Paper 2: Culture & Identity- Production, Globalisation, Leisure, Consumption & Identity (Booklet 8)

Front 1

How leisure time came to exist during industrialisation:

Back 1

Modernist Theories focus on work as the major influence on our identity throughout the 20th century, there have been huge changes in both work and leisure;

•Average working hours have decreased

•People have more disposable income

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This means there is more time and money to be spent on leisure activities.

There is a huge variety in the leisure activities available to us and our class, gender, age and ethnicity will influence the goods we consume.

Since WW2, there has been a rapid growth in the production of consumer goods leading to Mass Consumption.

Because of Globalisation, people around the world share the same images, sounds and brands.

Consumption of leisure goods, especially the mass media has increased.

Front 2

Why didn't leisure time existin pre-industrial times?

Back 2

Front 3

Identity & Production- Significance of Work as a Source of Identity:

Back 3

Front 4

Identity & Production- Lack of Work on Identity:

Back 4

Front 5

Identity & Production- The Declining Significance of Work as a Source of Identity:

Back 5

Front 6

Identity & Production- The Continuing Significance of Work as a Source of Identity:

Back 6

Front 7

Marxism & Leisure

Back 7

From a Marxist point of view, the increase in consumerism (When people equate personal happiness with the purchasing of material possessions and consumption), benefits the ruling classes in two main ways;

1. It provides massive profits for big businesses

2. It prevents class consciousness developing by manipulating the working class through ideological content of the mass media

Front 8

Marxism & Leisure: 1. It provides massive profits for big businesses

Back 8

It does this by creating false needs (that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism. True needs, in contrast are, freedom, creativity, or genuine happiness) in the working class through advertising.

-For example, Marcuse (a member of the Frankfurt School) in his book 'One Dimensional Man', whilst accepting that capitalism had succeeded in raising the living standards of most of the population, argued that the manipulation of false needs established by capitalist advertising is repressive.

(It leads to one-dimensional thoughts and blocks people's ability to realise that they are being controlled.)

-He stated that work is 'Exhausting, stupefying (meaning when something is dull or lethargic), inhuman slavery'.

-Whist leisure simply involves 'modes of relaxation which soothe and prolong this stupefaction.'

Leisure is based on and directed by false needs, which are largely imposed by a mass media controlled by the establishment.

Needs are false if they do not result in true self-fulfilment and real satisfaction.

If the individual feels gratified by the satisfaction of false needs, the result is merely 'euphopia in unhappiness'- a feeling of elation on a foundation of misery.

Members of society no longer seek fulfilment in themselves and in their relationships with others, instead 'people recognise themselves in their commodities; they find their soul in their automobile, hi-fi system, home and kitchen equipment.'

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This leads to alienation (the estrangement of individuals from each other, from their work etc).

Front 9

Marxism & Leisure: 2. It prevents class consciousness developing by manipulating the working class through ideological content of the mass media

Back 9

(It basically keeps us distracted from our poor existence)

Marxists suggest that the misery of working in a capitalist society is made bearable in the sphere of leisure.

Marxists would also see leisure as a form of social control because the state is involved in the regulation of leisure through the licensing and censorship laws and through the control of the public spaces by the police.

Front 10

Postmodernism & Leisure

Back 10

Postmodern approaches suggest that the leisure industries, especially the mass media, have become more important sources of personal identity, than the work we do.

What we do in our leisure time becomes an important part of them image of ourselves that we present to others.

Leisure becomes a series of lifestyle choices (that is, the way we behave in relation to consumption, entertainment, dress and other types of social behaviour).

-Leisure has now become consumption.-

Front 11

Leisure, class & Identity

Back 11

Parker (1976): Suggested that social class position fluences the type of leisure we choose.

Those in the traditional Working-Class occupations (manual work), which is done for extrinsic rewards, choose leisure activities that provide an escape from work such as drinking in a pub.

Middle-Class professionals, who work in job's wth high levels of interistic satisfaction are willing to allow activities assisted with work to be a part of leisure time, for example; having dinner or playing golf with business associates.

{Ao3}

>However, from a postmodernist perspective, the boundaries between social class and leisure have become blurred. This a result of the fragmentation of experience that characterises the postmodern condition. Regardless of our social class, we can all pick and choose how we spend our leisure time.

>Postmodernists have an optimistic view about everyone having the ability to express their identity through their activity as consumers.

>Postmodernists claim that class is less important in terms of tastes in leisure as the distinctions between high and popular culture have broken down (e.g, the popularity of classical music in Hollywood films.

Front 12

Youth Culture, Participation & Identity

Back 12

It has been argued that in the last 50 years, the fashion and entertainment industries have been dominated by a 'cult of youth' in which youth and the lifestyle and tastes of young people are celebrated.

This is linked to the increasing amount of disposable income held by young people.

The mass media are important in the development of youth subcultures as new trends are rapidly communicated to young people.

Electronic game consoles and the internet are popular leisure pursuits of young people can be interpreted as a new type of 'virtual youth' subculture.

New technology allows young people to play games on the internet with others around the world and they can usually talk to them as they are playing. Using chat room accounts for an increasing amount of leisure time.

{Ao3}

However, many sociologists today suggest that the age of spectacular youth subcultures is now over. Today, young people can 'pick 'n' mix' the fashion and music in the past and create new combinations of fashion and music.

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(It is interesting to note that these styles (e.g, punks, mods and rockers) sometimes emerged as an expression of protest in the past, but are now sold as commodities by global manufacturers.)

Front 13

Leisure, Gender & Identity

Back 13

There are gender differences in leisure activities. Men are more likely to go to the pub than women and are more likely to watch sporting events.

Also the ongoing responsibilities of women mean that they are less able to put time aside for leisure. Feminists suggest that gender role Socialisation has had an impact on women's expectations of leisure and that the lack of affordable childcare stops women from accessing many leisure activities of their choice.

Feminists argue that the leisure opportunities that women have are restricted by men who expect to choose home-based activities in their leisure time rather than going out.

Research also suggests that women have less disposable income than men (mainly due to pay gaps).

Women tend to combine their leisure with other obligations, such as looking after children, and are also more likely to become involved in leisure activities for the sake of their husbands.

Women are further restricted from pursuing certain leisure activities, because men still dominate many sporting and social venues and women feel uncomfortable on their own in these settings.

A fear of being a victim of crime in the evening may result in a reluctance to pursue leisure interests outside the home in the evening.

{Ao3}

>However, there are differences between the leisure activities depending on the age, social class and marital status of women.

Middle-class women are more likely to belong to gyms and go to keep-fit classes.

Single women are more likely to go out to pubs and nightclubs, and although some women refrain from being out late at night, many do.

Front 14

Leisure, Ethnicity & Identity

Back 14

The influence of blues, reggae, hip hop and bhangra show how significant the music of different ethnic groups has been on contemporary popular music.

These expressive forms emerged from the experience of minority ethnic groups.

{Ao3}

>However, in some sports such as swimming, golf and tennis, ethnic groups are still under-represented.

>Postmodernists claim that in contemporary culture a hybridity of cultral forms has emerged that celebrates diversity and is used by people of all backgrounds as a shared symbol and source of identity.

>Ethnicity becomes less important/ becomes one of the many sources of ID as everyone gains access to the same 'symbolic universe'.

>Ethnic minorities may well use the products of the Culture industries as a source of identity, but this may reflect their resistance to racism rather than being freely chosen.

Front 15

The Leisure Industry: Globalisation & Leisure Identity

Back 15

Although nation states in different parts of the world are at different stages of development, most countries are now industrialised to some extent and global processes associated with capitalism, such as mass production and consumption are organised across national boundaries.

Mass communication technology has been central to the process of globalisation. Electronic banking and instant communication has made it easier for transnational corporations to conduct their business.

The leisure industry is made up of organisations that provide entertainment, tourism and leisure products. The development of new technology has led to many changes in the leisure industry (e.g, cheap internet flights).

This means we can see for ourselves how people live in other countries. However, we can also see how people live around the world through the mass media and those images can motivate us to see the services of the leisure industries.

The tourism industry is a larger sector of the leisure industry. John Urry (1990): He looked at the ways in which tourism has changed in recent years.

According to Urry, a key motivation for tourists is to look at things they would not normally see, rather than consuming goods and services.

The essence of being a tourist is the consumption of signs or images.

Urry calls this the 'tourist gaze'; We often visit countries and cities that we have seen images of in the media and take our own images home with us in the form of photos, postcards and videos.

Whilst all tourists are seeking 'the gaze', that does not mean that all tourists are alike- They can be seeking a different type of gaze.

Urry Identities 2 types of gaze:

1) The Collective gaze: This is when other people are needed to give 'atmosphere' to a place that we visit. If other people are not there, the experience would be seen as less satisfactory, less enjoyable (e.g, a club in Ibiza).

2)The Romantic gaze; This is when we want to be alone to see the place we are visiting. It requires a lack of other people, especially, other tourists (e.g, going hiking). 'The emphasis is upon solitude, privacy and a personal, semi-spirtual relationship with the object of the gaze.' (Urry 1990)

Front 16

Inequalities in Leisure: Aspects of Negative Identity

Back 16

There have been many developments in leisure and the leisure industries during the last 50 years.

Boundaries between work and leisure have become blurred as new technology has allowed us to read our business emails in our leisure time. (Covid 19 has led many to work at home which has now blurred the lines even more)

Many of us work in the leisure industries and some of us set up business as a result of our leisure interests.

Consumption is central to our experience of leisure and much of our leisure time is spent interacting with the mass media, especially television.

In recent years we have witnessed a multi-channel revolution in television. This has implications for the way television programmes are produced and the way we watch television.

The production of programmes has become fragmented with many independent Production companies, the audience has also become more fragmented as many are able to choose from hundreds of channels.

The aim of producers is to attract the largest audience for the cheapest cost. Companies are often unwilling to take risks with new programmes. As a result they tend to 'clone' hit series.

The reliance on advertising and sponsorship may also limit the types of programmes that are re-made as advertisers want their products to be associated with desirable lifestyles that encourage consumption.

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This may explain why so many television programmes are about houses, DIY, cooking and gardening.

From a postmodernist perspective, we can interpret the fragmentation of television channels and texts in an optimistic way.

All texts are polysemic (literally 'many signs'- means having several meanings) and can be interpreted in a range of ways that allow individuals to make sense of their experiences and continually create their own sense of identity.

New commodities are continually produced and as consumers we can use these to continually change our identity should we choose to do so.

A more pessimistic view on mass consumption came from Frankfurt school, such as Adorno: Mass Consumption leads to a passive workforce who cannot distinguish between what was worthy and what wasn't.

The postmodern idea that we all have incessant choices in terms of constructing our identity seems to have some support in some aspects of our Culture.

However, we need to consider what happens to those who cannot afford the choices we are all assumed to have.

Those who cannot 'buy it' to the lifestyle that they desire may experience negative feelings about themselves and about society as they will struggle to form an identity as others can through their lifestyles and commodities.

Critical sociologists suggest that we still need to recognise and understand the Social inequalities such as Class, Gender, Ethnicity, Age and Disability that have profound effects on our daily lives and the choices we make.