Introduction to the study of contemporary societies and cultures. Przykład eseju napisanego w ramach studiów na Uniwersytecie w Leeds

YORK ST JOHN
COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

MA in INTERNATIONAL STUDIES:
Contemporary Societies and Culture

SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Marzena Drużdżel

Ukończyłam studia w York St John - College of the University of Leeds na kierunku: Współczesne Społeczeństwa i Kultura. Odbyte studia umożliwiły mi uzyskanie stopnia MA Uniwersytetu w Leeds, prestiżowej uczelni brytyjskiej. Zaliczanie modułów polegało głównie na pisaniu esejów, które były następnie punktowane przez Komisję Egzaminacyjną w Anglii. Chciałabym zaprezentować przykładową pracę na zaliczenie modułu.

MODULE ONE
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES AND CULTURES
YORK ST JOHN COLLEGE

The topic of the essay: Discuss the four concepts introduced in the module - culture, identity, regulation and globalisation, and
Show how these concepts can be related to the Sony Walkman

My friends once queried my constant being busy so I answered them that I was a student again - this time of another faculty. I boastfully added, but not without a hint of pride, that I was doing culture studies at the University of Leeds. When later in the conversation it turned out that I was mainly dealing with sociology, balancing on the edge of philosophy, they looked puzzled and apparently disappointed. "Culture is: painting, theatre, films, architecture, Andy Warhol - this is culture", they responded chorally...

What is culture?

Most people tend to associate culture with intellectual refinement as well as outputs of artistic vision. The term "culture" has purely positive connotations and is associated with beauty, charm, aesthetics, sophisticated ideas being an outcome of intensive intellectual work as well as cleverness and wit of its authors. Moreover, dealing with such matters is thought to bear some prestige.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, following Matthew Arnold's famous book, Culture and Anarchy, the word "culture acquired a more restrictive meaning in English - referring now to a state of intellectual refinement associated with the arts, philosophy and learning (du Gay et al, 2000, 11)." My understanding of the notion of culture is quite simple. To me the term comprises all human organized activity. "Culture as" whole way of life "" (du Gay et al, 2000, 13). I perceive culture as people's functioning within a selected community according to accepted rules.

For example, last year I wrote a thesis on Australian Aborigines and the more I was into research the more fascinated I became by the subtlety, loyalty and cultural refinement of the ethnic group who are still perceived as savages by some colonists in that country. I admired and portrayed Aboriginal Culture.

I link the notion of culture with uniqueness, some kind of independence and a way of life moulded by geographical position. To provide some examples: The Inuit people constantly struggling for survival in the freezing cold darkness developed a culture based on faithfulness, loyalty, reliability, determination of the members of the society, which enabled their survival. Sweden has launched its unrepeatable Ikea, known in many parts of the world, which symbolises the Swedish culture. Ikea is in a position to promote wooden, environment- friendly products thanks to the excessive amounts of wood and timber in the country. The warm weather and favourable climate conditions, in turn, shaped the specific culture of laid- back Southerners being in a position to focus on pleasures: sophisticated architectural styles, delicious cuisine, heavenly music and so forth.

Until the fifteenth century different cultures existed independently in many parts of the planet. Then, some expansive, intellectaully advanced nations started long- distance voyages (Leif Ericsson, Chistopher Columbus, the Duth in Australia), and the process of cultural imperialism was set up, as I see it. The era of geographic discoveries coincided with conquests, mass homicide, imposing Christian religion and many atrocities. A lot of prescious cultures and subcultures were irreversibly destroyed. Man started to travel and, in my opinion, it was then that the world was beginning to convert into one big village - at first slowly, gradually, step by step, enevitably. So many things became accessible in almost every corner of the planet: spices, fruit, drinks, dishes, customs, media, various products. Since this century of the big discoveries humankind has been steadily heading toward global uniformity and The Sony Walkman is just one of the consequences of this phenomenon.

Globalisation - a scary term

The methods of entering foreign markets as well as making a profit changed throughout history but the expansionist desires inside of man stayed the same.
The story of the Sony Walkman is intended as a case study - the book gives us insights into social analysis "in the age of mechanical reproduction" (Walter quoted in du Gay, 2000,125).

A vast part of the section: "Sony as a global firm" is devoted to financial and marketing policy. The Sony Company applied the cleverest strategies to win the global markets, which was assumed from the very beginning. When one of the founders of the company, called "the Father" of the Walkman, Akio Morita once visited America, he was impressed by American monumentalism, perfectly functioning enterprises and advanced technology. The interesting thing is, what that view ignited in his mind first of all, was the thought of competing with this economy and some doubts whether his company will be able to achieve it. While reading about determination of Japanese people, their fidelity to the companies they work for I recall the words of some famous fortune-tellers concerning the future of our planet and I feel a bit scared. Nostradamus or Queen Saba foretold the doomed vision of the planet flooded and ruled by the yellow race. said.Thus, on the one hand I admire the Japanese nation for their wisdom, consistence, loyalty, on the other, such nations and organisations as The Sony seem unscrupulous and too powerful to stop.

Sony instantly took up the challenge to compete with the Americans. It happened very early - in the 1940s, just after The Second World War. The small company from a damaged country employed all the potential of its workers as well as used the most methodical approach of the management. After some time it was able to devote huge amounts of money to RESERCH & DEVELOPMENT, which became very beneficial. The research section and a design department still have a dominant position in the company. Furthermore, they applied the strategy of media synergy and thanks to this strategy they were able to advertise their newly launched equipment.

In 1988 Sony in cooperation with the United Stated built a record and entertainment corporation. In 1989 it purchased Columbia Studios. In order to make even more profit Sony employed the tactics of "global-local nexus", which meant operating both globally and locally. "The global-local nexus becomes important for large corporations who attempt to establish a presence in a variaty of strategically important localities around the world" (du Gay et al, 2000, 79). It was a clever trick for Sony, and had some political, financial and technological reasons for adopting this policy.

Among other things it enabled the firm to employ cheap labour force. Factories were soon established in Malaysia and Taiwan.

Sony started to be referred to as a global company as Morita in his interviews deliberately avoided the term "multinational corporation." In the early 1990s "global" sounded better than "multinational" and the management of the company were very careful as far as its positive image was concerned.

Adverse publicity

"If you purchase a Walkman you can claim membership of that new, emergent identity - the Tribe of Youth" (du Gay et al, 2000, 39).

A widespread glorification of youth can be observed nowadays in most late-modern societies.

And this promotion of youth is overwhelming, putting the middle-aged ones, not to mention the elderly ones, into a position of losers. In most advertisements we see young, cheerful faces, shapely bodies of big sexual attractiveness. The symbol of Walkman stands for vigour, vitality, fitness, good looks. At the same time it is regarded as a sign of fashion, an indispensible attribute of the cool image according to young minds. So, potential users can be classified to those who are young, strong, beautiful, successful and rich. What percentage of any society do such people constitute? What about the older generation? They do not often receive enough respect from the hands of the young. Their needs are often neglected, their virtues taken for granted. In the epoch of the youth in some societies elderly people are often deprived of their dignity and are insulted by rude hooligans who take advantage of their physical strength. It often happens that the rights of the old and the weak and the ugly are not protected enough as if we were becoming a population of savages driven by naked instincts? No wonder proud possessors of the Sony Walkman often meet disapproval and this subculture may ignite controversy and even resentment. Sometimes listening to a Walkman at top volume is associated with hooliganism and may have dramatic consequences. The story of the Sony Walkman provides an example of a man who was brutally thrown out of a train and additionally sued to the court of law for disturbing other people's comfort.

A fragment of Vincent Jackson's "Manace II society" especially appeals to me.

It pictures a young person's feelings while travelling on the tube. He has the impression that he is not accepted by his co-passengers. The tired, busy and frustrated people around are not always able to approve of a demontrative viscious pose of the youth and consequently, the young man feels rejected, out of place, as he judges by "the icy glares" of white-collar workers buried in the Daily Telegraph. I think the cited fragment is worth taking notice of. "...a middle aged librarian type who gave me The Eyes a mere two seconds after the play button had clicked. She looked me up and down in the same contemptuous manner I had received thousands of times before during many years of Walkman wearing. The Eyes said it all. SCUMBAG! LOW-LIFE! LOSER!" (Jackson quoted in du Gay et al, 2000, 144).

On the one hand I had not imagined that the feelings of a young person be as such, especially in the case of a representative of the mainstream culture, untill I read the text. On the other one, seeing a kid with ear-phones on evokes some uncertainty and fear because it is not known what he or she is listening to and what kind of inspiration is taking place. The Walkman is believed to induce anti-social behaviour. This bad reputation is associated with acts of aggression. Sadly enough, kids can be inspired by some kinds of music or sounds, for instance satanistic, or harmful infra-tones.There are groups or sects specializing in generating meaningful sounds which by means of the Walkman can be directly connected to the receiver's mind. No one can predict what the consequences may be. Only one thing is certain - it can damage the hearing.

I am not fond of the Walkman myself. Of course I possess one because I "have children", but it is an old type so that they will be not eager to use it too frequently. Am I an old- fashioned mother?

The blessed safety valve

In A miniature history of the Walkman by Ian Chambers we read: "Isolation is a state of nature; solitude is the work of culture. Isolation is an imposition, solitude a choice" (Chambers quoted in du Gay et al, 2000, 141).

The issues of isolation and solitude are numerously raised in pieces of art especially late modern one as they are outputs of the complexity of today's life. People often escape into themselves when they cannot cope with bad experience in relationships or other frustrations whether it be on a private, social or professional basis. They switch on the walkman, put their ear-phones on and feel free although it is illusive. They want to forget about all the fuss around for a while - it is a form of escapism. It mostly concerns the young generation. I think this is because young people are so emotional, so fragile by nature. The more immature individuals the poorer they are in handling problems and such an escape is the easiest reaction. It conjures up an image of an ostrich putting his head into sand. In my opinion escapism is an attribute of immaturity - young people are often not prepared for the struggle to conform, which is very difficult, or fight which is often doomed to failure.

The Sony Walkman is an artifact of the late-modern times and is a kind of a safety valve. In the sixties an acoustic guitar, long hair and and the hippie ideology served the same purpose. Now, the Sony apparatus tempts and seduces by its futuristic shape, colour and the fidelity of the sound, so every kid desires to get into possession of one.

The hidden destructive power

The chapter hooked on regulation raises the issue of the private and the public, the individual and the communal, which I find particularly intriguing. Humans are undeniably social beings. None the less, they need the minimum of privacy and autonomy to function efficiently. Some need more "freedom", some less - that is a question of nature. However, the equilibrum between the communal and the individual must be retained, otherwise some mental disorders May be observed. In the case of the Sony Walkman a strange thing occurs: a very private sector is deposited into the public domain (as it is with mobile phones). In my opinion the germ of individualism is responsible for decomposition of the social and communal structure of life. It is especially dangerous as it does the sabbotage job of decomposing from the inside - like an invisible foe. It can destroy family life and the atmosphere of homely warmth and unity. Wnen particular members of a family listen to the radio, or watch TV they can get united as they have the same pleasures and broaden minds at the same time. The atmosphere of togetherness may get spoilt instantly when a child or a spouse pulls out an electronic device and starts listening or playing games with it instead of listening to the people it is sharing room with: "Wouldn't society be reduced to little more than aggregate of atomised individuals living in a particular geographical space? (Indeed, wouldn't the household become simply a place where isolated idividuals shared a kitchen and bathroom?)" (du Gay et al, 2000, 113) In prehistoric times, when mankind started to form societies, common edavour was essential for survival. Mutual understanding was the basis of all activity. Then, throughout history the forms of communal unity and dependences adopted various forms, but people constituted integral communities. The non-verbal contact between particular members of such communities was not distracted by the media as it is today, so it was easier to understand each other.

Maybe the forms of escapism people adopt are simply the outcome of overpopulation?
The boom of Walkmans or personal computers signify the beginning of Humankind's crisis connected with overcrowded spaces we are condemned to share. People start to suffer from claustrophobia and pressing the Walkman's button is like opening a valve through which they can teleport into another dimension.

Summary

My essay points out, that societies, gradually converting into a global society do not stay indifferent to "the Sony Walkman phenomenon." The new high-tech's device's contribution to creating the global culture cannot be ignored. On the one hand it had its big role in creating its uniformity, on the other hand it broadened the gap between particular groups of people (within a society). Besides, this small device seems to have shattered the boundaries between the public and the private which causes frustrations. In my opinion a public order and control should be guarded so that people's sense of social stability and safety can be retained. According to social norms the private sphere must be separated from the public one. None the less, since the division is blurred, it is sometimes difficult to do that. Thus, the youth's spontaneity and immaturity is responsible for hurting or annoying others. In turn, inappropriate behaviour is regulated because of public pressure.

Supplement

"The story of the Sony Walkman" is intended as a practical introduction to culture studies through an artefact of late modern culture - the Sony Walkman. It pictures main mechanisms steering a powerful corporation and, at the same time, shows the cultural significance of it. The book tries to explain the five cultural processes: Representation, Identity, Production, Consumption and Regulation which constitute the, so called, circuit of culture.

The clue is the fact that all the mentioned above processes are dependent on one another. What is more, they come out of one another forming the whole of life of a community being nowadays expressed in global terms. The Sony company used the power of knowledge combined with the powerful ideology for building an empire where the sun does not really set. Now, in turn, they employ an army of research workers. This provides a very clear example of a phonomenon in sociology where knowledge led to power so that the power could lead to knowledge.

All the considerings described above testify to an intriguing complexity of the notion of culture encouraging further studies.

References:

Chambers, I "A miniature history of the Walkman" in The story of the Sony Walkman pp. 141-142 Jackson, V "Manace II society" in The story of the Sony Walkman pp.143-145

Paul du Gay and Hall, S and Janes, L and Mackay, H. and Negus, K. (2000), Doing Cultural Studies The Story of the Sony Walkman, The Open University

Walter, B in the story of the Sony Walkman, pp.125-129

Journals:

Lattimer, H. and Milner, R. Are we all becoming Americans? in "Current" September-October 2001 Mary Glasgow Magazines Scholastic pp.13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21

Opracowanie: Marzena Drużdżel - nauczyciel języka angielskiego w Zespole Szkół Ekonomicznych w Radomiu

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