By the nature of creations one can distinguish the culture represented in single samples And popular culture. The first form, based on the characteristic features of its creators, is divided into folk and elite culture. Folk culture represents single works, most often by nameless authors. This form of culture includes myths, legends, tales, epics, songs, dances, etc. Elite culture - a collection of individual creations that are created well-known representatives privileged part of society or at its request by professional creators. Here we are talking about creators who have a high level of education and are well known to the enlightened public. This culture includes fine arts, literature, classical music, etc.
Mass (public) culture represents products of spiritual production in the field of art, created in large quantities for the general public. The main thing for her is to entertain the broadest masses of the population. It is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population, regardless of level of education. Its main feature is the simplicity of ideas and images: texts, movements, sounds, etc. Samples of this culture are aimed at emotional sphere person. At the same time, mass culture often uses simplified examples of elite and folk culture (“remixes”). Popular culture averages the spiritual development of people.
Subculture- this is the culture of any social group: confessional, professional, corporate, etc. As a rule, it does not deny universal human culture, but has specific characteristics. Signs of a subculture are special rules of behavior, language, and symbols. Each society has its own set of subcultures: youth, professional, ethnic, religious, dissident, etc.
Dominant culture- values, traditions, views, etc., shared only by part of society. But this part has the opportunity to impose them on the entire society, either due to the fact that it constitutes the ethnic majority, or due to the fact that it has a coercive mechanism. A subculture that opposes the dominant culture is called a counterculture. The social basis of counterculture is people who are, to a certain extent, alienated from the rest of society. The study of counterculture allows us to understand cultural dynamics, the formation and spread of new values.
The tendency to evaluate the culture of one's own nation as good and correct, and another culture as strange and even immoral, has been called "ethnocentrism" Many societies are ethnocentric. From a psychological point of view, this phenomenon acts as a factor in the unity and stability of a given society. However, ethnocentrism can be a source of intercultural conflicts. The extreme forms of manifestation of ethnocentrism are nationalism. The opposite is cultural relativism.
Elite culture
Elite, or high culture is created by a privileged part, or by its order, by professional creators. It includes fine art, classical music and literature. High culture, for example, the painting of Picasso or the music of Schnittke, is difficult for an unprepared person to understand. As a rule, it is decades ahead of the level of perception of an averagely educated person. The circle of its consumers is a highly educated part of society: critics, literary scholars, regulars of museums and exhibitions, theatergoers, artists, writers, musicians. When the level of education of the population increases, the circle of consumers of high culture expands. Its varieties include secular art and salon music. The formula of elite culture is “ art for art's sake”.
Elite culture intended for a narrow circle of highly educated public and is opposed to both folk and mass culture. It is usually incomprehensible to the general public and requires good preparation for correct perception.
Elite culture includes avant-garde movements in music, painting, cinema, complex literature philosophical nature. Often the creators of such a culture are perceived as inhabitants of an “ivory tower”, fenced off with their art from real everyday life. As a rule, elite culture is non-commercial, although sometimes it can be financially successful and move into the category of mass culture.
Current trends are such that mass culture penetrates into all areas of “high culture”, mixing with it. At the same time, mass culture reduces the general cultural level of its consumers, but at the same time it gradually rises to a higher cultural level. Unfortunately, the first process is still much more intense than the second.
Folk culture
Folk culture is recognized as a special form of culture. Unlike elitist folk culture, culture is created by anonymous creators who do not have professional training. The authors of folk creations are unknown. Folk culture is called amateur (not by level, but by origin) or collective. It includes myths, legends, tales, epics, fairy tales, songs and dances. In terms of execution, elements of folk culture can be individual (statement of a legend), group (performing a dance or song), or mass (carnival processions). Folklore is another name folk art, which is created by various segments of the population. Folklore is localized, that is, connected with the traditions of a given area, and is democratic, since everyone participates in its creation. Modern manifestations of folk culture include jokes and urban legends.
Popular culture
Mass or public does not express exquisite tastes aristocracy or the spiritual quest of the people. The time of its appearance is the middle of the 20th century, when media(radio, print, television, recordings, tape recorders, video) penetrated into most countries of the world and became available to representatives of all social strata. Mass culture can be international and national. Popular and pop music is a striking example of mass culture. It is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population, regardless of level of education.
Popular culture is usually has less artistic value than elite or popular culture. But it has the widest audience. It satisfies the immediate needs of people, reacts to and reflects any new event. Therefore, examples of mass culture, in particular hits, quickly lose relevance, become obsolete, and go out of fashion. This does not happen with works of elite and popular culture. Pop culture is a slang name for mass culture, and kitsch is its variety.
Subculture
The set of values, beliefs, traditions and customs that guide the majority of members of society is called dominant culture. Since society breaks up into many groups (national, demographic, social, professional), each of them gradually forms its own culture, i.e., a system of values and rules of behavior. Small cultures are called subcultures.
Subculture- Part general culture, a system of values, traditions, customs inherent in a certain. They talk about youth subculture subculture of older people, subculture of national minorities, professional subculture, criminal subculture. A subculture differs from the dominant culture in language, outlook on life, manners of behavior, hairstyle, dress, and customs. The differences may be very strong, but the subculture is not opposed to the dominant culture. Drug addicts, deaf and dumb people, homeless people, alcoholics, athletes, and lonely people have their own culture. Children of aristocrats or members of the middle class are very different in their behavior from children of the lower class. They read different books, go to different schools, and are guided by different ideals. Each generation and social group has its own cultural world.
Counterculture
Counterculture denotes a subculture that not only differs from the dominant culture, but is opposed and in conflict with dominant values. The terrorist subculture confronts human culture, and the hippie youth movement in the 1960s. rejected mainstream American values: hard work, material success, conformity, sexual restraint, political loyalty, rationalism.
Culture in Russia
The state of spiritual life in modern Russia can be characterized as transitional from upholding the values associated with attempts to build a communist society to the search for a new meaning of social development. We have entered the next round of the historical dispute between Westerners and Slavophiles.
The Russian Federation is a multinational country. Its development is due to the characteristics national cultures. The uniqueness of the spiritual life of Russia lies in its diversity cultural traditions, religious beliefs, moral standards, aesthetic tastes, etc., which is associated with the specifics of the cultural heritage of different peoples.
Currently, in the spiritual life of our country there are contradictory trends. On the one hand, the mutual penetration of different cultures contributes to interethnic understanding and cooperation, on the other hand, the development of national cultures is accompanied by interethnic conflicts. The latter circumstance requires a balanced, tolerant attitude towards the culture of other communities.
a specific sphere of cultural creativity associated with the professional production of cultural texts, which subsequently acquire the status of cultural canons. The concept of "E.K." occurs in Western cultural studies to designate cultural layers that are diametrically opposed in content to “profane” mass culture. Unlike communities of sacred or esoteric knowledge inherent in any type of culture, E.K. represents the sphere of industrial production of cultural samples, existing in constant interaction with various forms of mass, local and marginal culture. At the same time, for E.K. characterized by a high degree of closedness, due to both specific technologies of intellectual work (forming a narrow professional community) and the need to master the techniques of consumption of complexly organized elite cultural products, i.e. a certain level of education. Samples of E.K. In the process of their assimilation, they imply the need for a targeted intellectual effort to “decipher” the author’s message. In fact, E.K. puts the recipient of an elite text in the position of a co-author, recreating in his mind a set of its meanings. Unlike mass culture products, elite cultural products are designed for repeated consumption and have fundamentally ambiguous content. E.K. sets the leading guidelines for the current type of culture, defining the set of " mind games", as well as a popular set of “low” genres and their heroes, reproducing the basic archetypes of the collective unconscious. Any cultural innovation becomes a cultural event only as a result of its conceptual design at the level of E.K., including it in the actual cultural context and adapting for mass consciousness. Thus, the “elite” status of specific forms of cultural creativity is determined not so much by their closeness (characteristic of marginal culture) and the complex organization of the cultural product (inherent and high-class mass production), but by their ability to significantly influence the life of society, modeling possible ways of its dynamics and creating scenarios adequate to social needs social action, ideological guidelines, artistic styles and forms of spiritual experience. Only in this case can we speak of the cultural elite as a privileged minority expressing the “spirit of the times” in their creativity.
Contrary to the romantic interpretation of E.K. as a self-sufficient “bead game” (Hesse) far from the pragmatism and vulgarity of the “profane” culture of the majority, the real status of E.K. most often associated with various forms of “playing with power”, servile and/or non-conformist dialogue with the current political elite, as well as the ability to work with the “grassroots”, “garbage” cultural space. Only in this case E.K. retains the ability to influence the real state of affairs in society.
Features of the production and consumption of cultural values have allowed culturologists to identify two social forms of cultural existence : mass culture and elite culture.
Mass culture is the type of cultural production that is produced every day in large volumes. It is assumed that mass culture is consumed by all people, regardless of place and country of residence. Popular culture - it is the culture of everyday life, presented to the widest audience through various channels, including the media and communications.
Mass culture (from Latin massa – lump, piece) - a cultural phenomenon of the 20th century, generated by scientific and technological revolution, urbanization, the destruction of local communities, and the blurring of territorial and social boundaries. The time of its appearance is the middle of the 20th century, when the media (radio, print, television, recording and tape recorder) penetrated into most countries of the world and became available to representatives of all social strata. In the proper sense, mass culture first manifested itself in the United States at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The famous American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski liked to repeat a phrase that became commonplace over time: “If Rome gave the world law, England parliamentary activity, France culture and republican nationalism, then the modern United States gave the world a scientific and technological revolution and mass culture.”
The origins of the widespread spread of mass culture in the modern world lie in the commercialization of all public relations, while mass production of culture is understood by analogy with the conveyor belt industry. Many creative organizations(cinema, design, TV) are closely connected with banking and industrial capital and are focused on the production of commercial, box office, and entertainment works. In turn, the consumption of these products is mass consumption, because the audience that perceives this culture is the mass audience of large halls, stadiums, millions of viewers of television and movie screens.
A striking example of mass culture is pop music, which is understandable and accessible to all ages and all segments of the population. It satisfies the immediate needs of people, reacts to and reflects any new event. Therefore, examples of mass culture, in particular hits, quickly lose relevance, become obsolete and go out of fashion. As a rule, mass culture has less artistic value than elite culture.
The purpose of mass culture is to stimulate consumer consciousness among the viewer, listener, and reader. Mass culture forms a special type of passive, uncritical perception of this culture in a person. It creates a personality that is quite easy to manipulate.
Consequently, mass culture is designed for mass consumption and for the average person; it is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population, regardless of level of education. Socially, it forms a new social stratum, called the “middle class.”
Mass culture in artistic creativity fulfills specific social functions. Among them, the main one is illusory-compensatory: introducing a person to the world of illusory experience and unrealistic dreams. For this purpose, popular culture uses such entertaining types and art genres such as circus, radio, television; pop, hit, kitsch, slang, fantasy, action, detective, comic, thriller, western, melodrama, musical.
It is within these genres that simplified “versions of life” are created that reduce social evil to psychological and moral factors. And all this is combined with open or hidden propaganda of the dominant way of life. Popular culture in to a greater extent focuses not on realistic images, but on artificially created images (image) and stereotypes. Today, the newfangled “stars of artificial Olympus” have no less fanatical fans than the old gods and goddesses. Modern mass culture can be international and national.
Features of mass culture: accessibility (understandable to everyone) of cultural values; ease of perception; stereotyped social stereotypes, replicability, entertainment and fun, sentimentality, simplicity and primitiveness, propaganda of the cult of success, a strong personality, the cult of the thirst for owning things, the cult of mediocrity, the conventions of primitive symbols.
Mass culture does not express the refined tastes of the aristocracy or the spiritual quest of the people; the mechanism of its distribution is directly related to the market, and it is predominantly a priority for metropolitan forms of existence. The basis for the success of mass culture is people's unconscious interest in violence and eroticism.
At the same time, if we consider mass culture as a spontaneously emerging culture of everyday life, which is created ordinary people, then its positive aspects are its orientation towards the average norm, simple pragmatics, and appeal to a huge readership, viewing and listening audience.
Many cultural scientists consider elite culture as the antipode of mass culture.
Elite (high) culture - elite culture, intended for the highest strata of society, those with the greatest capacity for spiritual activity, special artistic sensitivity and gifted with high moral and aesthetic inclinations.
The producer and consumer of elite culture is the highest privileged layer of society - the elite (from the French elite - the best, selected, chosen). The elite is not only the clan aristocracy, but that educated part of society that has a special “organ of perception” - the ability for aesthetic contemplation and artistic and creative activity.
By different estimates Consumers of elite culture in Europe for several centuries have remained approximately the same proportion of the population - about one percent. Elite culture is, first of all, the culture of the educated and wealthy part of the population. Elite culture usually means particular sophistication, complexity and high quality of cultural products.
The main function of elite culture is the production of social order in the form of law, power, structures of social organization of society, as well as the ideology that justifies this order in the forms of religion, social philosophy and political thought. Elite culture presupposes a professional approach to creation, and the people who create it receive special education. The circle of consumers of elite culture is its professional creators: scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, composers, as well as representatives of highly educated strata of society, namely: regulars of museums and exhibitions, theatergoers, artists, literary scholars, writers, musicians and many others.
Elite culture is characterized by a very high level of specialization and highest level social aspirations of the individual: love of power, wealth, fame is considered the normal psychology of any elite.
In high culture those are tested artistic techniques, which will be perceived and correctly understood by wide layers of non-professionals many years later (up to 50 years, and sometimes more). For a certain period of time, high culture not only cannot, but must remain alien to the people; it must be sustained, and the viewer must mature creatively during this time. For example, the paintings of Picasso, Dali or the music of Schoenberg are difficult for an unprepared person to understand even today.
Therefore, elite culture is experimental or avant-garde in nature and, as a rule, it is ahead of the level of perception of it by an averagely educated person.
As the level of education of the population increases, the circle of consumers of elite culture also expands. It is this part of society that contributes to social progress, therefore “pure” art should be focused on meeting the demands and needs of the elite, and it is precisely this part of society that artists, poets, and composers should address with their works. The formula of elitist culture: “Art for art’s sake.”
The same types of art can belong to both high and mass culture: classical music is high and popular music is mass, Fellini’s films are high and action films are mass. The organ mass of S. Bach belongs to high culture, but if it is used as a musical ringtone on mobile phone, then it is automatically included in the category of mass culture, without losing its belonging to high culture. Numerous orchestrations have been produced
Bach performances in the style of light music, jazz or rock do not at all compromise high culture. The same applies to the Mona Lisa on the packaging of toilet soap or its computer reproduction.
Features of elite culture: focuses on “people of genius”, capable of aesthetic contemplation and artistic and creative activity, there are no social stereotypes, deep philosophical essence and non-standard content, specialization, sophistication, experimentalism, avant-garde, complexity of cultural values for understanding an unprepared person, sophistication, high quality, intellectuality .
Instructions
Elite culture includes works of various types of art: literature, theater, cinema, etc. Since its understanding requires a certain level of training, it has a very narrow circle of connoisseurs. Not everyone understands the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the films of Andrei Tarkovsky and Alexander Sokurov. A special type of thinking is required to understand the works of Franz Kafka or James Joyce's Ulysses. Creators of elite culture, like , do not try to achieve high fees. Much more valuable for them is creative self-realization.
Consumers of elite culture are people with a high educational level and developed aesthetic taste. Many of them are creators of works of art themselves or professional researchers of them. First of all, we are talking about writers, artists, art historians, literary and art critics. This circle also includes connoisseurs and connoisseurs of art, regular visitors to museums, theaters and concert halls.
Moreover, works of the same types of art can belong to both elite and mass culture. For example, classical music belongs to elite culture, and popular music belongs to mass culture, Tarkovsky’s films belong to elite culture, and Indian melodramas belong to mass culture, etc. At the same time, there are literary genres, which always belong to mass culture and are unlikely to ever become elitist. Among them are detective stories, romance novels, humorous stories and feuilletons.
Sometimes interesting things happen about how works belonging to elite culture can, under certain conditions, become popular. For example, Bach's music is undoubtedly a phenomenon of elite culture, but if it is used as an accompaniment to a figure skating program, it automatically turns into a product of mass culture. Or quite the opposite: many of Mozart’s works for their time were most likely “ light music"(i.e. could be classified as popular culture). But now they are perceived rather as elitist.
Most works of elite culture are initially avant-garde or experimental in nature. They use means that will become clear to the mass consciousness several decades later. Sometimes experts even name the exact period – 50 years. In other words, examples of elite culture are half a century ahead of their time.
Related article
The term “classical music” is sometimes interpreted extremely broadly. It includes not only the creations of outstanding composers of past years, but also hits that have become world famous popular artists. However, there is a strictly authentic meaning of "classical" in music.
In the narrow sense, classical music refers to a rather short period in the history of this art, namely the 18th century. The first half of the eighteenth century was marked by the work of such outstanding composers as Bach and Handel. Bach developed the principles of classicism as the construction of a work in strict accordance with the canons in his works. His fugue has become a classical - that is, exemplary - form of musical creativity.
And after the death of Bach, the history of music opens new stage associated with Haydn and Mozart. The rather complex and ponderous sound was replaced by lightness and harmony of melodies, grace and even some coquetry. And yet, it is still a classic: in his creative search, Mozart sought to find the ideal form.
Beethoven's works represent the junction of the classical and romantic traditions. In his music there is much more passion and feeling than rational canons. During this period of formation of the European musical tradition, the main genres were formed: opera, symphony, sonata.
A broad interpretation of the term “classical music” implies the work of composers of past eras, which has stood the test of time and has become a standard for other authors. Sometimes classical music means music for symphonic instruments. The most clear (although not widely used) can be considered classical music as author’s, clearly defined and implying execution within a given framework. However, some researchers urge not to confuse academic (that is, squeezed into certain frameworks and rules) and classical music.
In the evaluative approach to defining classics as the highest achievements in the history of music, there is a hidden possibility. Who is considered the best? Can the masters of jazz, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other recognized authors and performers be considered classics? On the one hand, yes. This is exactly what we do when we call them exemplary. But on the other hand, in pop-jazz music there is no rigor of the author's musical text, characteristic of classics. In it, on the contrary, everything is based on improvisation and original arrangements. This is where a fundamental difference lies between classical (academic) music and the modern post-jazz school.
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Sources:
- What is culture? Definition of the word culture. The meaning of the word culture and photo
There are several types of literature, each of which has its own characteristics. Thus, classical literature refers to works that are considered exemplary for a particular era.
History of the term
Classical is a rather broad concept, since this type includes works different eras and genres. These are generally recognized works, considered exemplary for the eras in which they were written. Many of them are included in the mandatory program.
The concept of classics developed in the last three centuries of antiquity. Then it denoted certain writers who, for various reasons, were considered models and role models. One of the first such classics was the ancient Greek poet Homer, the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
In the 5th-8th centuries AD. There were authors of texts who determined the theories and norms transmitted in the learning process. This canon differed minimally in different schools. Gradually, this list was replenished with new names, among which were representatives of the pagan and Christian faiths. These authors became cultural treasures of the public, imitated and quoted.
Modern meaning of the concept
During the Renaissance, European writers turned their attention to the authors of antiquity, due to the liberation of secular culture from excessive pressure. The result of this in literature was an era in which it became fashionable to imitate ancient Greek playwrights such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, and follow the canons of classical drama. Then the term “” in a narrow sense began to mean the whole ancient literature.
In a broad sense, any work that created a canon in its genre began to be called classical. For example, there are eras of modernism, eras, realism, etc. There is a concept of domestic and foreign, as well as world classics. So, recognized classics Russian literature in Russia they are considered A.S. Pushkin, F.M. Dostoevsky, etc.
As a rule, in the history of literature different countries and nations there is an age in which artistic literature gained its greatest strength, and such an age is called classical. There is an opinion that a work gains public recognition when it carries “ eternal values", something relevant for all times, encourages the reader to think about some universal human problems. Classics remain in history and are contrasted with ephemeral works that eventually fall into oblivion.
A person’s ability for emotional and sensory perception of reality and artistic creativity prompted him to express his experiences figuratively, with the help of colors, lines, words, sounds, etc. This contributed to the emergence artistic culture in a broad sense.
What is included in the concept
Artistic culture is one of the areas public culture. Its essence is the creative reflection of existence (, society and its life) in artistic images. It has important functions, such as the formation of aesthetic perception and consciousness of people, social values, norms, knowledge and experience, and a recreational function (rest and restoration of people).
As a system it includes:
- art as such (individual and group), works and artistic values;
- organizational infrastructure: institutions ensuring the development, preservation, dissemination of artistic culture, creative organizations, educational institutions, demonstration sites, etc.;
- spiritual atmosphere in society - perception, public interest in artistic and creative activities, art, public policy in this area.
Artistic culture includes mass, folk, artistic culture; artistic and aesthetic aspects of various types of activities (political, economic, legal); regional artistic subcultures; artistic subcultures of youth and professional associations, etc.
It manifests itself not only in art, but also in everyday life and in material production, when a person gives expressiveness to the practical and utilitarian objects he creates and, realizing his need for aesthetics and beauty, in creativity. Besides material sphere and physical objects, it also concerns the spiritual sphere.
Artistic culture in the narrow sense
The core of artistic culture is professional and everyday art. This includes Tip 6: Who are geishas, one of which is the word “man”, the other is “art”. Already from the etymology of the word, you can guess that geishas are not Japanese courtesans. For the latter, there are separate words in Japanese - joro, yujo.
Geisha mastered being a woman perfectly. They lifted the spirits of men, creating an atmosphere of joy, ease and emancipation. This was achieved through songs, dances, jokes (often with erotic overtones), tea rooms, which were demonstrated by geishas in men's companies along with casual conversation.
Geishas entertained men both at social events and on personal dates. There was also no place for intimate relationships at the one-on-one meeting. A geisha can have sex with her patron, who took her virginity. For geisha, this is a ritual called mizu-age, which accompanies the transition from apprentice, maiko, to geisha.
If a geisha gets married, then she will leave the profession. Before leaving, she sends her clients, patron, and teachers with a treat - boiled rice, thereby informing them of the severance of communication with them.
Externally, geisha are distinguished by their characteristic makeup with a thick layer of powder and bright red lips, which make the woman’s face look like a mask, as well as an old-fashioned high, fluffy hairstyle. The traditional geisha wears a kimono, the main colors of which are black, red and white.
Modern geisha
It is believed that geisha appeared in the city of Kyoto in the 17th century. The quarters of the city where geisha houses are located are called hanamachi (“flower streets”). There is a school here where, from the age of seven or eight, they are taught to sing, dance, conduct a tea ceremony, play the national Japanese instrument shamisen, conduct a conversation with a man, and are also taught to make up and put on a kimono - everything that a geisha should know and be able to do. .
When the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo in the 70s of the 19th century, noble Japanese, who made up the bulk of the geisha's clients, also moved there. Geisha festivals, which are held regularly in Kyoto and have become its hallmark, were able to save their craft from the crisis.
After World War II, Japan was captured by mass culture, leaving Japanese national traditions on the margins. The number of geishas has decreased significantly, but those who have remained faithful to the profession consider themselves guardians of the true Japanese culture. Many continue to fully follow the ancient way of life of the geisha, some only partially. But being in the company of a geisha still remains the prerogative of the elite segments of the population.
Sources:
- Geisha world
Introduction
Culture is a sphere of human activity associated with human self-expression, manifestations of his subjectivity (character, skills, abilities, knowledge). That is why every culture has additional characteristics, because it is associated with human creativity and everyday practice, communication, reflection, generalization and his everyday life.
Culture is a specific way of organizing and developing human life, presented in the products of material and spiritual labor, in the system social norms and institutions, in spiritual values, in the totality of people’s relationships to nature, among themselves and to themselves.
Within the society we can distinguish:
Elite - high culture
Mass - popular culture
Folk culture
The purpose of the work is to analyze the content of mass and elite culture
Job objectives:
Expand the concept of “culture” in a broad sense
Identify the main types of culture
Characterize the features and functions of mass and elite culture.
Concept of culture
Culture was originally defined as the cultivation and care of the earth in order to make it suitable for satisfying human needs. In a figurative sense, culture is the improvement, ennoblement of a person’s bodily and spiritual inclinations and abilities; Accordingly, there is a culture of the body, a culture of the soul and a spiritual culture. In a broad sense, culture is the totality of manifestations, achievements and creativity of a people or group of peoples.
Culture, considered from the point of view of content, is divided into various areas, spheres: mores and customs, language and writing, the nature of clothing, settlements, work, economics, socio-political structure, science, technology, art, religion, all forms of manifestation of the objective spirit of this people. The level and state of culture can only be understood based on the development of cultural history; in this sense they speak of primitive and high culture; the degeneration of culture creates either lack of culture and “refined culture.” In old cultures there is sometimes fatigue, pessimism, stagnation and decline. These phenomena allow us to judge how much the carriers of culture remained true to the essence of their culture. The difference between culture and civilization is that culture is the expression and result of the self-determination of the will of a people or an individual (“ cultured person"), while civilization is a set of technological achievements and associated comfort.
Culture characterizes the characteristics of consciousness, behavior and activity of people in specific areas public life(culture of politics, culture of spiritual life).
The word culture itself (in its figurative sense) came into use in social thought in the second half of the 18th century.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the established evolutionary concept of culture was criticized. Culture began to be seen primarily as a specific system of values, arranged according to their role in the life and organization of society.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of “local” civilizations - closed and self-sufficient cultural organisms - became widely known. This concept is characterized by the opposition of culture and civilization, which was considered as last stage development of this society.
In some other concepts, the criticism of culture, begun by Rousseau, was carried to the point of its complete denial, the idea of “natural anti-culture” of man was put forward, and any culture is a means of suppressing and enslaving man (Nietzsche).
The diversity of types of culture can be considered in two aspects: external diversity - culture on a human scale, the emphasis of which lies in the progress of culture on the world stage; internal diversity is the culture of a particular society, city; subcultures can also be taken into account here.
But the main task of this work is a specific consideration of mass and elite culture.
Popular culture
Culture has gone through many crises throughout its history. The transitions from antiquity to the Middle Ages and from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance were marked by deep crises. But what is happening to culture in our era cannot be called one of the crises along with others. We are present at a crisis of culture in general, at the deepest upheavals in its thousand-year-old foundations. The old ideal of classically beautiful art has finally faded. Art frantically strives to go beyond its limits. The boundaries that separate one art from another and art in general from what is no longer art, what is higher or lower than it, are being violated. Man wants to create something that has never happened before, and in his creative frenzy he transcends all limits and boundaries. He no longer creates such perfect and beautiful works, which were created by a more modest man of bygone eras. This is the whole essence of mass culture.
Mass culture, the culture of the majority, is also called pop culture. The main characteristics are that it is the most popular and predominant among a wide section of the population in the society. It may include such phenomena as everyday life, entertainment (sports, concerts, etc.), as well as the media.
Mass culture. Prerequisites for the formation
Prerequisites for the formation of mass culture in the 18th century. inherent in the very existence of the structure of society. José Ortega y Gasset formulated a well-known approach to structuring based on creative potential. Then the idea of a “creative elite” arises, which, naturally, constitutes a smaller part of society, and of the “mass” - quantitatively the main part of the population. Accordingly, it becomes possible to talk about the culture of the “elite” - “elite culture” and about the culture of the “mass” - “mass culture”. During this period, a division of culture occurs, with the formation of new significant social layers. Having the opportunity for a conscious aesthetic perception of cultural phenomena, newly emerging social groups, constantly communicating with the masses, make “elite” phenomena significant on a social scale and at the same time show interest in “mass” culture, in some cases their mixing occurs.
Mass culture in the modern sense
At the beginning of the 20th century. mass society and the associated mass culture became the subject of research by the most prominent scientists in various scientific fields: philosophers Jose Ortega y Gasset (“Revolt of the Masses”), sociologists Jean Baudrillard (“Phantoms of Modernity”), and other scientists in various fields of science. Analyzing mass culture, they highlight the main essence of this culture, it is entertainment, so that it has commercial success, so that it is bought, and the money spent on it makes a profit. Entertaining is determined by the strict structural conditions of the text. The plot and stylistic texture of mass culture products may be primitive from the point of view of elitist fundamental culture, but it should not be poorly made, but on the contrary, in its primitiveness it should be perfect - only in this case will it be guaranteed readership and, therefore, commercial success . Mass culture requires a clear plot with intrigue and, most importantly, a clear division into genres. We see this clearly in the example of mass cinema. The genres are clearly demarcated and there are not many of them. The main ones are: detective, thriller, comedy, melodrama, horror film, etc. Each genre is a closed world with its own linguistic laws, which in no case should be crossed, especially in cinema, where production is associated with the largest number financial investments.
We can say that mass culture must have a rigid syntax - an internal structure, but at the same time it may be semantically poor, it may lack deep meaning.
Mass culture is characterized by anti-modernism and anti-avant-gardeism. If modernism and the avant-garde strive for a sophisticated writing technique, then mass culture operates with an extremely simple technique, worked out by the previous culture. If modernism and the avant-garde are dominated by an attitude towards the new as the main condition of their existence, then mass culture is traditional and conservative. It is focused on the average linguistic semiotic norm, on simple pragmatics, since it is addressed to a huge readership and viewing audience.
It can therefore be said that mass culture arises not only due to the development of technology, which has led to such a huge number of sources of information, but also due to the development and strengthening of political democracies. An example of this can be given that the most developed mass culture is in the most developed democratic society- in America with its Hollywood.
Speaking about art in general, a roughly similar trend was noted by Pitirim Sorokin in the mid-20th century: “As a commercial product for entertainment, art is increasingly controlled by merchants, commercial interests and fashion trends. This situation creates the highest connoisseurs of beauty out of commercial businessmen and forces artists to submit to their demands, which are also imposed through advertising and other media.” At the beginning of the 21st century, modern researchers state the same cultural phenomena: “Modern trends are disjointed and have already led to the creation of a critical mass of changes that have affected the very foundations of the content and activities of cultural institutions. The most significant of them, in our opinion, include: the commercialization of culture, democratization, the blurring of boundaries - both in the field of knowledge and in the field of technology - as well as a predominant attention to the process rather than to the content."
The relationship between science and popular culture is changing. Mass culture is “the decline of the essence of art.”
Table 1. The influence of mass culture on the spiritual life of society
PositiveNegativeHer works do not act as a means of authorial self-expression, but are directly addressed to the reader, listener, viewer, and take into account their needs. They are democratic (her “products” are used by representatives of different social groups), which corresponds to the time, meets the demands and needs of many people, including the need for intensive rest, psychological row. It has its peaks - literary, musical, cinematic works that can be classified as “high” art. It lowers the general level of spiritual culture of society, since it indulges undemanding tastes “ mass man"Leads to standardization and unification of not only the way of life, but also the way of thinking of millions of people. Designed for passive consumption, since it does not stimulate any creative impulses in the spiritual sphere. Plants myths in the minds of people (“Cinderella myth”, “myth”. simple guy", etc.) Forms artificial needs in people through massive advertising. Using modern media, it replaces real life for many people, imposing certain ideas and preferences.
Elite culture
Elite culture (from the French elite - selected, selected, best) is a subculture of privileged groups of society, characterized by fundamental closedness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic self-sufficiency. A select minority, as a rule, are also its creators. Elite culture consciously and consistently opposes mass culture.
Political and cultural elites differ; the former, also called “ruling”, “powerful”, today, thanks to the works of many learned sociologists and political scientists, have been studied in sufficient detail and deeply. Much less studied are cultural elites - strata united not by economic, social, political, and actual power interests and goals, but by ideological principles, spiritual values, and sociocultural norms.
Unlike political elites, spiritual and creative elites form their own, fundamentally new mechanisms of self-regulation and value-semantic criteria for activity choice. In the Elite culture, the range of values recognized as true and “high” is limited, and the system of norms accepted by a given stratum as mandatory and strict in the community of “initiates” is tightened. The narrowing of the elite and its spiritual unity is inevitably accompanied by its quality and growth (intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and other respects).
Actually, for the sake of this, the circle of norms and values of Elite culture becomes emphatically high, innovative, which can be achieved by various means:
) mastering new social and mental realities as cultural phenomena or, on the contrary, rejection of anything new and “protection” of a narrow circle conservative values and norms;
) inclusion of one’s subject in an unexpected value-semantic context, which gives its interpretation a unique and even exclusive meaning.
) development of a special cultural language, accessible only to a narrow circle, insurmountable (or difficult to overcome) semantic barriers to complex thinking;
Historical origin elite culture
In primitive society, priests, magi, sorcerers, and tribal leaders become privileged holders of special knowledge, which cannot and should not be intended for general, mass use. Subsequently, this kind of relationship between elite culture and mass culture in one form or another, in particular secular, has repeatedly caused disagreements.
Ultimately, the elitism of knowledge, skills, values, norms, principles, traditions formed in this way was the key to refined professionalism and deep subject specialization, without which historical progress, postulate, value-semantic growth, contain, enrichment and accumulation of formal perfection are impossible in culture, - any value-semantic hierarchy. Elite culture acts as an initiative and productive principle in any culture, performing a predominantly creative function in it; while mass culture stereotypes.
Elite culture flourishes especially productively and fruitfully at the “breakdown” of cultural eras, with a change in cultural and historical paradigms, uniquely expressing the crisis states of culture, the unstable balance between “old” and “new.” Representatives of elite culture were aware of their mission in culture as “initiators of the new”, as ahead of their time, as creators not understood by their contemporaries (such, for example, were the majority of romantics and modernists - symbolists, cultural figures of the avant-garde and professional revolutionaries who carried out cultural revolution).
Thus, the directions, creative quests of various representatives of modern culture (symbolists and impressionists, expressionists and futurists, surrealists and Dadaists, etc.) - artists, theorists of movements, philosophers, and publicists - were aimed at creating unique samples and whole systems of elite culture.
Conclusion
Based on the above, we can conclude that mass and elite culture has its own individual traits and characteristics.
Culture is an important aspect in human activity. Culture is a state of mind; it is the totality of manifestations, achievements and creativity of a people or a group of peoples.
But one feature can be identified that can be attributed to an elite culture - the greater the percentage of residents who adhere to its ideology, the higher the level of the highly educated population.
The work fully characterized mass and elite culture, highlighted their main properties, and weighed all the pros and cons.
mass elite culture
References
Berdyaev, N. “Philosophy of creativity, culture and art” T1. T2. 1994
Ortega - and - Gasset X. Revolt of the masses. Dehumanization of art. 1991
Suvorov, N. “Elite and mass consciousness in the culture of postmodernism”
Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. M., 1997
Flier, A.Ya. "Mass culture and its social functions"
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