Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: Structuralism and Post-Structuralism Essay

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“Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction”, the work of John Storey discusses six definitions of popular culture. He says that popular culture originated because of the industrial revolution and urbanization process. There are continuous changes in the character of the popular culture and originates more popular cultures. Need of the people or their interests are the backgrounds of the formation of popular cultures. Every pop culture has its own complex currents and institutions. Storey often used the term ‘mass culture’ to identify that kind of a composite popular culture. Structuralism is a style or method of study associated with analyzing the subject of the existing structures of the human society. Post-structuralism is a genius revolution within the structuralism because of its limitations to give achievements. John Storey narrates the definitions of structuralist philosophers and post-structuralist thinkers. Scholars like Jacques Derrida, Ferdinand de Saussure, Foucault, and Ronald Barthes have expressed their opinions about the culture and civilization. Jacques Derrida and Ronald Barthes are prominent exponents of post-structuralism.

Structuralism is developed as a new kind of analysis that influenced almost all fields of the human society. The new interpretation originated in France in the second half of the twentieth century; it made an intellectual evaluation of human culture. New school of thought mainly derived from the writings of Ferdinand de Saussure and approaches introduced by the Prague and Moscow schools. They accepted signs or structures as a symbol of culture and analyzed them on the basis of these arrangements. There was a long history about the critique of popular taste and popular opinion; presently concept of mass culture is became a controversial one. Scholars used several types’ terms and definitions to differentiate popular culture. Mass culture, high culture and other terms are used by various philosophers to classify the attributes of popular culture. High culture means the upper strata of the social system like fine arts and philosophical aspects. Mass culture includes more material dimensions of the social features like production, distribution and television programs.

The new concept was made a comprehensive change in the social order of last century. Postmodernist background influenced all aspects of 20th-century human society. In the fields of literature, and design, architecture, in addition to marketing business and the interpretation of culture, history and law are started to analyze on the basis of post-structuralism in the nineteen sixties of last century. This reconsideration of the complete Western value of social and political arrangement can see in popular culture, love, marriage and shift from industrial to service structure. With the last years of 1960s there occurred a ‘Social Revolution’ Emergence of this cultural change is termed as post-structuralism.

Structuralism developed as popular method of study related to culture, society and language. It says that each organ of the culture determined through other elements participated occasionally. Exponents of structuralism could not accept the natural activity of human beings. According to the actions of man is constructed, moreover these activities are not essential. Foucault is one of the prominent scholars of structuralism, by his decisive learning of cultural institutions. He inscribes, that contemporary culture workouts its controlling systems of power and knowledge. He initiated notions ‘discursive regime’, or re-invoked in order to give details the connection among meaning, power and social actions inside social systems. His approaches or arguments were questioned by the critics as failed to establish a new theory. Richard Rorty says, Foucault’s ‘archaeology of knowledge is primarily unconstructive. Jacques Derrida continuously analyzed the essentials of writing and challenge the language of ‘presence’ or metaphysics in a systematic method which started to know as Deconstruction. The view Postmodernism is often used as an explanation to different levels of culture and human actions.

Contemporary critics consider Roland Barthes as a well-known advocate of structuralism; he contributed to its theoretical development. He also achieved for the post-structuralism and Marxian school of analysis. It is real fact that he followed a diverse method, generally, Barthes’s style is not accepted by other philosophers. Critics argue that his ideologies have no more visibility of several other structural philosophers similar to Dewey, Marx, or Freud. However, his works are considered as precious sources of knowledge to understand popular culture. Barthes himself considered structuralism is helpful to make aware of any popular culture. Presently structuralism is not a popular method of study; the place of structuralism is taken by other approaches like deconstruction and post-structuralism; these are widely accepted methods of analyzing knowledge of various fields. In 1960s structuralism began to question by some groups of philosophers so there started a mobilized method of study that is led to the establishment of post-structuralism. As a result of modern attitude new approach was later called post-modernism. Writers like Derek Attridge, Geoff Bennington and Robert Young have the opinion that, “the relations between structuralism and post-structuralism is a complex one due to the interrelated elements of history” (Attridge, Derek. Bennington, Geoff. & Young, Robert).

Deconstructive investigation approves the concepts put forward by Marx, at the same time it is questioned also. Marxian approach questioned the high culture because of its unimportance in shaping of material world. According to Marxian view, only the inner strata of human society or the mass culture determine the character of the social and political history.

The modernization period witnessed the growth of popular cultures; structures, needs and tastes of the people created mass culture and paved the way for constant change in its character. John Storeys’ article presents a viewpoint on the concepts of popular social and political cultures. Many of the philosopher’s writings are consisting of various definitions, ideas of popular culture and its varieties. In his work Storey narrates the definitions of philosophers like Jacques Derrida, Ferdinand de Saussure, Foucault, and Ronald Barthes. The establishment of structuralism is a landmark one because of its different types of interpretation over the knowledge. But, very soon the concepts with main signs and structures were questioned; it had restrictions owed by over theoretical background. As a protest movement, post-structuralism originated within the concept of structuralism that is to prove vigorous modern interpretations are better.

Culture consists of norms, beliefs, products, values and all manmade environments in social order. However, one can categorize some states are more cultured or developed in their living conditions and values than other nations like that persons may be more civilized than another group. A number of cultural theorists attempt to stamp out popular or mass culture from the meaning of culture. Philosophers like Matthew Arnold and Leaves look upon culture as basically the result of finest thought among the mankind. Lying on this explanation, culture associates strongly with social development or the progressive notion of human behavioral patterns. Arnold constantly remarks, that culture is a particular movement to search for our full amount of perfection by the way of learning and every matter men thinking and said in the earth.

Post- Structuralism is helpful to make awareness of popular culture because of its particular attitudes. Structuralism considers only the elements of structures that are involved in certain human activities. Above this concept the human activity and material factors are considered by the post-structural philosophy. It is the fact, frequently argued that post-structuralists are more or less self-consciously post-modernists, however, no small figure of those so selected have expressed anxiety at these conditions or even deliberately acknowledged themselves as modernists. Moreover, it is clear and without difference of opinion that direct of view amid those said to be post-structuralists were at least as vociferous as their objections to structuralism so the term at the very least is not very specific. Modern styles in usage give the impression to make use of the term less; rather than attempting to take on with a specific learning. Every type of relationship are considered in the realm of post-modernism there are no more limitations than the old view of popular culture. Post-Structuralism is illustrated as a sharp reaction against Structuralism, because structuralism failed to enough contributions irrespective of its concepts. But, apart from structuralism Post-Structuralism took a more synthesized approach where everything was considered and evaluated; those factors contributed to the development of each cultural trait. Post-Structuralism describes as a concept influenced by diverse notions like Liberal Humanism and Structuralism but it contributed more than the predecessor.

There one can see opposite attitudes or dichotomy between Frankfurt School insider detractor Theodor Adorno and opponent Walter Benjamin. Work of Adomo, “Cultural Criticism and Society,” and found in Prisms by Walter Benjamin reveals their diverse attitudes. According to Benjamin technique of expression is decisive and he considered himself as a medium of cultural tendencies. At the same time, Adomo discusses the natural insufficiency of individual activities. Here expression of the author is a general one, which means no meticulous source related to a popular culture. So his style of expression is not successful to read the behavior of a particular popular culture or society. Here, one can recognize the method of Benjamin because it is too helpful to realize the character of a popular culture.

Works Cited

Attridge, Derek. Bennington, Geoff. & Young, Robert.. Cambridge University Press. 1987, p.2.

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