Features of production and consumption of cultural values \u200b\u200ballowed cultural scientists to allocate two social forms Culture existence : mass culture and elite culture.

Mass culture is called such a type of cultural product, which is every day produced in large volumes. It is assumed that all people consume mass culture, regardless of the place and country of residence. Mass culture -this is a culture of everyday life presented by the wide audience According to various channels, including the media and communication.

Mass culture (from lat.massa. - lump, piece) -phenomenon of culture XXV., generated by HTR, urbanization, destruction of local communities, erosion of territorial and social borders. The time of her appearance is the middlexx. When the media (radio, printing, television, gramproof and tape recorder) penetrated most of the countries of the world and became available to representatives of all social layers. In his own sense, the mass culture has shown himself for the first time in the United States at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries.

Famous American political analyst Zbigniew Brzezinsky loved to repeat the phrase, which became common with time: "If Rome gave the world right, England parliamentary activities, France - culture and republican nationalism, then modern USA Dali Mir. scientific and technical revolution and mass culture. "

The origins of the widespread mass culture in the modern world lie in the commercialization of all social relations, while the mass production of culture is understood by analogy with the conveyor industry. Many creative organizations (cinema, design, TV) are closely related to banking and industrial capital and oriented to the release of commercial, cash, entertainment works. In turn, the consumption of this product is a massive consumption, for an audience that perceives this culture is a mass audience of large halls, stadiums, millions of television and film screenwriters.

A vivid example of mass culture is a pop music that is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population. She satisfies the momentary requests of people, reacts to any new event and reflects it. Therefore, samples of mass culture, in particular lumps, quickly lose the relevance, are obsolete and out of fashion. As a rule, mass culture has less artistic value than elitial.

The purpose of the mass culture is to stimulate consumer consciousness at the viewer, a listener, reader. Mass culture shape a special type of passive, non-critical perception of this culture in humans. She creates a person, which is easy enough to manipulate.

Therefore, a mass culture for mass consumption and on a medium-sized person is calculated, it is understandable and accessible to all ages, all the segments of the population, regardless of the level of education. In social terms, it forms a new public layer, called the "middle class".

Mass culture B. artistic creativity Performs specific social functions. Among them, the main thing is illusory-compensatory: the admission of a person to the world of illusory experience and non-rapid dreams. For this, mass culture is used by the entertainment and genres of art as a circus, radio, television; Estrada, Hang, Kitch, Slang, Fantasy, Action, Detective, Comic, Thriller, Western, Melodrama, Musical.

It is within the framework of these genres that simplified "versions of life" are being created, which reduce social evil to psychological and moral factors. And all this is combined with an open or hidden propaganda of the dominant lifestyle. Mass culture is more oriented not on realistic images, but on artificially created images (image) and stereotypes. Today, the new-fashioned "Stars of Artificial Olympus" has no less fanatical fans than old gods and goddesses. Modern mass culture can be international and national.

Featuresmass culture:accessibility (understandableness to everyone) cultural values; ease of perception; The pattern of created social stereotypes, replicability, entertainment and fun, sentimentality, simplification and primitiveness, propaganda of the cult of success, strong personality, cult of thirst for the possession of things, cult of mediocreness, the convention of primitive symbolism.

Mass culture does not express the exquisite tastes of the aristocracy or spiritual searches of the people, the mechanism of its distribution is directly related to the market, and it is mainly a priority for megalized forms of existence. The basis of the success of mass culture is the unconscious interest of people to violence and erotica.

Together with this, if we consider the mass culture as a spontaneous-folding culture of everyday life, which is created ordinary peopleHer positive moments are the orientation on the average rate, simple pragmatics, the conversation to the huge readership, the audience and listener audience.

As an antipode of mass culture, many cultural studies consider elite culture.

Elite (high) culture -the culture of the elite intended for the highest sections of society with the greatest ability to spiritual activities, special artistic susceptibility and gifted by high moral and aesthetic male.

The manufacturer and consumer of elitar culture is the highest preferred layer of society - elite (from Franz. Elite - the best, selected, favorites). Elite is not only a generic aristocracy, and that formed part of society, which has a special "body of perception" - the ability to aesthetic contemplation and artistic creative activity.

According to various estimates, consumers of elite culture in Europe over the course of several centuries remains approximately the same share of the population - about one percent. Elite culture is, first of all, the culture of the educated and rich part of the population. Under the elite culture usually implies special refinement, complexity and high quality of cultural products.

The main function of elitar culture is the production of social order in the form of law, authorities, the structures of the social organization of society, as well as substantiating this procedure for ideology in the forms of religion, social philosophy and political thought. Elite culture involves a professional approach to creating, and people who create it receive a special education. The range of consumers of elite culture is its professional creators: scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, composers, as well as representatives of highly educated sectors, namely: regulars of museums and exhibitions, theater, artists, literary critics, writers, musicians and many others.

Elite culture is distinguished by a very high level of specialization and the highest level of social claims: love for power, wealth, glory is considered to be the normal psychology of any elite.

In high culture, the artistic techniques that will be perceived and correctly understood by the wide layers of non-professional many years later (up to 50 years, and sometimes more). A certain period of high culture not only cannot, but must remain alien to the people, it must be kept, and the viewer during this time creatively mature. For example, painting Picasso, Dali or Schenberg's music is difficult to understand the unprepared person even today.

Therefore, elite culture is experimental or avant-garde and, as a rule, it is ahead of the level of perception by its standardized person.

With the growth of the level of education of the population, the circle of consumers of elite culture is expanding. It is this part of society that contributes to public progress, so "pure" art should be focused on meeting the requests and needs of the elite, and it should be to contact her works by artists, poets, composers. The formula of elite culture: "Art for the sake of art."

The same types of art can belong both high and mass culture: classical music - high, and popular - mass, Fellini films are high, and militants are mass. Organ Mass S. Baha refers to high culture, but if it is used as a music ringtone on a mobile phone, it is automatically credited to the category of mass culture, without losing its belonging to high culture. Numerous orchestra produced

bach in style light music, jazz or rock do not compromise high culture at all. The same applies to Monet Lisa on the package toilet soap Or its computer reproduction.

Features of elite culture:focus on "people of genius" capable of aesthetic contemplation and artistic and creative activity, there are no social stereotypes, deep philosophical essence and non-standard content, specialism, sophistication, experimentalness, avant-garde, complexity cultural values To understand the unprepared person, refinement, high quality, intellectuality.

Output.

1. From the point of view of scientific analysis, there is no more complete or less complete culture, two data varieties of culture are culture in the full sense of the word.

2. Eltitory and mass is only the quantitative characteristics related to the number of people who are consumers of artifacts.

3. Mass culture meets the needs of people as a whole, and therefore reflects the real level of humanity. Representatives of elite culture, creating something new, thereby supporting a rather high level of common culture.

ELITARIAN CULTURE is a high culture, mass culture-resistant not by the nature of social content, not according to the peculiarities of the representation of reality, but by the type of impact on the perceive consciousness, preserving his subjective features and ensuring a sense-forming function. Her main ideal is the formation of consciousness, ready for active transformative activities and creativity in accordance with the objective laws of reality. This understanding of elitar culture, explicated from such a realization as a culture high concentrating spiritual, intellectual and artistic agentsIt seems more accurate and adequate than the understanding of elite as avant-garde.

It is necessary to emphasize that historically elite culture arises precisely as mass antithesis And its meaning, the main value exhibits in comparison with the latter. The essence of elite culture was first analyzed by H. Ortegoy-I-Gasset ("Degumanization of Art", "Mass") and K. Manhaim ("ideology and utopia", "Man and society in the age of transformations", "Essa of Sociology of Culture") who considered this culture as the only ways to preserve and reproduce the basic meanings of culture and possessing the principal important features, including a way of verbal communication - the language generated by its carriers, where special social groups - clergymen, politicians, artists are used and special, closed for uninitiated languages, including Latin and Sanskrit.

Subject elitar high culture is an personality - free, creative personable to implement conscious activities. Creation of this culture always personally painted And designed for personal perception, regardless of the latitude of their audience, which is why the widespread and millions of colors of the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare not only do not reduce their meanings, but, on the contrary, contribute to the widespread dissemination of spiritual values. In this sense, the subject of elitar culture is the representative of the elite.

However, high culture objects that retain their form are a plot, composition, musical structure, but changing presentation modeand protruding in the form of replicated products adapted, adapted to the functioning unusual for themselves, as a rule, go to the rank of massistry. In this sense, you can talk about the ability of the form to be a carrier of content.

If you keep in mind mass cultureYou can state a different sensitivity of its types to this ratio. In the field of music, the form is fully meaningful, even minor transformations (for example, a widespread transformation practice classical music In the electronic version of its instrumentation) lead to the destruction of the integrity of the work. In area visual artsa similar result brings the authentic image to another format - reproduction or digital variant (even with the desire of context conservation - in the Virtual Museum). What concerns literary work , then the change in the presentation mode - including with the traditional book on digital - does not affect its character, since the form of the work, the structure is the patterns of its dramaturgical construction, and not the carrier - printing or electronic - this information. To determine such works of high culture that changed the nature of the functioning as massive allows you to violate their integrity when secondary or at least not the main components are accentuated and act as leading. Change authentic format The phenomena of the mass culture leads to the fact that the essence of the work changes, where ideas appear in a simplified, adapted version, and creative functions are replaced by socializing. This is due to the fact that, in contrast to high culture, the essence of mass culture is not in creative activity, not in the production of cultural values, but in the formation "Value Orientations"corresponding to the nature of the dominant public relations, and developing stereotypes mass consciousness of the members of the "Consumer Society". Nevertheless, elite culture is for mass a kind of sample, acting as a source of plots, images, ideas, hypotheses, adaptable to the latter to the level of mass consciousness.

Thus, elite culture is a culture of privileged polynomials, characterized by the principal closeness, spiritual aristocratism and value-semantic self-sufficiency. According to I.V. KondakovThe elite culture appeals to the elected minority of his subjects, as a rule, at the same time, its creators and addressees (in any case, the circle of those and others almost coincides). Elite culture consciously and consistently confronts the culture of the majority In all its historical and typological varieties - folklore, folk culture, the official culture of a class or a class, the state, the cultural industry of the technocratic society of the XX century. etc. Philosophers consider elite culture as the only ways to preserve and reproducing the basic meanings of culture and possessing fundamentally important features:

· Complexity, specialism, creativity, innovation;

· The ability to form consciousness, ready for active transformative activities and creativity in accordance with the objective laws of reality;

· The ability to concentrate spiritual, intellectual and artistic experience of generations;

· The presence of a limited circle of values \u200b\u200brecognized by true and "high";

· The rigid system of norms taken by this strata as mandatory and stable in the "dedicated" community;

· Individualization of norms, values, evaluation criteria for activity, often the principles and forms of behavior of the members of the elite community, which are theically unique;

· The creation of a new, deliberately complicated cultural semantics, requiring the addressee of special training and an immense cultural outlook;

· Use deliberately subjective, individually creative, "westful" interpretation of the usual and habitual, which brings cultural mastering the reality of the subject to the mental (sometimes artistic) experiment on her and in the limit replaces the reflection of reality in the elite culture of its transformation, imitation - deformation, penetration into sense - sensing and rethinking of the data;

· Semantic and functional "closeness", "narrowness", isolation from the whole national Culturethat turns the elite culture in the similarity of the secret, sacred, esoteric knowledge to the rest of the mass, and its carriers turn into a kind of "priests" of this knowledge, the elected of the gods, the "ministers of the music", "Guardians of Mystery and Faith", which often beats and poeticized in elite culture.

Introduction

Culture is a generalizing concept covering various classes of phenomena. It is a complex, multilayer, multi-level integer, including various phenomena. Depending on which point of view, for what grounds to analyze it, you can allocate someone structural elements, differing in the nature of the carrier, by the result, by type of activity, etc., which can coexist, interact, resist each other, change their status. By structuring the culture, based on its carrier, we allocate the analysis as a subject of analysis only of its varieties: elitar, mass, folk culture. Since on modern stage They receive an ambiguous interpretation, then in this control, we will try to understand complex modern cultural practice, very dynamic and controversial, as well as in dissonuous points of view. In the control work, historically established various, sometimes opposite views, theoretical justifications, approaches, and also takes into account a certain sociocultural context, the ratio of various components in a cultural whole, their place in modern cultural practice.

And so, the purpose of test work It is the consideration of varieties of culture, elitar, mass and folk.

culture elite mass folk

The emergence and main characteristics of elitar culture

Elite culture, its entity binds to the concept of elite and is usually opposed to the cultures of people, mass. Elite (Elite, Franz. - Favorite, best, selected), as a manufacturer and consumer of this type of culture in relation to society is from the point of view of both Western and domestic sociologists, cultural scientists higher, privileged layers (layer), groups, classes carrying out management functions, production and culture development. Thus, the division of the public structure on the highest, preferred and lower, elite and the rest of the mass is approved. Definitions of elite in different sociological and cultural theories ambiguously.

The separation of the elite layer has a considerable story. Confucius has seen a society consisting of noble husbands. minorities, and people needing constant moral impact and leadership by these noble. In essence, Plato stood on elite positions. Roman senator of agrippa most The population has referred to the "tight cattle" for which the challenges are needed, i.e. Aristocrats.

Obviously with deep antiquity when primitive community The division of labor began to occur, the separation of spiritual activities from material, processes, stratification on property, status, etc., and began to stand out (alienated) not only categories of rich and poor, but also the most significant in any respect - priests (Magi, Shamans) as a carrier of special intimate knowledge, organizers of religious and ritual acts, leaders, tribal to know. But the elite actually is formed in a class, slave-owned society, when, at the expense of the work of slaves, preferred layers (classes) are exempt from exhausting physical labor. And in societies of different types The most significant, elite layers that constitute a minority of the population are primarily those who have the real power, reinforced by the power of weapons and law, economic and financial power, which allows them to influence all other spheres public Life, including sociocultural processes (ideology, education, artistic practice, etc.). Such is the slave, feudal aristocracy, (aristocracy is understood as the highest, preferred layer of any class, group), higher clergy, merchants, industrial, financial oligarchy, etc.

ELITARIAN CULTURE is formed within the framework of privileged in any field (in politics, commerce, art) of layers, generality and includes, as well as culture, national values, norms, ideas, ideas, knowledge, lifestyle, etc. in the iconic symbolic and their material expression, as well as methods of practical use. This culture covers various spheres of social space: political, economic, etio-legal, artistic and aesthetic, religious and other areas of public life. It can be viewed on different scales.

IN wide sense ELITARIAN CULTURE can be represented by a rather extensive part of the nationwide (nationwide) culture. In this case, it has deep roots in it, including the folk culture, in another, a narrow sense - declares itself as a "sovereign", sometimes opposing national culture, to a certain extent isolated from it.

An example of elite culture in a broad sense is knightly culture as a phenomenon of the secular culture of the Western European Middle Ages. Her carrier is a dominant noble-military estate (chivalry), which has developed its values, ideals, its own code of honor (southwedness, follow-up, courage, generosity, mercy, etc.). Formed their rituals, as, let's say, the ritual of dedication to the knights (the conclusion of the contract with the senor, the oath to loyalty, the adoption of vows - on obedience, personal excellence, etc.), ritualized and theatrical conduct of tournaments for the glorification of knightly valves. There are special manners, the ability to lead a secular conversation, play on musical instruments, compose poems, most often dedicated to the lady of the heart. Knight's music and poetic creativity, treated in national languages \u200b\u200band not alien to people's musical and intonational traditions, was a whole direction in world culture, but it was out of the weakening and departure of this class with historical arena.

Elite culture contradictory. On the one hand, it is quite clearly expressed by the search for a new, still unexplored, on the other - the installation for preservation, the preservation of the already known, habitual one. Therefore, probably in science, artistic work, the new achieves recognition, overcoming sometimes considerable difficulties. Elite culture, including directions of experimental, even demonstratively nonconformist nature, made its contribution to the enrichment of ideological-theoretical, sample-substantive canvas, to expand the spectrum of practical skills, means of expression, ideals, images, ideas, scientific theories, technical inventions, philosophical, socially - Polytic exercises.

ELITARIAN CULTURE, including its esoteric (internal, secret, intended for dedicated) directions, are included in different areas of cultural practice, performing different functions in it (roles): informational and informative, causing a treasury of knowledge, technical achievements, artistic works; socialization, including a person in the world of culture; Regulatory and regulatory, etc. The first plan in elite culture comes out a cultural function, the function of self-realization, identity self-actualization, aesthetic-demonstration (it is sometimes called exhibition).

Concept elite Indicates the best. There is a political elite (part of society with legitimate authorities), economic elite, scientific elite. German sociologist GA Lanceberger determines the elite as a group that greatly affects solutions for key issues of a nationwide. UN Secretary-General Doug Hammarsheld believed that the elite is the part of society that is able to be responsible for most people. Ortega-and-Gasset believed that elite - this is the most creative and productive part of society, which has high intellectual and moral qualities. In the context of cultural studies, it can be said that it is in the elite sphere that the foundations of the culture and the principles of its functioning are formed. Elite - This is a narrow layer of society, capable of generating values, principles, installations, around which society can consolidate and on the basis of which culture is capable of functioning. Elite culture belongs to a special social layer with rich spiritual experience, developed moral and aesthetic consciousness. One of the variants of elite culture is esoteric culture. Concepts themselves esoterics and exoterica Occasionally occurred greek words esoterikos. – interior and exoterikos. – external. Esoteric culture is available only for dedicated and discourages knowledge intended for a selected circle of people. Exoterica also intends to popularity, publicly available.

Attitude in society to elite culture ambiguously. Cultureologist Dr. Richard Styts (USA) allocates 3 types of people's relationship with elitarious culture: 1) Eatiability - A group of people who are not creators of elite culture, but they enjoy her and appreciate it. 2) Elitism - belongs to elite culture, but they are negligious to mass culture. 3) Eclecticism - take both types of cultures.

One of the factors, which aggravated the need of the Society of the 19th Century in the separation of elite culture from the mass, is associated with rethinking christian religionoffered those norms and principles that were taken by all members of society. The refusal to the norms of Christianity meant the loss of a meaningful single ideal of absolute perfection, the absolute criterion of holiness. There was a need for new ideals that could stimulate and direct public development. As a matter of fact, the split in the minds of people's ideas about the value of the general Christian culture meant the splitting of society into social groups, culture, subculture, in each of which their own ideals, stereotypes and behaviors were taken. ELITARIAN CULTURE, as a rule, is opposed to mass. We highlight the main features characterizing the same type of culture.

Features of elite culture:

1. Constancy, that is, elite culture products do not depend on historical time and space. So, the works of Mozart from the moment of their creation are a model of classics at all times and in any state.

2. The need for spiritual work. A person living in an elite culture environment is designed to stressful spiritual work.

3. High requirements for human competence. In this case, it is meant that not only the Creator, but also the consumer of elite culture products should be capable of intensive spiritual work, be quite well prepared in an art historical sense.

4. The desire for the creation of absolute ideals of perfection. In elite culture, the rules of honor, the state of spiritual purity acquire the central, pronounced value.

5. Formation of the system of values, those plants that serve as a foundation for the development of culture and the consolidation center of society.

Facilities of mass culture:

1. The possibility of conveyor production of products related to culture.

2. Satisfying the spiritual needs of the majority of the population.

3. The ability to attract many people to the socio-cultural life.

4. Reflection of those models of behavior, stereotypes and principles that prevail in public consciousness For a given period of time.

5. Implementation of a political and social order.

6. Incorporation into the mental world of people of certain samples and behaviors; Creating public ideals.

It is important to take into account that in a number of cultural systems, the concept of elite culture is conditional, because in some communities, the border between the elite and the masses are minimal. In such cultures, it is difficult to distinguish a massive culture from elitar. For example, many fragments of everyday everyday life receive the academic status of the "source" only if they are removed from us in time or have an ethnographic-folk character.

In the modern world, the erasing of the boundaries between the mass and elite culture is so desisted that it often leads to the depreciation of the cultural heritage for subsequent generations. So, pop culture touched upon all spheres of life, creating such phenomena as pop ideology, pop art, pop religion, pop science, etc., involving everything in their space - from Che Guevara to Jesus Christ. Often pop cultures are perceived as a product of the culture of economically developed countries capable of providing themselves with a good information industry and export their values, stereotypes on Wednesday of other cultures. When it comes to developing countries, pop culture is often considered to be alien phenomenon, without fail in Western origin, with destructive consequences themselves. Meanwhile, in the Third World "has long appeared its own pop culture, claiming, albeit in several simplified form, cultural identity of non-European peoples. This is the Indian cinema and films of Kung Fu, Latin American songs in the style of "Nueva Troov", various schools of rolling painting and pop music. In the 70s, Africa had a passion for music in the style of "reggae", and at the same time connected with her "Motion of Rastafari", or "Rastafari culture". In the most African medium, the passion for products of pop culture sometimes blocks the rooting and distribution of elite culture norms. As a rule, its fruits are more famous in European countries than in those where they were produced. For example, the production of original colorful masks in Africa is focused mainly on selling them to tourists, and some of the buyers are more familiar with the cultural meaning of these exotic masks than those who make out of their sale.

Difficulties with the release of the face between elite and mass cultures sometimes be carried out to the development of a sectarian movement, when a person approves dubious ideals as a sense-forming society in society. This is clearly illustrated by the example of the "Motion of Rastafari". It is difficult to determine what it is: Messianic whether a sect or a people's religious movement, or a cult, or a movement for cultural identity, whether it is a surrogate of PanFrean ideology, whether the political anti-racistic course, or Negritudud "for the poor," can, drumming subculture Luminance or youth fashion? For 60 years, Rastafarism (Rastafarianism, more often, just "rasta") passed through amazing, even incredible metamorphosis.

Rastafarism arose as a sect that deified racial (local ruler) Tafari Maconnen (hence the name of the sect), coronating on November 2, 1930 by the name High Selassi ("Power of Trinity"). The sect arose in Jamaica in the early 1930s, but in the 60s its adherents appeared among the collar youth in the USA, Canada and the UK. In the 70s, she turned into pop religion, and then simply into the youth fashion, thereby causing a boom among the city youth of the African continent. Despite the fact that "Rasta" fell into Africa from outside, it turned out to be the long-awaited, filling a certain spiritual vacuum.

The first scientists who have conducted field studies of Rastafarist sects, was a specialist in the sociology of religion George Yaton Simpson, the author of many works devoted to cults of African origin in the Caribbean countries. According to the materials of its observations 1953-1954. He tried to describe the cult from the point of view of functionalism in sociology. Simpson considers the sect to the displacement tool and the minority adaptation to the dominant culture indirectly - through the refusal of the goods inaccessible to social nose. The description of the coal itself is given casual, bringing in general to the five main provisions: Hail Selassy - Live God; Hayle Seliassy Almighty, even nuclear energy is subject to him; Black - these are ether, the new embodiment of the ancient Jews; The gods of the Romans were wooden idols, the British consider God the Spirit, disembodied and invisible, in fact God is alive and is located in the world - this is High Selassy; Sky and Paradise is a hoax, a black man paradise - on Earth, in Ethiopia. Noting "militant anti-white rhetoric" of a cult, Simpson considers it quite peaceful, and verbal militancy - designed to remove socio-psychological stress. In general, Simpson defines rastafarism as a counterculture, which, however, turns into a subculture.

The essence of the ideas of Rastafari in the following: High Selassi I, Leo Jewish, King of Kings, etc. - the descendant of Solomonov's house, the next embodiment of God, the delightful of the chosen race - black Jews. This is how the history of the Jewish people laid out in Rastafarians is interpreted Old Testament: This is the history of Africans; Jews are with bright skin - impostors who outstand themselves for the God's God. For their sins, black Jews were punished with slavery in Babylon. Pirates at Elizabeth I brought black to America, that is, in Babylon. Meanwhile, God has long forgiven his chosen people, soon he will return to Zion, under which Addis Ababa is understood. Ethiopia is considered as a paradise for a black man, America is the hell, and the church is the tool of Babylon, who serves to deceive black. Relief is waiting for them not in heaven, but in Ethiopia. Here to such sectarian movements can lead weakness or absence of elite culture.

Serine culture

Concept serino culture N.A. was introduced Berdyaev. The essence of this culture is to find the form and meaning of human being between extreme opposition life plants, for example, God exists and There is no god. In this concept of the middle culture, in fact, the attempt lies to find a place for a person between extreme beliefs. For an individual, it is also intended to choose one of these extremes, and the choice itself is inevitable for a person. The Spanish Thinker José Ortega-I-Gasset in the work of the "Upper Mass" writes: "To live - it means forever to be condemned to freedom, it is always to decide what you become in this world. And to solve without tired and without a breather. Even by going to the will of the case, we make a decision - not to decide. " The main selection of a person does in solving relatively its essence, who will be. The activity of this feature of people has become an important feature of the Renaissance culture, when the society tried to build a world not for divine laws, but not on the demonic, but solely on the basis of human. In Europe, in the XV century, this thought was expressed by Mirandola in the treatise "Speech about the dignity of man." The thinker writes: "We don't give you, about Adam, nor their place, no definite image, nor a special duty, to both the place, and the person and the duty you had own willingAccording to his will and its decision. The image of other creations is defined within the limits of the laws we installed. You are not arched by any limits, you will define your image in your decision, in whose power I will give you. " the last part This quotation emphasizes not only the possibility of a free choice of man, but also the fact that the image that he will accept will become decisive for its essence, his movement of thoughts. In other words, the individual himself chooses what power will have over him. If a person is configured in a reasonable spiritual appearance, he will follow the reasonable requirements, but the adoption of demonic quality will put an individual dependent on the dark start. Meanwhile, the choice is inevitable, because a person, having two nature: potency (Potenzia) and activity (ATTO) - cannot but strive to accept any appearance. In Russia, the dilemma of opposition concepts, as a rule, was designated dobestoand besky And repeatedly reflected in the writings of many Russian philosophers. So, F.M. Dostoevsky in the novel "The Brothers Karamazov" writes: "The Higher Even the Heart of the man and with the mind is high, begins with the ideal of Madonna, but cums ideal Sodomsky. Even more terrible, who, with the ideal Sodomsky, does not deny the ideal of Madonna ... ". This kind of installation is largely due to the dogmatics of the Orthodox creed, according to which the person is intended to become like God through the compassion of the Holy Spirit. However, if we admit to the burden, it became possible to easily like demo.

Following Russian philosophical thought and Russian culture as a whole, it is appropriate to note that the middle culture is impossible for human society that has reached statehood. As noted by A.P. Chekhov, "... Between" There is God "and" No God "lies a whole huge field, which takes a true sage with great difficulty. The Russian person knows some of these extremes, the middle of them is uninteresting between them, and it usually does not mean anything or very little. "

Mass ... but elitar. What it is?

First of all, let's start with the definition of the concept of "elitar culture". In a wide understanding, elite culture (from Franz. Elite - selective, the best) - this is a form of culture modern society, affordable and understandable not all. But it is worth remembering that these "not all" are not at all those who stand above others on the financial staircase. Rather, it is such sophisticated nature, informals, which are usually their own, a special look at the world, a special worldview.

Elite culture is made to oppose the mass. Elite and mass culture are in difficult interaction for a number of reasons. Of course, the collision of the idealistic and sometimes utopian philosophy of elite culture with pragmaticity, primitiveness and, perhaps, "realism" is massive. Regarding why "realism" is taken in quotes: Well, you look at the modern "masterpieces" of cinema ("Man - Ant", "Batman against Superman" ..., in them, and some kind of realism - some kind of surveillance).

Elite culture usually opposes consumers, "ambitiousness, half-formation" and plebeania. It is interesting to notice that the culture of the elite also opposes folklore, folk culture, because It is the culture of the majority. The elite culture may seem like a silicism or grotesque form of aristocracy than it, of course, because it does not only have any people from the highest seats from the higher seats of society, it is not only not possible.

Denote the main features of elite culture:

creativity, innovation, the desire for the creation of the "World for the first time";

closeness, separation from wide, universal use;

"Art for art";

cultural development of objects, separation from the "stranded" culture;

creation of a new cultural language symbols and images;

system of norms, limited range of values.

What is modern elite culture? To begin with, briefly mention the elite culture of the past. She was something esoteric, hidden, her carriers were priests, monks, knights, members of underground circles (for example, Petrashevsky, a famous member of which F. M. Dostoevsky), Masonic lodges, orders (for example, Crusaders or members of the Teutonic Order).

Why did we appeal to the story? " Historical knowledge - The first tool for the preservation and extension of aging civilization, "wrote Jose Ortega-I-Gasset. The labor of the Gasset "The uprising of the masses" clearly covers the problem of the "man of mass", in it the author introduces the concept of "superchelovka". And it is the "Superchelovka" is a representative of modern elitar culture. Elite, which is not surprising, is a minority, it is by no means "at the helm of modernity", i.e. masses at present not that lead to all but provide a huge impact on socio-political aspects of society; In my opinion, to the opinion of the mass in our time it is customary to listen.

I think that the ordinary mass practically prolonates its thoughts and tastes to society, thereby causing stagnation in it. But still, according to my observations, elite culture in our 21st century opposes the mass all with a greater and greater confidence. Mainstream commitment, oddly enough it sounds, is becoming less and more popular.

In humans, more and more often, the desire to join the "high", inaccessible to the majority. I really want to believe that humanity is learning on the bitter experience of the past centuries that "the uprising of the masses will not take place. To prevent the absolute Celebration of Communion, it is necessary to "return to your genuine I", to live with aspiration into the future.

And in proof that elitar culture is gaining momentum, I will give an example of its brightest representatives. In the musical sphere, I want to highlight the German violinist-virtuoso David Garrett. He performs I. classic works, and modern pop music in your own arrangement.

The fact that Garrett collects many thousands of halls with his performances does not consider it to mass culture, because the music although it can be heard by everyone, but it is not available for any spiritual perception. The music of the famous Alfred Shnitke is the same inaccessible for mass.

IN fine art most a bright representative Elite culture can be called Andy Warhol. Diptych Marilyn, Bank Soup Campbell ... His works have become a real public domain, while still belong to elitarious culture. The art of Lomography, which became very popular in the nineties of the twentieth century, in my opinion, can be considered part of the elite culture, although there are currently an internationally ignorant society, and associations of luggum photographers. In general, about something, read on the link.

In the 21st century began to recruit the popularity of museums modern art (for example, MMOMM, ERARTA, PERMM). A very controversial, however, is the art of Perfomance, but, in my opinion, it can be safely called elitial. And the example of artists acting in this genre are the Serbian artist Marina Abramovich, and the Frenchman Vagram Zaryan, and Peterburst Peter Pavlensky.

An example of the architecture of modern elite culture can be considered the city of St. Petersburg, which is a meeting place different cultures, in which almost every building makes a person knowing to contact the interspear dialogue. But nevertheless, the architecture of St. Petersburg is not modern, so we turn to the architectural work of modern creators. For example, Nautilus House-Shell of Mexican Javier Senosian, Louis Louis Nesser, Architects Yves Bayar and Francis Schapy, Green Citadel, German architect Fredenshraich Hundertwasser.

And speaking about literature of elite culture, it is impossible not to mention James Joyce (and his legendary Roman "Ulysses"), which had a significant impact on Virginia Wolfe and even Ernest Hemingway. Hipster writers, for example, Jack Keroac, William Burrow, Allen Ginzberg, in my opinion, can be considered representatives of the literature of elite cute.

We also want to add Garcia Marquez to this list. "One hundred years of loneliness", "love during the plague", "remembering my sad whores"... works of the Spanish laureate Nobel Prizeundoubtedly enjoy great popularity in elite circles. If speak about modern literature, I want to call Svetlana Aleksievich, the Nobel Prize winner in 2015, whose works, although they are recognized as literary (and not only) by the community, the meaning of them is still not available to most people.

So, you need to have a huge reserve of "keys" to understand the elite culture, knowledge that can help interpret the work of art fully. Every day, see St. Isaac's Cathedral, driving along Palace BridgeAnd perceive it as a dome on the background of the sky - one thing. But when looking at the same cathedral, I remember the story of its creation, associate it with an example of late classicism in architecture, thus turning to St. Petersburg 19th century, to people who lived at the time, entering them into dialogue through time and space - quite another a business.

© Schekin Ilya

Editorial Andrei Puchkov