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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lesson 4: POLITICAL ECONOMY, COMMUNICATION & CULTURE

1. Introduction

2. Key Concepts, Topics & Terms

3. The Marketplace of Ideas

4. Media & Culture

5. The Consciousness Industry

6. The Consciousness Industry: Ideologies & Audiences

7. The Culture Industry

8. The Culture Industry: Mass Production for Mass Consumption

9. Conclusion

   1. Graded Assignments

Introduction:

This reading and lesson addresses how the ruling class use media as another way of establishing control over society and culture. Jhally explores two ways that political economists can look at the role of the media in a capitalist society: as a consciousness industry or a culture industry. The two approaches are different, but complimentary. Up until today we have been talking about the inequality of wealth, power and knowledge; we also discussed the inequalities and barriers to entry on an economic level as well in our exploration of the dual economy. In Week 3 we left off asking what the media's role are in all of this. Jhally responds with two competing perspectives: the consciousness industry and the culture industry.

Central to this week's lesson is Jhally's treatment of "culture" as a commodity - something that can be bought & sold. The media, therefore, are part of the culture industry from Jhally's perspective because they produce, market and sell a cultural product. For Jhally, our communications system is thus driven not by ideological reasons but economic reasons. But this is a departure from Domhoff who largely assumes that the the power elite use the media as a way of preserving their own economic interests by shaping the appropriate "consciousness" of the masses.

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Reading:

Jhally, S. (1989). “The political economy of culture.” In I. Angus and S. Jhally [Eds.], Cultural politics in contemporary America (pp. 65-81). New York & London: Routledge.

Key Concepts, Topics & Terms

This lesson contains the following key concepts and terms that you should know, and be able to provide an example of, by the end of this lesson. Your understanding of them is important for completing your weekly assignment.

· Marketplace of ideas

· Market model

· Consciousness Industry

· Culture Industry

· Industrialization

· Mass production

· Commodity

· Commodification of culture

Jhally is looking at the effect that economics (e.g. the business model of NBC/GE and their need to make money as private companies) has on culture, and therefore the marketplace of ideas, as well as cultural goods and services.

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“The Marketplace of Ideas”

At the close of Week 3 we talked about the “normative functions of the mass media,” which included:

· Creating an informed citizenry

· Offering diversity (of content, formats, perspectives, beliefs, political opinions, etc.)

· Social integration

· Watchdog

Jhally picks up on these first three points especially in the article you read for today. He begins by weighing in on the importance that the “marketplace of ideas” has on our political freedoms. Specifically, Jhally argues that the “marketplace of ideas” is central to a strong democracy. Democracies require vigorous and diverse debate (in other words, competing ideas in the marketplace) to insure that varying ideas, beliefs and values are voiced, considered, and weighed before we make decisions as a country. Without vigorous and diverse debate, we would instead have centralized control over our social and cultural realm, where the government or some other powerful group would make all the decisions without hearing the opinions of the people. (This is one of the reasons why Croteau & Hoynes advocate for a public sphere model of the media – so that all people have access to this debate).

Jhally argues that the “marketplace of ideas” can be viewed in two ways:

1) Ideologically: It means that a diversity of viewpoints and the right to choose amongst these various viewpoints always exists freely

2) Materially: The literal marketplace is where people do business; where things (ideas, products) are bought and sold.

But how does one insure he or she has the ‘right’ to free speech? What do we need?

The media are central to this marketplace because in order to have a democracy where ideas are freely shared and debated, people must have a way to disseminate their beliefs and ideas. In other words, people need access to the marketplace or representation in the marketplace.

Where does the “marketplace of ideas” exist? This is an important question because it is not just limited to political processes (remember # 2 & 3 in the list of media’s normative functions). Important: The “marketplace of ideas” does not exist merely in the political realm; it exists also in the cultural realm.

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The Marketplace

Think back to the “market model” outlined by Croteau & Hoynes – what is the market model? What are its characteristics and what does it promote?

Profit-oriented goals

Unregulated process of exchange

Supply/demand

Competitive

Private ownership

Efficiency (cost-cutting)

Responsive

Flexibility

Innovative

BUT MARKETS ALSO:

Are undemocratic

Reproduce inequality

Are Amoral

Don’t Necessarily Meet Social Needs

Don’t Necessarily Meet Democratic Needs

So for Jhally, the $64 question is:

Will the marketplace provide this diversity of viewpoints and choices on its own? What happens when those viewpoints are in direct contradiction with the interest of the marketplace? Should the “marketplace of ideas” include film? Television? Books? Music? Should diversity be encouraged and expected to flourish in the cultural realm, as well? Jhally asks:

“Is there a contradiction between expecting the marketplace to provide genuine diversity while at the same time treating ideas as economic goods to be bought and sold?”

For example: You’re an editor at NBC News and you receive verified inside word of a story stating military officials have accidentally bombed a civilian neighborhood. The technology used in targeting this attack is state-of-the-art and questions begin to arise as to how such a grave mistake could have been made. The technology utilized to guide, control and drop the weaponry is patented and made by General Electric, the conglomerate that also happens to be the parent company of NBC. In other words, if you release the story to the public you implicate your own boss – General Electric – in an international scandal. You admit to the public that a faulty product made by a company of which you are a part has destroyed innocent lives. General Electric will surely see a profit loss for some time, not to mention a damaged reputation, if this story is released to the public.

In this instance, how can a private company (NBC) be expected to work in the public interest? How can it give the public the information it needs to make informed decisions (or to shape the public’s beliefs) about politics, economics, society and culture when it is not in their economic interest to do so?

“What are the implications of expecting the marketplace to work in the public interest and at the same time leaving the control of the institutions expected to accomplish this in private hands? (p. 66)

Here's another example of how expecting the market to "work in the public interest" can be quite a contradiction. Check out this Saturday Night Live (SNL) cartoon from 1998 called "Conspiracy Theory Rock." This segment of the show only ever aired ONE TIME on NBC...Why do you think that might that be? In fact, all re-runs that have been aired of this SNL episode actually edited out the video below from the entire broadcast! It never stays up long on any one site because GE is quick to have it taken down...(hopefully it's still up by the time you read this...)

Also check this website for the video's LYRICS and a short analysis of the corporate censorship involved over this SNL cartoon's message:

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?noframes%3Bread=99400

conspiracy Theory Rock - Watch more Funny Videos

Ultimately, Jhally is arguing that in order for us to understand U.S. culture we must look at the economic context that surrounds and shapes culture. Knowing what we do about media owners and the dual economy, Jhally is demonstrating how the power elite use media to allow them to gain and maintain their power and wealth!

How does the SNL video above offer an example of this?

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Media & Culture

Jhally discusses two “approaches” or ways of using political economy to study the media. They are different and in some ways conflict, but are also complementary. Both can explain how the “status quo” is reproduced in a society with a vastly unequal distribution of wealth and power:

1) Consciousness Industry

2) Culture Industry

The Consciousness Industry:

If you can handle the expletives, watch George Carlin’s The Real Owners again to refresh your memory on the power elite. In this video, Carlin is referring to the wealthy upper class…many of whom also own our country’s media system. As Norris also pointed out, “Media are the agents of those in power.” The consciousness industry takes this approach to understanding the media’s role in producing culture. In short, Carlin, Norris and even Domhoff are discussing the way that media are used to produce a form of consciousness in audiences that benefits the class that controls the media. In other words, the media’s main product isn’t entertainment or information; it is ideology (i.e. a system of beliefs).

Tips for understanding the Consciousness Industry, according to George Carlin:

#1) “They’re all in a club – and you ain’t in it!

Understanding the media as a “consciousness industry” focuses on the inequality of wealth, power and knowledge. This inequality creates social conflict. Inequality is maintained by the power elite who, through a number of formal and informal ties, have formed a network of power that allows them to reproduce their political and economic influence. The consciousness industry approach argues that in addition to political and economic influence, the power elite also has ideological influence. Because they own the media they can control the context of how we think – in other words, by controlling the media they control the information and knowledge that will benefit their own interests! (Recall the work of Norris & Domhoff here!)

#2) “I’ll tell you what they don’t want – they don’t want a population that’s capable of critical thinking, well-informed, well-educated people… They’re not interested in that, that doesn’t help them. They don’t want people sitting around the kitchen table thinking about how badly they’re getting *@#$@#$ by a system that threw them overboard thirty years ago. They don’t want that, you know what they want? Obedient workers.”

The media are primarily ideological institutions: they shape our consciousness by perpetuating specific ideologies in their reporting, movies, narratives, etc. that promotes the system as one that is beneficial to all (as long as you work hard enough)

#3) “The politicians are there so you think you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything…”

This happens because there are two ways to subordinate the masses: 1) force/coercion or 2) get consent of the dominated – make people think their social situation is inevitable, and that this is just the way the world works

SO: Media are ideological in that they convey messages that ‘keep people in their place.’ This maintains the existing social relations by convincing people that they are “free.”

#4) “…They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control all the important corporations…they own all the big media companies so they control all the news and information you hear.”

Those who control the mass media are those with the most power & wealth (the minority but dominant class – the capitalist class)

Therefore, media owners not only control content, but social and cultural influence To understand the power of the capitalist class in maintaining their social and cultural control, we then investigate how they are interrelated (i.e. thru interlocks & joint ventures)

From this perspective, the media helps reproduce social relations in a way that benefits the power elite by convincing the majority to identify and support the current system of power rather than opposing it – i.e. we have all come to view our own domination as “freedom.”

Think about it: Why do we grow up believing that we can be as rich as Bill Gates if we work hard enough? Yet statistically, the likelihood of this happening is very slim (See the statistics listed in Week 2 as a reminder!) What might happen if people started believing they weren’t part of the “Real Owners” and in fact, maybe they didn’t want to be “owned?” You can see why the power elite have an interest in preserving the existing social relations; the consciousness industry must convince the majority to support the present system of rewards and power rather than to oppose it, even though the present system serves to benefit a small wealthy minority. This “consent” to our own “domination” is not natural but must be cultivated.

Here is real-world example of how the consciousness industry works. A 2008 study of news coverage demonstrated that the Bush Administration knowingly released hundreds of false statements to justify the country’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. Follow this link to read the story and consider how you might view this story from the consciousness industry approach:

January 23, 2008 from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22/study-false-statements-p_n_82764.html

As you can see, news organizations did not challenge these statements but uncritically released this information. "Some journalists -- indeed, even some entire news organizations -- have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical.”

Follow this story with another article that looks at one media owner in particular, Rupert Murdoch (who also happens to be one of the Forbes 400 richest Americans at #37). In 2003 Murdoch, the media mogul who owns over 175 newspapers in addition to the Fox News empire, expressed his support for an Iraq invasion. Read the story here and consider this question: Is it a coincidence that a majority of Murdoch’s newspapers unanimously supported the invasion of Iraq – the same belief expressed by their owner? How does this serve as an example of the media as a consciousness industry? What are the possibilities that Murdoch has an economic interest in the oil industry?

February 17, 2003 in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2003/feb/17/mondaymediasection.iraq

Consider the statement: “You have got to admit that Rupert Murdoch is one canny press tycoon because he has an unerring ability to choose editors across the world who thinks just like him. How else can we explain the extraordinary unity of thought in his newspaper empire about the need to make war in Iraq?”

Ultimately, the consciousness industry aims to reproduce existing social relations while getting people to accept the status quo. But how do media, or the “consciousness industry,” cultivate consent from the masses in order to reproduce the status quo? Well, by producing ideologies and audiences!

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The Consciousness Industry: Ideologies & Audiences

Ideologies are a system of beliefs that we hold to be natural and true so we don’t question them; they’re perceived to be “common sense.” Oftentimes, these beliefs serve to benefit a social class of which we are not a part. For example, the “American Dream” is an ideology of believing that if we work hard you can do/be anything you want; we are raised to believe that hard work will bring happiness…and maybe it will, but how do we define happiness? The American Dream is often defined by consumer goods like a big house, a nice car, vacations and other cool stuff. Think about it: Why did you decide to attend college?

However, ideologies are oftentimes beliefs heavily laden with moral implications, or as Norris states, a system of beliefs concerning the nature of man, the world, truth, etc. (p. 21). So the belief in the “natural” superiority of man over woman would be another example of ideology. Think about how this ideology (which we would call “patriarchy”) has impacted the way we value gendered tasks like manual labor and child-rearing (one gets a paycheck, the other does not and is thus not considered “real work”). Or think about the expectations we come to have over what men and women can or can’t do just because of their sex alone. All of these things are a result of ideology.

According to Norris: “An ideology is the cheapest way of insuring the dominance of the elite over the long run.” So what other kind of “ideologies” does the consciousness industry promote?

“Media are vital institutions that far from providing a free marketplace of ideas work to legitimate the existing distribution of power by controlling the context within which people think and define social problems and their possible solutions (p. 67).

In addition to ideology, media also produce audiences.

Remember, one of the reasons media are different from other industries is because they offer a dual product (Week 3) – they must appeal to both audiences and advertisers. In this version of the consciousness industry, media help reproduce existing social relations by setting a context for consumption. In other words, media “train” people to consume goods and it is this act of consumption that fuels the system (or reproduces an economy whereby power and wealth are highly unequal). Watch this brief video that explains consumer culture as ideology:

La Red del Camino on Consumer Culture:

http://lareddelcamino.net/en/index.php?Itemid=42&id=61&option=com_content&task=view

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The Culture Industry

The culture industry approach views culture as a commodity. A commodity is something that can be bought and sold. In other words, media are part of the culture industry that produces “produces” and sells culture.

A key difference between the consciousness and culture industry approaches to understanding the media is that the culture industry views media as a primarily economic institution whereby the consciousness industry regards media as an ideological institution. From the culture industry perspective, the laws of the market determine content…not ideology. What’s produced/made is what “sells,” regardless of what system of beliefs (ideologies) it might promote. Ultimately, economic considerations (profit) determine content (or product).

For example, look at the picture below which someone took at a Best Buy store exactly one day after the death of Heath Ledger. The photograph shows a stack of movies for sale featuring the recently deceased dead actor. How might this be an example of the culture industry at work?

Before industrialization, how did people get what they needed? What did they eat? What did people do for fun?

With the advent and widespread use of factories and machines, products that were previously produced in the home are now produced in factories. Goods like woven baskets, clothing, soap, milk and other household items could be purchased from the shelves of large stores and by the 1930s, homemade culture is largely commodified – i.e. turned into a product to be bought & sold. Many of the things people used to make by hand were mass-produced, packaged and sold for their “convenience” which was especially appealing considering the long hours people spent at work in the factory. Think about this fundamental lifestyle change, though: What you used to produce at home, you now can buy in a store. What are key differences between “homemade goods” and “store-bought goods?” Think about a loaf of bread or plate of cookies made by your mother versus a loaf of Wonder Bread or a Little Debbie Snack Cake. Besides just the taste, what are other differences between self-produced and mass-produced goods?

Mass production (for mass consumption) changed media, too. For example, printed books and novels could now be produced in massive quantities for mass distribution and consumption (especially paperbacks, which emerged alongside the invention of glue). These stories replaced the homespun tales from pre-industrial society, such as oral storytelling or family legends. Radio became popular by the early 1900s as broadcasting begins as a commercial industry; so does music. Live music is increasingly replaced with the record player and recorded music. People no longer learn or experiment with instruments but can buy their musical experience in the store. Newspapers: syndication increases (e.g. Associated Press), and so does the use of the same story in multiple papers. Newspapers also see a rise in newspaper chains. Media moguls emerge as a result of industrialization once media becomes viewed as a profitable enterprise. Culture becomes big business…ALL BY THE 1930s!

So think about the expansion of markets and the mass production of goods for mass consumption. What happens to cultural products like music, art, crafts, consumer goods and services? One way of understanding these differences is to consider how “popular culture” differs from cultural products produced for the sake of love or “art.” Is there something inherently different about art vs. entertainment? Which does our current media system (or culture industries) offer us and why?

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Conclusion

A central tenet of a viable and strong democracy requires freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas without interference from the government – this is the heart of our political freedom (i.e. freedom from the centralized control of the government). However, if our political freedoms rely on a diverse and robust “marketplace of ideas,” where all people must be given the opportunity to freely express their opinions/beliefs, or be represented by a diverse range of opinions, perspectives and ideas, is it possible that the nature of the marketplace might actually constrain these rights? In other words, can we really leave the freedom of expression, deliberation and the search for truth to the marketplace that is: a) concerned with producing a certain kind of consciousness, and/or b) a profit-driven industry aimed at encouraging mass consumption of mass-produced goods? Depending on how you view the media and the relationships of those involved in its ownership and content production will impact how you view their contribution to democracy.

In upcoming weeks it will be important to reflect on the following two questions:

· How do the consciousness and culture industry approaches contradict our 1^st Amendment rights, which are central to preserving our political freedoms?

· What implications does our media system as a consciousness and/or culture industry have for democracy?

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GRADED ASSIGNMENTS

Now that you have read the readings and Lesson Notes for this week, proceed to complete the graded quiz assignment for this lesson. Remember that all quizzes are open-book. Be sure to fully answer the questions for full credit.

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