as a self-conscious body of Americans on par with labor and business, and courted their political support. For the first time on a broad level, Americans began to consider how their purchasing actions could shape society. Also, they became concerned with fairness in the marketplace.
purchaser consumer - The idea that consumers held the key to economic recovery. Strongly influenced by Keynes.
First-wave consumer's movement - Progressive Era
Second-wave consumer's movement - 1930s and 40s, Notably, consumers were given a voice and official position in New Deal agencies, most importantly in the NRA.
Third-wave consumer's movement - 1960-78. (p.360) Typified by Ralph Nader. Pursued greater protection of the consumer in the marketplace (Cohen calls this level 1) and the reinvigoration of Government regulation in consumer interest (level 2). Despite a long struggle, consumer interest groups failed to place a consumer advocate in a permanent government position.
Consumerization of the Republic - Cohen's term for what followed the Consumer's Republic, typified by a desire not for a marketplace that could be molded, both by consumer action and government policy, to shape a stronger society but rather for a marketplace that favored individual interests. This was brought about in no small part by the rise of segmented marketing strategy.
Chapter Ideas
Ch. 1 "Depression: Rise of the Citizen Consumer" - Second Wave consumer's movement and the New Deal
Ch. 2 "War: Citizen Consumers Do Battle on the Home Front" - Consumers supported price fixing measures, and received them. Meanwhile, Blacks had to fight harder for price protection just as they had to go so far as to threaten protests to be an equal part of the wartime labor force.
Ch. 3 "Reconversion: The Emergence of the Consumers' Republic" - Out of post-war recession, the G.I. Bill helped returning soldiers and their families reach higher standards of livings. However, Cohen shows that Blacks and uneducated G.I.'s were left behind by the bill's benefits.
Ch. 4 "Rebellion: Forcing Open the Doors of Public Accommodations" - Civil Rights Movement gained access to public accommodation...
Ch. 5 "Residence: Inequality in Mass Suburbia" - ...just in time for prosperity, including public accommodation, to depart the cities for white suburbia.
Ch.6 "Commerce: Reconfiguring Community Marketplaces" - The rise of shopping centers moved shopping from the public space of the city to the private space of the mall. Cohen discusses court cases fighting to make the mall a public place for political action: initially these cases had success, such as the 1968 Logan Valley Plaza decision to allow union members to picket the plaza, which was the equivalent of a sidewalk. After that, the malls gradually gained back rights, as the Court granted the states the right to decide whether their own constitutions protected access.
Ch.7 "Culture: Segmenting the Mass"- Segmented advertising
Ch.8 "Politics: Purchasers Politicized"- Third-wave consumer's movement
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
Christopher Lasch et al -In the final pages, Cohen mentions Lasch and Michael Sandel as critics who have argued liberal faith in a growing economy to solve America's problems failed to consider traditional criticism of individualism. Cohen is more realistic in her criticism, admitting it is difficult to overturn a century of transformation that has turned voters from civic-minded to consumption-minded.
Critique
Cohen breaks new ground with her concept of a Consumer's Republic. I just wish she had done so with a shorter book that relied a bit less on endless statistical examples. She warns in her prologue that she is going to use northern New Jersey, where she grew up, as a frequent case study and I thought it worked well as the changes in that area seemed representative for national trends.
Argument/Key Terms
Consumer's Republic - During the two decades of post-WWII prosperity, Cohen perceives the broadly-held belief that America's mass consumption would lead not only to widespread prosperity but also help achieve social and political ambitions for a more equal, free, and democratic nation. (13) There was an underlying assumption that the government would support the consumers in the marketplace, even more than they supported the producers. This lasted until Nixon, Ford, and Carter began to pursue supply-side policy even before Reagan.
Cohen is essentially writing a traditional history book that supports the criticism raised in intellectual history/cultural critics of the Lasch variety. Writing in the 70s at the tail end of the Consumer's Republic, these critics were musing about how individualism went to far. Cohen traces its slide.
She is also preoccupied with the ramifications of the Consumer's Republic on Blacks and Women. Blacks notably exercised their position as citizen consumer, through boycotts and sit-ins, to negotiate and improve their position in society. The rise of segmented marketing coincided with the rise of Black Nationalism, strengthening Black identity. However, segregated neighborhoods and (thus) schools remain as evidence of the suburbanization that left the poor- mostly black - population behind. The ideal of equality within the Consumer's Republic thus failed largely to benefit black citizens.
Cohen analyzes advertising strategies to show how after WWII women lost the gains they had made during the war, both as laborers and as consumer citizens. Ads emphasized the father as the primary consumer of the house, and thus advertised accordingly, the ads themselves (as well as ad-driven TV shows like Father Knows Best) emphasizing women's proper role as submissive wife. Women eventually gained social status at the end of this period, and organized as consumer citizens - boycotting and protesting for key consumer issues.
Other Big Concepts
citizen consumer - The Roosevelt administration thought of consumers as a self-conscious body of Americans on par with labor and business, and courted their political support. For the first time on a broad level, Americans began to consider how their purchasing actions could shape society. Also, they became concerned with fairness in the marketplace.
purchaser consumer - The idea that consumers held the key to economic recovery. Strongly influenced by Keynes.
First-wave consumer's movement - Progressive Era
Second-wave consumer's movement - 1930s and 40s, Notably, consumers were given a voice and official position in New Deal agencies, most importantly in the NRA.
Third-wave consumer's movement - 1960-78. (p.360) Typified by Ralph Nader. Pursued greater protection of the consumer in the marketplace (Cohen calls this level 1) and the reinvigoration of Government regulation in consumer interest (level 2). Despite a long struggle, consumer interest groups failed to place a consumer advocate in a permanent government position.
Consumerization of the Republic - Cohen's term for what followed the Consumer's Republic, typified by a desire not for a marketplace that could be molded, both by consumer action and government policy, to shape a stronger society but rather for a marketplace that favored individual interests. This was brought about in no small part by the rise of segmented marketing strategy.
Chapter Ideas
Ch. 1 "Depression: Rise of the Citizen Consumer" - Second Wave consumer's movement and the New Deal
Ch. 2 "War: Citizen Consumers Do Battle on the Home Front" - Consumers supported price fixing measures, and received them. Meanwhile, Blacks had to fight harder for price protection just as they had to go so far as to threaten protests to be an equal part of the wartime labor force.
Ch. 3 "Reconversion: The Emergence of the Consumers' Republic" - Out of post-war recession, the G.I. Bill helped returning soldiers and their families reach higher standards of livings. However, Cohen shows that Blacks and uneducated G.I.'s were left behind by the bill's benefits.
Ch. 4 "Rebellion: Forcing Open the Doors of Public Accommodations" - Civil Rights Movement gained access to public accommodation...
Ch. 5 "Residence: Inequality in Mass Suburbia" - ...just in time for prosperity, including public accommodation, to depart the cities for white suburbia.
Ch.6 "Commerce: Reconfiguring Community Marketplaces" - The rise of shopping centers moved shopping from the public space of the city to the private space of the mall. Cohen discusses court cases fighting to make the mall a public place for political action: initially these cases had success, such as the 1968 Logan Valley Plaza decision to allow union members to picket the plaza, which was the equivalent of a sidewalk. After that, the malls gradually gained back rights, as the Court granted the states the right to decide whether their own constitutions protected access.
Ch.7 "Culture: Segmenting the Mass"- Segmented advertising
Ch.8 "Politics: Purchasers Politicized"- Third-wave consumer's movement
The Morgan Memorial "Deja Vu - You've Seen this Before"
Christopher Lasch et al -In the final pages, Cohen mentions Lasch and Michael Sandel as critics who have argued liberal faith in a growing economy to solve America's problems failed to consider traditional criticism of individualism. Cohen is more realistic in her criticism, admitting it is difficult to overturn a century of transformation that has turned voters from civic-minded to consumption-minded.
Critique
Cohen breaks new ground with her concept of a Consumer's Republic. I just wish she had done so with a shorter book that relied a bit less on endless statistical examples. She warns in her prologue that she is going to use northern New Jersey, where she grew up, as a frequent case study and I thought it worked well as the changes in that area seemed representative for national trends.
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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