Mass culture creates new cultural forms. Mass culture: basic characteristic

23.04.2019

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-, adapted to the tastes of the wide masses of people, is technically replicated in the form of a variety of copies and distributed with the help of modern communicative technologies.

Appearance and development mass culture Related to the rapid development of mass communication facilities capable of providing a powerful impact on the audience. IN mass communication Typically distinguished three components:

media (newspapers, magazines, rations, television, Internet blogs, etc.) - replicate information, provide regular impact on the audience and are focused on certain groups of people;
mass exposure (advertising, fashion, cinema, mass literature) - not always regularly affect the audience, are focused on averaged consumer;
technical Means Communication (Internet, telephone) - determine the possibility of direct communication of a person with a person and can serve to transmit personal information.

Note that not only the mass communication tools have an impact on society, but society seriously affects the nature of the information transmitted in the media. Unfortunately, the requests of the public often turn out to be low in cultural terms, which reduces the level television programs, newspaper articles, pop ideas, etc.

IN recent decades In the context of the development of communications, they speak special Computer culture. If earlier served as the main source of information book Page, now - a computer screen. Modern computer Allows you to instantly get information on the network, add text graphic images, videos, sound, which provides a holistic and multi-level perception of information. At the same time, text on the Internet (for example, a web page) can be represented as hypertext. those. Contain the reference system to other texts, fragments, neetical information. The flexibility and multidimensity of computer display media repeatedly enhance the degree of its impact on humans.

At the end of XX - early XXI in. Mass culture began to play important role in ideology and economics. However, this role is ambiguous. On the one hand, the mass culture made it possible to cover the wide segments of the population and to introduce them to the achievements of culture, submitting the latter in simple, democratic and understandable images and concepts, but on the other - it created powerful mechanisms for manipulating the public opinion and the formation of averaged taste.

The main components of the mass culture include:

information industry - Press, television news, talk show, etc., clarifying occurring events understandable. The mass culture was originally formed precisely in the field of information industry - the "yellow press" of the XIX - early XX century. The time has shown the high efficiency of mass communication in the process of manipulating with public opinion;
lEUG industry - movies, entertainment literature, pop humor with maximum reduced content, pop music, etc.;
system of formation Mass consumption, which is the center of which are advertising and fashion. Consumption here is presented in the form of a non-stop process and the most important goal of the human existence;
replicated mythology - from myth about " american dream"Where the beggars turn into millionaires to the myths about the" national exclusivity "and the special virtues of the people compared to others.

Mass culture B. modern society plays an important role. On the one hand, it contributes and on the other, simplifies the understanding of their elements. This is a contradictory and complex phenomenon, despite the characteristic simplicity of which the products of the Maswear are possessed.

Mass culture: the history of the occurrence

Historians did not find the overall point on which their opinions could come to the exact time of this phenomenon. However, there are the most popular provisions that are able to explain the approximate period of the emergence of this variety of culture.

A. Radugin believes that the prerequisites of the Maswear were there if not at the dawn of mankind, it was already exactly when the Bible for Beggars was massively spread, which was designed for a broad audience.
Another provision implies a later occurrence of Maswear, where its origins are associated with the European at that time, detective, adventure and adventurous novels due to large replication were widely distributed.
In the literal sense, according to A. Radugina, it originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He explains this new form The arrangement of life - by massation, which found the display in almost all areas: ranging from political and economic and ending with household.

Based on this, it can be assumed that the impetus for the emergence of the mass culture was the capitalist look and mass production, which was supposed to find the same scale implementations. In this regard, it turned out such a phenomenon as stereotyping. The sameness and template are the bright basic characteristics of the Maswear, which spread not only on household items, but also to views.

Mass culture is closely connected with the process of globalization, which is carried out mainly through the media. Especially this is clearly manifested on modern stage. One of bright examples - Yoga. Yogic practices arose in antiquity, and western countries did not have the slightest relationship. However, with the development of communication, an international exchange of experience began to occur, and yoga was accepted by Western people, starting to be introduced into their culture. It has negative characteristics, because the Western person is not able to understand the whole depth and meaning that the Indians understand, doing yoga. Thus, a simplified understanding of someone else's culture is happening, and the phenomena that require deep understanding is simplified by losing their value.

Mass culture: signs and basic characteristics

It implies a superficial understanding that does not require specific knowledge and is therefore available for the majority.
Stereotype is the main feature of the perception of the products of this culture.
Her elements are based on the emotional unconscious perception.
It operates medium language semiotic standards.
It has an entertaining orientation and manifests itself, to a greater extent in entertainment form.

Modern mass culture: "pros" and "minuses"

IN currently It has a number of shortcomings and positive signs.

For example, this allows you to closely interact a large group of members of society, which improves the quality of their communication.

Stereotypes generated by mass culture, if they are created on the truthful classification, help a person to perceive a large flow of information.

The deficiencies highlights the simplification of cultural elements, profanation of other people's cultures and the tendency to remakes (alteration of once created and recognized art elements on new way). The latter inclines to the assumption that the mass culture is not able to create something new, or is capable, but in small quantities.

Mass culture is a phenomenon characteristic, to a greater extent, for the XX-XXI century. However, part of the researchers believe that it originated in the era of antiquity and, as an example lead Olympic Games, Gladiator fights, ancient Greek Theater.. Others believe that this phenomenon arises only in the XIX century, and its true development reaches in the middle of the 20th century, with the development of media communication and the increasing role of information. Until now, in the environment of researchers, there is no consensus on this question.

Another controversial issue in this topic is the question of the ratio of mass and folk culture. Supporters of the first position suggest that these two cultures are the same, at the same time, adding that folk culture is a certain low mass culture. It is understood that the mass culture is created by professionals, people who have education in this field, and folk culture is created by self-taught, immigrants from the people. In this case, this position can be justified.

More acceptable is the position that notes that the mass and folk culture is two, absolutely different phenomena. In confirmation of this fact It is necessary to compare the parameters of these cultures: who is the Creator, to which are oriented, which underlies them. Consider at the beginning of the folk culture. Her creator is the people himself, this culture is more realistic, has deep historical roots And it is aimed at the transfer of traditions, the values \u200b\u200bof the people. In contrast to her, the mass culture is created by a certain group of professionals, it is focused on fashion, as a result, is a momentum and quickly changing, the main objective Mass culture is obtaining financial benefits.

In addition to data controversial issuesIn the XXI century, another moment arises - that there is a mass culture at present. One of the most common definitions is a culture, popular and predominant among the wide segments of the population in this society. It includes such phenomena as sports, entertainment, life, music, including pop music, literature, media, art etc. It is worth adding that this phenomenon is focused exclusively on the middle consumer for which the entertainment process is the main thing. At the same time, they are talking about elite culture - the subculture of privileged groups of the Company, characterized by the principal closeness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic self-sufficiency. Appealing to the elected minority of their subjects, as a rule, at the same time, its creators and addressees, this culture consciously and consistently opposes the culture of the majority, in a broad sense.

If at the beginning of the 20th century it was clearly able to imagine elite culture and the emerging, mass, now, it is quite difficult. Mass culture is focused on wide circle Consumers contribute to the satisfaction of his primary needs, while elite art is "art for the sake of art." But in the XXI century, it becomes problematic to spend the face between them. The development of mass communication has led to the fact that the broad masses of people can join the elite culture. You can safely visit the Louvre, without leaving the house, you can see the ballet or performance, again, sitting at the computer, many classic works have become publicly available. Thus, in terms of accessibility and distribution, the line between these phenomena is already erased. But this regarding the high culture of past centuries. It has become publicly available, this has its pros and cons. Talk about them later. But is there an elite culture in the XXI century and what is its characteristics?

Interest in the study of mass culture is already developing enough long time And so far formed a large number of research, theories and concepts for this phenomenon. By the authors of most of them, mass culture is defined as a special social phenomenonwhich has its own genesis, specifics and development trends. Consider the most significant approaches to the definition of mass culture.

The first approach is related to the consideration mass society. Studies of this area are central to a mass society emerging as a result of industrialization and urbanization processes. Under the mass culture in this case it is understood as a special type of culture, which is able to replace the traditional forms of folk culture. IN this direction Scientific reasoning J. Bentama, N. Berdyaev, M. Weber, R. Williams, F. Livisa, F. Nietzsche, D. Raffrena, D. Thompson, Z. Freud, E. Frochma, K. Jung, R. Hoggarta . In the works of these philosophers and scientists, mass culture is determined as the utmost expression of spiritual inconsisiency, the social mechanism of alienation and oppression of the personality of a person. Representatives of this scientific direction were inclined to interpret the phenomenon of mass culture as a negative phenomenon.

The development of one of the most critical concepts of the mass society belongs to the well-known Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega-I-Gassetu. Society was determined by him as a union of minority and masses in constant dynamic development. The minority, in his opinion, consisted of persons who possess certain characteristic featuresWhile the mass is just a set of individuals who do not have special differences. Mass - these are mids. "Mass person" was created under the influence of rapid growth of the population in cities and a narrow professional specialization, which weakened cultural potential And spiritually undermined modern civilization. The opinion of Oratega-I-Gasset, it was reduced to the fact that these phenomena led to instability and collapse of culture as a whole. In the ideas of the Spanish thinker, many consonant moments with theories of mass society K. Mannheim, E. Fromma and H. Rated.

In the theories of the mass culture of the Frankfurt school, the concept of the cultural industry, which is the guarantor of the sustainability of capitalism, has become fundamental. Representatives of this school came to the overall conclusion that conformism, holding the reaction of the consumer in the infantile, static state, can be formed under the influence of mass culture in the infantile, static state, allowing to manipulate it. Thus, the phenomenon of mass culture within the framework of these studies was also attached a negative assessment. Among the most prominent representatives of the Frankfurt school, T. Adorno, M. Horkhaymer, V. Benjamin and Markuse.

Another approach determines the mass culture as a phenomenon manifested in modern society for which some are characteristic. specific features Expressions of cultural values. The point of view is expressed that the mass culture becomes the object of consumption of all people, regardless of where exactly they live or are. The mass culture becomes also due to the fact that it is produced daily and massively. In other words, the determination of mass culture is reduced to culture everyday lifewhich becomes available to the audience provided by means of mass communication.

As one of the most interesting and productive, it is possible to consider the approach D. Bella, within which the mass culture appears to the organization of an ordinary consciousness in the information society. A special sign system or a special language, with the help of which mutual understanding is achieved between all members of the information society. She acts as a binder between post-industrial society With its inherent high specialization and man integrated into it only as its component.

Mass culture is also part of the global culture of consumption, which is reproduced through an industrial method and in large volumes. It can also be considered as a culture of everyday life provided by most of society through a variety of channels, including through media and communication. Mass culture itself is closely connected with them. The content of mass culture can be considered the products of modern industrial production, as well as cinema, television, books, newspapers and magazines, sports, tourism, etc. Consumption of this product is massive, since the audience that this culture is perceived is massive, i.e. This is usually the audience of large halls, stadiums, millions of viewers of the body and movie screen.

The formation of mass culture is customary to communicate from the 1870-1890s., When initially in the UK, and after her, and others european countries Began to accept laws on the mandatory distribution of universal literacy among the population. This circumstance determines the initial bond with mass culture with mass communication. To disseminate literacy among the broad masses, the technical capabilities of the printing industry were first used, implemented in the release of cheap popular newspapers and magazines, cheap books in genres of fiction, love and detective novel and comics.

The emergence of mass culture was the process deeper than simply appearance along with already existing one more type of culture. It led to a change in the method of functioning of culture as a whole. Gradually, the fracturing of the old forms of sociality, the loss of patriarchal ties between people, who lived in a fairly closed world of small towns and villages, focusing on the usual orientations and traditional values. Thus, a wave of active migration from villages in cities, from old light to New World, began to occur big citieswhich led to a change in a significant part of the population. However, one of the occurrences of phenomena should be highlighted especially - an increase in time for recreation, due to the reduction in the number of working time, under the influence of the development of equipment, which was able to free the person from many previously employed operations, mainly in household. As a result, the widest sections of society also began to experience the need for leisure. Fill this leisure was to have a mass culture, which was able to put the practice of entertainment on a wide stream.

The beginning of the splicing of culture with the world of entertainment, which predetermined the key features of the substantial field of mass culture. Elements of mass culture were to become interesting in their content and have an effective form effective for rapidly perceive, combine a clear plot with intrigue, and demonstrate belonging to a certain particular genre. Such specificity allowed to predetermine the main features characterizing the mass culture. First, it is characterized by seriality of items of its consumption; secondly, the broadcast of primitive standards of life and relations between people; third, entertainment, fun, sentimentality; Fourth, Propaganda Cult strong personalitywhich is always accompanied by life success.

In the works of mass culture, the consumer is always interesting to the plot in which he can detect resemblance to his vitality, the accuracy of imaginary heroes, which gives him the opportunity to experience various emotions together with heroes, competing them life Nevzpects And rejoicing with them. There is a spectator or reader with those heroes artistic workin which their aspirations are embodied and slept dreams. Thus, the mass culture appears before the consumer as illusory compensation for the fact that real life Often, it turns out unfair to their heroes, where often there is a situation of complexity financial situation, lack of success, recognition, etc. The consumer of the mass culture is given the opportunity to renounce itself from their problems, identifying himself with a prosperous hero, a variety, thus its emotionally scarce existence.

Currently, most people mainly young people, it is through mass culture that forms their ideas about the style of behavior, lifestyle, career, relationships between people who need to be demonstrated in the modern society. Representations of food, clothing, dwelling, home appliances, household items, education is broadcast by man through the mechanisms of mass culture. In modern times, any product begins to be considered prestigious and valuable only when it begins to act as an object of mass demand. Thus, the mass culture is stimulated by the consumption culture, actively as a means of this stimulation using advertising.

Mass culture also appears as a certain foundation of world culture, resulting in erasing and elimination of national borders. At the heart of the works of mass culture lie some universal psychological and psychophysiological characteristics and mechanisms of perception, which are triggered regardless of the level of education and the degree of preparedness of the audience. Moreover, education is often even perceived by the creators of the mass culture, as a certain harmful factor, because it may interfere with the immediate emotional perceptionwhich is first of all, a mass culture is aimed.

Based on the provisions discussed above, it seems possible to formulate the main features characteristic of mass culture:

- the orientation for a homogeneous audience and mainly on emotions, irrationality, collective unconscious, care from reality;

- quick accessibility and quick forget;

- base based on the average language semiotic norm;

- Employment.

Critics, for a long time, in assessing the mass culture, it was said only about the negative sides, the low-standard, vulgarity of its products was emphasized. It was believed that it could be demanded only by unprofitable and undeveloped by the audience. It was condemned by its orientation for consumption, and not on creativity, a tendency to the formation of a certain spiritual standard, i.e. To some very degree of averaging of a person who, as of its own education, he has enough unpretentious queries in the field of art. To the number of mass culture such negative qualitiesShe was attributed primarily entertainment. It was emphasized that in very few works, questions about the purpose and sense of life, values. Often you can face the situation when the works of the mass culture are performed on a fairly low professional levelnot possess high aesthetic value And only a massive worldview is capable of forming, which is inherent in uncritical beliefs and views.

The arguments cannot be rejected as deprived of any meaning. However, it must be said about the positive aspects that the development of mass culture bears. Firstly, the emergence of mass culture contributed to the achievement of universal literacy of the population, as a result of which much large quantity people got access to cultural values. Mass culture creates and replicated quite a lot of low-quality products, but with her and undisputed masterpieces that pushing the person more deeply examine these and other works. Secondly, mass culture belongs a significant role in the formation of a modern recreational mechanism for removing stress and stresses. Thirdly, do not deepen into categorical opposition of mass culture high culture preceding era. In those days, the average and lower culture also existed, but over time only its masterpieces reached us, which represent a single phenomenon of any era, the allocation of which always occurs only over time. Will also occur with modern culture, which over time sends most Works, leaving only real art.

Modern researchers It is customary to allocate three key levels of mass culture. First, kich culture, i.e. Mass culture as its lowest low-profile manifestation. Initially, Kich got widespread only in applied art. However, over time, he covered all types of art, including cinema and television. Mainly, the KIC is characterized by simplified feeding of problems. At its heart, KICH has those images, ideas and plots, which are fairly stereotypes and are focused on the average man, whose life proceeds boring and monotonous. KICH is not called upon to set questions before their consumer, cause spiritual quest and psychological discomfort. It contains only answers in the form of pre-prepared cliches.

The next level of mass culture can be considered a mid-culture, i.e.culture, which is characteristic of some features traditional culture, along with some traits, mass. Compared with a kich, such a form of mass culture is characterized by a higher moral potential, which is laid in it. It can be said that it is exactly the tone, standards are formed, acting as a landmarks of mass culture as a whole.

Another level of mass culture is an art culture in which there is a certain artistic content And his aesthetic expression. Art culture refers to the most high level Mass culture, which is focused and designed for the most educated and demanding of the product consumed segment of its audience. The main task is to bring mass culture as much as possible to the standards and standards that are characteristic of traditional.

IN lately Mass culture is more characteristic of the influence on the MID-Culture, i.e. The culture of the average, in which the work is shielding classical literature, Fashion is formed on samples really artistic creativity, popular science, classical music. The processes occurring in the MID-Culture contribute to the growth of the overall level of mass culture of modernity. Such a conclusion seems to be made possible when comparing works, the creation of which refers to the beginning of the XX century. And to his last decades. The trend towards the ethiization of this culture is also traced, due to which some lifting of its moral level is achieved.

Among the key directions of the mass culture of modernity, it is possible to distinguish such as:

- Childhood industry, which finds an expression in the production of goods and toys for children, organizing children's clubs and camps, the emergence of forms of collective education of children;

- mass general education school that comes to children to the basics scientific knowledge, forms their picture of the world, the basis of which is the value guidelines common in this society, as well as the same stereotypes;

- The media through which the reporting of the population of current information is made to the broad layers of the population. Thus, public opinion is formed and the soil is created for subsequent manipulation of people consciousness;

- the system of national or state ideology and propaganda, the key task of which is the formation of political reliability among the majority of the population;

- mass political movements and batchs that representatives of the political and state elite are used to achieve their goals as a result of the injection of political, nationalist or religious psychosis;

- World Social Mythology or Quasi-Religious flows and sects, false scientific teachings, the creation of idols, the formation of gossip and rumors, with the help of which the opportunity to give simple explanations of all the problems of modernity. Myths about the global conspiracy of the secret organization, aliens and other information of this order is a product of world social mythology;

- Entertainment industry, which includes mass artistic culture with all kinds of literature and art, entertainment ideas, entertainment species professional sports, clubs, discos and other instruments that can contribute to the mental discharge of a person;

- Industry of health leisure, including resorts, sports tourism, mass physical education, cosmetic firms and services;

- Intellectual and aesthetic leisure industry, implying "cultural" tourism, artistic self-identity, collecting, circles and society in interest, scientific and educational institutions that continue to be preserved from the XVIII century. educational trend;

- game complexes capable of developing the speed of the reaction, and help a person to form skills to help adapt to the modern tempo and rhythm of life;

- Dictionaries, reference books, encyclopedias, electronic information banks, libraries focused on the satisfaction of the interests of the mass consumer and the popularization of modern knowledge.

Thus, the mass culture is a new most developed form of cultural competence modern man. It consists of new mechanisms of inculturation and socialization, a new management system and manipulation public consciousness, the interests and needs of a person. Mass culture can be considered as a way of existence modern culture. Which, on the one hand, is a culture responsible modern type Man, and on the other hand, becomes a tool for its creation.

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Mass culture creates new cultural forms. Mass culture: basic characteristic

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