There are various definitions of culture and that each definition is specific to particular aspect of study. The most commonly used definition of culture comes under the area of sociology and anthropology. Under that area of study, Ferraro (1998) cited Tylor (1871) who defines culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society.” (p.18) To explain it simply, culture means the way of life for a particular group of people.
However the definition of culture is different when applied to the communication theory of cultural studies. It concerns more on the individuals make ‘meaning’ from what they encounter in their daily lives such as a form of identity or sense of belonging. (Rojek 2007)
West & Turner (2010) have stated that cultural studies concerns "the media represents ideologies of the dominant class in society". (p.363)
They continue explaining that the media is controlled by the most elite or top people in society where their main aim is to influence the public people and benefit or profit from them. The power of media and the role of power need to be taken into account when it comes to understanding a particular culture.
In simpler words, the media has the power to influence the people with ideologies of a dominant discourse in a particular society. It is evident that even now that we are all following a dominant discourse. Such as the discourse of being a 'student' or the discourse of being a 'lecturer' where we are expected to follow certain ideologies. However it needs to be noted that that not all the ideologies are true and that there are no specific ideology to a certain discourse. Ideologies usually creates a binary formation of a good ideology or a bad ideology. Such as the ideology of a good student would be hardworking, studious and attentive in lectures. Whereas the ideology of a bad student is lazy, absent in lecture for no reasons and does not listen to their lecturers.
For this theory I will focus on visual culture and how it may represent a form of identity for individuals. The media promotes various visual cultures and it has already influenced many individuals to date. I will use one very well known culture as example. FACEBOOK is a visual culture.
It is one of the very well known social networking site and that almost everyone in the world is logged in on Facebook. The idea of communication and keeping in touch with old friends and making new friends surely has affected the world on a whole. Communication itself is a vital process and now with the innovation of technology, promoting visual culture is more effective and that its level of influence is very high on us consumers.
Relating to the cultural studies theory, let us ask the question who benefits from Facebook? Surely there is someone behind the scenes making money from all the people who are logging in Facebook.
Facebook as a discourse. What are the ideologies? Individuals with many friends. Online Gaming. Relationships. Gossips. Photography. Stalking people.
Applying politics to Facebook; the politics of relationship, politics of influence, politics of followers
Counter discourses and counter ideology are those that oppose the norm. Basically something that is not mainstream. For example for most individuals, using Facebook is a mainstream thing as majority of consumers in the world are using them. So what is a counter discourse against Facebook? Perhaps those individuals who are not using Facebook. However due to the fact that the main discourse is individuals using Facebook, those not using Facebook are basically left ignored.
I would personally critic this theory concerning the counter discourse. It is usually assumed that that the counter-discourse is the other side of the coin. Something the people view as mostly wrong and deviant. But then again, it depends on the subject and acceptance of a particular culture, law & religion in society. If I would use the counter-discourse of Facebook which is those individuals not on Facebook. Are they at the wrong side or are they even deviant?
For a discourse such as heterosexual marriage, the counter-discourse would be homosexual marriage. Yes I agree that it may be wrong but only to certain culture and religion. In some societies or areas of the world, homosexual marriage is already legal and accepted by the public.
Nevertheless the cultural studies theory has contributed much on understanding those counter-discourses giving to new areas of study such as ethnic studies, homosexual relationships and even transgender relationships. This theory made us realize how we are exploited by those elite groups through the mass media and those who do not follow the main discourses are oppressed.
References:
Griffin, E., (2012) A First Look At Communication Theory (8th Edition). New York. McGraw Hill.
Ferraro, G., (1998) Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective (3rd Edition). Belmont.Wadsworth.
Rojek. C., (2007) Cultural Studies. Cambridge. Polity Press.
West, R., Turner, L., H., (2010) Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application 4th Edition). New York. McGraw Hill.
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