Problems mass culture in the world

There are quite contradictory points of view on the time of the emergence of "mass culture". Some consider it to be an eternal by-product of culture and therefore find it already in antiquity. Attempts to link the emergence of "mass culture" with scientific and technological revolution, which gave rise to new ways of production, distribution and consumption of culture. Bourgeois “popular culture was first formed in the United States. On the one hand, it democratized the sphere of culture, on the other hand, it facilitated the penetration of commercial, political interests into this sphere, and the pursuit of profit.

The confusion of culture and politics can take two different directions. It can make a culture intolerant of any culture other than its own; or lead to the ideal of a world state, where only one uniform world culture will exist. Politics is permeating even Hollywood cinema today.

Popular culture is a culture of the masses, a culture intended for consumption by the people; it is not the consciousness of the people, but of the commercial cultural industry; it is hostile to genuinely popular culture. She does not know traditions, has no nationality, her tastes and ideals change at a dizzying speed in accordance with the needs of fashion. Popular culture appeals to wide audience, appeals to simplistic tastes, claims to be folk art.

Modernism, on the other hand, Appeals to the tastes of the elite, relies on different directions avant-garde art. Currently, there is an intensive process of transformation of the avant-garde into the art of consumer goods.

The phenomenon of mass culture exists, and television is the most effective means of replicating and disseminating this culture. Mass culture affects the mass consciousness, is associated with the mass media, is focused on consumer tastes and instincts, and has a manipulative character. The mass media pose a great threat to an independent person; it possesses a dangerous instrument of suggestion, an instrument of social training of a person.

Popular culture standardizes human spiritual activity. The human masses have and have always had an aversion to education and art. She wants to be distracted from life, and not reveal its meaning.

In America, “popular culture has acquired a twofold character: the American mind, which is not occupied with practical concerns, remains a rest, while the other part of it, occupied with discoveries, production and social organization, reminiscent of Niagara Falls. American will is embodied in a skyscraper, American intelligence in colonial buildings.

Through market-oriented commodities, we learn about typical behaviors, attitudes, conventional wisdom, prejudices and expectations a large number of people.

One of the important functions of modern mass culture is the mythologization of public consciousness. The works of mass culture, as well as myths, are not based on the distinction between the real and the ideal. They become an object not of knowledge, but of faith.

There is an opinion that the most adequate term expressing the essence of works of mass culture is the term icon. It is the icon that corresponds to the Russian concept of the image. This term characterizes this type of artistic reflection, which is symbolic, fundamentally unrealistic, is an object of faith, worship, and not a means of reflection and knowledge of the world.

Interest in the phenomenon of mass culture arose quite a long time ago and today there are many studies, theories and concepts of "mass culture". The authors of most of them tend to view it as a special social phenomenon with its own genesis, specificity and development trends. Theorists and cultural historians adhere to far from identical points of view about the time of the emergence of mass culture as an independent social phenomenon. So, E.P. Smolskaya believes that there are no grounds for talking about a thousand-year history of mass culture. On the contrary, the American sociologist D. White believes that the first elements of mass culture include, for example, the battles of Roman gladiators, which attracted numerous spectators. According to A. Adorno, the prototypes of modern mass culture should be considered the forms of culture that appeared during the formation of capitalism in England, that is, at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. He is convinced that the novels written during this period (Dafoe, Richardson) were intended for the market and had a clear commercial focus. Consequently, they gravitated towards "mass" rather than "elite" culture. However, Russian opponents (E.P. Smolskaya and others) indicate that these works did not contain the well-known patterns that are characteristic of works of mass culture.

Probably, the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century should be considered the starting point in the emergence and development of mass culture. We believe that the phenomenon of mass culture is not just a kind of "traditional culture", but a significant change in culture as a whole. That is, the development of the media and communication (radio, cinema, television, gigantic circulation of newspapers, illustrated magazines, the Internet), the industrial-commercial type of production and the distribution of standardized spiritual goods, the relative democratization of culture, an increase in the level of education of the masses with a paradoxical decrease in spiritual demands ...

The researchers attribute the detective genre to one of the earliest forms of mass culture, which appeared in the early 30s of the 19th century and immediately gained immense popularity. V late XIX century, weekly media began to publish works that later became known as the "heart press" or "dream industry". At the very end of the 19th century, such a form of mass culture as comics appears in the United States of America. At first, this genre was intended exclusively for children, but then it became an integral part of adult life. The active, or rather the rapid development of mass culture begins in the middle of the 20th century. From that moment on, it becomes total and expansive.

As in the case of traditional culture, there is still no universal definition of mass culture. This situation has its own rational explanation. The fact is that as a scientific and philosophical category, "mass culture" includes as many as three concepts. First, "culture" as the special character of a product. Secondly, "mass", as the degree of distribution of the product. Third, "culture" as a spiritual value. Let's now see what the most common definitions of mass culture look like.

Some researchers believe that mass culture is a special cultural phenomenon, an autonomous formation, in which a break in form and content often occurs. In particular, A. B. Gofman notes that mass culture is a special state of culture in a crisis period of society, when the process of disintegration of its content levels develops. Therefore, popular culture often takes on a formal character. While functioning, it loses its essential content, and, in particular, traditional morality.

In another approach, mass culture is defined as a phenomenon that characterizes the characteristics of the production of cultural values ​​in modern society... It is assumed that popular culture is consumed by all people, regardless of their place and country of residence. Popular culture is also because it is produced on a daily basis. This is the culture Everyday life accessible to the audience by means of mass communication.

One of the most interesting and productive should be recognized the approach of D. Bell, according to which mass culture is a kind of organization of everyday consciousness in an information society, a special sign system or a special language in which members of the information society reach mutual understanding. It acts as a connecting link between a post-industrial society of high specialization and a person who is integrated into it only as a “partial” person. Communication between "partial" people, narrow specialists, unfortunately, is carried out, most likely, only at the level of "mass man", that is, in an average public language, which is mass culture.

Now mass culture penetrates into almost all spheres of social life and forms its own single semiotic space.

Obviously, mass culture is far from homogeneous. It has its own structure and levels. In modern cultural studies, as a rule, there are three main levels of mass culture:

* kitsch culture (i.e. low-quality, even vulgar culture);

* mid-culture (so to speak, the culture of the "middle hand");

* art culture (mass culture, not devoid of a certain, sometimes even high, artistic content and aesthetic expression).

Analyzing popular culture as a special socio-cultural phenomenon, it is necessary to indicate its main characteristics. These characteristics, in our opinion, are:

* focus on a homogeneous audience;

* reliance on the emotional, irrational, collective, unconscious;

* escapism;

* fast availability;

* fast forgetting;

* tradition and conservatism;

* operating with an average linguistic semiotic norm;

* entertaining.

As an independent phenomenon, mass culture is assessed controversially.

In general, the existing points of view can be divided into two groups. Representatives of the first group (Adorno, Marcuse, etc.) give a negative assessment of this phenomenon. In their opinion, mass culture forms a passive perception of reality among its consumers. This position is justified by the fact that the works of mass culture offer ready-made answers to what is happening in the socio-cultural space around the individual. In addition, some theorists of mass culture believe that under its influence the system of values ​​changes: the desire for entertainment and entertainment becomes dominant. The negative aspects associated with the influence of mass culture on public consciousness also include the fact that mass culture is based not on an image oriented towards reality, but on a system of images that affect the unconscious sphere of the human psyche.

This group includes the authors of the Living Ethics Teachings (Mahatmas, the Roerich family). According to the Living Ethics paradigm, mass culture in its essence is a pseudo-culture, since, unlike true (i.e. high culture), in most of its forms it does not contribute to humanistically oriented social progress and spiritual evolution of a person. The vocation and purpose of true culture is the ennobling and improvement of man. Popular culture performs the opposite functions - it reanimates the lower aspects of consciousness and instincts, which, in turn, stimulate ethical, aesthetic and intellectual degradation of the individual.

Meanwhile, researchers adhering to an optimistic point of view on the role of mass culture in the life of society indicate that:

* it attracts the masses who do not know how to use their free time productively;

* creates a kind of semiotic space that promotes closer interaction between members of a high-tech society;

* enables a wide audience to get acquainted with the works of traditional (high) culture.

And yet, it is likely that the opposition of definitely positive and definitely negative assessments of mass culture will not be entirely correct. It is obvious that the influence of mass culture on society is far from being unambiguous and does not fit into the binary scheme “white - black”. This is one of the main problems in the analysis of mass culture.

Conclusion

The concept of culture is interpreted by everyone in their own way. Unchanging, perhaps, is the concept of a cultured person. At one time, a person's culture was predetermined by his education, and, accordingly, by his worldview. However, in our time, ignorance is an exception. Everyone can read and write. This somewhat complicates the interpretation of human culture, since the culture of society has gone from high to mass.

Indeed, it is not so difficult to compare the number of authors who write today and who wrote literally 70 years ago. The difference will be striking. Especially if you include such a phenomenon as the Internet in your statistics. This is where the first prerequisites for excitement arise. The fact is that nowadays subcultural communities are developing very widely, which can also be attributed to social culture. At the same time, many of them have a vivid anti-cultural character.

There is no need to introduce you to such phenomena as: skinheads, goths or emo. Some of them are not vividly anticultural in nature, some pursue other goals. However, there is HERD in everything.

We do not notice, but our social culture is a well-oiled mechanism of movement. Moreover, with levers operating at 99%. Take holidays for example. We were clearly told when and what to do: on February 14 to love, on March 8 to love women, on February 23 to drink for men, on December 31 - January 2 to drink for everyone. You can add birthdays when others remember you, and especially funerals, when they say a lot of good things, but already inappropriate.

The same subcultural phenomenon. In fact, the culture of the individual is a form of worldview, a kind of mentality that predetermines the behavior and attitude of a person to society and the phenomena of life. But if all personalities form their own point of view, an incident will come out, it will be impossible to please everyone. If the nation is embodied in a single impulse, then a threatening force will arise that is difficult to control. But to split the community into many cultural groups, which can also be pitted against each other, is the most optimal plan.

It is necessary to consider the concept of mass culture, subcultural groups, the detrimental influence of some subspecies of the latter. Also no less important are the problems of culture as such. Some of the current movements, theoretically falling under the concept of cultural, are anti-cultural in their philosophy. And there are more and more of them.

In conclusion, a few words about the possible social prospects of mass culture. Apparently, it is firmly entrenched in modern society, and one should not expect its spontaneous disappearance, at least in the next historical period. Obviously, if it continues to exist in its present form, then the general cultural potential of civilization will not only not increase, but may also suffer significant damage. The pseudo-values ​​of mass culture are still too burdensome and even destructive for the individual and society. Therefore, an ideological transformation of mass culture is necessary through its filling with more lofty ideas, socially significant plots and aesthetically perfect images. We believe that the decisive role in such a positive transformation of mass culture can and should be played by the world spiritual culture in all the diversity of its types and forms.

Literature

1. Fetisova T. A. Culture of the city. // Human: image and essence. - M., 2000.

2. Shaginskaya E. N. Mass culture of the XX century: an outline of theories. - M., 2000.

3. Renault Alain. The era of the individual. Towards the history of subjectivity. SPb., 2002.

4. Deixel A., Brandmeyer K. Magic image: a trademark in the era of mass production. - In the book: Trademark... SPb., 2002.

5. Teplits K. T. Everything for everyone. Popular culture and modern man. // Human: image and essence. - M., 2000.

At the end of the forties of the last century, the term "Mass culture" appears, that is, a culture designed for large masses of people. Popular culture is yellow newspapers, pop music, and soap operas. Something that usually exists for the purpose of "relaxing", for example, after a long day at work. Popular culture is meant for many, but not for everyone. And that's why.

Let's imagine a welder Vasily, who received a secondary specialized education. How would he prefer to spend his leisure time? What will he choose, watching a talk show on TV or reading a volume of Dostoevsky? Obviously, the first one. Now let's imagine Nikolai Petrovich teaching philosophy at one of the universities. Can you think that in the evenings he watches the Malakhov show? Thus, we can come to the conclusion that the need for mass culture exists, first of all, among poorly educated people. This is both the working class and people employed in the service sector. Popular culture is most prevalent in industrialized countries such as Russia, where the working class is predominant. I am not saying that in post-industrial countries there is none - there is, but of a higher quality.

It would seem that this mass culture exists, and okay. But, unfortunately, its spread leads to the most negative consequences for society. Since its task is to satisfy the needs of a huge number of people, it should be simple and understandable to everyone. Therefore, its main characteristic is primitiveness. This primitiveness is detrimental to society. Maybe the welder Vasily can no longer be convinced that the Beatles are better than the Lesopoval group, but he has a daughter who is being raised by a thug.

Popular culture forms the younger generation. And the problem is that, in principle, it doesn't make you think. This leads to degradation. As a result, we have a weak-willed, not thinking society, suitable only for the service sector. If that frantic dynamics of increasing the popularity of mass culture, which exists now, continues, then in a few decades we may find ourselves in the world described by the famous science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. In a world without books, in a world where a huge TV set is enough to satisfy all spiritual needs.

Of course, the direction in which society is developing depends largely on the state. But it, in particular ours, seems to be deliberately not trying to restrain the spread of mass culture. There is only one answer to this - it is not profitable. After all, it is much easier to manage people whose thoughts are occupied by those who slept with whom in show business, rather than those people who think about freedom and social justice.

A philosophical question arises: "What to do?" First, no matter how trite it may sound, you need to start with yourself. It is necessary to restrain your primitive needs in mass culture, not to follow their lead, not to succumb to the temptation to watch an evening reality show, not to buy yellow newspapers with another sensation from the world of show business, not to clog your player with albums of one-day stars.

Instead, read as much as possible, engage in self-development, reflect on existing issues, and not on pressing ones. Secondly, to try, if not to indicate directly, then at least to hint to the people around them that everything popular is bad, because the understanding of this must come to them on their own. It seems that this is the duty of every person who, using a metaphor, does not float on the surface, but looks into the depths. We must make sure that all people, regardless of their level of education or social status, show interest in traditional and elite culture. It depends on us what our society will be like in the future. It depends on us whether we will be able to move to a new, truly civil society, or will continue to mark time, inventing new idols and living someone else's life, the life of TV series heroes for housewives, a festive life, but deceiving and false.

Introduction 2

Concept, historical conditions and stages of the formation of mass culture 5

Introduction

The concept of "culture" is very ambiguous, has different content and different meanings not only in everyday language, but also in different sciences and philosophical disciplines.

The concept of “culture” must be disclosed in its differential-dynamic aspects, which requires the use of the categories “social practice” and “activity”, linking the categories of “social being” and “social consciousness”, “objective” and “subjective” in the historical process ... In modern Russian philosophical literature, the concept of “activity” appears as one of the most fundamental characteristics of human existence. At the same time, it is also generally accepted that a person is an “active natural being” who asserts himself in the world, in his being. Thus, we can say that the specificity of the social form of the motion of matter is expressed through the concept of “activity”.

If we recognize that one of the main features of genuine culture is the heterogeneity and richness of its manifestations, based on national-ethnic and class-class differentiation, then in the 20th century, the enemy of cultural "polyphony" was not only Bolshevism, which by its nature did not accept any pluralism. Under the conditions of an “industrial society” and scientific and technological revolution, humanity as a whole has shown a clearly pronounced tendency towards stereotypes and uniformity to the detriment of any kind of originality and identity, whether it is about an individual or certain social strata and groups. The modern state, like a gigantic machine, with the help of unified education systems and equally coordinated information, continuously “churns out” faceless and obviously doomed to anonymity human “material”. If the Bolsheviks and their followers sought to forcibly transform people and some kind of "cogs", then from the middle of this century the processes of standardization of everyday life have acquired an involuntary and all-encompassing character all over the world, with the exception of the remote periphery.

The culture of modern society is a collection of the most diverse layers of culture, that is, it consists of a dominant culture, subcultures and even countercultures. In any society, high culture (elite) and folk culture (folklore) can be distinguished. The development of the mass media has led to the formation of the so-called mass culture, simplified in semantic and artistic terms, technologically accessible to all. Mass culture, especially with its strong commercialization, is capable of displacing both high and popular cultures. But in general, the attitude towards mass culture is not so unambiguous.

The phenomenon of "mass culture" from the point of view of its role in the development of modern civilization is not assessed by scientists unambiguously 1. Depending on the gravitation towards an elite or populist way of thinking, culturologists tend to consider it as something like social pathology, a symptom of the degeneration of society, or, conversely, an important factor in its health and internal stability. The first, largely fueled by the ideas of F. Nietzsche, were O. Spengler, H. Ortega y Gasset, E. Fromm, N.A. Berdyaev and many others. The latter are represented by the already mentioned L. White and T. Parsons. A critical approach to "mass culture" comes down to its accusations of neglecting the classical heritage, that it is allegedly an instrument of deliberate manipulation of people; enslaves and unifies the main creator of any culture - the sovereign personality; contributes to her alienation from real life; distracts people from their main task - "the spiritual and practical development of the world" (K. Marx). The apologetic approach, on the contrary, is expressed in the fact that "mass culture" is proclaimed as a natural consequence of irreversible scientific and technological progress, that it contributes to the rallying of people, especially young people, regardless of any ideologies and national-ethnic differences into a stable social system and not only does not reject the cultural heritage of the past, but also makes its best examples the property of the widest popular strata through their replication through the press, radio, television and industrial reproduction. The debate about the harm or beneficialness of "mass culture" has a purely political aspect: both democrats and supporters of authoritarian rule, not without reason, strive to use this objective and very important phenomenon of our time in their own interests. During the Second World War and in the post-war period, the problems of "mass culture", especially its most important element - mass information, were studied with equal attention both in democratic and totalitarian states.

The concept, historical conditions and stages of the formation of mass culture

The peculiarities of the production and consumption of cultural values ​​allowed culturologists to distinguish two social forms of culture existence: mass culture and elite culture. Mass culture is a type of cultural product that is produced in large quantities every day. It is assumed that popular culture is consumed by all people, regardless of place and country of residence. It is a culture of everyday life, presented to the widest possible audience through various channels, including the media and communication.

There are a number of points of view in cultural studies about the origins of mass culture.

As an example, the most common in the scientific literature can be cited:

The preconditions for mass culture have been formed since the birth of mankind, and, in any case, at the dawn of Christian civilization. As an example, simplified versions of the Holy Books (for example, "The Bible for the Poor"), designed for a general audience, are usually cited.

The origins of mass culture are associated with the advent of an adventure, detective, adventure novel in European literature of the 17th-18th centuries, which significantly expanded the audience of readers due to huge circulations (books by D. Defoe, M. Komarov).

3. A great influence on the development of mass culture was also exerted by the law on compulsory universal literacy, adopted in 1870 in Great Britain, which allowed many to master the main form artistic creation XIX century - a novel.

And yet, this is the prehistory of mass culture. And in a proper sense, mass culture showed itself for the first time in the United States at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The well-known American political scientist Z. Brzezinski owns a phrase that has become commonplace over time: "If Rome gave the world the right, England parliamentary activity, France - culture and republican nationalism, then modern SSL gave the world a scientific and technological revolution and mass culture."

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was characterized by a comprehensive massification of life. She touched upon all her spheres: economics and politics, management and communication of people. The active role of the masses of people in various social spheres has been analyzed in a number of philosophical works of the 20th century. As, for example, the American sociologist D. Bell in his book "Horses of Ideology" defines the peculiarities of modern society by the emergence of mass production and mass consumption. Here the author formulates several meanings of the word "mass":

1. Mass - as an undifferentiated set (ie, the opposite of the concept of a class).

2. Mass - as a synonym for ignorance (as X. Ortega y Gasset also wrote about this).

3. The masses - as a mechanized society (that is, man is perceived as an appendage of technology).

4. The masses - as a bureaucratized society (ie, in a mass society, the individual loses his individuality in favor of herd nature).

5. The mass is like a crowd. There is a psychological meaning here. The crowd does not reason, but obeys the passions. A person himself may be cultured, but in a crowd he is a barbarian.

And D. Bell concludes: the masses are the embodiment of herd, uniformity, stereotyped.

An even deeper analysis of "mass culture" was made by the Canadian sociologist M. McLuhan. But he, like D. Bell, comes to the conclusion that the mass media give rise to a new type of culture. McLuhan emphasizes that the starting point of the era of "industrial and typographic man" was the invention of I. Gutenberg in the 15th century of the printing press. Modern media, however, creating, according to McLuhan, a "global village" is also creating a "new tribal man." This new person differs from the “tribal” one who once lived on earth, in that his myths are formed by “electronic information”. According to McLuhan, the printing technique created the public, the electronic one the mass. Defining art as the leading element of spiritual culture, McLuhan emphasized the escapist (i.e., diverting from reality) function of artistic culture.

Of course, the mass has changed significantly these days. The masses have become educated and informed. In addition, the subjects of mass culture today are not just the masses, but also individuals united by various ties. Since people act simultaneously as individuals, and as members of local groups, and as members of mass social communities, the subject of "mass culture" can be considered as two-fold, that is, simultaneously both individual and mass. In turn, the concept of "mass culture" characterizes the features of the production of cultural values ​​in a modern industrial society, designed for the mass consumption of this culture. At the same time, the mass production of culture is understood but by analogy with the flow-conveyor industry.

Within the framework of mass culture, the following spheres and manifestations can be distinguished:

The industry of the "subculture of childhood", aimed at the formation of standardized norms and models of personal culture, laying the foundations for the basic value attitudes encouraged in a given society;

A mass general education school that introduces students to the basics of scientific knowledge, the selection of which takes place in accordance with standard programs, fosters standard behavioral skills necessary for the socialization of children;

The mass media, aiming, under the pretext of informing the population, of an objective interpretation of current events, the formation of the public opinion necessary for the "customer";

A system of national or state ideology and propaganda that manipulates the consciousness of citizens in the interests of the ruling elites and forms mass political movements;

Mass social mythology, which translates complex phenomena that require special study and appropriate scientific preparation into the layer of everyday consciousness, allowing the "man of the masses" to feel involved in science, politics, state life, etc .;

The industry of advertising, fashion, which forms the standards of prestigious interests and needs, lifestyle and lifestyle, manages the demand of an ordinary consumer, turns the process of non-stop consumption of various social benefits into an end in itself;

Industry of physical image: mass physical culture movement, aerobics, bodybuilding, cosmetology, etc .;

Leisure industry: mass artistic culture (adventure, detective and tabloid literature, similar genres of cinema, operetta, pop music, show industry, circus, tourism, etc.), with the help of which the effect of human psychological relaxation is achieved1.

At present, such a form of mass communication as the Internet is also involved in the sphere of mass culture, which is becoming a global means of distributing cultural products. Its appearance changes many traditional ideas about the ways of broadcasting sociocultural experience, forms of human interaction, etc. However, this phenomenon and its socio-cultural consequences still need a corresponding study.

The influence of the media on popular culture.

Currently, the mass media (mass media) exert a huge psychological influence on the consciousness and formation of a person's personality. The role of the media is related to their influence on various stages and aspects of the information process in society. The flow of information in the modern world is so diverse and contradictory that neither an individual, nor even a group of specialists is able to independently understand it, therefore it is the media that have a strong impact.

The media today is a powerful factor of influence on the psychological, social state of people, the degree of influence on young people - an audience with a fragile self-awareness, an unstable worldview - is the greatest.Aspects of the influence of the media are numerous, we will present only the most widespread opinions, highlighting both positive and negative factors of influence Mass media on the personality of a youth representative. The media great amount functions, and, therefore, aspects of influence. For example, there are "direct", immediate aspects that are associated with the main function of the media - the transmission of information: entertainment; informative, educational function, etc. We will note the influence that is directed deeper and may not be noticeable at first glance. In the practice of the media today, methods of subconscious influence are widely used, when the attitude of society to certain phenomena of the surrounding world is formed using various methods that are introduced into the flow of news, automatically causing in the mass consciousness either a negative or a positive reaction to a specific event.

Positive media influence

The reality around us is constantly and painstakingly systematized by the brain: new knowledge and skills, new information and new events are included every day either in previously created structures, or form new ones. We constantly have to collect and process incoming information. At first this division is primitive - into pleasant and unpleasant, but as it "grows" the information takes on a variety of meanings. Often, a person who has received this or information on a large scale for any particular object is not able to determine the meaning of this information himself. Then the media come to the rescue. They illuminate various pressing social issues and thereby influence the opinions and behavior of people, both in society and individually.

Media technical tools include the press, television, radio, and recent times Internet and advertising. In recent decades, communications have undergone significant changes due to the spread of satellite communications, cable radio and television, electronic text communication systems (video, screen and cable texts), as well as individual means of storing and printing information (cassettes, floppy disks, disks, printers). But the most massive and strong influence on society is exerted by audiovisual media: television, the Internet and advertising (this is due to the "effect of presence", since the sound and video sequences are in the organic unity and both of the most important types of human receptors are involved, which ensures the creation of stronger connections with audience, perceiving information). The media, through their impact on society as a whole, influence each person individually, forming certain identical emotions and actions (in this context, we are talking about the positive influence of the media, although this influence may be opposite).

Thus, thanks to the media, public opinion is formed - a state of mass consciousness that contains a hidden or explicit attitude of various social communities to the problems and events of reality. For example, there is a clearly formulated public opinion regarding such global universal human problems as the prevention of an ecological catastrophe, thermonuclear, biological war, etc. Public opinion acts as a control, advisory function.

The Internet is gaining more and more popularity among young people. carries the shades of three functions - communication (as a source of communications), media (as a source of information) and production (as the basis for business). Today, there are almost no barriers to the development of computer information technologies. The Internet, a system for searching and transmitting information generated by these technologies, will undoubtedly acquire an absolute set of degrees of freedom in the very near future. This phenomenon opens up tremendous opportunities for a young person striving for self-development for creativity, learning, modeling and many other areas, and virtual technologies created and applied on the basis of understanding the phenomenon of virtual reality will bring undoubted benefits to both an individual and the state system. generally.

Negative influence of the media.

The task of the media in the process of persuasion is to create a strong, stable attitude towards this phenomenon. Due to its biological nature, a person is susceptible to suggestion, imitation and contagion. By itself, the activity of the media, which sets the task of instilling something in society, is inhumane, since people cannot control the impact directed at them and, accordingly, are powerless in the face of such suggestions.

One of the negative influences is propaganda. Over the years, propaganda has worked out a large number of techniques for manipulating public consciousness, which are really effective and allow you to influence the mass in a certain way. One of the negative influences on the consciousness of young people is the method of disinformation. The point is that at a certain moment the media is "supplied" with information, which is often an outright lie. As a rule, disinformation is supplied from different sources and sinks into the subconscious of a person, is used at the moment of making an important decision, and when the truth is known, the goal of disinformation will already be achieved. Thus, this method is quite effective. But the method of disinformation is frankly "rude" and is not often used in modern media, in contrast to the influence associated with associations.

The method of association presupposes a careful selection and a special arrangement of concepts that cause either positive or negative associations, which allows us to influence the perception of information (we are fighters for independence, the prosperity of Russia, they are occupiers, enslavers of the people; behind us is all progressive humanity, common people, behind them - oligarchs, bandits, officials). Since the method is based on certain associations, it makes it easy to influence a person due to his habits and beliefs. This subsequently leads to the formation of stereotypes. Stereotypes effectively manage the entire process of information perception. The process of perception is just a mechanical adjustment of a still unknown phenomenon to a stable general formula (stereotype). Therefore, the media standardize the message, i.e. in a special way they "bring" information under the stereotype, general opinion. A person should perceive the message effortlessly and unconditionally, without internal struggle and critical analysis.

Stereotypes are formed under the influence of two factors: unconscious collective processing and individual socio-cultural environment, as well as, of course, with targeted ideological influence with the help of the media. With the help of stereotypes, it is easy to manipulate a person's consciousness, since the stereotype is closely related to the life of society in general and specific groups of people in particular, for example, in the minds of the inhabitants of our country, the “philosophy of hope” is preserved as a stereotype, an orientation towards ideal models, among young people, often thanks to the media there is an opinion about the impossibility of influencing one's future, the disinterest of the authorities in future personnel, etc. Thus, most researchers show a close connection of stereotypes with the gigantic influence of the media, which shape attitudes towards the world, on behavior that reproduces the actions of "heroes" created by the press, radio or television. The media teaches a person to think in stereotypes and reduce the intellectual level of messages so that they have become a tool of stupidity. This was the main method of fixing the necessary stereotypes in the mind - repetition.

The importance of the influence of the media not only on the social position of modern youth, but also on its mental condition... Young people devote a lot of energy to study and work, therefore, having come home, he undoubtedly seeks to relax and unwind. It should be mentioned in what mental state a person sits down in front of a TV, a computer, or a newspaper or magazine. It is recorded that the largest proportion of crimes are those that were committed at home. Various quarrels, stress, dissatisfaction with life, lead to depression, hysteria. An agitated person, finding himself at home, throws out his anger on his neighbors, while under the influence of TV, radio and other factors, he sharply becomes inhibited, i.e. into a state of heightened suggestibility.

1 Mamontov S.P. Fundamentals of cultural studies: Moscow: Olympus, 1999.-p. 147-154.

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FROM FUNDS OF THE RUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY

Rybakova, Marina Gennadevna

Popular culture and its influence on the political

image of the state

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Rybakova, Marina Gennadievna.

Popular culture and its influence on political image

state [Electronic resource]: On the example of the United States:

Dis. ... Cand. polit. sciences

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Sociology Mass media, mass culture and propaganda Political problems of international relations and global development Full text:

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RYBAKOVA Marina Gennadievna MASS CULTURE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE NOLITICAL IMAGE OF THE STATE (FOR EXAMPLE USA) Specialty 23.00. Political Problems of International Relations and Global Development Dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Political Sciences Academic Supervisor Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor B.A. Shiryaev St. Petersburg Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Mass culture as a social phenomenon 1.1. The origins and main stages of development of modern mass culture 1.2. Mass culture as a form of intercultural communication 1.3. Theoretical approaches to the question of determining the essence of a stereotype, image, image Chapter 2. Popular culture as a reflection of American society 2.1. Historical and social conditions for the development of mass culture in the United States 2.2. The influence of US mass culture on the world community in the context of globalization 2.3. Reflections of various countries on the expansion of American mass culture Chapter 3. Mass culture of the United States as a tool for creating a political image 3.1. Socio-economic and ethnic prerequisites for the formation of the political image of the United States 3.2. Popular culture in Russian society 3.3. The image of the United States as a factor in increasing political influence through mass culture Conclusion References Introduction Relevance research topics. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that mass culture is analyzed in connection with politics, is considered as a powerful lever for controlling the consciousness of the masses not only within the country, but also abroad, it is investigated as an effective form of exercising political influence in the world that corresponds to certain political goals and interests. ...

Popular culture is considered as one of the tools for creating the political image of the state. These tendencies were especially pronounced in the 20th century in the United States, in a country that uses its popular culture to achieve political goals in the context of economic and political globalization around the world, to form an attractive and at the same time impressive political image.

In modern international relations, the importance of culture and especially mass culture is difficult to overestimate. UNESCO at the Stockholm Conference (1998) proposed placing cultural policy at the center of development strategies, which was reflected in the final declaration. This proposal found support. Since 1999, the World Bank began to provide loans to developing countries, which took into account cultural factors in their programs.

The attention paid by President V.V. Putin, this particular importance of the problem, influenced the creation of the concept of the cultural policy of Russia in 2000, "and is also really visible now in the actions of leading Russian politicians. The role of mass culture in international politics was emphasized by many politicians, in particular, President Bill Clinton, calling legislators to increase "Foreign cultural policy of Russia - year 2000: theses // Diplomatic bulletin. - 2000. - No. 4. - S. 76-84.

appropriations in the field of external cultural relations (2000), figuratively stated that "the Cold War was won by Elvis Presley" ^. In the same year 2000, the concentration of cultural policy in Germany "" was created. In recent years, many countries of the world community have been paying special attention to their cultural policies.

In the era of globalization and discussions about cultural imperialism, the development of external political relations in the field of mass culture are becoming a real priority for states.

An important aspect of our research is the study of universal trends in world mass culture and their impact on political processes. In particular, the experience of the United States in creating a certain political image of the state through culture. Over the past decades, culture and art have been transforming into one of the critical forms activities in world politics and diplomacy. This is largely due to the United States. The foreign cultural policy of the United States and the spread of American culture are interconnected with the process of globalization. The fact is that the foreign cultural policy of the United States and the export of American mass culture contribute to the development of globalization processes, partly being a product of these same processes;

and globalization, in turn, promotes the foreign cultural policy of the United States and the spread of American culture. Thus, these processes are in a state of interpenetration and mutual influence and are objectively one of the main and integral components of the general multilevel process of globalization.

^ Shmagin E.A. Culture and diplomacy // International life. 2002 .-. No. 3.-C. 61.

^ Auswaertige Kuiturpolitik - Konzeption 2000 [Electron, resource]. Access mode:

Title from the screen.

the study concretizes the term "mass culture" itself, examines the origins and main stages of development of modern mass culture.

The formation and development of mass culture in the late 19th - early 20th centuries was, in fact, deprived of theoretical comprehension. The emergence of a critical theory of mass culture occurs within the framework of socio-philosophical erosion but common problems social development, in particular the exposure of mass society "*.

The term "mass culture" itself is defined as a concept that encompasses the heterogeneous cultural phenomena of the 20th century, which became widespread in connection with the scientific and technological revolution and the constant renewal of the mass media. The production, distribution and consumption of mass culture products is of an industrial and commercial nature. The semantic range of mass culture is very wide - from primitive kitsch to complex, meaningful forms ^.

In modern society, the phenomenon of mass culture is characterized as pervasive and diverse, affecting many aspects of people's lives in the overwhelming majority of countries of the world.

Among the manifestations and trends of modern mass culture that accompany a person from birth, we note only those that are of particular interest in the context of this study:

The so-called "industry of childhood subculture" (works of art for children, films, cartoons, industrial toys, methods of collective education of children, etc.);

"* Razlogov KE Mass culture of the theory // New philosophical encyclopedia: in 4 volumes - M., 2001. - T. 2: EM. - S. 504.

^ Popular culture // Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M., 2003 .-- S. 908.

Radio, television, print and electronic media;

Cinematography, musical;

Jazz, rock, pop music;

Among the above manifestations of mass culture, particular interest in the context of this study is the consideration of the interaction between the technologies of political influence, the formation of a certain political image of the country, on the one hand, and various forms and manifestations of mass culture, on the other.

It should be noted here that not only the media itself (radio, television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet), but also various forms of art (cinematography, pop art, literature, painting, music, etc.) become forms of influence on the consciousness of the masses, form political preferences, taking on the functions of ideology. Thus, mass culture turns into a kind of ideology, "the ruler of minds."

In connection with the simultaneous development of mass culture and political technologies in our time, which is largely predetermined by scientific and technological progress (STP), culture itself turns into politics, so to speak, a form of powerful influence on minds, the creation of certain images, images, stereotypes through which the masses perceive reality. At the same time, politics is becoming a kind of form of mass culture, manifesting itself in PR and art technologies of various parties and movements, becoming a form of art and a cult image in the eyes of the population.

Political activity often takes various forms of a developed system of modern mass culture, due to which the line between art and politics is blurred;

art becomes a form of political influence, and politics acts as a catalyst for the mass art industry.

The study analyzes and substantiates the theoretical understanding and formation of the concepts of stereotype, image and image.

The degree of research of the problem. The phenomenon of mass culture is not only recorded in the public consciousness, but has also become the subject of research by specialists in various branches of knowledge of political science, philosophy, cultural studies, psychology, sociology, art history. The content of these works is diverse and often contradictory, which is largely explained by the ambiguity of definitions of mass culture.

When using the sources, we relied on serious theoretical research in the field of mass culture by domestic and foreign authors.

Throughout the entire XX century, Russian and foreign scientists have been striving to penetrate into the essence of this phenomenon. Many of them came to the conclusion that the phenomenon of mass culture is not only very difficult, but also has a dual nature, is ambivalent, and in the context of socio-philosophical analysis, mass culture should be considered both positively and negatively. The fruitfulness of research depends on the extent to which it is possible to synthesize the approaches proposed from the standpoint of different scientific disciplines. Western humanitarian thought has accumulated a significant amount of research on this problem. You can name the names of such major thinkers, researchers of the process of cultural development as O. Spengler ^, ^ Spengler O. Decline of Europe: essays on the morphology of world history. M., 2003.

X. Ortega y Gasset ^ K. JunL T. Adopno ^, R. Aron ^ °, D.

Ch.R. Mills "^ G. Tarde ^^ L. White ^^ O. Haxley ^^ U. Eco ^ In Russia, the phenomenon of mass culture at different times attracted the attention of Nisagels, sociologists, publicists, philosophers, problems of mass culture are reflected in the works of A.I. Herzen ^^, D.S. Merezhkovsky "^, A.V. Lunacharsky ^ ", N. A. Berdyaeva ^ ^, G. KAIIrana ^^ N. A. Anastasyeva ^" ", ^ Ortega-i-Gasset X. The uprising of the masses. - M., 2001;

Ortega y Gasset X.

"Dehumanization of Art" and other works: collection. - M., 1991.

^ Jung KG. Archetype and symbol. - M., 1991;

Jung KG. Man and his symbols. - M., 1997.

^ Adorno T.V. Aesthetic theory. - M., 2001;

Adorno T.V. Philosophy new music... - M., 2001.

^^ Aron R. Democracy and totalitarianism. - M., 1993.

"Bell D. The Coming Post-Industrial Society. - M., 1993.

"^ Le Bon G. Psychology of peoples and masses. - SPb., 1995.

"^ Mills CHR Sociological Imagination. - M., 2001.

"" * Tarde G. Social logic. - SPb., 1996.

"^ White L. Selected: the evolution of culture. - M., 2004;

Favorites: the science of culture. - M., 2004.

"^ U. Eco. The Evolution of Medieval Aesthetics. - SPb., 2004.

"^ Herzen A.I. philosophical works: in 2 volumes. T. 1.- M., 1948.

"^ Merezhkovsky D.S. Atlantis - Europe: The Secret of the West. - M., 1992;

Mereeyukovsky D.S. Patient Russia: selected. - L., 1991. - (History of Russian culture).

^ ° A.V. Lunacharsky About mass celebrations, stage, circus. - M., 1981.

^^ Berdyaev N.A. The meaning of creativity: [the experience of justifying a person]. - M., 2002. - (Peaks of human thought);

Berdyaev N.A. Philosophy of creativity, culture and art: in 2 volumes - M., 1994. - (Russian philosophers of the XX century).

^^ Atin GC Bourgeois mass culture. - M., 1988;

Ashin G.K. Course of elitology / G.K. Ashin, E.V. Okhotsk. - M., 1999.

^^ Anastasiev N.A. Americans. - M., 2002;

Anastas'ev N.A.

Renewal of tradition: Realism of the XX century. in confrontation with modernism. M., 1984.-350 p.

A.V. Kykapkina ^^ V.V. Molchanova "^^, C.H. Ikonnikova ^" ^, E.P. Smolshy ^^ V L. Glazycheva ^^, a ^^ A.B.

N.N. Kozlova ^^, A.Yu. Meyavilya ^^, F.F. Kuznetsov "" ^ 1SE. Razlogova ^^, N.N. Suvorova ^^, V.A. Shapinskaya ^ "and others.

^ ^ Ikonnikova S.N. "Mass culture" and youth: fiction and reality. - M., 1979.

^^ Flier A.Ya. Mass culture and its social functions // Social sciences and modernity. - 1998. - No. 6. - S. 138-148.

^^ A.V. Kukarkin Bourgeois mass culture. - M., 1985.

^^ Molchanov V.V. Mirages of mass culture. - L., 1984.

^^ Smolskaya E.P. "Popular culture": entertainment or politics? - M., 1986.

^^ Glazychev V.L. Deep Russia: 2000-2002. - M., 2005.

^ ° Gofman A.B. Fashion and People: A New Theory of Fashion and Fashion Novelties. - M., 1994.

^^ Zhigulsky K. Holiday and culture: holidays old and new:

reflections of a sociologist. - M., 1985.

^^ Kozlova N. Where the sciences end // Social sciences. - 1 9 9 0. - No. 6. - P. 116-122.

^^ Mel'vil A.Yu. Counterculture and "new" conservatism. - M., 1981.

^^ Kuznetsov F.F. Favorites: in 2 volumes - M., 1981.

^^ Razlogov K.E. Artistry in mass culture // Vopr. philosophy. - 1997.- No. 7. - S. 63-73;

Razlogov K.E. Global and / or mass? // Social sciences and modernity. - 2003. - No. 2. - P. 143-156;

Razlogov K.E. Global mass culture and cultural diversity // Culture Observatory. - 2004. - No. 1. - P. 29-31;

Razlogov K.E. Culture for the uneducated // Social Sciences.- 1990.- No. 4.- P. 168-182;

Razlogov K.E. Mass culture and modern technologies // Science about culture - step in the XXI century: collection of articles. materials of the annual conference-seminar of young scientists (Nov. 2001, Moscow). - M., 2001 .-- S. 15-27.

Suvorov N.N. Elite and mass consciousness in the culture of postmodernism. - SPb., 2004;

Suvorov N.N. The language of elite communication // Modern problems of intercultural communications:

Sat. scientific. tr. - SPb., 2003 .-- T. 158 .-- S. 34-41.

^^ Shapinskaya E.N. Mass culture of the XX century: an outline of theories // Polygnosis. - 2000. - JS "2. - S. 77-97;

Shapinskaya E.N. Mass culture in the mirror of concepts // Science of culture - a step into the XXI century: collection of articles. materials of the annual conference-seminar of young scientists (Nov. 2001, Moscow) .- M., 2001.- S. 28-40.

A number of researchers have devoted their work to the problem of the connection between mass culture and mass consciousness with the political processes of society.

These include 3. Freud "" ^ E. Formm ^^, S. Moskovichi "" ^, M. Hevesi "**, P. Holander" ^^, GG. Pochentsov "* ^, A. V. Pavlovskaya" * ^, B.А. Shiryaev "* ^, Yu.V. Kosov ^^ S. Chugrov ^^, NA Bacil'eva ^^ VI" * ^ Freud 3. Psychoanalysis. Religion. Culture: collection. - M., 1992;

^ "Freud 3. Psychology of the masses and analysis of the human" I ". - M., 2004. - (Philosophy. Psychology: FP).

^^ Fromm E. Escape from freedom: a man for himself. - M., 2004;

Fromm E. Human soul. - M., 1998.

^^ Moskovichi s. The Age of Crowds: A Historical Treatise on the Psychology of the Mass, Moscow, 1996.

^^ Hevesi M.A. Politics and psychology of the masses // Vopr. philosophy. 1999.- No. 1 2. - S. 32-42;

Khevesi M.A. Crowd, Masses, Politics: Historical Philosophy.

sketch.-M., 2001.

Rational anti-Americanism and ^^ Hollander P.

irrational. - SPb., 2000.

^^ Pocheptsov G. Theory of communication. - M .;

Pocheptsov G.G.

Imageology. - M .;

^ Pavlovskaya A.V. Russia and America: Probl. Communication of Cultures: Russia through the Eyes of Americans, 1850s - 1880s. - M., 1998.

^^ Shiryaev B.A. Principles and goals of US diplomacy in the period of formation: (1775-1814) // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. 1997. - No. 4;

Shiryaev B.A. Russia and the USA: the beginning of new relations: (1991-1993) // Bulletin of the St. Petersburg State University. - 2001. - No. 1;

Shiryaev B.A. US foreign policy: principles, mechanisms, methods. SPb., 2006.

^^ Yu.V. Kosoe Security: geopolitical aspect // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. - 1999. - No. 2. - S. - 79-86.

"* ^ S. Chugrov Ethnic stereotypes and their influence on the formation of public opinion // World economy and international relations. - 1993. - No. 1.

"* ^ Vasilyeva NA The concept of development as a strategic direction of the UN activity // Ecology and education. - 2002. - № 1-2.

"* ^ Fokin VI Commission for International Intellectual Cooperation at the League of Nations // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. - 1998. - No. 1.

E.L. Boldyreva ^^ N.M. Bogolyubova ^^, O. A, Butsarina ^^, O. V. Manzhulina ^^.

Since the phenomenon of mass culture is ambiguous, one cannot confine oneself only to the description of its functions, one must understand the essence of the system that possesses these fusions. We focused on the integral approach characteristic of modern humanitarian methodology. At the same time, it is impossible to reveal the essence of mass culture without resorting to the methodological approaches of not only political science, but also philosophy, psychology, and art history. Throughout the last century, the attention of Western psychologists and political scientists has been attracted by the problem of the image-"image" of the state.

The catchiness and juryness of the very term "image" and in the future the emergence of such new areas of knowledge as imalogy and imageology became possible, in our deep conviction, only in the era of mass culture.

As Daniel Burstin noted ^ "*," image "has not yet become a linguistic cliché, studies devoted to profound changes in the American view of reality through the prism of the image began to appear. and principles of research of this phenomenon.

^ ° Boldyreva E.L. Comparative analysis of semi-presidential republics: (on the example of Finland and France): author .... Cand. polit, sciences: 23.00.05. - SPb., 2000 .-- 17 p. Boldyreva E.L. The role of the press in the political system of Finland [Electron, resource] // Man. Nature.

Society: urgent problems. - SPb., 2001. - Access mode:

http://sovmu.spbu.ru/main/confman-nat-soc/2001/8-10.htm. -Head. from the screen.

^ "Bogolyubova N.M. On the issue of historiography of the study of ethnic stereotypes / N.M.Bogolyubova, Y. Nikolaeva // Actual problems of historiography and historical science. - St. Petersburg, 2004. - S. 255-257.

^^ Budarina O.A. Communicative technologies for the formation and promotion of the image of the municipal government: (political analysis): author.

dis .... cand. polit, sciences: 23.00.02. - M., 2002.

^^ Manzhulina Some areas of O.A.

US government in the information and image sphere // Proceedings of the XIII Annual Russian-American Seminar. - SPb., 2004 .-- S. 179-194.

^^ Boorstin D. The image. - New York, 1992.

At the end of the 19th century, the German psychologist L. Lange (1888) discovered the phenomenon of "attitude" ^^, which includes the concept of a social stereotype ^^.

This problem was developed in the studies of the Soviet psychologist D.N. Uznadze ^^, who developed a general psychological theory, experimentally proved the presence of a general psychological readiness of an individual to realize an activated need in a given situation and established patterns of consolidating such readiness with repeated repetition of situations that allow satisfying this need, as well as in the developments of American scientists, in particular L. Festinger ^^.

In the 20s of the XX century, the American scientist W. LshIpman ^^ introduced a new term - "stereotype". It is necessary to note the special role of the American sociologist and journalist W. Lippmann, whose work "Public Opinion" was the basis of all Western concepts of stereotypes. V Russian science definitions of stereotypes are also based on the ideas of W. Lippmann ^^.

We find a continuation of the study of this problem in the work of the American researcher D. Burstin "Image" ^^ which was published in the 1960s, was reprinted many times and was fundamental in the development of the concept of "image".

^^ Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary / ed. L.F. Ilyichev [and others] .- M., 1983.- S. 708.

^^ Social stereotype // Popular encyclopedic dictionary. - M., 1999.-S. 1264.

^^ Uznadze D. N. Experimental foundations of the psychology of attitude. - TB., 1961;

D. N. Uznadze Psychological research... - M., 1966;

Uznadze D.N. Installation psychology. - SPb., 2001.

^^ Festinger L. Theory of cognitive dissonance = A theory of cognitive dissonance. - SPb., 1999. - (Workshop of Psychology and Psychotherapy).

^^ Yrrtap W. Public opinion. - Mineola, 2004.

^ Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M., 1983 .-- S. 654.

^ "Boorstin D. The image. - New York, 1992.

The study of the concepts of "image", "image of the state", "image in international relations" was further developed in the work of Robert Jervis "The Logic of Images in International Relations"

(1970) ^^. In his book, R. Jervis cites the example of the Sarib crisis (1962), when a peaceful solution to the military problem was achieved thanks to the images of the states and their leaders, N.S. Khrushchev and J. Kennedy.

Recently, a new area of ​​knowledge of imageology is also being formed in Russia. Of particular interest in connection with the topic of this research is the book by the Russian professor E.A. Galumov's "International Image of Russia: Strategy of Formation" (2003) ^^, which offers an original strategy for the formation of a positive image of Russia, based on taking into account the national interests of the Russian state.

The purpose this study is a systematic analysis of the influence of mass culture on the political image of the state on the example of the United States;

the use of mass culture as a tool of political technologies in the implementation of political goals in the process of globalization.

The object of the research is the influence (expansion) of American mass culture in the process of intercultural communication in the context of the globalization of the information society.

Subject of study- mass culture as a tool for creating the political image of the United States and implementing the political strategy of the state in the process of globalization.

The objectives of this study:

Consider the ideological origins and historical stages of the development of mass culture in the information society;

^^ Jervis R. The Logic of Images in International Relations. - Princeton, 1970.

^^ Galumov E.A. The international image of Russia: a strategy of formation. - M., 2003.

Determine the basic characteristics of mass culture as a global field of intercultural interaction;

Analyze the historical and socio-political prerequisites for the development of US mass culture;

Consider the socio-economic and ethnic foundations of the formation of the political image of the United States;

Determine the degree of influence of mass culture on the political image of the US state in the context of globalization;

To characterize the reflection (different positions) of the countries of the international community on the expansion of American mass culture.

Methodological foundations and sources of research. The theoretical and methodological basis of the dissertation is complex analysis mass culture in the information society, providing for a combination of a systematic approach in the study of the interaction of socio-political, economic, artistic factors of mass culture;

a comparative historical approach in substantiating the evolutionary continuity of the stages of development of mass culture and its influence on the political image of the state;

the politico-institutional approach to the study of the role of mass culture in the implementation of the strategic political goals of the US state in the process of globalization. The works of historians and theorists of mass culture, including the mass culture of the United States, scientific works of foreign and domestic authors, works devoted to the problem of "image" in its political context, "international image", "image of the state" were used as a theoretical and methodological basis for the analysis. ...

Scientific novelty the research consists in the innovative nature of a comprehensive political science study of the influence of mass culture on the political image of the US state in the context of the information society and the process of globalization.

Scientific novelty is concretized in the following results obtained:

The historical-cultural and socio-political analysis of the origins and stages of the formation and development of mass culture as a phenomenon of the XX century has been carried out;

Analyzed new trends, types and genres of mass culture as forms of intercultural communication in the information society;

The influence of myths, symbols, social technologies of mass culture on structural features the political image of the US state;

Considered mass culture as a characteristic "cut" of the socio-political processes of modern American society;

The forms and means of expansion of the US mass culture in the countries of the world community in the context of globalization have been studied;

Reflection (attitude, reaction) of the countries of the world community to the expansion of American mass culture is analyzed.

Defense theses:

1. The modern stage of development of mass culture, as a consequence of a long historical development, has acquired quite powerful spheres of influence and innovative technologies of influencing the process of globalization and contains the basis for the formation of a new paradigm of information society culture.

2. Popular culture, possessing a certain degree of popularity and attractiveness, can act as a "soft power" that promotes the spread of influence, the use of methods of military, diplomatic or economic pressure.

3. The mass culture of the USA in the variety of types and genres, myths and symbols is a reflection of social processes, creates in the mass consciousness the political image of the USA as a superpower.

4. The countries of the world community have an ambiguous attitude in cultural policy towards the influence of American mass culture.

Scientific and practical significance of the work. The content and analytical parts of the work can be used in the preparation of general and special courses on the history of culture, the history of American culture, political science, as well as in the creation of a special course on the problems of creating the image of the state, as well as in writing the relevant sections teaching aids... Theoretical propositions and conclusions can be useful for further research on the prospects for the development of modern culture, as well as in the practical work of political scientists.

Approbation of work... The materials of the topic were included in the course of lectures "The role of mass culture in creating the political image of the state", which was read by the author at the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts;

were used in seminars on the history of culture at the same university. A number of provisions of this work were presented at scientific conferences "Modern problems of intercultural communications" (SPbGUKI, 2003), "World politics and ideological paradigms of the era" (SPbGUKI, 2004) and published in the monograph "Mass culture and its influence on the political image of the state (on the example of the USA) "(St. Petersburg, 2005).

Chapter 1. Mass culture as a social phenomenon 1.1. Origins and main stages of development of modern mass culture The concept of "mass culture" in different sources is interpreted in different ways. Roughly, it appeared in the United States in the 30s of the last century. Popular culture and pop culture are also used synonymously.

In dictionaries, mass culture is defined as a concept that characterizes the peculiarities of the production of cultural values ​​in a modern (post-industrial) society, as well as a kind of culture that orients the spiritual and material values ​​it spreads to the "average" level of development of mass consumers.

The most common in modern Western science is the ordinary understanding of mass culture as a culture of everyday life, produced for perception by the mass consciousness, directly and reliably represented, primarily by the activities of the mass media. The study of the problems of mass culture, considered in this way, is carried out by the methods of empirical research of mass communication, where in the place of the product of mass culture there are messages of mass communication, and in the place of the consumer there is a mass audience ^. In L. White's concept ^^, mass culture is seen as a generally satisfactory form of ^ Giners S. Mass Society. - London, 1976. - P. 21.

^^ White L. Selected: the science of culture. - M., 2004;

Favorites: the evolution of culture. - M., 2004.

democratization of modern society (in accordance with the growth of living standards and education) ^^.

It is believed that functional and formal analogs of the phenomena of mass culture can be identified from ancient times ^ "". Mass culture in the modern sense arises only in the New time during the processes of industrialization and urbanization, the transformation of class societies into national ones, the formation of universal literacy of the population, the degradation of many forms of traditional everyday culture of the pre-industrial type, the development of technical means of replicating and broadcasting information, etc. Important mass culture took its place in the life of modern society as a result of the process of socio-cultural modernization of the second half of the 20th century and the transition from the industrial to the post-industrial (informational) stage of technological development.

Mass culture emerges in parallel with the theory of mass society at the end of the 19th century. Her birthday can be considered the adoption in 1870 in Great Britain of the law on compulsory universal literacy. As a result, the broad masses of the population potentially became available to the main type of artistic creation of the 19th century - the novel. However, having barely learned to read, the masses ordered their own literature:

Nat Pinkerton and popular fiction, and in the borderline with visual arts - comics.

In 1895, cinematography was invented - a new form of art, addressed to everyone, regardless of gender, age, religion, and does not imply any special preparation for their perception.

The next most important section of the future mass culture (before the appearance of this term itself) is entertainment, popular music.

^^ A.V. Kukarkii Bourgeois mass culture. - M., 1985 .-- S. 64.

^^ Mass culture // Culture and culture: dictionary / ed.-comp.

A.I. Kravchenko. - M., 2003 .-- S. 552-554.

captured radio broadcasting, and then all forms of sound recording and shared with screen creativity the glory of the "corrupter" of the broad masses.

Parallel to this, there was a process of disintegration of realism in the plastic arts, the transformation of the novel's narration into the "stream of life" and "stream of consciousness", aleatory in music. And, finally, in the field of philosophy, socio-cultural theory - criticism of the classical forms of the world outlook by Marx, on the one hand, and F. Nietzsche, on the other, the new ideas of the "Decline of Europe" by O. Spengler ^^ and the "Revolt of the Masses" by H. Ortega-i -Gassett ^ "^ - all this testified to the rapid processes of disintegration and reformation of the world of culture, including artistic ^ \ At the same time, avant-gardeism was not only a denier, but also a successor of the classics in aristocracy, and mass culture was not only a denial, but and a continuation of the democratic orientation inherent in orthodox realism.

Throughout the 16th-19th centuries, there was a process of secularization of art. However, art that was secular in subject matter and subject matter actually functioned only within the framework of the educated strata of society. This art did not have access to the masses until the end of the 19th century.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the very principle of the functioning of culture changed in Europe and America.

The so-called "elite" culture developed mainly along the path of experimental, avant-garde searches precisely because technical means appeared that transferred life-like forms into the sphere of mass culture. The culture of the New Age was a culture for the educated. Only the theater has retained a potential connection with F. Nietzsche's Aft. Human, Too Human: Vol. for free minds. - M., 2001.

^^ Spengler O. Decline of Europe: essays on the morphology of world history. - M., "° Ortega y Gasset X. The revolt of the masses. - M., 2001.

"" "See: K. Razlogov. Culture for the uneducated // Social sciences. - 1990. - № 4. - P. 112.

uneducated masses, and even then not in all their manifestations. The 20th century was not accidentally marked by a kind of theatricalization of public life.

Born as a result of urbanization, secularization of culture, the spread of the laws of the capitalist market in the sphere of culture, technical development and transformation of the educational sphere, mass culture took over part of the traditions of the classics. The compensatory beginning of the entertainment began to prevail over the traditional educational attitudes.

Cultural innovation at the end of the last and the beginning of this century is comparable in significance and scale with the processes of secularization of culture in the modern era. The 20th century witnessed massive urban development, design, television and video, which play no less important role in modern cultural development than classic literature XX century.

The Russian researcher K. Razlogov puts the current expansion of mass culture in a number of similar, in his opinion, phenomena that took place in Russian culture in the 18th century, were associated with its secularization and with energetic and uncompromising resistance to this on the part of patriarchal strata;

with the clash of a moderate position that recognizes the right to exist of a secular culture, and calls not to confuse it with the sublime cult creativity, the only one paving the way for human salvation. Current supporters classical art admit the existence of compensatory entertaining pop and screen art, so long as it is not confused with the lofty goals of the classics.

Professionals support the most difficult to comprehend works. But the absolutization of "difficult art" is unfair. In this regard, there are problems of evaluating works of art in accordance with the laws that their authors recognize above themselves.

Works of mass culture are built according to different laws than classical masterpieces. and works of avant-garde artists. "Elite"

art presupposes detached perception (to a certain extent, it is characterized by inhibition of direct human experiences). "Popular culture is based on universal psychological, even psychophysiological mechanisms of perception, which are activated, absolutely regardless of the education and degree of preparedness of the auitoria" ^^.

Referring to the opinion of a number of authors, K. Razlogov believes that in order to truly enjoy mass art, “it is better to be an artistically uneducated person. Artistic education here is not an incentive, but an obstacle ... It is no coincidence that all great works of this type are highly appreciated by the professional environment after the fact, after a certain period of time, usually at least 10-15 years.

(V. Vysotsky, 3tles "). The time interval creates the necessary distance" "^. Let us disagree with this point of view.

Ignorance and ignorance have never been a plus, but on the contrary are the circumstance that throws this type of culture into the lower category, contributing to the creation of a base, marginal image of mass culture. The fact that the professional environment appreciated the works of the Beatles and V. Vysotsky after a certain time is also not entirely true, since experts and professionals immediately appreciated these phenomena, and secondly, after a certain time, the best and the present really crystallized. and everything that is empty and unnecessary disappears.

Razlogov K. Culture for the uneducated. - S. 111.

Ibid. - S. 112.

Thus, at the forefront of the artistic development of the 20th century are not so much various experimental trends as the highest achievements of mass culture (for example, the works of Ch. Chaplin, E. Warhol). After the 60s, "the radical equality of all traditions and tendencies" was established, which was called postmodern.

In less than 20 years, the mass culture network has covered the entire cultural space, putting us in front of a new historical phenomenon for which we were not ready. It is not only about the struggle within the merchant, but also about its transformation into mass culture, dominant and dominant.

An important component of "mass culture" is the direction of "pop art".

The phenomenon of pop art (English pop a r t - from popular a r t - popular art) is one of the most widespread trends in Anglo American art the middle of the XX century, which influenced the art of other countries, on the basis of which many artistic practices of the second half of the XX century were formed. It emerged in the early 1950s almost simultaneously in Great Britain and the United States as a reaction to the elitism of the most advanced avant-garde movements of the visual arts at that time. It reached its climax in the 1960s. Pop art is a typical product of technological industrial society mass consumption. It found a kind of artistic expression for the fundamental antinomy of that time, one of the main antinomies of the emerging postculture, which manifested itself in the avant-garde of the beginning of the century, and later, at other levels, was posed and solved in more sophisticated forms by postmodernism: the romanticization of the industrial society of mass consumption (its ideals , idols, images.

stereotypes, technology and its products), as the only and universally significant reality of modern life, and ironic distance from this society, sometimes even rejection and sharp protest against it ^ "*.

The term "pop" was coined by the critic Ellway "^ to denote a virtually new aesthetic consciousness, a new aesthetic position that asserted artistic significance objects, events, fragments of everyday life of a mass person of an industrial society, previously considered in the artistic and aesthetic elite as non-artistic, anti-artistic, kitsch, bad taste, etc. Pop Art has undertaken a large-scale and effective attempt to equate them in rights with the phenomena of “high culture », To merge the elite culture with the popular (pop!) Consumer subculture.

Pop art artists discovered a kind of poetics of mass production of urban culture, finding it in banal and trivial things, events, gestures, in the consumer environment and commercialized reality: in Hollywood action films and popular "stars", in newspaper and magazine photos, in American a life standard based on technological progress in advertisements, posters, posters, newspapers, household items, comics, science fiction, tabloid literature. Taking elements and images of mass culture from the everyday environment and placing them in the context of what is being created from them artistic space, pop artists built their works on the basis of playing with the meanings of mass stereotins (new contextual connections, a different scale, color, sometimes deformations, etc.) in a new semiotic environment.

Lexicon of nonclassics: artistic and aesthetic culture of the XX "* century / under the general editorship of V.V. Bychkov. - M., 2003. - P. 341.

"The same. - S. 341.

The origins of pop art in America were Robert Rauschenberg and Jesper Jones. In the future, the cohort of American pop artists was joined by such figures as E. Warhol, R. Lichtenstein, K. Oldenburg, D. Dine, T. Wessenman, J. Rosenquist, J. Sigal, E. Kienhold and others.

In its spirit and internal orientation, pop art entered the history of culture as a product of the American industrial-consumer civilization. It was in the United States that he reached extraordinary proportions and was very quickly recognized in artistic circles as the most influential movement in the art of the second half of the 20th century. In terms of content, material, manner of performance and types of artifacts, pop art artists are very different from each other, and this once again indirectly demonstrates their deep belonging to the variegated, albeit standardized, everyday life of mass society.

Mass culture is a child of a market economy; it organically fits into the democratic organization of society, into a state governed by the rule of law. The equality of the artist and the public, the unity of mankind at the level of mass consciousness and mass culture is affirmed. The mutual support of commerce and creativity can be seen as a powerful stimulus for social and spiritual progress, and in the mass culture - form shobal psychotherapy of universal human significance.

However, mass culture reflected not only the progress of civilization, but also its negative costs, everything that constitutes the tragedy of a man of the 20th century, his alienation, lack of contact, apathy, dullness of consciousness, dissolution of individuality in the mass of a crowd of thousands ... not only good. "Mutual support of commerce and creativity" did not always lead to progress. Salon was commercial art XIX century, but it was a luxury item available to few. The 20th century has radically changed the situation. Commercial art appealed to the city masses of thousands. Radio, cinema, gramophone, television, tape recorder, video allowed to multiply and disseminate all over the world that which was unique by its nature. There have been dramatic worldwide changes in the forms of art.

Duplication is just a technique. Elite, folk and mass art can be replicated. But it is profitable to replicate mass art, because it brings the greatest profit.

Business puts everything into circulation if it makes a profit, exploiting not only lofty motives, but also base ones, pictures of atrocities, crimes, tickling the nerves, inflaming sensuality. The “Art Industry” quite cynically incorporated these properties of the crowd into circulation, built a business calculation on them.

According to M. Chegodaeva, it is quite obvious: there is no single mass culture, which could be unambiguously characterized as “art, where the perception of creativity turns into not suffering, but pleasure of the audience”, does not exist. - “Like the entire XX century, its mass culture is full of contradictions;

like any art, it contains the highest ups and downs of the creative spirit and deep falls, but genuine masterpieces "for centuries" and walk-through, mediocre, hacky crafts ... Try to reduce all the complex functions of culture in life modern people, all the diversity of art perception to one "psychological rehabilitation", something like a pill to relieve stress, is at least lightweight. To deprive modern mass culture of what was inherent in it from the beginning the ability to empathize, bring spiritual cleansing, sl) ^ live catharsis , the elevation of a person, replacing everything with one "pleasure" caused by what? - talent, skill, or a picture of sadistic torture? - means, in essence, to cross out the entire human culture "^^. Human memory selects all the best in art, without making a distinction between "mass" and "elite". The commercial success of the "one-day" is forgotten along with them.

Mass culture - concept, generally expressing the state of culture since the middle of the 20th century. Mass culture reflected not only the development of mass media - radio, cinema, television, gigantic circulation of illustrated magazines, cheap pocket books, gramophone records, but also the relative democratization of culture, an increase in the level of education of the masses. In the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution, the use of mass communication transforms culture into a branch of the economy, shaping it as a "mass culture" "" "". Through the development of the communication system, mass culture embraces the overwhelming number of members of society, orientates them through the mechanism of fashion, subjugates a huge layer of human existence - from the style of housing and clothing to the type of hobby, claims to embrace and subjugate the culture of the whole world, its "cultural colonization".

Undoubtedly, mass consciousness, mass culture were known long before the XX century, and the "mass" itself has always been an integral part of the population of any society. However, the modern phenomenon of the mass man has a certain novelty due to a number of reasons, which, in their totality, characteristic of modernity, have never appeared before. A person of the masses has never before made up such a large group in terms of its size, which was actually capable of exerting a very noticeable influence on social processes. In addition, such groups have never been so characteristically united, and this is their ^^ M. Chegodaeva Art was originally massive // ​​Social sciences. - 1990. - No. 6. - P. 16.

^ "Mass culture // Big encyclopedic dictionary. - Access mode: http://www.rea.ru/misc/enc3p.nsf/ByID/NT0002EBB2. - Title.

from the screen.

the union had never been consciously formed before and was not then supported by special means.

There are quite contradictory points of view on the origins and prerequisites for the emergence of "mass culture". Some researchers consider it to be an eternal by-product of culture and therefore discover it already in ancient times. There are much more grounds for attempts to link the emergence of "mass culture" with the scientific and technological revolution, which gave rise to new methods of production, dissemination and consumption of culture. On the one hand, this democratized the sphere of culture, on the other hand, it contributed to its penetration into the sphere of commercial and political interests. Still J.-J. Rousseau in the 18th century criticized the existing art, which is created and implanted by the ruling class and thus serves its interests. It should be noted that the relationship between culture and class interests can influence culture in two ways. It can make it intolerant of any culture other than its own, or lead to the ideal of a world state, where only a uniform world culture will exist. This is especially evident in such a form of mass culture as world cinema. But the most effective means of replicating and disseminating such a culture is television, which promotes the dissemination of certain political preferences, on the one hand, and brings a colossal commercial effect, on the other.

Characterizing popular culture as a phenomenon, it should be noted that although it is intended for consumption by the people, it does not always reflect the consciousness of the people, but it is a commercial cultural industry, often hostile to genuinely popular culture. Claiming to be "^ Samokhvalova V.I. The mass man is the reality of the modern information society // Polygnosis. - 2000. - No. 1. - P. 33.

folk, she appeals to a huge audience, often speaks to disfigured consumer tastes and instincts, but, in essence, does not know traditions, has no nationality, her tastes and ideals change with dizzying speed in accordance with the needs of fashion.

Associated with the mass media, this culture affects the mass consciousness, normally manifesting its maniulative character, which poses a great threat to an independent person, is an oiasic instrument of suggestion. Another important feature of modern mass culture is the mythologization of public consciousness. The behavior of mass culture is based, as in myth, not on the distinction between the real and the ideal, not on knowledge, but on faith.

Historically, the emergence of the man of the masses was prepared by the entry of the broad masses into social and political life, which became an essential factor in the internal movement and development of society.

The "mass society" is characterized by industrialization, urbanization, standardization of production, mass consumption, the spread of mass communication and information, and, as a consequence, the spread of mass culture.

The development of mass culture in the 20th century is associated with the formation of a mass person. This transition was due to the development of mass communication and the subsequent informatization of society, which, taking place at different times, in different forms and with varying intensity, contributed to the creation and dissemination of mass culture and in the modern phase has brought up a mass person - its product, its consumer and "hero". The separation of a mass person from the depths of a mass society meant the final transition of the process of massization from a quantitative phase to a qualitative one, for a new type of personality was formed with a specific set of definite forms and characteristics, with definite life roles and social functions.

The time of the formation of mass culture in certain type can be considered the middle of the 20th century. While not always having a certain value in comparison with an elite or national culture, mass culture has the widest audience. It satisfies the immediate needs of people, reacts to any new event and reflects it. Therefore, its samples, in particular hits, quickly lose their relevance, become outdated, go out of fashion. This does not happen with the works of elite and folk culture.

Along with this, in our time there is a certain interaction between elite and mass art. The same can happen with specific works of art. For example, Bach's Organ Mass is one of the highest examples of classical art, but if it is used as musical accompaniment in figure skating competitions, then it is automatically enrolled in the category of mass culture, without losing its belonging to art.

Numerous orchestrations of Bach's works in the style of jazz or rock music do not compromise classical music at all, but make it closer to a wide audience, while influencing each person individually. At the same time, there are such genres of literature (science fiction, detective stories and comics), which are usually referred to as popular or popular culture.

Domestic scientist L.S. Vygotsky notes that “form is what distinguishes art from non-art” ^^. In other words, the art form, which has always been the property of, as a rule, high, elite art, in mass culture practically ceases to be hallmark art. At the beginning of the last century, the Russian poet M. Voloshin wrote the following about his understanding of the difference between mass and truly high art: “If, for the material world, Vygotsky L.S. Psychology of Art, - M., 1965. - P. 278.

the principle of democracy is true and necessary, the principle of aristocracy is just as necessary for the spiritual world. The principle of art for all is deeply false. "It reveals false democratization. Art for all" does not at all imply the necessary clarity and simplicity, that would be wonderful - no, it contains a disastrous demand to cut the growth of the master to a level with the contemporary ignorant and bad taste, the requirement of "general accessibility", alphabet and usefulness. Art never addresses the crowd, to the masses, it speaks to an individual in the deep, hidden recesses of his soul. Art should be, "for everyone," but by no means for everyone. " ^ * ^.

Since about the middle of this century, popular culture has become one of the lucrative branches of the economy;

this is reflected, as mentioned above, in the corresponding names: "entertainment industry", "commercial culture", "pop culture", "leisure industry", etc. (It should be noted here that the last of the above designations opens another the reasons for the emergence of "mass culture" - the emergence of a significant layer of working citizens of an excess of free time, "leisure" due to the high level of mechanization of the production process.) Turning into a commodity for the market, hostile to any kind of elitism, "mass culture" also manifests itself as a whole a number of distinctive features. This is, first of all, its "simplicity", if not primitiveness, often turning into a cult of mediocrity. In addition, in order to fulfill its function, “mass culture” must be at least entertaining, it is cheerful, its works often end with a happy ending. Thus, the concepts of time and space, which have significantly changed at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, have changed not only within the framework of scientific picture the world, but in the greater Voloshin M. Russia is crucified. - M., 1992 .-- S. 85.

degree, in relation to human existence as a whole, manifested in a new type of culture.

The history of the XX century has confirmed the universality in the tendencies of global problems: the formation of world-scale economic systems (world market, international banks, transcontinental monopolies);

the emergence of a global information network that allows the whole world to be involved in the affairs of individual countries;

the emergence of environmental problems, the solution of which is often possible only through the efforts of all mankind;

wars of the 20th century become world wars, they cover dozens of peoples and states, problems of international terrorism arise, while the scale of human destruction reaches unprecedented proportions.

The introduction of the principles of mass production into the field of culture meant that cultural artifacts could be viewed like any other mass-produced product. This meant, from the point of view of critics of mass society and popular culture, that cultural products such as films could not be considered art, since they did not have the aura of genuine and authentic artistic works. At the same time, they could not be attributed to folk culture, since, unlike folklore genres, they did not come from broad masses of people and could not reflect their experience and interests. Therefore, the problems of a new type of culture are associated by its researchers with a change social structures and cultural orders in the industrial era.

A new type of society- " mass society"- has its own culture, embodying the values ​​and life styles of the widest segments of the population.

Despite the fact that the debate on the essence of mass, folk and popular culture has its roots in the Age of Enlightenment, it became especially acute in the 1920s, when the technology of mass replication of works of art became widespread and such mass cultural forms emerged. like movies and radio.

It is precisely this time that is characterized by the emergence of theoretical interest in the problems of mass culture.

The phenomenon of mass culture from the point of view of its role in the development of modern civilization is assessed by scientists in many ways. Depending on the gravitation towards an elite or tsopulist way of thinking, culturologists tend to consider it, either in something like social pathology, a simit of the degeneration of society, or vice versa, an important factor in its health and internal stability. The nerves include mainly European thinkers F. Nietzsche, O. Spengler, H. Ortega y Gasset, E. Fromm, N.A. Berdyaev and many others. Among the latter are American scientists L. White and T. Patterson. A critical approach to popular culture comes down to its accusations of neglecting the classical heritage, that it is an instrument of deliberate manipulation of people;

enslaves and unifies the creator of any culture - a sovereign personality, promotes its alienation from real life. The apologetic approach, on the contrary, is expressed in the fact that mass culture is proclaimed a natural consequence of irreversible scientific and technological progress, that it contributes to the rallying of people, especially youth, regardless of any ideologies, into a stable social system and not only does not reject cultural heritage of the past, but also makes its best examples the property of the widest popular strata through their replication through the press, radio, television and industrial reproduction. The dispute about the harm or beneficialness of "mass culture" must be attributed to political aspect: both democrats and supporters of authoritarian rule, not without reason, strive to use this objective and very important phenomenon of our days in their own interests.

Mamontov SP. Fundamentals of cultural studies. - M., 1999 .-- S. 30.

As in the case of culture, there is still no universal definition of mass culture. This situation has its own rational explanation. The fact is that as a scientific and philosophical category, "mass culture" includes as many as three concepts. First, "culture" as a special character of a product. Secondly, “mass character” as the degree of product distribution. Third, “culture” as a spiritual value.

Popular culture is an integral part of society.

However, the products of mass culture are short-lived. To a large extent a consumer culture, it instantly reacts to the emerging demand for one or another of its products. With the disappearance of demand, products designed to satisfy it also disappear.

Popular culture, giving rise to a huge number of its one-day works, is at the same time quite conservative. Her works can be unmistakably attributed to one or another genre, the plots have a clear, repeating structure from time to time. And although often, her works are devoid of deep meaning, they have a certain charisma.

Sometimes the best remedy to please the tastes of the public, some culturologists believe, it turns out not novelty, not innovation, but banality.

Popular culture often takes on a formal character:

functioning, it is deprived of essential content and traditional morality, being a special cultural phenomenon, it is an autonomous formation, in which there is often a rupture of form and content. In this regard, A.B. Hoffman notes that mass culture is a special state of culture in a crisis period of society, when the process of disintegration of its content levels develops.

From the point of view of another approach, mass culture appears as a phenomenon that characterizes the characteristics of the production of cultural values ​​in modern society. It is assumed that mass culture See: Gofman A.B. Fashion and people. - M., 1994, - S. 17.

is consumed by all people, regardless of their place and country of origin.

Mass culture is also not because it is massively produced every day. It is a culture of everyday life that is clearly presented to the audience by means of mass communication.

One of the most interesting and productive can be noted the approach of D. Bell, according to which mass culture is a kind of organization of everyday consciousness in an information society, a special sign system or a special language in which members of the information society reach mutual understanding ^ "*. It acts as a connection a link between a post-industrial society of high specialization and a person who is integrated into it only as a “partial” person.

Communication between such people, narrow specialists, is carried out, apparently, only at the level of mass consciousness, that is, in a public language, which is mass culture.

As we have already noted, mass culture is assessed by various authors in a contradictory way. Representatives of one group (T. Adorno, G. Marcuse and others) give a negative assessment of this phenomenon. In their opinion, mass culture forms a passive perception of reality among its consumers. In addition, some theorists of mass culture believe that under its influence the system of values ​​changes - the desire for entertainment and entertainment becomes dominant. The negative aspects also include the fact that culture is based not on an image oriented towards reality, but on a system of images that affect the unconsciously sphere of the human psyche.

Markova G.I. Mass culture: content and social: dis .... cand. Philos. sciences. - M., 1996 .-- S. 37.

^ "^ Bell D. The Coming Post-Industrial Society. - M., 1993. P. 96.

^^ Marcuse G. Eros and civilization. One-dimensional man: issled.

ideology of the developed industry. islands. - M., 2002.

Researchers who adhere to an optimistic point of view on the role of mass culture in the life of society point out that it attracts the masses who do not know how to use their free time productively ^^;

gives the audience an opportunity to get acquainted with the works of traditional (high) culture ^^.

The famous Anggai writer O. Huxley, analyzing the specifics of mass culture as an aesthetic phenomenon, also notes such reasons for its popularity as recognition and accessibility ^^. Society needs confirmation of great truths, although mass culture does this at a low level and tasteless.

Mass culture, taking into account all these features of consciousness, presents products that are easily perceived, allows one to plunge into the world of dreams and illusions, and creates the impression of addressing a specific individual.

In connection with the widespread distribution of mass culture, the question arises about its geographical status. Mass culture is a phenomenon universal, in no way connected with the social structure of society.

Thus, it is necessary to note another important feature of mass culture - its cosmopolitanism.

The formation of mass culture took place over a long time. The most important factors that played an important role in the spread of mass publicity were technological progress, the processes of democratization and globalization in modern world... Noting the most important stages in the development of mass iQoibTypbi, it can be noted that in the most general terms this phenomenon can be found in the culture of ancient civilizations.

Teplitz K. Everything for everyone: mass culture and modern man // Man: image and essence. - M., 2000 .-- S. 261.

^ "Shapinskaya E.N. Mass culture of the XX century // Polygnosis. 2000. - No. 2. - P. 80.

^^ Huxley O. Eternal philosophy... - M., 2004.

Researchers associate a new stage in the development of mass culture with the invention of printing in Europe, which contributed to the spread of book knowledge and involvement in cultural, spiritual process a wide range of audiences.

An important role in the formation of mass culture was played by the era of the New Age, the processes of secularization, and the expansion of the geography of cultural interaction.

Of the greatest importance for the subsequent formation of mass culture were the named inventions and technological progress of the 19th century.

It was at this time that the basic principles of mass culture were formed, types of creativity designed for a wide consumer appeared, and a universal “language” of mass art was formed. Moreover, in the 19th century, the first research works, directly devoted to the issues of mass culture, appeared, in which the authors sought to identify both negative and positive features of this phenomenon.

Trends inherent in 19th century found their continuation in the XX century. Thus, from the 19th to the 20th centuries, a certain type of culture is formed from individual phenomena, which takes on an all-encompassing mass character.

Based on the analysis of trends in world cultural development, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the long-standing preconditions of mass culture, rooted in ancient times. Having emerged in the Middle Ages and Renaissance in the form of a tradition of folk theatrical performances, mass culture received a new impetus for development in the Age of Enlightenment, and then in the era of the scientific and technological revolution, which led to the emergence of an industrial-consumer civilization.

The emergence of a new type of culture is associated with changes in social structures and international relations in the post-industrial era. The new type of society - "mass society" - has its own culture.

embodying the values ​​and principles of life of the widest layers of the population.

1.2. Mass culture as a form of intercultural communication Being closely related to the process of global informatization of society, mass culture is formed, spread and preserved.

70s - 80s of the XX century passed under the sign of the political struggle for the creation of a new international space. Developing countries advocated equal relations in the field of informatics and information exchange, seeing in the expansion of developed industrial powers attempts to establish a monopoly not only of an economic, but also of a political nature. In the political system, the functions of informing, the relationship between people and organizations are traditionally performed by the information and communication system. V a certain sense information rules the world. It is made up of many views, attitudes, ideas, value orientations. By what means is information disseminated and transmitted? There are three ways of communication can be distinguished.

This way Communication is through informal contacts.

communication through personal connections is important in primitive or traditionalist societies. But it retains its significance in developed societies, even in the midst of the flourishing of the media.

Communication across organizations. This method of communication presupposes, first of all, political, business, scientific, educational and cultural contacts. This can include an extensive network of scientific and nominational information institutions, whose object of activity is the study of politics and the accumulation of political information.

Scientific and informative infrastructure is widely developed and is represented by scientific institutes, consulting centers. In the process of globalization, widespread intercultural communications arise in the field of business, through the development of business contacts, the emergence of transnational corporations and united economic zones, which, for example, is the European Economic Union (EEC), The development of the educational world system also contributes to the expansion of communication through the involvement of more and more countries in international educational projects, such as the Bologna process.

Communication is developing especially brightly in the modern world through political contacts between states, since despite the impressive successes of modern civilization, the development of technologies and wide cultural contacts, the situation in the world in the political and conflictological sense is constantly aggravated. The process of development of political technologies has always been closely connected with the sphere of culture, which, being a universal form of communication, appeals to what is understandable to all people, to universal human values. In this sense, the ideal means for politics is mass culture and its communication technologies.

Communication is actively carried out through the media. We are talking about printed (press, books) and electronic (radio, television, Internet) mass media.

The media are one of the most important institutions of modern society. They perform a variety of functions, including informing the population about events taking place in the country, education and socialization, advertising, entertainment, nominal and cultural enlightenment, etc. The media influence almost all spheres and institutions of society, including politics, education, culture. These circumstances acquire special relevance and significance against the background of the ever-growing penetration of the media into the political sphere, their transformation into one of the most important tools for the implementation of the political process.

The peculiarity of modern media is that they have the ability to directly appeal to the public, to cover at once such traditional institutions as school, family, political parties AND organizations, etc. This ability is used by politicians, political parties, etc. The media are an active subject political life and in such a role they can do a lot, including with regard to the influence on popular culture.

For a long time, the main source of information for a wide audience was the press, newspapers and magazines. Many of them emerged as bodies of various political parties, or in one form or another are involved in the political process.

Radio and television have significantly expanded the possibilities of exploiting mass communication processes for political purposes.

The invention of radio at the end of the 19th century radically and forever changed the transmission of information, making it possible to transmit it across national borders and over long distances without the physical presence of the transmitter. During World War II, radio became one of the main means of political mobilization of society and the most important instrument of propaganda. Its role has increased even more in the post-war period, when it appeared in all corners of the developed countries.

For television, the period from its inception to its transformation into important tool politics turned out to be even shorter than for radio, which is mainly due to the rapid pace of its development and distribution. Nowadays it has become one of the dominant mass media, it has enormous potential to influence public opinion.

The role of the media in politics cannot be assessed unequivocally. The media is a complex and multifaceted institution, consisting of many organs and elements designed to implement diverse tasks informing the population about current events and phenomena in each specific country and around the world. Popular culture plays an important role in this, influencing the masses not only rationally, as political information does, but irrationally, forming people's faith and convictions, which then become the most important lever and guiding force of social processes.

To popular culture in modern conditions informatization and globalization of society can be treated in different ways, but, undoubtedly, it is an objective and stable phenomenon of modern culture, which cannot be ignored and which must be investigated and, as this is done, transform its development into a more positive and beneficial way for society.

In the last decade, in connection with the expansion of international relations between Russia and other countries, issues of intercultural communication have become of particular theoretical and practical interest. International relations are not limited to the discussion of various issues and problems at a high governmental and diplomatic level, but are increasingly becoming a part of the daily life of people. Therefore, at present, mastering the art of intercultural communication is gaining more and more relevance and significance.

The concept of "intercultural communication" is derived from the concepts of "culture" and "communication". In order to define what “intercultural communication” is, you need to delve into the essence of the concepts of its components - communication and culture.

C) There are many definitions of the term "communication", since it can be considered a necessary and universal condition for human life and one of the fundamental foundations of society. Society is not so much a set of individuals as those connections and relationships in which these individuals are. In many respects, this explains the keen interest in communication on the part of representatives of various scientific fields.

Here are just some of the definitions of commenting found in the literature:

Communication is a mechanism through which the existence and development of human relations is ensured, including all mental symbols, the means of their transmission in space and preservation in time (Ch. Kyli ^^).

Communication- in broad sense social unification of individuals using language or signs, the establishment of generally valid sets of rules for various purposeful activities.

Communication is a specific exchange of information, a process of transferring emotional and intellectual content (A.B. Zverintsev ^^ A.P. PanfshIOva ^^).

You must give your own definition of communication or agree with the definitions given above.

For example: The above definitions reveal various features of this phenomenon and allow us to conclude that communication in a broad sense is a mechanism for the dissemination of various information that ensures the development of human relations, as well as the establishment of sets of rules for purposeful activity.

Cooley Ch.H. Human nature and social order. - M., 2001.

^^ Fundamentals of the theory of communication: textbook. for universities / ed.

M.A. Vasilica. - M., 2003 .-- I.

^ "Zverintsev AB Communication management: working book.

PR manager. - SPb., 1997.

^^ Panfilova A.P. Business communication in professional activity: textbook. allowance. - SPb., 2005.

If we talk about the term “culture”, then it is one of the most ambiguous. This is explained by the fact that culture itself is an extremely complex and multifaceted phenomenon that expresses all aspects of human existence.

That is why it is studied by many sciences, each of which identifies one of its aspects as the subject of its study, formulating its own understanding and definition of culture.

In Russian literature, culture is most often viewed as a historically determined level of development of society, the creative forces and abilities of a person, expressed in the forms and forms of organizing the life and activities of people, in their relationships, as well as in the material and spiritual values ​​created by them. In this interpretation, culture appears as the sum of all the achievements of mankind. This is an extremely broad understanding of culture. It can be used to characterize:

certain historical eras (for example, ancient culture, medieval culture);

specific societies, nationalities and nations (for example, Russian culture, Chinese culture);

specific spheres of human activity (byga culture, labor culture, political culture, artistic culture) ^^. In a narrower sense, culture is understood as the sphere of people's spiritual life.

In English, the word culture (culture) is most often interpreted as:

Lifestyle, common customs and beliefs of a certain group of people at a certain time ^ "*;

Customs, civilization and achievements of a certain era or We can say that in almost all English definitions the word culture (culture) repeats the word customs (customs, traditions).

^^ See: Fundamentals of Communication Theory. - S. 579.

"" * Cambridge International Dictionary of English. - Cambridge Univ.

^^ The Concise Oxford Dictionary. - Oxford, 1966.

the word (beliefs) is repeatedly used, as well as beliefs the phrase the way of life (way of life).

In German, the word Kultur (culture) has the following main meanings:

The totality of all spiritual, artistic, creative achievements of society as an expression of a high level of human development;

Scoop) the characteristic spiritual, artistic, creative achievements created in a certain society in a certain era (Eastern culture, Renaissance culture, etc.) ^^. The similarity of all the proposed interpretations lies in the fact that culture can be considered as a general system of value orientations, forms of communication and organization of joint activities of people, which are transmitted from generation to generation, that are universal for society (ethnos, nation). It influences the perception, thinking, behavior of all members of society and determines their belonging to this society. In this interpretation, culture appears as an integrity that differs from others due to religious, national-state borders or a set of ethnic characteristics.

This understanding of culture is the most functional from the point of view of the topic under consideration.

Inter-office communication is characterized by the fact that when representatives of different kupyurs meet, each of them acts in accordance with their own cultural norms. The classic definition of intercultural communication is the adequate mutual understanding of two 5D1stniks of the communicative act, belonging to different national cultures ^ "".

^^ Duden Deutsches Universalwoerterbuch. 2. Aufl. Mannheim, Wien, Zurich, 1989.

^ "^ See: Vereshchagin E.M. Language and culture / E.M. Vereshchagin, V.G. Kostomarov. - M., 1990. - P. 26.

The problem of intercultural communication is not limited solely to the language problem. Knowledge of the language of a bearer of another culture is necessary, but still insufficient for adequate mutual understanding of the participants in the communicative act.

The vital activity and attitudes of people are determined by the norms prevailing in a particular culture, which regulate wide areas of human thinking and behavior and have a great influence on the nature of perception, assessment and interpersonal relations. Education and upbringing, historical memory, traditions and customs, rules dictated by society, the very language in which people communicate, develop an orientation system that helps them to cope with various everyday situations and problems in their own way.

Anyone sees the world within a certain cultural framework. But these cultural frameworks, as a rule, are not recognized by the individual, since most often they are so inherent in him that they form part of his personality. Awareness of the norms of behavior and thinking of one's own culture is possible only when there are contacts with people who, in their behavior, are guided by other cultural norms. People, to one degree or another, expand the boundaries of their cultural horizons, visiting other countries, learning foreign languages, reading foreign literature, communicating with foreigners.

However, such interaction can cause discomfort or even lead to conflicts, which are often difficult to explain.

Behavioral and evaluative mechanisms that worked as long as communication was shared within the same culture are beginning to fail.

There are quite contradictory points of view on the time of the emergence of "mass culture". Some consider it to be an eternal by-product of culture and therefore find it already in antiquity. There are much more grounds for attempts to link the emergence of "mass culture" with the scientific and technological revolution, which gave rise to new methods of production, dissemination and consumption of culture. Bourgeois “popular culture was first formed in the United States. On the one hand, it democratized the sphere of culture, on the other hand, it facilitated the penetration of commercial, political interests into this sphere, and the pursuit of profit.

The confusion of culture and politics can take two different directions. It can make a culture intolerant of any culture other than its own; or lead to the ideal of a world state, where only one uniform world culture will exist. Politics is permeating even Hollywood cinema today.

Popular culture is a culture of the masses, a culture intended for consumption by the people; it is not the consciousness of the people, but of the commercial cultural industry; it is hostile to genuinely popular culture. She does not know traditions, has no nationality, her tastes and ideals change at a dizzying speed in accordance with the needs of fashion. Popular culture appeals to a wide audience, appeals to simplistic tastes, claims to be folk art.

Modernism, on the contrary, Appeals to the tastes of the elite, relies on various areas of avant-garde art. Currently, there is an intensive process of transformation of the avant-garde into the art of consumer goods.

The phenomenon of mass culture exists, and television is the most effective means of replicating and disseminating this culture. Mass culture affects the mass consciousness, is associated with the mass media, is focused on consumer tastes and instincts, and has a manipulative character. The mass media pose a great threat to an independent person; it possesses a dangerous instrument of suggestion, an instrument of social training of a person.

Popular culture standardizes human spiritual activity. The human masses have and have always had an aversion to education and art. She wants to be distracted from life, and not reveal its meaning.

In America, “popular culture has taken on a twofold character: the American mind, which is not occupied with practical concerns, remains a vacationer, while the other part of it, occupied with discovery, production and social organization, resembles Niagara Falls. American will is embodied in a skyscraper, American intelligence in colonial buildings.

Through market-oriented commodities, we learn about the typical behaviors, attitudes, conventional wisdom, prejudice and expectations of large numbers of people.

One of the important functions of modern mass culture is the mythologization of public consciousness. The works of mass culture, as well as myths, are not based on the distinction between the real and the ideal. They become an object not of knowledge, but of faith.

There is an opinion that the most adequate term expressing the essence of works of mass culture is the term icon. It is the icon that corresponds to the Russian concept of the image. This term characterizes this type of artistic reflection, which is symbolic, fundamentally unrealistic, is an object of faith, worship, and not a means of reflection and knowledge of the world.

Interest in the phenomenon of mass culture arose quite a long time ago and today there are many studies, theories and concepts of "mass culture". The authors of most of them tend to view it as a special social phenomenon with its own genesis, specificity and development trends. Theorists and cultural historians adhere to far from identical points of view about the time of the emergence of mass culture as an independent social phenomenon. So, E.P. Smolskaya believes that there are no grounds for talking about a thousand-year history of mass culture. On the contrary, the American sociologist D. White believes that the first elements of mass culture include, for example, the battles of Roman gladiators, which attracted numerous spectators. According to A. Adorno, the prototypes of modern mass culture should be considered the forms of culture that appeared during the formation of capitalism in England, that is, at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. He is convinced that the novels written during this period (Dafoe, Richardson) were intended for the market and had a clear commercial focus. Consequently, they gravitated towards "mass" rather than "elite" culture. However, Russian opponents (E.P. Smolskaya and others) indicate that these works did not contain the well-known patterns that are characteristic of works of mass culture.

Probably, the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century should be considered the starting point in the emergence and development of mass culture. We believe that the phenomenon of mass culture is not just a kind of "traditional culture", but a significant change in culture as a whole. That is, the development of the media and communication (radio, cinema, television, gigantic circulation of newspapers, illustrated magazines, the Internet), the industrial-commercial type of production and the distribution of standardized spiritual goods, the relative democratization of culture, an increase in the level of education of the masses with a paradoxical decrease in spiritual demands ...

The researchers attribute the detective genre to one of the earliest forms of mass culture, which appeared in the early 30s of the 19th century and immediately gained immense popularity. At the end of the 19th century, weekly media began publishing works that later became known as the "heart press" or "dream industry". At the very end of the 19th century, such a form of mass culture as comics appears in the United States of America. At first, this genre was intended exclusively for children, but then it became an integral part of adult life. The active, or rather the rapid development of mass culture begins in the middle of the 20th century. From that moment on, it becomes total and expansive.

As in the case of traditional culture, there is still no universal definition of mass culture. This situation has its own rational explanation. The fact is that as a scientific and philosophical category, "mass culture" includes as many as three concepts. First, "culture" as the special character of a product. Secondly, "mass", as the degree of distribution of the product. Third, "culture" as a spiritual value. Let's now see what the most common definitions of mass culture look like.

Some researchers believe that mass culture is a special cultural phenomenon, an autonomous formation, in which a break in form and content often occurs. In particular, A. B. Gofman notes that mass culture is a special state of culture in a crisis period of society, when the process of disintegration of its content levels develops. Therefore, popular culture often takes on a formal character. While functioning, it loses its essential content, and, in particular, traditional morality.

In another approach, mass culture is defined as a phenomenon that characterizes the characteristics of the production of cultural values ​​in modern society. It is assumed that popular culture is consumed by all people, regardless of their place and country of residence. Popular culture is also because it is produced on a daily basis. This is the culture of everyday life, accessible to the audience by means of mass communication.

One of the most interesting and productive should be recognized the approach of D. Bell, according to which mass culture is a kind of organization of everyday consciousness in an information society, a special sign system or a special language in which members of the information society reach mutual understanding. It acts as a connecting link between a post-industrial society of high specialization and a person who is integrated into it only as a “partial” person. Communication between "partial" people, narrow specialists, unfortunately, is carried out, most likely, only at the level of "mass man", that is, in an average public language, which is mass culture.

Now mass culture penetrates into almost all spheres of social life and forms its own single semiotic space.

Obviously, mass culture is far from homogeneous. It has its own structure and levels. In modern cultural studies, as a rule, there are three main levels of mass culture:

kitsch culture (i.e. low-quality, even vulgar culture);

mid-culture (so to speak, the culture of the "middle hand");

art culture (mass culture, not devoid of a certain, sometimes even high, artistic content and aesthetic expression).

Analyzing popular culture as a special socio-cultural phenomenon, it is necessary to indicate its main characteristics. These characteristics, in our opinion, are:

targeting a homogeneous audience;

reliance on the emotional, irrational, collective, unconscious;

escapism;

fast availability;

fast forgetting;

tradition and conservatism;

operating with an average linguistic semiotic norm;

entertaining.

As an independent phenomenon, mass culture is assessed controversially.

In general, the existing points of view can be divided into two groups. Representatives of the first group (Adorno, Marcuse, etc.) give a negative assessment of this phenomenon. In their opinion, mass culture forms a passive perception of reality among its consumers. This position is justified by the fact that the works of mass culture offer ready-made answers to what is happening in the socio-cultural space around the individual. In addition, some theorists of mass culture believe that under its influence the system of values ​​changes: the desire for entertainment and entertainment becomes dominant. The negative aspects associated with the influence of mass culture on public consciousness also include the fact that mass culture is based not on an image oriented towards reality, but on a system of images that affect the unconscious sphere of the human psyche.

This group includes the authors of the Living Ethics Teachings (Mahatmas, the Roerich family). According to the Living Ethics paradigm, mass culture in its essence is a pseudo-culture, since, unlike true (i.e. high culture), in most of its forms it does not contribute to humanistically oriented social progress and spiritual evolution of a person. The vocation and purpose of true culture is the ennobling and improvement of man. Popular culture performs the opposite functions - it reanimates the lower aspects of consciousness and instincts, which, in turn, stimulate ethical, aesthetic and intellectual degradation of the individual.

Meanwhile, researchers adhering to an optimistic point of view on the role of mass culture in the life of society indicate that:

it attracts the masses who do not know how to use their free time productively;

creates a kind of semiotic space that promotes closer interaction between members of a high-tech society;

enables a wide audience to get acquainted with the works of traditional (high) culture.

And yet, it is likely that the opposition of definitely positive and definitely negative assessments of mass culture will not be entirely correct. It is obvious that the influence of mass culture on society is far from being unambiguous and does not fit into the binary scheme “white - black”. This is one of the main problems in the analysis of mass culture.