SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURESOC 210

ARTS & MEDIA & SPORTS AND THEIRRELATION WITH POPULAR CULTURE

WHAT IS ART? The arts include music, performance arts, visual arts and

storytelling and literature.

These are manifestations of human creativity and sometimes they are called expressive culture.

Every culture may have different understanding of ‘art’.

Dictionary definition: ‘The quality, production, expression or realm of what is beautiful or of more than ordinary significance; the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria.

PICASSO- GUERNICA

ART Western culture tends to differentiate art as something

apart from everyday life and ordinary culture.

On the other hand, in non-western societies the production and appreciation of art are part of everyday life, as popular culture is in our society.

Sometimes Western museums feature non-Western art as ‘fine arts’, as it is a separate field from its living sociocultural context but actually the items of non-western art have been created in daily life of these societies.

ART AND RELIGION Many of the high points of Western art and music had

religious inspiration or were done in the service of religion.

The buildings of churches, cathedrals, mosques or temples may be works of art themselves with the paintings on the walls and architectural structure. ( for example: Vatican city, Ayasofya mosque)

In non-western societies, art and religion are often mix.

In state form societies, like Western countries, art and religion had been seperated and have different institutions governed by the state.

How do we differentiate art? It may be sourced from religion.

Its aesthetic value may be one way of distinguishing it, but not necessarily.

Its placement is deterministic.

The boundary between what is art and what is not is blurred.

In state societies, there are critics, judges and experts who tell us what is art and what is not. But even they always conflict about art pieces.

ART

Art is always in society since stone age.

Appreciation of arts depends on cultural background.

Appreciation for the arts must be learned. It is part of enculturation and also formal education.

People learn to listen to certain kinds of music and to appreciate particular art forms.

MEDIA Today’s popular culture features cultural forms that have

appeared and spread rapidly because of major changes in the material conditions of contemporary life – particularly work organization, transportation and communication, including media.

Sports, movies, TV shows, amusement parks and fast-food restaurants have become popular elements of popular culture.

They provide a framework of common expectations, experiences and behavior overriding differences in region, class, religion, political sentiments, gender and ethnic group.

Media agents are the most effective tools of creating popular culture.

MEDIA People use media for all sorts of reasons; to get information, to

validate beliefs, to find messages not reachable in their daily life, to make social comparisons, to relieve frustrations, to chart social courses and to formulate life plans.

Popular culture can be used to express discontent and resistance by groups that are feel powerless or oppressed.

Media provides social base, as families or friends watch favorite programs or attend such events as games and performances together.

Media also provides common ground for larger group, nationally and internationally.

MEDIA The common information and knowledge that people

acquire through exposure to the same media illustrate culture in the sociological sense.

SPORTS Much of what we know about sports comes from the media.

Football is the most popular sports game globally appreciated.

The popularity of football depends directly on the mass media, especially television.

Football features teamwork based on specialization and division of labor, which are pervasive features of contemporary life.

Football actually is a miniaturized and simplified version of modern organizations.

SPORTS Why do certain nations pile up dozens of Olympic medals

while others win only a few or none at all?

Cultural values, social forces and the media influence international sports success.

Through visual demonstration, commentary and explanation of rules and training, the media can heighten interest in all kinds of sports.

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON OLYMPİCS SUCCESS OF TWO

NATIONS- USA & BRAZIL

Two similar nations in terms of size and ethnical diversity.

Same willingness to win Olympics.

In the 2008 Olympics, USA won 110 medals, Brazil won 15 medals.

Why is that difference huge?

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON OLYMPİCS SUCCESS OF TWO

NATIONS- USA & BRAZIL America uses media agents more spread to effect society for sports and has

many national contests in sports.

Brazilian TV has much less sports coverage and no national contests.

America rewards not only winners but any hardworking athlete.

Brazilian society never rewards second winners but only the first. Athletes are so stressed for loosing so that effects them negatively.

In USA, social classes are less marked, opportunities for achievement are more numerous, poverty is less pervasive and individual social mobility is easier.

Brazilian society is more stratified, has a much smaller middle class. A third of the population is elite group and winning is like a priority given to elite group members.