The Media Studies Reader
The Media Studies Reader Edited
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Tim O'Sullivan Reader in Media Education and Cultural St...
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The Media Studies Reader
The Media Studies Reader Edited
by
Tim O'Sullivan Reader in Media Education and Cultural Studies, School of Humanities, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK and
Yvonne Jewkes Associate lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies, Open University, UK
ARNOLD A member of the Hodder Headline Group L O N D O N • N E W YORK • SYDNEY • A U C K L A N D
First published in Great Britain in 1997 by Arnold, a member of the Hodder Headline Group 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3 B H 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10010
Distributed exclusively in the USA by St Martin's Press Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10010 © 1997 Selection and editorial matter Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without either prior permission in writing from the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the United Kingdom such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency: 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9 H E .
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog entry for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 0 340 645261 (Hb) ISBN 0 340 645474 (Pb) Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd., Derby Printed and bound in Great Britain by J. W Arrowsmith Ltd, Bristol
Contents
Acknowledgements
vin 1
Introduction
Section 1: The Media and Modem Life 1
CANTRIL
B.
28 42
MEYROWITZ
C o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d the C o n s t i t u t i o n o f M o d e r n i t y GRAHAM
6
and M o d e r n Culture
THOMPSON
T h e Separation o f Social Space f r o m Physical Place JOSHUA
5
WILLIAMS
Mass C o m m u n i c a t i o n JOHN
4
18
Mass a n d Masses RAYMOND
3
6
The Invasion f r o m M a r s HADLEY
2
5
Public Service Broadcasting a n d M o d e r n Public L i f e PADDY
8
75
PERKINS
T h e L o s t W o r l d o f Stereotypes MARTIN
9
73
R e t h i n k i n g Stereotypes TESSA
86
BARKER
T h e Power o f Popular Television: T h e Case o f Cosby JUSTIN
Sporting
Stereotypes 11
101
O'DONNELL
A p p r o a c h e s t o 'the N o r t h ' : C o m m o n M y t h s a n d A s s u m p t i o n s ESTHER
91
LEWIS
10 M a p p i n g the M y t h i c a l : A G e o p o l i t i c s o f N a t i o n a l HUGH
60
SCANNELL
Section 2: Stereotypes and Representations 7
52
MURDOCK
ADAMS
110
vi
Contents 12
C r i p p l i n g Images ANNE
114
KARPF
13
M o r a l Panics
14
T h e M o s t Repeated, M o s t Read Messages o f the C u l t : 1 9 4 9 - 7 4
SIMON
WATNEY
MARJORIE
15
H.
154
QUALTER
Television's 'Personality System' JOHN
164
LANGER
Section 3: Audiences and Reception 17
T h e Television and D e l i n q u e n c y Debate MURDOCK
PURSEHOUSE
T e c h n o l o g y i n the D o m e s t i c E n v i r o n m e n t
PETER
T h e Problems o f M a k i n g Political Television: A Practitioner's ROGER
260
BOLTON
Keepers o f the Castle: Producers, Programmers a n d M u s i c Selection 2 7 1 STEPHEN
BARNARD
Priorities and Prejudice: 'Artist and R e p e r t o i r e ' a n d the A c q u i s i t i o n o f Artists KEITH
28
250
GOLDING
Perspective
27
249
T h e M i s s i n g D i m e n s i o n s - N e w s M e d i a and the M a n a g e m e n t o f Social Change
26
231
STEVENSON
Section 4: Producers and Production
25
214
MOORES
C r i t i c a l Perspectives w i t h i n Audience Research NICK
24
207
GRAY
Satellite T V as C u l t u r a l Sign SHAUN
23
188
L o o k i n g at The Sun: I n t o the N i n e t i e s w i t h a T a b l o i d and its Readers 196
ANN
22
MCCRON
PETLEY
MARK
21
ANDROBIN
181
I n Defence o f ' V i d e o Nasties' JULIAN
20
174
TUDOR
GRAHAM
19
173
O n A l c o h o l a n d the M y s t i q u e o f M e d i a Effects ANDREW
18
134
FERGUSON
T h e Social Role o f A d v e r t i s i n g T.
16
124
289 NEGUS
H o w A r e Television Soaps Produced? RICHARD
KILBORN
305
Contents F i l m P r o d u c t i o n i n the I n f o r m a t i o n Age
29
JANET
30
V i d e o D i a r i e s : W h a t ' s U p Doc? PETER
328
KEIGHRON
R i d i n g w i t h A m b u l a n c e s : Television a n d its Uses
31
319
WASKO
ANDREW
335
GOODWIN
Section 5: Global Media and New Media
343
32 T h e Poisoned Chalice? I n t e r n a t i o n a l Television a n d the Idea o f Dominance MICHAEL
33
N o t Yet the Post-Imperialist Era HERBERT
34
360
SCHILLER
W h e r e the G l o b a l M e e t s the L o c a l : N o t e s f r o m the S i t t i n g R o o m DAVID
35
345 TRACEY
T h e Roots o f the I n f o r m a t i o n Society Idea DAVID
HOWARD
402
RHEINGOLD
P o s t m o d e r n i s m a n d Popular C u l t u r e
37
DOMINIC
421
STR IN A T I
H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n , T r a i n i n g a n d C u l t u r a l Industries:
38
A W o r k i n g Partnership IAN
39
384
LYON
Disinformocracy
36
372
MORLEY
CONNELL
A N DG E O F F
433 HURD
M e d i a Studies a n d the ' K n o w l e d g e P r o b l e m ' JOHN
Index
445
CORNER
457
vii
Acknowledgements
The
a u t h o r s w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k Stephen B a r n a r d , Pam Birley,
Rinella
C e r e , Steve C h i b n a l l , S i m o n Cross, Joyce G a r d i n e r , Jane H a m m o n d - F o s t e r , S h a u n M o o r e s , M a r c i a R i c k e t t s , Lesley R i d d l e , J u d i t h S m i t h , Paul W e l l s , Terry W i l l i t s , D a v i d W r i g h t and the copyright holders listed below. ESTHER
ADAMS:
Selection
f r o m Television
and
the North
b y Esther
A d a m s . C o p y r i g h t © 1985 Esther A d a m s . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f D e p a r t m e n t o f C u l t u r a l Studies, U n i v e r s i t y o f B i r m i n g h a m MARTIN
BARKER:
Comics: 1989
Ideology,
Selection f r o m T h e Lost W o r l d o f Stereotypes' f r o m Power
and the Critics
b y M a r t i n Barker. C o p y r i g h t ©
M a r t i n Barker. R e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i s s i o n o f M a n c h e s t e r U n i v e r s i t y
Press STEPHEN
BARNARD:
Selection f r o m On the Radio:
Music
Radio
in
Britain
by Stephen B a r n a r d . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 9 Stephen B a r n a r d . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f O p e n U n i v e r s i t y Press ROGER
BOLTON:
Television:
A
Communicating
Selection
f r o m T h e Problems
Practitioner's Politics
edited
Perspective'
by
b y P. G o l d i n g ,
o f M a k i n g Political Roger
Bolton
G. Murdock,
from a n d P.
Schlesinger. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 6 Roger B o l t o n . R e p r i n t e d by permission o f Pinter Publishers, 125 Strand, L o n d o n , E n g l a n d HAD LEY
CANTRIL:
Psychology
T h e Invasion f r o m M a r s ' f r o m Readings
C o . , N e w Y o r k , 1 9 4 7 , a s u m m a r y f r o m The Invasion Cantril, Renewed
in
Social
edited by N e w c o m b , H a r t l e y , et al., published by H e n r y H o l t & Hazel
Gaudet
and Herta
b y Princeton
Herzog.
U n i v e r s i t y Press.
from Mars
Copyright
Reprinted
©
by Hadley 1940/1968.
b y permission
of
P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y Press IAN
C O N N E L L and G E O F F
HURD:
'Higher Education, Training and the
C u l t u r a l Industries: A W o r k i n g Partnership' by I a n C o n n e l l a n d G e o f f H u r d . C o p y r i g h t © 1988 I a n C o n n e l l a n d G e o f f H u r d . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f the A u t h o r s JOHN Screen
CORNER:
' M e d i a Studies a n d the " K n o w l e d g e
Problem'"
from
3 6 ( 2 ) , Summer 1 9 9 5 . C o p y r i g h t © 1995 J o h n C o r n e r . R e p r i n t e d b y
permission o f O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press
Acknowledgements MARJORIE
FERGUSON:
Selection f r o m Forever
Feminine
by M a r j o r i e
Ferguson, p u b l i s h e d b y H e i n e m a n n E d u c a t i o n a l B o o k s , L o n d o n . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 3 M a r j o r i e Ferguson. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f the A u t h o r PETER
GOLDING:
Selection f r o m T h e M i s s i n g D i m e n s i o n s '
G o l d i n g f r o m Mass
Media
and Social
Change
b y Peter
edited b y E. Katz a n d T.
Szecsko. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 1 Peter G o l d i n g . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Sage Publications L t d , L o n d o n A.
GOODWIN:
' R i d i n g w i t h Ambulances: Television a n d Its Uses' b y A .
G o o d w i n f r o m Sight
and Sound
3 ( 1 ) . C o p y r i g h t © 1993 A . G o o d w i n .
R e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i s s i o n o f Sight and Sound magazine, L o n d o n ANN
GRAY:
Selection f r o m Video Playtime
b y A n n Gray. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 2
A n n Gray. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Routledge, L o n d o n ANNE
KARPF:
' C r i p p l i n g Images' i n Doctoring
the Media
by Anne Karpf.
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 8 A n n e K a r p f . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Routledge, London PETER
KEIGHRON:
f r o m Sight and Sound
' V i d e o Diaries: W h a t ' s u p D o c ? ' b y Peter K e i g h r o n 3 ( 1 0 ) . C o p y r i g h t © 1993 Peter K e i g h r o n . R e p r i n t e d
by permission o f Sight and Sound RICHARD
KILBORN:
magazine, L o n d o n
Selection f r o m Television
Soaps b y R i c h a r d K i l b o r n .
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 2 R i c h a r d K i l b o r n . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f B a t s f o r d Ltd, London JOHN
LANGER:
Selection f r o m 'Television's "Personality System'" b y J o h n
Langer f r o m Media,
Culture
and Society
4, 1981. Copyright © 1981 John
Langer. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Sage Publications L t d , L o n d o n . JUSTIN
LEWIS:
o f Cosby'
Selection f r o m ' T h e Power o f Popular Television: T h e Case
f r o m The Ideological
its Audience
Octopus:
An Exploration
of Television
and
by Justin L e w i s . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 1 Justin L e w i s . R e p r i n t e d b y
p e r m i s s i o n o f Routledge Inc., N e w Y o r k DAVID
LYON:
Selection f r o m The Information
Society:
Issues and
Illusions
by D a v i d L y o n , published by Polity Press, C a m b r i d g e . C o p y r i g h t © 1988 D a v i d L y o n . R e p r i n t e d by permission o f Blackwell Publishers, O x f o r d JOSHUA
MEYROWITZ:
Electronic
Media
Selection f r o m N o Sense of Place:
on Social
Behaviour
The Impact
of
by Joshua M e y r o w i t z . C o p y r i g h t ©
1985 Joshua M e y r o w i t z . R e p r i n t e d by permission o f O x f o r d University Press Inc. SHAUN
MOORES:
Copyright
©
Selection f r o m Interpreting
1993 Shaun
Moores.
Audiences
Reprinted
b y Shaun M o o r e s .
by permission
o f Sage
Publications L t d , L o n d o n DAVID
MORLEY:
Selection f r o m Television,
Audiences
and Cultural
Studies
by D a v i d M o r l e y . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 2 D a v i d M o r l e y . R e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i s sion o f R o u t l e d g e , L o n d o n GRAHAM
MURDOCK:
Selection
from
'Communications
C o n s t i t u t i o n o f M o d e r n i t y ' b y G r a h a m M u r d o c k f r o m Media, Society
and the Culture
and
1 5 , 1 9 9 3 . C o p y r i g h t © 1993 G r a h a m M u r d o c k . R e p r i n t e d b y per-
mission o f Sage Publications L t d , L o n d o n
ix
x
Acknowledgements GRAHAM
M U R D O C K
Television
and
ROBIN
and Delinquency
M C C R O N :
Debate'
Selection
i n Screen
from
Education
The
30, 1979.
Copyright © 1979 Graham M u r d o c k and Robin M c C r o n . Reprinted by permission o f Screen, T h e J o h n Logie B a i r d Centre, Glasgow KEITH
NEGUS:
Popular
Selection f r o m Producing
Music
Industry
Pop: Culture
and Conflict
in the
b y K e i t h Negus. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 4 K e i t h Negus.
R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f A r n o l d Publishers, L o n d o n HUGH
o'DONNELL:
' M a p p i n g the M y t h i c a l : A Geopolitics o f N a t i o n a l
S p o r t i n g Stereotypes' b y H u g h O ' D o n n e l l f r o m Discourse 1994.
and Society
5(3),
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 4 H u g h O ' D o n n e l l . R e p r i n t e d by permission o f
Sage Publications L t d , L o n d o n TESSA
PERKINS:
f r o m Ideology
Selection f r o m ' R e t h i n k i n g Stereotypes' b y Tessa Perkins
and Cultural
Production
edited b y M i c h e l e Barratt, et al.
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 7 9 Tessa Perkins. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f C r o o m H e l m , London JULIAN
PET LEY:
British
Journalism
' I n Defence o f " V i d e o Nasties'" by Julian Petley f r o m Review
5(3), 1994. Copyright © 1994 Julian
Petley.
R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f J o h n Libbey M e d i a , L u t o n MARK
PURSEHOUSE:
Nineties
with
Cultural
Selection
f r o m ' L o o k i n g at The Sun: I n t o t h e
a T a b l o i d a n d its Readers' by M a r k Pursehouse f r o m
Studies
from
Birmingham
1.
Copyright
©
1991
Mark
Pursehouse. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f D e p a r t m e n t o f C u l t u r a l Studies, University o f Birmingham T.
H . QUALTER: Democracy Quaker.
' T h e Social Role o f A d v e r t i s i n g ' f r o m Advertising
in the Mass Reprinted
and
Age by T. H . Q u a k e r . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 1 T . H .
by permission
o f M a c m i l l a n L t d , L o n d o n , a n d St
M a r t i n ' s Press I n c . , N e w Y o r k HOWARD the
RHEINGOLD:
Internet
Selection f r o m The Virtual
by H o w a r d R h e i n g o l d ,
published
Community:
Surfing
by M i n e r v a ,
London.
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 4 H o w a r d R h e i n g o l d . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Reed C o n s u m e r Books L t d , a n d A b n e r Stein L t d , N e w Y o r k PADDY
SCANNELL:
Selection
from
'Public
Service
M o d e r n Public L i f e ' by Paddy Scannell f r o m Media, 11,
Broadcasting a n d
Culture
and
Society
1 9 8 9 . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 9 Paddy Scannell. R e p r i n t e d by permission o f
Sage Publications L t d , L o n d o n HERBERT
SCHILLER:
Selection f r o m ' N o t Yet the Post-Imperialist E r a ' b y
H e r b e r t Schiller f r o m Critical
Studies
in Mass
Communication
8, 1 9 9 1 .
C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 1 H e r b e r t Schiller. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Studies
in Mass
Communication,
Critical
T h e Speech C o m m u n i c a t i o n Association,
Canada NICK
STEVENSON:
Selection f r o m ' C r i t i c a l Perspectives w i t h i n Audience
Research'
from
Understanding
Copyright
© 1995 N i c k Stevenson. R e p r i n t e d
Publications L t d , L o n d o n
Media
Cultures
by N i c k
Stevenson.
by permission
o f Sage
Acknowledgements DOMINIC Review
S T R I N A T I : 'Postmodernism a n d Popular C u l t u r e ' i n
Sociology
1 ( 4 ) , 1 9 9 2 . C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 2 D o m i n i c S t r i n a t i . R e p r i n t e d b y per-
m i s s i o n o f P h i l i p A l l e n Publishers L t d . JOHN
B.
THOMPSON:
'Mass C o m m u n i c a t i o n
and M o d e r n
C o n t r i b u t i o n t o a C r i t i c a l T h e o r y o f I d e o l o g y ' f r o m Sociology
Culture:
22(3), 1988.
R e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i s s i o n o f C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y Press MICHAEL
TRACEY:
Selection f r o m ' T h e Poisoned Chalice? I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Television a n d t h e Idea o f D o m i n a n c e ' b y M i c h a e l Tracey f r o m f r o m t h e issue e n t i t l e d The Moving
Image,
Daedalus,
1 1 4 ( 4 ) , Fall 1 9 8 5 . C o p y r i g h t ©
1985 M i c h a e l Tracey. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Daedalus,
Journal of the
A m e r i c a n A c a d e m y o f A r t s a n d Sciences, C a m b r i d g e , USA ANDREW
TUDOR:
Selection f r o m ' O n A l c o h o l a n d t h e M y s t i q u e o f M e d i a
Effects' b y A n d r e w T u d o r f r o m Images of Alcoholism
edited by J. C o o k a n d
M . L e w i n g t o n , published by British Film Institute, L o n d o n . C o p y r i g h t © 1979 A n d r e w T u d o r . R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f the A u t h o r JANET
W A S K O : Selection f r o m Hollywood
in the Information
Age b y Janet
Wasko. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 9 4 Janet Wasko. R e p r i n t e d b y permission o f Polity Press, C a m b r i d g e , a n d U n i v e r s i t y o f Texas Press SIMON
WATNEY:
Selection f r o m 'Policing Desire: Pornography, A i d s a n d
the M e d i a ' b y S i m o n Watney. C o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 9 S i m o n Watney. R e p r i n t e d by p e r m i s s i o n o f Cassell, L o n d o n RAYM OND W I L L I A M S :
Selection f r o m Culture
and Society
1780-1950
by
Raymond Williams. Copyright © 1961 Raymond Williams. Reprinted by permission o f Random House U K
xi
Introduction
O n e o f t h e d e f i n i n g characteristics
o f m o d e r n social a n d c u l t u r a l life has
i n v o l v e d l i v i n g a n d l e a r n i n g t o live i n a c u l t u r e o f m e d i a t i o n . F r o m the late nineteenth
century
o n w a r d s , Western
a n d other
cultures
have
become
increasingly r e l i a n t u p o n a n d saturated w i t h f o r m s o f mass c o m m u n i c a t e d i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t . T h e rise o f the p o p u l a r press a n d p u b l i s h i n g i n d u s t r i e s , the e x p a n s i o n o f f i l m , r a d i o , advertising a n d television have transf o r m e d a n d e x t e n d e d the experience o f everyday life a n d r e d e f i n e d c r u c i a l aspects o f t h e relationships between the p u b l i c a n d the p r i v a t e spheres. I n the process, o u r senses o f i d e n t i t y - w h o w e t h i n k w e are - a n d o f i m m e d i a t e situ a t i o n - w h e r e w e t h i n k w e are - have become p o w e r f u l l y l i n k e d w i t h f o r m s o f c u l t u r e w h i c h are m e d i a t e d f r o m b e y o n d the geographical a n d t e m p o r a l confines o f the everyday a n d the personal. As one w r i t e r has recently argued, the mediascapes
o f m o d e r n life have become increasingly g l o b a l i n t h e i r oper-
a t i o n a n d character.
1
T h e 'mass' m e d i a ( a n d , as R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s c a u t i o n e d m o r e t h a n 3 0 years ago, i t is i m p o r t a n t t o use the p r e f i x 'mass' w i t h care ) have n o t o n l y 2
e x p a n d e d a n d d e v e l o p e d as a prerequisite f o r m o d e r n i t y , b u t have also gained an e q u i v o c a l r e p u t a t i o n a n d been d e f i n e d as p r o b l e m s f o r m o d e r n times. T h e y have r e c u r r e n t l y sparked debates w h i c h have centred o n three, o f t e n l i n k e d , levels o f c o n c e r n : first, the p o w e r a n d influence o f the m e d i a as public i n s t i t u t i o n s charged w i t h the responsibilities o f m a k i n g sense o f the w o r l d f o r t h e i r audiences, readers a n d viewers; second, the assumed o r c l a i m e d i m p a c t o f f o r m s o f m e d i a c o n s u m p t i o n a n d r e c e p t i o n o n the private
sphere; t h i r d , a
p a r t i c u l a r focus o n the media's r o l e i n the p r o d u c t i o n a n d p o l i t i c s o f f o r m s o f popular
c u l t u r e a n d t h e i r c l a i m e d consequences. F r o m t h e i r early days, m o d -
ern m e d i a have been regarded w i t h suspicion a n d have themselves
become
the c e n t r a l figures i n a series o f cyclical m o r a l panics about w h a t has been p e r c e i v e d as t h e i r increasingly pervasive a n d i n t r u s i v e presence. T h e s t r u c t u r e o f m u c h m o d e r n p o p u l a r debate about the m e d i a was established i n the early p a r t o f the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y w h e n they seemed t o encapsulate p e r f e c t l y aspects o f t h e 'mass society'
w h i c h was perceived t o be
e m e r g i n g as t h e c o n d i t i o n o f m o d e r n times. O n the one h a n d , especially i n t h e f o r m s o f f i l m a n d broadcasting p r o p a g a n d a , the n e w m e d i a seemed capable o f mass m a n i p u l a t i o n , o f exercising n e w sorts o f p o w e r a n d c o n t r o l over
2
Introduction v u l n e r a b l e , atomised p o p u l a t i o n s , u p r o o t e d a n d estranged f r o m t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l c o m m u n i t i e s a n d ways o f l i f e . O n the other, the appearance a n d the success o f new, t w e n t i e t h century, 'mass' m e d i a t e d c u l t u r a l f o r m s was also t a k e n by critics t o indicate a p r o f o u n d challenge t o c u l t u r a l values, as the p o p ular was perceived t o threaten established d e f i n i t i o n s a n d boundaries o f 'the g o o d ' , 'the c i v i l i s e d ' a n d 'the c u l t u r e d ' i n a n u m b e r o f ways. A t the heart o f these a n d related concerns lies a v i e w o f the m o d e r n m e d i a as p o w e r f u l i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h have become increasingly technologised a n d w h i c h are capable o f d i r e c t 'effects' o n t h e i r audiences a n d users. Isolated acts a n d general levels o f violence, c r i m i n a l i t y , p r o m i s c u i t y a n d m a n y other negative social developments have been r e c u r r e n t l y a n d f r e q u e n t l y a t t r i b u t e d t o the m e d i a . T h e t e n dency t o isolate the media f r o m their social a n d c o m m e r c i a l contexts a n d t o cast ' t h e m ' as causal agencies has i m p l i c i t l y u n d e r p i n n e d a great deal o f m o d e r n t h o u g h t , speculation a n d p o p u l a r debate. M o r e recent p o s t m o d e r n accounts o f the m e d i a have sought t o break o u t o f these ways o f t h i n k i n g , emphasising the o v e r w h e l m i n g c e n t r a l i t y o f m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n systems a n d technologies a n d p r o c l a i m i n g the t r i u m p h o f the m e d i a t e d a n d the s i m u l a t e d , o f the relative over the absolute. I n such a scenario, the m e d i a emerge as p a r t cause, p a r t s y m p t o m o f the p o s t m o d e r n condition. I f the m e d i a have been d e f i n e d as a p r o b l e m a t i c focus f o r a range o f p o l i t i cal a n d c u l t u r a l c o m m e n t a t o r s i n this century, they have also e n d u r e d a t r o u b l e d r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h f o r m a l education. T h e questions o f h o w , w h y a n d w h e t h e r t o i n c l u d e the m e d i a as objects w i t h i n educational c u r r i c u l a have resulted i n a n u m b e r o f educational responses, largely i n the p o s t w a r p e r i o d . O f t e n these have oscillated between arguments about m a k i n g available certain k i n d s o f c r i t i c a l awareness o f the m e d i a , a n d an emphasis u p o n teaching a n d l e a r n i n g about p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d practice i n the p r o d u c t i o n o f m e d i a o u t p u t . T h e first o f these positions stresses the necessity f o r a k i n d o f i n f o r m e d a n d critical
media literacy,
i n t o u c h w i t h ( p o s t ) m o d e r n times a n d enabling f u l l a n d
c r i t i c a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n c o n t e m p o r a r y media c u l t u r e . Stuart H a l l , f o r instance, has stated this case f o r c e f u l l y o n a n u m b e r o f occasions, a r g u i n g t h a t M e d i a a n d C u l t u r a l Studies
are p r o f o u n d l y logical subjects f o r study given the
e x p a n d i n g n a t u r e o f c o n t e m p o r a r y media a n d c u l t u r a l industries a n d their c e n t r a l i t y w i t h i n social a n d p o l i t i c a l process. G i v e n this state o f affairs, the subjects p r o v i d e ' w h a t y o u need t o k n o w ' i n o r d e r t o live i n the p o s t m o d e r n w o r l d . T h e second t y p e o f response advances a slightly d i f f e r e n t case w h i c h has
f o r e g r o u n d e d f o r m s o f media education
f o r practice
-
f o r practical
i n v o l v e m e n t , v o c a t i o n a l p r e p a r a t i o n a n d creative relevance. T h e h i s t o r y o f m e d i a e d u c a t i o n a n d o f the fairly recent d e v e l o p m e n t o f M e d i a Studies as a d e f i n e d subject area has developed a r o u n d a n d between these t w o poles. I n recent years,
h o w e v e r , the expansion
o f educational p r o v i s i o n i n M e d i a
Studies a n d related subjects, i n c l u d i n g C u l t u r a l a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n Studies, has itself become an object o f media a t t e n t i o n , especially i n B r i t a i n .
Introduction M u c h o f this has s i m p l y a n d depressingly replayed older elitist o r p r o f o u n d l y a n t i - i n t e l l e c t u a l anxieties about t h e place, p o s i t i o n a n d value o f the study o f p o p u l a r f o r m s w h i c h have accompanied M e d i a Studies f r o m its earliest days. A t t e m p t s t o take p o p u l a r c u l t u r e seriously have always encountered resistance, a dismissive 'bias' against t h e idea that they c o u l d constitute a v a l i d subject f o r e n q u i r y i n t h e i r o w n r i g h t as opposed t o w i t h i n the n a r r o w confines o f p a r t i c u lar d e f i n i t i o n s o f v o c a t i o n a l relevance. H o w e v e r , m u c h o f the recent wave o f this c r i t i c i s m has u n d o u b t e d l y been p r o m p t e d , i f n o t r e i g n i t e d , b y t h e sheer a n d r a p i d g r o w t h i n t h e numbers o f students a p p l y i n g f o r , s t u d y i n g o n a n d g r a d u a t i n g f r o m such courses. I t is f o r these students, those o n 'A' level o r undergraduate courses i n M e d i a Studies a n d o t h e r r e l a t e d areas, t h a t this reader has been designed. Its p r i n c i p a l a i m is t o i n t r o d u c e t h e k e y dimensions a n d debates w h i c h characterise t h e f i e l d a n d act as a s p r i n g b o a r d f o r f u r t h e r study. W h a t f o l l o w s is t h e result o f a series o f o f t e n d i f f i c u l t a n d d e m a n d i n g choices. W e have organised t h e readings i n t o
five m a i n sections.
U n d e r l y i n g this organisation is a t h e m a t i c
sequence w h i c h commences w i t h some b r o a d , c o n t e x t u a l i s i n g extracts w h i c h f o r e g r o u n d t h e relationships between T h e M e d i a a n d M o d e r n L i f e ' . T h i s is f o l l o w e d b y sections o n 'Stereotypes a n d Representations',
Audiences a n d
R e c e p t i o n ' , 'Producers a n d P r o d u c t i o n ' a n d f i n a l l y ' G l o b a l M e d i a a n d N e w M e d i a ' . W h i l e w e have used this sequence t o organise the readings, interest o r o t h e r factors m a y lead y o u t o use t h e m o u t o f t h e i r sequential o r d e r . Each sect i o n is prefaced w i t h a s h o r t i n t r o d u c t o r y overview, each r e a d i n g is also c o n t e x t u a l i s e d a n d a c c o m p a n i e d b y a series o f questions, designed t o p r o v i d e a basis f o r discussion o r r e f l e c t i o n , a n d these are i n t u r n c o m p l e m e n t e d b y suggestions f o r f u r t h e r r e a d i n g . I f y o u have a n y c o m m e n t s o r suggestions about t h e reader, please contact us via t h e publishers. T i m O ' S u l l i v a n , Y v o n n e Jewkes October
1996
Notes 1. A . Appadurai, 'Disjuncture and Difference i n the Global Cultural Economy', Theory, Culture and Society, 7 (1990), pp. 295-310. See also for recent useful discussion J.B. Thompson, The Media and Modernity (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1996). 2. See Section 1 , Reading 2.
3
Section 1
The Media and Modem Life
The six readings which follow consider the modern, especially postwar, growth and development of electronic media. In various ways, the readings assess how radio, television and the emerging new media technologies fit into the economic, political and cultural systems of modem life in both its public and private spheres. In doing so, they offer a fairly cohesive definition of 'modernity' and demonstrate how media institutions and products have been implicated in the ideological structures and struggles which, over the last 50 years have accompanied countless scientific and technological innovations, unprecedented political upheaval across the globe and a shift, in Western societies, from industrialisation and manufacturing-based economies to a widespread growth in leisure and consumerism. The first reading, by Hadley Cantril, concerns public reaction to the famous 1938 radio drama based on H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, which was accordant with 'mass society' theories and beliefs about the potentially harmful effects of the media at that particularly turbulent period in history. The subsequent readings by Raymond Williams and John B. Thompson explore further the notion of 'mass' - mass media, mass communication and so on - and analyse the development of media as important ideological agencies in the face of competing social and political forces. Joshua Meyrowitz (reading 4) extends the discussion of the increasingly important role that media and communications have come to play in public and in private, and focuses attention on the ways in which the realms of subjective, everyday experience are expanded and mediated by modern communication systems. One of the main tenets of Graham Murdock's argument (reading 5) is that a central concern in the study of media and communications systems must, as a result, involve an understanding of their relations to power and politics. Finally Paddy Scannell focuses attention on the role of broadcasting in shaping national cultures and constructing and mediating a sense of national life. His concern lies in understanding the centrality of forms of public broadcasting, as embodied in institutions such as the BBC, and their contributions to modern, democratic forms of social life. These introductory readings also pose important questions about the nature of culture in modern society, the representation by media of social groups and the development of education - including the rise of Media Studies as a subject for academic study - all of which form a focus for discussion in later extracts. Thus, Section 1 introduces many of the principal discourses, debates and theoretical concerns which have characterised the study of the media in the modern era and as such provides a useful starting point for many of the key concepts and arguments that are picked up and explored in subsequent sections of the book.
1 The Invasion from Mars Hadley Cantril Originally published as The invasion from Mars: a study in the psychology of panic, with H. Gaudet and H. Herzog. (Princeton University Press 1940). This edited selection is taken from a short summary of the full study, in W. Schramm and D. F. Roberts (eds.), The processes and effects of mass communication (University of Illinois Press 1954)
Based on an early combination of an extraordinary 'media event' and its detailed study which occurred in America just prior to the Second World War, this first reading has become a 'classic' reference and metaphor for much thinking about the media in the modem period. It focuses on public reaction to a radio drama adaptation of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds broadcast to American audiences on Hallowe'en Night in October 1938. A great many listeners reacted to the play as if it were a real report of invading creatures from Mars, radio fiction was understood as radio fact and panic outbreaks ensued on a significant scale. The event encapsulates the popularly held view of the widespread intrusive and persuasive power of the modem media to cause and trigger mass outbreaks of usually negative social consequence and psychological effect. Like the invading Martians with their ray guns and poisonous gases, the media have often been perceived as alien invaders, dangerous and life-threatening in their impact on established forms of social and cultural life. What follows is an extract which deals with some of the reports of people who misperceived the fictional performance and the recorded versions of their various and alarmed responses. On the face of it, the story of 'the invasion from Mars' would seem to embody the crude hypodermic syringe model of media effects, namely a singular, immediate and dramatic effect - in this case, mass panic - caused by the broadcast. In fact, as the research by Cantril and his associates demonstrates, explaining the reactions to the broadcast involves consideration of a complex series of social, political and psychological factors. It was the life-like quality of the broadcast, interacting with the social and cultural situation of some listeners in late 1930s America, which brought about the scare.
O n t h e evening o f O c t o b e r 3 0 , 1 9 3 8 , thousands o f Americans became panicstricken b y a broadcast p u r p o r t e d t o describe an invasion o f M a r t i a n s w h i c h threatened o u r w h o l e c i v i l i z a t i o n . Probably never before have so m a n y people i n a l l w a l k s o f life a n d i n a l l parts o f t h e c o u n t r y become so suddenly a n d so intensely d i s t u r b e d as they d i d o n this n i g h t . Such rare occurrences p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t h e social scientist t o study mass behavior. T h e y must be e x p l o i t e d w h e n they come. A l t h o u g h t h e social scientist u n f o r t u n a t e l y cannot usually p r e d i c t such situations a n d have his tools o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n ready t o analyze the p h e n o m e n o n w h i l e i t is still o n t h e w i n g , he can begin his w o r k before t h e effects o f the crisis are over a n d m e m -
The Invasion from Mars ories are b l u r r e d . T h e s i t u a t i o n created b y t h e broadcast was o n e w h i c h shows us h o w t h e c o m m o n m a n reacts i n a t i m e o f stress a n d strain. I t gives us insights i n t o his i n t e l l i g e n c e , his anxieties, a n d his needs, w h i c h w e c o u l d never get b y tests o r s t r i c t l y e x p e r i m e n t a l studies. T h e panic s i t u a t i o n w e have investigated h a d a l l t h e f l a v o r o f everyday life a n d , at t h e same t i m e , p r o v i d e d a s e m i - e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n f o r research. I n spite o f t h e u n i q u e c o n d i t i o n s g i v i n g rise t o this p a r t i c u l a r panic, t h e w r i t e r has a t t e m p t e d t o indicate t h r o u g h o u t t h e study t h e p a t t e r n o f t h e circumstances w h i c h , f r o m a psychol o g i c a l p o i n t o f view, m i g h t make this the p r o t o t y p e o f any panic. T h e fact t h a t this p a n i c was created as a result o f a r a d i o broadcast is today n o mere circumstance.
T h e importance o f radio's role i n current
n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l affairs is t o o w e l l k n o w n t o be r e c o u n t e d here. By its v e r y n a t u r e r a d i o is t h e m e d i u m p a r excellence f o r i n f o r m i n g a l l segments o f a p o p u l a t i o n o f current happenings, f o r arousing i n t h e m a c o m m o n sense o f fear o r j o y ; a n d f o r e x c i t i n g t h e m t o s i m i l a r reactions d i r e c t e d t o w a r d a single o b j e c t i v e . Because t h e social p h e n o m e n o n i n question was so c o m p l e x , several methods w e r e e m p l o y e d t o seek o u t d i f f e r e n t answers a n d t o compare results obtained by o n e m e t h o d w i t h those obtained b y another. M u c h o f o u r i n f o r m a t i o n was d e r i v e d f r o m detailed interviews o f 135 persons. Over 100 o f these persons w e r e selected because they were k n o w n t o have been upset by the broadcast. L o n g before t h e broadcast h a d ended, people all over t h e U n i t e d States w e r e p r a y i n g , c r y i n g , fleeing f r a n t i c a l l y t o escape death f r o m the M a r t i a n s . Some r a n t o rescue l o v e d ones. Others t e l e p h o n e d farewells o r w a r n i n g s , h u r r i e d t o i n f o r m neighbors, sought i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m newspapers o r r a d i o stations, s u m m o n e d ambulances a n d police cars. A t least six m i l l i o n people heard the b r o a d cast. A t least a m i l l i o n o f t h e m w e r e f r i g h t e n e d o r disturbed. For weeks after t h e broadcast, newspapers c a r r i e d h u m a n - i n t e r e s t stories r e l a t i n g t h e shock a n d t e r r o r o f local citizens. M e n a n d w o m e n t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y c o u l d have described t h e i r feelings a n d reactions o n t h a t f a t e f u l evening. O u r o w n i n t e r v i e w e r s a n d correspondents
gathered h u n d r e d s o f
accounts. A f e w o f these selected almost at r a n d o m w i l l give us a glimpse o f the e x c i t e m e n t . L e t t h e people speak f o r themselves. ' I k n e w i t was s o m e t h i n g t e r r i b l e a n d I was f r i g h t e n e d , ' said M r s . Ferguson, a n o r t h e r n N e w Jersey h o u s e w i f e , t o t h e i n q u i r i n g i n t e r v i e w e r . ' B u t I d i d n ' t k n o w just w h a t i t was. I c o u l d n ' t m a k e myself believe i t was the e n d o f t h e w o r l d . I've always h e a r d t h a t w h e n t h e w o r l d w o u l d come t o an e n d , i t w o u l d c o m e so fast n o b o d y w o u l d k n o w - so w h y s h o u l d G o d get i n t o u c h w i t h this announcer? W h e n they t o l d us w h a t r o a d t o take a n d get u p over t h e hills a n d the c h i l d r e n began t o cry, t h e f a m i l y decided t o g o o u t . We t o o k blankets a n d m y g r a n d - d a u g h t e r w a n t e d t o take t h e cat a n d t h e canary. W e w e r e outside t h e garage w h e n t h e n e i g h b o r ' s b o y came back a n d t o l d us i t was a play.'
[...] Archie
Burbank,
a filling
station
operator
i n N e w a r k , described his
7
8
The Media and Modern Life reactions. ' M y g i r l f r i e n d a n d I stayed i n the car f o r a w h i l e , just d r i v i n g a r o u n d . T h e n w e f o l l o w e d t h e lead o f a f r i e n d . A l l o f us r a n i n t o a grocery store a n d asked t h e m a n i f w e c o u l d go i n t o his cellar. H e said, " W h a t ' s t h e matter? A r e y o u t r y i n g t o r u i n m y business?" So he chased us o u t . A c r o w d collected. W e rushed t o an a p a r t m e n t house a n d asked the m a n i n t h e apartm e n t t o l e t us i n his cellar. H e said, " I d o n ' t have any cellar! G e t a w a y ! " T h e n people started t o r u s h o u t o f t h e a p a r t m e n t house a l l undressed. We g o t i n t o the car a n d listened some m o r e . Suddenly, the announcer was gassed, t h e stat i o n w e n t dead so w e t r i e d another station b u t n o t h i n g w o u l d come o n . T h e n w e w e n t t o a gas station a n d f i l l e d u p o u r t a n k i n p r e p a r a t i o n f o r just r i d i n g as far as w e c o u l d . T h e gas station m a n d i d n ' t k n o w a n y t h i n g about i t . T h e n o n e f r i e n d , male, decided he w o u l d call u p t h e Newark
Evening
News.
He found
o u t i t was a play. W e listened t o the rest o f the play a n d t h e n w e n t d a n c i n g . ' M r s . Joslin, w h o lives i n a p o o r section o f a large eastern c i t y a n d whose h u s b a n d is a day laborer, said, ' I was t e r r i b l y f r i g h t e n e d . I w a n t e d t o pack a n d take m y c h i l d i n m y arms, gather u p m y friends, a n d get i n t h e car a n d just go n o r t h as far as w e c o u l d . B u t w h a t I d i d was just set b y one w i n d o w , p r a y i n ' , l i s t e n i n ' , a n d scared s t i f f a n d m y husband by the other s n i f f l i n ' a n d l o o k i n ' o u t t o see i f people were r u n n i n ' . T h e n w h e n t h e announcer said "evacuate the c i t y , " I r a n a n d called m y boarder a n d started w i t h m y c h i l d t o r u s h d o w n the stairs, n o t w a i t i n ' t o ketch m y hat o r a n y t h i n g . W h e n I g o t t o t h e f o o t o f the stairs I just c o u l d n ' t get o u t , I d o n ' t k n o w w h y . M e a n t i m e m y husband he t r i e d o t h e r stations a n d f o u n d t h e m still r u n n i n ' . H e c o u l d n ' t smell any gas o r see people r u n n i n ' , so he called m e back a n d t o l d me i t was just a play. So I set d o w n , still ready t o go at any m i n u t e t i l l I h e a r d O r s o n Welles say, " F o l k s , I h o p e w e a i n ' t a l a r m e d y o u . T h i s is just a p l a y ! " T h e n , I just set!' I f w e are t o e x p l a i n t h e r e a c t i o n , t h e n , w e must answer t w o basic questions: W h y d i d this broadcast f r i g h t e n some people w h e n other fantastic broadcasts d o not? A n d w h y d i d this broadcast f r i g h t e n some people b u t n o t others? A n answer t o t h e first question must be sought i n the characteristics o f this p a r t i c ular p r o g r a m w h i c h aroused false standards o f j u d g m e n t i n so m a n y listeners. N o o n e r e a d i n g t h e script can deny that the broadcast was so realistic f o r the first f e w m i n u t e s t h a t i t was almost credible t o even relatively sophisticated a n d w e l l - i n f o r m e d listeners. T h e sheer d r a m a t i c excellence o f t h e b r o a d cast m u s t n o t be o v e r l o o k e d . T h i s unusual realism o f the p e r f o r m a n c e may be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e fact that t h e early parts o f the broadcast fell w i t h i n t h e existi n g standards o f j u d g m e n t o f the listeners. A large p r o p o r t i o n o f listeners, p a r t i c u l a r l y those i n t h e l o w e r i n c o m e a n d e d u c a t i o n a l brackets, have g r o w n t o rely m o r e o n t h e r a d i o t h a n o n t h e newspapers f o r t h e i r news. A l m o s t a l l o f the listeners, w h o h a d been f r i g h t e n e d a n d w h o w e r e i n t e r v i e w e d , m e n t i o n e d somewhere d u r i n g the course o f t h e i r retrospections t h e confidence they h a d i n r a d i o a n d t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t i t w o u l d be used f o r such i m p o r t a n t announcements. A f e w o f t h e i r c o m m e n t s indicate t h e i r attitudes:
The Invasion from Mars 'We have so m u c h faith in broadcasting.
I n a crisis i t has t o reach all people.
T h a t ' s w h a t r a d i o is here f o r . ' ' T h e a n n o u n c e r w o u l d n o t say i f i t was n o t t r u e . They always
quote if
some-
thing is a play.' As i n m a n y situations w h e r e events a n d ideas are so c o m p l i c a t e d o r far r e m o v e d f r o m one's o w n i m m e d i a t e everyday experience t h a t o n l y t h e e x p e r t can r e a l l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e m , here, t o o , t h e l a y m a n was f o r c e d t o rely o n t h e e x p e r t f o r his i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . T h e l o g i c a l ' e x p e r t ' i n this instance was the astronomer. Those m e n t i o n e d (all f i c t i t i o u s ) w e r e Professor Farrell o f t h e M o u n t Jennings O b s e r v a t o r y o f C h i c a g o , Professor Pierson o f t h e Princeton Observatory, Professor M o r s e o f M a c M i l l a n U n i v e r s i t y i n T o r o n t o , Professor I n d e l l k o f f e r o f t h e C a l i f o r n i a A s t r o n o m i c a l Society a n d 'astronomers
a n d scientific bodies' i n E n g l a n d ,
France, a n d G e r m a n y . Professor R i c h a r d Pierson ( O r s o n Welles) was t h e chief character i n t h e d r a m a . W h e n t h e s i t u a t i o n called f o r o r g a n i z e d defense a n d a c t i o n t h e e x p e r t was once m o r e b r o u g h t i n . General M o n t g o m e r y S m i t h , c o m m a n d e r o f t h e state m i l i t i a at T r e n t o n , M r . H a r r y M c D o n a l d , vice-president o f t h e R e d Cross, C a p t a i n L a n s i n g o f t h e Signal C o r p s , a n d f i n a l l y t h e Secretary o f t h e I n t e r i o r described t h e s i t u a t i o n , gave orders f o r evacuation a n d attack, o r u r g e d every m a n t o d o his duty. T h i s d r a m a t i c t e c h n i q u e h a d its effect. ' I believed t h e broadcast as soon as I heard the professor
from Princeton
and
' I k n e w i t was an a w f u l l y dangerous s i t u a t i o n when all those military
men
the o f f i c i a l s i n W a s h i n g t o n . ' were there and the Secretary
of State
spoke.'
T h e realistic nature o f the broadcast was further enhanced b y descriptions o f particular occurrences that listeners c o u l d readily imagine. Liberal use was made o f the c o l l o q u i a l expressions t o be expected o n such an occasion. T h e gas was 'a sort o f y e l l o w i s h - g r e e n ' ; the c o p w a r n e d , ' O n e side, there. Keep back, I tell you';
a voice shouts, ' T h e d a r n thing's unscrewing.' A n example o f the spec-
i f i c i t y o f detail is the announcement o f Brigadier General M o n t g o m e r y S m i t h : ' I have been requested by t h e G o v e r n o r o f N e w Jersey t o place t h e counties o f M e r c e r a n d M i d d l e s e x as far west as Princeton, a n d east t o Jamesburg, under m a r t i a l law. N o o n e w i l l be p e r m i t t e d t o enter this area except b y special pass issued b y state o r m i l i t a r y authorities. Four companies o f state m i l i t i a are p r o ceeding f r o m T r e n t o n t o Grovers M i l l and w i l l aid i n the evacuation o f homes w i t h i n the range o f m i l i t a r y operations.' T h e events r e p o r t e d proceeded f r o m the relatively credible t o t h e h i g h l y i n c r e d i b l e . T h e first announcements were m o r e o r less believable, a l t h o u g h u n u s u a l t o be sure. First there is an 'atmospheric disturbance,' t h e n ' e x p l o sions o f incandescent gas.' A scientist t h e n r e p o r t s t h a t his seismograph has registered a shock o f earthquake intensity. T h i s is f o l l o w e d b y t h e discovery o f a m e t e o r i t e t h a t has s p l i n t e r e d nearby trees i n its f a l l . So far so g o o d .
9
10
The Media and Modern Life B u t as the less credible bits o f the story begin t o enter, the clever dramatist also indicates that he, t o o , has d i f f i c u l t y i n believing w h a t he sees. W h e n w e learn that the object is n o meteorite but a metal casing, we are also t o l d that the w h o l e p i c t u r e is 'a strange scene like something o u t o f a m o d e r n A r a b i a n N i g h t s , ' 'fantastic,' that the ' m o r e d a r i n g souls are v e n t u r i n g near.' Before w e are i n f o r m e d that the end o f the casing is beginning t o unscrew, w e experience the announcer's o w n astonishment:
'Ladies a n d gentlemen, this is t e r r i f i c ! '
W h e n the t o p is o f f he says, 'This is the most t e r r i f y i n g t h i n g I have ever w i t nessed.... T h i s is the most e x t r a o r d i n a r y experience. I can't f i n d w o r d s . . . . ' T h e b e w i l d e r m e n t o f the listener is shared by the eye-witness. W h e n the scientist is h i m s e l f p u z z l e d , the layman recognizes the e x t r a o r d i n a r y intelligence o f the strange creatures. N o e x p l a n a t i o n o f the event can be p r o v i d e d . T h e resignation a n d hopelessness o f the Secretary o f the I n t e r i o r , counseling us t o 'place o u r f a i t h i n G o d , ' provides n o effective guide f o r a c t i o n . I n spite o f the realism o f the broadcast, i t w o u l d seem h i g h l y u n l i k e l y that any listener w o u l d take i t seriously h a d he heard the announcements that were clearly made at the b e g i n n i n g o f the hour. H e m i g h t t h e n have been excited, even f r i g h t e n e d . But i t w o u l d be an excitement based o n the dramatic realism o f the p r o g r a m . T h e r e w o u l d n o t be the intense feeling o f personal i n v o l v e m e n t . H e w o u l d k n o w that the events were happening ' o u t there' i n the s t u d i o , n o t ' r i g h t here' i n his o w n state or his o w n county. I n one instance a 'correct' (aesthetically detached o r dramatic) standard o f j u d g m e n t w o u l d be used by the listener t o i n t e r p r e t events, i n another instance a 'false' (realistic or news) standard o f j u d g m e n t w o u l d be e m p l o y e d . T u n i n g i n late was a very essential c o n d i t i o n f o r the arousal o f a false standard o f j u d g m e n t . T o be sure, m a n y people recognized the broadcast as a play even t h o u g h they t u n e d i n late. I t is i m p o r t a n t t o raise a n d t o answer the question o f h o w anyone w h o t u n e d i n at the b e g i n n i n g c o u l d have mistaken the clearly i n t r o d u c e d play f o r a news broadcast. Analysis o f these cases reveals t w o m a i n reasons w h y such a m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n arose. I n the first place, m a n y people w h o t u n e d i n t o hear a play by the M e r c u r y T h e a t r e t h o u g h t the regular dramatic p r o g r a m h a d been i n t e r r u p t e d t o give special news bulletins. T h e technique was n o t a n e w one after their experience w i t h r a d i o r e p o r t i n g o f the w a r crisis i n September, 1938.
The
other m a j o r reason for the misunderstanding is the widespread habit o f n o t p a y i n g a t t e n t i o n t o the first announcements o f a p r o g r a m . Some people d o n o t listen attentively t o their radios u n t i l they are aware that something o f p a r t i c u lar interest is being broadcast. T u n i n g i n late was very decisive i n d e t e r m i n i n g w h e t h e r or n o t the listener w o u l d f o l l o w the p r o g r a m as a play or as a news r e p o r t . For the story o f the M a r t i a n i n v a s i o n was so realistic that m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n was apt t o arise w i t h o u t p r o p e r w a r n i n g signals. I n spite o f the fact that m a n y persons t u n e d i n late t o hear this very realistic broadcast, by n o means all o f t h e m believed i t was news. A n d n o t all o f those w h o t h o u g h t the invasion was u p o n t h e m behaved the same w a y i n the face o f
The Invasion from Mars danger. Before w e can u n d e r s t a n d t h e reasons f o r t h e v a r y i n g behavior, t h e reactions m u s t be a r r a n g e d i n some significant g r o u p i n g . O t h e r w i s e n o f r u i t f u l c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n is possible.
Classifying the listeners /. Those who checked the internal evidence of the broadcast T h e persons
i n this category w e r e those w h o d i d n o t r e m a i n f r i g h t e n e d
t h r o u g h o u t t h e w h o l e broadcast because they w e r e able t o discern t h a t t h e p r o g r a m was f i c t i t i o u s . Some realized t h a t t h e reports must be false because t h e y s o u n d e d so m u c h l i k e certain f i c t i o n l i t e r a t u r e they w e r e accustomed t o . 'At first I was v e r y interested i n t h e fall o f the meteor. I t isn't o f t e n t h a t they f i n d a b i g o n e just w h e n i t falls. B u t when it started came
out, I said to myself,
are acting
"They've
taken
to unscrew
one of those Amazing
and
monsters
Stories
and
it out." I t just c o u l d n ' t be real. I t was just like some o f the stories I
r e a d i n Amazing
Stories
b u t i t was even m o r e e x c i t i n g . '
2. Those who checked the broadcast against other information and learned that it was a play These listeners t r i e d t o o r i e n t themselves f o r the same reasons as those i n t h e first g r o u p - t h e y w e r e suspicious o f t h e ' n e w s ' they w e r e g e t t i n g . Some s i m p l y t h o u g h t t h e r e p o r t s w e r e t o o fantastic t o believe; others detected t h e i n c r e d i b l e speeds revealed; w h i l e a f e w listeners checked t h e p r o g r a m just because i t seemed t h e reasonable t h i n g t o d o . T h e i r m e t h o d o f v e r i f y i n g t h e i r hunches was t o c o m p a r e the news o n the p r o g r a m t o some o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n . ' I t u n e d i n a n d heard that a meteor h a d fallen. T h e n w h e n they talked about monsters, I t h o u g h t s o m e t h i n g was w r o n g . So I looked in the newspaper
t o see
w h a t p r o g r a m was supposed t o be o n and discovered i t was o n l y a play.'
3. Those who tried to check the program against other information but who, for various reasons, continued to believe the broadcast was an authentic news report T w o characteristic differences separated the people i n this g r o u p f r o m those w h o made successful checks. I n the first place, i t was difficult t o determine f r o m the interviews just w h y these people w a n t e d t o check anyway. T h e y d i d n o t seem t o be seeking evidence t o test the authenticity o f the reports. T h e y appeared, rather, t o be frightened souls t r y i n g t o f i n d o u t whether o r n o t they were yet i n any personal danger. I n the second place, the type o f checking behavior they used was singularly ineffective a n d unreliable. T h e most frequent m e t h o d e m p l o y e d by almost t w o - t h i r d s o f this g r o u p was t o l o o k o u t the w i n d o w o r g o o u t d o o r s . Several o f t h e m telephoned their friends o r ran t o consult their neighbors. T h e r e are several reasons w h y t h e checks made b y these persons w e r e ineffectual. F o r some o f t h e m , t h e n e w i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d o n l y v e r i f i e d t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w h i c h t h e i r already f i x e d standard o f j u d g m e n t p r o v i d e d .
11
12
The Media and Modern Life ' I l o o k e d o u t o f the w i n d o w a n d e v e r y t h i n g l o o k e d the same as usual so I thought
it hadn't reached our section
yet'
'We l o o k e d o u t o f the w i n d o w and W y o m i n g Avenue was black w i t h cars. People were rushing
away, I
figured.'
' N o cars came d o w n m y street. " T r a f f i c is j a m m e d o n account o f the roads being destroyed," I thought.'
4. Those who made no attempt to check the broadcast or the event I t is usually m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o discover w h y a person d i d not
do
something
t h a n w h y he d i d . Consequently i t is m o r e d i f f i c u l t f o r us t o e x p l a i n w h y people i n this g r o u p d i d n o t a t t e m p t t o v e r i f y the news or l o o k f o r signs o f the M a r t i a n s i n t h e i r v i c i n i t y t h a n i t was t o d e t e r m i n e w h y those w h o a t t e m p t e d unsuccessful checks displayed their aimless behavior. O v e r half o f the people i n this g r o u p w e r e so f r i g h t e n e d that they either s t o p p e d listening, ran a r o u n d i n a frenzy, o r e x h i b i t e d behavior that can o n l y be described as paralyzed. Some o f t h e m r e p o r t e d t h a t they were so f r i g h t e n e d they never t h o u g h t o f checking. 'We were so i n t e n t u p o n listening that w e d i d n ' t have enough sense t o t r y other h o o k - u p s — w e were just so
frightened.'
O t h e r s a d o p t e d an a t t i t u d e o f complete resignation. For t h e m any a t t e m p t t o check u p , l i k e any other behavior, appeared senseless. ' I was w r i t i n g a h i s t o r y theme. T h e g i r l f r o m upstairs came a n d made me go u p t o her place. E v e r y b o d y was so excited I felt as i f I was g o i n g crazy a n d k e p t o n saying, " W h a t can w e d o , what difference
does it make w h e t h e r w e
die sooner or later?" We were h o l d i n g each other. E v e r y t h i n g seemed u n i m p o r t a n t i n the face o f death. I was a f r a i d t o die, just k e p t o n l i s t e n i n g . ' Some felt that i n v i e w o f the crisis s i t u a t i o n , action was d e m a n d e d . A f e w p r e p a r e d i m m e d i a t e l y f o r their escape or for death. ' I c o u l d n ' t stand i t so I t u r n e d i t off. I d o n ' t remember w h e n , b u t e v e r y t h i n g was c o m i n g closer. M y husband w a n t e d t o p u t i t back o n b u t I t o l d h i m better do something
instead of just listen,
we'd
so w e started t o pack.'
Some listeners i n t e r p r e t e d the s i t u a t i o n i n such a w a y that they were n o t interested i n m a k i n g a check-up. I n a f e w instances the i n d i v i d u a l t u n e d i n so late that he missed the most incredible parts o f the p r o g r a m a n d was o n l y aware o f the fact that some k i n d o f c o n f l i c t was being waged. ' I was i n m y drugstore a n d m y b r o t h e r p h o n e d a n d said, " T u r n the r a d i o o n , a meteor has just f a l l e n . " We d i d and heard gas was c o m i n g u p South Street. T h e r e w e r e a f e w customers a n d we all began wondering come from.
where it
could
I was w o r r i e d about the gas, i t was spreading so r a p i d l y b u t I was
puzzled as t o w h a t was actually h a p p e n i n g , w h e n I heard airplanes I t h o u g h t a n o t h e r c o u n t r y was a t t a c k i n g us.'
Why the panic? A v a r i e t y o f influences a n d c o n d i t i o n s are related t o the panic r e s u l t i n g f r o m this
p a r t i c u l a r broadcast.
We
have
found no
single
observable
variable
The Invasion from Mars c o n s i s t e n t l y r e l a t e d t o the r e a c t i o n , a l t h o u g h a lack o f c r i t i c a l a b i l i t y seemed particularly conducive
t o fear i n a large p r o p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n .
Personality characteristics
m a d e some people especially susceptible t o belief
a n d f r i g h t ; the i n f l u e n c e o f others i n the i m m e d i a t e e n v i r o n m e n t caused a f e w listeners t o react i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y . T h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l p a t t e r n revealed by these a n d o t h e r influences m u s t be s h o w n i f w e are t o u n d e r s t a n d the situat i o n as a w h o l e a n d n o t have t o resort exclusively t o the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f single, i s o l a t e d cases.
Why the suggestion was or was not believed W h a t is most inconceivable and therefore especially interesting psychologically is w h y so m a n y people d i d n o t d o something t o v e r i f y the i n f o r m a t i o n they were receiving f r o m their loudspeakers. T h e failure t o d o this accounts f o r the persistence o f the f r i g h t . To understand any panic - whether the cause is a legitimate one o r n o t - i t is necessary t o see precisely w h a t happens t o an i n d i v i d u a l ' s m e n t a l processes that prevents h i m f r o m m a k i n g an adequate check-up. T h e persons w h o w e r e f r i g h t e n e d by the broadcast w e r e , f o r this occasion at least, h i g h l y suggestible, that is, they believed w h a t they heard w i t h o u t m a k i n g s u f f i c i e n t checks t o p r o v e t o themselves that the broadcast was o n l y a story. T h o s e w h o were n o t f r i g h t e n e d a n d those w h o believed the broadcast f o r o n l y a s h o r t t i m e w e r e n o t suggestible - they w e r e able t o display w h a t psychologists once called a ' c r i t i c a l faculty.' T h e p r o b l e m is, t h e n , t o determ i n e w h y some people are suggestible, or t o state the p r o b l e m d i f f e r e n t l y , w h y some people lack c r i t i c a l ability. T h e r e are essentially f o u r psychological c o n d i t i o n s that create i n an i n d i v i d ual the p a r t i c u l a r state o f m i n d w e k n o w as suggestibility. A l l these m a y be described i n terms o f the concept o f standard o f j u d g m e n t . I n the first place, i n d i v i d u a l s may refer a given stimulus t o a s t a n d a r d o r t o several standards o f j u d g m e n t w h i c h they t h i n k are relevant f o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . T h e m e n t a l c o n t e x t i n t o w h i c h the stimulus enters i n this case is o f such a character t h a t i t is w e l c o m e d as t h o r o u g h l y consistent a n d w i t h o u t c o n t r a d i c t i o n . A person w i t h standards o f j u d g m e n t that enable h i m t o 'place' o r 'give m e a n i n g t o ' a s t i m u l u s i n an almost a u t o m a t i c w a y finds n o t h i n g i n c o n g r u o u s a b o u t such acceptance; his standards have l e d h i m t o 'expect' the possibility o f such an occurrence. We have f o u n d t h a t m a n y o f the persons w h o d i d n o t even t r y t o check the broadcast h a d p r e e x i s t i n g m e n t a l sets that made the stimulus so u n d e r s t a n d able t o t h e m t h a t they i m m e d i a t e l y accepted i t as t r u e . H i g h l y religious people w h o believed t h a t G o d w i l l e d a n d c o n t r o l l e d the destinies o f m a n
were
already f u r n i s h e d w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r standard o f j u d g m e n t t h a t w o u l d make an i n v a s i o n o f o u r planet a n d a d e s t r u c t i o n o f its members m e r e l y an 'act
of
G o d . ' T h i s was p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e i f the religious frame o f reference was o f the eschatological
variety providing
the
individual w i t h
d e f i n i t e attitudes
or
13
14
The Media and Modern Life beliefs r e g a r d i n g t h e e n d o f t h e w o r l d . O t h e r people w e f o u n d h a d been so i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e recent w a r scare t h a t they believed an attack b y a f o r e i g n p o w e r was i m m i n e n t a n d an invasion - w h e t h e r i t was due t o t h e Japanese, H i t l e r , o r M a r t i a n s - was n o t unlikely. Some persons h a d b u i l t u p such f a n c i f u l n o t i o n s o f t h e possibilities o f science that they c o u l d easily believe t h e p o w e r s o f strange superscientists w e r e being t u r n e d against t h e m , perhaps m e r e l y f o r e x p e r i m e n t a l purposes. W h a t e v e r t h e cause f o r t h e genesis o f t h e standards o f j u d g m e n t p r o v i d i n g ready acceptance o f t h e event, t h e fact remains t h a t m a n y already possessed a c o n t e x t
within
which
persons
they i m m e d i a t e l y placed t h e
s t i m u l u s . N o n e o f t h e i r o t h e r e x i s t i n g standards o f j u d g m e n t was s u f f i c i e n t ly r e l e v a n t t o engender disbelief. W e f o u n d this t o be p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e o f persons w h o s e lack o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s o r abilities t o acquire i n f o r m a t i o n o r t r a i n i n g h a d i n s u f f i c i e n t l y f o r t i f i e d t h e m w i t h p e r t i n e n t standards o f j u d g m e n t t h a t w o u l d m a k e t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e broadcast as a p l a y seem p l a u s i b l e . M o r e h i g h l y educated p e o p l e , w e f o u n d , w e r e better able t o relate a g i v e n event t o a s t a n d a r d o f j u d g m e n t t h e y knew
was a n
appropriate
r e f e r e n t . I n such instances, t h e k n o w l e d g e itself was used as a s t a n d a r d o f j u d g m e n t t o d i s c o u n t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n received i n t h e broadcast.
These
listeners, t h e n , h a d t h e a b i l i t y t o refer t o relevant standards o f j u d g m e n t w h i c h t h e y c o u l d r e l y o n f o r c h e c k i n g purposes a n d t h e r e f o r e h a d n o need of further orientation. A second c o n d i t i o n o f suggestibility exists w h e n an i n d i v i d u a l is n o t sure o f the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n he s h o u l d place o n a given stimulus a n d w h e n he lacks adequate standards o f j u d g m e n t t o make a reliable check o n his i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . I n this s i t u a t i o n t h e i n d i v i d u a l attempts t o check o n his i n f o r m a t i o n b u t fails f o r one o f three reasons. (1) H e may check his o r i g i n a l i n f o r m a t i o n against u n r e liable data w h i c h m a y themselves be affected by t h e s i t u a t i o n he is checking. We f o u n d t h a t persons w h o checked unsuccessfully t e n d e d t o check against i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d f r o m friends o r neighbors. O b v i o u s l y , such people w e r e apt themselves t o be t i n g e d w i t h d o u b t a n d hesitation w h i c h w o u l d o n l y c o n f i r m early suspicions. (2) A person m a y rationalize his checking i n f o r m a t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o t h e o r i g i n a l hypothesis he is checking a n d w h i c h he t h i n k s he has o n l y t e n t a t i v e l y accepted. M a n y listeners made hasty m e n t a l o r b e h a v i o r a l checks b u t t h e false standard o f j u d g m e n t they h a d already accepted was so pervasive t h a t t h e i r check-ups were r a t i o n a l i z e d as c o n f i r m a t o r y evidence. For e x a m p l e , o n e w o m a n said t h a t t h e announcer's charred b o d y was f o u n d t o o q u i c k l y b u t she ' f i g u r e d t h e announcer was excited a n d h a d made a mistake.' A m a n n o t i c e d t h e incredible speeds b u t t h o u g h t 'they were r e l a y i n g r e p o r t s or s o m e t h i n g . ' O t h e r s t u r n e d t o d i f f e r e n t stations b u t t h o u g h t the broadcasters w e r e deliberately t r y i n g t o calm the people. A w o m a n l o o k e d o u t o f her w i n d o w a n d saw a greenish eerie l i g h t w h i c h she t h o u g h t was f r o m t h e M a r t i a n s . (3) I n contrast t o those w h o believe almost any check they make are the people w h o earnestly t r y t o v e r i f y their i n f o r m a t i o n b u t d o n o t have s u f f i -
The Invasion from Mars c i e n t l y w e l l - g r o u n d e d standards o f j u d g m e n t t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e i r n e w sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n are reliable. A t h i r d a n d perhaps m o r e general c o n d i t i o n o f suggestibility exists w h e n an i n d i v i d u a l is c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a s t i m u l u s w h i c h he m u s t i n t e r p r e t o r w h i c h he w o u l d l i k e t o i n t e r p r e t a n d w h e n none o f his existing standards o f j u d g m e n t is adequate t o t h e task. O n such occasions t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s m e n t a l c o n t e x t is u n s t r u c t u r e d , t h e s t i m u l u s does n o t f i t any o f his established categories a n d he seeks a s t a n d a r d t h a t w i l l suffice h i m . T h e less s t r u c t u r e d his m e n t a l c o n t e x t , the f e w e r meanings he is able t o call f o r t h , t h e less able w i l l he be t o u n d e r stand t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between h i m s e l f a n d t h e s t i m u l u s , a n d t h e greater w i l l b e c o m e his anxiety. A n d t h e m o r e desperate his need f o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , t h e m o r e l i k e l y w i l l he be t o accept t h e first i n t e r p r e t a t i o n given h i m . M a n y c o n d i t i o n s existed t o create i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o listened t o t h e i n v a s i o n f r o m M a r s a chaotic m e n t a l universe t h a t c o n t a i n e d n o stable standards o f j u d g m e n t b y means o f w h i c h t h e strange event r e p o r t e d c o u l d be evaluated. A lack o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d f o r m a l educational t r a i n i n g h a d l e f t m a n y persons w i t h o u t any generalized standards o f j u d g m e n t applicable t o this n o v e l s i t u a t i o n . A n d even i f they d i d have a f e w such standards these w e r e vague a n d tenuously h e l d because t h e y h a d n o t p r o v e d sufficient i n t h e past t o i n t e r p r e t o t h e r p h e nomena.
T h i s was especially
t r u e o f those persons
w h o h a d been
most
adversely affected b y t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f the times. T h e p r o l o n g e d e c o n o m i c unrest a n d t h e consequent insecurity felt b y m a n y o f t h e listeners was a n o t h e r cause f o r b e w i l d e r m e n t . T h e depression h a d already lasted n e a r l y t e n years. People w e r e still o u t o f w o r k . W h y d i d n ' t s o m e b o d y d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t it? W h y d i d n ' t t h e experts f i n d a solution? W h a t was t h e cause o f i t anyway? A g a i n , w h a t w o u l d h a p p e n , n o o n e c o u l d t e l l . A g a i n , a mysterious invasion f i t t e d t h e p a t t e r n o f the mysterious events o f the decade. T h e lack o f a sophisticated, relatively stable economic o r p o l i t i c a l f r a m e o f reference created i n m a n y persons a psychological d i s e q u i l i b r i u m w h i c h m a d e t h e m seek a s t a n d a r d o f j u d g m e n t f o r this p a r t i c u l a r event. I t was a n o t h e r p h e n o m e n o n i n t h e outside w o r l d b e y o n d t h e i r c o n t r o l a n d c o m p r e h e n s i o n . O t h e r people possessed certain economic security a n d social status b u t w o n d e r e d h o w l o n g this w o u l d last w i t h 'things i n such a t u r m o i l . ' They, too,
sought a stable i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , o n e t h a t w o u l d at least give this n e w
occurrence m e a n i n g . T h e w a r scare h a d l e f t m a n y persons i n a state o f c o m plete b e w i l d e r m e n t . T h e y d i d n o t k n o w w h a t t h e t r o u b l e was all a b o u t o r w h y t h e U n i t e d States s h o u l d be so concerned. T h e c o m p l e x i d e o l o g i c a l , class, a n d n a t i o n a l antagonisms responsible f o r t h e crises w e r e b y n o means f u l l y c o m p r e h e n d e d . T h e s i t u a t i o n was p a i n f u l l y serious a n d distressingly confused. W h a t w o u l d h a p p e n , n o b o d y c o u l d foresee. T h e M a r t i a n i n v a s i o n was just a n o t h e r event r e p o r t e d over t h e r a d i o . I t was even m o r e personally dangerous and
n o m o r e e n i g m a t i c . N o e x i s t i n g standards w e r e available t o judge its
m e a n i n g o r significance. B u t there was q u i c k need f o r j u d g m e n t , a n d i t was p r o v i d e d b y t h e announcers, scientists, a n d a u t h o r i t i e s .
15
16
The Media and Modern Life Persons w i t h h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w e f o u n d h a d a c q u i r e d m o r e g e n e r a l i z e d standards o f j u d g m e n t w h i c h t h e y c o u l d p u t t h e i r f a i t h i n . The
result was t h a t m a n y o f t h e m ' k n e w ' t h a t t h e p h e n o m e n a l
speeds
w i t h w h i c h t h e a n n o u n c e r s a n d soldiers m o v e d was impossible even i n this day a n d age. T h e greater t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f c h e c k i n g against a v a r i e t y o f r e l i able standards o f j u d g m e n t , t h e less suggestible w i l l a p e r s o n be. W e f o u n d t h a t some persons w h o i n m o r e n o r m a l circumstances m i g h t have h a d c r i t i cal a b i l i t y w e r e so o v e r w h e l m e d b y t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r l i s t e n i n g s i t u a t i o n t h a t t h e i r better j u d g m e n t was suspended. T h i s indicates t h a t a h i g h l y consistent s t r u c t u r a t i o n o f t h e e x t e r n a l s t i m u l u s w o r l d may, at t i m e s , be e x p e r i e n c e d w i t h s u f f i c i e n t i n t e n s i t y because o f its personal i m p l i c a t i o n s t o i n h i b i t t h e operation
o f usually applicable
i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r a t i o n s o r standards
of
j u d g m e n t . O t h e r persons w h o m a y n o r m a l l y have e x h i b i t e d c r i t i c a l a b i l i t y w e r e u n a b l e t o d o so i n this s i t u a t i o n because t h e i r o w n e m o t i o n a l insecu r i t i e s a n d anxieties m a d e t h e m susceptible t o suggestion w h e n c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a p e r s o n a l l y dangerous circumstance. I n such instances, t h e b e h a v i o r a l consequence is t h e same as f o r a p e r s o n w h o has n o standards o f j u d g m e n t t o b e g i n w i t h , b u t t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l processes u n d e r l y i n g t h e b e h a v i o r are different. A f o u r t h c o n d i t i o n o f suggestibility results w h e n an i n d i v i d u a l n o t o n l y lacks standards o f j u d g m e n t by means o f w h i c h he m a y o r i e n t himself, b u t lacks even t h e realization t h a t any i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s are possible o t h e r t h a n t h e one o r i g i n a l l y presented. H e accepts as t r u t h whatever he hears o r reads w i t h o u t even t h i n k i n g t o c o m p a r e i t t o other i n f o r m a t i o n .
Why such extreme behavior? G r a n t e d t h a t some people believed the broadcast t o be t r u e , w h y d i d they become so hysterical? W h y d i d they pray, telephone relatives, drive at dangerous speeds, cry, awaken sleeping c h i l d r e n , a n d flee? O f a l l t h e possible modes o f r e a c t i o n they may have f o l l o w e d , w h y d i d these p a r t i c u l a r patterns emerge? T h e o b v i o u s answer is t h a t this was a serious affair. As i n a l l o t h e r panics, the i n d i v i d u a l believed his w e l l - b e i n g , his safety, o r his life was at stake. T h e situat i o n was a real threat t o h i m . Just w h a t constitutes a personal threat t o an i n d i v i d u a l must be b r i e f l y e x a m i n e d . W h e n an i n d i v i d u a l believes t h a t a s i t u a t i o n threatens h i m he means t h a t i t threatens n o t o n l y his physical self b u t all o f those things a n d people w h i c h he s o m e h o w regards as a p a r t o f h i m . T h i s ego o f an i n d i v i d u a l is essentially c o m p o s e d o f t h e m a n y social a n d personal values he has accepted. He feels t h r e a t e n e d i f his investments are threatened, he feels i n s u l t e d i f his c h i l d r e n o r parents are i n s u l t e d , he feels elated i f his alma mater w i n s t h e sectional f o o t ball c u p . T h e p a r t i c u l a r p a t t e r n o f values that have been i n t r o c e p t e d b y an i n d i v i d u a l w i l l give h i m , t h e n , a p a r t i c u l a r ego. For some i n d i v i d u a l s this is e x p a n d e d t o i n c l u d e b r o a d ideals a n d a m b i t i o n s . They w i l l be d i s t u r b e d i f a
The Invasion from Mars p a r t i c u l a r race is persecuted i n a distant c o u n t r y because that persecution runs c o u n t e r t o t h e i r ideal o f h u m a n justice a n d democracy; they w i l l be f l a t t e r e d i f s o m e o n e admires an idea o f theirs o r a p a i n t i n g they have c o m p l e t e d . A panic occurs w h e n some h i g h l y cherished, rather c o m m o n l y accepted value is threatened a n d w h e n n o certain e l i m i n a t i o n o f the threat is i n sight. T h e i n d i v i d u a l feels that he w i l l be r u i n e d , physically, financially, o r socially. T h e invasion o f the M a r t i a n s was a direct threat t o l i f e , t o other lives that one l o v e d , as w e l l as t o all other cherished values. T h e M a r t i a n s were destroying practically e v e r y t h i n g . T h e s i t u a t i o n was, t h e n , indeed a serious affair. Frust r a t i o n resulted w h e n n o directed behavior seemed possible. O n e was faced w i t h the alternative o f resigning oneself a n d all o f one's values t o complete a n n i h i l a t i o n , o r o f m a k i n g a desperate e f f o r t t o escape f r o m the f i e l d o f danger, o r o f appealing t o some higher p o w e r o r stronger person w h o m one vaguely t h o u g h t c o u l d destroy the o n c o m i n g enemy. I f one assumed that destruction was inevitable, t h e n certain l i m i t e d behavior was possible: one c o u l d cry, make peace w i t h one's M a k e r , gather one's l o v e d ones a r o u n d a n d perish. I f one attempted escape, one c o u l d r u n t o the house o f friends, speed away i n a car o r t r a i n , o r hide i n some gas-proof,
bomb-proof,
o u t - o f - t h e - w a y shelter. I f one still believed that something o r someone m i g h t repulse the enemy, one c o u l d appeal t o G o d o r seek p r o t e c t i o n f r o m those w h o h a d p r o t e c t e d one i n the past. Objectively, none o f these modes o f behavior was a direct attack o n the p r o b l e m at h a n d ; n o t h i n g was done t o remove the cause o f the crisis. T h e behavior i n a panic is characteristically undirected a n d , f r o m the p o i n t o f v i e w o f the situation at h a n d , functionally useless.
Questions 1
The study deals with radio in pre-television America. Nowadays, radio is seldom seen as a 'dangerous medium' but the study has parallels with concerns and scares made in the context of modem media. Can you think of any recent examples of 'panic' or alleged effect which could be considered in this context? How have media audiences changed from 1938 to the present day?
2
The study notes the ways in which people in modern times have increasingly come to rely or depend upon mediated information - especially in the form of news - for the authentic 'truth' of the world and events occurring outside direct, first-hand experience. What do you see as the key issues at stake in debating this relationship nearly 50 years after the study was conducted?
Further reading Glover, D . 1984: The sociology of the mass media. Ormskirk: Causeway Press. M c Q u a i l , D . 1977: The influence and effects of mass media. In Curran, J., Gurevitch, M . and Woollacott, J. (eds.), Mass communication and society. London: Edward Arnold.
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18
The Media and Modern Life M c Q u a i l , D . 1994: Mass communication theory: an introduction. London: Sage. M e r t o n , R. 1946: Mass persuasion. New York: Free Press. Tudor, A . 1979: O n alcohol and the mystique of media effects. I n Cook, J. and Lewington, M . (eds.), Images of alcoholism. London: BFI. (See Section 3, reading 1.) Recordings of the original broadcast are available on cassette and C D : e.g. Golden Age Radio, v o l . 1 , Metacom, ISBN 0-88676-569-2.
2 Mass and Masses Raymond Williams From Culture and society 1780-1950 (Penguin 1961)
Williams is rightly regarded as one of the significant if not founding voices of modern cultural and media studies. Subsequent to his death in 1988, his contribution and reputation are being given due recognition and assessment. This reading is taken from the conclusion to one of his earliest studies, which was completed in 1956. The overall project, put into motion in this study, was the development and elaboration of a new and general theory of culture. In Culture and society, Williams seeks to map out and trace key historical moments and themes concerning the ways in which the idea of culture has come to be understood in modem Britain. The analysis is grounded in the study of shifts in the meanings of key words - democracy, art, industry, etc. - and a commentary on key writers and thinkers - such as Robert Owen, Samuel Coleridge, George Orwell - taken to be indicative of allied forms of historical transition. From looking backwards at the historical past, Williams turns, in the final phase of the book, to consider the more recent present. In his assessment of the first half of the twentieth century, he draws attention to and challenges conventional understanding associated with the idea of 'mass', so fundamental to thinking about modern mass culture, forms of mass production and mass consumption. In a period - 40 years after the publication of Culture and society - when the ideas of mass society, mass media and mass communication are being contradicted by the forces of cultural fragmentation and proliferation, the notion of 'mass' still continues to exert considerable power. This extract seeks to contextualise the ideas lurking behind the prefix 'mass', to render it uncomfortable and unstable, and to challenge its utility or value in modem debate.
We n o w r e g u l a r l y use b o t h t h e idea o f t h e 'masses', a n d t h e consequent ideas o f ' m a s s - c i v i l i z a t i o n ' , 'mass-democracy',
' m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' a n d others.
H e r e , I t h i n k , lies a central and very d i f f i c u l t issue w h i c h m o r e t h a n any o t h e r needs r e v i s i o n .
Mass and Masses Masses was a n e w w o r d f o r m o b , a n d i t is a very significant w o r d . I t seems p r o b a b l e t h a t three social tendencies j o i n e d t o c o n f i r m its m e a n i n g . First, there was t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l t o w n s , a physical massing o f persons w h i c h t h e great increase i n t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n accentuated, and
w h i c h has c o n t i n u e d w i t h c o n t i n u i n g u r b a n i z a t i o n . Second, there was
the c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f w o r k e r s i n t o factories: again, a physical massing, made necessary b y m a c h i n e p r o d u c t i o n ; also, a social massing, i n t h e w o r k - r e l a t i o n s made
necessary b y t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f large-scale collective p r o d u c t i o n .
T h i r d , there was t h e consequent d e v e l o p m e n t o f an organized a n d self-organ i z i n g w o r k i n g class: a social a n d p o l i t i c a l massing. T h e masses, i n practice, have been any o f these p a r t i c u l a r aggregates, a n d because t h e tendencies have been i n t e r r e l a t e d , i t has been possible t o use t h e t e r m w i t h a certain unity. A n d t h e n , o n t h e basis o f each tendency, t h e d e r i v e d ideas have arisen: f r o m u r b a n i z a t i o n , t h e mass m e e t i n g ; f r o m t h e factory, i n p a r t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e w o r k e r s , b u t m a i n l y i n r e l a t i o n t o the things m a d e , m a s s - p r o d u c t i o n ; f r o m t h e w o r k i n g class, mass-action. Yet, masses was a n e w w o r d f o r m o b , a n d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l characteristics o f t h e m o b w e r e retained i n its significance: g u l l i b i l i t y , fickleness, h e r d - p r e j u d i c e , lowness o f taste a n d h a b i t . T h e masses, o n this evidence, f o r m e d t h e p e r p e t u a l threat t o c u l t u r e . M a s s - t h i n k i n g , mass-suggest i o n , mass-prejudice w o u l d threaten t o s w a m p considered i n d i v i d u a l t h i n k i n g a n d feeling. Even democracy, w h i c h h a d b o t h a classical a n d a l i b e r a l r e p u t a t i o n , w o u l d lose its savour i n b e c o m i n g Now
mass-democracy.
mass-democracy, t o take t h e latest example, can be either an observa-
t i o n o r a p r e j u d i c e ; sometimes, i n d e e d , i t is b o t h . As an o b s e r v a t i o n , t h e t e r m d r a w s a t t e n t i o n t o certain p r o b l e m s o f a m o d e r n democratic society w h i c h c o u l d n o t have been foreseen b y its early partisans. T h e existence o f immensely p o w e r f u l m e d i a o f m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n is at t h e heart o f these p r o b l e m s , for t h r o u g h these p u b l i c o p i n i o n has been observably m o u l d e d a n d d i r e c t e d , o f t e n b y questionable means, o f t e n f o r questionable ends. I shall discuss this issue separately, i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e n e w means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . But t h e t e r m mass-democracy is also, evidently, a prejudice. Democracy, as i n E n g l a n d w e have i n t e r p r e t e d i t , is m a j o r i t y rule. T h e means t o this, i n represent a t i o n a n d f r e e d o m o f expression, are generally a p p r o v e d . But, w i t h universal suffrage, m a j o r i t y rule w i l l , i f w e believe i n the existence o f the masses, be massrule. Further, i f t h e masses are, essentially, the m o b , democracy w i l l be m o b rule. T h i s w i l l h a r d l y be g o o d government, o r a g o o d society; i t w i l l , rather, be the r u l e o f lowness o r mediocrity. A t this p o i n t , w h i c h i t is evidently very satisfyi n g t o some t h i n k e r s t o reach, i t is necessary t o ask again: w h o are t h e masses? I n practice, i n o u r society and i n this context, they can h a r d l y be other t h a n the w o r k i n g people. B u t i f this is so, i t is clear that w h a t is i n question is n o t o n l y gullibility, fickleness, herd-prejudice, o r lowness o f taste a n d habit. I t is also, f r o m t h e o p e n r e c o r d , the declared i n t e n t i o n o f the w o r k i n g people t o alter society, i n m a n y o f its aspects, i n ways w h i c h those t o w h o m the franchise was f o r m e r l y restricted deeply disapprove. I t seems t o m e , w h e n this is considered,
19
20
The Media and Modern Life t h a t w h a t is b e i n g questioned is n o t mass-democracy,
b u t democracy. I f a
m a j o r i t y can be achieved i n favour o f these changes, t h e democratic c r i t e r i o n is satisfied. B u t i f y o u disapprove o f the changes y o u can, i t seems, a v o i d o p e n o p p o s i t i o n t o democracy as such b y i n v e n t i n g a n e w category, mass-democracy, w h i c h is n o t such a g o o d t h i n g at a l l . T h e submerged opposite is classdemocracy, w h e r e democracy w i l l merely describe t h e processes b y w h i c h a r u l i n g class conducts its business o f r u l i n g . Yet democracy, as i n t e r p r e t e d i n E n g l a n d i n this century, does n o t mean this. So, i f change reaches t h e p o i n t w h e r e i t deeply h u r t s a n d cannot be accepted, either democracy m u s t be d e n i e d o r refuge t a k e n i n a n e w t e r m o f o p p r o b r i u m . I t is clear t h a t this c o n f u s i o n o f t h e issue cannot be t o l e r a t e d . Masses = m a j o r i t y cannot be glibly equated w i t h masses = m o b . A
d i f f i c u l t y arises here w i t h t h e w h o l e concept o f masses. H e r e , most
urgently, w e have t o r e t u r n the meanings t o experience. O u r n o r m a l p u b l i c c o n c e p t i o n o f an i n d i v i d u a l p e r s o n , f o r example, is 'the m a n i n t h e street'. B u t n o b o d y feels h i m s e l f t o be o n l y t h e m a n i n t h e street; w e all k n o w m u c h m o r e a b o u t ourselves t h a n t h a t . T h e m a n i n t h e street is a collective image, b u t w e k n o w , a l l t h e t i m e , o u r o w n difference f r o m h i m . I t is t h e same w i t h ' t h e p u b lic', w h i c h includes us, b u t yet is n o t us. 'Masses' is a l i t t l e m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d , yet
similar. I d o n o t t h i n k o f m y relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues,
acquaintances, as masses; w e none o f us can o r d o . T h e masses are always t h e others, w h o m w e d o n ' t k n o w , a n d can't k n o w . Yet n o w , i n o u r k i n d o f society, we
see these others regularly, i n t h e i r m y r i a d v a r i a t i o n s ; stand, physically,
beside t h e m . T h e y are here, and w e are here w i t h t h e m . A n d t h a t w e are w i t h t h e m is o f course t h e w h o l e p o i n t . T o other people, w e also are masses. Masses are o t h e r people. T h e r e are i n fact n o masses; there are o n l y ways o f seeing people as masses. I n a n u r b a n i n d u s t r i a l society there are m a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r such ways o f seeing. T h e p o i n t is n o t t o reiterate t h e objective c o n d i t i o n s b u t t o consider, p e r s o n a l l y a n d collectively, w h a t these have d o n e t o o u r t h i n k i n g . T h e fact is, surely, t h a t a w a y o f seeing o t h e r people w h i c h has become characteristic o f o u r k i n d o f society, has been capitalized f o r t h e purposes o f p o l i t i c a l or c u l t u r a l e x p l o i t a t i o n . W h a t w e see, neutrally, is o t h e r p e o p l e , m a n y o t h ers, p e o p l e u n k n o w n t o us. I n practice, w e mass t h e m , a n d i n t e r p r e t t h e m , a c c o r d i n g t o some c o n v e n i e n t f o r m u l a . W i t h i n its t e r m s , t h e f o r m u l a w i l l h o l d . Yet i t is t h e f o r m u l a , n o t t h e mass, w h i c h i t is o u r real business t o e x a m i n e . I t m a y h e l p us t o d o this i f w e r e m e m b e r t h a t w e ourselves are a l l the t i m e b e i n g massed b y others. T o t h e degree t h a t w e f i n d t h e f o r m u l a inadequate f o r ourselves, w e can w i s h t o e x t e n d t o others t h e courtesy o f acknowledging the u n k n o w n . I have m e n t i o n e d the p o l i t i c a l f o r m u l a by means o f w h i c h i t seems possible to c o n v e r t t h e m a j o r i t y o f one's f e l l o w h u m a n beings i n t o masses, a n d thence i n t o s o m e t h i n g t o be hated o r feared. I w i s h n o w t o examine another f o r m u l a , w h i c h underlies t h e idea o f m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
Mass and Masses
Mass-communication T h e n e w means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n represent a m a j o r technical advance. T h e oldest, a n d still t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t , is p r i n t i n g , w h i c h has itself passed t h r o u g h m a j o r technical changes, i n p a r t i c u l a r the c o m i n g o f the s t e a m - d r i v e n m a c h i n e press i n 1 8 1 1 , a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t o f ever faster c y l i n d e r a n d r o t a r y presses f r o m 1 8 1 5 . T h e m a j o r advances i n t r a n s p o r t , b y r o a d , r a i l , sea, a n d air, themselves greatly affected p r i n t i n g : at once i n the c o l l e c t i o n o f news a n d i n t h e w i d e a n d q u i c k d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the p r i n t e d p r o d u c t . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e cable, t e l e g r a p h , a n d telephone services even m o r e r e m a r k a b l y f a c i l i t a t ed the c o l l e c t i o n o f news. T h e n , as n e w m e d i a , came s o u n d broadcasting, t h e cinema, and television. We need t o l o o k again at these f a m i l i a r factual elements i f w e are t o be able adequately t o r e v i e w the idea o f ' m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' w h i c h is t h e i r p r o d u c t . I n s u m , these changes have given us m o r e a n d n o r m a l l y cheaper b o o k s , magazines, a n d newspapers; m o r e bills a n d posters; broadcasting a n d television p r o g r a m m e s ; v a r i o u s k i n d s o f f i l m . I t w o u l d be d i f f i c u l t , I t h i n k , t o express a s i m p l e a n d d e f i n i t e j u d g e m e n t o f value a b o u t a l l these very v a r i e d p r o d u c t s , yet they are a l l things t h a t need t o be v a l u e d . M y question is w h e t h e r the idea o f ' m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' is a useful f o r m u l a f o r this. T w o p r e l i m i n a r y p o i n t s are e v i d e n t : first, t h a t there is a general tendency t o confuse t h e techniques themselves w i t h t h e uses t o w h i c h , i n a given society, t h e y have been p u t ; second, t h a t , i n c o n s i d e r i n g these uses, o u r a r g u m e n t is c o m m o n l y selective, at times t o an e x t r e m e degree. T h e techniques, i n m y view, are at w o r s t n e u t r a l . T h e o n l y substantial object i o n t h a t is made t o t h e m is that they are relatively i m p e r s o n a l , by c o m p a r i s o n w i t h o l d e r techniques serving t h e same ends. W h e r e the theatre
presented
actors, the cinema presents the photographs o f actors. W h e r e the m e e t i n g p r e sented a m a n speaking, the wireless presents a voice, o r television a voice a n d a p h o t o g r a p h . Points o f this k i n d are relevant, b u t need t o be carefully made. I t is n o t relevant t o contrast an evening spent w a t c h i n g television w i t h an evening spent i n c o n v e r s a t i o n , a l t h o u g h this is o f t e n done. T h e r e is, I believe, n o f o r m o f social a c t i v i t y w h i c h t h e use o f these techniques has replaced. A t most, by a d d i n g alternatives, they have a l l o w e d altered emphases i n t h e t i m e given t o p a r t i c u l a r activities. B u t these alterations are obviously c o n d i t i o n e d , n o t o n l y by the techniques, b u t m a i n l y by the w h o l e circumstances o f the c o m m o n life. T h e p o i n t a b o u t i m p e r s o n a l i t y o f t e n carries a l u d i c r o u s rider. I t is supposed, f o r instance, t h a t i t is a n o b j e c t i o n t o listening t o wireless talks o r discussions t h a t t h e listener c a n n o t answer t h e speakers back. But the s i t u a t i o n is that o f almost any reader; p r i n t i n g , after a l l , was the first great impersonal m e d i u m . I t is as easy t o send an answer t o a broadcast speaker o r a newspaper e d i t o r as t o send o n e t o a c o n t e m p o r a r y a u t h o r ; b o t h are very m u c h easier t h a n t o t r y t o answer A r i s t o t l e , B u r k e , o r M a r x . W e fail t o realize, i n this matter, that m u c h o f w h a t w e call c o m m u n i c a t i o n is, necessarily, n o m o r e i n itself t h a n
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The Media and Modern Life transmission: that is t o say, a one-way sending. Reception a n d response, w h i c h complete c o m m u n i c a t i o n , depend o n other factors t h a n the techniques. W h a t can be observed as a fact about t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f these techniques is a steady g r o w t h o f w h a t I propose
t o call multiple
transmission.
The
p r i n t e d b o o k is t h e first great m o d e l o f this, a n d the other techniques have f o l l o w e d . T h e n e w factor, i n o u r society, is an expansion o f the p o t e n t i a l a u d i ence f o r such transmissions, so great as t o present n e w kinds o f p r o b l e m . Yet i t is clear t h a t i t is n o t t o this expansion that w e can p r o p e r l y object, at least w i t h o u t c o m m i t t i n g ourselves t o some rather
extraordinary
politics. T h e
expansion o f t h e audience is due t o t w o factors: first, t h e g r o w t h o f general e d u c a t i o n , w h i c h has accompanied t h e g r o w t h o f democracy;
second, t h e
technical i m p r o v e m e n t s themselves. I t is interesting, i n t h e l i g h t o f the earlier discussion o f 'masses', that this expansion s h o u l d have been i n t e r p r e t e d b y t h e phrase
'mass-communication'.
A speaker o r w r i t e r , addressing a l i m i t e d audience, is o f t e n able t o get t o k n o w this audience w e l l e n o u g h t o feel a d i r e c t l y personal relationship w i t h t h e m w h i c h can affect his m o d e o f address. Once this audience has been e x p a n d e d , as w i t h e v e r y t h i n g f r o m b o o k s t o televised parlour-games been e x p a n d e d ,
this is clearly impossible.
i t has
I t w o u l d be rash, however, t o
assume t h a t this is necessarily t o his a n d the audience's disadvantage.
Certain
types o f address, n o t a b l y serious art, a r g u m e n t , a n d e x p o s i t i o n , seem i n d e e d t o be distinguished b y a q u a l i t y o f i m p e r s o n a l i t y w h i c h enables t h e m frequently t o survive their i m m e d i a t e occasion. H o w far this u l t i m a t e i m p e r s o n a l i t y may be dependent o n a close i m m e d i a t e relationship is i n fact very d i f f i c u l t t o assess. B u t i t is always u n l i k e l y that any such speaker o r w r i t e r w i l l use, as a m o d e l f o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n , any concept so crude as 'masses'. T h e idea o f mass-communication,
i t w o u l d seem, depends very m u c h m o r e o n t h e i n t e n -
t i o n o f the speaker o r w r i t e r , t h a n o n t h e particular technique e m p l o y e d . A speaker o r w r i t e r w h o k n o w s , at t h e t i m e o f his address, that i t w i l l reach almost i m m e d i a t e l y several m i l l i o n persons, is faced w i t h an obviously d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . Yet, whatever t h e d i f f i c u l t y , a g o o d speaker o r w r i t e r w i l l be conscious o f his i m m e d i a t e responsibility t o t h e matter being c o m m u n i c a t e d . H e cannot, i n d e e d , feel otherwise, i f he is conscious o f h i m self as t h e source o f a particular transmission. H i s task is t h e adequate expression o f this source, w h e t h e r i t be o f feeling, o p i n i o n , o r i n f o r m a t i o n . H e w i l l use f o r this expression t h e c o m m o n language, t o t h e l i m i t o f his p a r t i c u l a r s k i l l . T h a t this expression is t h e n given m u l t i p l e transmission is a next stage, o f w h i c h he may w e l l be conscious, b u t w h i c h cannot, o f its nature, affect t h e source. T h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f expressing this source - d i f f i c u l t i e s o f c o m m o n experience, c o n v e n t i o n , a n d language - are certainly always his c o n c e r n . B u t the source c a n n o t i n any event be denied, o r he denies himself. Now
i f , o n this p e r e n n i a l p r o b l e m o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , w e impose t h e idea
o f masses, w e radically alter t h e p o s i t i o n . T h e c o n c e p t i o n o f persons as masses springs, n o t f r o m an i n a b i l i t y t o k n o w t h e m , b u t f r o m an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f
Mass and Masses t h e m a c c o r d i n g t o a f o r m u l a . H e r e t h e question o f the i n t e n t i o n o f the transm i s s i o n makes its decisive r e t u r n . O u r f o r m u l a can be t h a t o f t h e r a t i o n a l b e i n g speaking o u r language. I t can be t h a t o f the interested being s h a r i n g o u r c o m m o n experience. O r - a n d i t is here t h a t 'masses' w i l l operate - i t can be t h a t o f the m o b : g u l l i b l e , f i c k l e , h e r d - l i k e , l o w i n taste a n d habit. T h e f o r m u la, i n fact, w i l l p r o c e e d f r o m o u r i n t e n t i o n . I f o u r p u r p o s e is art, e d u c a t i o n , the g i v i n g o f i n f o r m a t i o n o r o p i n i o n , o u r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w i l l be i n terms o f the r a t i o n a l a n d interested b e i n g . I f , o n t h e other h a n d , o u r purpose is m a n i p u l a t i o n - t h e persuasion o f a large n u m b e r o f people t o act, feel, t h i n k , k n o w , i n certain ways - the c o n v e n i e n t f o r m u l a w i l l be that o f the masses. T h e r e is a n i m p o r t a n t d i s t i n c t i o n t o be d r a w n here between source a n d agent. A m a n o f f e r i n g a n o p i n i o n , a p r o p o s a l , a feeling, o f course n o r m a l l y desires t h a t o t h e r persons w i l l accept this, a n d act o r feel i n t h e ways t h a t he defines. Yet such a m a n m a y be p r o p e r l y described as a source, i n d i s t i n c t i o n f r o m a n agent, whose characteristic is that his expression is s u b o r d i n a t e d t o an u n d e c l a r e d i n t e n t i o n . H e is an agent, a n d n o t a source, because t h e i n t e n t i o n lies elsewhere. I n social terms, t h e agent w i l l n o r m a l l y i n fact be a subordinate - o f a g o v e r n m e n t , a c o m m e r c i a l f i r m , a newspaper p r o p r i e t o r . Agency, i n t h e simple sense, is necessary i n any c o m p l e x a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . But i t is always d a n gerous unless its f u n c t i o n a n d i n t e n t i o n are n o t o n l y o p e n l y declared b u t c o m m o n l y a p p r o v e d a n d c o n t r o l l e d . I f this is so, t h e agent becomes a collective source, a n d he w i l l observe the standards o f such expression i f w h a t he is r e q u i r e d t o t r a n s m i t is such that he can w h o l l y acknowledge a n d accept i t - r e create i t i n his o w n person. W h e r e he cannot thus accept i t f o r himself, b u t a l l o w s h i m s e l f t o be persuaded t h a t i t is i n a f i t f o r m f o r others - presumably i n f e r i o r s - a n d t h a t i t is his business merely t o see that i t reaches t h e m effectively, t h e n he is i n t h e bad sense an agent, a n d w h a t he is d o i n g is i n f e r i o r t o t h a t d o n e b y t h e poorest k i n d o f source. A n y practical denial o f t h e r e l a t i o n between c o n v i c t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n , between experience a n d expression, is m o r a l l y d a m a g i n g alike t o the i n d i v i d u a l a n d t o the c o m m o n language. Yet i t is certainly t r u e , i n o u r society, that m a n y m e n , m a n y o f t h e m i n t e l l i gent, accept, w h e t h e r i n g o o d o r bad f a i t h , so dubious a r o l e a n d activity. T h e acceptance i n b a d f a i t h is a matter f o r t h e law, a l t h o u g h w e have n o t y e t gone very far i n w o r k i n g o u t this necessary c o m m o n c o n t r o l . T h e acceptance i n g o o d f a i t h , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , is a matter o f c u l t u r e . I t w o u l d clearly n o t be possible unless i t appeared t o be r a t i f i e d b y a c o n c e p t i o n o f society w h i c h relegates t h e m a j o r i t y o f its members t o mob-status. T h e idea o f t h e masses is an expression o f this c o n c e p t i o n , a n d the idea o f mass-communication a c o m m e n t o n its f u n c t i o n i n g . T h i s is t h e real danger t o democracy, n o t the existence o f effective a n d p o w e r f u l means o f m u l t i p l e transmission. I t is less a p r o d u c t o f d e m o c r a c y t h a n its d e n i a l , s p r i n g i n g f r o m that h a l f - w o r l d o f feeling i n w h i c h we are i n v i t e d t o have o u r being. W h e r e the p r i n c i p l e o f democracy is accepted, a n d yet its f u l l a n d active practice feared, the m i n d is l u l l e d i n t o an acquiescence, w h i c h is y e t n o t so complete that a f i t f u l conscience, a defensive i r o n y ,
23
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The Media and Modern Life cannot visit i t . ' D e m o c r a c y w o u l d be all r i g h t / w e can come t o say, ' i t is indeed w h a t w e personally w o u l d prefer, i f i t were n o t f o r the actual people. So, i n a g o o d cause i f w e can f i n d i t , i n some other i f w e can n o t , w e w i l l t r y t o get by at a level o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w h i c h o u r experience a n d t r a i n i n g tell us is i n f e r i o r . Since t h e people are as they are, the t h i n g w i l l d o . ' B u t i t is as w e l l t o face t h e fact that w h a t w e are really d o i n g , i n such a case, is t o cheapen o u r o w n experience a n d t o adulterate the c o m m o n language.
Mass-observation Yet t h e people are as they are, the o b j e c t i o n is r e t u r n e d . O f course t h e masses are o n l y o t h e r p e o p l e , y e t m o s t other people are, o n t h e evidence, a m o b . I n p r i n c i p l e , w e w o u l d w i s h i t n o t t o be so; i n practice, t h e evidence is clear. T h i s is t h e negative side o f the idea o f mass-communication. Its evidence is collected under t h e title o f mass-culture, o r popular culture. I t is i m p o r t a n t evidence, a n d m u c h o f i t is i n c o n t r o v e r t i b l e . There remains, however, the question o f its i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . I have said that o u r arguments o n this matter are n o r m a l l y selective, o f t e n t o an extreme degree. I w i l l t r y n o w t o illustrate this. We are faced w i t h t h e fact that there is n o w a great deal o f b a d a r t , b a d e n t e r t a i n m e n t , b a d j o u r n a l i s m , b a d advertisement, b a d a r g u m e n t . W e are n o t l i k e l y t o be d i v e r t e d f r o m this c o n c l u s i o n b y t h e usual diversionary arguments. M u c h t h a t w e judge t o be b a d is k n o w n t o be b a d b y its producers. A s k any j o u r n a l i s t , o r a n y c o p y w r i t e r , i f he w i l l n o w accept that famous d e f i n i t i o n : ' w r i t t e n b y m o r o n s f o r m o r o n s ' . W i l l he n o t r e p l y t h a t i n fact i t is w r i t t e n b y s k i l l e d a n d i n t e l l i g e n t people f o r a p u b l i c that hasn't t h e t i m e , o r hasn't t h e e d u c a t i o n , o r hasn't, let's face i t , t h e intelligence, t o read a n y t h i n g m o r e c o m plete, a n y t h i n g m o r e c a r e f u l , a n y t h i n g nearer t h e k n o w n canons o f e x p o s i t i o n o r argument? H a d w e n o t better say, f o r simplicity, a n y t h i n g good? G o o d a n d b a d are h a r d w o r d s , a n d w e c a n , o f course, f i n d easier ones. T h e s t r i p newspaper, t h e beer advertisement, t h e detective n o v e l - i t is n o t exactly t h a t they are g o o d , b u t they are g o o d o f t h e i r (possibly bad) k i n d ; they have t h e merits at least o f b e i n g b r i g h t , attractive, p o p u l a r . Yet, clearly, t h e strip newspaper has t o be c o m p a r e d w i t h o t h e r k i n d s o f newspaper; t h e beer advertisement w i t h o t h e r k i n d s o f d e s c r i p t i o n o f a p r o d u c t ; t h e detective n o v e l w i t h other novels. By these standards - n o t by reference t o some ideal quality, b u t b y reference t o t h e best things t h a t m e n exercising this faculty have done o r are d o i n g - w e are n o t l i k e l y t o d o u b t that a great deal o f w h a t is n o w p r o d u c e d , and w i d e l y s o l d , is m e d i o c r e o r bad. But this is said t o be p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . T h e d e s c r i p t i o n has a ready-made hist o r i c a l thesis. A f t e r t h e E d u c a t i o n A c t o f 1 8 7 0 , a n e w mass-public came i n t o b e i n g , literate b u t u n t r a i n e d i n r e a d i n g , l o w i n taste a n d habit. T h e mass-cult u r e f o l l o w e d as a matter o f course. I t h i n k always, w h e n I hear this thesis, o f an earlier o n e , f r o m t h e second h a l f o f the eighteenth century. T h e n , t h e decisive date w a s between
1 7 3 0 a n d 1 7 4 0 , a n d w h a t h a d emerged, w i t h t h e
Mass and Masses advance o f t h e m i d d l e classes t o prosperity, was a n e w middle-class r e a d i n g p u b l i c . T h e i m m e d i a t e result was t h a t vulgar p h e n o m e n o n , t h e n o v e l . As a m a t t e r o f fact there is i n b o t h theses a considerable element o f t r u t h . I f t h e f o r m e r is n o t n o w so c o m m o n l y m e n t i o n e d , i t is o n l y because i t w o u l d be indiscreet, i n a s i t u a t i o n w h e r e ' g o o d ' a n d ' m i d d l e class' are equivalent terms. A n d o f course w e can p r o p e r l y see t h e earlier s i t u a t i o n i n its t r u e perspective. We can see t h a t w h a t t h e rise o f the m i d d l e classes p r o d u c e d was n o t o n l y t h e n o v e l b u t m a n y o t h e r things g o o d a n d bad. Further, n o w t h a t t h e bad novels are a l l o u t o f p r i n t , a n d t h e g o o d ones are a m o n g o u r classics, w e see t h a t t h e n o v e l itself, w h i l e c e r t a i n l y a p h e n o m e n o n , cannot be l i g h t l y dismissed as v u l gar. O f t h e s i t u a t i o n after 1 8 7 0 w e are n o t able t o speak so clearly. F o r o n e t h i n g , since t h e emergence as a w h o l e still divides us, w e can resent t h e c u l t u r al s i t u a t i o n f o r p o l i t i c a l reasons a n d n o t realize this. For another, since t h e p e r i o d has n o t fallen i n t o settled history, w e can be m u c h m o r e subjective i n o u r selection o f evidence. 1870 is i n fact very questionable as a decisive date. There h a d been w i d e spread literacy m u c h earlier t h a n this, the bad p o p u l a r press is i n fact also e a r l i er. T h e result o f the n e w educational p r o v i s i o n was i n p a r t a n actual increase i n literacy, i n p a r t an evening-up between t h e f o r t u n a t e places a n d t h e u n f o r t u nate. T h e increase is certainly large enough t o be i m p o r t a n t , b u t i t was n o k i n d o f sudden o p e n i n g o f the flood-gates. I n itself, i t is far f r o m enough t o account f o r the i n s t i t u t i o n o f the n o w characteristic features o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . Further, w e need t o remember that t h e n e w i n s t i t u t i o n s were n o t p r o d u c e d by t h e w o r k i n g people themselves. T h e y w e r e , rather, p r o d u c e d f o r t h e m b y others, o f t e n (as most n o t a b l y w i t h the cheap newspaper a n d c o m m e r c i a l advertisement o n a large scale) f o r conscious p o l i t i c a l o r c o m m e r c i a l advantage. Such things i n this sphere as the w o r k i n g people p r o d u c e d f o r themselves (radical newspapers, p o l i t i c a l pamphlets a n d publicity, t r a d e - u n i o n banners a n d designs) w e r e , i f by n o means always g o o d , at least quite d i f f e r e n t i n i m p o r t a n t respects. A g a i n , i t is w r o n g t o see t h e n e w i n s t i t u t i o n s as catering o n l y f o r t h e n e w class. T h e n e w types o f newspaper a n d advertisement w e r e a n d are m u c h m o r e w i d e l y received. I f the masses are t o be d e f i n e d as those f o r w h o m these i n s t i t u t i o n s n o w cater, a n d by w h o m they are n o w received w i t h apparent satisf a c t i o n , t h e n t h e masses e x t e n d far b e y o n d the categories o f , say, t h e m a n u a l w o r k e r s , o r those whose education has been restricted t o an elementary stage. I m a k e this p o i n t because 'masses = w o r k i n g a n d l o w e r - m i d d l e class' is so c o m m o n l y confused w i t h 'masses = m o b ' . T h e m o b , i f there is o n e , is at almost everyone's e l b o w ; i t may, i n d e e d , be even nearer t h a n that. A n d i f this is so o f t h e n e w newspapers a n d advertisements, i t is even m o r e t r u e o f the o t h e r b a d w o r k w h i c h has been n o t e d , i n t h e n o v e l , i n t h e theatre, i n t h e c i n e m a , i n t h e wireless a n d television programmes. I f , i n this k i n d o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t , there has been a c o n t i n u a l decline o f standards, t h e n i t is n o t f r o m 1 8 7 0 t h a t w e shall date t h i s , b u t at least f r o m 1 7 4 0 . A s a matter o f fact, I see l i t t l e evidence w h y t h e b a c k w a r d d a t i n g s h o u l d stop there, b u t t h e n I a m
25
26
The Media and Modern Life not
so sure about the c o n t i n u a l decline i n standards. T h e m u l t i p l i c a t i o n o f
transmission, a n d the discovery o f p o w e r f u l media, seem t o me m a i n l y t o have emphasized a n d made m o r e evident certain long-standing tastes a n d means o f satisfying t h e m . I shall r e t u r n t o this p o i n t w h e n I have made a f u r t h e r observ a t i o n a b o u t o u r practices o f selection. I n the matter o f selection, there are t w o m a i n points. First, i t is clear that i n an anxiety t o p r o v e their case, w h i c h is indeed an i m p o r t a n t one i f the badness is n o t t o go unchallenged, the c o n t e m p o r a r y historians o f p o p u l a r culture have t e n d e d t o concentrate o n w h a t is bad a n d t o neglect w h a t is g o o d . I f there are m a n y b a d books, there are also an i m p o r t a n t n u m b e r o f g o o d books, a n d these, l i k e the b a d books, circulate m u c h m o r e w i d e l y t h a n i n any previous p e r i o d . I f the readers o f bad newspapers have increased i n n u m b e r , so have the readers o f better newspapers
and periodicals, so have the users o f p u b l i c
libraries, so have students i n all kinds o f f o r m a l and i n f o r m a l adult education. T h e audiences for serious music, opera, a n d ballet have increased, i n some cases t o a remarkable degree. Attendances at museums a n d e x h i b i t i o n s have, i n general, steadily risen. A significant p r o p o r t i o n o f w h a t is seen i n the cinemas, and o f w h a t is heard o n the wireless, is w o r k o f m e r i t . I n every case, certainly, the p r o p o r t i o n s are less t h a n w e c o u l d desire, but they are n o t negligible. Secondly, i t is i m p o r t a n t t o remember t h a t , i n j u d g i n g a c u l t u r e , i t is n o t e n o u g h t o concentrate o n habits w h i c h coincide w i t h those o f the observer. T o the h i g h l y literate observer there is always a t e m p t a t i o n t o assume that readi n g plays as large a p a r t i n the lives o f most people as i t does i n his o w n . But i f he compares his o w n k i n d o f r e a d i n g w i t h the reading-matter that is most w i d e l y d i s t r i b u t e d , he is n o t really c o m p a r i n g levels o f c u l t u r e . H e is, i n fact, c o m p a r i n g w h a t is p r o d u c e d f o r people t o w h o m r e a d i n g is a major a c t i v i t y w i t h t h a t p r o d u c e d f o r people t o w h o m i t is, at best, m i n o r . To the degree that he acquires a substantial p r o p o r t i o n o f his ideas a n d feelings f r o m w h a t he reads he w i l l assume, again w r o n g l y , that the ideas a n d feelings o f the m a j o r i t y w i l l be s i m i l a r l y c o n d i t i o n e d . B u t , f o r g o o d o r i l l , the m a j o r i t y o f people d o n o t yet give reading this i m p o r t a n c e i n their lives; t h e i r ideas a n d feelings are, t o a large extent, still m o u l d e d by a w i d e r a n d m o r e c o m p l e x patt e r n o f social a n d f a m i l y l i f e . T h e r e is an evident danger o f d e l u s i o n , t o the h i g h l y literate person, i f he supposes that he can judge the q u a l i t y o f general l i v i n g by p r i m a r y reference t o the reading artifacts. H e w i l l , i n particular, be d r i v e n t o this delusion i f he retains, even i n its most benevolent f o r m , the c o n cept o f the m a j o r i t y o f other people as 'masses', w h o m he observes as a k i n d o f b l o c k . T h e e r r o r resembles that o f the n a r r o w r e f o r m e r w h o supposes that f a r m labourers a n d village craftsmen were once uneducated, m e r e l y because they c o u l d n o t read. M a n y h i g h l y educated people have, i n fact, been so d r i ven i n o n t h e i r r e a d i n g , as a stabilizing h a b i t , that they fail t o notice that there are o t h e r f o r m s o f s k i l l e d , i n t e l l i g e n t , creative activity: n o t o n l y the cognate f o r m s o f theatre, concert, a n d picture-gallery; b u t a w h o l e range o f general skills, f r o m
g a r d e n i n g , m e t a l w o r k , a n d carpentry t o active
politics.
The
Mass and Masses c o n t e m p t f o r m a n y o f these activities, w h i c h is always latent i n the h i g h l y l i t erate, is a m a r k o f the observers' l i m i t s , n o t those o f the activities themselves. N e g l e c t o f the e x t r a o r d i n a r y p o p u l a r i t y o f m a n y o f these activities, as evidence o f the q u a l i t y o f l i v i n g i n c o n t e m p o r a r y society, is the result o f partisan selection f o r the reasons g i v e n . T h i s p o i n t comes t o be o f particular i m p o r t a n c e w h e n w e remember that the general tendency o f m o d e r n development has been t o b r i n g many m o r e levels o f culture w i t h i n the general c o n t e x t o f literacy t h a n was ever previously the case. A n u m b e r o f tastes w h i c h w o u l d f o r m e r l y have been g r a t i f i e d i n pre-literate a n d therefore largely u n r e c o r d e d ways are n o w catered for a n d even fostered i n p r i n t . O r , t o p u t i t i n another way, the historical counterpart o f a m o d e r n p o p u lar newspaper, i n its i n f o r m i n g f u n c t i o n , is n o t an earlier m i n o r i t y newspaper, b u t that c o m p l e x o f r u m o u r a n d travellers' tales w h i c h then served the m a j o r i t y w i t h news o f a k i n d . T h i s is n o t t o surrender the finest literacy w e have, w h i c h at all times offers a standard for the n e w l y literate functions. But, equally, t o l o o k at the matter i n this w a y helps us t o keep a just sense o f p r o p o r t i o n .
Questions 1
The extract traces a number of meanings which have historically developed and condensed around the word 'mass'. According to Williams, what are the principal ideas and values that have been associated with the term?
2
Is the idea or spectre of 'the mass' still a popular way of thinking about aspects of modem life and experience? List a number of terms which are commonly prefixed with 'mass' and think about their common or distinctive features. What judgements are implied by the term?
3
How are the notions of mass media and mass communication implicated in such debates, judgements and values? Can you think of any recent relevant examples? Does it make sense to talk of a mass medium or of the mass media? What are the alternatives?
Further reading Eldridge, J. and Eldridge, L. 1994: Raymond Williams: making connections. London: Routledge. Gray, A . and McGuigan, J. (eds.) 1993: Studying culture: an introductory reader. London: Edward A r n o l d . Inglis, E 1995: Raymond Williams. London: Routledge. LeMahieu, D . H . 1986: A culture for democracy. O x f o r d : O x f o r d University Press. Lury, C. 1992: Popular culture and the mass media. In Bocock, R. and Thompson, K. (eds.), Social and cultural forms of modernity. Cambridge: Polity. McGuigan, J. 1992: Cultural populism. London: Routledge. Williams, R. 1974/1990: Television: technology and cultural form. London: Fontana. Williams, R. 1976: Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society. London: Fontana.
27
3 Mass Communication and Modern Culture John B. Thompson From Sociology 22(3), 359-83 (1988)
In this reading, Thompson initially focuses on the impact of systems of mass communication on modern cultural life and experience. His overall aim in the original article was to argue for the centrality of the study of the media and modern culture in a fully developed sociological understanding of modernity and modern conditions. Fundamental to his approach is a view of the modern media as key ideological agencies in modern society, powerfully implicated in the production and circulation of symbols, images, values and ideas. The extract commences with some ideas about the place and presence of the media in modern times, then proceeds to the central question concerning the relationship between social and historical development in general, and the expansion of the institutions and systems capable of mass cultural transmission, the 'mass' media. Thompson suggests that the growth of 'mass communication' in the modern period has seen several distinctive and important developments which distinguish it from face-to-face, direct forms of interpersonal communication. Finally, the extract outlines three aspects or components of mass communication, which provide a useful and applicable 'map' with which to chart and develop approaches to studying the media.
Few people w o u l d deny that t h e nature o f c u l t u r a l experience i n m o d e r n societies has been p r o f o u n d l y affected b y t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f mass c o m m u n i c a tion.. B o o k s , magazines a n d newspapers, r a d i o , television a n d cinema, records, tapes a n d videos: these a n d other f o r m s o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n occupy a cent r a l r o l e i n o u r lives, p r o v i d i n g us w i t h a c o n t i n u o u s f l o w o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t . N e w s p a p e r s , r a d i o a n d television are major sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n , ideas a n d images c o n c e r n i n g events w h i c h take place b e y o n d o u r i m m e d i a t e social m i l i e u . T h e figures w h o feature i n f i l m s a n d p r o g r a m m e s become c o m m o n p o i n t s o f reference i n a c u l t u r e w h i c h extends far b e y o n d the sphere o f social i n t e r a c t i o n , w h i l e f i l m s , p r o g r a m m e s a n d other p r o d u c t s f o r m a tissue o f shared experience a n d collective m e m o r y . Even those f o r m s o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t w h i c h have existed for m a n y centuries, such as p o p u l a r music a n d sports, are t o d a y inseparable f r o m the m e d i a o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . Pop music, c o m p e t i t i v e sports a n d other activities are t o d a y sustained b y the m e d i a industries, w h i c h are i n v o l v e d n o t merely i n t h e transmission o f p r e - e x i s t i n g c u l t u r a l f o r m s b u t i n t h e i r creation a n d r e p r o d u c t i o n .
[...]
Mass Communication and Modern Culture T h e modalities o f c u l t u r a l transmission
i n m o d e r n societies have been p r o -
f o u n d l y affected b y the development o f institutions o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f these institutions - o f newspapers, b o o k publishers, b r o a d casting organizations, etc. - m a r k e d the emergence o f n e w forms o f i n f o r m a t i o n d i f f u s i o n a n d c u l t u r a l transmission. T h e p r o d u c t i o n and circulation o f meaningf u l objects a n d expressions became increasingly mediated by industrial organizations concerned w i t h the c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f symbolic goods.
Prior t o the
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p o p u l a r press a n d broadcasting, most c u l t u r a l f o r m s a n d processes were p r o d u c e d a n d reproduced t h r o u g h o r a l language a n d face-toface i n t e r a c t i o n . W h i l e systems o f w r i t i n g have probably existed since the t h i r d m i l l e n n i u m B.C., t h e practice o f reading a n d w r i t i n g has, for most o f the 5 , 0 0 0 years since t h e n , been restricted t o a small m i n o r i t y o f the p o p u l a t i o n . I t seems l i k e l y that w r i t i n g was o r i g i n a l l y l i n k e d t o the task o f r e c o r d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n r e l evant t o trade a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ; i t was thus a means whereby p o w e r c o u l d be exercised b y i n d i v i d u a l s engaged i n commerce a n d p o l i t i c a l r u l e .
1
W i t h the
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p r i n t i n g i n d u s t r y i n Europe i n the fifteenth a n d sixteenth centuries, t h e capacity t o produce m u l t i p l e copies o f texts a n d documents was r a p i d l y increased. I t is estimated that i n 1 5 8 0 as m a n y as 150 b o o k titles were published i n E n g l a n d , c o m p a r e d t o o n l y 13 titles i n 1 5 1 0 . T h e development o f 2
the newspaper i n d u s t r y i n the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries significantly extended t h e availability o f the w r i t t e n w o r d . T h e first daily newspaper i n E n g l a n d , t h e Courant, Sunday
Monitor;
appeared i n 1 7 0 2 ; the first Sunday newspaper, the
appeared i n 1 7 7 9 . By 1 8 5 0 the estimated total circulation o f
the daily newspapers was a r o u n d 6 0 , 0 0 0 , w h i l e the estimated total circulation o f t h e Sunday newspapers was a r o u n d 2 7 5 , 0 0 0 . As the levels o f illiteracy declined i n England a n d elsewhere i n Europe d u r i n g the second half o f the nineteenth
century,
the c i r c u l a t i o n
o f daily a n d Sunday
newspapers
steadily
increased. By t h e e n d o f the nineteenth century the leading daily paper i n E n g l a n d , the Daily
Telegraph,
i n g Sunday paper, Lloyd's
h a d a circulation o f a r o u n d 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 a n d the lead-
Weekly News,
reached a circulation o f one m i l l i o n .
T h e g r o w t h o f t h e mass c i r c u l a t i o n newspapers c o n t i n u e d i n t o t h e t w e n t i eth century, a l t h o u g h this t r e n d has tapered o f f i n recent years. By 1 9 4 7 t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f Sunday papers i n B r i t a i n was 28.3 m i l l i o n a n d t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f n a t i o n a l m o r n i n g papers was 15.6 m i l l i o n . A f t e r 1 9 5 0 , however, t h e circulat i o n o f Sunday papers a n d n a t i o n a l m o r n i n g papers began t o decline; t h e circ u l a t i o n o f t h e m o r n i n g papers fell f r o m a peak o f nearly 17 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 5 0 t o just over 14 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 7 5 . T h e decline i n newspaper c i r c u l a t i o n c o i n c i d ed w i t h Although
t h e g r o w t h o f television experiments
with
as a m e d i u m o f mass
television
took
communication.
place i n the late
1920s a n d
t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1930s, i t was n o t u n t i l after t h e Second W o r l d W a r that i t became a rrtajor m e d i u m . ' Television broadcasting i n B r i t a i n was c o n t r o l l e d i n i t i a l l y b y t h e B r i t i s h Broadcasting
C o r p o r a t i o n , b u t i n 1 9 5 4 t h e BBC's
m o n o p o l y was b r o k e n b y t h e establishment o f the c o m m e r c i a l television channel I T V T h e 1950s a n d 1960s witnessed a massive a n d r a p i d g r o w t h i n t h e
29
30
The Media and Modern Life size o f t h e television audience. T h e n u m b e r o f television licences i n B r i t a i n increased f r o m 3 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 5 4 t o 15 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 6 8 . I n 1 9 5 0 o n l y 1 0 % o f homes h a d T V sets, whereas i n 1963 they c o u l d be f o u n d i n 9 0 % o f homes ( G o l d i n g 1 9 7 4 : 3 5 ) . Today television v i e w i n g accounts f o r a substantial p a r t o f people's
t i m e . T h e average a m o u n t o f t i m e spent w a t c h i n g television i n
B r i t a i n i n early 1 9 8 4 was 2 2 h o u r s per week a m o n g m e n a n d m o r e t h a n 25 h o u r s a m o n g w o m e n : this is nearly 6 0 % o f the average a m o u n t o f t i m e spent at w o r k . T h e a m o u n t o f t i m e spent w a t c h i n g television is even higher f o r t h e elderly, averaging a r o u n d 3 0 hours per week f o r those aged 65 a n d over (Social
Trends
1985:150).
A l t h o u g h these figures relate t o B r i t a i n , they are indicative o f trends characteristic o f m a n y m o d e r n i n d u s t r i a l societies. C u l t u r a l f o r m s i n m o d e r n soci4
eties are increasingly m e d i a t e d b y t h e mechanisms a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . These have emerged i n a relatively short p e r i o d o f t i m e , a n d are c u r r e n t l y u n d e r g o i n g f u r t h e r significant changes as a result o f t h e d e p l o y m e n t o f n e w technologies, such as those i n v o l v i n g cable a n d satellite transmission.
5
I n a p e r i o d o f less t h a n 2 0 0 years t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r
which
i n d i v i d u a l s acquire i n f o r m a t i o n about the w o r l d , derive e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d p a r t i c i p a t e i n p u b l i c life have changed dramatically. For m a n y people i n i n d u s t r i a l societies today, t h e p r o d u c t s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s o f the mass m e d i a - newspapers, b o o k s , magazines, r a d i o , cinema, television - are a p r i n c i p a l source o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t . Hence m u c h o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d entert a i n m e n t w h i c h w e receive a n d consume is a product
o f specific i n s t i t u t i o n s , a
p r o d u c t w h i c h is t h e o u t c o m e o f the mechanisms a n d c r i t e r i a characteristic o f these i n s t i t u t i o n s . These mechanisms
a n d c r i t e r i a operate as filters f o r t h e
selection, p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i f f u s i o n o f items o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t ; they help t o establish w h a t may be described as t h e selective tion
of cultural
forms.
reproduc-
I n creating media p r o d u c t s , t h e personnel o f m e d i a
i n s t i t u t i o n s d r a w u p o n everyday f o r m s o f c u l t u r e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n , i n c o r p o r a t i n g these f o r m s i n t o media p r o d u c t s a n d thereby r e p r o d u c i n g , i n a selective a n d creative way, t h e c u l t u r a l f o r m s o f everyday life. Selectivity a n d creativity: t h e o p e r a t i o n o f m e d i a i n s t i t u t i o n s involves b o t h a selective
extrac-
tion f r o m t h e contents o f everyday f o r m s o f c u l t u r e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d a creative
extension
o f these f o r m s . I t involves b o t h p r o d u c t i o n a n d r e p r o d u c -
t i o n , b o t h r e p e t i t i o n a n d creativity. I n these t w o respects t h e c u l t u r a l f o r m s o f m o d e r n society are m e d i a t e d by the mechanisms a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s o f mass c o m munication. I n speaking o f 'mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' , w e are presupposing a very special sense o f t h e t e r m ' c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' . I n general the t e r m c o m m u n i c a t i o n refers to
t h e transmission
o f m e a n i n g f u l messages. These
messages are o f t e n
expressed i n language, b u t they may also be conveyed by images, gestures o r o t h e r symbols used i n accordance w i t h shared rules o r codes. A great deal o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n everyday life takes place i n t h e c o n t e x t o f face-to-face social i n t e r a c t i o n : messages are conveyed t o an i n d i v i d u a l o r i n d i v i d u a l s w h o
Mass Communication and Modern Culture are physically present, a n d w h o s e responses p r o v i d e the person c o n v e y i n g the message w i t h an i m m e d i a t e a n d c o n t i n u o u s source o f feedback. I n the case o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n , h o w e v e r , the nature o f the c o m m u n i c a t i v e process is q u i t e d i f f e r e n t . L e t m e h i g h l i g h t f o u r i m p o r t a n t differences. I n the first place, w h i l e messages i n mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n are p r o d u c e d f o r an audience, the i n d i v i d u a l s w h o comprise the audience are n o t physically present at the place o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d transmission o r d i f f u s i o n o f the message; mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n involves w h a t w e may describe as an instituted and
reception.
break between
production
H e n c e the personnel i n v o l v e d i n the p r o d u c t i o n a n d transmis-
s i o n o r d i f f u s i o n o f the message are d e p r i v e d o f the i m m e d i a t e a n d c o n t i n u ous
sources
of
communicative
feedback
characteristic
of
face-to-face
interaction.
The
process i n mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n is m a r k e d by a distinctive
f o r m o f indeterminacy,
since the message must be p r o d u c e d a n d t r a n s m i t t e d
o r d i f f u s e d i n the absence o f direct a n d c o n t i n u o u s m o n i t o r i n g o f audience response. T h e personnel i n v o l v e d i n mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n e m p l o y a v a r i e t y o f strategies t o cope w i t h this (cf. M c Q u a i l ( 1 9 6 9 ) , Burns ( 1 9 6 9 ) ) . T h e y d r a w u p o n past experience a n d use i t as a guide t o l i k e l y f u t u r e o u t c o m e s ; they e m p l o y w e l l - t r i e d f o r m u l a e w h i c h have a predictable audience appeal;
they
m a k e occasional b u t h i g h l y selective use o f audience m o n i t o r i n g devices, such as the i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d by m a r k e t research or by the r o u t i n e m o n i t o r i n g o f audience size a n d response. These a n d other strategies are i n s t i t u t i o n a l mechanisms w h i c h enable t h e m t o reduce i n d e t e r m i n a c y i n a w a y that concurs w i t h the aims o f the i n s t i t u t i o n s o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . A second difference
between
mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d the exchange o f
messages i n everyday l i f e concerns the nature o f the technical
means o f mass
c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I n contrast t o everyday i n t e r a c t i o n , w h e r e the exchange o f messages t y p i c a l l y occurs as a transient verbal utterance or visual display, the messages are inscribed i n texts o r encoded i n some o t h e r m a t e r i a l m e d i u m such as f i l m , tape, records or discs. These a n d other information mechanisms
storage
affect the nature o f the message itself a n d e n d o w i t w i t h a p e r m a -
nence w h i c h the utterances exchanged i n everyday i n t e r a c t i o n d o n o t have. T h e y affect the n a t u r e o f the message i n the sense that they d e t e r m i n e w h a t can a n d c a n n o t be r e c o r d e d a n d t r a n s m i t t e d i n the m e d i u m concerned. I n this respect there are significant differences between d e m a n d systematic a n d detailed analysis.
The
the various media w h i c h
k i n d s o f messages that
are
r e c o r d e d i n w r i t t e n texts such as b o o k s o r newspapers, f o r example, are quite d i f f e r e n t f r o m the messages r e c o r d e d o n f i l m a n d t r a n s m i t t e d o n television, i n so far as the latter consist o f c o m p l e x audio-visual constructs i n w h i c h l a n guage is s p o k e n i n accordance w i t h the g r a m m a r a n d conventions o f everyday speech, a n d i n w h i c h the t e m p o r a l f l o w o f the message is i n t r i n s i c t o i t . T h e r e c o r d i n g o f messages i n the various media o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n endows
t h e m w i t h a permanence w h i c h extends b e y o n d the m o m e n t
also of
r e c o r d i n g . T h e messages are stored i n a m e d i u m w h i c h persists; they thereby acquire a t e m p o r a l i t y q u i t e d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t characteristic o f utterances i n
31
32
The Media and Modern Life face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n : they are extended i n t i m e , t e m p o r a l i z e d , h i s t o r i c i z e d . I n d e e d , they become part of history, i n the double sense o f b e l o n g i n g t o the past as w e l l as the present a n d o f c o n s t i t u t i n g some o f the resources t h r o u g h w h i c h the past is reconstructed a n d u n d e r s t o o d . T h e messages conveyed by the mass m e d i a f o r m p a r t o f the tissue o f t r a d i t i o n i n m o d e r n societies a n d the legacy t h r o u g h w h i c h o u r historical memories are f o r m e d . A t h i r d characteristic o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n w h i c h distinguishes i t f r o m the c o m m u n i c a t i v e process i n everyday social interaction is that the messages i n mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n are generally commodified,
that is, constituted as objects
w h i c h are exchanged i n a m a r k e t . Mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n may be regarded as the institutionalized
production
sion and storage
of information!communication.
and
diffusion
of symbolic
goods
via the
transmis-
M e d i a messages are i n c o r p o -
rated i n t o p r o d u c t s w h i c h are sold, or w h i c h are used t o facilitate the sale o f other goods; hence calculations concerning the m a r k e t a b i l i t y o f the p r o d u c t shape the character a n d content o f the message p r o d u c e d . I n the newspaper industry, f o r example, changes i n the f o r m a t a n d content o f newspapers are o f t e n l i n k e d t o strategies a i m e d at m a i n t a i n i n g or increasing c i r c u l a t i o n . I n the f i l m i n d u s t r y a n d i n broadcasting,
m a r k e t i n g considerations
also play an
i m p o r t a n t r o l e ; one i n d i c a t i o n o f this is the g r o w i n g tendency t o produce f i l m s a n d programmes f o r an i n t e r n a t i o n a l audience, so that they can be d i s t r i b u t e d i n a global m a r k e t . T h e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f messages is facilitated by the fact that they are reproducible,
that is, f i x e d i n a m e d i u m w h i c h enables t h e m t o be
p r o d u c e d i n m u l t i p l e copies for sale a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n . T h e m o d e o f r e p r o d u c t i o n varies significantly f r o m one m e d i u m t o another. I n each case, however, media i n s t i t u t i o n s c o m m o n l y seek t o c o n t r o l the m o d e o f r e p r o d u c t i o n , since i t is a m a j o r source o f the revenue derived f r o m their products. T h e capacity t o c o n t r o l the m o d e o f r e p r o d u c t i o n has been threatened i n recent years by the d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w technologies, such as tape r e c o r d i n g , video r e c o r d i n g a n d p h o t o c o p y i n g , w h i c h enable messages t o be accurately a n d cheaply
repro-
duced. T h u s the p r o p e r t y w h i c h facilitates the c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f media messages is also the p r o p e r t y w h i c h enables that process t o be u n d e r c u t . I n this respect, the mechanisms and institutions o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n are embedded i n a broader social f i e l d characterized by asymmetrical relations o f p o w e r a n d o n g o i n g struggles f o r access t o , o r for the preservation of, scarce resources. A f o u r t h distinctive characteristic o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n concerns the availability o f the messages, that is, the fact that the messages are potentially available
to
an
extended
audience
which
is
altogether
different
from
the
interlocutors o f a face-to-face interaction. T h e f i x a t i o n and transmission or diffusion o f media messages extends their availability i n time and space, enabling t h e m t o endure a n d t o reach a large number o f spatially dispersed
recipients.
But the fact that they are potentially available t o an extended audience does n o t mean that they are actually available i n an unrestricted fashion; o n the contrary, their c i r c u l a t i o n is restricted
and regulated in a variety of ways. I t is restricted by
c o m m e r c i a l considerations, f o r example, i n the sense that the institutions w h i c h
Mass Communication and Modern Culture p r o d u c e t h e m m a y also seek t o c o n t r o l their d i f f u s i o n i n order t o secure their financial r e t u r n . T h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f media messages m a y also be restricted b y state i n s t i t u t i o n s . Since the early development o f the media industries i n the seventeenth
a n d eighteenth centuries, state institutions have sought t o exercise
some c o n t r o l over t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f media messages. T h e state has e m p l o y e d various mechanisms, f r o m the early stamp duties o n newspapers t o the current r e g u l a t i n g bodies w h i c h m o n i t o r broadcasting, t o restrict the availability o f messages. T h e r e are m a n y reasons w h y , i n d i f f e r i n g circumstances, state officials may act t o restrict availability. O n e reason w h i c h may be o f particular i m p o r tance is that the d i f f u s i o n o f messages may be regarded as a threat t o the capacit y o f the state t o exercise p o w e r o n the basis o f restricted access t o i n f o r m a t i o n . A n o t h e r reason is that certain kinds o f messages may be t h o u g h t t o endanger the capacity o f the state, o r o f particular governments o r officials, t o secure sufficient p u b l i c s u p p o r t f o r the effective i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f decisions a n d policies. I t is thus the very availability o f media messages - that is, their capacity t o circulate a m o n g a n extended audience - that m a y induce state officials t o restrict their c i r c u l a t i o n . T h e relations between media institutions a n d the state are f r a u g h t w i t h tension a n d potential conflict, as is a m p l y illustrated i n B r i t a i n b y a variety o f controversies i n v o l v i n g the government, the p o l i t i c a l parties a n d the B B C , f r o m the General Strike o f 1926 t o the present day.
6
T h e capacity o f m e d i a messages t o circulate a m o n g an extended audience is one o f the characteristics i n v i r t u e o f w h i c h w e c o m m o n l y speak o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n : i t is c o m m u n i c a t i o n f o r a mass audience, f o r t h e masses. B u t t h e t e r m 'mass' m a y be m i s l e a d i n g o n this c o n t e x t . For this t e r m connotes n o t o n l y a large q u a n t i t y b u t also a n i n d e f i n i t e shape, a n i n e r t , u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d heap. H o w e v e r t h e messages t r a n s m i t t e d b y t h e mass media are received b y specific i n d i v i d u a l s situated i n d e f i n i t e social-historical contexts. These i n d i viduals a t t e n d t o m e d i a messages w i t h v a r y i n g degrees o f
concentration,
actively i n t e r p r e t a n d make sense o f these messages a n d relate t h e m t o other aspects o f t h e i r lives. T h i s o n g o i n g a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f m e d i a messages is a n i n h e r e n t l y c r i t i c a l a n d socially d i f f e r e n t i a t e d process. I t is i n h e r e n t l y c r i t i c a l i n so f a r as t h e a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f m e d i a messages is a process o f creative i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s actively construct sense a n d p l o t , actively a p p r o v e o r d i s a p p r o v e o f w h a t is said a n d d o n e , a n d thereby assimilate media messages i n t o t h e i r o w n social-historical c o n t e x t , t r a n s f o r m i n g these messages i n t h e very process o f assimilation. T h e a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f media messages is also a socially d i f f e r e n t i a t e d process i n t h e sense that t h e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o make u p the audience are d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n terms o f specific social attributes such as class, gender a n d age. M e d i a messages are received b y i n d i v i d u a l s w h o are situ a t e d i n socially s t r u c t u r e d c o n t e x t s . I t c a n n o t be assumed that these messages w i l l be a p p r o p r i a t e d i n t h e same w a y b y d i f f e r e n t i n d i v i d u a l s i n d i f f e r e n t c o n texts. O n t h e c o n t r a r y , i t may be t h e case that there are systematic variations i n t h e i r a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f m e d i a messages, variations w h i c h are l i n k e d t o socially s t r u c t u r e d differences w i t h i n t h e audience.
33
34
The Media and Modern Life
[...]
Analysing mass communication I n this f i n a l section I w i s h t o s h o w h o w t h e approach developed above can be e m p l o y e d i n t h e study o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I n d o i n g so I d o n o t w a n t t o suggest t h a t t h e m a n y other m e t h o d s w h i c h have been used i n t h e h i s t o r y o f m e d i a research are w i t h o u t interest. O n t h e contrary, some o f these m e t h o d s are o f great value a n d f o r m a n integral part o f t h e approach t h a t I shall sketch. T h e distinctiveness o f this approach nevertheless stems f r o m t h e c o n cern t o analyse mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n as a cultural
phenomenon,
t h a t is, t o
study mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n terms o f t h e historically specific a n d socially s t r u c t u r e d f o r m s a n d processes w i t h i n w h i c h , a n d b y means o f w h i c h , s y m b o l i c f o r m s are p r o d u c e d , t r a n s m i t t e d a n d received. H e n c e w e shall n o t lose sight o f t h e fact t h a t w e are dealing w i t h m e a n i n g f u l objects a n d expressions w h i c h call f o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , w h i l e at t h e same t i m e recognizing that t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d transmission o f these objects a n d expressions are socially situated a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y m e d i a t e d processes. T h e distinctiveness o f this a p p r o a c h also stems f r o m t h e concern t o specify t h e ways i n w h i c h t h e objects a n d expressions o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n may be studied as ideological.
I shall t r y
t o s h o w t h a t t h e latter concern requires us t o pay particular a t t e n t i o n t o t h e complex
problems
raised
b y t h e reception
a n d appropriation o f media
messages b y socially d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n d i v i d u a l s a n d groups. L e t m e begin b y d i s t i n g u i s h i n g between three aspects o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . These aspects are closely interconnected i n t h e process o f p r o d u c i n g a n d t r a n s m i t t i n g m e d i a messages, b u t b y d i s t i n g u i s h i n g between
t h e m w e can
delineate three object domains o f analysis. T h e first aspect is t h e process o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i f f u s i o n , that is, t h e process o f p r o d u c i n g t h e m a t e r i a l o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d t r a n s m i t t i n g o r d i s t r i b u t i n g i t via channels o f selective d i f f u s i o n . T h i s process is situated w i t h i n specific social-historical c i r c u m stances a n d generally
involves particular i n s t i t u t i o n a l arrangements. T h e
second aspect is t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the media message. T h e m a t e r i a l t r a n s m i t t e d b y mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n is a p r o d u c t w h i c h is s t r u c t u r e d i n various ways: i t is a c o m p l e x symbolic c o n s t r u c t i o n w h i c h displays a n a r t i c u l a t e d structure. T h e t h i r d aspect o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n is the reception a n d a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f m e d i a messages. These messages are received b y i n d i v i d u a l s , a n d groups o f i n d i v i d u a l s , w h o are situated w i t h i n specific social-historical circumstances, a n d w h o e m p l o y t h e resources available t o t h e m i n o r d e r t o make sense o f the messages received a n d t o i n c o r p o r a t e t h e m i n t o their everyday lives. Consider first t h e analysis o f the p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i f f u s i o n o f television p r o grammes. Such analysis is concerned above all w i t h w h a t I described earlier as social-historical analysis, that is, w i t h t h e study o f the social-historical a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t e x t w i t h i n w h i c h , a n d b y means o f w h i c h , p r o g r a m m e s are p r o d u c e d a n d t r a n s m i t t e d . T h i s c o n t e x t consists of, a m o n g other t h i n g s , these
Mass Communication and Modern Culture characteristics: t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f producers a n d o f transmission n e t w o r k s ; patterns o f o w n e r s h i p a n d c o n t r o l w i t h i n broadcasting i n s t i t u t i o n s ; the relations between broadcasting i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d state organizations responsible f o r m o n i t o r i n g o u t p u t ; t h e techniques
a n d technologies
employed i n
p r o d u c t i o n a n d t r a n s m i s s i o n ; t h e r o u t i n e a n d practical procedures f o l l o w e d by television p e r s o n n e l ; t h e aims o f producers a n d p r o g r a m m e r s a n d t h e i r expectations o f audience response; a n d so o n . Some o f these characteristics can be e x a m i n e d b y means o f e m p i r i c a l , i n c l u d i n g documentary, research. O t h e r s , such as t h e r o u t i n e a n d practical procedures f o l l o w e d b y television p e r s o n n e l o r t h e i r aims a n d expectations, can be elucidated o n l y b y e m p l o y i n g a m o r e c o n t e x t u a l , i n t e r p r e t a t i v e a p p r o a c h . Suppose w e w a n t e d t o analyse, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e processes i n v o l v e d i n the p r o d u c t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r television p r o g r a m m e . I n a d d i t i o n t o e x a m i n i n g the o v e r a l l i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t e x t w i t h i n w h i c h t h e p r o g r a m m e is p r o d u c e d , i n c l u d i n g the various decision-maki n g processes a n d t h e a l l o c a t i o n o f resources, w e w o u l d w a n t t o analyse i n d e t a i l t h e processes o f s c r i p t - w r i t i n g , casting, f i l m i n g , e d i t i n g a n d s c h e d u l i n g .
7
We w o u l d w a n t t o e x a m i n e t h e r o u t i n e procedures f o l l o w e d i n t h e design a n d a c t u a l i z a t i o n o f the p r o g r a m m e , as w e l l as t h e special competencies a n d criter i a e m p l o y e d . W e w o u l d w a n t t o consider variations between d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f p r o g r a m m e - f o r e x a m p l e , t h e extent t o w h i c h , i n d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f p r o g r a m m e , p r e - s c r i p t e d m a t e r i a l is s u p p l e m e n t e d b y i m p r o m p t u performances a n d m o d i f i e d i n t h e very process o f actualization. T h i s k i n d o f research w o u l d h e l p t o i l l u m i n a t e t h e rules, procedures a n d assumptions i m p l i c i t i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n process, i n c l u d i n g assumptions
about t h e audience a n d its needs,
interests a n d abilities. These rules, procedures a n d assumptions are p a r t o f the social c o n d i t i o n s a n d codes w h i c h m e d i a personnel d r a w u p o n a n d i m p l e m e n t i n p r o d u c i n g p a r t i c u l a r p r o g r a m m e s . Together w i t h other aspects o f the i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n t e x t , these c o n d i t i o n s a n d codes b o t h facilitate a n d circumscribe the p r o d u c t i o n process, thereby enabling the m e d i a message t o be p r o d u c e d as a meaningful symbolic construction. T h e second aspect o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n is t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the m e d i a message. W h e n w e focus o n its c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d analyse its characteristics, w e give p r i o r i t y t o w h a t I described earlier as f o r m a l o r discursive analysis; that is, w e analyse i t p r i m a r i l y as a c o m p l e x symbolic c o n s t r u c t i o n w h i c h displays an a r t i c u l a t e d s t r u c t u r e . A m o n g t h e s t r u c t u r a l features t h a t w e m a y h i g h l i g h t i n t h e analysis o f television are: t h e syntax, style a n d tone o f t h e language e m p l o y e d ; t h e j u x t a p o s i t i o n o f w o r d a n d image;
the angles, colours a n d
sequences o f the i m a g e r y used; the structure o f the n a r r a t i v e o r a r g u m e n t ; t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e n a r r a t i v e o r argumentative structure allows f o r sub-plots, digression o r dissent; t h e use o f specific devices such as flashbacks a n d voiceovers; t h e ways i n w h i c h tension is c o m b i n e d w i t h features such as h u m o u r , sexuality a n d v i o l e n c e ; t h e interconnections between p a r t i c u l a r p r o g r a m m e s w h i c h f o r m p a r t o f a f i n i t e o r o p e n - e n d e d sequence; a n d so o n . These a n d o t h e r s t r u c t u r a l features o f television messages can be analysed b y a variety o f
35
36
The Media and Modern Life techniques, f r o m d i f f e r e n t f o r m s o f content analysis t o various k i n d s o f semio t i c , n a r r a t i v e a n d discourse analysis/ I t is i m p o r t a n t t o emphasize, h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e analysis o f the i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r a l features o f media p r o d u c t s is l i m i t e d i n certain respects. I t is l i m i t e d , i n t h e first place, i n so far as i t abstracts f r o m the process o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i f f u s i o n . Hence i t does n o t take account o f the social a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n w h i c h , a n d by means o f w h i c h , m e d i a messages are p r o d u c e d a n d t r a n s m i t t e d . T h e analysis o f t h e i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r a l features o f m e d i a p r o d u c t s is also l i m i t e d i n so far as i t abstracts f r o m t h e r e c e p t i o n a n d a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f media messages. H e n c e i t does n o t take account o f t h e sense w h i c h these messages have f o r the i n d i v i d u a l s w h o w a t c h t h e m , hear t h e m , read t h e m , n o r o f the ways i n w h i c h these i n d i v i d u a l s i n t e r p r e t m e d i a messages, accept t h e m , reject t h e m a n d i n c o r p o r a t e t h e m i n t o t h e i r lives. T h e r e c e p t i o n a n d a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f media messages is the t h i r d aspect o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n w h i c h defines a d o m a i n o f analysis. A great deal o f research has been d o n e , a n d continues t o be done, o n t h e r e c e p t i o n o f m e d i a messages a n d o n t h e size a n d nature o f audience response. Researchers have sought t o study, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e s h o r t - t e r m a n d l o n g - t e r m effects o f m e d i a messages, t h e ways i n w h i c h audiences use t h e media a n d t h e gratifications w h i c h they derive f r o m t h e m . B u t these approaches, h o w e v e r interesting they 9
m a y be, pay i n s u f f i c i e n t a t t e n t i o n t o t h e ways i n w h i c h d i f f e r e n t i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s actively make sense o f media messages a n d integrate t h e m i n t o o t h e r aspects o f t h e i r lives. T h e d i f f e r e n t phases o f the d e p t h - h e r m e n e u t i c a l p r o c e d u r e can be used t o e x p l o r e w h a t w e m a y describe as t h e modes reception
of
o f m e d i a messages. T h u s i n t h e study o f television w e must e x a m i n e ,
by means o f social-historical
analysis, t h e specific
circumstances
and the
socially d i f f e r e n t i a t e d c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s receive television messages. T h e specific circumstances:
i n w h a t contexts, w i t h w h a t company,
w i t h w h a t degree o f a t t e n t i o n , consistency a n d commentary, d o i n d i v i d u a l s w a t c h p r o g r a m m e s , o r series o f p r o g r a m m e s , o f d i f f e r i n g kinds? T h e socially d i f f e r e n t i a t e d c o n d i t i o n s : i n w h a t ways does the reception o f media messages vary a c c o r d i n g t o considerations such as class, gender, age, ethnic b a c k g r o u n d a n d t h e c o u n t r y o f t h e recipient? T h e latter question can be pursued b y caref u l l y designed research w h i c h uses s t r u c t u r e d interviews t o e x p l o r e h o w d i f ferent
individuals,
a n d d i f f e r e n t groups
particular programmes.
10
o f individuals,
make
sense o f
These interviews y i e l d recipient texts w h i c h can i n
t u r n b y analysed i n various ways, f o r example b y methods o f f o r m a l o r discursive analysis. T h e features o f one recipient t e x t can be c o m p a r e d a n d contrasted w i t h those o f others a n d together they can be considered i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e m e d i a message itself. T h e f o r m a l o r discursive analysis o f these texts does n o t displace t h e need f o r the creative i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f m e d i a messages a n d r e c i p i e n t responses. D r a w i n g u p o n t h e f o r m a l analysis o f struct u r a l features a n d t h e social-historical analysis o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n a n d r e c e p t i o n / a p p r o p r i a t i o n , the process o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n seeks
Mass Communication and Modern Culture t o explicate w h a t is said a n d n o t said, asserted a n d i m p l i e d , represented a n d obscured, i n m e d i a messages a n d recipient texts. I t seeks t o u n f o l d t h e possible meanings o f m e d i a messages, a n d i t seeks t o s h o w h o w recipients m a k e sense o f these a n d i n c o r p o r a t e t h e m i n t o their lives. As an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , this process necessarily builds u p o n , a n d p o t e n t i a l l y intervenes i n , t h e everyday activities o f the subjects w h o m a k e u p t h e social w o r l d . Against t h e b a c k g r o u n d o f this general approach t o the study o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n , w e can reconsider w h a t is i n v o l v e d i n the analysis o f ideology. Earlier attempts t o analyse the ideological character o f the mass media have t e n d e d t o focus o n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o r the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f the media message. T h u s t h e early c r i t i c a l theorists a n d authors influenced b y t h e m tended t o subsume t h e mass m e d i a w i t h i n a general analysis o f the 'culture i n d u s t r y ' , arguing t h a t t h e imperatives o f capitalist p r o d u c t i o n result i n standardized a n d r e p e t i tive p r o d u c t s
w h i c h leave n o r o o m
f o r critical reflection
(see especially
H o r k h e i m e r a n d A d o r n o ( 1 9 7 2 ) ) . These theorists t e n d t o assume that the p r o d u c t s o f t h e c u l t u r e i n d u s t r y effectively n u m b the m i n d s o f t h e masses, deceiving t h e m , c a p t i v a t i n g t h e m a n d absorbing t h e m i n t o a system w h i c h is thereby r e p r o d u c e d . W h i l e critical theorists are r i g h t t o call a t t e n t i o n t o the d e v e l o p m e n t a l characteristics o f t h e culture industries, their assumption
con-
c e r n i n g t h e effects o f c u l t u r a l products is a supposition w i t h o u t s u p p o r t : i t lacks clear a n d c o n v i n c i n g d o c u m e n t a t i o n . O t h e r attempts t o analyse the i d e o logical character o f the mass media have suffered f r o m similar l i m i t a t i o n s . T h e w o r k c o n d u c t e d w i t h i n a b r o a d l y 'structuralist' o r 'semiotic' approach has shed l i g h t o n t h e s t r u c t u r a l features o f media messages. B u t b y focusing o n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e message, such w o r k generally fails t o examine h o w messages are p r o d u c e d a n d received i n specific social-historical circumstances.
11
Hence
w h e n this w o r k employs t h e concept o f ideology, i t o f t e n does so i n a vague a n d general way. I t o f t e n takes f o r granted a social-historical analysis o f the i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d divisions i n m o d e r n societies, a l t h o u g h i t does n o t p r o v i d e an e x p l i c i t statement a n d defence o f this analysis. I t o f t e n analyses ideology i n terms o f t h e s t r u c t u r a l features o f the message itself, w i t h o u t e x a m i n i n g t h e ways i n w h i c h messages are i n t e r p r e t e d by the individuals u p o n w h o m this i d e o l o g y is supposed t o take h o l d . T h e w o r k conducted w i t h i n a structuralist o r semiotic a p p r o a c h is therefore o f l i m i t e d value, for i t pays insufficient a t t e n t i o n t o t h e specific social a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n w h i c h , a n d by v i r t u e o f w h i c h , m e d i a messages may be ideological. T h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f earlier w o r k can be a v o i d e d b y situating t h e analysis o f the i d e o l o g i c a l character o f the mass m e d i a w i t h i n a m o r e general a p p r o a c h t o the study o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h i s approach enables us t o see that t h e three distinct aspects - p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n , construction a n d reception/approp r i a t i o n - are a l l essential ingredients i n the analysis o f its ideological character. T h e study o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i f f u s i o n is an essential ingredient because i t elucidates t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d social relations w h i c h enable media messages t o be p r o d u c e d a n d t r a n s m i t t e d . Since these are the o u t c o m e
o f specific
37
38
The Media and Modern Life p r o d u c t i o n processes a n d are circulated via channels o f selective d i f f u s i o n , t h e study o f these processes a n d channels may shed light o n the c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d availability o f media messages. T h e study o f the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f media messages is a n essential ingredient because i t examines t h e structural features b y v i r t u e o f w h i c h they are c o m p l e x symbolic phenomena, capable o f m o b i l i z i n g m e a n i n g . By e x a m i n i n g structural features such as t h e syntax a n d style o f t h e language e m p l o y e d , o r the structure o f the narrative o r argument, this k i n d o f analysis brings o u t the constitutive characteristics o f the message, that is, t h e characteristics w i t h w h i c h t h e message is constructed as m e a n i n g f u l . T h e study o f t h e r e c e p t i o n / a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f media messages is an essential ingredient because i t considers b o t h the social-historical conditions w i t h i n w h i c h messages are received b y i n d i v i d u a l s , a n d the ways i n w h i c h these i n d i v i d u a l s make sense o f t h e messages a n d i n c o r p o r a t e t h e m i n t o their lives. I t considers h o w t h e m e a n i n g m o b i l i z e d by media messages is taken u p b y t h e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o receive t h e m ; hence i t examines the ways i n w h i c h these messages are effective w i t h i n t h e social relations i n w h i c h the i n d i v i d u a l recipients are enmeshed. I f w e a d o p t this general approach t o t h e analysis o f t h e ideological character o f the mass m e d i a , t h e n w e can see that m a n y o f the crucial questions c o n cern t h e relations between t h e p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f m e d i a messages, o n t h e o n e h a n d , a n d t h e i r r e c e p t i o n / a p p r o p r i a t i o n b y i n d i v i d u a l s situated w i t h i n specific social-historical c o n d i t i o n s , o n the other. I t is w i t h i n this semantic space that the m e a n i n g m o b i l i z e d b y media messages becomes (or does n o t become) effective i n t h e social w o r l d , serves (or does n o t serve) t o sustain relations o f d o m i n a t i o n . T h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i d e o l o g y i n t h e mass m e d i a cannot be based solely o n the analysis o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d construct i o n o f messages: i t must also be based o n an analysis o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s a n d characteristics o f r e c e p t i o n . T h u s o n e o f t h e tasks c o n f r o n t i n g t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i d e o l o g y i n t h e mass media is that o f r e l a t i n g the p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f m e d i a messages, o n t h e one h a n d , t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f recipient texts, o n the other. I n this w a y t h e process o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n can begin t o explicate the connections between t h e m o b i l i z a t i o n o f m e a n i n g i n m e d i a messages a n d t h e relations o f d o m i n a t i o n w h i c h this m e a n i n g serves t o sustain. W h a t these relations o f d o m i n a t i o n are, a n d w h e t h e r this m e a n i n g serves t o sustain o r t o subvert t h e m , t o reinforce o r t o u n d e r m i n e them,
are
questions
which
can
be
answered
only
by
linking
the
p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f media messages t o t h e ways i n w h i c h they are received a n d i n t e r p r e t e d by i n d i v i d u a l s situated w i t h i n specific socialh i s t o r i c a l contexts.
[...] By a t t e n d i n g t o t h e c o m p l e x ways i n w h i c h media messages are received a n d i n t e r p r e t e d , w e can begin t o examine h o w t h e m e a n i n g m o b i l i z e d b y t h e m is t r a n s f o r m e d i n t h e process o f r e c e p t i o n , is a p p r o p r i a t e d by i n d i v i d u a l s situated i n t h e s t r u c t u r e d contexts o f everyday life a n d serves t h e r e i n t o sustain o r
Mass Communication and Modern Culture d i s r u p t relations o f d o m i n a t i o n . W e can thus o p e n t h e w a y f o r a d y n a m i c , c r i t i c a l a p p r o a c h t o t h e analysis o f i d e o l o g y i n t h e mass m e d i a . W h i l e t a k i n g a c c o u n t o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n / d i f f u s i o n a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f m e d i a messages, this a p p r o a c h does n o t r e m a i n at the level o f analysing their s t r u c t u r a l features b u t seeks t o relate these features t o t h e ways i n w h i c h messages are u n d e r s t o o d by, a n d the sense w h i c h t h e r e c e p t i o n o f these messages has for, i n d i v i d u a l s situated i n specific social contexts. T h e analysis o f i d e o l o g y i n t h e mass m e d i a thus bears a p o t e n t i a l l y c r i t i c a l r e l a t i o n , n o t o n l y t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f m e a n i n g i n m e d i a messages, b u t also t o t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f messages b y recipients a n d t o the relations o f d o m i n a t i o n w h i c h characterize
the contexts
within
which
these messages are received. T o analyse i d e o l o g y i n the mass m e d i a is t o o f f e r an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w h i c h m a y i n t e r v e n e , w h i c h may serve as a resource f o r c r i t ical r e f l e c t i o n a m o n g t h e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l s w h o receive a n d i n t e r p r e t m e d i a messages as a r o u t i n e p a r t o f t h e i r everyday lives. I t m a y enable t h e subjects w h o m a k e u p t h e social w o r l d t o reflect c r i t i c a l l y o n their u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f m e d i a messages a n d o n t h e s t r u c t u r e d social relations o f w h i c h they are p a r t .
Notes 1. The origins of writing, and its relation to administrative activities and the exercise of power, are examined in Gelb (1952), Innis (1950), Goody (1977), Giddens (1985). 2. For more detailed accounts of the development of the printing and newspaper industries i n England and elsewhere i n Europe see Steinberg (1974), Williams (1961), Olson (1966), Collins (1959), Boyce, Curran and Wingate (1978), Curran and Seaton (1985). 3. Detailed discussions of the development of broadcasting in Britain may be found i n Briggs (1961-), Burns (1977), Curran and Seaton (1985), Tunstall (1983). 4. The development of broadcasting i n the United States is documented by Head (1976). For a discussion of the development of the media industries i n France see Flichy (1980). 5. Some aspects of new communications technologies and their consequences are discussed in Chayes et al (1973), Galloway (1972), Mattelart (1979), Ferguson (1986). 6. Among recent controversies are those stemming from criticisms of the BBC by the Chairman of the Conservative Party for the BBC's allegedly biased coverage of the American bombing of Libya, and from a raid by Special Branch officers on the BBC's offices in Glasgow in order to seize material relating to the 'Secret Society' series of programmes. 7. There are numerous studies of the production of television programmes which are pertinent here. Many are concerned with the production of news; see, for example, Golding and Elliott (1979), Schlesinger (1978), Tuchman (1978). 8. The relevant literature is extensive. For a small selection see Rosengren (1981), Schlesinger, Murdock and Elliott (1983), Davis and Walton (1983), Rowland and Watkins (1985). 9. For a selection of relevant literature see Halloran (1970), Seymour-Ure (1973), Gerbner and Gross (1976), Blumler and Katz (1974). 10. Interesting attempts to pursue this line of reflection may be found in Piepe, Emerson and Lannon (1975), Morley (1980, 1986), Hodge and Tripp (1986), Liebes and Katz (1986).
39
40
The Media and Modern Life 11. This limitation is evident, for example, in the otherwise illuminating work of Williamson (1978).
References Blumler, Jay G. and Katz, Elihu (eds.) 1974: The uses of mass communications: current perspectives on gratifications research. London and Beverly Hills: Sage. Boyce, George, Curran, James and Wingate, Pauline (eds.) 1978: Newspaper history: from the seventeenth century to the present day. London: Constable. Briggs, Asa 1 9 6 1 - : The history of broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 4 vols. London: Oxford University Press. Burns, Tom 1969: Public service and private world. In Halmos, Paul (ed.), The sociology of mass-media communicators. The Sociological Review Monograph 13, 53-73. Burns, Tom 1977: The BBC: public institution and private world. London: Macmillan. Chayes, Abram, et al. 1973: Satellite broadcasting. London: Oxford University Press. Collins, Irene 1959: The government and the newspaper press in France 1814-1881. London: Oxford University Press. Curran, James and Seaton, Jean 1985: Power without responsibility: the press and broadcasting in Britain, 2nd edn. London: Methuen. Davis, Howard and Walton, Paul (eds.) 1983: Language, image, media. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Ferguson, Marjorie (ed.) 1986: New communication technologies and the public interest: comparative perspectives on policy and research. London and Beverly Hills: Sage. Flichy, Patrice 1980: Les Industries de Vimaginaire: pour une analyse économique des media. Grenoble: Presses universitaires de Grenoble. Galloway, Jonathan, F. 1972: The politics and technology of satellite communications. Lexington, Mass.: D . C. Heath. Gelb, I . J. 1952: A study of writing: the foundations of grammatology. London: Routledge &c Kegan Paul. Gerbner, George and Gross, Larry P. 1976: Living with television: the violence profile. Journal of Communication 261, 173-99. Giddens, Anthony 1985: The nation-state and violence. Cambridge: Polity Press. Golding, Peter 1974: The mass media. Harlow, Essex: Longman. Golding, Peter and Elliott, Philip 1979: Making the news. London: Longman. Goody, Jack 1977: The domestication of the savage mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Halloran, James (ed.) 1970: The effects of television. London: Panther. Head, Sidney, W 1976: Broadcasting in America: a survey of television and radio. Boston, Mass.: Houghton M i f f l i n . Hodge, Robert and Tripp, David 1986: Children and television: a semiotic approach. Cambridge: Polity Press. Horkheimer, M a x and Adorno, Theodor W 1972: The culture industry: enlightenment as mass deception. In their Dialectic of enlightenment, tr. John Cumming. New York: The Seabury Press, 120-67. Innis, Harold A. 1950: Empire and communications. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Liebes, Tamar and Katz, Elihu 1986: Patterns of involvement in television fiction: a comparative analysis. European Journal of Communication 1, 151-71. Mattelart, Armand 1979: Multinational corporations and the control of culture: the ideological apparatuses of imperialism, tr. Michael Chanan. Brighton, Sussex: Harvester. McQuail, Denis 1969: Uncertainty about the audience and the organization of mass communication. In Halmos, Paul (ed.), The sociology of mass-media communicators.
Mass Communication and Modern Culture The Sociological Review Monograph 13, 75-84. Morley, David 1980: The 'nationwide' audience: structure and decoding. London: British Film Institute. Morley, David 1986: Family television: cultural power and domestic leisure. London: Comedia. Olson, Kenneth, E. 1966: The history makers: the press of Europe from its beginnings through 1965. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Piepe, Anthony, Emerson, Miles and Lannon, Judy 1975: Television and the working class. Westmead, Farnborough, Hants: Saxon House. Rosengren, Karl Erik (ed.) 1981: Advances in content analysis. London and Beverly Hills: Sage. Rowland, Willard D . and Watkins, Bruce (eds.) 1985: Interpreting television: current research perspectives. London and Beverly Hills: Sage. Schlesinger, Philip 1978: Putting 'reality* together: BBC news. London: Constable. Schlesinger, Philip, Murdock, Graham and Elliott, Philip 1983: Televising 'terrorism': political violence in popular culture. London: Comedia. Seymour-Ure, Colin. 1973: The political impact of mass media. London: Constable. Social Trends 15. 1985. London: H M S O . Steinberg, S. H . 1974: Five hundred years of printing. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. Tuchman, Gaye 1978: Making news: a study in the construction of reality. New York: The Free Press. Tunstall, Jeremy 1983: The media in Britain. London: Constable. Williams, Raymond 1961: The long revolution. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. Williamson, Judith 1978: Decoding advertisements: ideology and meaning in advertising. London: Marion Boyars.
Questions 1
How are modern systems of mass communication distinguished, in the extract, from earlier forms of direct, interpersonal communication?
2
Apply the three aspects of mass communication which Thompson outlines, to the study of a medium other than television.
3
Discuss the development of 'new' forms of mass communication or new' media (the internet, satellite and cable broadcasting, etc.) in the light of ideas and arguments put forward in the extract.
Further reading Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M . (eds.) 1996: Mass media and society, 2nd edn. London: Edward A r n o l d . M c Q u a i l , D . 1994: Mass communication theory: an introduction. London: Sage. O'Sullivan, X , Dutton, B. and Rayner, P 1994: Studying the media: an introduction. London: Edward Arnold. Thompson, J. B. 1990: Ideology and modern culture. Cambridge: Polity Press. Thompson, J. B. 1995: The media and modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
41
4 The Separation of Social Space from Physical Place Joshua Meyrowitz From No sense of place: the impact of electronic media on social behaviour (Oxford University Press 1985)
The central theme in this reading, as the title implies, is the analysis of how modern communication systems have had significant consequences for social experience and identity. In this part of his discussion, Meyrowitz develops a key issue which has preoccupied a number of writers and researchers, notably for instance the work of Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s. The extract extends one of the key points made by Thompson in the previous reading concerning the ways in which mass communication systems have both extended and expanded forms of communication across time and space. If, as in pre-industrial cultures, the physical boundaries and horizons of one's place and location once limited and anchored experience and identity, under conditions of modernity this is no longer the case. Increasingly, modern social life, especially in the 'electronic age', has meant living not only in a culture of physical situation but also in the world of mediated culture - mediated into the situation by means of film, radio, television screen and computer terminal. Meyrowitz suggests that the emergence of these and other communication technologies have effected revolutionary changes in modern consciousness and experience. The landscapes of immediate environment and location coexist and are shot through with other worlds - mediascapes - from 'outer space'.
Being 'alone' i n a given place once meant that one was o u t o f range o f others' scrutiny. For people t o experience
each other directly, they h a d t o travel
t h r o u g h space, stay t h r o u g h t i m e , a n d be a d m i t t e d t h r o u g h t h e entrances o f r o o m s a n d b u i l d i n g s . A n d these rules o f physical place pertained t o tents a n d palaces alike. A l t h o u g h o r a l a n d p r i n t cultures d i f f e r greatly, t h e b o n d between physical place a n d social place was c o m m o n t o b o t h o f t h e m . P r i n t , l i k e a l l n e w m e d i a , changed t h e patterns o f i n f o r m a t i o n f l o w to a n d from
places. As a
result, i t also changed the relative status a n d p o w e r o f those i n d i f f e r e n t places. Changes i n m e d i a i n t h e past have always affected t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p among
places. T h e y have affected t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t people bring t o places
a n d t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t people have in g i v e n places. B u t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n place a n d social s i t u a t i o n was still q u i t e s t r o n g . E l e c t r o n i c m e d i a g o one step f u r t h e r : T h e y lead t o a nearly t o t a l dissociation o f physical place a n d social 'place.' W h e n w e c o m m u n i c a t e t h r o u g h t e l e p h o n e , r a d i o , t e l e v i s i o n , o r c o m p u t e r , w h e r e w e are physically n o l o n g e r determines w h e r e a n d w h o w e are socially.
Social Space and Physical Place
Physical passage and social passage T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n p h y s i c a l place a n d social s i t u a t i o n s t i l l seems so n a t u r a l t h a t w e c o n t i n u e t o confuse p h y s i c a l places w i t h t h e behaviors t h a t g o o n i n t h e m . T h e w o r d s ' s c h o o l ' a n d ' h o m e , ' f o r e x a m p l e , are used t o refer b o t h t o p h y s i c a l b u i l d i n g s a n d t o c e r t a i n types o f social i n t e r a c t i o n a n d behavior. Before electronic m e d i a , there was ample reason t o o v e r l o o k t h e difference b e t w e e n physical places a n d social situations. Places d e f i n e d most social i n f o r mation-systems. A g i v e n place-situation was spatially a n d t e m p o r a l l y r e m o v e d f r o m o t h e r place-situations. I t t o o k t i m e t o travel f r o m s i t u a t i o n t o s i t u a t i o n , a n d distance was a measure o f social i n s u l a t i o n a n d i s o l a t i o n . Since r o o m s a n d b u i l d i n g s can be entered o n l y t h r o u g h set d o o r w a y s , people once c o u l d be i n c l u d e d i n a n d e x c l u d e d f r o m situations i n clearly observable a n d predictable ways. E l e c t r o n i c m e d i a , h o w e v e r , make significant inroads i n t o t h e situations once d e f i n e d b y physical l o c a t i o n . C o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d travel w e r e once s y n o n y m o u s . O u r c o u n t r y ' s c o m m u n i c a t i o n channels w e r e once roads, w a t e r w a y s , a n d railroads. I n t h e 1830s, the
fastest means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n t h e U n i t e d States was t h e Pony
Express. I t t o o k t e n a n d a h a l f days t o c o m m u n i c a t e a message f r o m M i s s o u r i t o C a l i f o r n i a . T h e i n v e n t i o n o f t h e telegraph caused t h e first break between 1
i n f o r m a t i o n m o v e m e n t a n d physical m o v e m e n t . For t h e first t i m e , c o m p l e x messages c o u l d m o v e m o r e q u i c k l y t h a n a messenger c o u l d carry t h e m . W i t h 2
the i n v e n t i o n a n d use o f the telegraph, t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a l differences between d i f f e r e n t places began t o erode. Just as students t o d a y are less anxious about a t t e n d i n g a faraway college w h e n h o m e is o n l y a p h o n e call away, so d i d t h e telegraph greatly a i d i n t h e settlement
o f t h e Western
f r o n t i e r . T h e telegraph b r o u g h t East a n d West
[coasts o f t h e U S A ] closer together i n f o r m a t i o n a l l y . Physical distance as a social b a r r i e r began t o be bypassed t h r o u g h t h e s h o r t e n i n g o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n 'distance.' T h e m u t u a l m o n i t o r i n g o f East a n d West made t h e c o u n t r y seem smaller a n d o t h e r places a n d people closer. M o v e m e n t f r o m s i t u a t i o n t o s i t u a t i o n a n d f r o m social status t o social status once i n v o l v e d m o v e m e n t f r o m place t o place. A place d e f i n e d a distinct situat i o n because its boundaries l i m i t e d p e r c e p t i o n a n d i n t e r a c t i o n . L i k e a l l elect r o n i c m e d i a , t h e telegraph n o t o n l y defies l i m i t s f o r m e r l y set b y distance, b u t also bypasses t h e social r i t e o f 'passage,' that is, t h e act o f m o v i n g b o t h p h y s i cally a n d socially f r o m o n e ' p o s i t i o n ' t o another. If people
are t o behave very d i f f e r e n t l y i n d i f f e r e n t social
situations,
some clear f o r m o f m o v e m e n t f r o m o n e s i t u a t i o n t o t h e n e x t is needed. I f a c e l e b r a t i o n a n d a m e m o r i a l service take place i n t h e same place a n d t i m e , there can be n o d i s t i n c t behaviors f o r each s i t u a t i o n . Entrances a n d t h e rites associated w i t h t h e m , w h e t h e r f o r m a l ( c a r r y i n g a b r i d e over t h e t h r e s h o l d ) o r informal
('Please k n o c k
before
y o u enter
m y r o o m ' ) , have t r a d i t i o n a l l y
43
44
The Media and Modern Life a l l o w e d f o r o r d e r l y transitions f r o m s i t u a t i o n t o s i t u a t i o n a n d f r o m behavior p a t t e r n t o behavior p a t t e r n . T h e boundaries m a r k e d by w a l l s , d o o r s , a n d barbed w i r e , a n d e n f o r c e d by laws, guards, a n d t r a i n e d dogs, c o n t i n u e t o define situations by i n c l u d i n g a n d e x c l u d i n g p a r t i c i p a n t s . But t o d a y such boundaries f u n c t i o n t o define social situations o n l y t o the extent that i n f o r m a t i o n can still be restricted by r e s t r i c t i n g physical access. A n d w h i l e m u c h social i n f o r m a t i o n is still accessible o n l y by g o i n g t o a certain place or by m e e t i n g people face-to-face, the once consonant r e l a t i o n s h i p between access t o i n f o r m a t i o n a n d access t o places has been greatly w e a k e n e d by recent changes i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n media. T h e messages i n all early media - stone, clay, papyrus, p a r c h m e n t , a n d paper - have physical v o l u m e a n d w e i g h t . W h e n they are heavy or u n m o v able, people have t o go t o a specific place t o experience t h e m . Even w h e n they are p o r t a b l e , h o w e v e r , they still have t o be physically t r a n s p o r t e d f r o m place t o place, a n d they m o v e w i t h the people w h o possess t h e m . T h e y have t o be c a r r i e d i n t o places, stored i n places, a n d c a r r i e d o u t o f places. These m e d i a , l i k e the people w h o carry t h e m , are subject t o the restraints o f social a n d physical passage. E l e c t r o n i c messages, however, d o n o t make social entrances; they steal i n t o places l i k e thieves i n the n i g h t . T h e 'guests' received by a c h i l d t h r o u g h elect r o n i c m e d i a n o longer can be stopped at the d o o r t o be a p p r o v e d o f by the masters o f the house. O n c e a telephone, r a d i o , or television is i n the h o m e , spatial i s o l a t i o n a n d g u a r d i n g o f entrances have n o effect o n i n f o r m a t i o n f l o w . Electronic
messages seep t h r o u g h walls a n d leap
I n d e e d , w e r e w e n o t so accustomed
across great
distances.
t o television a n d r a d i o a n d telephone
messages i n v a d i n g o u r homes, they m i g h t be the r e c u r r i n g subjects o f n i g h t mares a n d h o r r o r f i l m s . W h e t h e r the effects o f such media o n o u r society are g o o d , b a d , or n e u t r a l , the reprocessing o f o u r physical a n d social e n v i r o n m e n t is r e v o l u t i o n a r y . As a result o f electronically m e d i a t e d interactions, the d e f i n i t i o n o f situations a n d o f behaviors is n o longer d e t e r m i n e d by physical l o c a t i o n . To be physically alone w i t h someone is n o longer necessarily t o be socially alone w i t h t h e m . W h e n there are other people 'there' o n the telephone, o r r a d i o , or t e l e v i s i o n , i n t i m a t e encounters are changed. By a l t e r i n g the i n f o r m a t i o n a l characteristics
o f place,
electronic
media
reshape social situations a n d social identities. T h e social m e a n i n g o f a ' p r i s o n , ' f o r e x a m p l e , has been changed as a result o f electronic media o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . Prisons were once m o r e t h a n places o f physical i n c a r c e r a t i o n ;
they
w e r e places o f i n f o r m a t i o n a l i s o l a t i o n as w e l l . A prisoner was n o t o n l y l i m i t e d i n m o v e m e n t b u t also ' e x - c o m m u n i c a t e d ' prisoners i n a secure, isolated location
f r o m society. T h e placement
of
once led t o b o t h physical a n d i n f o r m a -
t i o n a l separation f r o m society. Today, however, many prisoners share w i t h the larger society the privileges o f r a d i o , television, and telephone.* W h e t h e r this is g o o d or b a d is d i f f i c u l t t o say, b u t i t is d i f f e r e n t .
Social Space and Physical Place Prisoners' access t o t h e w o r l d changes t h e social e n v i r o n m e n t o f b o t h those inside a n d outside p r i s o n . Those outside p r i s o n cannot use television as a ' p r i vate' f o r u m i n w h i c h t o discuss problems o f c r i m e a n d crime p r e v e n t i o n , a n d prisoners can ' e n t e r ' society t h r o u g h the wires o f the telephone. O n e survey o f 2 0 8 inmates i n d i c a t e d that n i n e o u t o f t e n prisoners h a d 'learned n e w tricks a n d i m p r o v e d t h e i r c r i m i n a l expertise b y w a t c h i n g c r i m e p r o g r a m s . ' p u b l i c a t i o n s such as The Prisoner's
Yellow
4
Special
Pages have been prepared t o help
prisoners contact l a w libraries, counselling services, a n d e m p l o y m e n t agencies.
5
For better o r w o r s e , those prisoners w i t h access t o electronic m e d i a are n o l o n g e r c o m p l e t e l y segregated f r o m society. T h e use o f electronic m e d i a has l e d t o a r e d e f i n i t i o n o f the nature o f ' i m p r i s o n m e n t ' a n d t o a de facto r e v i s i o n o f the p r i s o n classification system: T h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n variables o f ' h i g h i n f o r m a t i o n ' prisons versus ' l o w i n f o r m a t i o n ' prisons n o w have been a d d e d t o t h e physical variables o f ' h i g h s e c u r i t y ' a n d ' l o w security.' T h e e x a m p l e o f prisons m a y be e x t r e m e , b u t the i m p a c t o f electronic m e d i a o n prisoners is p a r a l l e l e d b y t h e effects o f electronic media o n c h i l d r e n , w o m e n , t h e p o o r , t h e disabled, a n d o t h e r groups whose social place was once shaped, at least i n p a r t , b y physical i s o l a t i o n f r o m the larger w o r l d . E l e c t r o n i c m e d i a b r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d experience
t o everyplace
from
everyplace. State f u n e r a l s , w a r s , hostage crises, a n d space f l i g h t s are dramas t h a t can be p l a y e d o n t h e stage o f anyone's l i v i n g r o o m . A n d t h e characters i n these dramas are e x p e r i e n c e d almost as i f they w e r e s i t t i n g o n t h e l i v i n g r o o m sofa. C o m m u n i c a t i n g t h r o u g h electronic media is certainly n o t equivalent t o t r a v e l i n g f r o m place t o place a n d i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h others i n live encounters, b u t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t r a n s m i t t e d b y electronic m e d i a is m u c h m o r e similar t o face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n t h a n is t h e i n f o r m a t i o n conveyed by books o r letters. A n d ' r e l a t i o n s h i p s ' w i t h others t h r o u g h electronic m e d i a are accessible t o v i r t u a l l y everyone w i t h o u t r e g a r d t o physical l o c a t i o n a n d social ' p o s i t i o n . '
Media 'friends' E l e c t r o n i c media's e n c r o a c h m e n t o n place is suggested i n o n e o f the clichés o f the b r o a d c a s t i n g i n d u s t r y : ' T h i s s h o w is b r o u g h t t o y o u live
f r o m ...' Once,
physical presence was necessary f o r t h e experience o f a ' l i v e , ' o n g o i n g event. Y o u ' h a d t o be t h e r e ' t o experience a n i n f o r m a l a n d i n t i m a t e i n t e r a c t i o n . Place once d e f i n e d a v e r y special category o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . Electronic m e d i a , h o w e v e r , have changed t h e relative significance o f live a n d m e d i a t e d e n c o u n ters. T h r o u g h electronic m e d i a o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , social p e r f o r m e r s n o w ' g o ' w h e r e they w o u l d n o t o r c o u l d n o t t r a v e l , a n d audiences are n o w 'present' at distant events. W h a t sort o f relationship is f o r m e d between people w h o experience
each
o t h e r o n l y t h r o u g h electronic media? I n a perceptive article o n media w r i t t e n i n the 1950s, D o n a l d H o r t o n a n d R. R i c h a r d W o h l suggfest that even w h e n t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n is u n i d i r e c t i o n a l , such as i n r a d i o a n d television, a special
45
46
The Media and Modern Life relationship develops that d i d n o t and c o u l d n o t exist i n p r i n t media. W h a t is unusual about the n e w mass media, they suggest, is that they offer the illusion o f face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h performers and p o l i t i c a l figures. T h e conditions o f response t o t h e p e r f o r m e r are analogous t o those i n a p r i m a r y g r o u p . T h e most remote and illustrious m e n are met as / / t h e y were i n the circle o f one's peers.'
6
H o r t o n a n d W o h l suggest that the n e w media lead t o a n e w type o f relat i o n s h i p w h i c h they call 'para-social i n t e r a c t i o n . ' T h e y argue that a l t h o u g h t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p is m e d i a t e d , i t psychologically resembles face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n . V i e w e r s come t o feel they ' k n o w ' t h e people they 'meet' o n television i n t h e same w a y they k n o w t h e i r friends a n d associates. I n fact, m a n y viewers begin t o believe t h a t they k n o w a n d u n d e r s t a n d a p e r f o r m e r better t h a n a l l t h e o t h e r viewers d o . Paradoxically, t h e para-social p e r f o r m e r is able t o establish 'intimacy w i t h millions.' H o r t o n a n d W o h l ' s f r a m e w o r k explains t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f t a l k s h o w hosts such as Jack Paar, J o h n n y C a r s o n , a n d D i c k Cavett. These are people, accordi n g t o H o r t o n a n d W o h l , w h o have n o t r a d i t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e s k i l l ; they are n o t singers, musicians, actors, o r even professional-quality comedians. T h e c o n t e n t o f t h e i r ' p e r f o r m a n c e ' is m o s t l y small t a l k a n d r u n n i n g gags. Yet they are likeable a n d interesting i n t h e same w a y that a close f r i e n d is likeable a n d i n t e r e s t i n g . T h e v i e w e r can rely o n t h e m t o be 'themselves.' As H o r t o n a n d W o h l suggest, t h e p u r e para-social
p e r f o r m e r is s i m p l y ' k n o w n f o r b e i n g
k n o w n . ' W i t h i n this f r a m e w o r k , i t makes sense that stories about
Johnny
Carson's threats t o resign f r o m t h e ' T o n i g h t ' show, his arrest f o r suspicion o f d r u n k d r i v i n g , a n d his d i v o r c e settlement have been r e p o r t e d o n t h e n e t w o r k news a n d i n f r o n t page headlines. Even p e r f o r m e r s w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l skills o f t e n e x p l o i t the i n t i m a c y o f the n e w media (or f i n d that they cannot a v o i d i t ) . As a result o f close personal observat i o n , m a n y athletes, musicians, journalists, and politicians are n o w judged n o t o n l y o n t h e basis o f their 'talent' b u t also o n the basis o f their personalities. T h e para-social f r a m e w o r k may explain w h y many singing stars t u r n t o m o r e a n d m o r e personal lyrics a n d themes as their careers develop a n d w h y p u b l i c officials o f t e n a d d m o r e private i n f o r m a t i o n t o their public speeches as they become m o r e w i d e l y k n o w n . T h e t h e o r y can also be extended t o actors p l a y i n g f i c t i o n a l roles. For m a n y viewers, soap opera a n d other television characters are real people t o w h o m they can t u r n f o r i n s p i r a t i o n a n d advice. D u r i n g his first five years o n n e t w o r k television, the f i c t i o n a l ' D r . M a r c u s W e l b y ' received a quarter o f a m i l l i o n letters, most requesting medical advice.
7
H o r t o n a n d W o h l d o n o t l i n k their f r a m e w o r k t o an analysis o f t h e i m p a c t o f electronic m e d i a o n physical place, but they d o o f f e r observations that supp o r t such an analysis. T h e y n o t e , f o r example, that the para-social r e l a t i o n ship has its greatest i m p a c t o n the 'socially isolated, t h e socially i n e p t , t h e aged a n d i n v a l i d , t h e t i m i d a n d rejected.'
8
Because electronic m e d i a p r o v i d e
the types o f i n t e r a c t i o n a n d experience w h i c h were once restricted t o i n t i m a t e live encounters, i t makes sense that they w o u l d have their greatest effect o n
Social Space and Physical Place those w h o are physically o r psychologically r e m o v e d f r o m everyday social i n t e r a c t i o n . ( O n e researcher has f o u n d that t h e strength o f t h e para-social r e l a t i o n s h i p increases w i t h t h e v i e w e r ' s age, that m a n y elderly people t h i n k o f newscasters as t h e i r f r i e n d s , a n d t h a t some o l d e r viewers ' i n t e r a c t ' w i t h newscasters b y r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e m verbally. ) Even a m o n g 'average' people, t h e 9
para-social
r e l a t i o n s h i p takes its place a m o n g d a i l y live interactions
with
f r i e n d s , f a m i l y , a n d associates. I n d e e d , ' r e a l ' friends o f t e n discuss the antics o f t h e i r para-social f r i e n d s . T h e para-social f r a m e w o r k is e x t r e m e l y useful i n analyzing m a n y p h e n o m e na n o t specifically discussed b y H o r t o n a n d W o h l . T h e f r a m e w o r k explains, f o r e x a m p l e , w h y i t is t h a t w h e n a ' m e d i a f r i e n d ' such as Elvis Presley, J o h n Kennedy, o r J o h n L e n n o n dies o r is k i l l e d , m i l l i o n s o f people m a y experience a sense o f loss as great as (and sometimes greater than) t h e feelings o f loss a c c o m p a n y i n g t h e death o f a relative o r f r i e n d . Even an awareness o f t h e para-social m e c h a n i s m is n o t e n o u g h t o p e r m i t escape f r o m its ' m a g i c ' ; t h e death o f J o h n L e n n o n , f o r e x a m p l e , was strangely p a i n f u l t o m e a n d m y u n i versity colleagues w h o h a d ' k n o w n ' h i m a n d g r o w n u p ' w i t h ' h i m . Sociologist C a n d i c e L e o n a r d has suggested that such m e d i a t e d relationships lead t o a ' n e w genre o f h u m a n g r i e f . '
10
U n l i k e t h e loss o f a real f r i e n d o r relative, t h e death o f a m e d i a f r i e n d does n o t p r o v i d e t r a d i t i o n a l rituals o r clear ways t o c o m f o r t t h e bereaved. I n d e e d , the m o u r n i n g f o r a para-social f r i e n d is f i l l e d w i t h p a r a d o x a n d helplessness. A t t e m p t s t o c o m f o r t the dead person's f a m i l y w i t h w o r d s o r f l o w e r s are i n t r u sions b y strangers. A n d intensely f e l t personal g r i e f is simultaneously s t r e n g t h ened a n d w e a k e n e d b y t h e extent t o w h i c h i t is shared w i t h t h e c r o w d . I n o r d e r t o banish t h e demons o f g r i e f a n d helplessness, t h e r e f o r e , thousands o f p e o p l e take t o t h e streets o r h o l d vigils near t h e para-social f r i e n d ' s h o m e o r place o f death. I r o n i c a l l y , b u t a p p r o p r i a t e l y , the m e d i a p r o v i d e the most r i t u a l i z e d channels o f m o u r n i n g . R a d i o a n d television present specials a n d retrospectives. A n d m a n y p e o p l e use t h e telephone t o contact real friends w h o shared the i n t i m a cy w i t h t h e para-social f r i e n d . B u t t h e f i n a l i r o n y is t h a t , i n some ways, t h e para-social p e r f o r m e r does n o t die. F o r t h e only means t h r o u g h w h i c h m o s t p e o p l e came t o k n o w h i m o r h e r - records, f i l m s , a n d videotape - are still available. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p is f r o z e n , rather t h a n destroyed. I n p a r t , i t is the p o t e n t i a l a n d h o p e f o r increased i n t i m a c y that dies, a n d t h e never t o be faceto-face c o n s u m m a t i o n o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p that is m o u r n e d . T h e para-social r e l a t i o n s h i p has also l e d t o a n e w f o r m o f m u r d e r a n d a n e w t y p e o f m u r d e r m o t i v e . Police generally distinguish between t w o types o f m u r d e r s : those c o m m i t t e d b y a person w h o k n o w s t h e v i c t i m , a n d those c o m m i t t e d b y a stranger. Yet, there is n o w a t h i r d category: t h e para-social m u r d e r . W h i l e the m e d i a a n d police n o t e d that J o h n L e n n o n ' s m u r d e r e r was a ' c o m p l e t e stranger' - m e a n i n g t h a t t h e t w o h a d never physically m e t - they overlooked
the powerful
para-social
ties
between
them.
Mark
David
47
48
The Media and Modern Life C h a p m a n k n e w J o h n L e n n o n so w e l l that f o r a t i m e he t h o u g h t he was Lennon.
John
A s i m i l a r l y bizarre relationship existed between w o u l d - b e presiden-
11
t i a l assassin J o h n H i n c k l e y a n d actress Jodie Foster. H i n c k l e y c o m m i t t e d his ' h i s t o r i c act' i n o r d e r t o cement a 'personal' relationship w i t h Foster.
12
I n b o t h love a n d hate, n o r m a l a n d bizarre, the para-social relationship is a n e w f o r m o f i n t e r a c t i o n . I t has some o f the t r a d i t i o n a l characteristics o f b o t h live encounters a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n t h r o u g h books, b u t i t is, i n fact, neither. I n f o r m u l a t i n g the n o t i o n o f para-social i n t e r a c t i o n , H o r t o n a n d W o h l p o i n t t o the differences between ' o l d ' and ' n e w ' media. But they o v e r l o o k the overall e v o l u t i o n a r y t r e n d , even w i t h i n each type o f m e d i u m , t o w a r d a s h r i n k i n g o f the differences between live a n d mediated encounters. W r i t i n g systems have evolved t o w a r d greater replication o f spoken sounds ( f r o m hieroglyphs t o the p h o n e t i c alphabet) a n d p h o t o g r a p h y and electronic media have evolved t o w a r d fuller representations o f face-to-face sensory experiences. M e d i a theorist Paul Levinson has detailed the l o n g - t e r m e v o l u t i o n a r y course o f m e d i a . ' H e argues that the t r e n d is t o w a r d fuller replication o f the means o f 1
c o m m u n i c a t i o n that existed before
media and technology. Levinson's
theory
gives substance t o o u r i n t u i t i v e sense that one f o r m o f a m e d i u m is 'better' t h a n another. T h e a d d i t i o n o f voice t o the telegraph, or sound t o silent movies, o r color t o television, he suggests, is perceived as an ' i m p r o v e m e n t ' simply because the m e d i u m becomes less like a m e d i u m a n d m o r e like life. L e v i n s o n uses his theoretical
f r a m e w o r k t o reject the c r i t i c i s m o f m a n y
social theorists w h o suggest that media are d i s t o r t i n g the h u m a n c o n d i t i o n by t a k i n g us f u r t h e r a n d f u r t h e r away f r o m 'reality.' Levinson argues, i n contrast, that h u m a n beings use media t o recreate as ' n a t u r a l ' a n d as ' h u m a n ' a means o f c o m m u n i c a t i n g as possible, w h i l e at the same t i m e o v e r c o m i n g
pre-techno-
logical l i m i t a t i o n s t o c o m m u n i c a t i o n (lack o f permanent records, i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f speaking o r seeing across vast distances, i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f being i n t w o places at once, a n d so o n ) . Levinson's
fascinating d e s c r i p t i o n o f media h i s t o r y shows h o w an
early
f o r m o f a m e d i u m first gives u p aspects o f the 'real w o r l d ' i n o r d e r t o overc o m e a spatial o r t e m p o r a l l i m i t a t i o n a n d h o w later f o r m s o f the m e d i u m t h e n recapture aspects o f n a t u r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e telegraph, f o r example, gave u p speech i n o r d e r t o travel q u i c k l y across the c o n t i n e n t a n d globe; b u t t h e n the telegraph e v o l v e d i n t o the telephone w h i c h regained the h u m a n voice. A major p r o b l e m w i t h Levinson's f r a m e w o r k , however, is that he completely overlooks the ways i n w h i c h the o r i g i n a l spatial and t e m p o r a l ' l i m i t s ' help t o define the nature o f social interaction. I n suggesting that media recreate reality, Levinson defines ' r e a l i t y ' i n terms o f sensory functions o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n - seei n g , hearing, speaking. H e ignores the ways i n w h i c h the substance o f h u m a n interaction changes w h e n the barriers a m o n g situations are r e m o v e d . T h e theories o f L e v i n s o n a n d o f H o r t o n a n d W o h l are h e l p f u l here because they suggest t h a t face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n is n o longer the o n l y d e t e r m i n a n t o f personal a n d i n t i m a t e i n t e r a c t i o n . T h e e v o l u t i o n o f m e d i a has begun t o c l o u d
Social Space and Physical Place the differences
between stranger a n d f r i e n d a n d t o weaken t h e d i s t i n c t i o n
b e t w e e n p e o p l e w h o are 'here' a n d people w h o are 'somewhere else.' These f r a m e w o r k s suggest t h a t electronic m e d i a are u n i q u e i n that they mask the d i f ferences between d i r e c t a n d i n d i r e c t c o m m u n i c a t i o n . W h a t is missing f r o m these theories,
h o w e v e r , is a n a p p r e c i a t i o n o f h o w m u c h social
behavior
changes w h e n people are able t o c o m m u n i c a t e 'as i f they w e r e i n t h e same place w h e n they are, i n fact, i n d i f f e r e n t places.
[...]
Time and space 'saturation' W i t h its n a t u r a l i n s u l a t i o n , physical place was once t h e p r i m e d e t e r m i n a n t o f the d e f i n i t i o n o f a s i t u a t i o n . T h e spatial a n d t e m p o r a l i s o l a t i o n o f a physical l o c a t i o n a l l o w e d f o r one d e f i n i t i o n o f the s i t u a t i o n t o 'saturate' the time/space f r a m e . G o f f m a n discusses ' s a t u r a t i o n ' as a characteristic
of Anglo-American
societies w h e r e social performances t e n d t o be given i n d o o r s a n d w h e r e ' t h e i m p r e s s i o n a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g fostered b y t h e p e r f o r m a n c e w i l l t e n d t o saturate the r e g i o n a n d t i m e span, so t h a t any i n d i v i d u a l located i n this space-time m a n i f o l d w i l l be i n a p o s i t i o n t o observe t h e p e r f o r m a n c e a n d be g u i d e d b y the d e f i n i t i o n o f the s i t u a t i o n w h i c h the p e r f o r m a n c e
fosters.'
14
A n y m e d i u m can p u l l a person o u t o f the d e f i n i t i o n o f the s i t u a t i o n . P r i n t m e d i a a n d electronic m e d i a , h o w e v e r , d i f f e r i n t h e i r i m p a c t o n the d e f i n i t i o n s o f situations a n d o n the r e l a t i o n s h i p between situations a n d places. P r i n t m e d i a t e n d t o create new, t o t a l l y absorbing d e f i n i t i o n s . Reading is best d o n e alone, i n a q u i e t place, a n d t o t h e exclusion o f other activities. I n d e e d , special places are designated f o r r e a d i n g . These places are designed t o separate p e o p l e , o f t e n i n t o single-person cubicles. A reader, o f course, is 'connecte d ' w i t h o t h e r people b y r e a d i n g w h a t they have w r i t t e n o r w h a t has been w r i t t e n a b o u t t h e m , b u t the reader tends t o be r e m o v e d f r o m those physically present. ( I n d e e d , even w h e n someone hands y o u a greeting c a r d , y o u m u s t i g n o r e t h e m f o r a m o m e n t i n o r d e r t o read i t . ) I n this sense, r e a d i n g is ' a n t i social'; i t isolates t h e reader f r o m live interactions. Reading is linear a n d a b s o r b i n g . I t is d i f f i c u l t t o w a l k , t a l k , eat, exercise, make l o v e , o r d r i v e a n a u t o m o b i l e w h i l e r e a d i n g . Yet most o f these activities are possible
while
w a t c h i n g t e l e v i s i o n , a n d all are possible w h i l e listening t o the r a d i o . I n these ways, electronic m e d i a invade places, yet d o n o t ' o c c u p y ' t h e m i n the w a y t h a t o t h e r m e d i a such as books d o . Television n o t o n l y changes t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f the s i t u a t i o n i n places, b u t i t does so i n an unstable a n d inconsistent manner.
[...] E l e c t r o n i c m e d i a destroy t h e specialness o f place a n d t i m e . Television, r a d i o , and telephone
t u r n once p r i v a t e places i n t o m o r e p u b l i c ones b y m a k i n g
t h e m m o r e accessible t o t h e outside w o r l d . A n d car stereos, w r i s t w a t c h televisions, a n d personal s o u n d systems such as t h e Sony ' W a l k m a n ' make
49
50
The Media and Modern Life p u b l i c spaces p r i v a t e . T h r o u g h such m e d i a , w h a t is h a p p e n i n g almost anyw h e r e can be h a p p e n i n g w h e r e v e r w e are. Yet w h e n w e are e v e r y w h e r e , w e are also n o place i n p a r t i c u l a r . ' H o m e is wherever there's a telephone,' says one telephone c o m p a n y ad. T h i s analysis suggests, as w e l l , that 'anywhere there's a telephone is n o longer the same h o m e . ' Those entering m a n y places n o longer f i n d t h e m i n f o r m a t i o n ally special. Places visited f o r the first t i m e n o w l o o k f a m i l i a r i f they (or places like t h e m ) have already been seen o n television. A n d places that were once very d i f f e r e n t are n o w m o r e similar because nearly every place has a television set, r a d i o , a n d telephone. W i t h electronic media, most places - f r o m the child's r o o m t o the priest's h o m e t o the prisoner's cell - n o w have a s t r o n g c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r . Those aspects o f g r o u p identity, socialization, a n d hierarchy that were once dependent o n particular physical locations a n d the special e x p e r i ences available i n t h e m have been altered by electronic media.
Notes 1. Settel, 1967, p. 17. 2. One exception to this was the system of semaphore tower stations designed by Claude Chappe about fifty years before Morse's telegraph. The 'arms' were set in different positions to signify different letters. The system was adopted by the French government. But the semaphore was only a crude forerunner of the telegraph. The transmission of semaphore messages still depended on 'ordinary' sensory perception (the arms were large enough to be visible five miles away at the next relay station). N o messages could be sent during bad weather or at night. And such a system must have been relatively difficult to construct and operate and impossible to duplicate in as many locations as the telegraph and other electronic media would later service. See Settel, 1967, p. 15 for a brief discussion of semaphores. 3. Access to media in prisons varies from state to state and from prison to prison, and, apparently, there have been no comprehensive surveys of media access in correctional institutions. Available sources of information, however, indicate that there has been substantial access to media among most prisoners since the late 1960s. Charlotte A. Nesbitt, of the American Correctional Association notes that ' i n most jails and prisons, prisoners do have access to telephones, radios, and television' (personal correspondence, June 1983). A survey conducted in 1979 by the Criminal Justice Information Service (operated by the Contact organization) indicates that all states except Ohio allow prisoners to make telephone calls and that approximately fifty percent of the states allow inmates to receive calls ('Your Number, Please,' 1979). The Director of the Federal Prison System, Norman A. Carlson, reports that federal prisons do not allow personal television sets, but that each housing unit within each prison generally has at least one television set and that a majority vote among prisoners determines program selection (personal correspondence, June 1983). Many state prisons do allow personal television sets, radios, tape players, and stereos in prisoners cells (Donna Hunzeker, Director, Information Services, Contact Inc., personal correspondence, June 1983). 4. Hendrick, 1977, p. 5. 5. Board of Institutional Ministry, 1978. 6. H o r t o n and Wohl, 1956, p. 215. 7. Gross and Jeffries-Fox, 1978, p. 247.
Social Space and Physical Place 8. 9. 10. 11.
H o r t o n and Wohl, 1956, p. 223. Levy, 1979. Candice Leonard, personal communication, December 1980. Mathews et al., 1980. Like Lennon, Chapman played the guitar and married a Japanese woman. Chapman had also taped Lennon's name over his own on his workplace identification tag. 12. Hinckley's last love letter, 1981. 13. Levinson, 1979. 14. Goffman, 1959, p. 106.
References Board of Institutional Ministry 1978: The prisoners yellow pages. Los Angeles: Universal Press. Goffman, E. 1959: The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Anchor. Gross, L . and Jeffries-Fox, S. 1978: What do you want to be when you grow up, little girl? I n Tuchman, G . (ed.), Hearth and home: images of women in the mass media. New York: O x f o r d University Press. Hendrick, G. H . 1977: When television is a school for criminals. TV Guide, 29 January, 4-10. Hinkley's last love letter 1981. Newsweek, 13 April, 35. H o r t o n , D . and Wohl, R. 1956: Mass communication and para-social interaction: observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry 19, 215-29. Levinson, P. 1979: Human replay: a theory of the evolution of media. Diss: New York University. Levy, M . 1979: Watching T V news as para-social interaction. Journal of Broadcasting 23, 69-80. Mathews, T. et al. 1980: Lennon's alter ego. Newsweek, 22 December, 3 4 - 5 . Settel, I . 1967: A pictorial history of radio. N e w York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Questions 1
2
3
Briefly summarise the key ideas covered in the extract, substituting some of your own examples for those discussed by Meyrowitz. What do you understand by para-social interaction! How have electronic media had implications for the public sphere and for private spaces and situations? In a celebrated and much quoted metaphor, Marshall McLuhan once argued that modern media systems had the potential to establish a 'global village', networks of communication capable of shrinking the world, or at least of bringing it to us. What are the arguments and issues posed by this idea? How much of your own everyday media consumption takes you out of the immediate confines of space and time? Underlying some of the assumptions made in the extract is a strong emphasis on electronic communication technologies as key factors in explaining historical and cultural change. Refer to any current or historical media technologies and assess the degree to which the technologies, considered in isolation, can be accepted as the most significant factors in understanding processes of social change.
51
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The Media and Modern Life
Further reading Carey, J.W 1989: Communication as culture: essays on media and society. St Albans: Paladin. Carpenter, E. 1976: Oh, what a blow that phantom gave me! St Albans: Paladin. Ferguson, M . 1 9 9 1 : Marshall McLuhan re-visited: 1960s Zeitgeist victim or pioneer postmodernist? Media, Culture and Society 13, 71-90. Giddens, A. 1991: Modernity and self-identity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Jensen, J. 1990: Redeeming modernity. London: Sage. McLuhan, M . 1964: Understanding media. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Morley, D . 1992: Where the global meets the local: notes from the sitting-room. I n Television, audiences and cultural studies. London: Routledge. (See Section 5, reading 3.) Stevenson, N . 1995: Understanding media cultures. London: Sage.
5 Communications and the Constitution of Modernity Graham Murdock From Media, Culture and Society 15, 521-39 (1993)
This extract continues the interrogation of the rise of modern social and cultural conditions and the centrality of increasingly large-scale networks and systems of mass communication in that process. In this essay, Murdock aims to counter and qualify some of the themes in recent postmodern writing by restating the need for forms of analysis and research which are both historically informed and take into account the central dynamics of modem communications systems. In understanding modern times, he argues, the organisation of media and communications systems have come to play an increasingly important role in shaping and constituting both institutional and everyday levels of culture and interaction. The extract provides an account of the relationships between opposing versions of the modern consumer versus the modern citizen, as they have been mobilised in and underpinned media development in the twentieth century. It also serves to develop some key themes introduced in earlier readings in this section, concerning the impact of mass communications on the public and private spheres of contemporary culture and social life.
Approaching modernity We can define m o d e r n i t y i n its most general sense as t h a t c o m p l e x o f processes t h a t detached societies f r o m the e c o n o m i c , social a n d c u l t u r a l f o r m a t i o n s w e n o w characterize as 'ancient' o r ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' , a n d c o n s t r u c t e d t h e f o r m a t i o n s w e have come t o see as d e f i n i n g t h e distinctiveness o f t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d . These processes i n c l u d e : the rise o f capitalism as t h e d o m i n a n t m o d e
Communications and Modernity o f e c o n o m i c o r g a n i z a t i o n , the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the nation-state as the m o d a l u n i t o f p o l i t i c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d a c t i o n , the e n d i n g o f religious m o n o p o l i e s over t h o u g h t a n d k n o w l e d g e a n d the emergence o f a m o r e f r a g m e n t e d a n d contested c u l t u r a l f i e l d , i n w h i c h c o n t e n d i n g discourses struggle f o r p u b l i c visibility and authority. Several features o f this d e f i n i t i o n are w o r t h u n d e r l i n i n g . First, i t insists t h a t m o d e r n i t y is best seen as a set o f dynamics rather t h a n as a c o n d i t i o n , a c o n t i n u a l process o f b e c o m i n g rather t h a n an accomplished state o f being. T h e c e n t r a l i t y o f m o v e m e n t a n d m o b i l i t y struck c o m m e n t a t o r s w i t h
increasing
force i n the early decades o f the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y as they witnessed m o d e r n i t y ' s c o m i n g o f age. For Jane Austen i n Persuasion,
t o be m o d e r n was t o
embrace a 'state o f a l t e r a t i o n ' . For Charles Baudelaire, a l i t t l e later, i t was an altogether m o r e v e r t i g i n o u s experience d o m i n a t e d by the 'ephemeral, f u g i t i v e and contingent'. Communist
W h i l e f o r M a r x , i n that m u c h q u o t e d passage i n
Manifesto,
the
i t was a wholesale process o f 'creative d e s t r u c t i o n ' , i n
w h i c h the d y n a m i c s o f capitalism swept away ' a l l f i x e d , fast-frozen r e l a t i o n s ' a n d ushered i n an era o f ' u n i n t e r r u p t e d disturbance' a n d 'everlasting uncert a i n t y ' . T h i s experience was, f r o m the outset, a source o f p r o f o u n d a m b i v a lence, w h e r e b y hopes f o r progress a n d a better f u t u r e were soured by the r e c o g n i t i o n o f n o v e l risks a n d n e w sources o f servitude. Consequently,
as
B e r m a n has r e m i n d e d us, t o be m o d e r n is t o ' f i n d ourselves i n an e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t promises us a d v e n t u r e , p o w e r , joy, g r o w t h , t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f ourselves a n d the w o r l d - a n d at the same t i m e , that threatens t o destroy e v e r y t h i n g w e have, e v e r y t h i n g w e k n o w , e v e r y t h i n g w e are' (Berman, 1983:
39).
[...] O n e o f the central tensions i n m o d e r n experience centres o n the c o m p e t i t i o n b e t w e e n t h e identities o f consumer a n d c i t i z e n . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f the m o d e r n nation-state can be r e a d , i n p a r t , as a h i s t o r y o f attempts t o manage mass p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the p o l i t i c a l process. These efforts have been d o m i n a t e d by t w o o p p o s e d r h e t o r i c a l figures. O n the one side s t o o d the c r o w d , e m o t i o n a l , seduced by d r a m a t i c images, acting i n concert, b a r g a i n i n g by r i o t a n d d e m o n s t r a t i o n . O n the o t h e r side s t o o d the c i t i z e n , r a t i o n a l , o p e n t o sequential a r g u m e n t , m a k i n g considered personal choices a n d registering preferences soberly, i n the s o l i t u d e o f the v o t i n g b o o t h . O f f i c i a l discourse has, n o t surprisingly, d e v o t e d itself t o a d v a n c i n g the responsibilities o f citizenship a n d d e n i g r a t i n g the seductions o f the c r o w d . T h e figure o f the consumer, h o w e v e r , presents considerable p r o b l e m s f o r this enterprise, f o r t w o reasons. First, the consumer system offers personal s o l u t i o n s t o p u b l i c d i f f i c u l t i e s . I t promises that i t is possible t o purchase peace o f m i n d a n d w e l l - b e i n g by b u y i n g a suitable c o m m o d i ty. I n so d o i n g , i t cuts across the appeals t o the p u b l i c g o o d that u n d e r p i n the r h e t o r i c s o f c i t i z e n s h i p . Secondly, as early observers were q u i c k t o see,
con-
sumer m a r k e t s c o u l d be v i e w e d as 'psychological c r o w d s ' i n the sense t h a t the vagaries o f fashion a n d the advent o f crazes also r e q u i r e d i m m e r s i o n i n the w a r m b a t h o f collective a c t i o n .
53
54
The Media and Modern Life T h i s perceived tension between the ideal citizen a n d the p r o t o t y p i c a l m o d ern consumer m a p p e d itself o n t o t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l struggles between t h e systems o f representation
m o b i l i z e d w i t h i n the sphere o f legitimated ' p o l i t i c s '
(organized a r o u n d p a r t y c o m p e t i t i o n and pressure g r o u p lobbying) a n d the systems the
being
developed
commercial
within
cultural
the emerging
industries.
These
mass consumer tensions
emerge
system a n d particularly
clearly w i t h i n t h e h i s t o r y o f p u b l i c broadcasting as i t struggles t o accommodate itself t o t h e c o n t r o l l i n g impetus o f the state a n d t h e requirements
o f mass
democracy w i t h i n a p o p u l a r c u l t u r a l f i e l d d o m i n a t e d b y commercialized entert a i n m e n t . F r o m this perspective, w h a t Bauman characterizes as a distinctively p o s t m o d e r n p r o b l e m o f representation is m o r e usefully seen as an intensificat i o n o f c o n t r a d i c t i o n s that have been u n f o l d i n g since t h e early years o f the century, w h e n t h e state, t h e party system, t h e mass consumer system a n d t h e m o d e r n p o p u l a r media, began t o coalesce i n t o something like their present f o r m s . T h e present crisis o f representation is precisely a crisis i n t h e r e l a t i o n ship between t h e discourses o f the major parties (particularly o n t h e Left) a n d the available i n s t i t u t i o n s o f public c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . These discourses are losing their purchase o n p u b l i c a t t e n t i o n a n d s u p p o r t a n d are subject t o challenge f r o m counter-discourses r o o t e d i n racism, n a t i o n a l i s m , fundamentalism and t h e n e w social movements. T h i s fragmentation o f t h e f i e l d o f ' p o l i t i c a l ' discourse creates a n acute crisis f o r a public broadcasting system organized a r o u n d t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d rhetorics o f t h e major parties. A t the same t i m e , t h e accelerati n g p r i v a t i z a t i o n o f t h e c u l t u r a l f i e l d a n d the p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f n e w d i s t r i b u t i o n channels alter t h e terms o f public broadcasting's relation t o commercialized p o p u l a r culture a n d t h e consumer system. C o m p e t i t i o n f o r core p r o d u c t i v e resources, creative labour, intellectual p r o p e r t y rights a n d audience t i m e a n d allegiance intensifies. O n e response is t o redefine the rights o f citizenship as c o t e r m i n o u s w i t h t h e rights o f consumers. As a result, public institutions begin t o t a l k o f t h e constituencies they serve as clients o r customers. T o understand these shifts, however, w e need t o see t h e m as a f u r t h e r extension o f the process o f c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n that lies at the heart o f m o d e r n i t y ' s p o l i t i c a l economy.
[...] T h e rise o f m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s is i n e x t r i c a b l y b o u n d u p w i t h t h e o n w a r d m a r c h o f c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n . M o r e a n d m o r e areas o f c o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t i v i t y become c o m m o d i f i e d . C u l t u r a l artefacts are increasingly made under c o n d i t i o n s o f wage labour f o r sale i n t h e m a r k e t . Newspaper readerships a n d a u d i ences f o r c o m m e r c i a l sale t o advertisers.
broadcasting
become c o n s t i t u t e d as c o m m o d i t i e s f o r
Ideas a n d expressions o f a l l k i n d s become intellectual
p r o p e r t i e s , p r o t e c t e d by t h e walls a n d ditches o f c o p y r i g h t law. W h a t theorists o f p o s t m o d e r n c u l t u r e celebrate as i n t e r t e x t u a l i t y a n d p l a y f u l pastiche, c o r p o rate lawyers prosecute as t h e f t . W h e n a B r i t i s h artist can be b r o u g h t before the c o u r t f o r i n c l u d i n g ' u n a u t h o r i z e d ' images o f t h e children's
storybook
character, N o d d y , i n a p a i n t i n g , i t is d i f f i c u l t n o t t o see c u l t u r a l capitalism r e d r a w i n g the boundaries o f permissible q u o t a t i o n i n its favour.
Communications and Modernity T h e process o f c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n is also c e n t r a l t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f w h a t w e can call t h e c e n t r a l c o o r d i n a t e s o f m o d e r n i t y - t h e n e w s t r u c t u r e s o f t i m e a n d space. P r o m p t e d b y d e v e l o p m e n t s i n h u m a n g e o g r a p h y a n d elsewhere, questions a b o u t t h e r o l e o f t i m e a n d space i n c o n s t i t u t i n g social o r d e r have r e c e n t l y received r e n e w e d a t t e n t i o n f r o m social t h e o r i s t s . H e r e a g a i n , G i d d e n s has been i n t h e v a n g u a r d . F o r h i m , e x p l i c a t i n g ' h o w t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l " p r e s e n c e " are t r a n s c e n d e d b y t h e " s t r e t c h i n g " o f social r e l a t i o n s across t i m e a n d space' is the ' f u n d a m e n t a l q u e s t i o n o f social
t h e o r y ' (Giddens,
1 9 8 4 : 3 8 ) . H e c e r t a i n l y sees this
process as c e n t r a l t o m o d e r n i t y , a r g u i n g t h a t ' T h e d y n a m i s m o f m o d e r n i t y derives f r o m t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f t i m e a n d space a n d t h e i r r e c o m b i n a t i o n ' (Giddens, 1990: 16-17). T h e first o f these movements, separation, has p r o v e d t o be h i g h l y problematic f o r conceptualization, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e l a t i o n t o space. M o d e r n t h o u g h t has t e n d e d t o associate t i m e w i t h m o b i l i t y a n d change a n d space w i t h stasis a n d rootedness. A n d as Massey has p o i n t e d o u t , this dualistic t h i n k i n g has prevented us f r o m v i e w i n g space m o r e productively, 'as a m o m e n t i n the intersection o f c o n f i g u r e d social relations' w h i c h have an existence t h r o u g h t i m e
(Massey,
1992: 8 0 ) . T h i s is easier t o see i n r e l a t i o n t o ' p r e - m o d e r n ' societies since social activities generally r e q u i r e d people t o come together i n a particular place at an agreed t i m e . Buyers a n d sellers h a d t o meet a n d bargain i n t h e marketplace. Priests a n d believers p e r f o r m e d rituals at special times i n sacred sites set apart f r o m m u n d a n e space. Storytellers a n d performers addressed physical audiences. U n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f m o d e r n i t y , however, a w i d e range o f social relations can be sustained w i t h o u t co-presence. Space becomes detached f r o m place. M a r k e t s become n e t w o r k s rather t h a n spaces f o r encounters. Audiences become interpretive c o m m u n i t i e s rather t h a n physical congregations. These n e w ' d i s t a n c e d ' relations d e p e n d i n t u r n o n w h a t G i d d e n s calls ' d i s e m b e d d i n g ' mechanisms, w h i c h ' l i f t o u t social a c t i v i t y f r o m localised c o n texts, r e o r g a n i s i n g social relations across large time-space
distances'
(1990:
5 3 ) . M o n e y is o n e such m e c h a n i s m , t h e m o d e r n m e d i a o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n are another. I n c o m b i n a t i o n they present a p o w e r f u l t r a n s f o r m a t i v e force. G o o d s can be o r d e r e d a n d d e l i v e r e d b y m a i l . Deals can be done b y letter a n d paper money. Tellers o f tales can reach unseen
audiences
through printed
texts
w h i c h readers can t h e n peruse at a t i m e t o suit t h e m . T h i s increasing d e t a c h m e n t o f experience f r o m specific times a n d places is accompanied towards
b y a second
a n d , i n m a n y ways, c o n t r a d i c t o r y m o v e m e n t
s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n , based o n t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f measures t h a t are
abstract, u n i f o r m a n d i n v a r i a n t . T h e s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n o f calendars,
coupled
w i t h t h e ascendency o f c l o c k t i m e a n d t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a g l o b a l g r i d o f t i m e zones (measured i n degrees east o r west o f t h e G r e e n w i c h m e r i d i a n ) displaces o t h e r ways o f m a r k i n g t h e passage o f t i m e , relegating t h e m t o s u b o r d i nate o r l o c a l i z e d p o s i t i o n s . These i n c l u d e d i u r n a l m o v e m e n t s f r o m l i g h t t o d a r k , seasonal cycles, b o d y r h y t h m s , a n d l i t u r g i c a l intervals between feasts
55
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The Media and Modern Life a n d fasts. Similarly, standard units o f distance a n d t e r r i t o r i a l
measurement
i n c o r p o r a t e space i n t o a single regime o f measurement.
Communications and modernity W h a t , t h e n , can w e say i n general terms about t h e relations between c o m m u nications a n d t h e f o r m a t i o n s o f m o d e r n i t y ? W h a t lines o f e n q u i r y suggest themselves f o r f u t u r e w o r k ? Several candidates have already presented t h e m selves. By w a y o f a c o n c l u s i o n , I w a n t t o o f f e r a m o r e synoptic account o f w h e r e w e m i g h t g o f r o m here. We first need t o reject all f o r m s o f technological d e t e r m i n i s m a n d media cent r i s m . T h e h i s t o r y o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s is n o t a history o f machines b u t a h i s t o r y o f t h e w a y n e w media help t o reconfigure systems o f p o w e r and n e t w o r k s o f social relations. I n o r d e r t o understand this process w e must a v o i d i n s t r u m e n talism. C o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies are certainly p r o d u c e d w i t h i n particular centres o f p o w e r a n d d e p l o y e d w i t h particular purposes i n m i n d b u t , once i n play, they o f t e n have u n i n t e n d e d a n d c o n t r a d i c t o r y consequences. T h e y are, t h e r e f o r e , m o r e usefully v i e w e d n o t as technologies o f c o n t r o l o r o f f r e e d o m , b u t as the site o f c o n t i n u a l struggles over i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and use. A t the heart o f these struggles, lies t h e s h i f t i n g b o u n d a r y between t h e p u b l i c a n d private spheres. T r a c i n g these movements provides a p r o d u c t i v e place t o begin a n investigation o f the role o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d the c o n s t i t u t i o n o f m o d e r n i t y . I t has become increasingly evident i n the last few years that the metaphor o f the t e x t and the reader n o longer captures the c o m p l e x i t y o f the people's relat i o n s h i p t o c o m m u n i c a t i o n systems. This has p r o m p t e d researchers t o develop alternative models based a r o u n d notions o f c o n s u m p t i o n a n d use. T h i s line o f e n q u i r y has been pursued most vigorously i n relation t o the n e w domestic technologies o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , particularly t h e video recorder, h o m e
computers
a n d the telephone, w h i c h up u n t i l recently had been m o r e o r less passed over by communications
research. T h i s w o r k challenges the conventional line that
research has d r a w n between public and private media a n d obliges us t o r e t h i n k o u r approach t o the relations between communications a n d sociability. These relations w o r k i n at least three dimensions. First, a n d perhaps most obviously, m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i v e facilities a l l o w f o r t h e extension o f i n t i m a cy. A m a n carries t h e p h o t o o f his w i f e i n his w a l l e t . A w o m a n talks o n t h e telephone t o a close f r i e n d n o w l i v i n g i n another city. Secondly, they p r o d u c e n e w f o r m s o f sociability a n d offer n e w pretexts f o r solitude a n d social w i t h d r a w a l . Friends gather r o u n d t h e television screen t o celebrate p e r i o d i c r i t u als: t h e C u p F i n a l , t h e Super B o w l , a Royal W e d d i n g . M o r e mundanely, m e d i a are i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o domestic routines m a r k i n g o f f segments o f t h e day a n d p e r i o d s o f gregariousness.
T h e y also p r o v i d e n e w sites f o r separation a n d
a u t o n o m y . A c h i l d w i t h d r a w s t o t h e b e d r o o m t o play a c o m p u t e r game. A m o t h e r takes t i m e o f f f r o m t e n d i n g t o her f a m i l y ' s needs b y r e a d i n g a r o m a n tic n o v e l . T h i r d l y , a n d m o r e c o m p l e x l y , m o d e r n m e d i a p r o d u c e n e w f o r m s o f
Communications and Modernity parasocial i n t e r a c t i o n , i n w h i c h people enjoy i n t i m a t e relations w i t h people t h e y m a y never meet o r t a l k t o i n person. A u n i v e r s i t y student leaves a message o n a c o m p u t e r b u l l e t i n b o a r d i n v i t i n g replies. A listener calls a disc j o c k ey at a r a d i o s t a t i o n t o ask f o r a f a v o u r i t e song t o be p l a y e d . A n elderly, h o u s e b o u n d l a d y f o l l o w s t h e trials a n d t r i b u l a t i o n s o f t h e characters i n her f a v o u r i t e soap o p e r a as t h o u g h they w e r e an extension o f her o w n e x t e n d e d family. A dedicated f a n searches o u t every f i l m f e a t u r i n g t h e i r f a v o u r i t e star a n d a v i d l y collects
p h o t o g r a p h s a n d m e m o r a b i l i a . A p o l i t i c i a n ' s personal
m i s d e m e a n o u r s are p a r a d e d i n t h e p o p u l a r press, e r o d i n g t h e line between f r o n t - a n d backstage areas, p u b l i c persona a n d p r i v a t e l i f e . These c o m p l e x r e c o n f i g u r a t i o n s o f the p u b l i c a n d private domains are l i n k e d in
turn
t o t h e ways
that communications
systems help
t o reconstitute
space/time relations. O n e o f the m a j o r social 'effects' o f broadcasting has been t o r e i n f o r c e t h e hegemony o f standard t i m e . F r o m L o r d Reith's early celebrat i o n o f the B B C ' s a b i l i t y t o carry the chimes o f Big Ben i n t o every h o m e i n t h e l a n d , t o t h e present u b i q u i t y o f t i m e checks, broadcasting has helped t o cement a standardized regime o f t i m e . B u t i t has also helped t o reconfigure personal t i m e a n d its l i n k s t o historical m e m o r y . As a m o d e o f storage, i t has constructed an u n p a r a l l e l e d archive o f personal, vernacular testimonies, professional performances a n d p r o n o u n c e m e n t s b y experts a n d p u b l i c figures. T h i s dense netw o r k o f o r a l threads is n o w w o v e n i n t o the t e x t u r e o f p o p u l a r m e m o r y , p r o v i d i n g social markers f o r measuring the passage o f personal t i m e , a n d p o t e n t resources f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f n e w f o r m s o f reminiscence a n d nostalgia. Together w i t h o l d f i l m s , past h i t records a n d selected p h o t o g r a p h s , b r o a d cast archives f u r n i s h t h e m a j o r means o f connecting a u t o b i o g r a p h y t o history. A p a r a l l e l process is at w o r k i n t h e d o m a i n o f space. I t is n o t s i m p l y t h a t m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems are t h e basic p r e c o n d i t i o n f o r m o d e r n i t y ' s characteristic separation o f space f r o m place, together w i t h the displacement o f l o c a t i o n s b y n e t w o r k s a n d t h e creation o f n e w f o r m s o f social relations c o m b i n i n g i n t i m a c y a n d distance. N e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s facilities also generate e n t i r e l y n e w f o r m s o f space. W h a t is n o w called 'dataspace', f o r e x a m p l e , is t h e latest o u t c o m e o f a l o n g process t h r o u g h w h i c h measures o f exchange value have become progressively less tangible. As t h e economic dynamics o f m o d e r n i t y u n f o l d e d so g o l d coinage gave w a y t o p r i n t e d notes backed b y g o l d , w h i c h i n t u r n gave w a y t o ' p u r e ' paper money, w h i c h is t h e n translated i n t o c o m p u t e r records so t h a t t h e m o n e y i n m y bank account exists n o w only as an object i n the dataspace, located i n the section defined by my bank's computers. While i t has a physical representation as a pattern of magnetisation on a disc, its 'reality' is in the computer-defined domain of the dataspace. (Thompson, 1993: 17) T h i s e x a m p l e is a g o o d instance
o f a general p r o b l e m i n o u r c u r r e n t
a p p r o a c h t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . Discussions o f 'dataspace' w o u l d n o t f i n d t h e i r w a y i n t o m a n y accounts because they are
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The Media and Modern Life seen t o be about ' p r i v a t e ' c o m m u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k s a n d , t h e r e f o r e , n o t relevant t o t h e h i s t o r y o f ' p u b l i c ' c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . A n u m b e r o f c o m m e n t a t o r s have recognized t h a t this simplistic d i v i s i o n is u n h e l p f u l i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e n e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies, w h e r e n e t w o r k s such as b u l l e t i n boards straddle b o t h d o m a i n s . B u t they have failed t o u n d e r s t a n d that i t is equally u n p r o ductive
f o r earlier
periods. Against this w e need
t o see t h e b o u n d a r y
separating p u b l i c a n d private as c o n t i n u a l l y contested, a n d t o e x p l o r e the s h i f t i n g , a n d sometimes s u r p r i s i n g , interactions between t h e m . M o d e r n w a r f a r e is a n instructive case i n p o i n t . M o s t histories focus o n the d e v e l o p m e n t o f w e a p o n systems, b u t i t is arguable that the development o f c o m m a n d c o n t r o l a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems is m o r e i m p o r t a n t . These p r o vide the basic p r e c o n d i t i o n s f o r the effective c o o r d i n a t i o n o f t r o o p s a n d supplies across extensive
theatres o f c o n f l i c t . T h e y also shift the relationship
between action a n d consequence. By facilitating the progressive detachment o f aggression f r o m its target, as i n h i g h - a l t i t u d e b o m b i n g raids o r long-distance artillery, c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems reconfigure the m o r a l calculus o f c o n f l i c t , p r o d u c i n g images o f the recent G u l f War i n w h i c h v i d e o footage shot f r o m t h e c o c k p i t p u r p o r t e d t o s h o w 'clean' surgical strikes o n m i l i t a r y targets. These images, o r i g i n a t e d i n t h e p r i v i l e g e d a n d restricted d o m a i n o f i n t e r n a l m i l i t a r y c o m m u n i c a t i o n , were released i n t o the p u b l i c d o m a i n as part o f a propaganda offensive. O n l y w h e n counter images, taken o n the g r o u n d , began t o appear i n the p u b l i c d o m a i n d i d i t become evident that the declared intentions h a d gone badly w r o n g , causing extensive civilian casualties. T h i s slippage p o i n t s t o the increasing problems o f m a i n t a i n i n g an effective system o f o f f i c i a l controls over c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n an era o f p r o l i f e r a t i n g image m a k i n g . Images carefully crafted f o r p u b l i c c o n s u m p t i o n are counterposed against ' u n a u t h o r i z e d ' a n d vernacular images o f p u b l i c functionaries a n d their actions. T h e c o n t e m p o r a r y crisis o f representation is i n p a r t a crisis o f c o n t r o l . A n u m b e r o f w r i t e r s have stressed t h e central role o f r e f l e x i v i t y i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f m o d e r n i t y , t h e fact t h a t ' m o d e r n i t y transforms the w e b o f i n s t i t u t i o n s ' a n d t h a t ' r e f l e x i v i t y is t h e measure a n d m e d i u m o f this t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ' (Beck, 1992:
1 6 4 ) . C o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems play a central role i n this process, since
they are t h e m a i n means t h r o u g h w h i c h i n f o r m a t i o n a n d debate about past plans a n d actions can be stored a n d r e t r i e v e d . C o n t r o l over access t o t h e means o f c r i t i c a l r e f l e c t i o n is therefore o f considerable significance. Recent c o m m e n t a r i e s o n this issue have emphasized the central role o f experts a n d e x p e r t systems i n r e g u l a t i n g r e f l e x i v i t y a n d addressing the issue o f risk. W h a t people k n o w depends o n w h a t they are t o l d a n d b y w h o m . W h a t they believe depends o n w h o they t r u s t . I n t h e contest f o r m i n d s a n d hearts under m o d e r nity, t h e claims o f expertise have been continually p i t c h e d against the testimony o f experience.
T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y evident i n certain f o r m s o f news a n d
d o c u m e n t a r y expression, w h e r e the ethos o f radical p o p u l i s m , w i t h its deepr o o t e d distrust o f o f f i c i a l d o m i n a l l its f o r m s , has been a n c h o r e d b y t h e celeb r a t i o n o f eye-witness accounts a n d g r o u n d e d experience, w h e t h e r p r o v i d e d
Communications and Modernity by journalists o r p a r t i c i p a n t s . As w e n o t e d earlier, h o w e v e r , t h e question o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n involves issues o f c u l t u r a l f o r m as w e l l as o f social delegation. H e r e w e need t o e x p l o r e , m u c h m o r e f u l l y t h a n w e have done so far, t h e s h i f t i n g r e l a t i o n between language a n d imagery i n p o p u l a r representation. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f l i t h o g r a p h y a n d , later, o f p h o t o - j o u r n a l i s m a n d t h e silent c i n e m a , changed t h e terms o f this r e l a t i o n , creating n e w collisions between the sequential arguments c a r r i e d b y language a n d t h e p r o l i f e r a t i n g c o n n o t a t i o n s d e t o n a t e d b y t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g imagery. Claims t o p l a u s i b i l i t y a n d a u t h o r i t y came t o d e p e n d as m u c h o n w h a t speakers o r w r i t e r s l o o k e d l i k e as o n w h a t they said. I n a p p r o a c h i n g this p r o b l e m , there is l i t t l e t o be gained f r o m l a m e n t i n g t h e loss o f some i m a g i n e d era o f ' p u r e ' discourse a n d c o m p l a i n i n g a b o u t t h e i n a b i l i t y o f c o m m e r c i a l television o r t h e t a b l o i d press t o stage r a t i o n a l debates. Instead, w e need t o investigate t h e c o m p l e x i n t e r p l a y b e t w e e n f o r m a t i o n s o f discourse a n d f o r m a t i o n s o f visual representation as i t has u n f o l d e d u n d e r m o d e r n i t y , a n d t o trace its consequences f o r t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f p u b l i c k n o w l e d g e a n d belief. As argued earlier, p a r t o f this h i s t o r y centres o n t h e c o m p e t i n g identities a n d vocabularies o f m o t i v e o f f e r e d b y the rhetorics o f c o n s u m p t i o n a n d citizenship. B a u m a n speaks f o r m a n y recent w r i t e r s w h e n he argues that whereas 'classical' m o d e r n i t y was organized a r o u n d p r o d u c t i o n , p o s t m o d e r n i t y (or, as I prefer, h i g h m o d e r n i t y ) is o r i e n t e d t o c o n s u m p t i o n a n d that 'consumer choice has been e n t r e n c h e d as t h e p o i n t at w h i c h systematic r e p r o d u c t i o n , social integrat i o n a n d i n d i v i d u a l life w o r l d are c o o r d i n a t e d a n d h a r m o n i z e d ' 1992:
(Bauman,
5 2 ) . O n c e again, t h e s h i f t i n g relations between t h e p u b l i c a n d private
spheres, u n d e r s t o o d i n this instance as the progressive c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n a n d c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f p u b l i c c u l t u r e , is central t o an adequate analysis. B u t B a u m a n is perhaps o v e r l y eager t o c l a i m a fait accompli.
T h e consumer system
is u n d o u b t a b l y central t o late m o d e r n i t y , as b o t h an i n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l f o r m a t i o n a n d as an o r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e o f everyday l i f e . A n d t h e c o m m e r c i a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s system has certainly played a p i v o t a l role i n b r i n g i n g this a b o u t , b y p r o v i d i n g t h e m a i n site f o r t h e advertising a n d p u b l i c i t y t h a t p r o motes t h e system a n d b y o f f e r i n g an e n t i c i n g array o f consumer o p t i o n s i n its o w n r i g h t . B u t its f o r w a r d m a r c h has n o t gone uncontested. I t has t o c o n t e n d w i t h t h e still p o w e r f u l rhetorics o f f e r e d b y t h e i m a g i n e d c o m m u n i t y o f the n a t i o n a n d w i t h p r o l i f e r a t i n g claims t o social representation a n d social justice. I n t h e e n d , arguments about unequal life chances cannot be entirely satisfied b y the o f f e r o f a n o p e n choice o f life styles i n t h e marketplace. T h e h i s t o r y o f t h e struggle between t h e discourses a n d dynamics o f citizenship, consumerism a n d social d i v i s i o n , is o n e w e need t o trace as a matter o f urgency i f w e are t o address t h e present crisis o f representation i n all its r a m i f i c a t i o n s .
References Bauman, Zygmunt 1992: Intimations of postmodernity. London: Routledge. Beck, Ulrich 1992: H o w modern is modern society? Theory, Culture and Society 9(2), 163-9.
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The Media and Modern Life Berman, Marshal 1983: All that is solid melts into air. London: Verso. Giddens, Anthony 1984: The constitution of society. O x f o r d : Polity Press. Giddens, Anthony 1990: The consequences of modernity. O x f o r d : Polity Press. Massey, Doreen 1992: Politics and space-time. New Left Review 196 (Nov./Dec), 65-84. Thompson, Bill 1993: Tapping into a new universe. Guardian 18 February, 17.
Questions 1
2 3
Summarise and review the definition of modernity offered in the extract. What does Murdock suggest about the relations between communications and the formations of modernity? How have the notions and identities of 'consumer' and 'citizen' been influential in the development of modern conditions and modern media systems? How have recent advances in communications reshaped or reconfigured public and private domains? Develop some of these ideas with reference to examples of your own.
Further reading Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M . (eds.) 1991: Mass media and society. London: Edward Arnold. Dahlgren, P. 1995: Television and the public sphere: citizenship, democracy and the media. London: Sage. Kellner, D . 1995: Media culture. London: Routledge. McRobbie, A. 1994: Postmodernism and cultural studies. London: Routledge. Stevenson, N . 1995: Understanding media cultures: social theory and mass communication. London: Sage. (See Section 3, reading 7.). Thompson, J.B. 1996: The media and modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
6 Public Service Broadcasting and Modern Public Life Paddy Scannell From Media, Culture and Society 11, 135-66 (1989)
In their differing ways the last three readings have suggested that the nature, scale and shape of twentieth-century experience has been profoundly transformed, extended and constituted by the expansion of mass communication systems. In this final reading of Section 1, Scannell focuses on the consequences of the development of broadcasting, both radio and television. In particular he is concerned to evaluate the historical contributions made to modern democratic cultures by the institutional practices and consequences of public service broadcasting.
Public Service Broadcasting In Britain and many other modem nation states, public service forms of broadcasting have entailed the organisation of radio and television services primarily as public utilities and resources, rather than as profitable commodities. This emphasis has encompassed their organisation and control as national cultural institutions owned, regulated and run in the public interest and dedicated to the public provision of information and entertainment. In these terms, broadcasters have been obliged to serve the public in various ways rather than simply to follow the dictates of commercial markets. The history of the development of broadcasting systems in many nation states from the 1920s onwards has been profoundly influenced by the values and discourses of public service, either in the form of publicly owned state monopolies (for example, the BBC, pre-1955) or more recently as a significant public element within mixed systems which allow for competition between commercial and public variants of radio and TV. The ethos of public service broadcasting and the practices associated with it have changed considerably since earlier decades of the century. Scannell's historical assessment - and what follows is again only an extract from the whole essay - needs to be set in the context of two particular issues. First, the accelerating demise of the public service ideal which has occurred particularly as a result of the policies of deregulation in the British broadcast sector in the last 20 years and the expansion of new commercial and technological forms of media to challenge the previous dominance of public service media. Second, Scannell is concerned to argue for a more positive reassessment of the achievements and values of public service broadcasting than has generally been accorded. In particular he takes issue with what he sees as the rather one-dimensional critiques of public service broadcasting which have condemned it for its elitism and ideological bias. From his point of view, public service radio and television have enabled genuinely new forms of communicative relationships to emerge in an expanded, modern and democratic public sphere. This leads him to argue for the centrality of communicative entitlements or communicative rights, which he sees as enshrined in and guaranteed by public service provision and worthy of retaining into the twenty-first century. We defend public services as if they existed only for the poor when i n fact their rationale is to create common conditions of life for all classes. (Michael Ignatieff, Guardian, 4 April 1988) I f broadcasting t o d a y is defensible as a p u b l i c service i t can o n l y be as a service t o t h e p u b l i c . A n d yet w h a t t h e w o r d public
means i n t h e c o n t e x t o f broadcast-
i n g remains r e m a r k a b l y u n d e r e x a m i n e d i n debates about t h e social role o f r a d i o a n d television n o w a n d i n the f u t u r e . W h e n t h e Peacock C o m m i t t e e t u r n e d t o t h e broadcasters f o r their interpretations o f p u b l i c service they r e m a i n e d u n e n l i g h t e n e d . ' W e h a d some d i f f i c u l t y ' , their Report observed, ' i n o b t a i n i n g an o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n f r o m broadcasters', a n d i t c r i t i c i z e d the B B C p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r being t o o vague o r f o r c l a i m i n g t o o m u c h (Peacock, 1 9 8 6 : 130). I f t h e broadcasters are confused, so t o o are politicians a n d academics. T h e f o r m e r have always treated r a d i o a n d television i n terms o f their i m m e d i ate interests. T h e w h o l e h i s t o r y o f t h e relationship between broadcasting a n d
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The Media and Modern Life the w o r l d o f politics is o n e o f m a n i p u l a t i o n a n d pressures (overt a n d covert) exerted o n broadcast news a n d discussion by politicians, parties a n d g o v e r n ments (Scannell, 1 9 8 4 ) . As f o r academics i n this country, f r o m F. R. Leavis t h r o u g h R i c h a r d H o g g a r t t o Stuart H a l l , t h e d o m i n a n t educational ideology has been t h a t t h e media are m a n i p u l a t i v e , audiences are beguiled against their better interests a n d t h e benevolent, disinterested role o f education is t o teach critical awareness o f h o w these manipulations take place ' b e h i n d men's backs'. I n this article I w i s h t o revalue broadcasting's social r o l e against its devaluat i o n i n arguments t h a t regard i t p r i m a r i l y as a f o r m o f social c o n t r o l , o r o f c u l t u r a l s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n o r o f ideological (mis)representation. T o t h e contrary, I w i s h t o argue f o r broadcasting i n its present f o r m , as a p u b l i c g o o d t h a t has u n o b t r u s i v e l y c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n o f everyday l i f e , i n p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e contexts, f r o m its b e g i n n i n g t h r o u g h t o today. I d o n o t see h o w there can be a n y reasonable case f o r t h e present system other t h a n a l o n g such lines. I w i l l a t t e m p t t o d e f e n d this p r o p o s i t i o n first b y d e v e l o p i n g an account o f broadcasting as a p u b l i c g o o d a n d t h e n considering t h e w i d e r i m p l i c a t i o n s o f this account i n r e l a t i o n t o possible objections a n d criticisms. I n d o i n g this I have i n m i n d t h e w o r k o f Jurgen Habermas, whose concepts o f t h e p u b l i c sphere, a n d o f c o m m u n i c a t i v e r a t i o n a l i t y , have helped t o c l a r i f y m y u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f broadcasting. A g a i n , I w i l l n o t i n i t i a l l y a t t e m p t a c o m m e n t a r y o n Habermas's t h e o r e t i c a l concerns other t h a n t o note here t h a t , a l t h o u g h I d o n o t accept t h e p a r t i c u l a r theoretical lines o f e n q u i r y he pursues, t h e issues he addresses a n d t h e p r o b l e m s he poses seem t o me t o be f u n d a m e n t a l f o r t h e study o f m o d e r n societies a n d t h e c o n t r i b u t o r y role o f m o d e r n media. T w o things I d o take f r o m Habermas that underlie w h a t f o l l o w s : a historical approach t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f broadcasting's public sphere (cf. G a r n h a m , 1 9 8 6 , for a recent discussion o f the concept), a n d a concern w i t h the rational character o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n everyday actual contexts. I w i l l offer a brief, historical account o f the development o f broadcasting i n this c o u n t r y w h i c h focuses o n i t as a public
service i n t w o related ways: first, i n terms o f a content - p r o g r a m m e
o u t p u t - w h i c h constitutes a n e w k i n d o f public life t h r o u g h the relaying a n d creation o f r e a l - w o r l d events and occasions that are public i n a m i n i m a l sense, viz. open a n d accessible t o the public. T w o kinds o f such events are taken i n t o account; o n the one h a n d those that are external t o broadcasting b u t w h i c h broadcasting redistributes, f r o m their o w n locations, t o its audiences (a c o r o n a t i o n , a f o o t b a l l match) a n d , o n the other h a n d , those that are internal t o b r o a d casting w h i c h i t has created f o r its audiences i n its studios (a p o l i t i c a l interview, a chat show, a game s h o w ) . T h e c o n t i n u i n g interplay o f such events, outside a n d inside the studios, make u p w h a t I w i l l refer t o as the public life o f broadcasting. M y second, related concern is w i t h the audiences, the n e w k i n d o f general p u b lic, o n whose behalf this public life is r o u t i n e l y accessed and p r o d u c e d . I have argued elsewhere that there were t w o essential characteristics that have r e m a i n e d , f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g t h r o u g h t o t h e present, as c o n s t i t u t i v e o f p u b l i c
Public Service Broadcasting service b r o a d c a s t i n g : t h e p r o v i s i o n o f a service o f mixed national
programmes o n
channels available t o a l l (Scannell, 1 9 8 9 ) . T h e p r i n c i p l e o f universal
a v a i l a b i l i t y has technical a n d e c o n o m i c c o m p o n e n t s . T h e f u l l establishment o f b r o a d c a s t i n g presupposes a society t h a t has, f o r t h e great m a j o r i t y , risen above the level o f necessity. T o enjoy t h e services o f broadcasting people need at t h e least a m a r g i n a l surplus o f disposable t i m e a n d i n c o m e . I n B r i t a i n before t h e w a r r a d i o sets w e r e n o t cheap, a n d represented a m a j o r i t e m o f e x p e n d i t u r e i n households w i t h o n l y pennies t o spare each week. Nevertheless, 75 percent o f households h a d a r a d i o set b y 1 9 3 9 , a n d t o d a y w h e n 1 0 0 percent o f househ o l d s have r a d i o s i t is c o m m o n f o r h o u s e h o l d members t o have t h e i r o w n sets; 9 8 percent o f households presently have at least o n e television set. T h u s as c o m m o d i t i e s r a d i o a n d T V sets (as distinct f r o m v i d e o display units) have b e c o m e things t h a t every h o u s e h o l d possesses. A t t h e same t i m e t h e broadcasting a u t h o r i t i e s ( B B C a n d I B A ) have seen i t as a f u n d a m e n t a l p a r t o f t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t t o p u b l i c service t o make t h e i r p r o g r a m m e s , as far as is technically possible, available t o anyone w i t h a receiving apparatus a n y w h e r e i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m . T h e BBC's television services n o w reach 9 9 . 1 percent o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . T o reach t h a t extra o n e - t e n t h o f 1 p e r c e n t , 65 n e w t r a n s m i t t i n g stations w e r e added t o t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n system (Peacock, 1 9 8 6 : 1 3 0 n ) .
Such a n investment is t h e m a r k o f p u b l i c service
broadcasting's disregard o f s t r i c t l y c o m m e r c i a l considerations i n r e l a t i o n t o its audiences. W h e r e those are p r i m a r y , broadcasters w i l l deliver a service o n l y t o the m o s t p r o f i t a b l e markets - w h i c h l i e i n densely p o p u l a t e d u r b a n areas t h a t can deliver large audiences w i t h o u t d i f f i c u l t i e s . T h e markets f o r cable services are l i k e l y t o p r o v e even m o r e selective. T h e a f f l u e n t areas o f m a j o r t o w n s a n d cities w i l l be w i r e d u p , w h i l e t h e p o o r e r areas w i l l be neglected. M o r e sparsely p o p u l a t e d , r e m o t e r regions w i l l be i g n o r e d entirely. I f t h e universal d i s t r i b u t i o n o f its services is o n e basic m a r k e r o f a b r o a d casting service c o n s t i t u t e d as a p u b l i c g o o d , t h e o t h e r is t h e s u p p l y o f m i x e d p r o g r a m m e services t o its n a t i o n w i d e audiences, i.e. a w i d e range o f d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f p r o g r a m m e s d e l i v e r e d o n a single channel. T h e m i x t o d a y is f a m i l i a r i n t h e o u t p u t o f the f o u r n a t i o n a l television channels at present available t o a l l i n t h e U K : news, c u r r e n t affairs, a n d t o p i c a l magazine p r o g r a m m e s ;
chat
s h o w s , game shows a n d quizzes; d r a m a o f a l l k i n d s f r o m soap operas a n d s i t u a t i o n comedies t o p o l i c e series a n d single-authored plays; documentaries o n a w i d e range o f topics - social issues, history, science, w i l d l i f e ; religious p r o g r a m m e s ; c h i l d r e n ' s p r o g r a m m e s ; music f r o m t h e c u r r e n t t o p f o r t y t o t h e classics, o p e r a a n d ballet; a w i d e a n d v a r y i n g s u p p l y o f s p o r t i n g events t h a t includes a l l t h e m a j o r sports a n d m a n y n e w ones ( t o t e l e v i s i o n , t h a t is) such as A m e r i c a n f o o t b a l l , basketball, b a d m i n t o n a n d i n d o o r b o w l i n g . A l l this is deeply k n o w n a n d taken f o r granted, bedded d o w n i n t o the very fabric o f daily life f o r a l l o f us. I n the sum o f its parts broadcasting has b r o u g h t i n t o b e i n g a c u l t u r e i n c o m m o n t o w h o l e populations a n d a shared p u b l i c life o f a quite n e w k i n d . I t exists as such today i n national television services b u t n o t i n
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The Media and Modern Life r a d i o . T h e o r i g i n a l Reithian concept o f m i x e d p r o g r a m m i n g was e m b o d i e d i n the p r e - w a r N a t i o n a l Programme (Scannell a n d C a r d i f f , 1982). A f t e r the w a r a three-tiered r a d i o service was i n t r o d u c e d - the L i g h t , the H o m e a n d the T h i r d Programmes - w h i c h stratified audiences i n t o three b r o a d c u l t u r a l taste publics, l o w b r o w , m i d d l e b r o w and h i g h b r o w . Reith, w h o had l o n g since left the BBC, r i g h t l y saw this as a fundamental betrayal o f his f o u n d i n g concept o f public service broadcasting. T h e w o r m i n the p r o m i s i n g b u d o f his vision for r a d i o was music. For obvious reasons music has always constituted the b u l k o f o u t p u t o n r a d i o , b u t i t was impossible - i n the l o n g r u n - t o p r o v i d e a general musical service o n a single national channel because there is n o t , a n d never has been, a c o m m o n musical culture (Scannell, 1981). M u s i c consists o f different taste publics d e f i n e d as m u c h i n terms o f w h a t they loathe as w h a t they l i k e . T h i s is especially so i n relation t o 'serious' music and the avant-garde for w h o m the idea o f music f o r a l l , and o f all music as o f equal value, is anathema. T h u s , the history o f r a d i o , v i e w e d i n the l o n g t e r m , can be seen as its gradual fragmentat i o n i n t o d i f f e r e n t musical taste publics (Radios 1 , 2 and 3) w i t h talk bracketed o u t i n t o specific talk channels (Radio 4). T h i s d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h t o o k place earlier i n the U n i t e d States u n d e r harsher e c o n o m i c pressures, is n o t explicable s i m p l y i n e c o n o m i c terms. B u t i t is e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l pressures f o r deregulation today that threaten t o f r a g m e n t television i n t o m u l t i p l e - c h a n n e l o p t i o n s p r o v i d e d by cable a n d satellite services o w n e d by m e d i a entrepreneurs a n d conglomerates. Such services w i l l consist either o f l o w - c o s t repeats o f p o p u l a r A n g l o - A m e r i c a n television p r o g r a m m e s a n d features f i l m s , o r o f generic p r o g r a m m i n g i n w h i c h all the m a t e r i a l i n a p a r t i c u l a r channel is o f the same k i n d . T h i s later d e v e l o p m e n t is at present
most advanced i n A m e r i c a n cable services -
H o m e Box
Office
( n e w l y released f i l m s ) , M T V (music videos), C N N (Cable N e t w o r k N e w s ) a l o n g w i t h p a y - p e r - v i e w channels that offer m a i n l y s p o r t i n g f i x t u r e s . Generic p r o g r a m m i n g fragments the general p u b l i c that is still c o n s t i t u t e d i n t o d a y ' s f o u r n a t i o n a l U K television channels i n t o particular taste publics w h o m advertisers are increasingly keen t o target. I n so d o i n g i t destroys the p r i n c i p l e o f equality o f access f o r all t o e n t e r t a i n m e n t , i n f o r m a t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l resources i n a c o m m o n p u b l i c d o m a i n . T h e Peacock R e p o r t has redefined
broadcasting
as
a private c o m m o d i t y
rather
than
a public
good,
r e p l a c i n g the general interest by i n d i v i d u a l interests. I n d i v i d u a l consumers, i n the m e d i a universe o f the n e x t century, as envisaged by Peacock, w i l l choose w h a t they w a n t a n d pay f o r w h a t they get. But consumers are n o t all equal i n t h e i r p u r c h a s i n g p o w e r . T h e p r i v a t i z a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n , c u l t u r e a n d entert a i n m e n t may w e l l create a t w o - t i e r e d society o f those w h o are r i c h a n d p o o r i n such resources. Such a d e v e l o p m e n t w o u l d u n d e r c u t the f u n d a m e n t a l l y d e m o c r a t i c p r i n c i p l e s u p o n w h i c h p u b l i c service broadcasting rests. I t is i m p o r t a n t t o see that that service, as we k n o w i t today, rests u p o n a r i g h t o f access, asserted by the broadcasters o n behalf o f their audiences, t o a w i d e
Public Service Broadcasting range o f p o l i t i c a l , r e l i g i o u s , social, c u l t u r a l , s p o r t i n g events a n d t o e n t e r t a i n ments t h a t p r e v i o u s l y w e r e available o n l y t o small, self-selecting a n d m o r e o r less p r i v i l e g e d p a r t i c u l a r publics. W h a t was public
life before broadcasting? I n
a general sense there w e r e certain k i n d s o f b u i l d i n g s a n d spaces i n w h i c h people c o u l d m e e t , outside t h e i r homes, f o r r e l a x a t i o n , pleasure o r s e l f - i m p r o v e m e n t ; p u b l i c parks a n d libraries a n d p u b l i c houses. M o r e specifically there w e r e p u b l i c events t h a t t o o k place i n p a r t i c u l a r places f o r p a r t i c u l a r publics. T h u s , attendance at c h u r c h , a theatre, a concert or variety h a l l , a cinema, a f o o t b a l l m a t c h , a p u b l i c lecture, a p o l i t i c a l rally, a civic or state
ceremony,
w o u l d seem t o c o n s t i t u t e the m a i n k i n d s o f events t h a t w e r e , by d e f i n i t i o n , p u b l i c - t h a t is, o p e n t o anyone w h o c o u l d get there a n d a f f o r d (where necessary) the price o f entry. I n the 1920s the broadcasters h a d a sharp struggle t o establish the r i g h t o f the m i c r o p h o n e t o relay such events b e y o n d their i m m e d i a t e l o c a t i o n a n d audience t o the f a s t - g r o w i n g l i s t e n i n g p u b l i c . C o n c e r t a n d variety impresarios feared a f a l l - o f f at the b o x o f f i c e , the F o o t b a l l Association w o r r i e d about d e c l i n i n g gates a n d the churches foresaw d i m i n i s h i n g congregations. Such i n i t i a l fears w e r e , i n m o s t cases, q u i t e q u i c k l y overcome. M o r e patient a n d persistent
diplomacy
was
r e q u i r e d before
the
authorities
would
allow
the
m i c r o p h o n e t o relay m a j o r state ceremonies, especially those i n v o l v i n g r o y a l ty. O n e i m p o r t a n t k i n d o f access t h a t the BBC pressed f o r very early o n was the r i g h t t o t r a n s m i t , o n a d a i l y basis, the proceedings o f the H o u s e C o m m o n s . T h i s was rejected by B a l d w i n i n 1926
of
a n d was n o t a l l o w e d (for
r a d i o ) u n t i l f i f t y years later. O n l y n o w , o n an e x p e r i m e n t a l basis, has p e r m i s s i o n been g r a n t e d f o r the television cameras t o enter the l o w e r H o u s e . T h u s the particular publics w h o h i t h e r t o had enjoyed privileged access t o such events n o w h a d grafted o n t o t h e m a general
public constituted i n a n d by
the general nature o f the m i x e d p r o g r a m m e service and its general, unrestricted availability. T h e f u n d a m e n t a l l y democratic thrust o f broadcasting lay i n the n e w k i n d o f access t o v i r t u a l l y the w h o l e spectrum o f public life that r a d i o first, a n d later television, made available t o a l l . By placing p o l i t i c a l , religious, civic, c u l t u r al events a n d entertainments i n a c o m m o n d o m a i n , public life was equalized i n a w a y that h a d never before been possible. M o r e o v e r whereas previously such events h a d been quite discrete a n d separate, they t o o k o n n e w meanings as they came i n contact w i t h each other i n c o m m o n national broadcast channels. C o n s i d e r the FA C u p F i n a l , the G r a n d N a t i o n a l or W i m b l e d o n . A l l these existed b e f o r e broadcasting, b u t whereas previously they existed o n l y f o r their p a r t i c u l a r s p o r t i n g publics they became t h r o u g h r a d i o a n d television, somet h i n g m o r e . M i l l i o n s n o w h e a r d o r saw t h e m w h o h a d l i t t l e direct interest i n the sports moments
themselves. T h e
events became, a n d have r e m a i n e d ,
i n a shared n a t i o n a l l i f e . Broadcasting
punctual
created, i n effect, a n e w
n a t i o n a l calendar o f p u b l i c events. U n o b t r u s i v e l y threaded t h r o u g h the c o n t i n u i n g d a i l y o u t p u t was the cyclical r e p r o d u c t i o n , year i n year o u t , o f an o r d e r l y a n d regular progression o f festivities, celebrations a n d remembrances
65
66
The Media and Modern Life t h a t m a r k e d t h e u n f o l d i n g o f the broadcast year. T h e calendar n o t o n l y organizes a n d coordinates social l i f e , b u t gives i t a renewable content, a n t i c i p a t o r y pleasures, a h o r i z o n o f expectations. T h e B B C calendar became the expressive register o f a c o m m o n , c o r p o r a t e p u b l i c life that persists t o this day. T h u s far I have considered a range o f p u b l i c events that existed before b r o a d casting, a n d w h i c h r a d i o a n d television r e d i s t r i b u t e d t o far w i d e r audiences t h a n they h a d ever h i t h e r t o possessed. O n e consequence was that m a n y o f t h e performers
i n those events achieved,
t h r o u g h broadcasting,
fame o n an
u n p r e c e d e n t e d scale. Today t h e faces o f royalty, o f leading p o l i t i c i a n s , c h u r c h m e n , entertainers
a n d sportsmen
a n d w o m e n circulate o n a global scale.
Broadcasting has created a p u b l i c w o r l d o f p u b l i c persons w h o are r o u t i n e l y made available t o w h o l e p o p u l a t i o n s . B u t at t h e same t i m e i t has b r o u g h t p r i vate persons i n t o t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n , thereby e x t e n d i n g a n d e n r i c h i n g its character. Private l i f e has been p r o f o u n d l y resocialized b y r a d i o a n d television. T h e y have b r o u g h t i n t o the p u b l i c d o m a i n t h e experiences a n d pleasures o f the m a j o r i t y i n ways that h a d been denied i n t h e d o m i n a n t t r a d i t i o n s o f l i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e arts. R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s has d r a w n a t t e n t i o n t o t h e g r a d u a l b r o a d e n i n g o f the basis o f representation i n literature a n d d r a m a since t h e sixt e e n t h century. I n Shakespeare's day o n l y those o f gentle b l o o d were suitable subjects f o r tragedy o r r o m a n c e . Rude mechanicals were f i t subjects o n l y f o r k n o c k a b o u t farce. Since t h e n , a r t a n d literature have increasingly dealt w i t h the u n e v e n t f u l lives o f t h e m i d d l i n g classes. By the e n d o f t h e last century, w o r k i n g people h a d become subjects f o r a r t a n d l i t e r a t u r e , b u t usually as objects o f compassion o r as social p r o b l e m s , a n d always as described b y middle-class authors f o r middle-class readers. Broadcasting, because its service was addressed t o t h e w h o l e society, g r a d u ally came t o represent t h e w h o l e o f society i n its programmes. I d o n o t w i s h t o i m p l y t h a t this was s i m p l y o r easily achieved t h e n o r n o w . N o r d o I u n d e r estimate t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f middle-class, w h i t e , male i n s t i t u t i o n s i n adequately representing those w h o are other t h a n themselves. Nevertheless, i t is i m p o r tant t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h e ways i n w h i c h r a d i o a n d television have given voices t o t h e voiceless a n d faces t o t h e faceless, creating n e w c o m m u n i c a t i v e e n t i t l e ments f o r e x c l u d e d social groups. We are n o w f a m i l i a r w i t h d o c u m e n t a r y p r o grammes o n m a j o r social issues such as h o u s i n g , u n e m p l o y m e n t o r poverty, i n w h i c h people w h o live i n such c o n d i t i o n s describe w h a t they are l i k e . Such techniques h a d actually t o be discovered a n d w h e n , before t h e w a r , listeners h e a r d f o r t h e very first t i m e an eye-witness account o f s l u m c o n d i t i o n s i n Tyneside, o r t h e u n e m p l o y e d themselves i n 1 9 3 4 describing h o w they t r i e d t o m a k e ends meet o n t h e d o l e , they created a sensation (Scannell, 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e deceptively simple techniques o f broadcast documentary
programmes
have given rise t o m u c h debate, a n d their surface naturalism has been criticized f o r o c c l u d i n g t h e possibility o f exposing the causes that lie b e h i n d t h e personal testimonies o f those that speak i n t h e m ( G a r n h a m , 1972). T h e r e are indeed
Public Service Broadcasting l i m i t a t i o n s t o these m e t h o d s , t o w h i c h I w i l l r e t u r n , b u t here I w i s h t o note t h a t , at the v e r y least i n enabling people t o speak f o r themselves, t h e broadcasti n g i n s t i t u t i o n s a c k n o w l e d g e their ability a n d their r i g h t t o d o so, as w e l l as t h e i r r i g h t t o be h e a r d . A l l t h e techniques o f d o c u m e n t a r y are designed t o f o r e g r o u n d t h e t e s t i m o n y o f the speakers, t o let t h e m speak spontaneously a n d naturally, a n d t o m i n i m i z e t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n s a n d presence o r t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f broadcasting. I n t h e h i e r a r c h y o f voices t h a t speak i n documentaries, t h e voices o f o r d i n a r y persons, speaking as persons, t e n d t o have a p r i v i l e g e d status over the voices o f experts, officials a n d c o m m e n t a t o r s . D o c u m e n t a r y techniques are g r o u n d e d i n c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d respect f o r their subjects a n d t h e i r experiences. B u t b r o a d c a s t i n g has d o n e a great deal m o r e t h a n t o present o r d i n a r y people i n p r o g r a m m e s d e a l i n g w i t h social issues a n d p r o b l e m s . I t has discovered the pleasures o f o r d i n a r i n e s s , creating e n t e r t a i n m e n t o u t o f n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n o r d i n a r y p e o p l e t a l k i n g a b o u t themselves, p l a y i n g games o r d o i n g silly t h i n g s i n f r o n t o f live s t u d i o audiences. That's
Life!
such p r o g r a m m e s say, a n d
Esther Rantzen celebrates i t . T h e first p r o g r a m m e series t o celebrate o r d i n a r y life a n d experience w a s Harry
Hopeful,
p r o d u c e d i n t h e BBC's M a n c h e s t e r
s t u d i o b e f o r e t h e w a r f o r a n o r t h e r n working-class audience ( B r i d s o n , 1 9 7 2 : Scannell, 1 9 8 6 ) . T h i s was t h e first t i m e o r d i n a r y people came t o t h e m i c r o p h o n e t o t a l k a b o u t themselves a n d t h e i r lives, t o sing a song o r recite a dialect p o e m , o r p e r f o r m a k n o c k a b o u t double-act w i t h H a r r y H o p e f u l before a live s t u d i o audience o f relatives, friends a n d neighbours. T h e s h o w was t h e first t o take o r d i n a r y people a n d t h e i r o r d i n a r y experience a n d t r a n s f o r m t h e m i n t o a p u b l i c , shareable a n d enjoyable event. T h e s o u n d o f t h e s t u d i o audience s i n g i n g , l a u g h i n g a n d a p p l a u d i n g p o w e r f u l l y enhanced t h e effect o f p u b l i c a n d c o m m u n i c a b l e pleasures w h i c h t h e p r o g r a m m e s generated. I n m u l t i p l e ways this p r i n c i p l e has since been e x t e n d e d i n r a d i o a n d t e l e v i s i o n : t h e essential c o m p o n e n t s are a s t u d i o , a host o r c o m p è r e , o r d i n a r y people as perf o r m e r s a n d a l i v e , s t u d i o audience. Have A Go!, Jim'11 Fix It, The Game
a n d Blind
Date
Generation
are a l l i n t h e t r a d i t i o n t h a t invites o r d i n a r y people i n t o
the p u b l i c d o m a i n f o r shared laughter a n d e n j o y m e n t . B r o a d c a s t i n g , t h e n , brings p u b l i c life i n t o p r i v a t e l i f e , a n d p r i v a t e life i n t o p u b l i c l i f e , f o r pleasure a n d e n j o y m e n t as m u c h as f o r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d educat i o n . T h e m a n y voices t h a t speak i n this d o m a i n - t h e broadcasters t h e m selves, p u b l i c persons a n d p r i v a t e people - a m o u n t t o a universe o f discourse. T h e t o t a l i t y o f o u t p u t o f m i x e d p r o g r a m m e s i n n a t i o n a l l y n e t w o r k e d channels adds u p t o a c o m p l e t e w o r l d . T h e r e p e r t o i r e appears exhaustive, a n d w h a t lies outside its c a t c h m e n t - w h a t is n o t broadcast - is n o t p a r t o f t h e ' n o r m a l ' range o f t h e needs a n d interests o f t h e audience as expressed i n t h e sum o f its contents. T o m a k e this p o i n t is t o u n d e r l i n e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t r y i n g t o t h i n k o f broadcast o u t p u t as a t o t a l i t y , a n d always t o register w h a t i t excludes as w e l l as w h a t i t includes. T h e c r u c i a l l y sensitive ' b o u n d a r y ' topics f o r b r o a d casting have been p o l i t i c a l a n d m o r a l : t h e state i n t e r v e n i n g t o regulate t h e f o r -
67
68
The Media and Modern Life mer a n d p u b l i c o p i n i o n i n f l u e n c i n g t h e scope o f t h e latter. A l t h o u g h t o d a y there are constraints o n p o l i t i c s , sex a n d violence i n terms o f w h a t can be said a n d s h o w n , a n d h o w i t can be said a n d s h o w n , there is n o d o u b t t h a t b r o a d casting has i n t h e s i x t y years o f its life e n o r m o u s l y e x t e n d e d t h e range o f w h a t can be t a l k e d about i n its p u b l i c d o m a i n .
[...] O n e o b j e c t i o n t o this account m i g h t be that t h e audiences o f r a d i o a n d telev i s i o n are n o t genuine publics, a n d that i t is a pseudo-public life that is c o n s t i t u t e d i n broadcasting. Listeners a n d viewers w a t c h a n d listen - i t is said - as a t o m i z e d , f r a g m e n t e d , isolated i n d i v i d u a l s , n o t as p a r t i c i p a n t members accessible t o each o t h e r i n t h e m o m e n t o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n . M o r e o v e r there is n o i n t e r a c t i o n between events a n d audiences; n o feedback.
Broadcasting is a one-
w a y system o f transmission, w i t h n o possibility o f i n t e r a c t i o n t h a t is t h e basis o f a n y p r o p e r l y c o m m u n i c a t i v e s i t u a t i o n . H e r e t h e metaphysics o f presence reasserts itself again w i t h t h e j a r g o n o f a u t h e n t i c i t y i n s u p p o r t . Consider first the p o s i t i o n o f the ' a u t h e n t i c ' publics i n most p u b l i c contexts: t h e audience at a concert o r t h e theatre o r a p u b l i c lecture, t h e congregation i n a c h u r c h , t h e spectators at a s p o r t i n g event, t h e members o f a p o l i t i c a l m e e t i n g . I n most o f these cases, t h o u g h t h e audiences are i n each other's presence they are n o t c o m m u n i c a t i v e l y present t o each other. I n d e e d i t w o u l d be quite mischievous t o a t t e m p t t o strike u p a conversation w i t h t h e person beside o n e i n t h e pew, o r d u r i n g t h e lecture, t h e p e r f o r m a n c e , the speech by the p a r t y leader. Such an e f f o r t at c o m m u n i c a t i o n w o u l d violate the s i t u a t i o n a l p r o p r i e t i e s . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t seems n o r m a l a n d n a t u r a l w h i l e w a t c h i n g television - o f t e n w i t h o t h e r people i n the r o o m - f o r there t o be simultaneous c o m m e n t a n d chat a b o u t t h e same event being w a t c h e d ' i n p r i v a t e ' . T h e r e a l i t y is t h a t t h e self-selecting publics i n most p u b l i c events accept v o l u n t a r i l y a n d w i l l i n g l y as t h e price o f admission a n d o f being there - a w h o l e range o f q u i t e unusual b o d i l y a n d b e h a v i o u r a l constraints: t o kneel a n d stand i n c h u r c h , t o a p p l a u d o n cue at t h e rally o r concert, t o take notes at t h e lecture, a n d at all events t o be silent a n d motionless f o r the most p a r t . I n m o s t p u b l i c events t h e nature o f the c o m m u n i c a t i o n is a one-way affair: there are the p e r f o r m e r s w h o p e r f o r m a n d give voice a n d there are the live audiences t o receive t h e p e r f o r m a n c e a n d appreciate i t . W h a t live p u b l i c events have is u n d o u b t e d l y t h e ' a u r a ' o f presence, b u t aura is as l o w i n c o m m u n i c a t i v e p r o p erties as i t is h i g h i n r i t u a l characteristics. I f t h e aura o f presence g l o w s m o r e f a i n t l y f o r absent broadcast
audiences
they have far greater f r e e d o m i n t h e i r behaviour w h i l e w a t c h i n g a n d l i s t e n i n g . T h e y can w a l k o u t o n t h e event (a peculiarly d i f f i c u l t t h i n g t o d o i n c h u r c h , for instance, o r d u r i n g a concert o r play) a n d come back again, they can s w i t c h t o some o t h e r channel, they can freely express t h e i r o p i n i o n s about t h e m e r i t s o r s h o r t c o m i n g s o f p e r f o r m e r ( s ) a n d p e r f o r m a n c e . I n s h o r t , t h e absent listeners a n d viewers - t h e pseudo-public - have m u c h w i d e r b e h a v i o u r a l a n d c o m m u n i c a t i v e o p t i o n s t h a n t h e real a n d present publics whose b e h a v i o u r is
Public Service Broadcasting s t r u c t u r e d i n deference t o t h e event. I n d e e d , b y v i r t u e o f n o t b e i n g present, absent v i e w e r s a n d listeners are n o t i n t h r a l l t o t h e aura o f t h e event a n d are t h e r e b y better able t o see t h r o u g h t h e façade o f r h e t o r i c designed t o rally t h e f a i t h f u l a n d excoriate t h e faithless. T h e f o r c e o f this a r g u m e n t is t o suggest t h a t t h e circumstances o f the absent l i s t e n i n g a n d v i e w i n g p u b l i c create p a r t i c i p a t i o n w i t h o u t i n v o l v e m e n t . W h e r e the live audience is c o m m i t t e d t o t h e event viewers a n d listeners m a y take a n o n - c o m m i t t a l stance. I t is n o t t h a t t h e event is m o r e real a n d m e a n i n g f u l f o r the live audience, less real a n d m e a n i n g f u l f o r listeners a n d viewers; rather there are d i f f e r e n t realities w i t h d i f f e r e n t effects. T h e p u b l i c life o f broadcasti n g does n o t stand i n a secondary a n d supplementary r e l a t i o n s h i p t o a p r i o r a n d p r i v i l e g e d p u b l i c l i f e based o n presence. I t has rather created n e w c o n texts, realities a n d meanings. B u t , i t m i g h t still be objected, the audience still remains fragmented, isolated a n d a t o m i z e d - t r a p p e d i n t h e sphere o f privacy. T h i s is t o v i e w individuals as figures i n a L o w r y landscape, w i t h n o social life o r contact w i t h others. B u t e m p i r i c a l research p o i n t s t o t h e m a n i f o l d ways i n w h i c h the o u t p u t o f r a d i o a n d television t o d a y serve as t o p i c a l a n d relational resources i n m u n d a n e social encounters a n d conversations ( M o r l e y , 1 9 8 6 , f o r instance). Precisely because t h e p u b l i c life o f broadcasting is accessible t o a l l , i t is there t o be talked about by a l l . Everyone is e n t i t l e d t o have views and o p i n i o n s about w h a t they hear a n d see. T h i s is n o t the case w i t h most other c u l t u r a l resources.
[...] T h u s b r o a d c a s t i n g , u n o b t r u s i v e l y b u t n o less remarkably, resocializes
pri-
vate l i f e . C e r t a i n k i n d s o f p r o g r a m m e - soap operas, p r e - e m i n e n t l y - are l i t t l e r i t u a l social events i n w h i c h families o r groups o f friends w a t c h together a n d t a l k a b o u t t h e p r o g r a m m e before, d u r i n g a n d after. Gossip is t h e l i f e - b l o o d o f soap operas, as i t is o f o r d i n a r y daily life - T h e l i v i n g breath o f events', as Patricia M e y e r Spacks calls i t , q u o t i n g Faulkner (Spacks, 1 9 8 6 ) . Gossip i n b r o a d c a s t i n g , gossip a b o u t broadcasting i n t h e t a b l o i d press a n d i n o r d i n a r y c o n v e r s a t i o n - this is t h e very s t u f f o f broadcasting's i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n w i t h socalled p r i v a t e life o r , as I prefer, o r d i n a r y daily l i f e . I t p o i n t s u p t h e q u a l i t y a n d character o f its c o m m u n i c a t i v e ethos. I f i t seems b o t h o r d i n a r y a n d t r i v i a l i t is also r e l a x e d a n d sociable, shareable a n d accessible, non-exclusive, equally talkable a b o u t i n p r i n c i p l e a n d i n practice b y everyone.
[...] I have used t h e t e r m ' c o m m u n i c a t i v e e n t i t l e m e n t ' several times i n this a r t i cle, a n d i t needs c l a r i f i c a t i o n . C o m m u n i c a t i v e entitlements presuppose c o m municative
r i g h t s . C o m m u n i c a t i v e rights (the r i g h t
t o speak
freely, f o r
instance) are e n s h r i n e d i n t h e w r i t t e n c o n s t i t u t i o n s o f some countries, b u t n o t i n B r i t a i n . A m i n i m a l n o t i o n o f guaranteed c o m m u n i c a t i v e rights i n a p r e c o n d i t i o n o f f o r m s o f d e m o c r a t i c life i n p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e . I f one p a r t y (the state, t h e p o l i c e , teachers, parents, husbands) refuse t o be answerable f o r t h e i r c o n d u c t t o t h e o t h e r p a r t y (the electorate, suspects, p u p i l s , c h i l d r e n , w i v e s ) , n o t
69
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The Media and Modern Life o n l y is this unreasonable - i t denies a c o m m u n i c a t i v e e n t i t l e m e n t a n d n u l l i f i e s a r i g h t . C o m m u n i c a t i v e entitlements can be c l a i m e d a n d asserted, w i t h i n a presupposed f r a m e w o r k o f c o m m u n i c a t i v e rights. Rights o f free assembly, t o speak freely a n d ( m o r e o f t e n o v e r l o o k e d ) t o listen, c o n t r i b u t e t o creating f o r m a l , m i n i m a l guarantees f o r certain f o r m s o f p u b l i c p o l i t i c a l a n d religious l i f e . T h e y seed t h e possible g r o w t h o f w i d e r a n d m o r e pervasive claims f r o m those d e n i e d a h e a r i n g i n m a n i f o l d p u b l i c a n d private contexts, that they s h o u l d be listened t o : i.e. t h a t they s h o u l d be treated seriously. As equals. I believe that broadcasting has enhanced the reasonable character a n d conduct o f t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y life by augmenting claims t o communicative entitlements. I t does this, as I have t r i e d t o show, t h r o u g h asserting a r i g h t o f access t o public l i f e ; t h r o u g h extending its universe o f discourse a n d e n t i t l i n g previously excluded voices t o be heard: t h r o u g h questioning those i n power, o n behalf o f viewers a n d listeners, a n d t r y i n g t o get t h e m t o answer. M o r e generally, I have suggested, t h e fact that the broadcasters d o n o t c o n t r o l the communicative cont e x t means that they must take i n t o account the conditions o f reception f o r their utterances. As such they have learned t o treat the communicative process n o t simply as the transmission o f a content, b u t a relational process i n w h i c h h o w things are said is as i m p o r t a n t as w h a t is said. A l l this has, I t h i n k , c o n t r i b u t e d t o new, interactive relationships between public and private life w h i c h have helped t o normalize the f o r m e r and t o socialize the latter. I n saying this I a m n o t t r y i n g t o idealize the present system, whose reasonable/rational character is c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k a n d l i m i t a t i o n s o f mass d e m o c r a t i c p o l i t i c s w h i c h w o r k , i n many ways, t o sustain t h e p o w e r o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l p u b l i c life over m u n d a n e , private l i f e .
[...] Broadcasting
still operates w i t h i n a particular d e f i n i t i o n o f
democracy
established back i n 1918 by t h e Representation o f the People A c t . T h e l i m i t s o f representative democracy a n d o f broadcasting's representative p u b l i c service r o l e w i t h i n i t are essentially the same; p o w e r accrues t o t h e representatives, n o t those w h o m they represent. M o r e p a r t i c i p a t o r y f o r m s o f p o l i t i c s a n d broadcasting are r e q u i r e d i f people are t o play an active p a r t i n p u b l i c life a n d d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , thereby exercising greater c o n t r o l over their o w n i n d i v i d u a l a n d social l i f e . As far as broadcasting goes w h a t is needed are m a n y m o r e p r o p e r l y local r a d i o stations (dozens o f stations i n L o n d o n , f o r instance) a n d m o r e r e g i o n a l television n e t w o r k s t o strengthen rather t h a n vitiate t h e diversity o f identities o f place. M o r e o v e r , p u b l i c access a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n p r o g r a m m e s , p r o g r a m m i n g a n d p r o g r a m m e m a k i n g s h o u l d be a key feature o f decentralized r a d i o a n d television services. Such services s h o u l d enhance b u t n o t displace
the present
system
of
p u b l i c service broadcasting i n this c o u n t r y a n d its c o m m i t m e n t t o p r o p e r l y p u b l i c , social values. I n m y v i e w equal access f o r all t o a w i d e a n d v a r i e d range o f c o m m o n i n f o r m a t i o n a l , entertainment a n d c u l t u r a l services, carried o n channels that can be received t h r o u g h o u t the country, s h o u l d be t h o u g h t o f as
Public Service Broadcasting an i m p o r t a n t citizenship r i g h t i n mass democratic societies. I t is a crucial means - perhaps t h e o n l y means at present - w h e r e b y c o m m o n knowledges a n d pleasures i n a shared p u b l i c life are m a i n t a i n e d as a social g o o d f o r the w h o l e p o p u l a t i o n . As such i t s h o u l d be defended against its enemies.
References Bridson, D . G. 1972: Prospero and Ariel. London: Gollancz. Garnham, N . 1972: The politics of T V naturalism. Screen, Summer. Garnham, N . 1986: The media and the public sphere. I n Golding, P., M u r d o c k G. and Schlesinge P. (eds.), Communicating politics. Leicester: University of Leicester Press. Morley, D . 1986: Family television: cultural power and domestic leisure. London: Comedia. [Peacock Report] 1986: Report of the Committee on Financing the BBC, Cmnd. 9284. London: H M S O . Scannell, P. 1980: Broadcasting and the politics of unemployment, 1930-1935. Media, Culture and Society 2(1). Scannell, P. 1981: Music for the multitude? The dilemmas of the BBC's music policy, 1923-1946. Media, Culture and Society 3(3)1, 243-60. Scannell, P. 1984: A conspiracy of silence': the state, the BBC and public opinion in the formative years of British broadcasting. In McLennan G., et al. (eds.), State and society in contemporary Britain. Cambridge: Polity Press. Scannell, P. 1986: The stuff of radio: developments in radio features and documentaries before the war. In Corner, J. (ed.), Documentary and the mass media. London: Edward A r n o l d . Scannell, P. 1989: Public service broadcasting: history of a concept. In Goodwin, A. and Whannel, G. (eds.), Understanding television. London: Routledge. Scannell, P. and Cardiff, D . 1982: Serving the nation: public service broadcasting before the war. In Waites, B., et al. (eds.), Popular culture past and present. London: Croom H e l m . Spacks, P.M. 1986: Gossip. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
Questions 1
Summarise the arguments advanced in favour of public service broadcasting. According to Scannell, what contributions have public service broadcasters made to modern social and cultural life?
2
In his conclusion, Scannell argues that public service broadcasting should be defended against Its enemies'. Who, or what, are these enemies in the 1990s, and what do they stand for? What arguments have been proposed against the continuation of public service broadcasting, and by whom, over the last decade?
3
Assess the likely future of public service broadcasting in the 1990s and beyond. How, in your view, should public service provision be funded and distinguished from commercial media provision? To what extent have cable and satellite forms of broadcasting irrevocably eroded public service provision?
71
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Further reading Blumler, J. (ed.) 1992: Television and the public interest. London: Sage. Corner, J. 1995: Television form and public address. London: Edward Arnold. Dahlgren, P. 1995: Television and the public sphere: citizenship, democracy and the media. London: Sage. Garnham, N . 1986: The media and the public sphere. In Golding P., Murdock, G. and Schlesinge, P. (eds), Communicating politics. Leicester: University of Leicester Press. H o o d , S.(ed.) 1994: Behind the screens: the structure of British television in the nineties. London: Lawrence & Wishart. Kellner, D . 1990: Television and the crisis of democracy. London: Sage. Livingstone, S. and Lunt, P. 1994: Talk on television: audience participation and public debate. London: Routledge. O'Malley, T. 1994: Closedown? The BBC and government broadcasting policy 1979-92. London: Pluto Press.
Section 2
Stereotypes and Representations
In recent years, the media have frequently been criticised for representing social groups in a stereotypical fashion: that is, in a generalised, partial and selective way, where certain easily identifiable, and often negative, traits are used to define an entire group. This second section consists of ten readings which consider the relationship between representations and identities and aim to demonstrate the kinds of media representations which are both typical and stereotypical. Representations of social identities (genders, classes, races, nationalities, able-bodiedness etc.) are common to all media texts, and their critique and analysis has dominated Media and Cultural Studies in the postwar era. This explains, in part, why this section is the longest in the reader, but we have still been unable to include extracts on all aspects of representation and you may wish to consider others: for example, media representations of nature and the environment or stereotypes associated with environmental activists, teenagers or the elderly. Media producers have often defended the use of stereotypes as a means of transmitting a lot of complex information in a familiar 'shorthand' and easily recognisable way. The section opens, however, with two articles which call into question the whole notion of stereotype. In the first, Tessa Perkins challenges conventional assumptions about their nature and purpose, and her reassessment identifies a number of limitations in the way that stereotypes have traditionally been defined and thought to operate. Martin Barker then goes further, claiming that the concept of stereotypes is based on entirely contradictory premises and is a 'useless tool' for the social scientist. But the fact that media texts frequently rely on stereotypical images to achieve audience recognition ensures that such representations of social identity continue to be one of the most researched and writtenabout areas in media education. In spite of Barker's critique, there is some agreement that stereotypes have an ideological function in that they are a means of categorising social groups and evaluating their significance and status compared to others in a society or cultural group. When considering dimensions of social stratification such as race, class, gender and able-bodiedness, stereotypical representations take on a particular importance in assessing the dominant social group's treatment of others, particularly in the promotion and perpetuation of discrimination. This is illustrated through a diverse range of case studies starting with a piece by Justin Lewis (reading 9) which considers the representation of black people on British and American television and the particular ideological significance of The Cosby Show. Among the other readings in this section are those by Anne Karpf (reading 12) which examines the whole range of images of the disabled in the media, Marjorie
74
Stereotypes and Representations Ferguson (reading 14) who considers the role of women in postwar Britain as portrayed by women's magazines and Terence Quaker (reading 15) who addresses the specific issue of stereotypical images of race, class and gender in advertising. In between these analyses of the most fundamental and commonly addressed dimensions of social stratification, we have included a number of readings which extend the debate and consider less widely researched components of mediated social identity, including one from Simon Watney (reading 13) which considers how accurate it is to describe the representation of people with AIDS as a 'moral panic', particularly at the height of sometimes controversial media coverage in the mid-1980s. The section ends with a reading from an article by John Langer which shifts attention from representations of social groups to the way in which the media construct and mediate the identities of individuals on film and in television, investing them with particular 'star' qualities and personalities. In so doing, he reminds us that in spite of the media's tendency to categorise and stereotype us in terms of our nationality, race and so on, when it comes to our sense of self-identity many of us still look to screen icons and personalities as influential models.
7 Rethinking Stereotypes Tessa Perkins From M. Barratt, R Corrigan, A. Kuhn and J. Wolff (eds.), Ideology and cultural production (Croom Helm British Sociological Association 1979)
To open this section on stereotypes and representations, Perkins identifies a number of shortcomings in the way that stereotypes are normally thought to operate. While acknowledging that they need to be simplistic and immediately identifiable and to contain implicit reference to a consensus about social relations, she asserts that some of the most fundamental assumptions on which stereotypes are based are, at the very least, highly questionable. For example, central to the notion of stereotypes, as understood by Walter Lippmann, who first introduced the concept in 1922, and the generations of media students, teachers and researchers who have followed him, is that they are: simple, erroneous, second-hand and resistant to modification. Perkins disputes all but the first of these assumptions (even this, she says, is inaccurate to the extent that stereotypes are both simple and complex), and she goes on to explain how many of our other ideas about the form that stereotypes take should be reassessed: for example, that stereotypes have to be negative, inaccurate and about oppressed or powerless groups. Central to Perkins' understanding of stereotypes is that they are ideological concepts; they select personality traits, mental, sexual or personal, that have particular ideological significance. The form taken by stereotypes in a capitalist society will depend on the recipient group's structural position, and when applied to most categories their perceived mental abilities will be of greatest significance (hence the primary characteristic of the 'dumb blonde' is that she is of low intelligence, and assumptions about her personality and sexuality are secondary).
I s h o u l d l i k e f i r s t t o focus o n w h a t seem t o m e t o be d o m i n a n t a n d o f t e n m i s l e a d i n g assumptions a b o u t t h e n a t u r e o f stereotypes, a n d w h i c h ... o f t e n p r e v e n t us f r o m m a k i n g theoretical statements about h o w stereotypes f u n c t i o n ideologically. A c c o r d i n g t o these assumptions stereotypes are: (1) always erroneous i n c o n t e n t ; (2) pejorative concepts; (3) about groups w i t h w h o m w e have l i t t l e / n o social c o n t a c t ; b y i m p l i c a t i o n therefore, are n o t h e l d about one's o w n g r o u p ; (4) a b o u t m i n o r i t y groups ( o r about oppressed g r o u p s ) ; (5) s i m p l e ; (6) r i g i d a n d d o n o t change; (7) n o t structurally r e i n f o r c e d . I t is also assumed that (8) the existence o f c o n t r a d i c t o r y stereotypes is evidence that they are erroneous, b u t o f n o t h i n g else; (9) people either ' h o l d ' stereotypes o f a g r o u p (believe t h e m t o be true) o r d o n o t ; (10) because someone holds a stereotype o f a g r o u p , his/her behaviour t o w a r d s a m e m b e r o f that g r o u p can be p r e d i c t e d .
76
Stereotypes and Representations A l t h o u g h there is n o discussion here o f the last assumption, i t is included because i t refers t o an area o f considerable importance and c o m p l e x i t y w h i c h has had t o remain outside the scope o f this paper. T h e ways i n w h i c h w e 'use' stereotypes o f o u r o w n g r o u p t o c o n t r o l relationships, a n d even t o manipulate o u r oppressors, is one example o f the importance o f 'behaviour' and stereotypes. T h e concept o f 'stereotype' was first i n t r o d u c e d i n t o the social sciences b y L i p p m a n n i n 1 9 2 2 (see H a r d i n g , 1 9 6 8 ) , a n d his version remains t h e most w i d e l y accepted by social scientists a n d l a y m e n alike. I t includes most o f t h e above assumptions. I f a concept is r e f e r r e d t o as a stereotype, t h e n t h e i m p l i c a t i o n is t h a t i t is simple rather t h a n c o m p l e x o r d i f f e r e n t i a t e d ; rather t h a n accurate; secondhand,
erroneous
rather t h a n f r o m direct experience; a n d
resistant t o m o d i f i c a t i o n b y n e w experience ( H a r d i n g , 1 9 6 8 ) . I w i s h t o argue that w h i l e stereotypes d o take this f o r m o n occasion, i t is o n l y t h e first o f these characteristics that can be considered a p a r t o f the d e f i n i t i o n o f 'stereot y p e ' , a n d even here I have reservations. I n so far as all typifications are simplifications
since they select c o m m o n fea-
tures a n d exclude differences, then all typifications are u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d (and i n that sense they are also erroneous). Is i t then simply a matter o f degree? S h o u l d w e conceptualise stereotypes as being at one e n d o f a c o n t i n u u m , such that they select fewer characteristics (thereby e x c l u d i n g more)? T h i s seems t o be t h e case i f w e t h i n k o f such stereotypes as ' d u m b b l o n d e ' o r ' h a p p y - g o - l u c k y n e g r o ' . F u r t h e r m o r e , this is t h e c r i t e r i o n used i n empirical research t o decide w h e t h e r o r n o t a stereotype exists. H o w e v e r , this ' s i m p l i c i t y ' is i n t w o senses deceptive: firstly, i t may i n some cases be better described as abstractness. T h a t is t o say that some stereotypes operate o n a higher level o f generalisation t h a n other t y p i f i c a t i o n s ; t o refer ' c o r r e c t l y ' t o someone as a ' d u m b b l o n d e ' , a n d t o understand w h a t is meant by that implies a great deal m o r e t h a n hair c o l o u r a n d intelligence. I t refers i m m e d i a t e l y t o her sex, w h i c h refers t o her status i n society, her relationship t o m e n , her i n a b i l i t y t o behave o r t h i n k rationally, a n d so o n . I n short, i t implies k n o w l e d g e o f a c o m p l e x social structure (in this w a y stereotypes are l i k e symbols). So i t is misleading t o say stereotypes are simple rather than c o m p l e x . T h e y are simple and c o m p l e x . Secondly, t h e description o f stereotypes as simple rather t h a n differentiated
is similarly deceptive. T h e
fact that there is a higher consensus ( u n i f o r m i t y ) about the adjectives w h i c h describe the characteristics o f some groups, t h a n there is about those w h i c h describe other groups, may tell us a l o t about the social situation o f the g r o u p being described, a n d does n o t necessarily i m p l y prejudice o r d i s t o r t i o n . I t may be t h e case that members o f this g r o u p can ' l e g i t i m a t e l y ' be characterised b y three o r f o u r attributes. We cannot assume that there is an ideal n u m b e r o f adjectives by w h i c h t o describe a g r o u p . T h i s is n o t t o say that s i m p l i c i t y , c o m p l e x i t y a n d d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n are entirely i r r e l e v a n t t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f stereotypes, b u t that they can b e , a n d have b e e n , m i s l e a d i n g . Nevertheless
these terms d o i d e n t i f y t h e area i n w h i c h w e must
l o o k f o r differences between stereotypes a n d other t y p i f i c a t i o n s . For example
Rethinking Stereotypes i t seems t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f stereotypes is o f t e n a c c o m m o d a t e d b y alternat i v e stereotypes - ' d u m b b l o n d e ' / ' c u n n i n g m i n x ' - rather t h a n b y an e x p a n s i o n o f t h e stereotype. I w i l l r e t u r n t o these questions later. T h e i m p l i c a t i o n that stereotypes are 'erroneous
rather than accurate'
accepted as p a r t o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f stereotypes;
is w i d e l y
inaccuracy i n this context
i m p l y i n g a false account o f objective reality - blondes are n o t d u m b , negroes are not
happy-go-lucky. T h e r e are t w o m a i n objections t o this. Firstly, a l o t o f
e m p i r i c a l research i n t o , f o r example racial stereotypes, has led some theorists t o oppose 'inaccuracy' w i t h a 'kernel o f t r u t h ' hypothesis. Secondly, i f w e c l a i m t h a t stereotypes are erroneous, then their p o t e n t i a l ideological role is considerably reduced. I f there were really n o positive c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e content (perceived attributes) o f a stereotype a n d the characteristics (actual attributes) o f the g r o u p concerned, i t w o u l d be t a n t a m o u n t t o a r g u i n g either that the social (that is, c o m m o n l y accepted) definitions o f y o u have n o effect o n y o u , i n w h i c h case i t w o u l d be very d i f f i c u l t t o see h o w ideology o r socialisation w o r k s at a l l ; or, t h a t stereotypes d o n o t represent social definitions a n d are sociologically insignificant since they are manifestations o f pathological behaviour a n d thus m a i n l y the concern o f psychologists; o r that they affect o n l y y o u r behaviour b u t n o t y o u r ' t r u e s e l f , thus i m p l y i n g a divorce between behaviour a n d self
[...] T h e c l a i m t h a t stereotypes are 'secondhand ence'
rather
than from
direct
experi-
is s i m i l a r t o K l a p p ' s ( 1 9 6 2 ) d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n stereotypes (as refer-
r i n g t o t h i n g s o u t s i d e one's social w o r l d ) a n d social types ( r e f e r r i n g t o t h i n g s w i t h w h i c h o n e is f a m i l i a r ) . I n t u i t i v e l y this seems v a l i d . H o w e v e r , t h e consequences o f a c c e p t i n g this d i s t i n c t i o n are unacceptable. T h i s w o u l d r u l e o u t stereotypes o f m e n a n d w o m e n , at t h e v e r y least, since w e a l l have d i r e c t experience
o f t h e o p p o s i t e sex. A l s o i t rules o u t stereotypes o f one's o w n
g r o u p , a n d hence t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t stereotypes a b o u t one's g r o u p i n f l u e n c e one's d e f i n i t i o n o f oneself, a n d conversely, i t ignores t h e i n f l u e n c e o f stereotypes o n people's b e h a v i o u r t o w a r d s members o f o t h e r g r o u p s . For e x a m p l e a teacher's stereotype
o f w o r k i n g - c l a s s c h i l d r e n m a y affect t h e teacher's
e x p e c t a t i o n s o f t h e c h i l d (and thus t h e c h i l d itself). So t h e p o t e n t i a l r o l e o f stereotypes i n s o c i a l i s a t i o n , a n d thus i n ideology, is once again r e d u c e d t o a v e r y secondary
o n e . Secondhandness is a n y w a y characteristic
o f t h e vast
m a j o r i t y o f o u r concepts a n d c a n n o t t h e r e f o r e be used t o d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n stereotypes a n d o t h e r concepts. Is i t t h e n 'resistance
to modification
by new experience*
that is the key factor?
T h e a s s u m p t i o n here is t h a t , n o r m a l l y , contact w i t h t h e g r o u p i n question w o u l d change t h e concept t o b r i n g i t i n t o line w i t h reality, b u t that n e w e x p e r i ence w i l l n o t m o d i f y a stereotype. D i s r e g a r d i n g the fact that the assumption o f inaccuracy is b u i l t i n t o t h e n o t i o n o f resistance, t h e m a i n i m p l i c a t i o n is that i n contrast t o o t h e r concepts, stereotypes are especially resistant (or r i g i d ) . T h i s receives s u p p o r t f r o m research i n t o 'erroneous' a n d h i g h l y pejorative stereotypes w h i c h serve i m p o r t a n t psychological functions ( f o r those h o l d i n g
77
78
Stereotypes and Representations the stereotypes) a n d w h i c h cannot
be given u p w i t h o u t traumatic conse-
quences. But such stereotypes are a special case. M o s t concepts are resistant i n the sense that they require m o r e than one deviant case t o change t h e concept. I n o r d e r t o assess w h e t h e r stereotypes are p a r t i c u l a r l y r i g i d , w e need t o study the c o n d i t i o n s under w h i c h concepts change, h o w m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n is necessary, h o w i m p o r t a n t t h e c o n t i n u e d existence o f c o n f i r m a t o r y i n f o r m a t i o n is, a n d h o w i m p o r t a n t the stereotype's conceptual status is ( h o w m u c h else w o u l d have t o change). T h i s must surely be essential t o o u r understanding o f i d e o l o gy. W e cannot s i m p l y assert that stereotypes are r i g i d . W e must l o o k at t h e social relationships t o w h i c h they refer, a n d at their conceptual status, a n d ask under w h a t c o n d i t i o n s are stereotypes m o r e o r less resistant t o m o d i f i c a t i o n . T h i s is n o t t o deny that stereotypes are very ' s t r o n g ' concepts, a n d this may be a d i s t i n g u i s h i n g feature. T h e strength o f a stereotype results f r o m a c o m b i n a t i o n o f three
factors:
its ' s i m p l i c i t y ' ; its immediate recognisability
(which
makes its c o m m u n i c a t i v e role very i m p o r t a n t ) , a n d its i m p l i c i t reference t o a n assumed consensus about
some attribute o r c o m p l e x
social
relationships.
Stereotypes are i n this respect prototypes o f 'shared c u l t u r a l meanings'.
They
are n o t h i n g i f n o t social. I t is because o f these characteristics that they are so useful i n socialisation - w h i c h i n t u r n adds t o their relative strength. I n t r y i n g t o b r o a d e n t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f stereotype ... there is a risk t h a t i t w i l l s i m p l y become indistinguishable f r o m ' r o l e ' . A c c o r d i n g t o sociological t r a d i t i o n , a r o l e is a 'set o f expectations a n d obligations t o act i n certain ways i n certain settings'. T h e c h i l d , i n being taught t h e behaviour a p p r o p r i a t e t o his/her ( o r others') status (role expectations) is also t a u g h t s o m e t h i n g m o r e , a more
general
lesson:
that
is, that g r o u p m e m b e r s h i p
is i m p o r t a n t a n d
e x t r e m e l y significant; i n a sense i t 'determines' behaviour - d i f f e r e n t groups behave d i f f e r e n t l y a n d have d i f f e r e n t characteristics,
d i f f e r e n t rights a n d
duties a n d consequently groups are related t o each other i n d i f f e r e n t , struct u r e d , ways - some deserve m o r e respect t h a n others a n d so o n . (Schools may n o w be p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t i n r e i n f o r c i n g a n d elaborating o n this l e a r n i n g o f g r o u p i d e n t i t y a n d significance. Universal, c o m p u l s o r y education may have p l a y e d an i m p o r t a n t p a r t i n d i m i n i s h i n g t h e influence o f the t r e n d t o personalised socialisation i n t h e family.) T o learn h o w t o behave, t h e n , involves l e a r n i n g t o recognise (and t h e n evaluate) people as members o f groups - that is t o apply g r o u p concepts t o social as w e l l as t o physical p h e n o m e n a . T h e d e f i n i t i o n o f oneself, a n d others, as a m e m b e r o f a g r o u p is absolutely essential t o t h e ideological effectiveness o f stereotypes. T o learn about groups is t o learn about status. Roles describe t h e d y n a m i c aspect o f status. W h a t t h e n is the relationship between r o l e , status a n d stereotype?
Status
refers t o a p o s i t i o n i n society w h i c h entails a certain set o f rights a n d duties. Role
refers t o t h e performance
Stereotype
o f those rights a n d duties, i t is r e l a t i o n a l .
refers t o b o t h role and status at the same t i m e , and t h e reference is
Rethinking Stereotypes perhaps always p r e d o m i n a n t l y evaluative. (Adjectives are most i m p o r t a n t , a n d are o f t e n c o m b i n e d w i t h o r reduced t o value-laden nouns - d u m b b l o n d e , b u m , nigger. B u t stereotypes are n o t always so succinct.) Stereotypes d o n o t necessarily exist about a l l statuses. T h e r e is n o t a stereotype o f a typist o r a c a r d b o a r d - b o x maker. T h e r e m a y be an 'image' o f t h e sort o f person t h a t is l i k e l y t o be a t y p i s t , b u t i t is very m u c h m o r e f l u i d , generalised a n d descriptive t h a n a stereotype is a n d m a y be entirely personal. I s h o u l d acknowledge here that I a m still n o t sure about h o w t o i d e n t i f y t h e boundaries o f stereotypes. I w i l l m a k e t w o p o i n t s t o c l a r i f y t h e matter. Firstly, i t may be that there is n o t a ' n a t i o n a l ' stereotype o f a typist, b u t that there is a localised one - that is t o say t h a t those w h o come i n t o close o r frequent contact w i t h a g r o u p o f typists d o h o l d a stereotype o f typists. I t is possible that t o this extent all statuses d o give rise t o local stereotypes. I s h o u l d a d d t o this that o f course there are at least t w o stereotypes w h i c h i n c l u d e typists - namely t h e stereotype o f w o m e n i n general, w h i c h , c o m b i n e d w i t h a class stereotype, defines t h e parameters o f a general d e f i n i t i o n o f a typist. B u t this is o f a d i f f e r e n t o r d e r t o , say, t h e p r o s t i tute o r 'career w o m a n ' stereotype. Secondly, the boundaries o f stereotypes are u l t i m a t e l y , I t h i n k , i n d e f i n a b l e . W h a t one can say, however, is that some stereotypes are m u c h m o r e ' h i g h l y d e f i n e d ' t h a n others. T h e degree o f d e f i n i t i o n reflects t h e degree o f consensus t h a t a stereotype exists, w h i c h does n o t mean t o say t h a t the stereotype is 'accurate'. I can illustrate this best b y an example I was discussing w i t h a f e w people t h e ' m o t h e r ' s b o y ' stereotype, a n d w e a l l agreed a b o u t its c o n t e n t . I t h e n asked about 'father's g i r l ' ; this p r o d u c e d three d i f f e r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s - a l l o f w h i c h were semi-convincing, b u t none o f w h i c h seemed d e f i n i t i v e . S i m i l a r l y w i t h
' h a p p y - g o - l u c k y n e g r o ' as against
'teacher'. I w o u l d say t h e n t h a t the first o n e i n each pair is a m u c h m o r e h i g h l y d e f i n e d stereotype, a n d that the latter is relatively weak. But i n b o t h cases, t h e latter still constitutes a stereotype i n a w a y that c a r d b o a r d - b o x maker does n o t . We can i n t r o d u c e a n a r b i t r a r y c u t - o f f p o i n t - 5 0 per cent agreement a n d m o r e is a stereotype; a n d i n d e e d t o d o so is v a l i d . B u t that fails t o include the evaluative d i m e n s i o n w h i c h seems t o distinguish stereotypes most clearly f r o m roles. Roles a n d statuses are also o f course, i n t r i n s i c a l l y evaluative concepts. B u t the n a t u r e o f , a n d t h e presentness o f , t h e e v a l u a t i o n is d i f f e r e n t . A stereotype brings t o t h e surface a n d makes e x p l i c i t a n d central w h a t is concealed i n t h e c o n c e p t o f status o r r o l e . W i t h a status o r r o l e w e are c o m m o n l y e n j o i n e d (by s o c i o l o g y t e x t b o o k s ) t o l o o k beneath t h e m t o discover t h e n o r m s a n d values they supposedly 'rest o n ' ; w i t h a stereotype w e m u s t l o o k beneath t h e e v a l u a t i o n t o see t h e c o m p l e x social relationships t h a t are b e i n g r e f e r r e d t o . T h i s does n o t m e a n t h a t stereotypes are simple reflections
o f social values; t o
suggest so w o u l d be t o o v e r s i m p l i f y t h e case. Stereotypes are selections a n d arrangements o f p a r t i c u l a r values a n d t h e i r relevance t o specific roles.
[...] T h e r e is such a s t r o n g - i f understandable - tendency t o define stereotypes as pejorative that pejorativeness has become almost b u i l t i n t o the meaning o f the
79
80
Stereotypes and Representations w o r d 'stereotype'. 'Pejorative' implies a p o i n t o f view, and there is a danger that if w e b u i l d i n t o t h e w o r d 'stereotype' the assumption that they are pejorative concepts, w e w i l l u n t h i n k i n g l y be i n v o l v e d i n a d o p t i n g the p o i n t o f v i e w f r o m w h i c h certain characteristics are seen t o be ' b a d ' , rather t h a n asking ( w h e n appropriate) why are these characteristics ' b a d . ' (This happened o f course i n the early days o f the w o m e n ' s movement.) I w o u l d argue anyway that there are stereotypes o f all structurally central groups - class, race, gender, age. T h e r e is a male (he-man) stereotype, a WASP stereotype, a heterosexual stereotype, an upper class (leader) stereotype. These stereotypes are i m p o r t a n t because other stereotypes are partially defined i n terms of, o r i n o p p o s i t i o n t o , t h e m . T h e happy-go-lucky negro attains at least some o f its meaning a n d force f r o m its o p p o s i t i o n t o the ' p u r i t a n ' characteristics (sombre a n d responsible) o f the WASP. Positive stereotypes are an i m p o r t a n t part o f the ideology a n d are i m p o r t a n t i n the socialisation o f b o t h d o m i n a n t a n d oppressed groups. I n order t o focus a t t e n t i o n o n the ideological nature o f stereotypes i t m i g h t be m u c h m o r e useful to talk o f pejorative stereotypes and laudatory stereotypes, rather t h a n t o c o n ceal the 'pejorativeness' i n the meaning o f the t e r m . I t s h o u l d n o w be clear that i t is necessary t o f i n d a d e f i n i t i o n o f stereotypes w h i c h neither includes n o r excludes t h e assumptions just discussed - e r r o neousness, r i g i d i t y a n d so o n . W h a t is evident is that the various disputes have i n fact i d e n t i f i e d t h e various f o r m s taken b y stereotypes. L i p p m a n n ' s f o u r characteristics describe o n e f o r m o f stereotype. W h a t I w a n t t o suggest is t h a t the nature a n d f o r m o f stereotypes vary, that this v a r i a t i o n may n o t be a r b i t r a r y b u t may be related t o the ideological o r aesthetic f u n c t i o n s o f the stereotypes and/or t o t h e s t r u c t u r a l p o s i t i o n o f t h e stereotyped g r o u p . W e need t o define 'stereotype' i n a s u f f i c i e n t l y o p e n w a y so as t o a l l o w f o r t h e various f o r m s i t takes a n d y e t t r y t o isolate its distinctive characteristics. I w o u l d suggest t h a t the f o l l o w i n g characteristics are essential parts o f stereotypes: A stereotype is: (a) A group
concept:
I t describes a g r o u p . Personality traits ( b r o a d l y defined)
predominate. (b) It is held by a group:
T h e r e is a very considerable u n i f o r m i t y about its c o n -
tent. C a n n o t have a ' p r i v a t e ' stereotype. (c) Reflects
an 'inferior
judgemental
process':
(But n o t t h e r e f o r e l e a d i n g neces-
sarily t o an inaccurate conclusion.) Stereotypes
short-circuit or block
capacity f o r objective a n d analytic judgements i n f a v o u r o f w e l l - w o r n catch-all reactions (Fishman, 1 9 5 6 ) . T o some extent all concepts d o this stereotypes d o i t t o a m u c h greater extent. (d) (b) a n d (c) give rise t o simple structure
( m e n t i o n e d earlier) w h i c h f r e q u e n t -
ly conceals c o m p l e x i t y (see (e)). (e) H i g h p r o b a b i l i t y that social stereotypes w i l l be predominantly (f) A concept
evaluative.
- a n d like o t h e r concepts i t is a selective, c o g n i t i v e o r g a n i s i n g
system, a n d a feature o f h u m a n t h o u g h t (Vinacke, 1 9 5 7 ) .
Rethinking Stereotypes T w o o t h e r p o i n t s need t o be made a b o u t stereotypes. Firstly, stereotypes can be ' h e l d ' i n t w o w a y s . T h e y can be ' h e l d ' i n t h e sense t h a t they are 'believed i n ' . A n d t h e y c a n be ' h e l d ' i n t h e sense t h a t w e k n o w t h a t a stereotype exists a b o u t a p a r t i c u l a r g r o u p a n d w h a t its c o n t e n t is, even t h o u g h w e d o n ' t necessarily believe i t . H o w e v e r , t h e d i v i s i o n between these t w o is n o t always clear. I t is n o t m e r e l y a q u e s t i o n o f either b e l i e v i n g o r n o t b e l i e v i n g , b u t also o f t h e s t r e n g t h a n d consistency o f t h e belief. T h e nature o f stereotypes is such t h a t m o s t p e o p l e d o h o l d t h e m i n t h e sense o f k n o w i n g a b o u t t h e m , just as they k n o w t h e basic tenets o f C h r i s t i a n belief; that is they are w i d e l y
distributed.
T h i s w i d e d i s t r i b u t i o n makes t h e m r e a d i l y available f o r use i n i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e w o r l d , i f t h e occasion demands, just as G o d m a y be i n v o k e d b y semi-believers/semi-agnostics.
T h e p o l i t i c a l (and ideological) i m p o r t a n c e o f the w i d e dis-
t r i b u t i o n o f stereotypes is t h a t they can be, a n d are, appealed t o at certain times. T h e c u r r e n t racist r e v i v a l relies o n people's k n o w l e d g e o f stereotypes, i n t h e same w a y as a r e l i g i o u s revival appeals t o people's b a c k g r o u n d o f C h r i s t i a n k n o w l e d g e w i t h its e x p l a n a t o r y p o t e n t i a l a n d e m o t i o n a l c o n t e n t . Secondly, stereotypes have w h a t I refer t o as a ' f l e x i b l e range'. Essentially t h e same stereotype ( ' i r r a t i o n a l w o m a n ' ) can be presented v e r y starkly a n d b l a t a n t l y o r r e l a t i v e l y c o m p l e x l y a n d 'realistically'. Cartoonists o r comedians o f t e n appeal t o t h e m o s t stark ( a n d exaggerated)
version o f a stereotype.
Aesthetic disputes a b o u t w h e t h e r o r n o t a certain character
i n a f i l m is a
' s t e r e o t y p e ' m a y c o n c e r n a relatively c o m p l e x a n d 'realistic' version o f a stereotype. T h i s f l e x i b i l i t y is u n d o u b t e d l y i m p o r t a n t i n m a i n t a i n i n g c r e d i b i l i t y and communicability. The
f o r m t a k e n b y stereotypes
varies a n d some o f this v a r i a t i o n can be
e x p l a i n e d i n t e r m s o f the g r o u p ' s s t r u c t u r a l p o s i t i o n . N o t a l l stereotypes perf o r m i d e n t i c a l i d e o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n s , n o r are they related t o 'objective r e a l i t y ' i n t h e same way. I n d e e d they c o u l d n o t be. As w i l l be seen later, stereotypes d e v e l o p i n v a r i o u s situations a n d cope w i t h d i f f e r e n t sorts o f p r o b l e m s . A l l I can d o here is t o o u t l i n e o n e w a y o f categorising stereotypes, a n d suggest reasons f o r , a n d consequences o f , a couple o f v a r i a t i o n s . T h e r e are stereotypes a b o u t : 1 . Major
Structural
Groups:
(upper/middle/working);
c o l o u r ( b l a c k / w h i t e ) ; gender (male-female); class age ( c h i l d / y o u n g / a d u l t / o l d ) . ( C a n make
a b o u t M S g r o u p s t o mass audience.) Everybody
jokes
is a m e m b e r o f each
group. 2.
Structurally artists
Significant
a n d scientists;
and Salient
Groups:
mothers-in-law;
ethnic groups (Jews/Scots); adolescents
in
the
1950s.
( C o m e d i a n s ' t o p i c a l jokes m a i n l y f r o m this g r o u p . ) 3.
Isolated
Groups:
social and/or geographic isolation. Gays; A m e r i c a n Indians;
students i n t h e past; gypsies. (Can't make jokes about this g r o u p t o mass audience unless i t also belongs t o another category - p r o b a b l y t o
pariah)
81
82
Stereotypes and Representations 4.
Pariah
Groups:
gays; blacks; C o m m u n i s t s i n USA?; junkies?
( C a n make
jokes t o mass audience - b u t may be 'bad taste' t o d o so.) G r o u p s here w i l l also b e l o n g t o another g r o u p ( 1 - 3 ) . 5.
Opponent
Groups:
upper-class t w i t ; male chauvinist p i g ; reds; fascists. (Can
sometimes
make jokes t o mass audience.) These contrast t o others i n so far
as they are o f t e n developed b y protesting, deviant o r oppressed groups, about their opponents. T h e y can be subdivided i n t o : counter
stereotypes
-
e.g. male chauvinist p i g - w h i c h f o r m part o f a counter-ideology a n d are sufficiently developed t o be about a particular g r o u p (status a n d r o l e ) ; a n d blanket
stereotypes
- w h i c h refer t o all non-believers - all n o n - M a r x i s t s are
fascists; all non-fascists are reds. Counters
originate f r o m a critical a t t e m p t
at r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o r re-evaluation (pejorative rather t h a n laudatory) o f a d o m i n a n t g r o u p . Blankets
reinforce g r o u p solidarity b y c l a i m i n g a m o n o -
p o l y o n k n o w l e d g e o f the ' t r u t h ' a n d g r o u p i n g all rival claims t o ' t r u t h ' as equally irrelevant a n d i n v a l i d . 6.
Socially/Ideologically
Insignificant
Groups:
m i l k m e n : redheads.
Accuracy - the central problem? I have already dealt i n passing w i t h m a n y o f t h e issues w h i c h are r e l a t e d to
accuracy. I have said t h a t stereotypes are o f t e n ' v a l i d ' ; t h a t t h e y are
often
effective
i n so f a r as people
define themselves
i n terms
o f the
stereotypes a b o u t t h e m ; t h a t they are s t r u c t u r a l l y r e i n f o r c e d ; t h a t t h e y refer to role performances,
a n d so o n . H o w e v e r , h a v i n g said a l l this there are
i m p o r t a n t senses i n w h i c h stereotypes are inaccurate o r false. H e r e I refer t o my
earlier c l a i m t h a t stereotypes are s i m i l a r t o i d e o l o g y i n t h a t t h e y are
b o t h ( a p p a r e n t l y ) t r u e a n d (really) false at t h e same t i m e . I w i l l discuss this in
the context
oppressed
o f differences
between
stereotypes
of dominant and
g r o u p s . T w o m a i n p o i n t s a b o u t t h e i r falsity are t o be m a d e :
Firstly, stereotypes present i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f g r o u p s w h i c h conceal t h e ' r e a l ' cause o f t h e g r o u p ' s a t t r i b u t e s a n d c o n f i r m t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e g r o u p ' s oppressed
p o s i t i o n . Secondly,
stereotypes
are selective
descriptions
of
p a r t i c u l a r l y s i g n i f i c a n t o r p r o b l e m a t i c areas a n d t o t h a t e x t e n t t h e y are exaggerations. Stereotypes are evaluative concepts about status a n d role a n d as such are central t o i n t e r p r e t i n g a n d evaluating social groups, i n c l u d i n g one's o w n . D e f i n i t i o n o f oneself as a member o f a g r o u p is essential t o t h e socialisation process, a n d an i m p o r t a n t element o f social c o n t r o l . Oppressed groups pose p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m s o f c o n t r o l a n d d e f i n i t i o n . T h e fact that g r o u p m e m b e r ship is a m u c h m o r e salient p a r t o f t h e s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n o f oppressed g r o u p s t h a n is m e m b e r s h i p o f h i g h status groups t o t h e m , reflects these p r o b l e m s ( H o l t e r , 1 9 7 0 , p . 2 1 0 ) . T h i s saliency is t h e effect o f the c o n t r a d i c t i o n a n d is a m e c h a n i s m o f social c o n t r o l . Because one's m e m b e r s h i p o f a g r o u p is always present,
so t o o is t h e stereotype
o f oneself a n d so t o o t h e r e f o r e ,
is a
Rethinking Stereotypes self-derogatory
concept
-
to
be
socialised
is
to
be
self-oppressed.
(Effectiveness o f t h e i d e o l o g y relies o n this as does its ' l e g i t i m a c y ' . ) B u t t o have a d o p t e d this concept w i l l have i n v o l v e d a d o p t i n g c o n t r a d i c t o r y value o r i e n t a t i o n s as w e l l , w h i c h means that t h e s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n (self-oppression) is always v u l n e r a b l e a n d needs constant
reinforcing. Furthermore, the con-
sciousness o f oneself as a m e m b e r o f a p a r t i c u l a r g r o u p , w h i c h is essential t o social c o n t r o l , is also p o t e n t i a l l y t h r e a t e n i n g . T h e c o n t i n u e d a n d persistent class-consciousness o f a n o f t e n apparently a - p o l i t i c a l a n d apathetic w o r k i n g class, t h e f e m i n i n e consciousness o f ' u n l i b e r a t e d ' a n d repressed w o m e n , are evidence o f this consciousness o f g r o u p m e m b e r s h i p . Stereotypes are p a r t i c u l a r y s t r o n g , I have a r g u e d , w h e n t h e y have t o operate as c o n c e p t u a l ( c o g n i t i v e ) r e s o l u t i o n s o f such c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . I t is this resolution
that
is t h e real
location
o f t h e i r inaccuracy.
Stereotypes
were
described earlier as b e i n g descriptions o f a n effect (consciousness) w h i c h was t h e n evaluated a n d i n v e r t e d , so i t becomes a cause, w h i c h t h e n explains t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f w h i c h i t is actually a d e s c r i p t i o n . T h i s process (similar i n s t r u c t u r e t o a l i e n a t i o n ) is t y p i c a l o f ideology. T h e i n v e r s i o n o f effect i n t o cause is t h e p r i m a r y means o f c o n c e p t u a l l y
resolving the contradiction
i n v o l v e d , f o r e x a m p l e , i n t h e socialisation o f oppressed g r o u p s . H o w e v e r , i t can b e c o m e a cause o n l y because i t makes i d e o l o g i c a l sense. T h e c o n t e n t o f stereotypes is n o t a r b i t r a r y ( n o r are they interchangeable).
Stereotypes are
selective d e s c r i p t i o n s - t h e y select those features w h i c h have p a r t i c u l a r i d e o l o g i c a l significance. H e n c e , r e m a r k a b l y f e w stereotypes refer t o such qualities as kindness, c o m p a s s i o n , i n t e g r i t y - o r even honesty ( n o r t h e i r opposites). Personality
t r a i t s can be s u b d i v i d e d i n t o :
m e n t a l , sexual
a n d personal.
H o w e v e r i t is t h e m e n t a l attributes w h i c h are d e f i n i t i v e a n d w h i c h seem t o ' d i c t a t e ' t h e rest o f t h e c o n t e n t . O t h e r attributes become l i n k e d t o m e n t a l characteristics i n a n o n - r e c i p r o c a l way. D u m b does n o t i m p l y d i r t y ; ' d i r t y ' as a social d e s c r i p t i o n does i m p l y ' s t u p i d i t y ' . T h e reason m e n t a l
characteristics
are d o m i n a n t is t h a t t h e y are i d e o l o g i c a l l y t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t (and t h e r e f o r e c o n v i n c i n g ) . B r i e f l y , e c o n o m i c d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n is t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . T h e ideological criterion f o r economic differentiation i n o u r capitalist society is p r i m a r i l y i n t e l l i g e n c e ; a n d o n l y secondly ' c o n t r i b u t i o n ' t o t h e society a n d possession o f skills w h i c h are necessary b u t 'supposedly' scarce ( f o r e x a m p l e , d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , responsibility, leadership qualities). T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t a n d t h e common
feature o f the stereotypes o f the m a j o r s t r u c t u r a l
g r o u p s relates t o t h e i r m e n t a l abilities. I n each case t h e oppressed g r o u p is characterised as i n n a t e l y less i n t e l l i g e n t . I t is p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t f o r o u r i d e o l o g y t h a t a t t r i b u t e s s h o u l d be conceived o f as b e i n g i n n a t e
characteristics
either o f h u m a n n a t u r e i n general (competitiveness) o r o f w o m e n / m e n / b l a c k s i n p a r t i c u l a r , since this s u p p o r t s t h e belief t h a t they are n o t t h e effect o f t h e s o c i o - e c o n o m i c system (and the o r d e r o f t h i n g s appears t o be i n e v i t a b l e t h e s u r v i v a l o f t h e fittest a n d m a y t h e best m a n w i n ) . T h e fact t h a t stereotypes d o so o f t e n present attributes as i f they w e r e ' n a t u r a l ' is n o t a feature
83
84
Stereotypes and Representations o f s t e r e o t y p i n g per se, so m u c h as an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t they are i d e o l o g i c a l concepts. T h e existence o f endless research p r o g r a m m e s i n t o innate d i f f e r ences a n d t h e p u b l i c i t y t h e i r results receive, s u p p o r t s t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f stereotypes (regardless o f the actual results) a n d o f the i d e o l o g i c a l c l a i m t h a t social d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n arises f r o m innate differences. T h e n o t i o n t h a t w e can (do) have any c o n t r o l over social r e l a t i o n s h i p s is absent, a n d its absence c o n f i r m s i t s irrelevance. T h i s p r o b l e m o f course
has considerable
political
i m p o r t a n c e t o oppressed g r o u p s , a n d they need t o q u e s t i o n t h e efficacy o f i n v o l v i n g themselves i n disputes a b o u t innate differences - there is n o easy answer, I m i g h t a d d ! W h a t t h e n are t h e m a i n differences between stereotypes o f oppressed a n d o f d o m i n a n t groups? Stereotypes o f oppressed groups are stronger a n d sometimes m o r e n u m e r o u s , a n d m o r e 'present' i n the consciousness (and s e l f - d e f i n ition)
o f t h e oppressed
group. They will
also be m o r e present
i n the
consciousness o f the d o m i n a n t g r o u p . A m e m b e r o f an oppressed g r o u p w i l l , by d e f i n i t i o n , have l i m i t e d access t o the 'goods' o f society, a n d t h e stereotype w i l l c o n f i r m this l i m i t e d access (and its legitimacy) b u t s h o u l d n o t be seen as causing i t . Stereotypes o f d o m i n a n t groups w i l l also c o n f i r m t h e boundaries o f t h e i r o w n l e g i t i m a t e a c t i v i t y (as w i l l t h e stereotypes o f oppressed g r o u p s , o f w h i c h d o m i n a n t g r o u p s m a y be m o r e conscious t h a n t h e i r o w n stereotypes). I t is as i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e m t o a d o p t the value structure a n d t o c o n f i r m t h a t the goods o f society are ' g o o d ' as i t is f o r others t o c o n t i n u e t o see t h e m as g o o d ( i f u n a t t a i n a b l e ) . ( G o o d here refers t o a n y t h i n g d e f i n e d as socially desirable, n o t just m a t e r i a l goods, f o r example g o i n g out t o w o r k rather t h a n d o i n g housew o r k . ) M e n w h o choose (prefer) t o stay at h o m e t o l o o k after t h e c h i l d r e n w h i l e t h e i r wives g o o u t t o w o r k , challenge the value s t r u c t u r e . A n d a challenge f r o m a d o m i n a n t g r o u p is p o t e n t i a l l y m o r e t h r e a t e n i n g ( i f m u c h less l i k e l y ) t h a n o n e f r o m a subordinate g r o u p . ( T h e c o n t e n t o f gay stereotypes m i g h t deserve analysis i n this l i g h t . ) I n that respect, a m a l e / w h i t e / u p p e r class stereotype is more l i m i t i n g . A challenge f r o m a subordinate g r o u p can o f t e n be
i n t e r p r e t e d as a c o n f i r m a t i o n
o f t h e value s t r u c t u r e . Stereotypes
of
oppressed g r o u p s w i l l be pejorative, b u t t h e i r pejorativeness is c o m p l e x a n d o f t e n concealed. Stereotypes o f p a r i a h groups may be u n a m b i g u o u s l y pejorat i v e , b u t t h e pejorativeness o f female stereotypes is concealed since they must resolve t h e specific c o n t r a d i c t i o n s o f w o m e n ' s p o s i t i o n . Hence t h e stereotype presents
female
characteristics
as desirable,
f o r w o m e n , a n d masculine
characteristics as undesirable. So t h e negative female stereotypes ' c u n n i n g m i n x ' , ' b l u e s t o c k i n g ' , 'career w o m a n ' (or t h e lesbian ones) are stereotypes that essentially a c k n o w l e d g e that w o m e n may be i n t e l l i g e n t (or aggressive) b u t define t h a t intelligence as, i n their case, undesirable (and ' u n n a t u r a l ' ) . These three stereotypes also reflect another aspect o f female stereotypes w h i c h is m o r e l i m i t i n g t h a n others - t h a t is, a great m a n y alternative stereotypes have been generated t o a c c o m m o d a t e this p a r t i c u l a r l y d i f f i c u l t g r o u p . T h e
Rethinking Stereotypes ' b l u e s t o c k i n g ' o r 'career w o m a n ' stereotype accommodates w o m e n i n these categories b y e x c l u d i n g t h e m f r o m b e i n g sexual beings o r m o t h e r s .
Male
stereotypes are rarely so specific.
References Fishman, J. 1956: A n examination of the process of social stereotyping. Journal of Social Psychology 43. Harding, J. 1968: Stereotypes. International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. Holter, H . 1970: Sex roles and social structure. Oslo: Universiteits forlaget. Klapp, O. E. 1962: Heroes, villains and fools. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Vinacke, W. E. 1957: Stereotypes as social concepts. Journal of Social Psychology 46.
Questions 1
Summarise the main arguments that Perkins puts forward regarding our traditional thinking about stereotypes. Among her assertions is that stereotypes are not necessarily erroneous, negative, about groups other than one's own, about minority or oppressed groups, and rigid or unchanging. What examples can you think of that would contradict this traditional view of stereotypes and support Perkins' analysis?
2
What representations from media material can you find which might be considered to be stereotypical? In which forms and genres are they most commonly found?
3
How do stereotypes change historically? Discuss and assess the emergence of any new stereotypes in the 1980s and '90s.
Further reading Burton, G. 1990: More than meets the eye. London: Edward Arnold. Cumberbatch, G., et al. 1990: Television advertising and sex role stereotyping. London: Broadcasting Standards Council. Dyer, R. 1979: The role of stereotypes. In Cook, J. and Lewington, M . (eds.), Images of alcoholism. London: BFI. Lippmann, W. 1922: Public opinion. N e w York: Harcourt Brace. O'Sullivan, T., D u t t o n , B. and Rayner, P. 1994: Studying the media. London: Edward Arnold. Pickering, M . 1995: The politics and psychology of stereotyping. Media, Culture and Society 17. Seiter, E. 1986: Stereotypes and the media: a re-evaluation. Journal of Communication 36(2). Tolson, A. 1996: Mediations. London: Edward Arnold.
85
8 The Lost World of Stereotypes Martin Barker From Comics: ideology, power and the critics (Manchester University Press 1989)
Barker goes even further than Perkins in his criticism of stereotypes, dismissing the whole concept as a 'useless tool for investigating media texts'. It is the fact that stereotypes are, on the one hand, condemned for being both inaccurate and misleading and yet, on the other, have to appear 'natural' and normal in order to gain audience recognition and fit in with consensual views of the world that causes him to be so critical of the concept. His other main reason for viewing stereotypes as being of limited use, which he discusses at length earlier in the book, is that the implication behind much of the criticism that is levelled at the concept by those teaching Media Studies is that it is wrong to 'label' people and lump them together into easily identifiable groups. He argues that social psychologists have recognised that categorisation is a fundamental cognitive process that humans employ in order to help them make sense of their individual lives and give them a feeling of group identity. In fact he goes so far as to accuse those who write about stereotypes in the media of having set up a small industry around a theory which he considers to be of little or no use.
The trouble with 'stereotypes' T h e search f o r 'stereotypes' i n t h e media has become a small i n d u s t r y i n its o w n r i g h t . T h e l i t e r a t u r e is n o w so large that i t is pointless discussing just o n e o r t w o . I w a n t , instead, t o d r a w o u t the m a i n p r o b l e m s I see i n its use. T h e r e are many, a n d I cannot deal w i t h t h e m a l l . L e t t h e f o l l o w i n g be i n d i c a t i o n s , and i n v i t a t i o n s t o others t o take t h e arguments f u r t h e r . 1.
There
are real problems
the m e d i a etc s h o u l d 'reflect'
with
'stereotyping' theory's
society.
I n a society
demands
that
w h e r e , f o r example,
black people are d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y kept i n l o w - p a i d jobs a n d o n t h e d o l e , o r sent t o p r i s o n , t o have this s i m p l y 'reflected' i n the media w o u l d cause outrage. Hence the d e m a n d shifts t o one that these things s h o u l d o n l y be s h o w n i f they are e x p l a i n e d i n acceptable ways. I d o n o t w a n t t o q u a r r e l w i t h this - o n l y t o make clear that thereby 'stereotype' has disappeared as a c r i t e r i o n . B u t this isn't just a pragmatic p r o b l e m . I t creates t w o i n c o m p a t i b l e y e t c o e x i s t i n g demands, as Steve Neale has n o t e d . O n t h e o n e h a n d , a r e g u l a r i t y 1
m a y be d u b b e d a 'stereotype' i f i t shows a d e v i a t i o n f r o m t h e 'real w o r l d ' . So, a great deal o f m e d i a representation o f w o m e n is c o n d e m n e d f o r r e i n f o r c i n g the (false) stereotype that w o m e n w a n t sex at any t i m e . O r again, t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f black o r w o m e n characters i n t h e media is greatly o u t o f line w i t h their p r o p o r t i o n i n t h e p o p u l a t i o n (or relevant subsection
t h e r e o f ) . These are
The Lost World of Stereotypes stereotypes as falsehoods,
distortions o f the w o r l d .
O n the other
hand,
s o m e t h i n g m a y be d u b b e d a 'stereotype' f o r t h e opposite reason, that i t is so v e r y l i k e the w o r l d outside. H e r e , a g o o d deal o f m e d i a representation is c o n d e m n e d f o r s h o w i n g w o m e n i n t h e h o m e , p r o v i d i n g services t o m e n - t h o u g h o f course i t is i n fact t r u e t h a t v e r y m a n y d o . O r again, black people are overw h e l m i n g l y s h o w n l i v i n g i n p o o r c o n d i t i o n s , i n g h e t t o areas; books etc have been c o n d e m n e d f o r s h o w i n g this even t h o u g h i t is (regrettably) t h e case. These are stereotypes, this t i m e , as s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecies. I t o u g h t t o be clear t h a t these t w o are sharply at odds w i t h each o t h e r .
2
T h e y w o u l d have t o w o r k o n us i n d i f f e r e n t ways, t o be i n f l u e n t i a l . T h e first has t o b l o c k o u r p e r c e i v i n g the w o r l d as i t really is; t h e second has t o stop us seeing a n y t h i n g b u t t h e w o r l d as i t is. T h i s c o n f l i c t is i m p o r t a n t , n o t just a n inconsistency. M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , i f w e l o o k b e h i n d t h e c o n f l i c t , w e m a y f i n d o u t h o w i t is (silently) resolved, a n d therefore has largely gone b y u n n o t i c e d . T h i s needs a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the o t h e r m a i n p r o b l e m s w i t h the concept. 2. T h e r e is a h i d d e n agenda i n here, t h a t i t is w r o n g t o present people as 'representatives o f categories'. T h i s is a p o i n t R i c h a r d D y e r makes very effectively. Discussing 'stereotypes' o f gays i n f i l m s , he p o i n t s o u t h o w i m p o r t a n t i t is t o t h e possibilities o f collective self-defence t h a t there s h o u l d be positive group-images.
3
E l l e n Seiter takes this a stage f u r t h e r , suggesting that t h e h i d -
d e n agenda o n images o f w o m e n is the 'bourgeois career i n d i v i d u a l ' , w h i c h is every b i t as i d e o l o g i c a l as ' h e a r t h a n d h o m e ' images.
4
T h e p r o b l e m arises
because t h e ' s t e r e o t y p i n g ' t r a d i t i o n grumbles, n o t about the p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e n t o f a c e r t a i n category, b u t a b o u t t h e fact o f categorising at a l l . I t is o n l y this t h a t renders t h a t disagreement invisible. 3. Part o f that agenda also is a peculiar theorisation o f 'influence' w h i c h , i r o n ically, i n the e n d does away w i t h the very notions o f social p o w e r that first s t i m ulated
t h e enquiries.
content-analysis.
I f i t has a
method,
'stereotyping'
depends
on
T h e m o r e widespread an image a n d the m o r e o f t e n w e
encounter i t , t h e a r g u m e n t runs, t h e greater the likely influence. O t h e r w i s e , w h y w o r r y about frequency o f appearance? T h i s very passive v i e w o f audiences is a p r o b l e m i n itself. But as R. W C o n n e l l has p o i n t e d o u t i n another context, i t has t h e curious effect o f d o i n g away w i t h any reference t o p o w e r . O ' C o n n e l l ' s p r o b l e m w i t h the Beano.
5
Recall
I t was that girls are under-represented as
characters. Suppose w e p u t that r i g h t . Still missing f r o m these comics w o u l d be any representation o f the t y p i c a l relations between boys and girls. D e a l i n g w i t h that i n s t o r y - f o r m is a quite d i f f e r e n t p r o b l e m f r o m 'getting t h e balance r i g h t ' . For 'stereotype' theory, i t w o u l d seem that girls learn their self-images o n l y f r o m the p r o p o r t i o n a t e appearance o f the sexes, n o t f r o m h o w they relate t o each other. T h e p o w e r o f m e n over w o m e n has n o place i n 'stereotyping' theory. 4. There
is an unsatisfactory
account
o f h o w w e f o r m categories a n d
use t h e m . I t w o u l d seem that categories just 'assemble' o u t o f t h e balance o f influences o n us; a n d t h e n - unless s o m e t h i n g positively interferes, like a g o o d radical p o i n t i n g o u t t h e e r r o r o f o u r ways - w e use t h e m mechanically. T h e r e
87
88
Stereotypes and Representations are a w e a l t h o f visual metaphors i n this k i n d o f t a l k : 'images',
'representations',
'pictures i n o u r heads', ' d i s t o r t i n g o u r perceptions o f t h e w o r l d ' .
6
T h e r e is
n o t h i n g w r o n g per se w i t h using m e t a p h o r i c a l talk. But i t has t w o results here, w h i c h again help resolve that h i d d e n inconsistency I p o i n t e d t o earlier. These 'images' stand between us a n d the w o r l d . T h e y mediate between us a n d t h e w o r l d , a n d stop us 'seeing the r e a l i t y ' . T h e y are l i k e sheets o f glass w h i c h refract the l i g h t a n d make us see things awry. W e can't easily see past t h e m . So, w h e n o n e distorts t h e w o r l d (stereotype as falsehood), i t prevents us seeing clearly. B u t h o w does that e x p l a i n the other k i n d , t h e t o o accurate stereotype? O n l y because these 'images' are seen as storehouses o f the past. T h e p o w e r o f the visual m e t a p h o r is t o suggest staticness, t r a p p i n g us i n t h e past. T h i s is t h e reason f o r t h e obsessive use o f w o r d s l i k e ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' , 'age-old' a n d ' o u t d a t e d ' i n such w o r k . Take as representative the f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n : 'After a l l these years o f b a t t e r i n g o n f o r a n e w deal f o r w o m e n , struggling w i t h
Equal
O p p o r t u n i t i e s , Equal Pay, anti-sex d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , equal school curicula, strivi n g t o release y o u n g girls f r o m the s t u l t i f y i n g role stereotypes o f the past, m a g azines l i k e these [teenage romance comics] are actually t r a v e l l i n g fast i n t h e opposite d i r e c t i o n . ' T h i s k i n d o f talk has l o n g struck me as strange. T h e i m p l i 7
c a t i o n clearly is t h a t 'stereotypes' have n o relevance t o the present, a n d m i g h t w e l l have declined b u t f o r their c o n t i n u e d media presentation. B u t also i t is i m p l i e d that stereotypes d r a w their p o w e r f r o m ideas a n d images o f t h e past; they are n o t creations i n t h e present, f o u g h t f o r and made c o n v i n c i n g t o us, b u t residues o f already-existing powers w h i c h d u l l a n d stultify us, t r a p p i n g us back i n t o those power-relations. I w a n t t o suggest that this is yet another c o m p o n e n t o f the peculiar issue o f ' t i m e ' i n theories o f ideology. O n c e again, i d e o l ogy is seen as a force f r o m the past, b a r r i n g o u r access t o a f u t u r e . 5. T h e resultant politics are inevitably elitist, i n t w o ways. First, 'stereot y p e r s ' still share L i p p m a n n ' s assumptions w h i c h , f r o m t h e start, were infected w i t h elitist p o l i t i c s . T h e y never shed that i n f e c t i o n . 'Stereotypes' exist 8
w i t h i n a pattern o f oppositions: Stereotype
Non-stereotypes
Pre-cognitive
Cognitive
F i x i n g the past
P o i n t i n g t o the f u t u r e
Typical site: the mass m e d i a
Typical site: ' e d u c a t i o n '
I n e v i t a b l y w e , t h e ones w h o have 'seen past t h e m ' , must play a r o l e i n educati n g a n d saving others. T h e y need o u r cognitive p r o t e c t i o n against these n o n c o g n i t i v e influences. A n d just as inevitably, the question hangs i n t h e air, w h y some i n d i v i d u a l s a n d groups are m o r e p r o n e t o being influenced t h a n others. T h i s brings w i t h i t a class d i m e n s i o n . A variety o f studies have s h o w n that w o r k i n g class people are m o r e p r o n e t o categorical t h i n k i n g , than 'educated' m i d d l e class p e o p l e .
9
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e logic o f the stereotyping approach, this must s h o w the i n f e r i ority
o f their t h i n k i n g .
I reject that. T o understand w h y , consider o n e
The Lost World of Stereotypes 'stereotype' already m e n t i o n e d b y C a u t h e n et ai:
'fascism' a n d t h e 'fascist'.
10
Suppose w e d i d decide t o call o u r ' a t t i t u d e t o fascism' a stereotype: w h a t m i g h t be i n it? W e m i g h t list ' i n t o l e r a n t ' , ' p r e j u d i c e d ' , ' a u t h o r i t a r i a n ' , a n d ' v i o l e n t ' . Now
there are q u i t e a f e w i n d i v i d u a l s whose views I regard as fascist w h o are
n o t personally v i o l e n t . Does that mean that m y 'stereotype' o f fascism a n d fascists as ' v i o l e n t ' is a distortion? A t the very best, i t w o u l d be an exaggeration. I w a n t t o dispute t h a t h a r d , f o r reasons that t o m e d o m o r e damage t h a n all o t h e r criticisms o f 'stereotype'. Part o f m y c o n c e p t i o n o f fascism concerns its tendencies as a n organised p o l i t i c a l force. I w o u l d w a n t t o argue that fascism is n o t just a s u m - t o t a l o f its i n d i v i d u a l adherents' behaviours. I t is a p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t , b u i l t r o u n d ideas about 'race', conspiracy
theories a n d so o n ,
w h o s e i n h e r e n t logic leads t o class a n d racial violence. T o define m y v i e w as a 'stereotype' involves t u r n i n g fascism i n t o an aggregate
of individual;
then m y
' i m a g e ' o f t h e m is m o r e o r less accurate inasmuch as i t relates t o those i n d i v i d u a l s . Against t h i s , m y conceptualisation o f fascism involves t r e a t i n g i t as a socially-organised p h e n o m e n o n , i n w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s are n o t s i m p l y aggregated ( w i t h a l l t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r likenesses a n d unlikenesses, personal violence o r o t h e r w i s e ) . T h e y are b e i n g m o b i l i s e d f o r a s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t ; i t is t h e p o t e n t i a l o f t h a t m o v e m e n t I a m assessing i n c a l l i n g fascism ' v i o l e n t ' . I a m assessing its f u t u r e , n o t just s u m m a r i s i n g its past. 'Stereotyping'
dissolves
a l l sense o f social
organisation.
I n protesting
against c a t e g o r y - i n c l u s i o n s , i t dissolves a l l categories. W h a t k i n d s o f characteristic are seen b y 'stereotypers' 'stereotypes'? T h e y traits.
are almost
as t h e m o s t l i k e l y t o appear w i t h i n o u r always individual
physical
or
personality
F o r e x a m p l e psychologists w i l l ask us i f w e r e g a r d Jews as ' s h r e w d ' ,
' c l a n n i s h ' , ' g r e e d y ' etc - a l l i n d i v i d u a l p e r s o n a l i t y traits. B u t h o w , w i t h i n such a m o d e l , c o u l d w e encompass t h e repeated fascist c l a i m t h a t Jews are m o u n t i n g a w o r l d conspiracy, o r t h a t m i x i n g t h e i r b l o o d w i t h ours w i l l lead t o racial degeneration? T h e w h o l e ' s t e r e o t y p i n g ' edifice depends o n h o s t i l i t y to t h i n k i n g i n group-terms. O n c e dismiss that assumption, a n d the politics n o longer f l o w f r o m i t . I t is t h e n o p e n t o m e t o argue that w o r k i n g class people are i n general more
accu-
rately aware t h a t the social w o r l d is really d i v i d e d i n t o categories. I f they have a 'stereotype' o f managers, o r employers, as ' e x p l o i t a t i v e ' , 'greedy',
'selfish'
etc, that is n o t a false generalisation. I t is a n accurate s u m m a r y o f their e x p e r i ence o f t h e i n h e r e n t tendencies that arise f r o m o c c u p y i n g a concrete social p o s i t i o n . I t is n o t a statement about the personality o f an i n d i v i d u a l , b u t a c l a i m about w h a t f o l l o w s f r o m o c c u p y i n g a definite p o s i t i o n i n a class society.
11
M y c o n c l u s i o n is t h a t t h e concept o f a 'stereotype' is useless as a t o o l f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f m e d i a texts. I t is dangerous political grounds.
12
o n b o t h epistemological a n d
Its v i e w o f influence a n d l e a r n i n g is e m p i r i c i s t a n d i n d i v i d -
ualistic, a n d leads t o t h e a n t i - d e m o c r a t i c p o l i t i c s w h i c h L i p p m a n n f i r s t set i n t o i t . Finally, i t leads t o a n a r b i t r a r y r e a d i n g o f texts w h i c h tells us o n l y a b o u t the w o r r i e s o f the analyst.
89
90
Stereotypes and Representations Notes 1. Steve Neale, T h e Same O l d Story - Stereotypes and Difference', Screen, 1980. 2. Compare, for example, the following both taken from Judith Stinton (ed), Racism and Sexism in Children's Literature (London, Writers and Readers, 1979): These caricatures [of the Chinese] are part and parcel of the perception o f Asians and their descendants as subhuman creatures, a perception which led members of the white community to persecute, ridicule, exploit and ostracise Chinese Americans.' (p. 81) T o r instance i n Puerto Rican books, the minority child is repeatedly shown as living i n a ghetto. The continual suggestion that this is the n o r m must surely help t o make i t so, when really these conditions are inherited rather than inherent.' (p. 4) In the first case, the stereotype (or caricatured perception) is seen as a distortion - and therefore powerful; in the second, the stereotype (or 'repeated showing') is seen as too true - and therefore powerful. 3. Richard Dyer, 'Stereotyping', i n his (ed.) Gays in Film (London, BFI, 1977), pp. 27-39. 4. Ellen Seiter, 'Stereotypes and the Media: A Re-evaluation', Journal of Communication, Spring 1986, pp. 14-26. See also T. E. Perkins, 'Rethinking Stereotypes', i n Michele Barrett, et al., eds., Ideology and Cultural Production (London, Croom H e l m , 1979). 5. See R. W. Connell, Theorising Gender', Sociology, 19:2 (1985), pp. 260-72. 6. See David Bloor, Knowledge and Social Imagery (London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1976), for a useful discussion of the problem of visual metaphors i n think_ ing about ideology. 7. Polly Toynbee, Guardian, 30 October 1978. 8. I t is indeed strange that Seiter, whose article is by far the most comprehensive critique o f 'stereotyping' research I have come across, should end by positively recommending a return to Lippmann's formulations. I n her article, Seiter i n fact raises many of the objections which I have covered i n this Chapter. Yet she ends by suggesting that the problems have arisen because theorists have moved too far f r o m Lippmann. I cannot here review her arguments i n detail, t o show why I think she is mistaken. 9. See, f o r example, H . H . Hyman and P. B. Sheatsley, T h e Authoritarian Personality: A Methodological Critique', i n R. Christie and M . Jahoda, eds., Studies in the Scope and Method of the Authoritarian Personality (Glencoe, Free Press, 1954). 10. N . Cauthen, I . Robinson and H . Krauss, 'Stereotypes - A Review of the Literature 1926-68', Journal of Social Psychology, 84. 11. I t does not, of course, follow from this that there cannot be miscategorisations. An example of such ideological miscategorisation would be that now the problem is transformed t o the specific nature of the categories, from one in which i t is the sheer tendency to categorise. 12. A recent article by Susan Condor expresses many of the same reservations as I have done about 'stereotype' research, though her target is specifically their use in 'race-research'. She goes so far as to suggest that the categories of such research can unwittingly assist the very racism i t wants to study. See her '"Race stereotypes", and racist discourse', Text, 8:1-2, pp. 69-90.
Further reading See 'Further Reading' section in the previous reading.
The Power of Popular Television
Questions 1 2
3
Summarise the main points in Barker's argument using some of your own examples. Can you think of some stereotypical representations which bear out Barker's objection to them as being accurate enough to gain immediate audience recognition yet misleading or false? In your view, does the concept 'stereotype' have any useful contribution to make to Media Studies?
9 The Power of Popular Television: The Case of Cosby Justin Lewis From The ideological octopus: an exploration of television and its audience (Routledge 1991)
The first two readings in this section focused on the debates associated with the concept of 'stereotype' and its ideological processes: the social classification of particular groups and people as often highly simplified and generalised signs. A key theme in the development of Media and Cultural Studies in the post-1960 period has been the analysis of media images of race and ethnicity, and the part that such imagery might play in naturalising, reproducing and shaping forms of cultural difference. In the mid-1990s, with the images and issues relating to the Rodney King and 0. J. Simpson trials in the United States, and to continuing tensions in many British inner cities, the politics of race - and of racism - remain significant areas for study and research. Have things changed at all in the last 30 years, in the forms of media representation which characterise images of black people and ethnic identities in popular culture? The following extract is taken from a study of television audiences in Britain and the United States. In it, Lewis evaluates the case for and the case against The Cosby Show, a popular American situation comedy first broadcast in the US in the mid-1980s and widely exported since. His assessment usefully draws on a range of sources: academic writers, researchers, critical reviewers and cultural commentators, in addition to the records of his own audience interviews and research.
Reviewing The Cosby Show The
Cosby
Show
does n o t need m u c h i n t r o d u c t i o n . For those readers w h o
have m a n a g e d t o a v o i d this e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y successful T V show, congratulate y o u f o r y o u r s i n g u l a r i t y a n d offer this b r i e f synopsis.
let me
91
92
Stereotypes and Representations The Cosby Show is a h a l f - h o u r situation comedy about an upper middle-class black family, t h e Huxtables. C l i f f H u x t a b l e (played by Bill Cosby) is a gynecologist a n d obstetrician, a n d his w i f e Claire is a lawyer. T h e y have f o u r daughters a n d a son, a n d , as t h e series has g r o w n older, they have acquired in-laws a n d g r a n d c h i l d r e n . T h e s h o w focuses o n the H u x t a b l e s ' attractive N e w York b r o w n stone h o m e , w h i c h provides the set f o r an endless series o f comic domestic dramas. T h e r e is l i t t l e , thus far, t o distinguish this television f i c t i o n f r o m m a n y others: w e are used t o a T V w o r l d p o p u l a t e d by attractive professionals a n d their g o o d - l o o k i n g o f f s p r i n g . W h a t makes the show unusual is its popularity, its critical acclaim, a n d the fact that all its leading characters are black. These distinctive features
have
made
The Cosby
Show
the subject
of
m u c h speculation a n d discussion. A t the heart o f m a n y o f these discussions lies an apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n . H e r e w e have a c o u n t r y that is still emerging f r o m a deeply racist history, a society i n w h i c h w h i t e people have treated (and c o n tinue t o treat) black people w i t h c o n t e m p t , suspicion a n d a p r o f o u n d l y i g n o r a n t sense o f superiority. A n d yet t h e most p o p u l a r T V s h o w i n the U.S. over the last decade, a m o n g black and w h i t e people alike, is n o t o n l y about a black family, b u t o n e p o r t r a y e d w i t h o u t any o f the demeaning stereotypes that have characterized
images
o f black
people
i n mainstream
popular
culture.
C o m m e n t a t o r s have been p r o v o k e d t o t r y and resolve this apparent curiosity a n d , i n so d o i n g , t o muse u p o n the show's social significance. T h e m o s t p r e v a l e n t c r i t i c a l r e a c t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e first f e w years o f t h e show, was t o a p p l a u d B i l l Cosby's c r e a t i o n as n o t o n l y a w i t t y a n d t h o u g h t f u l s i t c o m , b u t an e n l i g h t e n e d step f o r w a r d i n race relations. A f t e r decades o f negative o r d e g r a d i n g m e d i a images (see, f o r e x a m p l e , H a r t s o u g h , 1 9 8 9 ) , t h e H u x t a b l e f a m i l y presented black characters t h a t black a n d w h i t e audiences c o u l d relate t o . T h e celebratory tone o f m a n y reviews c o n t a i n e d g e n u i n e hopes a b o u t w h a t such a c u l t u r a l i n t e r v e n t i o n m i g h t achieve i n disp e l l i n g racial prejudices i n t h e U n i t e d States. T h e h i s t o r y o f c r i t i c a l response t o p o p u l a r c u l t u r e o f t e n f o l l o w s a s i m i l a r p a t t e r n : elaborate praise becomes a n increasingly d i f f i c u l t b u r d e n t o bear, a n d e u p h o r i a is almost i n v a r i a b l y f o l l o w e d b y a cynical backlash. The Show,
Cosby
f o r g o o d o r i l l , is n o e x c e p t i o n t o this r u l e . C r i t i c s have subsequently
accused t h e s h o w o f p r e s e n t i n g a m i s l e a d i n g l y cozy p i c t u r e , a sugar-candy world
u n f e t t e r e d b y racism, c r i m e , e c o n o m i c
deprivation and hardship.
Some have a r g u e d t h a t t h e H u x t a b l e s ' c h a r m e d life is so alien t o t h e experience o f m o s t black people t h a t they are n o longer ' b l a c k ' at a l l , b u t , as H e n r y L e w i s Gates puts i t , ' i n most respects, just l i k e w h i t e p e o p l e ' (Gates, 1 9 8 9 ) . Gates has also argued t h a t these ' p o s i t i v e images' can be c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t i v e , since t h e y suggest t o t h e w o r l d t h e m y t h o f t h e A m e r i c a n d r e a m , a just w o r l d w h e r e anyone can make i t , a n d w h e r e racial barriers n o l o n g e r exist: As long as all blacks were represented i n demeaning or peripheral roles, i t was possible to believe that American racism was, as i t were, indiscriminate. The
The Power of Popular Television social vision of 'Cosby,' however, reflecting the miniscule integration of blacks into the upper middle-class, reassuringly throws the blame for black poverty back onto the impoverished. (Gates, 1989) A t t h e r i s k o f s i m p l i f y i n g c r i t i c a l o p i n i o n , most analyses o f Cosby
fall
b r o a d l y i n t o o n e o f t w o camps: the s h o w is seen as either socially progressive o r as a n a p o l o g y f o r a racist system t h a t disadvantages most black p e o p l e . B o t h v i e w s c a r r y w i t h t h e m assumptions about m e d i a effects - t h e debate concerns t h e n a t u r e o f this effect. T h i s , i n t u r n , raises questions a b o u t t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e s h o w f o r black a n d w h i t e audiences. T h e study presented i n this chapter w i l l I h o p e , begin t o c l a r i f y some o f these questions.
Cosby: the case against Few w o u l d argue t h a t The Cosby
Show
presents a t y p i c a l o r realistic v i e w o f
the lives o f black A m e r i c a n s . T h e H u x t a b l e family, l i k e t h e i r creator,
have
a t t a i n e d a level o f w e a l t h , c o m f o r t a n d success shared by o n l y a t i n y m i n o r i t y o f black people i n t h e U n i t e d States. T h e p e r i o d w h i c h p r o d u c e d Cosby
also
p r o d u c e d a d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n the social c o n d i t i o n s o f most black A m e r i c a n s (see D o w n i n g , 1988). T h e success o f The Cosby
Show
has, a c c o r d i n g t o Gates, l e d t o a curious
divergence b e t w e e n m e d i a images a n d social realities. B i l l Cosby has b r o k e n the m o l d o f black m e d i a stereotypes a n d o p e n e d u p o u r T V screens t o a host o f black p e r f o r m e r s : This is the 'Cosby' decade. The show's unprecedented success in depicting the lives of affluent blacks has exercised a profound influence on television i n the last half of the 80s ... 'Cosby's' success has led to the flow of T V sitcoms that feature the black middle class, each of which takes its lead from the 'Cosby' show. (Gates, 1989) A n d y e t , outside the television w o r l d , there are a p l e t h o r a o f social statistics t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t m a n y o f t h e advances made b y black Americans i n t h e 1960s a n d 1970s are b e i n g reversed i n the 1980s a n d 1990s, so t h a t , as Gates puts i t , there is very l i t t l e c o n n e c t i o n between t h e social status o f black A m e r i c a n s a n d the fabricated images o f black people t h a t A m e r i c a n s consume every day. T h e g u l f b e t w e e n television a n d the world outside is p r o p o u n d e d b y t h e H u x t a b l e s ' c h a r m e d lives, a Utopian f a m i l i a l h a r m o n y t h a t has caused some critics t o w i n c e i n disbelief. M a r k C r i p i n M i l l e r ' s d e s c r i p t i o n is characteristically derisive: A n d then there is the cuddliest and most beloved of T V Dads: Bill Cosby, w h o , as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, lives in perfect peace, and i n a perfect brownstone, w i t h his big happy family, and never has to raise his hand or fist, but retains the absolute devotion of his wife and kids just by making lots of goofy faces. (Miller, 1986, p. 206)
93
94
Stereotypes and Representations T h e p r o b l e m t h a t Gates a n d M i l l e r are i d e n t i f y i n g is n o t s i m p l y t h a t t h e s h o w is a n unrealistic p o r t r a y a l o f black f a m i l y life - f e w sitcoms, after a l l , m a k e any c l a i m t o represent social reality - b u t t h a t t h e H u x t a b l e s sustain t h e h a r m f u l m y t h o f social m o b i l i t y . T h e H u x t a b l e f a m i l y appear t o have g l i d e d effortlessly i n t o t h e u p p e r echelons o f A m e r i c a n society. T h e s h o w never offers us the slightest glimpse o f the economic
disadvantages a n d d e e p - r o o t e d d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t h a t p r e v e n t m o s t
black A m e r i c a n s f r o m reaching t h e i r p o t e n t i a l . M i c h a e l D y s o n , i n an o t h e r wise p o s i t i v e assessment o f the show, comments that it is perhaps this lack of acknowledgement of the underside of the American Dream that is the most unfortunate feature of the Huxtable opulence. Cosby defends against linking the authenticity of the Huxtable representation of black life to the apparently contradictory luxury the family lives in when he says: T o say that they are not black enough is a denial of the American dream and the American way of life. M y point is that this is an American family - an American family - and i f you want to live like they do, and you're willing to w o r k , the opportunity is there.' (Dyson, 1989, p. 30) B u t , as D y s o n suggests, this is a cruel d i s t o r t i o n : 'Such a statement leads us t o believe t h a t Cosby is unaware t h a t there are m i l l i o n s o f people, t h e socalled w o r k i n g p o o r , w h o w o r k h a r d b u t nevertheless fall beneath t h e p o v e r t y l e v e l . ' A n d yet, w r i t e s D y s o n , 'surely Cosby k n o w s better t h a n t h i s . ' W h a t e v e r B i l l Cosby's i n t e n t i o n , some critics argue that t h e e n d result is e x t r e m e l y d a m a g i n g . T h e H u x t a b l e s u l t i m a t e l y sustain t h e idea that 'anyone can m a k e i t , ' t h e c o m f o r t i n g assertion o f t h e A m e r i c a n d r e a m ; a m y t h t h a t sustains a conservative p o l i t i c a l i d e o l o g y that is b l i n d t o t h e inequalities t h a t h i n d e r those b o r n o n mean streets a n d p a m p e r those b o r n o n easy street. A s M i l l e r puts i t : Cliff's blackness serves an affirmative purpose within the ad that is The Cosby Show. A t the center of this ample tableau, Cliff is himself an ad, implicitly proclaiming the fairness of the American system: 'Look!' he shows us. 'Even I can have all this!' (Miller, 1986, p. 210) T h i s m y t h o l o g y is made a l l t h e m o r e p o w e r f u l , M i l l e r argues, b y the close i d e n t i f i c a t i o n between C l i f f H u x t a b l e a n d B i l l Cosby. B e h i n d t h e f i c t i o n a l d o c t o r lies a m a n whose real life is also a success story: fact a n d f i c t i o n coalesce t o c o n f i r m t h e ' t r u t h ' they embody. H e r e i n , t h e critics argue, lies t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e s h o w i n t h e U n i t e d States. T h e s h o w m a y appear t o h e r a l d a n e w d a w n o f racial tolerance, a w o r l d w h e r e w h i t e people accept black people i n t o t h e i r l i v i n g r o o m s as equals. T h i s appearance, a c c o r d i n g t o M i l l e r , hides t h e m o r e subtle fears o f w h i t e viewers, t o w h o m black people are still seen as a threat. C l i f f , o r B i l l Cosby, is attractive t o w h i t e viewers because, as M i l l e r puts i t , he represents 'a threat contained,' offering deep solace to a white public terrified that one day blacks might come w i t h guns to steal the copperware, the juicer, the microwave, the VCR, even the T V itself;
The Power of Popular Television at a t i m e w h e n American whites need such reassurance because they are now further removed than ever, both spatially and psychologically, from the masses of the black poor. (Miller, 1986, pp. 213-4) T h e t h r u s t o f this a r g u m e n t , despite M i l l e r ' s h y p e r b o l e , m a y p r o v i d e us w i t h a n i n s i g h t i n t o the i d e o l o g i c a l state o f w h i t e people i n the c o n t e m p o r a r y U n i t e d States. The Cosby
Show is n o t s i m p l y a source o f gentle reassurance, i t
flatters t o deceive. T h e U.S. is still e m e r g i n g f r o m a system o f a p a r t h e i d . Even i f legal a n d p o l i t i c a l inequalities are f i n a l l y disappearing, e c o n o m i c
barriers
r e m a i n . I n a n age w h e n most w h i t e people have m o v e d b e y o n d t h e crudities o f a n o v e r t a n d n a k e d racism, there is a heavy b u r d e n o f g u i l t f o r a l l c o n c e r n e d . The Cosby
Show
p r o v i d e s his w h i t e audiences w i t h relief n o t o n l y
f r o m fear, b u t f r o m responsibility. H o w far this account o f the show's appeal explains its p o p u l a r i t y a n d s i g n i f i cance remains t o be seen. Suffice t o say, at this p o i n t , that whatever t h e a u d i ence study reveals about this a r g u m e n t , i t moves us w e l l b e y o n d the parameters o f t r a d i t i o n a l T V audience research. I t is impossible t o design an audience study t h a t , i n a simple a n d s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d sense, measures t h e effect o f the s h o w o n attitudes t o w a r d race. A n e x p l o r a t i o n o f the show's influence forces us t o delve m o r e deeply i n t o the c o m p l e x i n t e r a c t i o n between the p r o g r a m a n d the v i e w e r , a n d thereby i n t o t h e delicate ideological suppositions that i n f o r m the p o i n t s w h e r e they meet, w h e r e they create m e a n i n g a n d pleasure. T h e r e a r e , i n t h e m e a n t i m e , o t h e r things t o consider before w e can f u l l y appreciate t h e d e p t h o f audience responses t o The Cosby Show.
We have, after
a l l , o n l y c o v e r e d the m o r e pessimistic aspects o f the c r i t i c a l t e r r a i n .
Cosby: the case for I f w e are t o engage i n a battle over t h e nature o f w h a t gets s h o w n o n p r i m e t i m e T V i n the U n i t e d States, w e s h o u l d be w e l l versed i n the art o f the possible. A n y a t t e m p t t o change t h e f o r m o r c o n t e n t o f m a i n s t r e a m television w i l l c o m e u p against t w o p o w e r f u l bastions o f conservatism: t h e p r o f i t - o r i e n t e d p r e d i l e c t i o n s o f n e t w o r k a n d advertising executives,
and the well-trained
expectations a n d tastes o f T V audiences. W e can create i n n o v a t i v e p r o g r a m m i n g ideas u n t i l w e are blue i n t h e face, b u t i f t h e n e t w o r k s , advertisers o r v i e w e r s d o n ' t r e s p o n d , t h e n w e are w a s t i n g o u r t i m e . The Cosby
Show's
focus o n a black f a m i l y a n d its d e p a r t u r e f r o m an accept-
ed assortment o f racial stereotypes d i d n o t make i t a n o b v i o u s candidate f o r p r i m e t i m e . A B C t u r n e d t h e series p r o p o s a l d o w n , a n d , were i t n o t f o r B i l l C o s b y ' s t r a c k r e c o r d ( i n c l u d i n g , significantly, his a b i l i t y t o sell p r o d u c t s o n T V c o m m e r c i a l s ) , i t w o u l d p r o b a b l y never have made i t o n t h e air. T o attack the s h o w because i t panders t o the needs o f a m a i n s t r e a m w h i t e audience is t o attack its l i f e - b l o o d : t h e U.S. has a television c u l t u r e w h e r e audience ratings
95
96
Stereotypes and Representations decide w h e t h e r y o u live o r die. T h i s b o t t o m line gives a television p r o g r a m very l i t t l e r o o m f o r maneuver. T o have c o n f r o n t e d t h e audience w i t h t h e u n c o m f o r t a b l e realities o f racism w o u l d have been c o m m e r c i a l suicide. J o h n D o w n i n g argues that any evaluation o f the s h o w must take account o f this conservative c u l t u r a l climate, a n d that despite its l i m i t a t i o n s ; ' t o be as g o o d as i t is and t o have g o t t e n past these barriers is a m a j o r achievement i n itself
( D o w n i n g , 1 9 8 8 , p . 6 8 ) . U l t i m a t e l y , D o w n i n g acknowledges,
the
s h o w does l e t 'racism o f f the h o o k ' : i t is, nevertheless, a considerable step f o r w a r d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f media representation. T h e r e is, D o w n i n g argues, ' a n abundance o f black c u l t u r e presented i n t h e series, expressed w i t h o u t fanfare, b u t w i t h constant d i g n i t y ' (ibid.,
p . 6 1 ) . T h e s h o w celebrates black artists,
f r o m Ellis W i l s o n t o Stevie W o n d e r , w h i l e p o l i t i c a l figures l i k e M a r t i n L u t h e r K i n g , o r events l i k e t h e c i v i l rights m a r c h o n W a s h i n g t o n have been i n t e r w o v e n , albeit ever so gently, i n t o the story-line. T h e n a m i n g o f the H u x t a b l e s ' first g r a n d c h i l d r e n is a typical example o f The Cosby
Show
style. T h e i r eldest daughter, Sondra, decides t o call her t w i n s
N e l s o n a n d W i n n i e . T h e episode that deals w i t h this decision highlights t h e issue o f n a m i n g , b u t makes n o c o m m e n t o n its overt p o l i t i c a l connotations. T h e reference t o t h e Mandelas is made quietly a n d unobtrusively, r e l y i n g u p o n the audience's a b i l i t y t o catch the p o l i t i c a l ramifications o f the statement. I f the subtlety o f this approach is a v i r t u e , i t is one borne o f necessity. D u r i n g the show's second season, N B C t r i e d t o have the anti-apartheid sign o n Theo's b e d r o o m d o o r r e m o v e d . Bill Cosby, w i t h the n e w l y f o u n d clout o f ratings success b e h i n d h i m , stood his g r o u n d and fought successfully t o keep i t there. W h a t is interesting about this story is n o t o n l y Cosby's t r i u m p h ( w o u l d the n e t w o r k have capitulated t o a show w i t h a f e w less ratings points?), b u t t h e almost pathological fear o f certain kinds o f political discourse by those i n charge o f television entertainment. T h e fuss was made about a sign expressing a sentiment that is, outside the comparatively small ' m a r k e t ' o f w h i t e South A f r i c a ,
supposed
t o be fairly uncontroversial. T h e sign made n o i n t r u s i o n i n t o the p l o t , a n d many viewers w o u l d probably n o t even notice its presence. T h e n e t w o r k ' s desire t o remove such a meek symbol o f black resistance f r o m the airwaves
demonstrates
w h a t progressive voices o n p r i m e t i m e T V are u p against. T h e seriousness w i t h w h i c h The Cosby Show approaches t h e issue o f c u l t u r al representation has p u t i t o n a pedestal a n d exposed i t t o c r i t i c a l scrutiny. A s B i l l Cosby a n d p r o g r a m consultant A l v i n Poussaint have p o i n t e d o u t , f e w other sitcoms are attacked f o r their failure t o deal w i t h issues o f racism. T h i s is, Poussaint has argued, a p a r t i c u l a r l y u n f a i r strain t o p u t u p o n a s i t u a t i o n comedy. W r i t i n g i n Ebony,
Poussaint p o i n t s o u t that
audiences tune i n to be entertained, not to be confronted w i t h social problems. Critical social disorders, like racism, violence, and drug abuse, rarely lend themselves to comic treatment; trying to deal w i t h them on a sitcom could trivialize issues that deserve serious, thoughtful treatment. (Poussaint, 1988)
The Power of Popular Television T h e l i m i t s o f The Cosby
Show
a r e , a c c o r d i n g t o Poussaint, the l i m i t s o f t h e
genre. T h i s is a p o i n t , i n d e e d , a c k n o w l e d g e d by some critics. Gates, i n a n o t h erwise f a i r l y c r i t i c a l piece, accepts t h a t the very structure o f a s i t c o m ' m i l i t a t e s against its use as a n agent o f social change' (Gates, 1 9 8 9 ) . Despite these constraints, w h a t Cosby
has c o n f r o n t e d , m a n y have argued, is
t h e d e e p - r o o t e d racism o f w h i t e A m e r i c a n s w h o f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o accept racial equality. D y s o n , f o r e x a m p l e , has suggested t h a t one o f 'the most useful aspects o f Cosby's d i s m a n t l i n g o f racial m y t h o l o g y a n d s t e r e o t y p i n g is t h a t i t has p e r m i t t e d A m e r i c a t o v i e w black f o l k as h u m a n beings' ( D y s o n , 1 9 8 9 , p . 2 9 ) . H e r e , at last, are m e d i a representations o f successful a n d attractive black p e o p l e w h o w h i t e people can respect, a d m i r e a n d even i d e n t i f y w i t h . I t c o u l d be a r g u e d t h a t references t o d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a n d black struggle w o u l d , i n this sense, be c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t i v e , a l i e n a t i n g substantial sections o f the w h i t e audience a n d m a k i n g i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e H u x t a b l e s m o r e d i f f i c u l t . W e s h o u l d also be aware o f the p a r t i c u l a r nature o f the television w o r l d . T h e H u x t a b l e s ' class p o s i t i o n may be unusual (for black and w h i t e people) i n real l i f e , b u t t o be a n a f f l u e n t , attractive professional o n television is t o be ' n o r m a l . ' T h e r e are, o f course, assumptions about t h e audience e m b e d d e d i n t h i s a r g u m e n t , just as there are i n t h e arguments o f those w h o are c r i t i c a l o f t h e absence o f a discourse o f racial d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . Some o f the m o r e positive evaluations o f the show have made the interesting p o i n t t h a t the discourse o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n that does f i n d its w a y i n t o the script is n o t racism b u t sexism. T h e s h o w frequently uses h u m o r t o expose the i n a d equacy o f the sexist o r machismo attitudes o f some members o f its male cast. Some characters, like s o n - i n - l a w E l v i n o r Rudi's f r i e n d K e n n y ( w h o spouts f o r t h the sexist platitudes o f his b i g b r o t h e r ) , are deliberately set u p t o be underm i n e d . W h i l e i t is the characters o f Claire and her daughters w h o take the lead i n these instances, they are usually s u p p o r t e d by the figure o f C l i f f , w h o has traveled some w a y b e y o n d the sexist stereotypes so c o m m o n i n T V sitcoms. I t is unusual t o f i n d s t r o n g male characters i n sitcoms w h o s u p p o r t a feminist stance t a k e n b y female characters. T h e male i n a sitcom w h o adopts such a p o s i t i o n i n v a r i a b l y still runs t h e risk o f r i d i c u l e . D o w n i n g suggests t h a t , w h i l e The
Cosby
Show's
challenge t o p a t r i a r c h y has its l i m i t a t i o n s , C l i f f ' s i n v o l v e -
m e n t i n these c o m i c episodes plays an i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n l e g i t i m a t i n g the show's f e m i n i s t sentiments: ' H i s c o n d e m n a t i o n o f everyday sexism perhaps c o m m u n i cates itself all the m o r e p o w e r f u l l y t o male viewers precisely because he cannot be w r i t t e n o f f as a henpecked w i m p ' ( D o w n i n g , 1989, p . 6 0 ) . D o w n i n g ' s defense o f The Cosby
Show
is n o t apologetic: i t is a r e m i n d e r
t h a t , h o w e v e r w e judge i t , the s h o w is, i n m a n y respects, one o f the m o r e p r o gressive forces i n p o p u l a r c u l t u r e t o emerge f r o m t h e U n i t e d States i n recent years. T h i s m a y n o t be saying very m u c h - w e are, after a l l , t a l k i n g a b o u t a televisual h i s t o r y steeped i n sexist a n d racist images - b u t i t is w o r t h r e m e m b e r i n g before w e e m b a r k o n a j o u r n e y t h r o u g h the N o r t h A m e r i c a n audience. E v e n i f t h e audience study manifests m a n y o f the critic's w o r s t fears, there are
97
98
Stereotypes and Representations countless o t h e r television messages whose i d e o l o g i c a l consequences are a l m o s t t o o oppressive o r f r i g h t e n i n g t o even c o n t e m p l a t e .
[...]
Decoding race I t is sometimes easy t o f o r g e t t h a t race a n d racial difference i n v o l v e a great deal m o r e t h a n categories o f p h y s i o g n o m y a n d skin p i g m e n t a t i o n . T h e d i f f e r ences b e t w e e n a black person a n d a w h i t e person i n t h e U n i t e d States are deeply r o o t e d i n t h e i r distinct a n d separate histories, histories encapsulating a host o f m a t e r i a l a n d c u l t u r a l distinctions t h a t render t h e experience o f b e i n g w h i t e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e experience
o f b e i n g black. Race, i n o t h e r
w o r d s , is a social as w e l l as a physical c o n s t r u c t i o n . Racial d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , t h r o u g h o u t its infamous history, has usually been predicated o n a series o f perceived symbolic links between skin c o l o r a n d c u l t u r e . T o colonialists, slave owners a n d p r o m o t e r s o f a p a r t h e i d , this meant a s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d d e n u n c i a t i o n o f black culture as u n c i v i l i z e d , i n f e r i o r o r t h r e a t ening. Despite t h e i r manifest crudity, these racist attitudes have never been as simple o r homogeneous as they sometimes appear. F r o m c o l o n i a l i s m o n w a r d , the racist discourses i n f u s i n g w h i t e societies have borne c o n t r a d i c t o r y assumptions about t h e r e l a t i o n between nature a n d n u r t u r e : black people have been seen as simultaneously w i t h i n t h e reaches o f w h i t e society and b e y o n d i t . T h e black person's soul was therefore treated as, o n the o n e h a n d , a changeable c o m m o d i t y , o p e n t o t h e influences o f missionary zeal, a n d , o n t h e other h a n d , as the heart o f darkness, i n h e r e n t l y irredeemable. O n c e placed i n the i n d u s t r i a l ' m e l t i n g pots' o f the late t w e n t i e t h century, t h e struggles a n d achievements o f black people i n an oppressive w h i t e w o r l d have disentangled t h e f i x i t y o f m a n y o f the associations between race a n d c u l t u r e . T h e a b i l i t y o f some black people, against t h e odds, t o succeed i n a p r e d o m i n a n t l y w h i t e e n v i r o n m e n t , has made n o t i o n s o f biological d e t e r m i n i s m d e c i d edly less fashionable. W h i l e such n o t i o n s have certainly n o t disappeared, they are n o w less c o m m o n currency t h a n ideas that f l i r t w i t h the p r i n c i p l e o f racial equality. T h i s does n o t mean the end o f racism; far f r o m i t : as an i n s t r u m e n t o f repression, racism n o w takes m o r e subtle f o r m s . In
most Western
countries, most particularly i n the U n i t e d States, t h e
idea that w h i t e people a n d black people are irrevocably tied t o discrete cultures has been seriously c o m p r o m i s e d by the promise o f social m o b i l i t y : the idea that anyone, regardless o f race, creed o r class, can make i t . These compromises are n o w enshrined w i t h i n legal structures that, w h i l e they d o n o t guarantee racial equality, at least give the idea o f equal rights a certain a m o u n t o f credibility. B i l l Cosby, w h e t h e r as himself o r as D r . H e a t h c l i f f H u x t a b l e , is easily assimilated i n t o this ideology. H e is, M i l l e r argues, visible ' p r o o f o f the meritocratic m y t h o l o g y that fuels the A m e r i c a n D r e a m , a black person w h o has achieved success b e y o n d the confines o f a racially defined culture.
The Power of Popular Television Racism is, h o w e v e r , a capricious creature, a n d i t has adapted t o this discursive c l i m a t e b y a b s o r b i n g a n u m b e r o f c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . T h e h i s t o r y o f racism is n o w e m b e d d e d i n a n i n i q u i t o u s capitalist system, w h e r e e c o n o m i c rather t h a n racial laws ensure w i d e s p r e a d racial segregation a n d disadvantage. T h i s , i n t u r n , encourages w h i t e people t o believe i n an i m a g i n e d c u l t u r a l s u p e r i o r i t y , w h i l e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y g i v i n g credence t o the idea t h a t w e are w h a t w e become, t h a t c u l t u r e is n o t G o d - g i v e n b u t a social c o n s t r u c t i o n . The
Cosby
Show
is, as I have suggested, b o t h a singular a n d an ambiguous
i n t e r v e n t i o n i n t o this c o m p l e x i d e o l o g i c a l t e r r a i n .
[...] M o s t f o r m s o f a m b i g u i t y are s e l d o m t o l e r a t e d i n p o p u l a r c u l t u r e .
[...] I f w e have l e a r n t a n y t h i n g about The Cosby
Show's
success thus far, i t is t h a t
i t is b u i l t o n layers o f a m b i g u i t y . T h e H u x t a b l e f a m i l y ' s s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d appearance conceals a l o n g a n d v a r i e d cast o f characters: t o some they are black, t o others they are n o t ; i n o n e m o m e n t they are p r i v i l e g e d , i n another t h e y are average. A m b i g u i t y is least l i k e l y t o be f o u n d ( a l t h o u g h i t can be f o u n d t h e n t o o ) w h e n The Cosby
Show
declares itself, ever so gently, o n t h e
issue o f sexism. O n t h e issues o f race a n d class i t remains very q u i e t , a n d t h r o w s o p e n the d o o r s t o m u l t i p l e meanings. I have t r i e d t o chart t h e i d e o l o g i c a l effects o f these ambiguities, t o place t h e m w i t h i n t h e b r o a d e r i d e o l o g i c a l contexts w h e r e meanings take o n s i g n i f i cance. W h a t has become clear a l o n g t h e way, I h o p e , is that w e can neither d e r i d e t h e s h o w as r e a c t i o n a r y n o r praise i t as progressive w i t h o u t suppressing some o f its a m b i g u i t i e s . T o m a n y w h i t e people i t i n f o r m s a discourse o f racial tolerance,
a l i b e r a l acceptance o f black people as equals. T o its A f r i c a n
A m e r i c a n audience, a n d even some w h i t e viewers, i t is a j e w e l i n a pale a n d i n s i p i d sea o f whiteness, a n assertion o f black c u l t u r a l p r i d e that c o n f o u n d s t r a d i t i o n a l m e d i a stereotypes. A t t h e same t i m e , i t panders t o the l i m i t s o f w h i t e l i b e r a l i s m , a l l o w i n g w h i t e audiences t h e s a n c t i m o n i o u s pleasure o f v i e w i n g the w o r l d t h r o u g h r o s e - t i n t ed spectacles, as Harper's
Magazine
puts i t :
The success of this handsome, affluent black family points to the fair-mindedness of whites w h o , out of their essential goodness, changed society so that black families like the Huxtables could succeed. Whites can watch The Cosby Show and feel complimented on a job well done.... On Thursday nights, Cosby, like a priest, absolves his white viewers, forgives and forgets the sins of the past. (Harper's Magazine, 1988, p. 50) I n so d o i n g , i t flatters t o deceive, a n d adds credence t o discourses that w o r k o n l y t o sustain a system o f racial inequality. C o u l d The Cosby Show be different? W h a t w o u l d happen i f i t t o o k o n racism i n the w a y i t has taken o n sexism? T h e ideological r o o m f o r maneuver is, u n f o r tunately, very small. I n t h e age o f t h e remote c o n t r o l device, an audience's
99
100
Stereotypes and Representations tolerance f o r images that disturb t h e m is l i m i t e d : t o tamper t o o m u c h w i t h the delicate semiology o f The Cosby
Show
risks losing precisely the viewers w h o
have the most t o learn. T h e r e is, nevertheless, a little space i n w h i c h t o m o v e f o r w a r d , b u t i t means treading very carefully and very softly.
References Downing, J. 1988: The Cosby Show and American racial discourse. In SmithermanDonaldson, G. and Van Djik, T. (eds.), Disclosure and discrimination. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Dyson, M . 1989: Bill Cosby and the politics of race. Zeta, September. Gates, H . L . 1989: TV's black w o r l d turns - but stays unreal. New York Times, 12 November. Hartsough, D . 1989: The Cosby Show in historical context explaining its appeal to middle-class black women. Paper Presented to the Ohio State University Film Conference. Miller, M . C. 1986: Deride and conquer. I n Gitlin, T. (ed.), Watching television. New York: Pantheon. Poussaint, A. 1988: The Huxtables: fact or fantasy. Ebony, October.
Questions 1
2
3
Summarise the cases for and against The Cosby Show as outlined by Lewis in the extract. Are there, in your view, any issues which are not effectively discussed, or which deserve to be given further consideration? Select a range of examples of images and coverage of black people and groups from different media - film, television, newspapers, magazines and advertisements. Discuss and assess them in the light of Lewis's arguments and the ideas and debates about stereotyping. How are other ethnic and group identities and differences constructed and treated in media output?
Further reading Bogle, D . 1994: Toms, coons, mulattoes, mammies and bucks: an interpretive of blacks in American films, 3rd revised edn. Oxford: Roundhouse Publishing. Daniels, T. and Gerson, J. (eds.) 1989: The colour black: black images in British television. London: BFI. Dines, G. and Humez, J. 1994: Gender, race and class in media. London: Sage. Gillespie, M . 1995: Television, ethnicity and cultural change. London: Routledge. Hartmann, P. and Husband, C. 1974: Racism and the mass media: a study of the role of the mass media in the formation of white beliefs and attitudes in Britain. London: Davis-Poynter. Jhally, S. and Lewis, J. 1992: Enlightened racism: Audiences, The Cosby Show and the myth of the American dream. Boulder, Cob., and Oxford: Westview Press. Pines, J. (ed.) 1992: Black and white in colour: black people in British television since 1936. London: BFI. Ross, K. 1996i Black and white media: black images in popular film and television. London: Routledge. Searle, C. 1989: Your daily dose: racism and The Sun. London: Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom.
10 Mapping the Mythical: A Geopolitics of National Sporting Stereotypes Hugh O'Donnell From Discourse and Society 5(3), 345-80 (1994)
Continuing the theme of stereotyping and how group identities are constructed, this extract by O'Donnell examines the common stereotypes associated with nationality and national character. The article shows how sports reporting best exemplifies the way in which positive and negative components of stereotypes can exist side by side and, although confined to this area of media output, the extract opens a wider discursive debate around racist and xenophobic ideologies. Sports coverage, like many other media forms, exists and operates within a specific value system based on its economic and political positioning, and the fact that its discourse reflects those who have control over those systems is of no surprise. But for many commentators it is the combination of ritualism, drama and level of emotional involvement on the part of the audience which encourages and sustains the conferring of negative social identities and allows for the construction of a single trait (whether it be, for example, 'coolness under pressure' or 'undisciplined creativity') to epitomise an entire nation. O'Donnell demonstrates, through a content analysis of 53 publications from 15 different European countries, that specific stereotypes are not confined to individual countries but are almost entirely uniform both within and across national boundaries.
The
Scandinavians
W h e n Jesper Parnevik w o n t h e Scottish
Open
Golf
C h a m p i o n s h i p i n J u l y 1 9 9 3 , Scotland's best-selling q u a l i t y Sunday newspaper, Scotland
on Sunday,
spoke o f 'his c o o l frame o f m i n d , even by Swedish stan-
d a r d s ' ( 1 1 J u l y 1 9 9 3 ) . A w e e k later, i n an article analysing t h e rise t o p r o m i nence o f Swedish golfers i n general, t h e same newspaper p o i n t e d o u t t h a t Swedish
coaching
was a l l about
'the m i n d ,
the temperament',
adding:
' E v e r y t h i n g i n t h e i r s p o r t i n g c u l t u r e seems t o hinge o n t h e cerebral d i m e n s i o n ' (18 J u l y 1 9 9 3 ) . T h e passages q u o t e d illustrate t w o essential elements o f a n o w well-established stereotype o f Scandinavianness/Swedishness
i n the (non-Scandinavian)
E u r o p e a n m e d i a : coolness a n d clinical rationality. T h i s stereotype has a l o n g hist o r y b o t h i n a n d outside sport. I t was a f u n d a m e n t a l part o f media presentations o f t h e great Swedish tennis player o f the 1970s, Björn B o r g - o f t e n referred t o as an 'iceberg', o r even as 'Ice B o r g ' - a n d has surfaced again i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e c u r r e n t Swedish tennis star Stefan Edberg. T h u s , c o m m e n t i n g o n the 1 9 9 1 W i m b l e d o n t o u r n a m e n t , the Spanish daily El Mundo
(3 July 1991) described
h i m as ' c o l d a n d concentrated'. Germany's best-selling daily newspaper Bild (6
102 Stereotypes and Representations July 1 9 9 1 ) referred t o h i m as 'the Swedish ice block Stefan Edberg', a n d , w h e n he lost t h e semi-final t o M i c h a e l Stich, Scotland's best-selling quality daily, the Glasgow
Herald
(6 July 1991), said o f h i m : ' I t was almost as t h o u g h the ice-cool
temperament was m e l t i n g away i n the a f t e r n o o n heat.' As w i t h all the stereotypes studied i n this article, the Swedish stereotype also has an 'underside' w h i c h involves clearly negative judgements made against an i m p l i e d b u t seldom stated n o r m . T h e downside o f Scandinavianness is t a c i t u r n i ty, a lack o f d y n a m i s m , even an absence o f e m o t i o n . T h u s , i n its coverage o f the 1990 W i m b l e d o n t o u r n a m e n t , the then Soviet U n i o n ' s best selling sports daily, Sovetsky
Sport
(8 July 1990), having described Edberg as a 'Swedish iceberg',
added that he was ' t a c i t u r n , as befits a Scandinavian'. T h i s can lead t o suggestions o f a tendency t o be b o r i n g : T h e 25-year o l d Swede tends t o be i g n o r e d b y the m e d i a ... w h i c h is n o t t o o surprising given his m o n o t o n e voice a n d short, simple answers. T h e r e is always the danger o f falling over s o u n d asleep', w r o t e the Glasgow Belgique
Herald
(5 July 1991). T h e Belgian French-language daily La
Libre
(3 July 1 9 9 1 ) agreed that Edberg was 'never very interesting'.
Swedish reporters are, o f course, aware o f this stereotype. T h u s , at the beginn i n g o f the 1 9 9 2 European Football C h a m p i o n s h i p i n Sweden (Euro '92) t h e G o t h e n b u r g daily iDAG
(12 June 1992) w r o t e : ' N o r d i c c o o l has been s h o w n at
regular intervals i n top-level sport. W i t h tennis's Ice-Borg o r Ice-Bjorn
1
as the
absolutely classic example', also p o i n t i n g o u t that the Eurosport c o m m e n t a t o r h a d described t h e Swedish f o o t b a l l player Patrick A n d e r s o n as 'ice c o o l A n d e r son'. H o w e v e r , this stereotype is n o t i n the m a i n used by Swedes themselves.... N o r d i c n e s s can occasionally be acquired by t h e inhabitants o f other c o u n tries i f the c o n d i t i o n s o f coolness and/or clinical r a t i o n a l i t y can be met. T h u s w h e n t h e 1 9 9 2 Seville W o r l d Fair ( E x p o ' 9 2 ) p r o v e d t o be a t r i u m p h o f organ i z a t i o n a d m i r e d t h r o u g h o u t the w o r l d , t h e Spanish w e e k l y magazine
Cambio
16 ( 1 0 A u g u s t 1 9 9 2 ) suggested t h a t 'the Seville E x p o seems m o r e N o r d i c t h a n S o u t h e r n a n d slapdash'. A n d w h e n t h e Spanish athlete F e r m i n C a c h o w o n t h e g o l d m e d a l i n t h e 1 5 0 0 metres i n t h e Barcelona O l y m p i c s , t h e Spanish sports daily El Mundo
Deportivo
(9 August 1 9 9 2 ) described his p e r f o r m a n c e as
'cold, calculating, more N o r d i c than Iberian'. The Germans.
W h e n E u r o p e a n sports journalists refer t o Germany, t h e d o m i -
n a n t stereotype o f n a t i o n a l character combines the idea o f s t r o n g m e n t a l c o n t r o l w i t h d i s c i p l i n e , efficiency, r e l i a b i l i t y and h a r d w o r k : t h e central elements o f w h a t Spain's best-selling daily El Pais (3 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 3 ) calls 'the G e r m a n l e g e n d ' . T h i s stereotype is f o u n d t h r o u g h o u t the E u r o p e a n m e d i a , a n d is at times reflected i n t h e G e r m a n press itself. T h u s , t a l k i n g o f the G e r m a n f o o t b a l l team's n a t i o n a l coach d u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 , t h e G e r m a n w e e k l y magazine Stern
(25 June 1 9 9 2 ) w r o t e : ' D i s c i p l i n e , order, p u n c t u a l i t y - n a t i o n a l t r a i n e r
B e r t i Vogts leads his team i n t h e t r i e d a n d tested Teutonic t r a d i t i o n . ' I n t h e terms o f this stereotype, the Germans have, above a l l , t h e r i g h t m e n t a l ' a t t i t u d e ' : a confidence i n t h e i r a b i l i t y t o get t h e j o b d o n e , a n d t o t a l
Mapping the Mythical 103 c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e task i n h a n d . I n 1 9 9 2 , as G e r m a n y overcame Sweden 3 - 2 i n t h e s e m i - f i n a l o f E u r o ' 9 2 , t h e N o r w e g i a n t a b l o i d Dagbladet 1992)
( 2 2 June
w r o t e : T h e i r a t t i t u d e is t h e G e r m a n s ' strongest w e a p o n . A w i n n i n g
i n s t i n c t a n d self-confidence d a i l y Aftenposten
t h e i r greatest quality.' T h e N o r w e g i a n q u a l i t y
( 2 6 June 1 9 9 2 ) agreed, s u p p l y i n g an anecdote t o s u p p o r t its
p o i n t o f v i e w : ' G e r m a n self-confidence
i n football knows n o bounds. T h e
G e r m a n s w e r e t h e o n l y team t o b o o k t h e i r h o t e l r o o m s i n G o t h e n b u r g f o r t h e E u r o p e a n C h a m p i o n s h i p f i n a l i n advance.' D u r i n g t h e 1 9 9 0 W o r l d C u p (Italia ' 9 0 ) t h e leading Swedish q u a l i t y daily Dagens
Nyheter
(16 June 1 9 9 0 ) described the G e r m a n f o o t b a l l team as a
' m a c h i n e t e a m ' , a phrase w h i c h w o u l d reappear v e r b a t i m i n t h e Swedish t a b l o i d Aftonbladet's mechanical
efficiency
across a range
coverage o f E u r o ' 9 2 ( 2 1 June 1 9 9 2 ) . T h e n o t i o n o f accompanies
German
sportsmen
and sportswomen
o f sports. D u r i n g W i m b l e d o n 1 9 9 1 t h e Glasgow
Herald
described G e r m a n w o m e n ' s c h a m p i o n Steffi G r a f as b e i n g ' i n perfect w o r k i n g o r d e r ' (7 June 1 9 9 1 ) . A n d as D e n m a r k defeated G e r m a n y 2 - 0 i n t h e f i n a l o f E u r o ' 9 2 , t h e N o r w e g i a n t a b l o i d VG ( 2 7 June 1 9 9 2 ) w r o t e o f t h e D a n i s h f i g h t 'against G e r m a n machines w h i c h refused t o give u p ' . T h e n o t i o n o f efficiency is also always e x p l i c i t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e G e r m a n s : ' t h e Becker serve is a t r i u m p h o f n a t u r a l genetics a n d G e r m a n i c e f f i c i e n c y ' , w r o t e t h e English Observer Barcelona,
(23 June 1 9 9 1 ) ; t h e Catalan d a i l y Diari
de
speaking o f Steffi G r a f ' s p e r f o r m a n c e i n t h e f i n a l , r e f e r r e d t o ' t h e
characteristic
r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e G e r m a n ' ; a n d t h e Glasgow
Herald
(6 July
1 9 9 1 ) l e f t n o t h i n g t o t h e i m a g i n a t i o n : speaking o f t h e same player, i t w r o t e : 'there is perhaps o n l y o n e player at t h e championships whose game is r e m i n i s cent o f m e c h a n i c a l e f f i c i e n c y ' . A n d this n o t i o n is n o t restricted t o j o u r n a l i s t i c discourse. I n his b o o k o n t h e ' c o r p o r a t e image' o f Germany, D a v i d H e a d ( 1 9 9 2 : 2) refers t o t h e ' a l m o s t m a c h i n e - l i k e efficiency' o f Steffi Graf. Germanness can also be a c q u i r e d m o m e n t a r i l y b y o t h e r nationals. D u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 , m u c h was made o f Sweden's supposedly ' d i s c i p l i n e d ' a p p r o a c h t o t h e game.
C o m m e n t i n g o n t h i s , Aftonbladet
(24 July
1992) w r o t e : 'The
Swedes are o f t e n called Scandinavia's Germans, a n d perhaps there is somet h i n g i n t h a t . ' A f e w days later, N o r w a y ' s Dagbladet also describe t h e Swedes as 'Scandinavia's
( 2 7 July 1 9 9 2 ) w o u l d
G e r m a n s ' . Stern
(25 June 1 9 9 2 )
l i k e w i s e r e f e r r e d t o an I t a l i a n referee w h o was 'famous i n Italy f o r his Prussian hardness'. The British.
I n t h e d o m i n a n t B r i t i s h ( p r i n c i p a l l y English) stereotype, c o n t i n e n -
t a l cerebrations are dismissed as ' a i r y - f a i r y ' i n favour o f w h a t N a i r n ( 1 9 8 8 : 92) describes as ' a n indispensable n a t i o n a l aversion t o t h e o r y ' . Instead t h e accent is o n a w o u l d - b e 'realistic', p r a g m a t i c , no-nonsense a p p r o a c h . T h e values against w h i c h sports journalists judge B r i t i s h teams a n d sportspersons i n general are w o r k - r a t e , c o m m i t m e n t , courage, g i v i n g i t t h e i r a l l , f i g h t i n g back i n t h e face o f adversity.
104
Stereotypes and Representations T h e strength a n d range o f this stereotype o f Britishness/Englishness was a b u n d a n t l y clear d u r i n g Italia ' 9 0 . T h u s , w h e n E n g l a n d defeated C a m e r o o n , Franz Beckenbauer, t h e t h e n G e r m a n manager,
suggested
t h a t ' t h e great
strength o f t h e English is t h a t they never give u p ' ( q u o t e d i n t h e A u s t r i a n t a b l o i d Kronen
Zeitung,
3 July 1 9 9 0 ) . English manager Bobby Robson agreed:
'our f i g h t i n g s p i r i t w o n t h r o u g h ' ( q u o t e d i n the A u s t r i a n t a b l o i d Kurier, 1 9 9 0 ) . T h i s stereotype accompanies
3 July
B r i t i s h (especially English) footballers
w h e r e v e r they g o . W h e n E n g l a n d were defeated 2 - 1 b y Sweden d u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 , t h e Swedish t a b l o i d Expressen
(18 June 1 9 9 2 ) w r o t e : ' T h e English, as t h e
English always d o , f o u g h t n o b l y t o t h e last. T h e y are h a r d a n d t o u g h . ' A n d w h e n S p o r t i n g L i s b o n defeated Newcastle U n i t e d 5 - 3 later t h a t year, the leadi n g Portuguese sports daily, A Bola,
exclaimed (10 August 1 9 9 2 ) : 'Goodness
gracious, h o w d i f f e r e n t t h e f o o t b a l l played i n E n g l a n d i s ! ' , g o i n g o n t o describe i t as ' f u l l o f r u n n i n g , f u l l o f sweat, f u l l o f f i g h t ' . Scotland occasionally shares i n this stereotype: Dagens 1990)
q u o t e d t h e t h e n Scottish
manager
Nyheter
(16 June
A n d y R o x b u r g h as saying: 'We
always p l a y best w h e n w e have o u r backs t o the w a l l . ' A n d a Scottish defeat by I t a l y i n 1 9 9 3 p r o m p t e d France's leading sports daily, L'Equipe
(14 October
1 9 9 3 ) , t o say: 'the Scots ... d o n o t k n o w the m e a n i n g o f the w o r d s g i v i n g u p ' . The French.
I n terms o f stereotype o f national character, France proves t o be a
site o f discursive c o m p l e x i t y . W h i l e l a c k i n g the d o u r discipline o f the Germans and the f i g h t i n g spirit o f the B r i t i s h , the French are presented as essentially reasonable a n d i n d e e d ' c i v i l i z e d ' . A t the same t i m e they enjoy some o f the inspirat i o n a l qualities o f t h e Latins, b u t w i t h o u t t o p p l i n g over i n t o i r r a t i o n a l a n d irresponsible behaviour. T h e d o m i n a n t stereotype is best represented by terms such as ' f l a m b o y a n c e ' , ' f l a i r ' , ' i n s p i r a t i o n ' , ' c h a r m ' , even 'style'. T h e French f o o t b a l l team was absent f r o m Italia ' 9 0 , a n d its p e r f o r m a n c e d u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 was d i s m a l . H o w e v e r , even d i s a p p o i n t i n g French p e r f o r mances are e x p l a i n e d b y t h e lack o f w h a t are seen as their ' n a t u r a l ' characteristics. T h u s , as France a n d E n g l a n d p r o d u c e d a lacklustre 0 - 0 d r a w d u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 , t h e Herald
1
(15 June 1 9 9 2 ) expressed t h e w i s h that t h e French
m i g h t still ' s h o w a w e e glimpse o f the joie de vivre w h i c h o u g h t t o be t h e i r l o t ' , w h i l e t h e English Daily
Telegraph
o f t h e same day suggested t h a t 'there
was n o r o m a n c e i n t h e i r g i f t e d souls'. ' W h e r e has French c h a r m gone?', w r o t e the q u a l i t y Swedish daily Svenska
Dagbladet
o f 17 June 1 9 9 2 , w h i l e
Stern,
t a l k i n g o f t h e French n a t i o n a l coach, suggested that 'even i n defeat M i c h e l P l a t i n i displays a m e l a n c h o l y c h a r m ' (25 June 1 9 9 2 ) . T h i s stereotype emerges r e g u l a r l y i n m e d i a coverage o f t h e W i m b l e d o n tournament, Leconte.
p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e l a t i o n t o the French
Thus,
during
tennis
player
the 1 9 9 1 W i m b l e d o n c h a m p i o n s h i p , El
Henri Mundo
Deportivo
(29 June 1 9 9 1 ) described h i m as ' t r e m e n d o u s l y i n s p i r e d ' . T h i s
stereotype
p r e d o m i n a t e s above
a l l i n t h e British/English m e d i a . T h u s , as
L e c o n t e p l a y e d against (and eventually lost t o ) Boris Becker d u r i n g t h e 1 9 9 3
Mapping the Mythical 105 c h a m p i o n s h i p , the B B C c o m m e n t a t o r s suggested that he was one o f the three greatest tennis players o f a l l t i m e as far as ' a r t i s t r y ' was c o n c e r n e d , p o i n t i n g also t o his ' G a l l i c c h a r m ' . We may, o f course, agree that Leconte is a s k i l f u l a n d stylish player, b u t the supposed 'Frenchness' o f his style o f play derives n o t f r o m his p l a y itself, b u t f r o m the stereotype. T h i s p o i n t , a n d the associat i o n o f the stereotype w i t h English audiences, was a c k n o w l e d g e d , s o m e w h a t sardonically, by L'Equipe
magazine
(August 1991) w h e n i t w r o t e : ' E n g l a n d has
a real w e a k spot f o r Leconte. " D e a r H e n r y " [ i n E n g l i s h ] , so f l a m b o y a n t a n d so u n p r e d i c t a b l e , so French, w h a t ! ' The
Southern
Europeans.
I n sports r e p o r t i n g o n M e d i t e r r a n e a n countries, the
d o m i n a n t stereotype is clearly that o f the t e m p e r a m e n t a l L a t i n , a stereotype w h i c h also extends t o S o u t h A m e r i c a . T h i s is one o f the most
deep-rooted
stereotypes i n n o r t h e r n E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e , its m a i n elements b e i n g passion, h o t t e m p e r , f r i v o l i t y , sensuality, even h e d o n i s m . T h i s stereotype f i n d s one o f its most w i d e s p r e a d expressions i n r e p o r t i n g o n f o o t b a l l . T h e absence o f M e d i t e r r a n e a n teams d u r i n g E u r o ' 9 2 meant t h a t , i n f o o t b a l l i n g terms at least, i t was i n the r e p o r t i n g o f I t a l i a '90 t h a t such s t e r e o t y p i n g achieved its greatest expression, its m a i n E u r o p e a n bearers being the Italians. T h u s the t h e n Soviet daily Pravda
( 2 1 June 1990) assured its read-
ers t h a t 'the I t a l i a n team ... reflected the explosive nature o f its p e o p l e ' . T h e u l t i m a t e s y m b o l o f f i e r y Italianness d u r i n g Italia '90 was t o be Vesuvius, representing the allegedly volcanic nature o f the I t a l i a n t e m p e r a m e n t . W h e n I t a l y was e l i m i n a t e d by A r g e n t i n a i n the s e m i - f i n a l , Bild
(4 July
1990)
wrote:
'Vesuvius, N a p l e s a n d all o f I t a l y weeps'. ' T h e Italians ... w e n t t o N a p l e s a n d at t h e edge o f Vesuvius w e r e b u r n e d by the m o l t e n lava', added the Basque d a i l y Deia (4 July 1 9 9 0 ) . As the 1 9 9 4 W o r l d C u p approaches, the Italians are again expected t o b r i n g e m o t i o n i n t o f o o t b a l l . I n t e r v i e w e d by the Barcelona daily La Vanguardia November
1993),
Alan
Rothenburg,
chairman
of
the
USA
World
(28 Cup
O r g a n i z i n g C o m m i t t e e , p o i n t e d o u t : 'Few countries p e r s o n i f y all the e m o t i o n s o f f o o t b a l l , a n d I t a l y heads that list.' The
South
Americans.
T h e 'fieriness' o f the Latins carries w i t h i t n o t i o n s o f
u n p r e d i c t a b l e , even u n c o n t r o l l e d creativity. For all its e n t e r t a i n m e n t value, h o w e v e r , this c r e a t i v i t y - w h i c h is o f t e n described as 'magic', p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the case o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n s - is v i e w e d u n f a v o u r a b l y i f i t does n o t b r i n g results. T h u s , w h e n A C M i l a n defeated PSV E i n d h o v e n i n the C h a m p i o n s ' League i n 1 9 9 2 ,
PSV's Brazilian player R o m á r i o de Souza Faria ( c o m m o n l y
k n o w n s i m p l y as R o m a r i o ) h a d , a c c o r d i n g t o the Flemish-language d a i l y Gazet
van Antwerpen
Belgian
(10 December;. 1 9 9 2 ) , ' c o n j u r e d u p a f e w magic
t r i c k s o u t o f his B r a z i l i a n s h u f f l e , b u t lacked any sense o f efficiency'. I t is i n r e l a t i o n t o S o u t h A m e r i c a i n p a r t i c u l a r t h a t the u l t i m a t e l y d a m a g i n g effect
of
such
stereotypes
comes
most
fully
i n t o view. T h e i r
inherent
106
Stereotypes and Representations ambivalence, o n t h e o n e h a n d , facilitates t h e i r r o u t i n e r e p r o d u c t i o n , since t h e i r positive side a l l o w s t h e i r i n c l u s i o n i n areas o f j o u r n a l i s t i c p r o d u c t i o n w h e r e a n y suggestion o f direct prejudice w o u l d be discouraged a n d perhaps even censored.
B u t t h e i r negative underside -
seldom expressed d i r e c t l y
t h o u g h always present i n a submerged m o d e - is an indissociable p a r t o f t h e stereotype a n d is t r i g g e r e d b y i m p l i c a t i o n w h e n any element o f the stereotype is used. I n this w a y a p p a r e n t l y inoffensive characterizations c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e maintenance a n d r e p r o d u c t i o n o f prejudice i n a p o w e r f u l b u t elusive f o r m . I f flair a n d c r e a t i v i t y are t h e positive pole o f t h e S o u t h e r n stereotype, its negative p o l e brings together n o t i o n s o f i n d i s c i p l i n e , i r r a t i o n a l i t y a n d recklessness. I n t h e case o f t h e L a t i n A m e r i c a n s , ' t e m p e r a m e n t ' usually d e t e r i o rates i n t o supercharged Soviet d a i l y Izvestia
e m o t i o n s a n d c o m p l e t e irresponsibility. T h u s t h e
(26 June 1 9 9 0 ) r e p o r t e d o f the Brazilians:
Suffice i t t o say that on those days when there are matches in which the national team is taking part the number of heart attacks doubles.... In the waiting room of a hospital in Sáo Paulo a female patient died of a stroke - all the medical staff were enthusiastically watching the match between Scotland and Costa Rica. A n d while Maradona joyously waved the green-yellow strip of his defeated Brazilian opponent above his head, fourteen criminals managed to escape from the grounds of a prison also in Sáo Paulo, taking advantage of the inconsolable grief of the guards. No-one was particularly surprised: it's f o o t b a l l . . . Beneath its superficial h u m o u r , this r e p o r t tells o f social acquiescence i n collective professional negligence. B e y o n d that still, stories o f South A m e r i c a n fans c o m m i t t i n g suicide f o l l o w i n g t h e defeat o f their team, o r even o f w a r being declared as a result o f f o o t b a l l matches between L a t i n A m e r i c a n countries ( G o l d l u s t , 1 9 8 7 : 118), are p a r t o f the p o p u l a r f o l k l o r e o f f o o t b a l l i n g E u r o p e . A f u r t h e r element o f t h e stereotype f o u n d p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e l a t i o n t o S o u t h A m e r i c a n footballers is t h e figure o f the ' L a t i n l o v e r ' : o n e o f the m o s t e n d u r i n g clichés o f n o r t h e r n E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e , g o i n g back at least as far as the l i t e r ary figures o f D o n Juan a n d Casanova.
T h e Argentinian footballer Diego
M a r a d o n a f r e q u e n t l y t r i g g e r e d the a c t i v a t i o n o f this element o f the stereotype i n t h e E u r o p e a n press. For e x a m p l e , d u r i n g its coverage o f I t a l i a ' 9 0 , Bild (25 June 1 9 9 0 ) - itself q u o t i n g t h e French Sunday newspaper France
Dimanche
-
c a r r i e d an article o n his love life e n t i t l e d ' D i e g o : L o v e i n the A e r o p l a n e , i n t h e T a x i a n d i n t h e S t a d i u m ' , g i v i n g details o f some o f his a p p a r e n t l y 6 0 0 ' c o n quests'. A n d o n 5 December 1993 t h e leading Swiss German-language daily, Blicky
c a r r i e d i n its sports section a r e p o r t o n h o w t h e C o l u m b i a n f o o t b a l l e r
Faustino A s p r i l l a ( w h o plays f o r Parma i n Italy) h a d left his w i f e a n d c h i l d f o r G e r m a n - I t a l i a n porn-star Petra Scharbach. T h e article p o i n t s o u t , crucially, h o w this i n f a t u a t i o n has affected the player's w o r k rate: 'Asprilla, b e w i t c h e d by the p o r n star, has n o t scored any goals since 2 7 O c t o b e r . ' The
Africans.
D u r i n g Italia ' 9 0 , an unexpectedly exogenous
r e c i p i e n t o f at
least parts o f t h e L a t i n stereotype was t o emerge: t h e C a m e r o o n i a n s . I n d e e d ,
Mapping the Mythical 107 w i t h t h e early e x i t o f B r a z i l f r o m the c o m p e t i t i o n , they came t o be presented as ' t h e Brazilians o f A f r i c a ' (El Pais, the G e r m a n w e e k l y Sport-Bild,
13 June 1 9 9 0 ) , d i s p l a y i n g , a c c o r d i n g t o
' B r a z i l i a n a r t i s t r y ' ( 2 0 June 1 9 9 0 ) . T h e i r l i n k s
w i t h t h e L a t i n stereotype are i m m e d i a t e l y apparent, t h o u g h t h e details o f the stereotype are visibly m o r e e x t r e m e . T h u s , they are seen as sharing the 'magic' o f the L a t i n s - f o r t h e Hannoversche w e r e ' f o o t b a l l magicians', f o r Bild
Allgemeine
Zeitung
(9 June 1 9 9 2 ) they
( 1 6 June 1 9 9 2 ) 'the magicians f r o m A f r i c a '
- b u t i n t h i s case i t is, i n the w o r d s o f the I t a l i a n daily Corriere
della Sera (15
June 1 9 9 2 ) , 'black m a g i c ' , suggesting even m o r e u n e n l i g h t e n e d f o r m s o f r e l i giosity t h a n those c o n v e n t i o n a l l y associated w i t h Latins. A n o t h e r feature o f the L a t i n stereotype w h i c h they share is ' t e m p e r a m e n t ' , b u t again its expression externalizes elements o f t h e stereotype w h i c h are o f t e n l e f t u n s a i d . T h u s , n o t o n l y d i d the Hannoversche
Allgemeine
Zeitung
(29
June 1 9 9 0 ) describe t h e C a m e r o o n i a n s as p e r s o n i f y i n g 'African t e m p e r a m e n t ' ( w h i c h i t contrasted w i t h t h e 'Siberian c h i l l ' o f t h e i r Soviet t r a i n e r ! ) a n d as b e i n g themselves 'bundles o f t e m p e r a m e n t ' , b u t LEquipe
(25 June 1990) even
described t h e i r f o o t b a l l as a ' v i c t o r y f o r the i r r a t i o n a l ' . T h e c o n t r a d i c t i o n w i t h i n d u s t r i o u s B r i t o n s , d i s c i p l i n e d Germans a n d c o o l a n d r a t i o n a l Swedes c o u l d n o t be m o r e o b v i o u s .
Language and power: a discursive network Discourse and media institutions T h a t 'news i m p l i c i t l y p r o m o t e s t h e d o m i n a n t beliefs a n d o p i n i o n s o f elite groups i n society' (Van D i j k , 1 9 8 8 : 83) is, as a general rule (albeit w i t h a variety o f arguable exceptions), surely unsurprising. T h e news i n d u s t r y is, f r o m an econ o m i c p o i n t o f view, just o n e other i n d u s t r y w i t h i n advanced industrial societies, a n d is as an i n s t i t u t i o n - whatever the views o f i n d i v i d u a l journalists saturated w i t h the values o f those w h o have effective c o n t r o l over the economic a n d p o l i t i c a l system w i t h i n w h i c h i t operates. I n many cases n a t i o n - b u i l d i n g projects o f one k i n d o r another - f o r m a l o r i n f o r m a l , official o r u n o f f i c i a l - are a m a j o r element i n the furtherance o f these elite interests. T h e role o f t h e m e d i a , a n d i n particular the crucial role w h i c h sports r e p o r t i n g can o f t e n play i n such projects, has been w e l l d o c u m e n t e d (see Blain et a l . , 1993). Indeed, one o f the c o m m o n e s t features o f sports r e p o r t i n g is the m e t o n y m whereby the n a t i o n is presented as a single sentient being (Blain et a l . , 1993: 8 0 - 2 ) . T h i s feature o f sports r e p o r t i n g , also, c o u l d scarcely be o t h e r w i s e . M o d e r n s p o r t p r o v i d e s a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l arena i n w h i c h s y m b o l i c n a t i o n a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n s are p l a y e d o u t at times before audiences o f h u n d r e d s o f m i l l i o n s . Sport is n o w also deeply c o m m e r c i a l i z e d , a n d , as just another f o r m o f c o m m e r c i a l enterprise, i t f u n c t i o n s o n a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l level as a site i n w h i c h advanced c o u n t r i e s can a n d m u s t act o u t t h e i r p r e f e r r e d m y t h s t h r o u g h self-and otherstereotypes,
a n d celebrate those qualities w h i c h , i n t h e i r o w n eyes, make
t h e m m o r e m o d e r n , m o r e advanced, i n s h o r t superior.
Social i d e n t i t y t h e o r y
108
Stereotypes and Representations p r o v i d e s a useful theoretical m o d e l f o r e x p l a i n i n g such macro-behaviour. As Abrams and H o g g point out: Within a particular intergroup relationship, i t is often the case that one group has more resources, power, status and prestige. M o r e powerful groups generally seek to maintain the status quo, promulgating their o w n system of values and ideology. Membership of subordinate groups may potentially confer negative social identity, especially if the dominant group's values are accepted. (1990: 4) T h i s process r o u t i n e l y involves d o w n g r a d i n g other n a t i o n a l groups. T h e salience o f w i d e l y disseminated schematic discursive models such as stereotypes i n this process is encouraged n o t o n l y b y the ritualistic f r a m e w o r k o f the s p o r t i n g c o n f r o n t a t i o n s , b u t also b y b o t h t h e d e m o t i c nature o f m u c h sports r e p o r t i n g a n d t h e pressure t o p r o d u c e dramatic reportage u n d e r w h i c h sports journalists
work
(Goldlust,
1 9 8 7 : 9 4 ) : these circumstances
combine
to
enhance t h e use-value o f t o t e m i c r e d u c t i o n i s m , p a c k i n g p r e - f o r m e d a n d easily absorbed narratives i n t o off-the-shelf f o r m u l a t i o n s . A n d since s p o r t - f o l l o w i n g N o r b e r t Elias's t h e o r y o f the ' c i v i l i z i n g process' (Elias a n d D u n n i n g , 1 9 9 3 : 6 3 - 9 0 ) - continues t o constitute an area o f social a c t i v i t y i n w h i c h o v e r t e m o t i o n a l engagement remains p u b l i c l y acceptable i n ways i n w h i c h this w o u l d be u n t h i n k a b l e i n o t h e r contexts (at least i n western societies), t h e sports section o f a newspaper is o n e i n w h i c h a level o f n a t i o n a l sentiment a n d a corres p o n d i n g density o f h i g h l y charged n a t i o n a l stereotypes are t o be f o u n d w h i c h it is d i f f i c u l t (at least u n d e r peace-time c o n d i t i o n s ) t o imagine elsewhere. O n e o f t h e most notable features o f the stereotypes d o c u m e n t e d i n this study, however, is their astonishing u n i f o r m i t y b o t h w i t h i n a n d across n a t i o n a l boundaries.
T h e quotations
... come f r o m
53 publications r a n g i n g
tabloids t o q u a l i t y broadsheets ( w i t h their c o r r e s p o n d i n g socially audiences);
from
segmented
f r o m specialist sports newspapers w i t h daily readerships o f over
one m i l l i o n t o generalist w e e k l y magazines; f r o m publications embracing a l l shades o f p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n t o those w h i c h (at least o f f i c i a l l y ) embrace n o n e ; a n d geographically they are t o be f o u n d t h r o u g h o u t western Europe a n d also i n t h e f o r m e r Soviet U n i o n . T h e r e are differences o f tone, o f course. T h e B r i t i s h tabloids, i n particular, t e n d t o be m o r e aggressive than their c o n t i n e n t a l E u r o p e a n counterparts, most notably i n their presentations o f G e r m a n stereotypes (Blain et a l . , 1 9 9 3 : 1 4 6 - 9 ) . Nonetheless, the almost seamless u n i f o r m i t y o f these stereotypes is remarkable. T h i s impressively homogeneous
diaspora
testifies b o t h t o their p o w e r and t o their age. T h o u g h they operate p r i m a r i l y o n t h e local level - specifically at the p o i n t o f r e p r o d u c t i o n - and i n t h e f u r therance o f local interests, a n d are therefore subject t o an array o f local v a r i ables, their reach is, i n a sense, geopolitical.
Notes 1. As well as being a name, the w o r d 'björn' in Swedish also means 'bear': Is Björn' ('Ice-Björn') is pronounced identically to 'isbjörn', which means 'polar bear'. 2. The Glasgow Herald changed its name to the Herald on 3 February 1992. 4
Mapping the Mythical 109
References Abrams, D . and Hogg, M . A. 1990: A n introduction to the social identity approach. In Abrams, D . and Hogg, M . A . (eds.), Social identity theory. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Blain, N . , Boyle, R. and O'Donnell, H . 1993: Sport and national identity in the European media. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Elias, N . and Dunning, E. 1993: Quest for excitement: sport and leisure in the civilizing process. Oxford: Blackwell. Goldlust, J. 1987: Flaying for keeps: sport, media and society. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. Head, D . 1992: Made in Germany: the corporate identity of a nation. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Nairn, T. 1988: The enchanted glass: the Britain and its monarchy. London: Hutchinson Radius. Van Djik, T. A. 1988: News as discourse. Hillsdale, N J : Erlbaum.
Questions 1
Summarise the key ideas put forward in this extract. What examples can you find in recent national newspapers or broadcasts which support O'Donnell's view that sports coverage tends to deliver a series of 'highly charged national stereotypes'?
2
Why are stereotypical representations perhaps more likely to proliferate in sports reporting and be deemed more acceptable than is imaginable in other aspects of media output?
Further reading Blain, N . , Boyle, R. and O'Donnell, H . 1993: Sport and national identity in the European media. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Hargreaves, J. A. (ed.) 1982: Sport, culture and ideology. London: Routledge. Lapchick, R. E. and Benedict, J. R. (eds.) 1995: Sport in society. London: Sage. Nowell-Smith, G. 1978: Television-football-the world, Screen 19(4), 45-59. Real, M . 1990: Sport and the spectacle. I n Downing, J., Mohammadi, A. and SrebernyMohammadi, A., Questioning the media: a critical introduction. London: Sage. Whannel, G. 1992: Fields in vision: television sport and cultural transformation. London: Routledge.
11 Approaches to 'the North': Common Myths and Assumptions Esther Adams From Television and 'the North' Birmingham 1985).
(Centre for
Contemporary Cultural Studies,
University of
In this short extract chosen from a detailed and diverse analysis of media representations of the north of England, Adams addresses a series of common myths and assumptions held by those with experience of northern England and those without. Her study is based on observation, interpersonal contact with people who live and work in the area and her own personal experience. Unlike other aspects of media representation, the construction of regional identities and differences remains a relatively under-researched area and has only recently begun to be addressed systematically. Adams' paper was written in the early 1980s, and so the examples that she goes on to use from genres such as soap opera and sit-com are now dated and the characters and story-lines would be largely unfamiliar to a modem audience. The general themes associated with northern (particularly northern working-class) culture may, however, be all too familiar. The stereotype of the northern woman being outwardly friendly but then 'gossiping behind your back' still abounds in soaps such as Coronation Street and Brookside, and the notion of the rural north being backward and quaintly eccentric is central to the characterisation in serials such as Last of the Summer Wine.
W i t h o r w i t h o u t actual experience o f t h e area a n d its people, w e a l l possess beliefs a n d assumptions a b o u t t h e N o r t h a n d N o r t h e r n e r s , a considerable i n f l u e n c e o n such conceptions being the media. T h e r e is a famous s t a r t i n g point in Orwell's work: ... There exists i n England a curious cult of Northernness, a sort of Northern snobbishness ... The Northerner has 'grit,' he is grim, 'dour,' plucky, warmhearted and democratic; the Southerner is snobbish, effeminate and lazy - that at any rate is the theory ... i t was the industrialisation of the N o r t h that gave the North-South antithesis its peculiar slant.... the Northern business man is no longer prosperous. But traditions are not killed by facts, and the tradition of Northern 'grit' lingers. I t is still dimly felt that a Northerner w i l l 'get on,'.... that, really, is at the bottom of his bumptiousness.... When I first went to Yorkshire some years ago, I imagined that I was going to a country of boors.... But the Lancashire and Yorkshire miners treated me w i t h a kindness and courtesy that were even embarrassing; for if there is one type of man to whom I do feel myself inferior, i t is a coal-miner.... There is nevertheless a real difference between N o r t h and South, ... w i t h no petty gentry to set the pace, the bourgeoisification of the working class, though it is taking place in the N o r t h , is taking place more slowly. All the Northern accents, for instance, persist strongly.... 1
Approaches to 'the North' 111 B u t w i t h p o s t - w a r television there has been a set o f f u r t h e r developments. I n an a t t e m p t t o relate beliefs, m e d i a representations a n d ' l i v e d c u l t u r e ' , a useful i n t r o d u c t i o n is a n o u t l i n e o f some m o r e c o m m o n m y t h s a n d beliefs about t h e N o r t h , a n d , t h r o u g h m o r e d e t a i l e d studies o f t h e media presentations, t o see h o w s t r o n g l y such n o t i o n s are m o b i l i s e d a n d given f o r m , before e n t e r i n g i n t o a w i d e r discussion o f t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s . (i) Northerners
as Friendly/Unfriendly
T h e f o r m e r v i e w is o f t e n r e i n f o r c e d by
accounts o f hospitality, the willingness o f people t o t a l k t o newcomers a n d v i r t u a l strangers,
t o offer help a n d be ready w i t h
advice
o r t o give
directions. W h e t h e r this is, as a characteristic, m o r e true o f the N o r t h , is debatable
(similar f r i e n d l y ' traits can be observed i n areas o f the West
C o u n t r y a n d East A n g l i a ) hence possibly s h o w i n g that such characteristics o f behaviour are m o r e readily f o u n d i n c o u n t r y a n d r u r a l areas i n general. T h e opposite v i e w is, however, equally p o t e n t : that N o r t h e r n e r s are reserved a n d w i t h d r a w n , almost hostile t o ' i n t r u d e r s ' i n t o the c o m m u n i t y , being w a r y o f anyone w h o talks differently, a n d r e q u i r i n g the newcomer t o undergo a p e r i o d o f 'apprenticeship' before acceptance. B o t h traits can also be encountered o p e r a t i n g simultaneously t h r o u g h m a r k e d patterns o f hospitality ty
and
hostili-
(offers o f help extended yet ' t a l k i n g b e h i n d y o u r back' i n the n e x t
instant). Such behaviour is n o t o n l y c o m p l e x b u t p u z z l i n g , especially t o those f r o m m o r e singular urbanised areas. (ii) The North
as Ugly/Beautiful
Images a b o u n d o f the N o r t h as heavily i n d u s -
t r i a l , d i r t y , smoky, grey, a n d c o m p r i s e d o f endless r o w s o f terraced back t o back houses w h i c h w o u l d have been d e m o l i s h e d as slums l o n g ago i n any o t h e r p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y . I t is an image o f the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y n o v e l , o f D . H . L a w r e n c e , o f L . S. L o w r y p r i n t s a n d When
the Boat
Comes
In: a
v i s i o n o f hangover f r o m t h e (industrial) past. But the N o r t h is not entirely an invention of the last century; i t has its dales and moors, its sheep and castles. 2
I t is these latter aspects o f N o r t h e r n landscape w h i c h become t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o t h e pastoral image, t h e r u r a l / r u s t i c ideal. I n such a l a n d o f fells, lakes, v a l leys, rivers a n d m o o r s , a haven can be f o u n d f r o m the t o w n / c i t y - a l a n d o f beauty, w o n d e r , c h a r m , a n d t h e p o e t r y books o f W o r d s w o r t h , Shelley, Keats, a n d C o l e r i d g e . I t f o r m s a n a n t i d o t e t o the style a n d pace o f u r b a n existence, a place o f retreat a n d escape: a place w h e r e t h e soul can be ' f r e e d ' f r o m socioc u l t u r a l constraints, a n d r e b o r n i n t o its ' n a t u r a l ' state. N o living soul w i t h poetry i n his heart can fail to express himself among the wonderful surroundings one sees in the Lake District. 3
R a t h e r t h a n b e i n g a place w h e r e people live, i t is a place w h e r e people g o t o 'wax lyrical'. (iii) The North
as Segregated/as
Backwater
O n e f o r m o f this v i e w is a k i n t o the
s l u m / c o u n t r y d i c h o t o m y w h e r e the l a n d w o u l d seem t o be d i v i d e d between
112
Stereotypes and Representations the p o o r e r areas o f the w o r k e r s (the m i n i n g villages) and the open estates o r acres o f l a n d belonging t o i n d i v i d u a l farmers/landowners. Similarly geographical features separate t o w n s and communities, some o f t e n isolated b y m o u n t a i n s , rivers o r valleys w i t h the jugular o f the M . 6 being the ' l i f e l i n e ' t o the rest o f ' c i v i l i s a t i o n ' . N e w styles and fashions are believed t o be s l o w t o catch o n , there is a tendency for m o r e conservative ways o f dress a n d t h i n k i n g t o p r e v a i l , a n d a w a r y scepticism o f n e w trends a n d labour saving devices. I t appears somewhat incredible that areas exist w h i c h still have t o be connected t o electricity supplies. (iv) Northerners
as Quaint,
Old-Fashioned
and Superstitious
Ruralness a n d
backwardness w o u l d seem t o g o h a n d i n h a n d , a d d i n g t o the q u a i n t c h a r m o f the area. The people who have been born in the Lake District or in the Border country are naturally more superstitious and more inclined to believe in fairies, giants, wicked spells, curses and enchantments than, perhaps, people from any other part of the country. Nature in itself is mysterious and magical, the folk who live near enough to nature can believe almost anything. 4
Because t h e area itself has been m y t h o l o g i s e d so must its people be d i f f e r entiated f r o m t h e rest - n o t necessarily special, merely q u a i n t . (v) Northerners
as Talkative
Gossiping, t e l l i n g stories, m o n o l o g u e s
o f the
' g o o d o l d days' a n d willingness t o have a ' g o o d crack' w i t h anyone are a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f N o r t h e r n life a n d being 'sociable'. Hence such characteristics have become trademarks o f t h e average N o r t h e r n e r , habits
easily
recognised, a n d easy (for actors a n d s c r i p t w r i t e r s ) t o convey. (vi) Northerners
as 'Salt of the Earth'
A g a i n they are o f t e n seen as g o o d f o r a
l a u g h (n.b. t h e i r great use i n comedy especially t o represent l o w - l i f e characters) b e i n g g o o d , honest, no-messing o r d i n a r y f o l k , a b i t basic perhaps, but o n the whole 'all right'. ... rough and unpolished perhaps, but diamonds nevertheless; ragged but of sterling w o r t h , not refined, not intellectual, but w i t h both feet firmly on the ground - capable of a good belly laugh, charitable and forthright ... possessed of a racy and salty speech, touched w i t h w i t , but always w i t h its hard grain of common sense. 5
Notes 1.
G. Orwell The road to Wigan Pier (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1962), p p . 142-6. 2. M . Wolfers, T h e N o r t h : a study i n class, community and custom', i n R. Mabey ed., Class: a symposium (London, Blond, 1967), p. 146. 3. - G. Findler, Legends of the Lake Counties (Clapham, Dalesman Press, 1967), p. 7. 4. Findler, Legends of the Lake Counties, p. 9. 5. R. Hoggart, The uses of literacy (London, Chatto & Windus, 1957), p. 15.
Approaches to 'the North' 113
Questions 1
2
3
What examples can you think of from a range of media texts - film, television, advertising, news reports, comedies etc. - which rely on stereotypical constructions of regional difference? How is your own region represented? How do British soaps, in particular, perpetuate some of the 'myths' of 'northernness' to which Adams is referring? To what extent can soaps such as Coronation Street or Emmerdale, for example, be said to be dealing in 'true-life' representations of people living in specific regional communities, and to what extent are they promoting false images of the north based on stereotypical representations and nostalgic yearnings for the past? Adams uses the terms 'northern' and 'working-class' almost synonymously and when this paper was written there existed no soap operas set in the south of England and only one, Crossroads, set in the Midlands, but bearing little relation or reference to that area. Has the more recent EastEnders, which also concerns itself largely with the lives of working-class people, constructed its characters in any less of a stereotypical manner than its northern counterparts, or does it put forward equally limited and traditional views of Londoners?
Further reading Brunsdon, C. and Morley, D . 1978: Everyday television: 'Nationwide'. London: BFI. Carter, E., Donald, J. and Squires, J. (eds.) 1993: Space and place: theories of identity and location. London: Lawrence &C Wishart. Dodd, K. and Dodd, P. 1992: From the East End to EastEnders: representations of the working class, 1890-1990. I n Strinati, D . and Wagg, S., Come on down: popular media culture in post-war Britain. London: Routledge. Griffiths, A. 1993: Pobol y C w m : the construction of national and cultural identity in a Welsh language soap opera. I n Drummond, P., Peterson, R. and Willis, J. (eds.), National identity and Europe. London: BFI. Massey, D . 1994: Space, place and gender. Cambridge: Polity Press. McArthur, C. 1982: Scotch reels: Scotland in cinema and television. London: BFI. Osmond, J. 1988: The divided kingdom. London: Constable. Rutherford, J. 1990: Identity: community, culture, difference. London: Lawrence & Wishart. Shields, R. 1991. Places on the margin. London: Routledge.
12 Crippling Images Anne Karpf From Doctoring the media: the reporting of health and medicine (Routledge 1988)
As we have seen from the previous readings in this section, one of the most common features of stereotypes refers to the social positioning and perceived mental abilities of the stereotyped group. This form of categorisation confirms the seemingly 'natural' position of oppressed or pariah groups in society and further contributes to, and perpetuates, the isolation and discrimination which they face. Karpf looks at how representations of illness and disability affect our perceptions of both the medical profession and those who are being treated within it. She claims that the media are predominantly interested in 'miracle' cure stories rather than items about ordinary people with disabilities, and one of the few areas of television where images of the disabled are routinely shown is that of telethons, where children are most frequently used (and in her view exploited) to persuade people to part with money. Such charity events are accused of perpetuating the most damaging stereotypes of disability, creating images of dependency and humiliation which outweigh the financial gains and serve the interests of the able-bodied better than those of the disabled. One of Karpf's most vehement accusations against the media, is that they commit 'sins of omission' although, arguably, since her book was written in 1988, representations of disability have become more commonplace in mainstream media output. The introduction of a baby with Down's Syndrome in Brookside and the paralysis of Angel in Home and Away are two examples from contemporary soaps that spring to mind (albeit that in the latter case the character made an unexpected full recovery after only a few weeks of physiotherapy, despite predictions from her doctor that she could remain in a wheelchair for the rest of her life). Films such as My Left Foot, The Piano, Children of a Lesser God, Born on the Fourth of July and Rain Man all featured characters with disabilities, and there are many other examples.
Disabled by whom? T h e images o f d i s a b i l i t y o n the b i g a n d small screens are m a i n l y m e d i c a l a n d seemingly
natural,
uncontroversial
a n d unchangeable.
I n the
medical
a p p r o a c h , d i s a b i l i t y results either f r o m a cruel accident o f nature (a genetic gaffe) o r f r o m Fate (causing r i d i n g accidents, s p o r t i n g mishaps o r car crashes). People w i t h disabilities are courageous
or long-suffering; we're invited t o
praise o r p i t y t h e m . T h e y ' r e a p p l a u d e d i n 'aren't they w o n d e r f u l ' stories f o r t r i u m p h i n g over t h e i r disability, a n d f o r p e r f o r m i n g tasks as p r o f i c i e n t l y as t h e a b l e - b o d i e d (or even better). A b l i n d w o m a n climbs Everest, an
award-winning
professional
percussionist.
2
Medicine
1
a deaf w o m a n is offers
them the
Crippling Images 115 p o s s i b i l i t y o f a c u r e , o r helps t h e m f u n c t i o n m o r e ' n o r m a l l y ' b y s u p p l y i n g increasingly sophisticated t e c h n o l o g i c a l aids, a n d c h a r i t y is its sidekick, raising m o n e y a n d h o p e . T h e m e d i c a l a p p r o a c h also encourages the take-up o f prenatal screening a n d r u b e l l a i m m u n i s a t i o n t o prevent h a n d i c a p .
3
Programmes
u s i n g t h e m e d i c a l a p p r o a c h are usually presented a n d p r o d u c e d b y able-bodi e d p e o p l e , f o r t h e m e d i c a l a p p r o a c h speaks t o t h e able-bodied (and shows d i s a b i l i t y as seen by t h e m ) ; 'the disabled' are its objects. T h e consumer
a p p r o a c h , b y contrast, addresses people w i t h disabilities
themselves, o r t h e i r carers. C o n s u m e r p r o g r a m m e s , o f t e n a i m e d at people w i t h a specific d i s a b i l i t y l i k e visual h a n d i c a p o r deafness, o f f e r i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t g o o d s , services, a n d w e l f a r e benefits, r e v i e w i n g n e w aids a n d e q u i p m e n t , a n d t a c k l i n g p r o b l e m s such as access. T h e y ' r e s t r o n g advocates o f selfh e l p , a c t i n g ( o n a i r a n d o f f ) as a clearing-house
f o r self-help groups a n d
charitable organisations. T h e y ' r e o f t e n presented b y people w i t h disabilities a n d are broadcast either i n a f t e r n o o n magazine p r o g r a m m e s o r t h e ' g h e t t o ' w e e k e n d m o r n i n g slots reserved f o r m i n o r i t i e s a n d e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m m e s . T h e l o o k - a f t e r - y o u r s e l f p r o g r a m m e , w h e n i t l o o k s at disability, speaks o f its p r e v e n t i o n . I t proposes personal ways o f m a i n t a i n i n g health a n d a v o i d i n g disa b l i n g c o n d i t i o n s , f o r instance t h r o u g h preconceptual care. I t offers advice, 4
g i v e n o r e n d o r s e d b y d o c t o r s , a i m e d at the able-bodied. I n the e n v i r o n m e n t a l approach, disabled isn't a n o u n o r adjective, it's a verb. People are disabled b y t h e society they live i n : social institutions a n d practices disable t h e m m o r e t h a n their physical o r mental handicap. T h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l a p p r o a c h e x p l i c i t l y challenges t h e medical approach, rejecting t h e n o t i o n o f handicap as a ' n a t u r a l ' c o n d i t i o n o r a medical fact o f life inevitably b r i n g i n g o t h e r problems. ' I f a person i n a wheelchair is unable t o take an office j o b because there are steps u p t o an office b u i l d i n g , are w e t o assume that the fault lies w i t h the wheelchair user f o r n o t being able t o c l i m b steps? I w o u l d say the fault lies i n the architecture.' Similarly, the absence o f sign language interpreters 5
at p u b l i c meetings o r events denies deaf people access t o the hearing w o r l d . I n the e n v i r o n m e n t a l approach, a t t e n t i o n is shifted f r o m people w i t h disabilities t o the w i d e r c u l t u r e : t h e p r o b l e m is n o longer the disability, b u t rather the failure o f t h e able-bodied c o m m u n i t y t o accommodate
i t . Social i n t e r a c t i o n , rather
t h a n an i n t r i n s i c physical c o n d i t i o n , is t o blame. I n the e n v i r o n m e n t a l approach, people w i t h disabilities aren't spoken f o r by others: they speak f o r themselves.
Braving the media T h e past t w o decades' q u i e t r e v o l u t i o n b y people w i t h disabilities has gone largely u n r e c o r d e d b y t h e m e d i a . A b l e - b o d i e d broadcasters
are still ( a n d
increasingly) e n t h r a l l e d b y the d o m i n a n t m e d i c a l a p p r o a c h . ' C u r e ' stories are f a v o u r i t e s , l i k e 'the m i r a c l e o f the m a n w h o g o t his sight back after 3 6 years',
6
o r t h e sick c h i l d w h o s e leg was a m p u t a t e d , a n d her heel reattached as a knee f i x e d t o a n a r t i f i c i a l leg. T h e d i s a b i l i t y m o v e m e n t argues t h a t :
116
Stereotypes and Representations we celebrate deaf people, but they celebrate people who aren't deaf any more. They love stories about children who have been given marvellous new hearing aids, deaf people who've learnt to play instruments.... The emphasis is always on becoming as much like hearing people as possible. 7
Courage
is t h e i r d e f i n i n g characteristic.
C h i l d r e n w i t h disabilities m u s t
always be s m i l i n g , since 'a h a p p y c h i l d seems t o be t h e o n l y acceptable image o f d i s a b i l i t y ' . T h e y achieve Douglas Bader feats o f f o r t i t u d e , as i f i n d i v i d u a l 8
acts o f h e r o i s m represented t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h e i r daily p r o b l e m s a n d disability was o n l y an i n d i v i d u a l a n d psychological challenge, n o t also a practical a n d collective one. E x c e p t i o n a l disabled people are p a r t i c u l a r l y p o p u l a r , n o t c h i n g u p achievements impossible o r i r r e l e v a n t t o most people w i t h disabilities hence t h e b l i n d m o u n t a i n - c l i m b e r o r r u n n e r - even t h o u g h t h e average B r i t i s h b l i n d person is elderly, female, a n d usually h a r d u p .
9
T h i s k i n d o f coverage was especially prevalent i n t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Year o f D i s a b l e d People ( 1 9 8 1 ) , w h e n ' c h i l d r e n received bravery awards f o r l y i n g i n b e d a n d u n d e r g o i n g operations. A t h a l i d o m i d e " h e r o i n e " made headlines f o r passing h e r d r i v i n g test. Television news s h o w e d a compulsive tendency t o f i l m us s t r u g g l i n g t o make a cup o f tea w i t h an able-bodied c o m m e n t a r y overlaid.'
10
Television o f t e n uses these images f o r its leave'em-happy f i n a l news
story, usually occasioned by a visit f r o m Royalty.
Telethons: child appeal Telethons, f u n d - r a i s i n g television marathons, are the annual o p p o r t u n i t y f o r celebrities a n d audiences t o have f u n w h i l e d o i n g g o o d . Simultaneously glitzy a n d w o r t h y , t h e y ' r e usually 12- o r 2 4 - h o u r affairs, w i t h celebrities d r o p p i n g i n t o t h e s t u d i o t o chat o r p e r f o r m , a n d f i l m e d inserts o f charities needing m o n e y o r s h o w i n g w h a t past recipients d i d w i t h theirs. Viewers a n d listeners p h o n e i n t o pledge donations a n d t h e presenters, regularly a n n o u n c i n g t h e t o t a l t o date, e x h o r t the audience t o the finishing-line - the target sum. Telethons
demand enormous
organisation -
o n e used 6 5 0
telephones
staffed b y B r i t i s h Telecom telephonists. T h e B B C t e l e t h o n ' C h i l d r e n i n N e e d ' ropes i n every B B C local a n d n a t i o n a l r a d i o s t a t i o n , as w e l l as t h e B B C T V networks.
A n d t h e 1985
Thames
Telethon
completely
displaced t h e
station's regular schedules f o r t w e n t y - f o u r hours. Telethons o r i g i n a t e d i n t h e U n i t e d States, w h e r e t h e best k n o w n is c o m e d i a n Jerry L e w i s ' Labor D a y t e l e t h o n , w h i c h has raised large sums f o r muscular d y s t r o p h y charities f o r nineteen years. W h e n t h e B B C b o r r o w e d t h e idea i n 1 9 8 0 they decided that t h e B r i t i s h p u b l i c w o u l d n ' t stomach t h e f u l l A m e r i c a n revelry, w i t h its u n r e s t r a i n e d l y h e a r t - t u g g i n g appeals i n a 2 4 - h o u r n o n - s t o p variety show. T h e B B C v e r s i o n is a m o r e m u t e d affair, a i m i n g t o reach t h e (smaller, local) c h a r i ties t h e o t h e r appeals d o n ' t reach. Its recipients are c h i l d r e n w i t h m e n t a l o r physical handicaps ( w h o get some 4 0 per cent o f the grants), o r those w i t h b e h a v i o u r disorders i n care, h o s p i t a l , o r l i v i n g i n under-resourced o r stressful
Crippling Images 117 places. T h e sums raised b y telethons are sizeable. Between t h e m i n 1 9 8 5 , the B B C a n d T h a m e s T V telethons raised over £ 5 m i l l i o n , a n d i n 1985/6 B r i t i s h c o m m e r c i a l r a d i o stations raised over £ 2 . 6 m i l l i o n i n cash f o r c h a r i t y t h r o u g h events l i k e a W a l k a t h o n (a 2 5 - m i l e c h a r i t y w a l k ) . B u t a l t h o u g h t h e r e c e i v i n g organisations are understandably pleased t o have t h e m o n e y , telethons have been
r o u n d l y i n d i c t e d by A m e r i c a n disability
activists f o r p e r p e t u a t i n g d a m a g i n g stereotypes o f disability w h i c h o u t w e i g h t h e f i n a n c i a l gains. W h i l e a c k n o w l e d g i n g b o t h organisers' a n d d o n o r s ' g o o d i n t e n t i o n s , t h e y argue t h a t t h e y arouse 'there, b u t f o r the grace o f G o d ' feelings i n t h e i r audience w h i c h oppress people w i t h disabilities. In order to get their money, they have to humiliate me ... to me, a wheelchair is a solution, not a sentence. Because I use a wheelchair, I am able to do many things I otherwise could not. I am not 'confined to a wheelchair'. I don't 'face a life w i t h out meaning', and I ' m not a 'poor, unfortunate cripple who needs your help.' 11
A l t h o u g h B r i t i s h telethons are m o r e subtle, t h e i r images usually m o r e positive a n d o p t i m i s t i c , the B r i t i s h disability m o v e m e n t t o o deplores: fund-raising at a distance ... the twentieth-century version of the beggar in the streets. Even the begging bowls are no longer in our own hands.... [It] gives people a sense of doing something for us without bringing them into contact w i t h us. 12
M o s t B r i t i s h telethons focus almost exclusively o n c h i l d r e n , since cute y o u n g sters u n d o u b t e d l y head the h i e r a r c h y o f tele-appeal, w i t h less cute oldsters at t h e b o t t o m . T h e r e ' s a t o t a l m i s m a t c h between the age o f those people w i t h disabilities w h o appear o n telethons (and T V i n general), a n d the age o f the m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e w i t h disabilities i n the general p o p u l a t i o n . M o r e o v e r , a l t h o u g h the B B C ' s rules specifically f o r b i d t h e m g i v i n g grants t o relieve a s t a t u t o r y b o d y o f its responsibilities, disadvantaged g r o u p s are especially disadvantaged at a t i m e o f cuts, a n d telethons (since they rarely collect f o r l u x u ries)
can't
h e l p b u t c o n t r i b u t e t o the idea that it's the j o b
of private
organisations a n d n o t the state t o p r o v i d e or collect essential funds. T h e y also r e i n f o r c e an image o f people w i t h disabilities as dependent o n charity. Even w h e r e telethons increase the v i s i b i l i t y o f people w i t h disabilities, t h e i r o n e - o f f occurrence i n e v i t a b l y smacks o f t o k e n i s m . For w h o s e b e n e f i t are telethons organised? It's n o t always clear. Parts o f the 1985 T h a m e s T e l e t h o n w e r e c o m m e r c i a l l y sponsored, causing one T V c r i t i c t o observe t h a t no shove ha-penny contest went unsponsored. This made for wall-to-wall advertising and a steady line of executives crossing the stage like ants, each carrying a large cardboard cheque. 'Give a big hand to the chairman of Burtons' ... 'Sponsored by those lovely folk f r o m Panasonic.' 13
Commercial
companies
gain a w h i f f
o f w o r t h i n e s s a n d all are
beyond
r e p r o a c h w h e n the v u l g a r i t y ' s f o r charity. Since telethons make the a b l e - b o d i e d feel b o u n t i f u l (and m a n y w o u l d be a f f r o n t e d t o hear t h a t people w i t h disabilities
feel
oppressed
by t h e i r p i t y ) ,
telethons
may
really be
for
the
118
Stereotypes and Representations a b l e - b o d i e d . A s t h e C o n t r o l l e r o f B B C 1 , w h o authorised t h e first B r i t i s h t e l e t h o n said, ' I t makes m e feel w a r m . ' Medico-charitable
14
broadcasting has a l o n g history. President
Roosevelt,
paralysed f r o m p o l i o i n 1 9 2 1 , enlisted p o p u l a r entertainers such as Eddie C a n t o r t o raise funds f o r p o l i o t r e a t m e n t a n d research via n e t w o r k r a d i o o n his b i r t h d a y each year. B u t at t h e same t i m e , Roosevelt resolved never t o appear helpless, dependent, o r defeated by p o l i o , a n d so w o u l d n ' t a l l o w h i m self t o be p h o t o g r a p h e d i n a wheelchair. T h e press a n d m e d i a generally c o o p e r a t e d . Roosevelt, w h i l e he t r i e d t o i m p r o v e c o n d i t i o n s f o r people
with
p o l i o , c o u l d n ' t a l l o w himself t o i d e n t i f y w i t h t h e m f o r fear o f d a m a g i n g his r o b u s t p o l i t i c a l image, a n d m a n y Americans never knew, o r f o r g o t , that t h e i r President c o u l d n ' t w a l k u n a i d e d . C o u l d telethons be different? I n 1 9 7 9 U n i t e d Cerebral Palsy (UCP), an A m e r i c a n o r g a n i s a t i o n k n o w n f o r it's ' l o o k , w e ' r e w a l k i n g ' telethons, decided t o change t h e m . T h e y w r o t e u p t h e speeches t h e celebrities were supposed t o m a k e , asked people w i t h disabilities t o m o n i t o r the t e l e t h o n , a n d set o u t guidelines stressing that telethons s h o u l d s h o w b o t h adults a n d c h i l d r e n a n d s h o u l d reflect t h e degrees o f disability t y p i c a l a m o n g people w i t h
cerebral
palsy. Celebrities w e r e t o be t h o r o u g h l y i n f o r m e d about the c o n d i t i o n a n d use a p p r o p r i a t e t e r m i n o l o g y , a v o i d i n g terms l i k e v i c t i m , p o o r , c r i p p l e d , u n f o r t u nate, tragedy a n d o t h e r w o r d s arousing p i t y rather t h a n respect. T h e y were also t o a v o i d asking viewers t o give o u t o f thankfulness that t h e i r o w n c h i l d r e n w e r e b o r n healthy, a n d U C P o u t l a w e d images w h i c h placed
undue
emphasis o n people w i t h cerebral palsy w a l k i n g a n d t a l k i n g , leading t o u n r e a l istic p u b l i c expectations a n d d a m a g i n g t h e self-image o f people w i t h cerebral palsy w h o w o u l d never be able t o d o either. T h e y also w a n t e d t o d r a w attent i o n t o t h e organisation's advocacy role i n h e l p i n g people w i t h disabilities realise t h e i r o w n desires a n d needs, l i k e g a i n i n g access t o p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n , barrier-free b u i l d i n g s a n d t r a n s p o r t , h o u s i n g , and jobs. W h e n people w i t h disabilities m o n i t o r e d t h e t e l e t h o n , they f o u n d i t a sign i f i c a n t b u t l i m i t e d i m p r o v e m e n t . T h o u g h the m a i n issues emerged, ' t h e celebrities are t u n e d t o seize o n the theatrics o f t h e m o m e n t . G i v e n n a t i o n a l television exposure, they are n o t g o i n g t o be h e l d t o t i g h t , p r e - d r a f t e d scripts. So w h e n they see a m o m e n t o f possible d r a m a , they seize i t . '
15
Screened out Sins o f o m i s s i o n are perhaps even m o r e significant i n media coverage o f disa b i l i t y t h a n sins o f c o m m i s s i o n . People w i t h disabilities a n d t h e issues affecti n g t h e m are largely invisible o n r a d i o a n d television. A c o m m o n f o r m a t is t o have a discussion between someone w h o w o r k s with
people w i t h disabilities,
and t h e m o t h e r of a person w i t h a disability, speaking o n their behalf, b u t n o t disabled people themselves. A n d people w i t h disabilities are rarely i n v i t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n m e d i a discussions
about a b o r t i o n , prenatal screening, o r the
s w i t c h i n g - o f f o f l i f e - s u p p o r t systems f o r people w i t h severe handicaps.
Crippling Images 119 T h e vast m a j o r i t y o f people w i t h disabilities are socially a n d e c o n o m i c a l l y disadvantaged, yet T V a n d r a d i o news p r o g r a m m e s rarely r e p o r t o n the i m p l i cations
f o r t h e m o f events l i k e h e a l t h cutbacks
or inflation, and though
m o t o r i s t s , d r i n k e r s , a n d smokers are r o u t i n e l y i n t e r v i e w e d after t h e Budget f o r t h e i r reactions t o price rises, people w i t h disabilities are never asked f o r t h e i r reactions t o benefit freezes. People w i t h disabilities are t h e largest sect i o n o f t h e u n e m p l o y e d , y e t t h e y ' r e never r e f e r r e d t o i n m e d i a coverage o f unemployment.
16
I n d e e d , they rarely figure i n m a i n s t r e a m p r o g r a m m e s at a l l ,
a n d w h e n they d o i t ' s usually because
o f t h e i r disability. Broadcasters a n d
news journalists seem t o assume t h a t t h e i r audience is able-bodied,
even
t h o u g h a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e m must have a disability since a b o u t o n e i n five p e o p l e i n B r i t a i n have a severe disability.
[...]
Disabling drama F i c t i o n a l p r o g r a m m e s d i s t o r t disability just as consistently as n o n - f i c t i o n a l . A study o f A m e r i c a n p r i m e - t i m e T V shows f o u n d that none o f the disabled characters w e r e over s i x t y - f i v e , a n d 4 0 per cent o f t h e m were c h i l d r e n . T h e y were m a i n l y w o r k i n g class, excluded f r o m i m p o r t a n t family roles, l i v i n g generally i n schools a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s . T w o - t h i r d s were single, almost half were recipients o f some k i n d o f verbal o r physical abuse, most were regarded as objects o f p i t y and care a n d experienced a miracle cure at the e n d o f the p r o g r a m m e .
17
Another
study o f A m e r i c a n p r i m e - t i m e c o m m e r c i a l television f o u n d handicapped characters s e l d o m appearing i n incidental roles: i n 85 h a l f - h o u r slots, n o t one was visible i n groups o f shoppers, spectators,
jurors, customers o r w o r k e r s . W h e n
people w i t h disabilities were positively characterised, their handicap was central t o t h e p l o t (and, b y i m p l i c a t i o n , t o their lives): they struggled valiantly w i t h c o n d i t i o n s like blindness, b u t were never an astute college professor w h o happened t o be b l i n d , o r t h e capable lawyer i n a wheelchair. T h e y were also o f t e n stigmatised as baddies, evil characters representing a threat t o society i n the trad i t i o n o f L o n g J o h n Silver o r Feter Fan's Captain H o o k .
18
I n 1 9 8 6 t h e B r i t i s h g r o u p Fairplay, c a m p a i g n i n g f o r accurate m e d i a representation o f t h e n u m b e r a n d nature o f people w i t h disabilities, w r o t e t o t h e p r o d u c e r s o f the soap operas ' B r o o k s i d e ' a n d 'EastEnders' t o encourage t h e m t o i n t r o d u c e a disabled character. 'EastEnders' d i d n ' t . ' B r o o k s i d e ' w r o t e i n a deaf character, a n d was t h e first B r i t i s h soap t o d o so, t h o u g h she seemed t o have u n c a n n y a b i l i t y t o hear w i t h o u t the o t h e r characters m a k i n g any concessions t o h e r deafness. O n t h e b i g screen, disabled characters are f r e q u e n t l y misshapen a n d baddies. F r o m t h e d i s f i g u r e d m u r d e r e r o f The Phantom ( 1 9 2 5 ) t o t h e d w a r f k i l l e r o f N i c h o l a s Roeg's Don't
Look
monsters
of the
Opera
Now ( 1 9 7 3 ) , people
w i t h disabilities have been d e p i c t e d as grotesques; o u t l a w e d f r o m able-bodied society
( D u s t i n H o f f m a n ' s lame, p i t i a b l e l o w - l i f e c o n m a n , Ratso, i n J o h n
120 Stereotypes and Representations Schlesinger's 1 9 6 9 Midnight
Cowboy);
f i x a t e d o n b e a u t i f u l b u t unattainable
w o m e n (Charles L a u g h t o n as The Hunchback
of Notre
Dame,
1939), a n d
i m p e l l e d t o destroy w h a t they can't j o i n o r have. G n a r l e d bodies o f t e n signify g n a r l e d m i n d s (Shakespeare's R i c h a r d I I I has a l o t t o answer f o r ) . A t t h e o t h e r e n d o f t h e s p e c t r u m is Reach 1956
for the Sky, the most p o p u l a r f i l m i n B r i t a i n i n
a n d o n e o f t h e m o s t emblematic films ever made a b o u t disability, i n
w h i c h K e n n e t h M o r e p l a y e d Douglas Bader, t h e legless w a r t i m e aviator w i t h the tenacious s p i r i t . Reach for the Sky 'hangs like an albatross r o u n d t h e neck o f every person i n this c o u n t r y w h o ' s been c o n d i t i o n e d t o believe t h a t i t w o u l d take u n a d u l t e r a t e d h e r o i s m t o cope w i t h their d i s a b i l i t y ' .
19
A n o t h e r r e c u r r i n g figure i n f i l m s about disability is 'the able-bodied miracle w o r k e r f r o m w h o m t h e central character draws t h e strength t o persevere a n d learn t o live a n o r m a l l i f e ' .
20
W o m e n are o f t e n disabled i n f i l m s t o a l l o w m e n
t o cure t h e m (such as Rock Magnificent
Obsession,
H u d s o n i n Douglas Sirk's
1954 melodrama
w h o becomes a d o c t o r t o cure Jane W y m a n ' s b l i n d -
ness f o r w h i c h he feels responsible). T h r i l l e r s like the 1 9 6 7 Wait Until
Dark
i n c l u d e b l i n d w o m e n (the u l t i m a t e v i c t i m ) , o r they heighten t h e tension b y using deaf w o m e n ('the last w o r d i n " d u m b b l o n d ' " ) . 21
W e l l - i n t e n t i o n e d movies Elephant
are even
worse. T h e praised
1980 film
The
Man was based o n t h e t r u e story o f Joseph M e r r i c k , a V i c t o r i a n m a n
w i t h a misshapen head, displayed as a f a i r g r o u n d freak u n t i l rescued b y a p h i l a n t h r o p i c surgeon w h o takes h i m t o the L o n d o n H o s p i t a l , w h e r e he's accepted b y some o f t h e aristocracy w h o recognise his inner gentility. T h e f i l m was m o v i n g a n d seemed progressive: M e r r i c k advanced f r o m b e i n g e x h i b i t e d t o b e i n g a d m i r e d as a sensitive i n d i v i d u a l . Yet once again, a k i n d l y , able-bodied person p r o v i d e d t h e key t o his i m p r o v e d f o r t u n e , w h i l e M e r r i c k himself, u n f a i l i n g l y d i g n i f i e d a n d s t r i k i n g l y free o f anger a n d despair, seemed w h o l l y u n b r u t a l i s e d b y his experiences.
22
H i s a t t e m p t t o sleep i n a ' n o r m a l ' p o s i t i o n
finally killed h i m .
Less equal than others E m p l o y m e n t is t h e n u b o f t h e p r o b l e m . As l o n g as m e d i a images o f disability c o n t i n u e t o be shaped b y able-bodied people, a n d i n t e n d e d f o r an able-bodied audience, t h e stereotypes w i l l f l o w . T h e e m p l o y m e n t o f people w i t h disabilities i n broadcasting a n d t h e i r m e d i a image are i n e x t r i c a b l y l i n k e d . W h e n i n 1986
Fair play organised a survey o f B r i t i s h T V companies, i t f o u n d t h a t ,
a l t h o u g h m o s t h a d equal o p p o r t u n i t y policies, very f e w h a d a p r o g r a m m e t o i m p l e m e n t t h e m . W h a t ' s m o r e , they o f t e n cast able-bodied actors as disabled characters, p r o d u c i n g u n c o n v i n c i n g portrayals w h i c h t h e disability m o v e m e n t likens t o those o f blacked-up w h i t e actors i n the past. T h e effects o f this exclusion f r o m broadcasting o n and off-screen are h a r d t o determine. Certainly, people w i t h disabilities are excluded f r o m m a n y other c u l t u r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , a n d their daily experiences and material circumstances are as
Crippling Images 121 oppressive as any images. M o r e o v e r , t h e media rarely originate ways o f t h i n k i n g , a n d stereotypes o f disability are as current i n the broader culture as o n telev i s i o n a n d f i l m . Yet i f t h e media have the p o w e r t o reinforce, a n d their systematic f i x a t i o n s a n d omissions help f o r t i f y o r d i m i n i s h groups' claims o f legitimacy, t h e n t h e m e d i a coverage o f people w i t h disability must surely play a part i n disenfranchising t h e m . T h e y themselves argue that broadcasting and films have helped reinforce negative attitudes towards t h e m , a n d have failed t o challenge stereotypes, dissipate fear a n d discomfort, o r p r o v i d e images o f interaction between people w i t h a n d w i t h o u t disabilities. A t the same t i m e , handicapped people themselves a n d their families aren't being exposed t o images o f h a n d i capped adults l i v i n g p r o d u c t i v e , comfortable lives i n the mainstream o f society.
23
Broad cast T h e r e has always been a small batch o f f i l m s a n d p r o g r a m m e s challenging t h e d o m i n a n t a p p r o a c h t o disability. T h e cinema f u r n i s h e d t h e earliest
examples
w i t h its dramas a b o u t m a i m e d r e t u r n i n g w a r heroes, l i k e W i l l i a m W y l e r ' s 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives.
A hugely successful sensitive r e h a b i l i t a t i o n
m o v i e , i t s h o w e d a sailor w h o lost b o t h his hands i n the w a r (played b y H a r o l d Russell w h o h i m s e l f h a d lost his hands i n w a r t r a i n i n g ) w i t h d r a w i n g f r o m t h e c o m m u n i t y u n t i l he was s l o w l y coaxed back. T h o u g h some saw the e n d i n g as a c o p - o u t (he adjusts t o his n e w s i t u a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e love o f a fine w o m a n ) , a n d others c o m p l a i n e d o f a p r y i n g camera, l i n g e r i n g o n his steel claws p i c k i n g u p cigarettes, t h e f i l m raised p u b l i c consciousness a b o u t t h e consequences o f war-created disability. F r e d Z i n n e m a n n ' s 1 9 5 0 f i l m The Men, i n w h i c h M a r l o n B r a n d o made his screen d e b u t as a soldier paralysed b y t h e w a r , w e n t m u c h f u r t h e r . Set almost e n t i r e l y i n a h o s p i t a l (the cast i n c l u d i n g f o r t y - f i v e real disabled w a r veterans), i t p o r t r a y e d B r a n d o ' s p r o b l e m s i n a d a p t i n g t o his disability a n d his f e l l o w paraplegics'
attempts
t o staunch
his self-pity. W h o l l y
unsaccharine
in
a p p r o a c h , i t s h o w e d 'vets' d y i n g a n d depressed, t h e p r o b l e m s caused b y t r y i n g t o adhere t o a b l e - b o d i e d n o r m s (Brando's obsessive a t t e m p t t o be m a r r i e d s t a n d i n g u p ends i n f a i l u r e ) , a n d t h e easy, oppressive p i t y o f t h e able-bodied ('we m a k e o t h e r people feel u n c o m f o r t a b l e ... w e r e m i n d t h e m that t h e i r b o d ies can be b r o k e n just l i k e t h a t , a n d they d o n ' t l i k e i t ' ) . The Home,
Men b r o k e a t a b o o b y t a l k i n g about d i s a b i l i t y a n d sex, b u t
Coming
H a l A s h b y ' s 1 9 7 8 f i l m about t h e effect o f t h e V i e t n a m W a r o n three
p e o p l e , was a sexually e x p l i c i t (some t h o u g h t v o y e u r i s t i c ) , p o w e r f u l presentat i o n o f disability. I t s h o w e d a V i e t n a m ' v e t ' , paralysed f r o m t h e waist d o w n , f a l l i n g i n love w i t h t h e w i f e o f a h a w k i s h M a r i n e C a p t a i n brutalised b y his experience i n V i e t n a m , a n d i m p l i c i t l y questioned w h i c h o f t h e t w o m e n was the real c r i p p l e . O n c e again, i t p o r t r a y e d people w i t h disabilities as angry, r e j e c t i n g p i t y a n d charity, a n d physically active,
24
w i t h a l l o f t h e m (except f o r
J o n V o i g h t i n t h e m a i n role) p l a y e d b y real disabled V i e t n a m veterans. A n d
122
Stereotypes and Representations this t i m e t h e m a n i n t h e wheelchair g o t the w o m a n . T h e f i l m ended w i t h t h e h e r o r e c h a n n e l l i n g his anger f r o m self-destructively i n w a r d s t o constructively o u t w a r d s , b y b e c o m i n g p o l i t i c a l l y active. B u t latterly, A m e r i c a n p r i m e - t i m e television has been leading the w a y i n n e w presentations o f disability. 'Cagney a n d Lacey' has been i n n o v a t i v e , a n d i n t h e show's 1 9 8 6 season Cagney h a d a relationship w i t h a m a n i n a w h e e l chair, w h i c h d r e w an enthusiastic audience response. 'Dallas', t o o , i n c l u d e d a deaf c h i l d ; ' H i l l Street Blues' has h a d disabled characters a n d themes; a n d t h e Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has i n t r o d u c e d people w i t h disabilities i n t o c h i l d r e n ' s p r o g r a m m e s such as ' M i s t e r Rogers', ' Z o o m ' , a n d 'Sesame Street'. A m e r i c a n T V commercials are also changing: a m a n i n a wheelchair is u n r e m a r k a b l y i n c l u d e d i n a g r o u p s p o r t i n g 5 0 1 L e v i jeans, a schmaltzy r o m a n t i c couple
use sign
McDonalds,
25
language
(plus
subtitles)
t o decide
t o g o a n d eat at
a n d the b l i n d m a n i n a wheelchair is an I B M systems analyst.
By contrast, B r i t a i n is p o o r l y served. T h e r e isn't a single B r i t i s h T V c o m m e r c i a l w h i c h includes people w i t h disabilities, a n d aside f r o m ' T h e Singing D e t e c t i v e ' - Dennis Potter's o u t s t a n d i n g l y authentic series about a m a n i m m o bilised b y a r t h r i t i s , t h e s k i n c o n d i t i o n psoriasis, a n d t h e attitudes o f hospital staff - o n l y t h e soap opera 'Crossroads' has made significant attempts t o i n t r o d u c e disabled characters. As w e l l as a character i n v o l v e d i n a disabling r o a d accident w h o subsequently used a wheelchair, a n d an educationally subn o r m a l y o u n g m a n , t h e s h o w i n 1983 i n c l u d e d a r u n n i n g story about m e n t a l handicap using a real D o w n ' s S y n d r o m e c h i l d .
26
[...] People w i t h disabilities are c a m p a i g n i n g t o e n d t h e a p a r t h e i d o f disability i n the m e d i a (and b e y o n d ) . T h e y w a n t disabled people integrated i n t o a l l k i n d s of programmes.... People w i t h disabilities w a n t t o speak f o r themselves.
Notes 1. BBC Radio 4, 'Woman's H o u r ' (7 January 1986). 2. BBC Radio 4, T h e Glennie Determination' (7 January 1986), and BBC 1 , 'Wogan' (24 January 1986). 3. The medical approach often grossly inflates the proportion of congenital abnormalities, detectable by prenatal screening. In reality, most people acquire disabilities later in life, as the result of an accident or chronic illness like a stroke, where prenatal screening is irrelevant. 4. The spread of the look-after-yourself approach and its emphasis on the perfectability of the body has created a climate i n which disability is even more deviant. 5. Allan T. Sutherland, Disabled We Stand (London, Souvenir Press, 1981), p. 15. 6. BBC TV, 'Six O'Clock News' (14 July 1986). 7. Maggie Woolley interviewed by Julienne Dickey, 'Deafness and the Media', Women's Media Action Bulletin, 19 (January 1983), p. 3. 8. Keith Armstrong and Wendy M o o r e , 'Shut Out by the Media', Journalist, October 1985, p. 2. So, 'despite [the fact that she has brittle-bone disease] and the fact that
Crippling Images 123
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
16. 17.
18.
19. 20. 21. 22.
23. 24.
25.
26.
she's broken one or other of her legs nine times, Sharon keeps smiling', or else she w o u l d n ' t have got into the Radio Times. ('Raising Hopes, Raising Laughs, and Raising M o n e y ' , Radio Times, November 1 5 - 2 1 , 1986.) Tony Macaulay, 'Disability and the Broadcasting Media' (The Volunteer Centre Media Project, December 1985). Maggie Woolley, et al, 'That Was Our Year Was It?', The Times Health Supplement, 22 January 1982, p. 9. Diane Lattin, 'Telethons - A Remnant of America's Past', Disabled USA, 1: 4 (1977), p. 19. Woolley, et al, 'That Was Our Year Was It?'. Nancy Banks-Smith, 'Just a 'Thon at Twilight', Guardian, 31 October 1985. Quoted by M a r k Patterson, 'Children i n Need', Media Project News, September 1984, p. 11. Diane Lattin, 'United Cerebral Palsy: Communicating a Better Image', Disabled USA, 2: 7 (1979), p. 5, which also describes some innovative UCP T V ads feataring a married couple w i t h cerebral palsy. Armstrong and M o o r e , 'Shut Out by the Media', p. 2. B. D . Leonard, 'Impaired View: Television Portrayal of Handicapped People' (unpubl. doctoral thesis, Boston, Mass., Boston University, 1978), quoted i n Timothy R. Elliott and E. Keith Byrd, 'Media and Disability', Rehabilitation Literature, 43: 11-12 (November-December 1982). Joy Donaldson, 'The Visibility and Image of Handicapped People on Television', Exceptional Children, 47: 6 (March 1981). 'A M a n Called Ironside' (1967-72) about a cop w h o happened to be a paraplegic was a rare exception. Allan T. Sutherland and Steve Dwoskin, Carry on Cripple (National Film Theatre booklet, February 1981), p. 2 1 . Sutherland and Dwoskin, Carry on Cripple, p. 19. Woolley interviewed by Dickey, 'Deafness and the Media'. Raphael Samuel ('The Elephant M a n as a Fable of Class', New Society, 19 November 1981) suggests that the film is an evangelical fable, resembling Sunday School moral stories, w i t h Merrick the incarnation of the deserving poor, grateful to his benefactors and displaying inner grace. Donaldson, 'Visibility and Image'. The cinematographer Haskell Wexler, to avoid conveying a sense of diminishment by photographing the 'vets' from above, devised a special camera dolly to put the camera at the same height as the men in wheelchairs (Martin F. Norden, 'The Disabled Vietnam Veteran in Hollywood films', Journal of Popular Film and Television, 13: 1 (Spring 1985)). The deaf actress Marlee M a t l i n may have helped: she used sign language when accepting an Oscar for her performance in Children of a Lesser God, and her speech was relayed across the world's television to millions. The idea developed out of a meeting between the voluntary group Mencap and Central TV's Controller, himself father of a mentally handicapped child. Mencap was enthusiastic because we thought it was about time viewers were able to see a mentally handicapped person in a programme which was not a documentary. Confining them to documentaries seemed rather like confining them to institutions.... Secondly, it seemed likely that the audience of 'Crossroads' would include some of the people Mencap most wanted to reach with information about mental handicap: those who switch off when documentaries come on. It would also be an oppor-
124 Stereotypes and Representations tunity to air some of the common prejudices, fears, and misunderstandings about mental handicap, by allowing them to be expressed by characters in the series. (Brian Rix, 'Mencap at the Crossroads', Media Project News, January 1984, p. 28.)
Questions 1
2
3
What is your view of images of disabled people in mainstream media output? Is it tokenistic voyeurism in the interests of a new 'angle' or have they actually raised public consciousness about the causes and consequences of disability? What about media representations of mental illness? Could the media be accused of 'sins of omission' here too? When does a condition like mental illness become of interest to programme-makers and newspaper editors? Who is given a voice by the media to speak about the mentally ill (in other words, do those suffering from mental illness speak for themselves in the media or do others speak on their behalf?) How would you explain the overwhelming popularity of TV medical shows such as Cardiac Arrest, Casualty, Jimmy's and E. /?.?
Further reading Barnes, C. 1992: Disabling imagery and the media: an exploration of the principles for media representation of disabled people. British Council of Organisations of Disabled People. Halifax: Ryburn Publishing. Gabe, J., Kelleher, D . and Williams, G. 1994: Challenging medicine. London: Routledge. Gilman, S. L . 1988: Disease and representation: images of illness from madness to AIDS. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Negrine, R. and Cumberbatch, G. 1992: Images of disability on television. London: Routledge. Oliver, M . 1990: The politics of disablement. London: Macmillan. Philo, G., Henderson, L . and McLaughlin, G. 1993: Mass media representations of mental health/illness. Glasgow: Glasgow University Media Group.
13 Moral Panics Simon Watney From Policing desire: pornography, Aids and the media (University of Minnesota Press 1989).
In this extract based largely on the British and American experience, Watney argues that media coverage of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and public responses to the disease are illustrative of an overtly homophobic society and that the media has been largely responsible for fuelling public hysteria, even among the medical community who
Moral Panics 125 treat those with Aids. He introduces the long-established and widely known theory of moral panics first put forward by Cohen in his famous study Folk devils and moral panics (1972), but concludes, like other recent commentators (see, for example, McRobbie referenced in the 'Further Reading' section of this reading) that the concept of the moral panic is inadequate in explaining the long-term societal prejudice against those whom society has traditionally regarded as sexual 'deviants'. He does not deny the existence of moral panics or even that the treatment of people with Aids is one, but claims that the theory used to expound them is limited, not least because of its inability to explain the operations of ideology within all representational systems. According to Watney, a moral panic merely marks the site of wider ideological struggles which are conducted right across society and within all its fields of public representation. The tone of hysteria that characterised the coverage of Aids through the late 1980s and early '90s cannot be described as an easily identifiable, individual moral panic, but is part of a long-term ongoing campaign waged by politicians and other 'opinion leaders' to safeguard the moral welfare of society and promote the institution of 'the family'. Representations of homosexuality have traditionally only appeared in the media in densely coded forms, which has made the portrayal of an illness predominantly suffered by gay men doubly difficult for the media, and it has resorted to falling back on heavily moralistic discourses which presuppose common notions of 'human nature', 'normality' and 'decency'. As such, the reporting of Aids is part of the overtly sanctimonious discourse which has characterised the political and media agendas for many years.
I n 1 9 4 1 t h e E n g l i s h novelist Sylvia T o w n s e n d W a r n e r w r o t e t o a n A m e r i c a n f r i e n d c o m p a r i n g t h e G e r m a n p r o p a g a n d a machine t o 'a c l o w n w i t h h o m i c i dal m a n i a - l u d i c r o u s a n d t e r r i f y i n g b o t h at once'. H o w e v e r w e m a y person1
ally
respond
t o t h e general
sleep o f reason
surrounding Aids,
w e are
nonetheless o b l i g e d t o t r y t o make some w i d e r sense o f t h e social climate i n w h i c h w e f i n d ourselves. W r i t i n g i n London
Portrait
earlier this year, J o h n
W i t h i n g t o n described t h e n u m b e r o f people w i t h A i d s i n t h e U n i t e d States as ' f a i r l y s m a l l ' ( 1 6 , 0 0 0 ) , a f i g u r e w h i c h i n itself offers a p r o f o u n d a n d s i g n i f i cant u n d e r e s t i m a t e . T h e 3 0 0 B r i t i s h cases w e r e regarded as 'small beer' c o m p a r e d t o t h e n o t o r i o u s i n f l u e n z a e p i d e m i c w h i c h k i l l e d some t w e n t y m i l l i o n p e o p l e w o r l d w i d e after t h e First W o r l d War. Such judgements a n d c o m p a r isons are a l l t h e m o r e o d i o u s f o r t h e casual, m a t t e r - o f - f a c t w a y i n w h i c h they are presented, as i f A i d s a n d t h e i n f l u e n z a epidemic o f 1918 co-existed i n some timeless d i m e n s i o n o f abstract m e d i c a l statistics, as w e l l as mischievously c o n f l a t i n g t h e v e r y d i f f e r e n t issues o f i n f e c t i o n a n d c o n t a g i o n . W i t h i n g t o n suggests t h a t t h e H I V virus 'seems t o behave c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t l y ' i n A f r i c a w h e r e , w e l e a r n , i t 'seems t o affect m e n a n d w o m e n e q u a l l y ' , c o n c l u d i n g t h a t 'perhaps t h e v i r u s just behaves d i f f e r e n t l y i n t h e t r o p i c s ' . I t is nonsense such as this w h i c h makes u p t h e greater p a r t o f A i d s c o m m e n t a r y i n t h e West, w i t h a n i d e o l o g i c a l stethoscope s t u f f e d f i r m l y i n its ears t o b l o c k o u t any a p p r o a c h t o A i d s w h i c h does n o t c o n f o r m i n advance t o t h e
126
Stereotypes and Representations values a n d language o f a h o m o p h o b i c science - a science, that is, w h i c h does n o t r e g a r d gay m e n as f u l l y o r p r o p e r l y h u m a n . T h u s , a c c o r d i n g t o Peter Seitzman, a M a n h a t t a n d o c t o r , A m e r i c a n hospital policies have more to do w i t h other patients' fears than a concern for the health of Aids patients. 2
Five years i n t o the epidemic, the 'commonsense' o f Aids commentary continues t o register endless concern at the (non-existent) threat o f infection by casual c o n tact, t o the complete disavowal o f the real and constant threat w h i c h other sick people i n hospitals present t o people w i t h Aids, whose damaged i m m u n e system render t h e m so dreadfully vulnerable t o other people's disease. T h u s , c o m m e n tary produces expectations, and expectations fan o u t i n t o lived experience. An eighteen year-old Coventry man, who thought he had caught Aids after drinking from the same bottle as a gay man, punched and killed h i m , Warwick Crown Court heard on Friday. T h e m a n received a t h r e e - m o n t h s sentence i n this ' w h o l l y exceptional case'.
3
' T h e a t r e cleaners are t h r e a t e n i n g t o b o y c o t t a g r o u p o f gay actors because they are f r i g h t e n e d o f catching A i d s . ' Such stories are i n v a r i a b l y a c c o m p a n i e d 4
by denials t h a t A i d s can be c o n t r a c t e d via casual contact, b u t t h e i r f r a m i n g is always t o p heavy, focusing o n fear rather t h a n a l l a y i n g i t , d r a m a t i s i n g a n x i e t y rather t h a n a l l e v i a t i n g i t . T h e m o s t w i d e l y f a v o u r e d e x p l a n a t i o n amongst lesbian a n d gay c o m m e n t a tors o f t h e social c l i m a t e s u r r o u n d i n g Aids lies i n the t h e o r y o f m o r a l panics. D r a w i n g o n t h e i n f l u e n t i a l school o f ' n e w ' c r i m i n o l o g y f r o m the 1960s, w h i c h t r i e d t o e x p l a i n t h e social c o n t e x t o f c r i m e a n d 'deviance',
Stanley
C o h e n described i n 1 9 7 2 h o w societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic. A condition, episode, person or groups of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented i n a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right-thinking people; ... Sometimes the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folk-lore and collective memory; at other times it has more serious and long-lasting repercussions and might produce such changes as those in legal and social policy or even in the way that society perceives itself. 5
For C o h e n t h e mass m e d i a provides 'a m a i n source o f i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e n o r m a t i v e c o n t o u r s o f a society ... about the boundaries b e y o n d w h i c h o n e s h o u l d n o t v e n t u r e a n d about t h e shapes t h e d e v i l can assume'.
6
T h e mass
m e d i a is u n d e r s t o o d t o construct 'pseudo-events' a c c o r d i n g t o t h e dictates o f an u n w r i t t e n m o r a l agenda w h i c h constitutes newsworthiness. T h u s ' r u m o u r ... substitutes f o r news w h e n i n s t i t u t i o n a l channels f a i l ' , a n d i n ambiguous sit7
uations ' r u m o u r s s h o u l d be v i e w e d n o t as f o r m s o f d i s t o r t e d o r p a t h o l o g i c a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n : they make sociological sense as co-operative i m p r o v i s a t i o n s , a t t e m p t s t o reach a m e a n i n g f u l collective i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f w h a t h a p p e n e d b y p o o l i n g available resources'/
Moral Panics 127 Subsequent w r i t e r s such as Stuart H a l l have opened u p this debate about the representational strategies b e h i n d d i f f e r e n t types o f m o r a l panic, a r g u i n g that they are i n d i c a t i v e o f h o w people are persuaded ' t o experience a n d r e s p o n d t o c o n t r a d i c t o r y developments i n ways w h i c h make the o p e r a t i o n o f state p o w e r l e g i t i m a t e , credible a n d consensual.
T o p u t i t crudely, the " m o r a l p a n i c "
appears t o us t o be o n e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l f o r m s o f ideological consciousness b y means o f w h i c h a "silent m a j o r i t y " is w o n over t o t h e s u p p o r t o f increasingly coercive measures o n the p a r t o f t h e state, a n d lends its legitimacy t o a " m o r e t h a n u s u a l " exercise o f c o n t r o l . " ' H a l l ' s w o r k o n the historical structures o f 9
B r i t i s h racism has encouraged h i m t o develop a 'stages' t h e o r y o f m o r a l panics, l e a d i n g t o ever increasing p u n i t i v e state c o n t r o l (although he w o u l d be the first t o a d m i t t h a t i t is n o t o n l y t h e state w h i c h is i n v o l v e d , however loosely w e may define i t ) . T h i s is equally a p r o b l e m f o r anyone t r y i n g t o analyse the represent a t i o n o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n terms o f available theories o f m o r a l panic, since t h e entire subject is h i s t o r i c a l l y c o n s t i t u t e d as 'scandal', w i t h subsequent calls f o r state i n t e r v e n t i o n . I n a n i m p o r t a n t essay o n A i d s , Jeffrey Weeks relies heavily o n m o r a l panic t h e o r y , e x p l a i n i n g h o w its mechanisms are well k n o w n : the definition of a threat to a particular event (a youthful 'riot', a sexual scandal); the stereotyping of the main characters i n the mass media as particular species of monsters (the prostitute as 'fallen woman', the paedophile as 'child molester'); a spiralling escalation of the perceived threat, leading to a taking up of absolutist positions and the manning of moral barricades; the emergence of an imaginary solution - i n tougher laws, moral isolation, a symbolic court action; followed by the subsidence of the anxiety, w i t h its victims left to endure the new proscription, social climate and legal penalties. 10
Gayle R u b i n also sees special ' p o l i t i c a l m o m e n t s ' i n t h e h i s t o r y o f sexuality, observing that, moral panics rarely alleviate any real problem, because they are aimed at chimeras ... They draw o n the pre-existing discursive structure which invents victims i n order to justify treating 'vices' as 'crimes' ... Even when activity is acknowledged to be harmless, i t may be banned because i t is alleged to 'lead' to something ostensibly worse D e n n i s A l t m a n also discusses A i d s i n terms o f m o r a l panic, b u t m o d i f i e s t h e n o t i o n against l o c a l a n d n a t i o n a l factors. T h u s , ' t h e A u s t r a l i a n panic is n o t o n l y a p r o d u c t o f h o m o p h o b i a b u t is also t i e d t o the ... belief t h a t they can insulate themselves f r o m t h e rest o f the w o r l d t h r o u g h r i g i d i m m i g r a t i o n a n d q u a r a n t i n e l a w s ' a n d 'a less sophisticated u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d acceptance o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y t h a n exists i n t h e U n i t e d States'.
12
Calls f o r d r a c o n i a n legisla-
t i o n i n such disparate societies as West G e r m a n y a n d even Sweden, lead h i m t o c o n c l u d e t h a t ' t h e l i n k between A i d s a n d h o m o s e x u a l i t y has t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r u n l e a s h i n g panic a n d persecution i n almost every society'.
13
W h i l s t such analyses offer a certain descriptive likeness t o events, they also reveal m a n y severe l i m i t a t i o n s , w h i c h suggest the inadequacy o f the concept o f
128
Stereotypes and Representations m o r a l panic t o t h e overall ideological p o l i c i n g o f sexuality, especially i n matters o f representation. T o begin w i t h , i t may be e m p l o y e d t o characterise all conflicts i n t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n where scape-goating takes place. I t cannot, however, disc r i m i n a t e between either different orders o r degrees o f m o r a l panic. N o r can i t explain w h y certain types o f events are especially privileged i n this way. A b o v e a l l , i t lacks any capacity t o explain the endless 'overhead' narrative o f such phen o m e n a , as o n e 'panic' gives w a y t o another, o r one anxiety is displaced across different 'panics'. T h u s one m o r a l panic may have a relatively l i m i t e d frame o f reference, w h i l s t another is heavily over-determined, just as a w h o l e range o f panics may share a single core meaning w h i l s t others operate i n t a n d e m t o construct a larger overall meaning w h i c h is o n l y partially present i n any one o f its i n d i v i d u a l ' m o t i f s ' . Clearly there is n o t (yet) a m o r a l panic i n British o r A m e r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t circles, c o m p a r e d t o their public profiles over, f o r example, i m m i g r a t i o n , p o r n o g r a p h y o r a b o r t i o n . But this is o n l y t o say that the theor y o f m o r a l panics makes i t extremely d i f f i c u l t t o compare press hysteria a n d g o v e r n m e n t i n a c t i o n , w h i c h m a y w e l l t u r n o u t t o be closely related. I n b o t h instances w e are facing symptoms - symptoms o f sexual repression w h i c h m a n i fest themselves across a spectrum w h i c h ranges f r o m stammering embarrassm e n t t o prurience, hysterical modesty, voyeurism and a w i d e variety o f phobic responses. I n other w o r d s , the theory o f m o r a l panics is unable t o conceptualise the mass media as an i n d u s t r y w h i c h is intrinsically i n v o l v e d w i t h excess, w i t h a voracious appetite a n d capacity for substitutions, displacements, repetitions a n d signifying absences. M o r a l panic t h e o r y is always obliged i n the final instance t o refer a n d contrast 'representation' t o the a r b i t r a t i o n o f 'the real', a n d is hence unable t o develop a f u l l t h e o r y concerning the operations o f ideology w i t h i n all representational systems. M o r a l panics seem t o appear and disappear, as i f representation w e r e n o t the site o f permanent
ideological struggle over the m e a n i n g
o f signs. A particular ' m o r a l panic' merely marks the site o f the current f r o n t line i n such struggles. We d o n o t i n fact witness the u n f o l d i n g o f discontinuous a n d discrete ' m o r a l panics', b u t rather the m o b i l i t y o f ideological c o n f r o n t a t i o n across the entire f i e l d o f public representations, and i n particular those h a n d l i n g a n d evaluating t h e meanings o f the h u m a n body, where rival and i n c o m p a t i b l e forces and values are i n v o l v e d i n a ceaseless struggle t o define supposedly u n i versal ' h u m a n ' t r u t h s . W h a t w e are dealing w i t h i n such p h e n o m e n a is the p u b l i c f o r u m i n w h i c h m o d e r n societies a n d i n d i v i d u a l s make sense o f themselves. Together w i t h t h e increasing i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n o f this f o r u m , w e s h o u l d note its c e n t r a l i t y f o r p o l i t i c a l debates w h e r e interest groups a t t e m p t t o bypass the t r a d i t i o n a l structures o f d e m o c r a t i c process i n o r d e r t o force t h e enactment o f laws i n t h e name o f the ' g o o d ' o f a p o p u l a t i o n w h i c h is never actually consulted. T h i s is precisely w h a t t h e mass m e d i a w e r e i n v e n t e d t o d o , since they have e v i d e n t l y never r e s p o n d e d t o t h e actual diversity o f the societies w h i c h they p u r p o r t t o service. W e are l o o k i n g at t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f symbols, o f the basic r a w m a t erials f r o m w h i c h h u m a n subjectivity is constructed. I t is n o t i n t h e least
Moral Panics s u r p r i s i n g t h a t those a t t e m p t i n g t o m a n i p u l a t e conscious attitudes s h o u l d p l a y o n themes w h i c h possess deeper, unconscious resonances. H e n c e the danger o f t h i n k i n g o f newspapers o r television as b e i n g p r i m a r i l y c o n c e r n e d
with
' n e w s ' values, as d i s t i n c t f r o m e n t e r t a i n m e n t , o r d r a m a , o r sports coverage, o r a d v e r t i s i n g , o r w h a t e v e r . For a l l these categories o f p r o d u c t i o n share an i d e n t i c a l p r e s u m p t i o n a b o u t t h e i r audience, w h i c h is p r o j e c t e d across t h e m i n d i f ferent genres as a u n i f i e d 'general p u b l i c ' over a n d above the divisions o f class, age a n d gender. T h i s subject audience is massively w o r k e d o n t o t h i n k o f itself i n the t e r m s w h i c h f a m i l i a r i t y has established t h r o u g h r e p e t i t i o n . T h e very existence o f h o m o s e x u a l desire, let alone gay identities, are o n l y a d m i t t e d t o the f r a m e o f mass m e d i a representations i n densely c o d e d f o r m s , w h i c h p r o t e c t t h e 'general p u b l i c ' f r o m any t h r e a t o f p o t e n t i a l déstabilisation. T h i s is t h e c o n t e x t i n w h i c h w e s h o u l d t h i n k a b o u t the crisis o f representation w i t h w h i c h A i d s threatens the mass m e d i a , u n d e r s t o o d above a l l else as an agency o f collective fantasy. A i d s c o m m e n t a r y does n o t ' m a k e ' gay m e n i n t o m o n sters, f o r h o m o s e x u a l i t y is, a n d always has been, constructed as i n t r i n s i c a l l y m o n s t r o u s w i t h i n t h e entire system o f heavily o v e r - d e t e r m i n e d images inside w h i c h n o t i o n s o f 'decency',
' h u m a n n a t u r e ' a n d so o n are m o b i l i s e d a n d
r e l a y e d t h r o u g h o u t the i n t e r n a l c i r c u i t r y o f the mass m e d i a marketplace. I t is the c e n t r a l i d e o l o g i c a l business o f the c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r y t o retail ready-made pictures o f ' h u m a n ' identity, and thus recruit individual consumers t o i d e n t i f y w i t h t h e m i n a fantasy o f collective m u t u a l c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y . W h o l e sections o f society, h o w e v e r , c a n n o t be c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n t h i s p r o j e c t , since t h e y refuse t o dissolve i n t o the larger m u t u a l i t i e s r e q u i r e d o f t h e m . H e n c e the p o s i t i o n , i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h o u g h i n d i f f e r e n t w a y s , o f b o t h blacks a n d gay m e n , w h o are m a d e t o stand outside the 'general p u b l i c ' , i n e v i t a b l y a p p e a r i n g as threats t o its i n t e r n a l cohesion. T h i s cohesion is n o t ' n a t u r a l ' , b u t t h e result o f the m e d i a i n d u s t r y ' s modes o f address - t a r g e t i n g an i m a g i n a r y n a t i o n a l f a m i l y u n i t w h i c h is b o t h w h i t e a n d heterosexual. A l l a p p a r e n t threats t o this key object o f i n d i v i d u a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i l l be subject t o t h e k i n d s o f t r e a t m e n t w h i c h C o h e n a n d his f o l l o w e r s describe as m o r a l panics. W h a t matters is t o be able t o u n d e r s t a n d w h i c h specific
groups
emerge as threats t o w h i c h 'societal values a n d interests'. M o r a l panics d o n o t speak t o a ' s i l e n t m a j o r i t y ' w h i c h is s i m p l y ' o u t t h e r e ' , w a i t i n g t o l i s t e n . Rather, t h e y p r o v i d e t h e r a w m a t e r i a l s , i n the f o r m o f w o r d s a n d images, o f those m o r a l constituencies w i t h w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l subjects are encouraged t o i d e n t i f y t h e i r deepest interests a n d t h e i r v e r y core o f b e i n g . B u t i n so far as these categories are p r i m a r i l y defensive, i n so far as they w o r k t o p r o t e c t the i n d i v i d u a l f r o m a p a r t i a l l y p e r c e i v e d t h r e a t o f d i v e r s i t y a n d c o n f l i c t , they are also themselves v u l n e r a b l e . H e n c e the r e p e t i t i o n o f m o r a l panics, t h e i r f u n d a m e n t a l l y serial
n a t u r e , the i n f i n i t e v a r i e t y o f t o n e a n d p o s t u r e w h i c h they
can assume. T h e successful p o l i c i n g o f desire requires t h a t w e t h i n k o f 'the e n e m y ' e v e r y w h e r e , a n d at a l l times. T h i s is w h y there is such a m a r k e d c o n f l i c t t h r o u g h o u t the e n t i r e d i m e n s i o n o f A i d s c o m m e n t a r y b e t w e e n the actual
129
130
Stereotypes and Representations s i t u a t i o n o f p e o p l e w i t h A i d s , a n d t h e m o d e l o f c o n t a g i o n w h i c h they are made t o embody. We are n o t , i n fact, l i v i n g t h r o u g h a distinct, coherent a n d progressing ' m o r a l panic' about A i d s . Rather, w e are witnessing the latest v a r i a t i o n i n t h e spectacle o f the defensive ideological rearguard action w h i c h has been m o u n t e d o n behalf o f 'the f a m i l y ' f o r m o r e t h a n a century. T h e very categorisation o f sexuality ... is p a r t o f this same action. H o w w e respond t o i t is therefore o f the greatest i m p o r t a n c e , since at this p o i n t i n t i m e o u r liberties a n d very lives are being p u t increasingly at r i s k . W e need precisely t o be able t o relate
phenomena
w h i c h present themselves, i n terms o f the theory o f m o r a l panics, as discrete a n d unconnected.
T h u s w e m a y d r a w a significant parallel, f o r example,
between local A m e r i c a n state decisions t o enact laws w h i c h refuse c o n f i d e n t iality t o those w h o have tested positive t o H I V i n f e c t i o n (despite t h e clear advice a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f the Centers f o r Disease C o n t r o l that c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y s h o u l d be a p r i o r i t y ) , and the recent decision o f British police t o arrest the singer Boy George at the clinic where he was being treated f o r h e r o i n a d d i c t i o n . I n b o t h instances a ' m o r a l ' agenda has p e r m i t t e d p u n i t i v e actions w h i c h are positively c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t i v e , b o t h t o l i m i t i n g the spread o f A i d s and h e l p i n g d r u g addicts. O n t h e one h a n d , f e w i f any gay m e n are likely t o undertake a test w h i c h m i g h t i m m e d i a t e l y render t h e m liable t o the loss o f civil liberties i f t h e results are n o t kept c o n f i d e n t i a l a n d , o n the other h a n d - as George's d o c t o r p o i n t e d o u t - retroactive charges for the past possession o f drugs are u n l i k e l y t o encourage addicts t o come f o r w a r d f o r treatment.
14
T h e Village Voice r e p o r t e d
i n M a y , 1 9 8 6 , that since the state o f Colarado i n t r o d u c e d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n r e c o r d requirements f o r people w a n t i n g H I V tests, applications at gay men's health clinics have d r o p p e d by 6 0 0 per cent i n o n l y three m o n t h s . I n b o t h cases actual practice at local state a n d police levels flies i n the face o f clearly stated medical a n d g o v e r n m e n t a l policies. B o t h cases also illustrate the danger o f i d e n t i f y i n g i n d i v i d u a l ' m o r a l panics' i n a simple one-to-one relation t o their ostensible targets. T h i s is w h y I prefer t o t h i n k i n terms o f Aids commentary, rather t h a n assuming the existence o f a u n i f i e d and univocal ' m o r a l panic' over Aids. A s i m i l a r p r o b l e m occurs i f w e t r y t o e x p l a i n away a l l t h e variations a n d nuances o f A i d s c o m m e n t a r y as e p i p h e n o m e n a d e r i v i n g f r o m a single source. T h i s , h o w e v e r , is very f r e q u e n t l y t h e case, a n d t h e source most r e a d i l y i d e n t i f i e d b y lesbians a n d gay m e n is ' h o m o p h o b i a ' . T h i s is h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g w h e n The New York Times
feels s u f f i c i e n t l y at l i b e r t y t o p r i n t a l o n g article b y t h e
A m e r i c a n d a r l i n g o f t h e N e w R i g h t , W i l l i a m F. Buckley, w h i c h
concludes,
after acres o f d r i f t i n g a r o u n d , t h a t , everyone detected w i t h AIDS should be tatooed i n the upper fore-arm, to protect common-needle users, and on the buttocks, to prevent the victimisation of other homosexuals. 14
T h e last t i m e people were f o r c i b l y t a t t o o e d was under N a z i r u l e , w h e n m i l l i o n s were slaughtered because their politics o r race o r sexuality, o r c o m b i n a t i o n s o f
Moral Parties 131 these, d i d n o t c o n f o r m t o the master p l a n o f a t o t a l i t a r i a n state. Such prescriptions r e m a i n u n t h i n k a b l e i n r e l a t i o n t o any other category o f A m e r i c a n citizen. B u t Buckley clearly regards gay m e n as so far 'outside' the b o d y p o l i t i c that n o measure is t o o e x t r e m e t o contemplate. W h a t is so very remarkable about such p r o n o u n c e m e n t s , h o w e v e r , is t h a t they are announced on behalf
o f gay m e n
a n d , at the same t i m e , are 'balanced' o n the same page o f the newspaper i n q u e s t i o n by another article w h i c h eloquently insists that 'those w h o have a stake i n using A I D S t o p r o v e the m o r a l i t y o r i m m o r a l i t y o f any particular lifestyle, s h o u l d be deemed d i s q u a l i f i e d f r o m the scientific debate'.
16
This
may, i n some respects, be naive, since presumably a l l scientists subscribe
to
some system o f m o r a l judgement o r another; nonetheless, as the w r i t e r p o i n t s o u t , 'the f l o w o f s o l i d data s h o u l d n o t be p o l l u t e d by personal m o r a l i s m ' . I n B r i t a i n last J u n e ( 1 9 8 5 ) , t h e Times
gave its e d i t o r i a l space over t o one
D i g b y A n d e r s o n w h o s e h e a d l i n e blazened ' N o m o r a l panic - that's the p r o b lem'.
1 7
A n d e r s o n begins w h e r e he i n t e n d s t o e n d , w i t h an i n f l a m m a t o r y i n v i -
t a t i o n . 'Excuse m e , m a y I have t h e pleasure, w o u l d y o u care t o p a n i c ? ' A i d s , he notes, is causing considerable consternation among sexually and politically progressive persons, as well it might. But the prime cause of concern is not the threat of incurable illness and death of persons progressive or otherwise. The major matter for concern is that the consternation of non-progressive persons about Aids may inconvenience 'the gay community' and damage progressive efforts to 'liberalise' public attitudes. The unenlightened populace might succumb to a 'moral panic' which increases their latent 'homophobia'. H e t h e n proceeds
t o dismiss the efforts o f m o r a l panic theorists t o t u r n
a t t e n t i o n t o the ways i n w h i c h the media construct particular kinds o f events, such as ' m u g g i n g ' i n the 1970s, s h o w i n g that street violence is by n o means a m o d e r n p h e n o m e n o n , a n d that its victims are i n fact mostly blacks a n d Asians members o f the very groups w h i c h the press 'blames' f o r muggings i n the first place. H e is p a r t i c u l a r l y critical a n d disparaging o f groups like the L o n d o n Gay Teenage G r o u p , a n d seems extremely upset at the exposure o f 'heterosexism i n the school c u r r i c u l u m ' , t h o u g h he displaces his o w n impatience w i t h
such
attitudes back o n t o the sociologists w h o have studied t h e m . I r o n y is heaped o n i r o n y i n o r d e r t o b e l i t t l e m e d i c a l a n d sociological supp o r t e r s o f gay teenagers a n d gay i d e n t i t y as such. H i s a i m is t o s h o w evidence o f a d e a f e n i n g c h o r u s o f encouragement f o r the s i t u a t i o n o f lesbians a n d gay men i n contemporary Britain. In fact, [he concludes] there has not been a moral panic about Aids - headlines of course, but only sociologists take headlines that seriously ... What there have been are various attempts by political activists, academics and assorted unappointed spokespersons for 'the gay community' to politicise homosexuality, relativise moral standards, make homosexuality not only tolerated but regarded as just as normal as heterosexuality, to remove obstacles to i t and thus, inevitably, extend the incidence of homosexual practice.
132 Stereotypes and Representations T h i s is t h e n u b o f t h e matter. L i k e the a u t h o r o f t h e 1960s sex e d u c a t i o n h a n d b o o k q u o t e d earlier, A n d e r s o n clearly dreads w h a t he regards as t h e possible ' e x t e n s i o n ' o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y . H e dreads the actual sexual diversity o f his o w n readership, w h i c h he addresses i n a compact o f p r e s u m e d collective heterosexual scorn f o r p o s i t i v e l y i d e n t i f i e d gay m e n . H e can cope 'at a personal l e v e l ' w i t h 'homosexuals a m o n g m y f r i e n d s ' ; w h a t he recognises is precisely the distance b e t w e e n t h e c o w e d subservient i d e n t i t y o f t h e ' h o m o s e x u a l ' a n d the scandalously a f f i r m a t i v e presence o f the gay m a n . Should not those within Judaism, and Christian churches, Islam and among halfchurched but traditionally inclined parents, and the many homosexuals who do not approve of homosexual proselytisation, start to be concerned? I n short, what we need is a little more moral panic? So t h e piece moves f u l l circle, f r o m a blanket dismissal o f those w h o have d r a w n attention t o the problems o f contemporary Aids commentary, t o a b l a n k e t i n j u n c t i o n against gay c u l t u r e . A i d s does n o t concern h i m i n t h e least, save as a p l a t f o r m f r o m w h i c h t o l a u n c h an anti-gay invective. W h i l s t Buckley's calls f o r t a t t o o i n g a n d ' m o r e drastic segregation measures' are based o n t o t a l l y spurious a n d dishonest n o t i o n s o f risk f r o m i n f e c t i o n b y casual contact, w h i c h The New York Times year,
18
h a d itself dismissed earlier i n t h e
A n d e r s o n ' s m o r a l i s i n g speaks f r o m an o l d e r p o s i t i o n w h i c h
stands
against sexual diversity as such, i n t h e name o f ' r e l a t i v i s m ' . B o t h voices l o c k together i n t h e k n o w i n g l y w o r l d - w e a r y tone affected b y those w h o feel i t t h e i r p a i n f u l b u t necessary d u t y t o enforce 'standards' w h i c h s h o u l d - i n t h e i r v i s i o n o f a 'decent' society - be b e y o n d debate.
Notes 1. The Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner, (ed.) W. Maxwell (London, Chatto 8c Windus, 1982), p. 73. 2. Peg Byron, ' N o Room at the Ward: City Hospitals Hide from Aids', Village Voice, 20 May 1986, p. 27. 3. Capital Gay, 203 (2 August 1985). 4. Daily Mirror, 19 February 1985. 5. Stanley Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers (1972) (London, Martin Robertson, 1980), p. 9. 6. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, p. 17. 7. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, p. 154. 8. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, p. 154. 9. Stuart Hall, et al. (eds.), Policing the Crisis (London, Macmillan, 1978), p. 2 2 1 . 10. Jeffrey Weeks, Sexuality and Its Discontents: Meanings, Myths, and Modern Sexualities (London, Routledge &c Kegan Paul, 1985), p. 45. 11. Gayle Rubin, 'Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality', i n Carole S. Vance, (ed.), Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality (London, Routledge &c Kegan Paul, 1984), p. 297. 12. Dennis Altman, Aids and the New Puritanism (London, Pluto, 1986), p. 186. 13. Altman, Aids and the New Puritanism, p. 187.
Moral Panics 133 14. Guardian, 16 July 1986. 15. William F. Buckley, 'Identify A l l the Carriers', London, New York Times, 18 March 1986, p. A27. 16. Alan M . Dershowitz, 'Emphasize Scientific Information', New York Times, 18 March 1986, p. A27. 17. Digby Anderson, ' N o Moral Panic - That's the Problem', The Times, 18 March 1985. 18. Eric Eckholm, 'Study of Aids Victims Families Doubts Disease Is Transmitted Casually', New York Times, 6 February 1986, p. 87.
Questions 1
Summarise Simon Watney's main objections to the use of 'moral panic' theory. In what ways does he feel that it has limitations with regard to responses to the disease Aids?
2
To what extent has the representation of gays and lesbians improved in mainstream media in the ten years since this book was first published? Do you detect any difference in attitudes towards sexuality between the press, TV or film?
Further reading Cohen, S. and Young, J. 1973: The manufacture of news: social problems, deviance and the mass media. London: Constable. Dines, G. and Humez, J. (eds.) 1994: Gender, race and class in media. London: Sage. Dyer, R. 1993: The matter of images. London: Routledge. Gilman, S. L . 1988: Disease and representation: images of illness from madness to AIDS. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Karpf, A . 1988: Doctoring the media: the reporting of health and medicine. London: Routledge. (See previous reading.) McRobbie, A. 1994: Postmodernism and popular culture. London: Routledge. Murray, J. 1991: Bad press: representations of AIDS i n the media. Cultural Studies from Birmingham 1. University of Birmingham. Patton, C. 1990: Inventing AIDS. London: Routledge. Redman, P. 1991: Invasion of the monstrous others: identity, genre and H I V Cultural Studies from Birmingham 1 . University of Birmingham. Watney, S. and Carter, E. (eds.) 1989: Taking liberties: AIDS and cultural politics. London: Serpents Tail.
14 The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages of the Cult: 1949-74 Marjorie Ferguson From Forever feminine: women's magazines and the cult of femininity (Heinemann Educational Books 1983)
This extract is concerned with stereotypical representations of gender: specifically the extent to which women's magazines shape the roles and values to which women aspire. Underpinning these representations are crucially different assumptions about the respective positions of men and women in society and the appropriate behaviour and collective attributes that such magazines should foster among their female readership. Ferguson charts the history of what she calls the 'cult of femininity' which, she argues, was perpetuated in popular women's magazines between 1949 and 1974. Earlier on in the book she establishes that at the very heart of the cult is the notion that women share a common bond which separates them from men and transcends the differences amongst their own gender. In other words, the belief system preserved by women's magazines reinforces their differences from men, and at the same time makes them feel that their weekly journal is a 'surrogate sister' and that through collective veneration they belong to an exclusive female 'club'. The cult of femininity is revealed in a detailed, although not comprehensive, content analysis of the three most popular women's magazines of the period (advertising, although presumably an important element in the perpetuation of the cult, is only briefly mentioned in relation to the quest for beauty). Ferguson concludes that two overall themes dominate the representations of women: 'love and marriage' and 'self-identity', the sense of self derived primarily from husband and children. Indeed at a later stage in her discussion, she argues that the three female roles most frequently featured are wife, marriage-fixated single woman, and mother. Yet, perhaps unsurprisingly, the representations of men are not explicitly aligned to status as husband/father, but rather by personal achievements related to work, money and success.
The content analysis of Woman, Woman's Own and Woman's Weekly, 1949-74 These three weeklies w e r e chosen f o r analysis because they consistently h a d the largest sales o f any w o m e n ' s magazines i n B r i t a i n between 1 9 4 9 a n d 1 9 7 4 , a n d a l t h o u g h t h e size o f a magazine's audience is n o t necessarily related t o its i n f l u e n c e , there is clearly some c o r r e l a t i o n .
[...]
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 135
Why analyse features? T h e t e r m 'features' refers here t o articles p r o d u c e d by the general
features
d e p a r t m e n t (as distinct f r o m other specialist departments such as cookery or fashion). T h i s subject category was chosen because i t covers a w i d e range o f m a t e r i a l - f r o m entertainers' life stories t o 'real reader' dramas; f r o m case studies o f e m o t i o n a l a n d sexual problems t o general w i s d o m about c o p i n g w i t h life. Since the early 1970s i t has been the area o f general features i n w h i c h n e w topics relevant t o social a n d economic change have usually made their first appearance
i n the pages o f w o m e n ' s magazines. T h i s area o f discourse has
w i d e n e d o u t o f all r e c o g n i t i o n , as subjects f o r m e r l y taboo such as a b o r t i o n , lesbianism a n d ' l i v i n g t o g e t h e r ' have taken their place alongside o l d standbys like 'life at h o m e w i t h the stars' or ' t r i u m p h over tragedy i n everyday l i f e ' . F r o m a m o n g the several general features i n a given issue o f a magazine, one was chosen f o r detailed analysis. T w o criteria g u i d e d this selection: w h i c h article was most relevant t o female roles a n d goals, a n d w h i c h was most indicative o f social change o r c o n t i n u i t y .
Why analyse the problem page? T h r e e p r i n c i p a l reasons r e c o m m e n d e d this subject category f o r analysis. T h e p r o b l e m pages are the area o f w o m e n ' s magazine discourse w h i c h consistently strive t o s t r i k e the m o s t i n t i m a t e t o n e o f voice. T h e i r message c o n t e n t is also the m o s t intensely p r e s c r i p t i v e ; a n d t h e i r correspondence a n d readership levels r e m a i n consistently h i g h . T h e y also present an i d e a l - t y p i c a l e x a m p l e o f the m u l t i p l e purposes t h a t w o m e n ' s magazine journalists believe themselves a n d t h e i r p r o d u c t s serve: t h e y e n t e r t a i n the audience at the same t i m e as they p r o v i d e a f o r m o f psychological a n d social s u p p o r t . T h i s is based o n a b r a c i n g m i x t u r e o f w a r m t h , u n d e r s t a n d i n g , a n d practical i n f o r m a t i o n a n d advice a b o u t sexual a n d f a m i l i a l anxieties a n d ' w o r r i e s ' generally. Readers are i n v i t e d t o w r i t e t o n a m e d persona - l o n g - s t a n d i n g magazine pen names f o r m a n y years, b u t n o w m o r e c o m m o n l y the w r i t e r ' s o w n - a n d t h e i r letters p r o v i d e a p r i z e d f o r m , albeit a self-selecting o n e , o f audience feedback. U n t i l the early 1970s, the range o f p r o b l e m s t h a t w o m e n w r o t e t o w o m e n ' s magazines a b o u t was r e a d i l y classified. These i n c l u d e d sex ('too l i t t l e ' or ' t o o m u c h ' ) , c o u r t s h i p ('he just ignores m e ' ) , a n d i n f i d e l i t y (the ' o t h e r ' w o m a n , the ' m a n i n the o f f i c e ' , the ' m a n n e x t d o o r ' ) . Those letters t h a t w e r e p r i n t e d o f t e n r e f l e c t e d the v e r y subjective d e f i n i t i o n s o f permissible b e h a v i o u r u p h e l d by the e d i t o r s o f these pages. D u r i n g the 1960s, f o r e x a m p l e , the p r o b l e m page f o r m u l a o n one o f these weeklies was the ' s o m e t h i n g f o r e v e r y b o d y ' m i x o f ' y o u n g l e t t e r ' , ' o l d l e t t e r ' , 'sex l e t t e r ' a n d ' m y s t e r y l e t t e r ' , i.e. ' " F r a n t i c " o f T u n b r i d g e W e l l s , send a self-addressed envelope f o r a f u l l y c o n f i d e n t i a l r e p l y ' . T h e 1970s b r o u g h t changes b o t h i n the range o f questions asked (or at least those p r i n t e d ) a n d the frankness o f the replies, w i t h the highest g r o w t h area t h a t o f correspondence c o n c e r n i n g social services a n d w e l f a r e rights.
136 Stereotypes and Representations
Why analyse beauty? T h i s subject category was chosen p r i m a r i l y because i t has received remarkably little a t t e n t i o n f r o m social scientists c o m p a r e d w i t h , f o r example, f o o d (cf. Douglas a n d Gross, 1 9 8 1 ; D e c k a r d , 1975), a n d because o f the very considerable a t t e n t i o n i t is given by w o m e n ' s magazine editors a n d advertisement directors.
1
I n society, as i n these journals, the subject o f female beauty is significant, a n d this significance i n b o t h arenas reflects the extent t o w h i c h a w o m a n ' s w o r t h is d e f i n e d i n terms o f her appearance. T h e status bestowed by the w i d e r c u l t u r e is r e i n f o r c e d t h r o u g h the cult's beliefs a n d practices: systematic c o n t e n t analysis reveals layers o f manifest a n d latent m e a n i n g i n t h e offerings that w o m e n ' s magazine beauty w r i t e r s present before a h i g h altar o f female fantasy. T h e goddess w o r s h i p p e d there is the Self, a n d there are prescriptive elements i n the narcissistic rituals that accompany these genuflections t o a m i r r o r : there is the duty t o beauty. But physical beauty is m o r e t h a n a goal i n its o w n r i g h t ; i t also symbolises a separate
p o w e r structure w i t h i n
female society.
Among
w o m e n , the difference lies between those w h o h o l d the scarce resource o f beauty a n d those w h o d o n o t , between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. W i t h i n the w o r l d o f w o m e n ' s magazines, however, a l l followers o f the cult o f f e m i n i n i t y are potentially
beautiful, sharing b o t h the rights a n d obligations o f that state.
T h e r e is a f u r t h e r a n d less metaphysical reason w h i c h makes Beauty a sign i f i c a n t category. I n t h e economics o f w o m e n ' s p e r i o d i c a l p u b l i s h i n g , advertisement revenue f r o m cosmetics, hair care a n d s l i m m i n g p r o d u c t s account f o r a h i g h percentage o f i n c o m e . I n 1 9 8 1 the 'toiletries a n d cosmetics' category a c c o u n t e d f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - f i f t h o f t h e t o t a l advertisement revenue o n Woman,
for example....
2
Why analyse fiction? F i c t i o n m a n i f e s t l y has a s p i r a t i o n a n d fantasy-inspiring p o t e n t i a l (cf. H o g g a r t , 1 9 5 7 ; M a n n , 1 9 7 4 ; F o w l e r , 1 9 7 9 ) . B u t there are o t h e r reasons f o r c h o o s i n g f i c t i o n f o r analysis. These i n c l u d e t h e e d i t o r i a l i m p o r t a n c e attached t o serials a n d s h o r t stories, t h e audience response t h a t they are believed t o evoke, t h e sameness o f m a n y f i c t i o n p l o t s a n d t h e t i g h t conceptual corset placed u p o n writers briefed ' t o order'. T h e i m p o r t a n c e t h a t editors attach t o f i c t i o n , t h e care w i t h w h i c h they a c c o r d i n g l y f r a m e t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e extent t o w h i c h editors act as 'gatekeepers' o f the f e m i n i n e agenda is s t r i k i n g l y i l l u s t r a t e d b y the d e t a i l e d b r i e f used by a B r i t i s h w e e k l y magazine i n the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s : Fiction Serials
specification.
A British
woman's
weekly magazine,
1974"
Contemporary background. R o m a n t i c central theme, i n v o l v i n g , especially i n serials, some central c o n f l i c t that is n o t resolved u n t i l the end.
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages Sympathetic m a i n characters f o r w h o m the reader can feel i n v o l v e ment, liking and recognition. Age group
C e n t r a l characters, especially i n serials, w i t h i n the 2 0 - 3 5 age g r o u p (in other w o r d s , the generally acknowledged ' C o u r t s h i p ' age). I n short stories the characters' ages are n o t so circumscribed.
Status
Characters m a y be m a r r i e d , single o r w i d o w e d .
Taboos
Divorce,
as a central theme is n o t acceptable, t h o u g h i t can be a
factor i n the past that has b r o u g h t about an existing state o f affairs (e.g. heroine hasn't met one parent f o r a n u m b e r o f years; heroine o r h e r o has h a d an u n h a p p y c h i l d h o o d ) . We a v o i d Political
or Racial
plots, feeling that such controversy is
o u t o f place i n o u r f i c t i o n , and is better dealt w i t h i n other n o n - f i c t i o n media. Plots are n o t based o n Class
Conflict.
We t r y t o u p h o l d t r a d i t i o n a l m o r a l standards, i.e. No Marriage; Promote good causes
No Drug-taking;
No
Sex
before
Violence.
We t r y t o give i n d i r e c t p u b l i c i t y t o g o o d causes t h r o u g h o u r f i c t i o n (e.g. characters rarely smoke; characters are intellectually c o m p a t i ble, g i v i n g greater hope f o r a lasting happy relationship). Women's Lib. is given a boost by o u r endeavouring t o give heroines an interesting, w o r t h w h i l e occupation.
a Copy document, personal communication (emphasis original)
The dominant themes of the three most widely read British women's weeklies, 1949-74 W h e n the content analysis f r a m e w o r k was applied t o these f o u r subject categories, i t was f o u n d that d o m i n a n t a n d sub-themes were o f t e n interchangeable; o f t e n some that h a d seemed m i n o r emerged as o f major significance. I t was f o u n d possible t o i d e n t i f y one d o m i n a n t theme for each beauty, f i c t i o n , p r o b l e m page or feature i t e m analysed, a l t h o u g h the n u m b e r o f sub-themes varied.
[...] O n l y t w o themes emerged as consistently d o m i n a n t . First, there was the overw h e l m i n g star b i l l i n g given t o love and peaks o f female experience emphasis placed u p o n the
marriage
- a n d the f a m i l y - as the
a n d satisfaction. Second, there was the heavy
Self
a n d the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ethic l a i d u p o n every
w o m a n t o be the self-starting, s e l f - f i n i s h i n g p r o d u c e r o f herself.
The theme of themes: 'getting and keeping your man' This
represented
between
one-half
a n d three-quarters
o f all
non-beauty
themes (i.e. a l l features, p r o b l e m a n d f i c t i o n themes) analysed i n these three
137
138
Stereotypes and Representations weeklies - some 5 9 per cent o v e r a l l - between 1 9 4 9 a n d 1 9 7 4 . T h e p r i m a c y a n d constancy o f M a n as goal i n t h e cult's messages has never been so c o n c l u sively d e m o n s t r a t e d as i n this single aggregated f i n d i n g . T h e extent t o w h i c h r o m a n t i c love l e a d i n g t o marriage is emphasised w i t h i n western societies as a p a r t i c u l a r l y p o w e r f u l goal f o r females, has attracted t h e a t t e n t i o n o f sociologists, a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s , a n d l i t e r a r y a n d feminist critics alike. B u t h i t h e r t o , w e have h a d o n l y l i m i t e d evidence o f t h e extent t o w h i c h w o m e n ' s define a n d r e i n f o r c e t h a t goal - a n d o f t e n that evidence impressionistic o r p o l e m i c a l t h a n systematic.
magazines
has been
more
3
T h e message t h a t r o m a n t i c love was b o t h a necessary a n d sufficient c o n d i t i o n f o r marriage r a n g o u t l o u d a n d clear d u r i n g t h e 1950s a n d 1960s. I t spelled o u t b o t h t h e c o n d i t i o n a n d i n s t i t u t i o n as basic e n t r y requirements f o r female g r o u p m e m b e r s h i p . W h a t was never spelled o u t was t h e c o m p e t i t i v e nature o f achieving these t w i n goals: all w o m e n were eligible f o r t h e race, b u t o n l y some w o u l d w i n t h e prize. L o v e as a n o r m was a state o f existence t o be sought o u t a n d w e l c o m e d , just as its absence was t o be a v o i d e d a n d feared. T h e w o m a n w h o l o v e d a n d was l o v e d , either en r o u t e t o , o r w i t h i n marriage, was the p r o t o - f e m a l e . T h e w o m a n w h o was alone o r u n l o v e d was n o t a c a n d i date f o r t h e c u l t . T h r o u g h o u t t h e t w e n t y - f i v e years covered by this sample, there w e r e o n l y f o u r instances o f w o m e n w h o were n o t i n t h e before o r d u r i n g marriage category: t w o spinsters ( i n t h e sense that they h a d neither hope n o r scheme), one w i d o w a n d one divorcee. W h a t f o r m s d i d ' G e t t i n g a n d Keeping Your M a n ' take between t h e 1950s a n d t h e 1970s? H i g h l y p o l e m i c , t o t a l l y prescriptive was 'Feed t h e B r u t e ' i n w h i c h d u t i f u l wives were u r g e d t o value domestic skills above b o o k l e a r n i n g , a n d w a r n e d against straying f r o m first duties t o H i m a n d H o m e : Girls' schools don't teach nearly enough domestic science. If a few Latin lessons had to go by the board for i t , what w i l l the girl care five or ten years later when she's stirring soup, w i t h a yelling baby under one arm, the iron burning a hole in the ironing board, the sitting room fire smoking to high heaven and her husband clamouring for his supper.... As f o r t h e alternative o f c o m b i n i n g h o m e a n d w o r k tasks, there was t h e d r e a d f u l c a u t i o n a r y tale o f the b r i d e w h o : ... of course, went back to work after the honeymoon and she and her husband feed mostly out of cans or i n restaurants and he can never find a pair of socks without a hole in them. (Woman's Own, 25 February 1949) T h e n a t u r e o f ' t r u e ' l o v e , as opposed t o other f o r m s , was - a n d is - a f r e q u e n t theme o f the f i c t i o n a n d p r o b l e m pages. W i t h her besotted daughter i n m i n d , M r s M a r r y a t advised a m o t h e r t o 'Tread w a r i l y ' : It is easy for you to judge these two suitors objectively since you are not influenced, as your daughter is, by that emotion which draws her towards one of them, in spite of his faults of character. You see, unfortunately, she only 'likes' the one you favour, whereas whatever
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages she feels, or thinks she feels, towards the other is something far more thrilling than mere liking.... But try not to be too disappointed if you find she is willing to risk the ups and downs of life w i t h a not too satisfactory partner. (Woman's Weekly, 14 September 1957) Occasionally,
a less r o m a n t i c , m o r e ' d o w n - t o - e a r t h ' note was sounded
-
s o m e w h a t defensively - o n other possible consequences o f ' t r u e l o v e ' . R u t h M a r t i n o f Woman's
Own
' W o m a n t o W o m a n Service' spoke o f the chanciness
o f 'For Better o r f o r W o r s e ' : Whenever a couple marry, the odds are against it being entirely successful and it is only by realising this, that success can be achieved.... I shall be severely criticised for saying this, but just think for a moment, and see if I am so wrong after all. a n d o n sex: The physical side of marriage is at the same time the most important and the most unimportant factor. It must be both. If it is one, or the other, it is fatal. {^Woman's Own, 17 February 1952, emphasis original) T h r o u g h o u t the 1950s, 1960s a n d i n t o the early 1970s, p r e - m a r i t a l sex was s t r i c t l y t a b o o . T h e rewards o f repression a n d the punishments o f p r o m i s c u i t y were
messages
relentlessly
reinforced
by
these
weeklies.
Virginity
and
m o n o g a m y w e r e t w o c u l t u r a l ideals s l o w t o vanish f r o m the ' g e t t i n g a n d k e e p i n g y o u r m a n ' scenario. O v e r t l y a n d c o v e r t l y marriage a n d f a m i l y l i f e w e r e set as p r i m a r y goals f o r m e n as w e l l as w o m e n . A l t h o u g h unselfish love a n d sacrifice f o r the l o v e d one was a concept h a m m e r e d h o m e t o females, there w e r e occasional h i n t s t h a t m e n c o u l d give u p ' a l l ' f o r another: There are many men who have built their lives around the women they love, for it is not only the wives w h o can make sacrifices for their partners. M e n can love as truly, tenderly, as faithfully, as women. A n d husbands have as much need of a loving partner, the stability and joys of family life, that inner, warm love of existence, which gives all their works purpose and makes them as worthwhile as for women.... (Woman's Weekly, 25 February 1967) W h a t o f r o m a n c e w i t h a capital 'R' - a n d the fantasy delights suggested by g l i t t e r i n g scenarios o f p r i v i l e g e d places a n d people? W h a t was their p a r t i n raising expectations o f ' h a p p y ever after'? Were the idealisations o f the early 1970s m a r k e d l y m o r e ' t r u e t o l i f e ' or conducive t o 'reader i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ' t h a n those o f the 1950s? N o t always is the s h o r t answer, a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t i n the f i c t i o n a l w o r l d o f Woman's
Weekly
serials. I n 1974,
the heroine
of
'The
S w a l l o w o f San F e d o r a ' muses: I studied that slender young man, w i t h a profile like the head of some ancient Greek coin as he bowed low over the Australian bride's hand. Then he did the same w i t h Kim's and then mine. A gentleman, who above all else revered women, you might have said to describe h i m . A l l sorts of romantic ideas flitted through my brain ... as his bold dark eyes looked deep, first into Kim's and then into mine. Searching for something, I thought, romantically again. Someone, perhaps, to love h i m for himself, not for the title or his castle. {Woman's Weekly, 28 September 1974)
139
140
Stereotypes and Representations H o w e v e r , b y 1 9 7 4 , the possibility, nay p r o b a b i l i t y , o f marriage a n d r o m a n c e t u r n i n g o u t t o be rather less o f a rose-petalled b o w e r , m o r e o f a t h o r n y t h i c k et, was b e i n g e x p l o r e d elsewhere. I n a six-page special, Woman's
Own o p t e d
f o r openness, m u t u a l responsibility a n d r e c i p r o c i t y : For the many thousands of couples bewildered by the problems they face as man and wife ... C A N THIS M A R R I A G E BE SAVED? One remark which I hear over and over again from wives in my work for the Marriage Guidance Council is: 'It's his fault. He did i t . H o w can I be expected to forgive and forget?' Husbands tend to say the same sort of thing: 'She doesn't understand'. But is there only one person at fault in a marriage crisis? (Woman's Own, 11 May 1974) H e r e t h e t u r n i n g away f r o m sharply segregated
t o shared roles i n c l u d i n g
m u t u a l - n o t w i f e l y alone - responsibility f o r marriage 'success' o r ' f a i l u r e ' was a n e w d e v e l o p m e n t .
... And next comes 'The Happy Family
1
T h e emergence o f ' T h e H a p p y F a m i l y ' as a d o m i n a n t theme i n its o w n r i g h t reflects the c u l t u r a l a n d s t r u c t u r a l significance o f the f a m i l y as a sac ed i n s t i t u r
t i o n i n this a n d o t h e r societies. I t also reflects t h e p r o f o u n d social a n d econ o m i c i m p l i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e f a m i l y holds f o r females.
U n t i i the feminist
m o v e m e n t c l a m o u r e d f o r a r e - t h i n k o f sex roles i n society a n d a change o f gender emphasis w i t h i n sociology itself, t h e f a m i l y was seen as t h e p r i m a r y l o c a t i o n o f female p a r t i c i p a t i o n . C h i l d r e n w e r e the expected o u t c o m e , n o t 4
o n l y o f i m p e r f e c t c o n t r a c e p t i o n , b u t also o f t h e perfect u n i o n - p r o v i d i n g e m o t i o n a l a n d sexual f u l f i l m e n t w i t h i n marriage. W i t h i n these weeklies, heavy emphasis was placed o n the centrality o f f a m i l y life t o t h e w o r l d o f w o m e n . I m p l i c i t l y a n d e x p l i c i t l y the message was clear: t h e satisfaction t h a t d e r i v e d f r o m w i f e h o o d a n d m o t h e r h o o d was quintessential t o the c u l t itself. For this reason a h i g h n o r m a t i v e value was placed o n f a m i l y s o l i d a r i t y a n d f o r l o n g t h e message was preservation o f the m a r i t a l a n d f a m i l i a l status q u o , at any cost - w i t h responsibility placed p a r t i c u l a r l y o n t h e w i f e t o m a i n t a i n stability. T h e appearance o f ' t h e happy f a m i l y ' - 8 per cent - as a theme i n its o w n r i g h t is p a r t i c u l a r l y significant w h e n taken i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h ' g e t t i n g a n d keeping y o u r m a n ' . I t completes a logical progression, o r c u l t u r a l c o n s t e l l a t i o n , o f female aspirations a n d expectations, g i v i n g a c o m b i n e d l o v e - m a r r i a g e - f a m i l y score w h i c h amounts t o t w o - t h i r d s - 6 7 per cent - o f all d o m i n a n t themes f o u n d outside the beauty pages. T h e idealised, i c o n o g r a p h i c r o l e m o d e l f o r ' t h e h a p p y f a m i l y ' w a s , a n d s t i l l is, t h e r o y a l f a m i l y . T h e m a j o r i t y o f B r i t i s h w o m e n ' s magazines, a n d especially t h e w e e k l i e s , have h e l p e d t o create, d e v e l o p a n d p e r p e t u a t e t h i s regal m y t h . N o a r t i c l e r e m o t e l y c r i t i c a l o f t h e r o y a l f a m i l y appeared i n a n y o f t h e issues analysed. T h e image o f r o y a l t y consistently p o r t r a y e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e p e r i o d 1 9 4 9 - 7 4 was t h a t o f t h e r o y a l family.
Year i n , year o u t , t h e
r o y a l s are presented as s i m p l e h o m e b o d i e s at h e a r t , s h a r i n g t h e joys a n d
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 141 cares o f ' n o r m a l ' f a m i l y l i f e - 'just l i k e y o u ' , t h e female audience, ' a n d m e ' , the
women's
Marriage'
magazine
{Woman,
journalist:
2 2 November
see, f o r e x a m p l e 1952);
-
'The Family
'Their
Happy
At the
Palace'
( W o m a n ' s O w n , 2 9 J u l y 1 9 7 2 ) ; ' M y Perfect G r a n n y ' (by Prince Woman,
Charles,
2 August 1980).
For less w e a l t h y a n d aristocratic h a p p y families, t h e guidelines f o r w i f e l y and motherly performance
were
q u i t e specific.
I n t h e 1950s,
polemical
c o l u m n i s t s l a i d d o w n the l a w o n ' I t ' s the W o m a n W h o M a k e s the H o m e ' : The woman of the house is the most important person in i t . Her husband may be stronger and cleverer than she is. He may be a business tycoon, or a genius or a famous personality. His wife may seem inferior to him i n the more obvious ways, but there is one subtle way she can outdo him every time, and that is i n her influence i n the home.... 'What is a home without a mother?' asks the text that used to hang against the florid paper of Victorian walls. What indeed? Widowers have been known to make homes for their children, but seldom very successfully. They usually have to rely on a sister, or an aunt or a housekeeper - some woman - to f i l l , at least i n part, the gap left by the mother. (^Woman's Own, 11 April 1957)
'Self-help: Overcoming Misfortune'and 'Self-help: Achieving Perfection' T h e second m o s t s t r i k i n g f i n d i n g o f this study was t h e extent t o w h i c h t h e w e e k l i e s ' messages stress i n d i v i d u a l achievement a n d s e l f - d e t e r m i n a t i o n f o r w o m e n . T h i s u n d e r g r o u n d value system s t e m m i n g f r o m V i c t o r i a n E n g l a n d f l o w e r e d a n d f l o u r i s h e d t h r o u g h o u t the 1 9 4 9 - 7 4 p e r i o d . T h e r e are t w o ver5
sions o f directives a i m e d at w o m e n p u l l i n g themselves u p b y t h e i r o w n suspender belts. O n e emphasises i n d i v i d u a l i m p r o v e m e n t s , ever s t r i v i n g t o w a r d s a m o r e perfect presentation a n d p e r f o r m a n c e o f self. T h e o t h e r holds o u t t h e c a r r o t o f h o p e t h a t one's m a t e r i a l , physical o r e m o t i o n a l disasters can be overc o m e t h r o u g h the a p p l i c a t i o n o f sufficient e f f o r t , courage a n d t r u e g r i t . I f these t w o i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c themes are added together, they t o t a l 13 per cent o f all d o m i n a n t themes. W h e n their pre-eminence as a sub-theme is taken i n t o account - some 28 per cent - the t o t a l strength o f 'self-help' w i t h i n this universe o f discourse is made clear. B o t h versions suggest that self - n o t other - determin a t i o n is desirable, feasible, a n d obtainable t h r o u g h the exercise o f just that m u c h m o r e c o n t r o l a n d e f f o r t o n a w o m a n ' s part. B o t h i m p l y free choice rather t h a n fated ' d e t e r m i n i s m ' , i m p l y active d o i n g rather than passive acceptance, a n d stress a d i s t i n c t l y anti-collectivist, h i g h l y individualist ethic. H e r e , t o o , a c o m petitive t h e o r y o f female 'achievement' is postulated: all w o m e n are capable o f ' h e l p i n g themselves', b u t o n l y those w h o t r y harder w i n t h r o u g h . T h e f i r s t , 'Self-help: O v e r c o m i n g M i s f o r t u n e ' , demonstrates t h e discipline and
effort required o f women
i f they
are t o transcend
their
personal
d i f f i c u l t i e s , f r o m t h e t r i v i a l t o t h e tragic. T h e second, 'Self-help: A c h i e v i n g Perfection',
concerns a h i g h l y gender-specific
form
o f achievement
mot-
i v a t i o n . H e r e a w o m a n is d i r e c t e d n o t o n l y t o t r y harder i n the l a b o u r m a r k e t ,
142
Stereotypes and Representations because o f her h i s t o r i c a l disadvantages there; she must also strive i n d u s t r i o u s l y t o achieve h i g h p e r f o r m a n c e standards o n t h e h o m e f r o n t as w e l l . H e r e t h e messages a n d advertisements directed at w o m e n set t h e standards o f perfect i o n ; w h e t h e r it's the never-fail soufflé o r the perfect hair style. T h e r e c u r r e n t m e l o d y o f h e l p i n g oneself t o overcome
6
is a classic t h e m e .
K n o w n i n ' t h e t r a d e ' as a T . O . T . , o r ' t r i u m p h over t r a g e d y ' , this theme frequently
takes
the form
o f first
person
accounts.
Journalistic
drama
a n d i m m e d i a c y is i n v o k e d b y a w h o l e range o f i n d i v i d u a l s w h o overcome a variety o f physical a n d e m o t i o n a l p r o b l e m s - f r o m disease t o bereavement, f r o m a l c o h o l i s m t o acne. O t h e r variations o n this theme o f o v e r c o m i n g fate i n c l u d e stern s t u f f f r o m p r o b l e m page editors o r columnists: ' D o s o m e t h i n g , d o n ' t just sit d o w n a n d passively accept the b l o w s o f m i s f o r t u n e . ' A n early e x a m p l e came f r o m ' T h e M a n W h o Sees': I think it is much better, as the poet said, to 'toughen the fibre' than to harden the skin. I t is better to be firm-hearted than to be thick-skinned. A n d that is a matter of one's faith.... I n the manger at Bethlehem there was no sect; just the centre. And the centre is more important than the sect.... Make that centre f i r m , and keep your sensitiveness, and, whatever the world brings you, you w i l l find a share of happiness. ÇNoman's Weekly, 24 December 1949) I n counselling those disturbed by changes such as m o v i n g o r early retirement w h i c h threaten c o m f o r t i n g familiarities, w o m e n are urged t o f i n d security i n sameness, reassurance i n r i t u a l : In the face of impending change, i t may often seem pointless to carry on w i t h the daily routine. Yet this may be the most effective way of fighting those unsettled feelings.... To occupy oneself w i t h the familiar round even if one must live from day to day, is tranquilising and strengthening. {Woman's Weekly, 19 August 1972) O u t s i d e t h e c o l u m n s o f p h i l o s o p h e r - k i n g s such as ' T h e M a n W h o Sees', i t is i n t h e beauty a n d p r o b l e m pages that t h e emphasis o n self-help is strongest. I m p l i c i t a n d e x p l i c i t w i t h i n a l l p r o b l e m page replies is t h e a d m o n i t i o n : ' D o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t i t . ' T h i s was so even w h e n ' d o i n g s o m e t h i n g about i t ' i n t h e 1950s a n d 1960s meant accepting w h a t w o u l d be unacceptable
b y today's
standards t o preserve a marriage. T h i s theme c o n t i n u e d i n t h e 1970s, w h e n M r s M a r r y at advised o n h o w t o learn t o live w i t h a m a r i t a l p r o b l e m : Don't try to conquer the problem [jealousy] by calling yourself names ... say to yourself ... ' N o w I expect I shall feel jealous soon because Jim is dancing w i t h that pretty girl. I am not going to give way to it. I ' m going to smile and talk to the person next to me, and not say a single w o r d of complaint afterwards.' (Woman's Weekly, 28 September 1974) These examples demonstrate another aspect o f self-help, t h e l i n k between personal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d i n d i v i d u a l achievement. 'Just make u p y o u r m i n d t o d o s o m e t h i n g , t r y h a r d e n o u g h , a n d i t can be d o n e ' , is t h e positive message p o u n d e d h o m e o n their pages.
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 143 T h i s setting o f p e r f o r m a n c e standards - o f the practices that define the cult o f f e m i n i n i t y - emerged i n this study as one o f the most visible and constant p u r poses served b y w o m e n ' s magazines. T h e perfection-achieving variant o f the self-help t h e m e shows h o w w o m e n are directed t o w a r d s an ever m o r e perfect p r o d u c t i o n a n d presentation o f self. F r o m child-care t o hair-care, f r o m c o o k i n g t o conversation, t h e parameters o f female excellence p o r t r a y e d as n o r m a t i v e ~ i n terms o f t h e i r desirability a n d achievability - are universally h i g h . T h i s c o n clusion contrasts t o the feminist v i e w that w o m e n are presented w i t h l o w - l e v e l reference groups b y c o m p a r i n g themselves w i t h other w o m e n rather t h a n m e n .
7
U n t i l recently this was true o f the p a i d w o r k occupational categories suggested t o w o m e n as possible o r desirable i n these journals. I t was never true o f the p r i m a r y occupational category - the business o f being a w o m a n . W r i t large i n a l l these messages o f the c u l t o f f e m i n i n i t y is the e x h o r t a t i o n t o i m p r o v e a n d excel. W h i c h categories o f p e r f e c t a b i l i t y s h o u l d a female strive for?
Multiple
f o r m s o f excellence are p r o m u l g a t e d : be a better m o t h e r , be a better lover, be a better c o o k , be better dressed a n d be better l o o k i n g . T h e urge t o achieve is ever e v i d e n t i n w o m e n ' s magazine p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g a n d f a c t - g i v i n g - t h r o u g h all t h e e d i t o r i a l 'service' areas f r o m h o w t o paper t h e b a t h r o o m c e i l i n g , t o h o w t o teach H i m t o be better i n b e d . I n c o u n s e l l i n g a b o u t marriage a n d t h e p r o p e r p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e w i f e l y r o l e , attainable p e r f e c t i o n is inclusive o f ' H i m ' : Do you Agree that the Average M a n is Less Given t o Fault Finding Than the Average Woman? I f We Try t o Put O u r O w n Failings Right, Perhaps We M a y Set a Good Example t o Our M e n Folk. (Woman's Weekly, 24 M a y 1952, capitals i n original) L e a r n i n g , a n d especially l e a r n i n g b y d o i n g , is seen as i m p o r t a n t t o achieving a m o r e p e r f e c t s t a n d a r d o f house-care, c h i l d - m i n d i n g , b e a u t i f y i n g o r f r i e n d s h i p . I n 1 9 6 2 a male c o l u m n i s t suggested f l a t - s h a r i n g as p r e p a r a t i o n f o r m a t r i m o n y , as a f o r m o f a p p r e n t i c e s h i p . S H A R I N G HAS PITFALLS Two girls sharing a flat may learn to be tolerant i n many ways - but not when their boy-friends are involved.... I t helps to rub off some of her sharp corners almost without realising i t and teaches her a practical daily tolerance of irritating little habits ... this could stand her i n good stead i n the early years of marriage. (Woman, 24 February 1962)
'Heart Versus Head' T h i s t h e m e captures t h e conflicts o f t h e female c o n d i t i o n a n d attributes w h i c h have a c q u i r e d t h e status o f secondary sex characteristics, a n d w h i c h reflect f o r m s o f ' c u l t u r a l l a b e l l i n g ' w h e r e b y ' e m o t i o n a l ' o r ' r a t i o n a l ' modes o f t h o u g h t o r b e h a v i o u r become ' f e m a l e ' o r ' m a l e ' respectively.
8
T h i s process
begins w i t h n u r s e r y r h y m e socialisation a n d expands t o encompass p h i l o s o p h ical a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n s between e m o t i o n a n d reason. I t is l i n k e d t o the legacy o f t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t w h e r e b y t h e western E u r o p e a n ' r a t i o n a l i t y '
144
Stereotypes and Representations m o d e l takes precedence over other ways o f experiencing a n d o r d e r i n g t h e w o r l d , a n d incorporates a hierarchy o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h i c h elevates reason (male) over a n d above e m o t i o n (unreason, female) w h i c h provides a l e g i t i m a t i n g logic f o r male d o m i n a t i o n i n the process. T h e tension i m p l i e d b y this e m o t i o n - r e a s o n d i c h o t o m y rests o n m o r e t h a n the p o s i t i n g o f o p p o s i t i o n a l ' H i s ' a n d ' H e r s ' categories. I t rests u p o n a deeper d i v i s i o n between t w o i n c o m p a t i b l e sets o f values. O n e assigns t o females t h e r o l e o f expressive n u r t u r e r s . T h e other locates females w i t h i n t h e mechanics o f bureaucratic a n d i n d u s t r i a l processes that r e q u i r e logic, consistency a n d c o n f o r m i t y t o rules. T h i s j u x t a p o s i n g o f ' t h i n k i n g ' a n d ' f e e l i n g ' n o r m s poses m o r e acute p r o b l e m s f o r w o m e n t h a n f o r m e n . I t creates anxiety about h o w t o c o n f o r m t o d e f i n i t i o n s o f f e m i n i n i t y w h i c h require that ' b r i g h t girls p r e t e n d t o m e n t h a t they are n o t ' (see e.g. K o m a r o v s k y , 1 9 4 6 , 1 9 7 3 ) . W i t h i n these weeklies, ' H e a r t Versus H e a d ' was most o f t e n related t o decisions a f f e c t i n g t h e course o f love i n f i c t i o n stories o r i n celebrities' ' o w n t r u e l i f e ' dramas. T h i s accounts i n p a r t f o r the h i g h incidence o f this theme w i t h i n Woman's
Weekly,
g i v e n its r o m a n t i c f i c t i o n emphasis. For example, i n ' T h e
W h i t e O l e a n d e r ' , t h e h e r o i n e , L a u r i e , visits an exotic island t o care f o r h e r w i c k e d o l d e r sister's c h i l d . T h e r e her bad sister insists that she p r e t e n d t o be the nanny, a n d w a r n s h e r against the fascinating n o b l e m a n she meets. L a u r i e struggles t o c o n t r o l her feelings: She had allowed herself to become bewitched by his comradeliness into completely forgetting the implications of her promise to Stella. I n those minutes, while Felipe stood obliterating the light from the doorway, his face dark and withdrawn, she saw the utter folly of permitting freedom to her emotions. (Woman's Weekly, 6 December 1952) H e r e , as elsewhere w i t h i n t h e value s t r u c t u r e l a i d d o w n f o r w o m e n , i n d i v i d u a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y is d e f i n e d i n terms o f s e l f - c o n t r o l . T h e c u l t u r a l i d e a l is one o f w o m a n l y r e c t i t u d e . T y p i c a l l y w a r n i n g s a b o u t t h e dangers o f ' g i v i n g w a y ' t o e m o t i o n s a n d feelings w e r e strongest c o n c e r n i n g sex. I n t h e p r e - p i l l era t w o g r o u p s w e r e i d e n t i f i e d as most at r i s k : sexually dissatisfied wives a n d love-sick adolescent g i r l s . T h e force w i t h w h i c h t h e ' h e a d m u s t r u l e ' message was d e l i v e r e d is s h o w n b y a dialogue b e t w e e n a 'real r e a d e r ' a n d a n e d i t o r . T h e p r e s c r i p t i o n is clear - beware
b e i n g t r i c k e d b y passion a n d
losing all c o n t r o l : M Y M O T H E R DOESN'T W A N T M E T O BE I N LOVE a heartcry f r o m a 17-year-old Q. What is she (the mother) afraid of? A. (Woman's Own) That strong emotion w i l l break her daughter's self-control. Q. I want t o keep my self-respect A. A l l that can be swept away by passion, etc. etc. (Woman's Own, 4 December 1957) T h i s shows t h e u n e q u i v o c a l nature o f m o r a l directives h a n d e d d o w n t o females d u r i n g this p e r i o d , designed t o serve t h e t w i n ideals o f v i r g i n i t y
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 145 b e f o r e a n d f i d e l i t y after m a r r i a g e . E t e r n a l vigilance was the o n l y g u a r d against fleshly t e m p t a t i o n - a n d d i s t i n c t l y possible pregnancy. A m u c h starker i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f the r e a s o n - e m o t i o n c o n f l i c t was given i n the early 1970s, i n discussing a b o r t i o n five years after the 1 9 6 7 A b o r t i o n A c t : N E V E R Q U I T E T H E SAME A G A I N M o r e than for any other operation, the reason behind the decision to have an abortion is the desire to return to normal - to things as they were. But is that really possible, or does an abortion leave an emotional scar for ever afterwards? Five single girls and a married woman talk about their experiences ... Roman's Own, 16 September 1972)
'The Working Wife is a Bad Wife' P i l o t analysis s h o w e d the early strength o f this t h e m e , especially d u r i n g the 1950s. T h e sociological q u e s t i o n arises, was c o n f l i c t between h o m e a n d w o r k roles suggested, a n d h o w e x p l i c i t was the n o r m a t i v e direction? H i s t o r i c a l l y , t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h the messages o f the c u l t d i r e c t e d o r reflected any such c o n f l i c t has n o t been systematically e x p l o r e d i n r e l a t i o n t o the c o n t r i b u t i o n o f the w o m e n ' s press t o the re-socialisation o f the w a r t i m e female labour force t o w a r d s domesticity. T h e v i r t u a l i n v i s i b i l i t y o f this t h e m e , 3 per cent, raises questions a b o u t the l i m i t s placed o n topics p u t before the female
audience
d u r i n g the 1950s a n d 1960s - l i m i t s created as m u c h by exclusion as by i n c l u s i o n . W h i c h r o l e m o d e l s a n d reference groups w e r e o f f e r e d t o the mass o f the cult's f o l l o w e r s ? For the g r o w i n g n u m b e r s o f wives a n d m o t h e r s e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e p e r s o n a l , social a n d e c o n o m i c consequences o f d u a l c o m m i t m e n t s a n d r e w a r d s , w h i c h satisfactions o r dissatisfactions w e r e suggested or a c k n o w l e d g e d , w i t h h e l d o r ignored? U n t i l the early 1970s such questions w e r e either a v o i d e d altogether
or
a n s w e r e d negatively. Female p r i o r i t i e s w e r e clear: a w o m a n ' s w o r l d was f i n i t e , b o u n d e d b y the t r a d i t i o n a l task d i v i s i o n w h i c h assigns c h i l d a n d
home-care
exclusively t o her. E d i t o r i a l r e c o g n i t i o n o f n o n - d o m e s t i c female occupations w i t h i n these weeklies was c o n f i n e d largely t o ' f i r s t j o b ' features, or glossy accounts Hatch,
o f t h e successful careers o f models a n d actresses (cf. H a t c h a n d 1968). One
recognised
females
w o r k i n g before
marriage, o n
the
a s s u m p t i o n t h a t this w o u l d cease at latest w i t h the b i r t h o f the first c h i l d . T h e o t h e r presented readers o f all ages w i t h idealised r o l e models a n d 'success' scenarios f o r d a y - d r e a m i n g o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
9
M a r g i n a l l y present i n the 1950s, absent altogether i n the 1960s, this theme reappeared i n the 1970s, especially w i t h i n the i n n o v a t o r y Woman's
Own.
T h e r e , s t o o d o n its head, altered b e y o n d r e c o g n i t i o n i t became ' T h e W o r k i n g W i f e is a G o o d W i f e ' . T h e extent t o w h i c h H i m a n d Home-centredness
per-
sisted as a d o m i n a n t image o f B r i t i s h w o m a n h o o d w i t h i n these weeklies is i l l u s t r a t e d below. T w o examples f r o m Woman's
Weekly,
the m o s t t r a d i t i o n a l
o f the three weeklies, demonstrate a slight s h i f t , the s l o w f i l t e r i n g o f social change, w h e r e b y the impossible o f the fifties - a p a i d j o b f o r any w o m a n w h o
146
Stereotypes and Representations v a l u e d the q u a l i t y a n d d u r a b i l i t y o f her marriage - was r e d e f i n e d b y the 1970s t o p e r m i t some q u e s t i o n i n g o f t h e 'captive h o u s e w i f e ' s i t u a t i o n . I n t h e 1950s w o m e n were w a r n e d about ' K n o w i n g W h e n t o Call a H a l t ' : The establishing of marriage values may be postponed along w i t h that notice to the office. A young wife doing two jobs just may not have enough time, nervous strength and thought to give to this difficult business of marital adjusting. Doing t w o jobs saps strength and vitality and often there is an inner conflict, which is tiring in itself, because she is occupied w i t h one job when she knows the other is going wrong because she cannot give i t her fullest attention and energy at the moment needed for it. (Woman's Weekly, 14 September 1957) Seventeen years later M r s . M a r r y a t advised a restless h o u s e b o u n d y o u n g m o t h e r t h a t she was ' N o t Just a H o u s e w i f e ' a n d h o w i n i t i a t i v e a n d sharing t h e problem might help: ... as you have a young child, what about offering to help i n a local play-group or starting one yourself? Information from ... (Woman's Weekly, 1 June 1974) A t this stage, t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , n o such tentative noises came f r o m t h e pacesetting weekly, Woman's
Own. T h e p a i d w o r k vs. h o m e d u t y c o n f l i c t was
resolved, a n d a five-page 'special' a n n o u n c e d ' H o w t o G e t t h e R i g h t J o b at the R i g h t T i m e ' : At 16, 23, 35, 45 plus there's the right job for you. Whether you are just about to leave school i n your mid-twenties and need a change, or i n your thirties or forties and want to be trained for something entirely new, we've planned this supplement to help you make the right choice. Begin by consulting your Careerscope chart below. (Woman's Own, 23 March 1974)
The 'Female State Mysterious' P i l o t analysis s h o w e d t h e presence o f this theme, especially i n t h e 1950s. I t p o r t r a y s t h e female c o n d i t i o n as c o m p l e x , unpredictable o r incomprehensible o n masculine and/or r a t i o n a l criteria w h e r e the terms 'masculine' a n d ' r a t i o n a l ' f r e q u e n t l y are being used interchangeably, o r as logically connected. I t also defines female characteristics i n r e l a t i o n t o male ones. I n t h e event i t was statistically i n s i g n i f i c a n t at 2 per cent. H a s this cliché stereotype o f female e m o t i o n a l i t y a n d i m p e t u o s i t y disappeared? O r is i t c o v e r t l y h e l d b y members o f b o t h sexes, o n e w i t h w h i c h w o m e n themselves have colluded? For a w o m a n t o define herself as i r r a t i o n a l a n d i m p u l s i v e is t o w r i t e herself a b l a n k cheque i n interpersonal relations. T o state ' I a m b y d e f i n i t i o n changeable a n d u n p r e d i c t a b l e , therefore logically I cannot be h e l d accountable f o r m y actions' is t o a p p l y a p o w e r f u l lever t o t h e balance o f p o w e r w i t h i n f a m i l y or i n t e r p e r s o n a l relations. A s such, i t offers p a r t i a l redress w i t h i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l p o w e r structure o f this p e r i o d , w h i c h allocated m a t e r i a l o r p s y c h o l o g i cal dependence t o w o m e n . U n p r e d i c t a b i l i t y , w h e n n o t used so f r e q u e n t l y that i t becomes t h e n o r m , can be a p o w e r f u l counter t o reasoned a r g u m e n t o r choice. T h e conscious o r unconscious a d o p t i o n o f such attitudes offers some s u p p o r t f o r t h e v i e w o f w o m e n as i n f o r m a l p o w e r holders. O a k l e y
(1974)
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 147 refers t o t h e p o w e r t h a t gossip c o n t r o l invests i n w o m e n . H e r e ,
female
' u n p r e d i c t a b i l i t y ' m a y serve s i m i l a r ends. A second side t o t h e 'mysterious female' stereotype is t h e echo t h a t i t p r o vides o f p r i m i t i v e fears o f t h e female as u n k n o w a b l y t h r e a t e n i n g : t h e carrier o f some p o w e r f u l magic a d h e r i n g t o h e r m e n s t r u a t i n g a n d c h i l d - b e a r i n g f u n c t i o n s . A n t h r o p o l o g i s t s a n d psychoanalysts
have e x p l o r e d such beliefs a n d
behaviours a n d t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e psyches a n d social roles o f b o t h sexes. A t h i r d v a r i a n t o f f e m i n i n e mystery m u c h f a v o u r e d b y w o m e n ' s maga10
zines i n v o l v e s a w o m a n ' s choice o f a p a r t i c u l a r female t y p i f i c a t i o n o r 'style' as her o w n . These alternative images h e l p t o perpetuate a c u l t i v a t e d climate o f delightful o r disconcerting uncertainty: W H A T K I N D OF GIRL ARE Y O U REALLY? Romantic? Practical? Selfish? Generous? What are you really like? A n d how do others, especially your boy friend or husband, see you? Answer the ten questions below to discover your true personality - and see yourself as you really are. {Woman's Own, 10 June 1967) Contiguous
or overlapping w i t h
the 'Female State M y s t e r i o u s ' is t h e
' N a t u r a l O r d e r ' sub-theme. I t contrasts t o t h e uncertainties o r alternatives o f the f o r m e r a n d sees t h e female w o r l d as b u t one-half o f a d i v i n e l y o r d a i n e d , because u n q u e s t i o n a b l e , sexual d i v i s i o n o f society. A c c o r d i n g l y , m e n are this, w o m e n are t h a t ; m e n do this, w o m e n do that (cf. Fransella a n d Frost, 1 9 7 7 ) .
'Gilded Youth' T h e western c u l t u r a l emphasis o n y o u t h as 'the best years o f y o u r l i f e ' is n o t exclusive t o females. I t reflects a l o n g , historical, aesthetic a n d philosophical t r a d i t i o n w h i c h has i n f l u e n c e d b o t h sexes. I n the post-war a n d present media market place, glistening y o u t h was a n d is the r u l i n g visual concept e m p l o y e d by journalists a n d advertisers alike. British w o m e n ' s magazine publishers e x p l o i t e d the ' y o u t h c u l t ' t h r o u g h the development o f a separate y o u n g w o m e n ' s sector. T h u s 'teenagers' o r 'sub-teens' female audiences are b o t h the stimulus for, a n d cash register response t o , the cosmetics, fashion a n d entertainment industries' discovery o f adolescent spending p o w e r i n the late 1950s a n d early 1960s.
11
G i v e n t h e c o m m e r c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l emphasis u p o n y o u t h f u l appearance as an ideal f o r w o m e n o f a l l ages, t h e relative i n v i s i b i l i t y o f this t h e m e , 2 per cent, is i n t e r e s t i n g . W h e r e Weekly,
i t d i d occur most f r e q u e n t l y was i n
Woman's
t h e magazine w i t h t h e oldest readership p r o f i l e - reaching some 4 per
cent o f d o m i n a n t a n d 14 per cent o f sub-themes o v e r a l l . T h i s suggests some s u p p o r t f o r t h e thesis t h a t fantasy elements are i n v o l v e d i n t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n process - o r t h a t editors believe t h a t o l d e r readers prefer y o u t h f u l idealisat i o n s t o e l d e r l y realisations.
'Success Equals Happiness' O n t h e face o f i t , this theme was u n i m p o r t a n t , b u t i n fact i t was ever present b e l o w t h e surface. I t was i n s i g n i f i c a n t i n terms o f t h e achievement-orientated
148
Stereotypes and Representations n a t u r e o f i n d u s t r i a l societies, at least i n terms o f w o m e n g a i n i n g 'success' t h r o u g h a career.
12
W i t h i n t h e messages o f the c u l t t h a t define f e m i n i n i t y itself
as a career, h o w e v e r , achievement n o r m s exist i n abundance. T h e y specify a range o f goals
a n d performance
standards t h a t relate t o herself -
love,
family, happiness a n d ' l o o k i n g g o o d ' . Yet alongside these personal goals w e see happiness equated w i t h w o r l d l y success t o a considerable extent. T h e m a t e r i a l a n d status rewards o f fame a n d riches, w h i c h are used t o spell o u t t h e m e a n i n g o f success, raises the question: h o w does an achieving society define 'success' o t h e r t h a n t h r o u g h media role models o f status visibility o r symbols o f conspicuous consumption? T h e success icons o f the cult's messages are celebrities a n d 'personalities'. T h e y people t h e pages o f these weeklies, p r o f f e r i n g t h e i r 'shared' dreams a n d disasters, kudos a n d cash t o the m i l l i o n s : HOSTAGES T O FORTUNE We all dream of hitting the pools jackpot one day and abandoning ourselves to a life of carefree luxury. But what is it like to be part of the family who became rich by giving vast sums of money away? At the end of the season in which more than ever has been w o n on the football pools, Woman talks to the brothers who share in the Littlewoods millions. Each has a different kind of life and his own way of coping w i t h the joys and problems of enormous wealth. (Woman, 13 May 1972)
'Be More Beautiful' T h e female d u t y t o beautify was soon evident as this study progressed. T h e characteristics a n d i n t e r n a l consistency o f this theme less so. U n q u e s t i o n a b l y 'Be M o r e B e a u t i f u l ' offers a n archetypal example o f w o m e n ' s magazine messages presenting the desirable as t h o u g h i t were t h e possible - just as they p r e sent t h e possible as t h o u g h i t were desirable. T h i s p a r t i c u l a r f o r m o f t h e message heightens aspirations, allies t h e m w i t h rituals o f self-discipline, a n d encourages every female t o 'make t h e most o f h e r s e l f . (For this reason, 'selfh e l p : a c h i e v i n g p e r f e c t i o n ' was occasionally the d o m i n a n t t h e m e ; o t h e r w i s e 'be m o r e b e a u t i f u l ' was self-selecting o n the beauty pages.) Beauty is ' t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d ' as b o t h means a n d e n d w i t h i n t h e female world,
a n d physical
appearance
is a
highly
I n j u n c t i o n s t o i m p r o v e t h e perfect - t h e duty
normative
cult
message.
t o beautify - are p r o c l a i m e d
f r o m b i l l b o a r d a n d television advertisements a n d are n o t c o n f i n e d t o t h e w o m e n ' s press. T h e r e are latent as w e l l as manifest meanings i n these messages. Covetable a n d pleasurable rewards accrue t o the possessor o f g l e a m i n g hair, s p a r k l i n g eyes a n d a satiny c o m p l e x i o n - t r a n s f i x e d o n a m o o n l i t b a l cony, l o l l i n g b y a p a l m - f r i n g e d surf a n d always w i t h an a d o r i n g male attend a n t as the perfect p r o p i n the l u x u r i o u s b a c k d r o p . T h e esteem c o n f e r r e d by o w n e r s h i p o f these desirable physical attributes suggests a n alternative p o w e r structure w i t h i n female society, a hierarchy based u p o n possession o f certain physical qualities - albeit changing f r o m t i m e t o t i m e , t h e relative i m p o r t a n c e o f hair a n d eyes, o r legs a n d bust. I t is a social, c u l t u r a l a n d economic fact that f o r some w o m e n their facial c o n t o u r s o r b o d y
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 149 shape can d e t e r m i n e t h e i r i n c o m e a n d status m o r e t h a n their life chance situat i o n , enabling us t o posit ' t i t ' a n d 'cheekbone' d e t e r m i n i s m . T h i s is possible because i t concerns t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f a scarce resource. T o be b o r n b e a u t i f u l is t o be b o r n a r a r i t y , y e t female beauty is a generalised c u l t u r a l ideal. T h e s i n g l e - m i n d e d d e d i c a t i o n r e q u i r e d t o 'be m o r e b e a u t i f u l ' is reiterated t h r o u g h t h e same l i m i t e d range o f goals, values a n d roles. T h i s produces a t i g h t p r e s c r i p t i v e package, b u t o n e packed w i t h positive r e i n f o r c e m e n t : ' y o u should
l o o k l i k e t h i s ' , a n d ' y o u can l o o k l i k e t h i s ' . N o allowance is made f o r
d a y - d r e a m i n g o r w i s h f u l t h i n k i n g i n these f i r m , sometimes stern idealisations t h a t a w o m a n s h o u l d t o i l t o emulate. 'Soft a n d p r e t t y ' o r ' b r i g h t a n d sophisticated'? S i m p l y choose this t y p e , f o l l o w t h e r e q u i r e d r i t u a l s , a n d t h e desired e n d is assured. T h u s , second o n l y t o messages o f female o b l i g a t i o n t o m a x imise physical attractiveness, are promises o f its attainability. A c h i e v e m e n t o f better l o o k s is t h e l o g i c a l o u t c o m e o f personal e f f o r t . C o m f o r t a n d i n s p i r a t i o n are c o m b i n e d : a n y flaws i n genetic m a k e - u p can always be camouflaged b y t h e cosmetic k i n d , b y s u f f i c i e n t e f f o r t - a n d g l i t t e r eye shadow. Several c o m p l e x a n d o v e r l a p p i n g processes are at w o r k here - social, psyc h o l o g i c a l a n d e d i t o r i a l . T h e r e is goal-setting: physical beauty is presented less as a n a s p i r a t i o n a l i d e a l , m o r e as a h o l y c o m m a n d m e n t . T h e r e is reassurance: salvation can be achieved f r o m a state o f non-beauty. T h e n lest these aspects seem o v e r - d e t e r m i n i s t i c ,
a n element o f free w i l l is i n t r o d u c e d : i n d i v i d u a l
g r o u p m e m b e r s m a y choose t h e i r p r e f e r r e d ideal o r image. Finally, once choices are resolved, detailed prescriptions f o l l o w , o f t e n r e q u i r i n g a greater sacrifice o f t i m e , e f f o r t a n d d e d i c a t i o n t h a n o f m o n e y spent o n cosmetics o r c o n s u m e r goods. T h e r i t u a l aspects o f the p e r f e c t i n g process are d e m o n s t r a t e d b y t h e 'step-by-step' i n s t r u c t i o n s , t h e day-to-day diets, l e a d i n g t h e initiates t o w a r d s physical images a n d ideals w h i c h are as c u l t u r a l l y a n d c o m m e r c i a l l y d e t e r m i n e d as ever t h e y are b i o l o g i c a l l y g i v e n . Finally, f o r w h o m a n d f o r w h a t ends are these active, achieving beauty rituals performed? Technical advice about beautification can o n l y relate t o the female, yet surprisingly there were h a r d l y any references t o the benefits o f w o m e n beaut i f y i n g themselves t o attract o r h o l d a male's a t t e n t i o n . T h e beauty messages largely i g n o r e d t h e existence of, o r impact u p o n , m e n - thereby p r o d u c i n g the 'Invisible M a l e ' role category discussed below. T h e significance o f these absent males is t w o f o l d . Firstly, i t emphasises t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h physical appearance is made integral t o a w o m a n ' s self c o n cept a n d h e r f e m i n i n i t y as such - narcissism is a n e x p l i c i t n o r m w i t h i n these pages. Secondly, i t c o n f i r m s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e t o t e m i c object o f female society is W o m a n , n o t M a n . T h e absence o f his o v e r t presence s h o u l d n o t be i n t e r p r e t e d as a signal o f t h e male's u n i m p o r t a n c e .
Rather i t suggests a n
i m p l i c i t a n d latent m e a n i n g so p o w e r f u l t h a t i t does n o t r e q u i r e e x p l i c i t a n d manifest statement: m e n are t h e goals, n o t t h e gods. H o w d u t y a n d d i s c i p l i n e , possibility a n d p e r f e c t i o n , r o u t i n e a n d r i t u a l f o r m a c o n s t e l l a t i o n o f physical prescriptions is w e l l i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e ' g o o d - t o - b e alive G I R L ' :
150
Stereotypes and Representations 'There's more t o true beauty than meets the eye' and even if you were not 'pretty really' ... someone w i t h verve, vitality and spring i n their step is always a joy to meet.... T h i s positive t h i n k i n g starts w i t h g e t t i n g u p earlier t o exercise, eating m o r e fresh f r u i t , k e e p i n g a d r y pair o f shoes i n the o f f i c e , because: When you feel fine, your looks improve, your work, your life: when that happens you feel even better and more pleased w i t h life. W i t h a gay step and shining eyes, you can look around you and take in all the interesting facets of daily life.... That's the secret of a vital outlook. Look ahead to the day before you w i t h zest and enthusiasm, and you'll look better, feel better and get much more out of life than ever before. (Woman, 16 March 1957) A n o t h e r example shows t h e h e l p f u l , p r o b l e m s o l v i n g o f t h e e d i t o r i a l t o n e . H e r e e f f o r t is u n t y p i c a l l y a n d e x p l i c i t l y directed at H i m : MISS W O N D E R F U L , THAT'S Y O U ... it's certainly true that for a girl to score a real romantic rating i n a man's eye her looks have got to be just a little special. She doesn't have t o have a pin-up profile either ... but she w o n ' t get far without polishing up her good points and disguising her bad ones so that he's completely befogged by glamour! It's at this stage that the romantic compliments are paid and the diamond engagement rings get shopped for! (Woman's Own, 18 September 1951) T h e element o f h o p e i m p l i c i t i n t h e beauty fantasy, t h e urge t o t r a n s f o r m w h a t is i n t o w h a t can be, is i l l u s t r a t e d b y ' N e w Fitness Starts H e r e ' . T h e p r o m i s e o f r e s u r r e c t i o n goes h a n d i n h a n d w i t h reassurance w h e r e : Almost every woman is concerned about her figure ... The fact is, perfect bodies are pretty rare. Even model girls have their problems ... there's no figure fault that's w o r t h despairing over! A l l the help-ways in this book work and they w o r k for everybody ... everyone - yes really everyone - can look younger, lighter, fitter ... and feel it too. Start now on the new you! (Woman, 21 October 1967) These examples also illustrate h o w the emphasis placed o n i n d i v i d u a l e f f o r t a n d self-help, as t h e most r a t i o n a l means t o t h e e n d o f beauty, are persistent a n d p o w e r f u l themes w i t h i n w o m e n ' s magazine c o n t e n t as a w h o l e . T h e themes discussed above i n c o r p o r a t e n o r m a t i v e pictures o f roles, goals a n d values. A n y answer t o t h e question ' W h a t d o w o m e n ' s magazines t e l l w o m e n a b o u t t h e sorts o f w o m e n they are, can be, o r s h o u l d be?' involves k n o w l e d g e o f the roles that they specify a n d t h e aspirations that they set. F e w social scientists, journalists o r advertisers c o u l d examine t h e pages o f w o m e n ' s magazines a n d d i s c l a i m that o n e o f their most p o t e n t purposes is t h a t o f seco n d a r y socialisation: the recipes f o r , a n d values of, t h e female gender r o l e .
Notes 1. As Oakley (1982) comments on the narcissistic nature of such beauty rituals: 'the careful watching of one's body and its fabrication as a public viewing object, is one of the aspects of feminity Freud referred to when he identified women as narcissistic' (p. 82).
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 151 2. Source: IPC, BRAD, 1980. This compares w i t h the lower revenues which Woman's Weekly attracts i n the toiletries and cosmetics category - 10.1 per cent 1981 which i n part reflects its older readership profile compared w i t h its sister weeklies. 3. Commentators and critics on the theme of romantic love i n popular culture, and fiction i n particular, point to 'escapism' and 'vicarious living' as gratifications assumed to derive f r o m reading the latter (e.g. Hoggart, 1957; Hall and Whannel, 1964). Feminist writers w h o have analysed the pervasiveness of romantic love i n the mythology of womanhood, or women's magazine fiction i n particular, include Bailey (1969); Cornillon (1972); Dwayne-Smith and Matre (1975); Fowler (1979); and Winship (1978). 4. The t w o 'classical' sociological statements are those of Engels (1902) and Parsons and Bales (1955). The former assigns woman to an under-class w i t h i n the family until she is freed of child minding and joins the labour force; the latter examine the evidence before permanently assigning her to the role of 'expressive' nurturer (a conclusion which was effectively challenged by the cross-cultural research of Crano and Aranoff, 1978). Both positions drew the wrath of feminists, for example Rowbotham (1972); Mitchell (1971). 5. For an enlightening account of the great popular impact which Samuel Smiles' SelfHelp, first published i n 1859, made upon the Victorian public - male and female see Asa Briggs' introduction to the centenary edition (Smiles, 1958). 6. International agencies have directed their attention to the question of stereotyping of female images i n the media in general and advertisements i n particular. UNESCO (1974) found i n a survey of 28 countries that advertisement rather than editorial content was more culpable in this regard. Reporting to the European Social Development Programme, Marsden (1977) concluded that media sex-role stereotyping should be 'monitored and countered' (p. 82). M o r e recently, the Equal Opportunities Commission (1982) has reported i n Adman and Eve on some transformation of advertisement images of women which pointed to the sales success of products using non-traditional, 'modern' women i n their sales approach. 7. Questions concerning the degree of female competitiveness i n terms of achieving the high standards set for the rites, duties and obligations of female membership by primary and secondary sources of socialisation has been under-researched and examined. Oakley (1979, 1981) has written about this i n relation to child bearing: 'They [children] symbolise achievement in a w o r l d where under-achievement is the rule' (1982, p. 228). The findings of this study suggest that similar symbolic achievements are to be found i n other areas definitional of femininity: principally those associated w i t h the 'creative' rites of fashion, beauty and cookery. 8. For an examination of the oppositional categories assigned to males and females, including the emotion-reason dichotomy, from a feminist perspective, see Janeway (1972); see also Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) for the classic psychological evidence on this question. 9. Social psychology offers clarification on the notion of 'identification': individuals can be seen to respond to other individuals - or objects - by imitating their behaviour literally or symbolically (Kagan, 1958); but principally this concept derives f r o m Freud (1959, pp. 37-42). 10. Bettleheim (1968) commenting on the 'menstrual taboo' observes that ' i f men had not envied menstruation per se they would have grown envious because it was tabooed' (p. 137). I n July 1981, British Cosmopolitan initiated some taboo-breaking of its o w n when it exhorted on the front cover: ' L i f t the curse, and make i t the most sensual time of the m o n t h ' (emphasis i n original).
152
Stereotypes and Representations 11. The classic account of the post-war discovery of teenage spending power is Abrams (1959); see also White (1977) and Braithwaite and Barrell (1979) for a discussion of the growth of young women's magazines. 12. The notion of industrial societies being 'achievement orientated* belongs to an earlier era of economic growth, full employment, and rising expectations (e.g. Bell, 1974). I t no longer seems so plausible for theorists to make such assertions i n a period of falling expectations, or what Inglehart (1982) terms 'post-materialism'.
References Abrams, M . 1959: The teenage consumer. London: The London Press Exchange. Bailey, M . 1969: The women's magazine short-story heroine i n 1957 and 1967. Journalism Quarterly 46. Bell, D . 1974: The coming of post-industrial society. London: Heinemann. Bettelheim, B. 1968: Symbolic wounds. New York: Collier. Braithwaite, B. and Barrell, J. 1979: The business of women's magazines. London: Associated Business Press. Cornillon Koppelman, S. (ed.) 1972: Images of women in fiction. Ohio: Bowling Green University Press. Crano, W. and Aranoff, J. 1978: A cross cultural study of expressive and instrumental role complimentarity in the family. American Sociological Review 43(4), 4 6 3 - 7 1 . Deckard, B. 1975: The women's movement: political, socioeconomic and psychological issues. N e w York: Harper & Row. Douglas, M . and Gross, J. 1981: Food and culture: measuring the intricacy of rule systems. Social Science Information. London: Sage, 1-35. Dwayne-Smith, M . and Matre, M . 1975: Social norms and sex roles i n romance and adventure magazines. Journalism Quarterly 52. Engels, F. 1902: The origins of the family, private property and the state. Chicago: Charles. H . Kerr 8c Co. Equal Opportunities Commission 1982: Adman and Eve: a study of the portrayal of women in advertising. Manchester: EOC. Fowler, B. 1979: 'True to me always': an analysis of women's magazine fiction. British Journal of Sociology 30(1). Fransella, F. and Frost, K. 1977: How women see themselves. London: Tavistock. Freud, S. 1959: Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psychoanalysis. Hall, S. and Whannel, P. 1964: The popular arts. London: Hutchinson. Hatch, M . G. and Hatch, D . L . 1968: Problems of married working women as presented by three popular women's magazines. Social Forces 37. Hoggart, R. 1957: The uses of literacy. London: Chatto 6c Windus. Inglehart, R. 1982: Post-materialism i n an environment of security. American Political Science Review 75(4). Janeway, E. 1972: Mans world, woman's place. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Kagan, J. 1958: The concept of identification. Psychological Review 65(5). Komarovsky, M . 1946: Cultural contradictions and sex roles. American Journal of Sociology 52, 184-9. Komarovsky, M . 1973: Cultural contradictions and sex roles: the masculine case. I n Huber, J. (ed.), Changing women in a changing society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Maccoby, E. E. and Jacklin, C. N . 1974: The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
The Most Repeated, Most Read Messages 153 M a n n , P. H . 1974: A new survey - the facts about romantic fiction. London: Mills & Boon. Mitchell, J. 1971: Women's estate. Harmonsworth: Penguin. Oakley, A. 1974: The sociology of housework. London: M a r t i n Robertson. Oakley, A. 1982: Subject woman. London: Fontana. Parsons, T. and Bales, R. F. 1955: Family, socialisation and interaction process. Glencoe, 111.: Free Press. Rowbotham, S. 1972: Women, resistance and revolution. London: Allen Lane. Smiles, S. 1958: Self-Help. London: John Murray (originally published 1859). White, C. 1977: The women's periodical press in Britain 1946-76. Royal Commission on the Press, Working Paper no. 4. London: H M S O . Winship, J. 1978: A woman's world. I n Women's Studies Group, Women take issue. Birmingham: Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies.
Questions 1
2
3
4
Collect a range of magazines aimed at women of different ages (Just Seventeen, More, Company, Cosmopolitan, Marie-Claire, Woman etc.) Do these magazines still promote a repertoire of desirable female assets and, if so, what are they and do they differ substantially from magazine to magazine? What changes or continuities in the maintenance of the cult of femininity can you detect in women's magazines in the postwar period? With the plurality of titles now available, do women's magazines still make women feel that they belong to a kind of exclusive 'sisterhood'? Could it be said that other media texts (for example, soap operas and daytime TV and radio shows) perpetuate a cult of femininity in the same way as women's magazines? What examples can you think of which would support or challenge this view? Can the 'ideal' female roles that women's magazines promote be traced even further back to comics for young children? Do you think that stereotypical images of women in magazines, and in the media at large, have any impact on society's attitudes towards women and on women's perceptions of themselves? What about magazines aimed at men? The last decade has seen something of a revolution in the men's magazine market with the launch of many titles in the 1990s following the success of predecessors such as GO, Arena and The Face (Loaded, Maxim, Men's Health and Attitude being some of the more recent titles). Is there any evidence that men's magazines promote desirable roles and assets for males and, if so, what are they and how have they changed since the market started to fragment and expand in the mid-1980s?
Further reading Beetham, M . 1996: A magazine of her ownf Domesticity and desire in the woman's magazine, 1800-1914. London: Routledge. Fowler, B. 1991: The alienated reader. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Frazer, E. 1987: Teenage girls reading Jackie. Media, Culture and Society 9(4).
154 Stereotypes and Representations Hermes, J. 1995: Reading women's magazines. Cambridge: Polity Press. Macdonald, M . 1995: Representing women: myths of femininity in the popular media. London: Edward Arnold. McRobbie, A . 1991: Feminism and youth culture: from Jackie to Just Seventeen. London: Macmillan. McRobbie, A . 1996: More! N e w sexualities i n girls' and womens' magazines. I n Curran, J., Morley, D . and Walkerdine, V (eds.), Cultural studies and communications. London: Edward Arnold. M o r t , F. 1996: Cultures of consumption: masculinities and social space in late twentieth century Britain. London: Routledge. N i x o n , S. 1993: Looking for the holy grail: publishing and advertising strategies and contemporary men's magazines. Cultural Studies 7(3). Tinkler, P. 1995: Constructing girlhood: popular magazines for girls growing up in England, 1920-1950. Washington D.C.: Taylor & Francis. Winship, J. 1987: Inside women's magazines. London: Pandora. Winship, J. 1992: The impossibility of Best: enterprise meets domesticity in the practical women's magazines of the 1980s. I n Strinati, D . and Wagg, S., Come on down? Popular media culture in post-war Britain. London: Routledge.
15 The Social Role of Advertising T. H. Qualter From Advertising and Democracy in the Mass Age (Macmillan 1991)
This extract draws together many of the themes of this section in its analysis of stereotypical representations of class, race and gender in advertising. Advertising has traditionally relied on the use of stereotypes to put across information in a format that is quick and easy for the viewer or reader to understand. The success of a 30-second television commercial, for example, depends on immediate recognition and identification on the part of large numbers of the audience, and stereotypical representations convey messages in a shorthand and easily decoded form. But in order to achieve some sort of consensual understanding, the images that advertisements present are, according to Qualter, conservative, limited and rarely innovatory. As Barker argues in an earlier extract (reading 8), the images are 'safe' because they will gain immediate audience recognition, they are 'known', but they are not necessarily typical or representative. Qualter's focus is on the stereotypical representations found in advertisements from the 1980s, although it is demonstrated that ads since the 1920s have avoided the controversial and perpetuated a number of myths concerning representations of class, race and gender. Class is most often linked to occupation, and work has commonly been romanticised in the advertisements of the entire period. Just as commercials fail to reflect the harsh realities of working life, they are also guilty of 'sins of omission', to use Karpf's phrase (reading 12), when it comes to portrayals of unemployment, homelessness and the underclass. Qualter suggests that this should not come as any surprise, as the industry
The Social Role of Advertising 155 is one which emphasises and reinforces the structures and ideologies of conservatism, capitalism and consumerism. In the few representations of race seen in advertisements, black people have been largely portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class, which does not accurately reflect the lives of many blacks who find themselves excluded from such a life in advanced capitalist societies (see Lewis, reading 9), while images of women perpetuate many of the stereotypical representations associated with the 'cult of femininity' that Ferguson analyses in women's magazines (reading 14). In the six years since this extract was first published, some of its premises have been challenged and there are now arguably many more adverts on screen which represent people in a less stereotypical manner; in fact many contemporary advertisements 'play' with stereotypes or use them ironically. Despite that, however, innovative, ground-breaking representations are still few and far between and, as Qualter points out, there have been superficial improvements in the ways that women and 'minority' groups are represented, but few changes can be regarded as in any sense fundamental.
A d v e r t i s i n g is, o v e r a l l , a reluctant a n d largely ineffective i n i t i a t o r o f social change b e y o n d the t r i v i a o f fashion. Even as i t introduces a n endless array o f n e w p r o d u c t s , a n d n e w models o f the o l d , i t is an o v e r w h e l m i n g l y conservative social force, p o w e r f u l i n d e f i n i n g a n d preserving the status quo. Advertisers seld o m question the attitudes that lie b e h i n d a purchasing philosophy. T h e y d o n o t encourage r e f l e c t i o n o n the u n d e r l y i n g character o r m o t i v a t i o n o f a consumer society, o r o f the social attitudes that sustain i t . O n the contrary, almost all the images i n advertising c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e preservation o f t h e existing order. Advertisers prosper t h r o u g h the perpetuation o f t r a d i t i o n a l stereotypes o f class, race a n d sex. As a p r e d o m i n a n t l y conservative force, they prefer a romanticised past t o a n uncertain f u t u r e . Resisting social change, advertising responds o n l y s l o w l y t o u n f o l d i n g circumstances, t e n d i n g t o lag b e h i n d the general course o f events reflecting i n n o v a t i o n , seldom i n i t i a t i n g i t . Change, w h e n i t does come, is usually p r e c i p i t a t e d by other social movements w h i c h cannot be denied. Stereotyped images are i m p o r t a n t sources o f k n o w l e d g e about o u r society, a n d a b o u t o u r personal roles i n i t . People's actual behaviour owes m u c h t o the s y m b o l i c r o l e models set before t h e m i n f i l m s , books, the entertainment m e d i a and, o f course, advertisements. As l o n g as media stereotypes are m a i n l y conservative, t h e r e f o r e , they w i l l have a conservative i m p a c t o n behaviour, l i m i t i n g the v a r i e t y o f ways i n w h i c h people can choose t o react t o each other, a n d t o themselves. A d v e r t i s i n g demands e c o n o m y o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I n a b r i e f t e l e v i s i o n c o m m e r c i a l there is n o t t i m e t o say m u c h , certainly n o t i m e f o r detailed e x p l a n a t i o n . T h e c o m m e r c i a l therefore depends o n instant r e c o g n i t i o n , c a l l i n g u p o n f a m i l i a r , s h a r p l y - d e f i n e d stereotypes t o set t h e stage f o r t h e message. Advertisers take i t f o r g r a n t e d t h a t , because most o f the audience share a c o m mon
f r a m e o f reference, a n d a c o m m o n set o f symbols, they w i l l understand
m o s t o f w h a t is b e i n g said. L i k e p r e - w a r B r i t i s h movies, m o d e r n television commercials
use stock characters t o establish
class, o c c u p a t i o n ,
role a n d
156
Stereotypes and Representations m o o d - bib-overalls mean farmer, i n d i c a t i n g d o w n - h o m e earthiness, t r a d i t i o n a l values; w h i t e coats mean scientific, a n d therefore a u t h o r i t a t i v e o r professional; c o m p u t e r terminals mean h i g h technology, i m p l y i n g m o d e r n , a n d so o n . Earlier
a d v e r t i s i n g stereotypes were
unashamedly
class biased.
Roland
M a r c h a n d e x a m i n e d w h a t he c l a i m e d were ' h u n d r e d s o f thousands' o f magazine advertisements i n t h e 1920s a n d 1930s. I n these, he said, husbands w e r e i n v a r i a b l y p o r t r a y e d as businessmen. Even doctors and dentists appeared only i n their functional roles - not as typical husbands.... as truckers, delivery men, house painters, or mechanics, they joined the tableaux to demonstrate the product's manufacture or use. But working-class men never appeared as consumers; an unspoken law decreed that the protagonist ... i n every ad must be depicted as middle class. N o t one motorist i n a thousand, f o r instance, ever appeared i n anything but a suit, tie, and hat or elite sporting togs. 1
A d v e r t i s i n g i n the 1920s relied heavily o n 'snob appeal', frequently featuring the aristocracy, t h e r i c h , a n d the famous as role models - appealing t o t h e masses t h r o u g h the g o o d example o f their 'betters'. Change f o l l o w e d as sellers began t o w a k e u p t o t h e huge m a r k e t o f a m o r e affluent w o r k i n g class. B u t even n o w , working-class stereotypes are at odds w i t h the c o m p l e x i t y o r m o n o t o n y o f w o r k i n g life. W o r k is still a romanticised, noble, individualistic activity - t r u c k d r i v i n g o r tree felling - never the deadening r o u t i n e o f the assembly line o r t y p i n g p o o l . T h e r e is certainly l i t t l e i n c l i n a t i o n t o use t h e advertising image t o depict a harsher reality. A d v e r t i s i n g deals w i t h the problems o f u n e m p l o y m e n t , homelessness, u r b a n
b l i g h t , racial
violence
or crime, by ignoring them.
A d a p t a t i o n o f the stereotype, w h e n i t does occur, is t h e result o f external pressures, n o t o f inner desire t o give a m o r e accurate picture o f society. Race a n d sex i n advertising illustrate t h e p o i n t . I n early
advertisements,
blacks a n d o t h e r racial m i n o r i t i e s , i f they appeared at a l l , were s h o w n o n l y i n servile, s u p p o r t i n g parts. T h e c o m m o n r o l e c o n f o r m e d t o a l o n g - s t a n d i n g A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n o f t h e black slave a n d servant - s i m p l e - m i n d e d , h a p p y a n d d e v o t e d . T h e alternative r o l e was as entertainer. B u t t h e g r a d u a l realisation o f the e n o r m o u s economic p o t e n t i a l o f the black consumer m a r k e t , c o m b i n e d w i t h a m u c h m o r e m i l i t a n t , a n d effective, black p o l i t i c a l pressure, brought
about
change.
Blacks n o w appear
quite o f t e n
i n commercials,
a l t h o u g h n o t i n the same p r o p o r t i o n as i n t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n . Class d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , h o w e v e r , has p r o v e d a stronger barrier t h a n race b y itself. Blacks i n c o m m e r c i a l s 'are usually s h o w n as p a r t o f a g r o u p o f t y p i c a l , h a p p i l y c o n s u m i n g , middle-class A m e r i c a n s i n some salubrious e n v i r o n m e n t ' . A d v e r t i s i n g ' s 2
general response t o m i n o r i t y m o v e m e n t s has been t o present
advertisements
i n w h i c h m i n o r i t i e s are integrated i n t o t h e mainstream o f middle-class status seekers. T h i s gives rise t o a n e w d i l e m m a , f o r t h e m o r e o f t e n blacks are i n t r o d u c e d i n t o middle-class p r o s p e r i t y i n b o t h commercials a n d regular television p r o g r a m m i n g , t h e m o r e o b v i o u s i t is t h a t t h e vast m a j o r i t y o f the black p o p u l a t i o n s o f a l l advanced capitalist societies are e x c l u d e d f r o m just such a l i f e .
The Social Role of Advertising 157 I n m a n y respects, w o m e n i n m o d e r n society face the same k i n d o f p r o b l e m s as blacks - a stereotyped p o r t r a y a l o f a subordinate r o l e g i v i n g l e g i t i m a c y t o t h e a c t u a l i t y o f t h a t r o l e , a n d serving as a barrier t o any r o l e r e d e f i n i t i o n . There
a r e , h o w e v e r , i m p o r t a n t differences. T h e accelerating
political and
social e m a n c i p a t i o n o f black A m e r i c a n s , t h e result o f sustained
political
a c t i v i s m , has been r e f l e c t e d i n t h e i r slightly m o r e accurate representation i n t h e m e d i a . Blacks i n advertisements n o w sometimes appear as d o c t o r s , p o l i c e , f a r m e r s , a n d shoppers, s t i l l m o s t l y safely respectable a n d middle-class. F o r w o m e n , h o w e v e r , change i n t r a d i t i o n a l advertising presentation has p r o c e e d e d m o r e slowly. O n e reason lies i n t h e 'real l i f e ' social tensions outside the w o r l d o f advertisi n g . T h e black p o p u l a t i o n s o f A m e r i c a , as also i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m , have all experienced racial d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . Few therefore opposed greater racial equality. A p a r t f r o m those w h o feared the insecurity o f any change i n t h e established o r d e r , m o s t w e l c o m e d n e w economic o p p o r t u n i t i e s , a n d t h e i r expression i n advertisements, a n d this despite t h e fact t h a t p r o s p e r i t y has benefited m a i n l y middle-class blacks, a n d t h a t p o o r blacks, especially black w o m e n , are the p r i n c i p a l v i c t i m s o f t h e e c o n o m i c inequalities o f t h e 1980s. Few, even a m o n g t h e poorest blacks, h o w e v e r , have a n y w i s h t o r e t u r n t o t h e older order. B y c o n trast, there are still w o m e n w h o w i l l i n g l y , j o y f u l l y , accept t h a t w o m a n ' s place is i n t h e h o m e , c a r i n g f o r a husband a n d raising c h i l d r e n . T h e y believe this t o be the a p p r o p r i a t e , perhaps even d i v i n e l y sanctioned, r o l e o f w o m e n . T h e y are t h e r e f o r e n o t sympathetic t o those w o m e n w h o seek a n e w f u t u r e outside t h e h o m e , i n w h a t they perceive t o be a man's w o r l d . M a n y w o m e n r e m a i n c o n t e n t , o r have been socialised i n t o c o n t e n t m e n t , w i t h domestic service a n d , especially, the u n p a i d domestic service o f w i f e a n d m o t h e r . A l l t h i s complicates t h e p r o b l e m o f t h e f u l l e m a n c i p a t i o n o f w o m e n i n a d v e r t i s i n g . T h e r e is n o consensus a m o n g w o m e n themselves a b o u t t h e need f o r such e m a n c i p a t i o n , o r w h a t i t means. Even those w h o w a n t change are n o t agreed o n w h a t t h e i d e a l f u t u r e m i g h t be l i k e . W h i l e m o s t o f those active i n w o m e n ' s m o v e m e n t s c o n d e m n t h e l i m i t e d d e p i c t i o n o f w o m e n ' s lives, n o t o n l y i n c o m m e r c i a l s , b u t i n t h e mass m e d i a generally, others are equally o f f e n d e d b y w h a t t h e y see as attempts t o subvert w o m e n f r o m t h e i r ' n a t u r a l ' f u n c t i o n . T h e y v i e w w i t h a l a r m , even anger, suggestions o f equality, o r o f success i n careers outside t h e t r a d i t i o n a l . T h e i r attitudes, r e f l e c t i n g a m o r e generalised fear o f t h e n e w a n d t h e u n k n o w n , are manifested i n a n aggressive c o n s e r v a t i s m , h o s t i l e t o a n y change i n t h e status o f w o m e n . Some w o m e n ' s organisations n e w l y active i n t h e 1980s o p e n l y r e p u d i a t e d t h e f e m i n i s t m o v e ments o f the 1960s a n d 1970s. T h e d i l e m m a o f the a d v e r t i s i n g industry, t h e r e f o r e , is t h a t i t m u s t reconcile t w o c o n t r a d i c t o r y versions o f w o m a n ' s place i n t h e w o r l d . T h e i n d u s t r y sets u p , o n t h e o n e h a n d , t h e t r a d i t i o n a l w i f e a n d m o t h e r r o l e m o d e l , a n d o n t h e o t h e r , t h e career w o m a n m o d e l w h i c h a l l t o o r e a d i l y shades o f f i n t o t h e w o m a n as sex s y m b o l m o d e l . Rosemary Scott's study o f sex roles i n
158
Stereotypes and Representations f o r e x a m p l e , categorised
advertisements u n d e r t w o m a j o r
headings, each w i t h several sub-themes.
advertisements,
T h e first m a j o r t h e m e was t h a t
w o m e n are u l t i m a t e l y a n d n a t u r a l l y housewives a n d m o t h e r s . T h i s i m p l i e d t h a t : '(a) W o m e n d o n o t w o r k outside t h e h o m e , (b) W h e n w o m e n w o r k o u t side t h e h o m e , they are n o t successful; they d o n o t d o " m a l e " jobs, (c) W o m e n are h a p p y d o i n g h o u s e w o r k : i t is satisfying, (d) M e n a n d W o m e n have s t r i c t l y delineated sex roles a n d h o u s e h o l d duties, (c) L i t t l e girls g r o w u p t o be housewives, wives a n d m o t h e r s . ' T h e second m a j o r , a n d contrary, theme was t h a t a w o m a n ' s goal i n l i f e is t o attract a n d keep a m a n . T h i s i n t u r n i m p l i e d : '(a) W o m a n are always attract i v e ; they are sexual objects, (b) W o m e n operate alone; they d o n o t relate w i t h o t h e r w o m e n , o n l y t o m e n . (c) M e n are i n t e l l i g e n t , w o m e n are n o t . M e n d o n o t l i k e i n t e l l i g e n t w o m e n ( w h o are " u n f e m i n i n e " ) . W o m e n have i n f e r i o r a b i l ity.'
1
T h e a u t h o r a d d e d substantial detail a n d i l l u s t r a t i o n t o each o f these
headings. T h e m o s t persistent theme i n advertising is t h a t a w o m a n ' s d o m a i n is t h e h o u s e h o l d , w h e r e h e r p r i m a r y task is t o m a i n t a i n a h o m e t h a t is a c r e d i t t o her h u s b a n d . T h i s is t h e concept m o s t congenial t o t h e p r e v a i l i n g sentiments w i t h i n w h a t is still a m a l e - d o m i n a t e d industry. A l t h o u g h t h e s i t u a t i o n is i m p r o v i n g , i n t h e w o r l d o f advertising there remains a clear d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n w h a t is regarded as man's o r w o m a n ' s w o r k . F r o m t h e t i m e they leave school w o m e n are subjected t o a c o n t i n u a l propaganda b o m b a r d m e n t r e i n f o r c i n g t h e Tightness, t h e n o r m a l i t y , o f this t r a d i t i o n a l arrangement. T h i s , w r o t e D o r o t h y A a r o n , is w h e r e the stereotype affects reality. If no alternatives to traditional roles are presented, it makes i t all the more d i f f i cult for women t o break away from these roles and try something new. More than that, the fact that many women are doing precisely that, is virtually ignored in most advertising, for women are rarely shown involved i n activities or occupations outside the home, or if they are, these are almost invariably traditionally female jobs such as secretary, teacher, or nurse. 4
A d v e r t i s i n g images t o d a y still almost t o t a l l y i g n o r e the e c o n o m i c r e a l i t y w h i c h compels m a n y w o m e n t o w o r k outside t h e h o m e w h i l e o f t e n also c o n t i n u i n g t o p e r f o r m t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l roles. T h e r e is l i t t l e r o o m i n the safe, c o m f o r t a b l e , middle-class w o r l d o f the commercials f o r working-class w o m e n o r single parents. T h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f w o m e n t o t h e l a b o u r force is barely a c k n o w l e d g e d , w h i l e t h e w o m e n w h o p o p u l a t e t h e beer, soft d r i n k , a n d sports car advertisements are a l l y o u n g , carefree hedonists w h o never, apparently, need t o w o r k f o r t h e i r l i v i n g . Even w h e n w o m e n d o begin t o play n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l roles, there remains a tendency t o treat w o m e n as subordinates, u n d e r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f m e n . T h e social situations i n tableaux advertisements, especially i n magazines, present m a n y r i t u a l i s t i c examples o f this s u b o r d i n a t i o n . ' W o m e n f r e q u e n t l y , m e n very i n f r e q u e n t l y , are posed i n a display o f t h e " b a s h f u l knee b e n d " . ' W o m e n are m o r e l i k e l y t o be cast i n s u p p o r t i v e o r ' b a c k g r o u n d ' 5
roles - secretary, m a i d , nurse, assisting the male p r o t a g o n i s t . O f t e n they m o r e
The Social Role of Advertising 159 closely resemble a ' p r o p ' , a piece o f f u r n i t u r e , o r a n o r n a m e n t , t h a n a f u n c t i o n i n g h u m a n b e i n g . M a l e s are s e l d o m cast i n a similar s u p p o r t r o l e t o a female c e n t r a l character, except, perhaps, i n a n a t t e m p t at h u m o u r . W o m e n are s t i l l w i d e l y p o r t r a y e d as s i m p l e - m i n d e d , even s t u p i d , r e q u i r i n g a m a n t o e x p l a i n t o t h e m t h e o p e r a t i o n o f h o u s e h o l d appliances - i n c l u d i n g those i n practice m o s t l y used b y w o m e n . H o w e v e r , w h i l e m e n are o f t e n p i c t u r e d i n s t r u c t i n g w o m e n , t h e reverse s i t u a t i o n is seldom seen. A s o n e sign o f a g r a d u a l change o f a t t i t u d e s , i n t h e 1980s o n e began m o r e o f t e n t o see commercials w i t h m e n u s i n g such t h i n g s as w a s h i n g machines.
Generally, h o w e v e r , t h e
i m p l i c i t suggestion is t h a t m e n are being r e q u i r e d t o d o w h a t is p r o p e r l y women's work. M a n y w o m e n are distressed b y t h e fact t h a t after years o f objections there are s t i l l a great m a n y offensive advertisements. Particularly w h e n d e a l i n g w i t h cleansers a n d h o u s e h o l d p r o d u c t s , w o m e n are p a t r o n i s e d , f r e q u e n t l y d e p i c t e d as ' f e a t h e r - b r a i n e d ' , incapable o f t h o u g h t o r concerns deeper t h a n the shine o f t h e i r k i t c h e n f l o o r s , ecstatic over w h i t e r socks, a n d w i t h m e n t a l h o r i z o n s l i m i t e d b y t h e w a l l s o f t h e h o m e . I t is t r u e t h a t , since t h e w o m e n ' s m o v e m e n t g a i n e d s t r e n g t h i n t h e 1970s, there have been changes. M o r e housewives are p r e p a r e d t o a d m i t t h a t they d o n o t f i n d i n s p i r a t i o n i n a cleaner t o i l e t b o w l , a n d t h a t t h e y are f e d u p w i t h b e i n g u r g e d t o t r y a n e w a n d i m p r o v e d w a y o f d o i n g s o m e t h i n g t h e y w o u l d r a t h e r n o t be d o i n g i n t h e first place. O l d e r c o n v e n t i o n s are m o r e f r e q u e n t l y challenged, a l t h o u g h they are still n o t a l l overcome.
Increasingly i n magazine advertisements
a n d television
w o m e n are presented i n ' n o n - t y p i c a l ' occupations.
6
commercials
B u t a l t h o u g h they m a y
appear as professional w o r k e r s , o r h a n d l i n g machinery, as y e t n o t m a n y are s h o w n as a u t h o r i t y figures. F e w changes are i n any w a y f u n d a m e n t a l . T h e m o r e grossly offensive advertisements have been m o d e r a t e d , a n d t h e semic l a d ' b i m b o ' as a n accessory i n a n advertisement f o r a u t o m o b i l e parts has largely disappeared. H o w e v e r , despite protest, a n d some significant r e v i s i o n o f a t t i t u d e s , o v e r t sexuality survives i n advertising. Sexual imagery, v e i l e d e r o t i c i s m , i n n u e n d o a n d s e m i - n u d i t y are still c o m m o n features o f display a d v e r t i s i n g , especially i n ' u p - m a r k e t ' magazines. A d v e r t i s i n g has always r e l i e d h e a v i l y o n t h e 'sexual sell', o f t e n seeking t o attract t h e audience's a t t e n t i o n w i t h sexual s t i m u l i , even w h e n q u i t e u n r e l a t e d t o t h e p r o d u c t . Advertisers use p r o v o c a t i v e female m o d e l s , a n d sexually suggestive situations even i n messages d i r e c t e d t o w o m e n , because they believe they sell p r o d u c t s . Changes, w h e n t h e y have c o m e , have n o t always h a d t h e i n t e n d e d effect. 'Advertising's l i b e r a t e d w o m a n incorporates e v e r y t h i n g t h e w o m e n ' s m o v e m e n t has f o u g h t against.' A d v e r t i s i n g ' s o r i g i n a l c o n c e p t i o n o f w o m e n ' s l i b e r 7
ation
was t o make
the liberated w o m a n a more
efficient,
independent
consumer. T h e ' m o d e r n ' w o m a n k n e w h o w t o operate c o m p l i c a t e d h o u s e h o l d gadgets a n d l a b o u r - s a v i n g devices, ' l i b e r a t i n g ' h e r f r o m o l d e r , heavier, househ o l d chores. She w a s s t i l l n o t l i b e r a t e d f r o m t h e h o u s e h o l d itself. M o d e r n i t y was t r a n s l a t e d t o i m p l y t h e m o r e c o m p e t e n t h a n d l i n g o f a w i d e r v a r i e t y o f
160
Stereotypes and Representations consumer
goods.
Some early advertisements
d e p i c t e d w o m e n as 'GPA' -
General Purchasing A g e n t - d r a w i n g a n analogy between t h e h o m e a n d a business, w i t h t h e w i f e as manager. B u t t h e husbands d i d n o t lose t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l r o l e . ' I f his w i f e was t h e home's purchasing agent - a n d thus analogous t o a business executive o f modest p o w e r - t h e husband was m o r e elegantly d e f i n e d , either i m p l i c i t l y o r e x p l i c i t l y , as t h e home's " t r e a s u r e r " o r its " p r e s i d e n t " . ' M o d e r n w o m e n m i g h t acquire n e w managerial skills, b u t they w e r e t o 8
be exercised o n l y i n t h e h o m e . F r e e d o m meant m o r e independence i n p u r s u i n g t r a d i t i o n a l goals. I t d i d n o t mean f r e e d o m t o pursue d i f f e r e n t goals. ' L i b e r a t i o n ' c o u l d also be expressed i n social attitudes a n d behaviour. T h e purchase o f a bicycle, a n d a costume a p p r o p r i a t e f o r r i d i n g i t , was p r o m o t e d as a n early m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f w o m e n ' s escape f r o m s t i f l i n g o l d e r c o n v e n t i o n s . I n some advertisements i n t h e 1920s a n d 1930s w o m e n expressed t h e i r n e w f r e e d o m b y o v e r c o m i n g o l d taboos about s m o k i n g cigarettes i n p u b l i c . C h r i s t o p h e r Lasch r e f e r r e d t o t h e a d v e r t i s i n g i n d u s t r y ' s
'pseudo-emancipa-
t i o n ' o f w o m e n , 'flattering them w i t h the insinuating reminder,
"You've
c o m e a l o n g way, b a b y " , a n d disguising t h e f r e e d o m t o consume as genuine a u t o n o m y ' . ' I n t h e 1980s t h e ' l i b e r a t e d w o m a n ' was o f t e n presented as 5
sexually available. ' A d v e r t i s i n g ... seems t o i n t e r p r e t t h e m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s female e q u a l i t y largely as a m o d e r a t e sexual l i b e r a t i o n w h o s e f u n c t i o n is t o l e g i t i m i z e p r e - a n d possibly e x t r a - m a r i t a l a f f a i r s . ' o f advertising's p o r t r a y a l o f w o m e n -
10
For this is another
side
t h e sex object w h o can be, a n d
longs t o be, 'possessed' b y t h e m a n w i t h t h e advertised m o u t h - w a s h o r i m p o r t e d car. W o m e n , i n t h e advertisements,
s e l d o m play t h e i n i t i a t i n g
r o l e , b u t are c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e fear o f sexual inadequacy, o f n o t b e i n g desired b y a m a l e , unless they use t h e advertised p r o d u c t . conception Sex
o f f e m i n i n e attractiveness
11
Advertising's
makes f e w concessions t o n a t u r e .
appeal is o b t a i n e d o n l y f r o m c o m m e r c i a l p r o d u c t s - hair
beauty
aids,
skin
conditioners,
perfumes,
a n d so
shampoos,
on, which
make
w o m e n g l a m o r o u s , a n d t h e r e f o r e attractive. M e n are n o t expected
t o be
g l a m o r o u s . Even as executives, w o m e n are supposed t o be ' a l l u r i n g ' a n d t o s p e n d m o n e y o n a r t i f i c i a l aids t o t h a t purpose. T h e y m u s t be t a l l , s l i m a n d elegant. M a l e executives can succeed l o o k i n g just l i k e themselves, a n d c a n be any shape. Stereotypes, w h i l e active a n d p o w e r f u l guides t o behaviour, a n d n o r m a l l y a conservative force, i n h i b i t i n g r e f o r m , can a n d d o change, usually i n response t o external events.
B u t they d o n o t s p r i n g f r o m n o t h i n g . T h e y are learned
responses that can be developed t o t h e p o i n t w h e r e they lose all contact w i t h , a n d relevance t o , the w o r l d a r o u n d t h e m .
12
Advertisers have a vested interest i n
p r o t e c t i n g o l d stereotypes f o r as l o n g as possible. Yet social n o r m s a n d practices are d r a m a t i c a l l y changing t h e role o f w o m e n i n m o d e r n u r b a n society. M o r e w o m e n t h a n ever before are independent income earners, a n d m o r e are e n t e r i n g a w i d e r range o f occupations previously t h e preserve o f males. A n d advertisers w i l l lose c r e d i b i l i t y i f t h e i r stereotypes are t o o far r e m o v e d f r o m
The Social Role of Advertising 161 reality. W o m e n , as they c u r r e n t l y appear i n m a n y advertisements, seem t o resemble some idealised, perfect consumer, u n r e l a t e d t o t h e actual w o m e n o n e sees every day as n e x t - d o o r neighbours o r as c o - w o r k e r s i n office o r factory. Sex stereotyped advertising no longer reflects the roles of the majority of men and women i n N o r t h American society, i t creates consumer irritation and dissatisfaction, and i t is increasingly less effective as a communications tool. I t is therefore surprising that so little i n advertising has changed and that, for the most part, the changes that have taken place result from pressures coming f r o m outside the advertising industry itself. 13
Leaders o f t h e a d v e r t i s i n g i n d u s t r y are t o some e x t e n t j u s t i f i e d i n c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e i r d e p i c t i o n o f w o m e n corresponds t o reality, b u t i t is a v e r y l i m i t e d reality, o n l y n o w b e g i n n i n g t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h e w o m a n w h o is n e i t h e r w i f e n o r sex object. T h e advertisers themselves o f t e n concede t h a t t h e i r messages c o n c e n t r a t e o n w o m e n w h o are w i v e s , m o t h e r s a n d housekeepers. B u t , t h e y assert, as t h i s is t h e real chosen w o r l d f o r m o s t w o m e n , there is n o d i s t o r t i o n , n o r d o m a n y w o m e n feel i n s u l t e d . I f s i g n i f i c a n t l y large n u m b e r s o f w o m e n i n d i c a t e d t h e i r dissatisfaction w i t h a d v e r t i s i n g practices b y n o t b u y i n g t h e p r o d u c t s , t h e y w o u l d change those practices.
14
T h e y have n o t y e t f e l t
c a l l e d u p o n t o d o t h i s because, t h e y argue, t h e m a j o r i t y o f 'sensible' w o m e n are n o t o f f e n d e d b y advertising's stereotypes.
Protestors
are dismissed as
u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e m a l c o n t e n t s . T h i s is a self-serving a r g u m e n t . O f t e n there are n o c o n v e n i e n t a l t e r n a t i v e p r o d u c t s . T h e i n d u s t r y sees n o b e n e f i t i n establ i s h i n g e m p i r i c a l l y h o w m a n y w o m e n feel s l i g h t e d b y t h e i r c u s t o m a r y p o r t r a y a l . Because i t believes t h a t t h e established is safer t h a n t h e i n n o v a t i v e , i t o f f e r s l i t t l e e n c o u r a g e m e n t t o n e w expressions o f w o m e n ' s p a r t i n society. A d v e r t i s i n g t h e r e f o r e r e m a i n s a m a j o r f o r c e , consistently s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e image o f a t r a d i t i o n a l place f o r w o m e n , a n d o f f e r i n g f e w i n s p i r a t i o n a l r o l e m o d e l s f o r a l t e r n a t i v e life-styles. H e r e , o f course, t h e stereotypical w o m a n is n o t vastly m o r e d i s t o r t e d t h a n advertising's stereotype o f the w o r l d i n genera l . Stereotypes, s e l d o m d e p e n d e n t o n v e r i f i a b l e e m p i r i c a l evidence, are n o t usually shaken b y such evidence. T h e m o d e r n w o m a n m a y be p e r m i t t e d a w i d e r range o f occupations, a n d she m a y sometimes be p i c t u r e d w i t h a life outside t h e h o m e , b u t i n t h e w o r l d o f advertisers she is still above a l l a consumer. T h e educated w o m a n t o d a y is r e g u l a r l y expected t o exercise her m i n d b y acting as a n i n t e l l i g e n t shopper. T h e v e r y s t r u c t u r e o f m o d e r n capitalism compels this emphasis o n c o n s u m p t i o n - m a n a g e m e n t as a m a j o r focus o f w o m e n ' s concerns. It is a prime tenet o f modern economic belief ... powerfully reinforced by advertising and salesmanship - that happiness is a function of the supply of goods and services consumed.... how better can a woman contribute to her o w n happiness and that of the family she loves than by devoting herself to the efficient and energetic administration of the family consumption? ... [Society] celebrates as uniquely moral the woman who devotes herself to the well-being of her family; is a gracious helpmate; is a good manager; or w h o , at lesser levels of
162 Stereotypes and Representations elegance, is a good housekeeper or real home-body. By comparison, mere beauty, intellectual or artistic achievement or sexual competence is in far lower repute. And qualities that are inconsistent w i t h good and acquiescent household administration - personal aggressiveness, preoccupation w i t h personal interests to the neglect of husband and family and, worst of all, indifferent housekeeping - are strongly deplored. 15
A l l this is c r u c i a l l y i m p o r t a n t t o a capitalist economy. ' W i t h o u t t h e w i l l i n g ness o f w o m e n t o stay at h o m e a n d a d m i n i s t e r c o n s u m p t i o n , t h e present econ o m i c o r d e r w o u l d be severely h a m p e r e d i n its a b i l i t y t o e x p a n d . '
16
As long
as w e l i v e i n a mass consumer society, some segment o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n m u s t take r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e management o f domestic c o n s u m p t i o n , a n d unless o t h e r forces lead t o a massive t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f social r e l a t i o n s h i p s , t h a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y w i l l i n e v i t a b l y be assigned t o w o m e n . T h e r e is a n e n o r m o u s economic
b e n e f i t i n persuading w o m e n t o accept t h e status o f a n u n p a i d
semi-servant class. T h i s has become especially necessary as o t h e r
economic
forces l e d t o t h e v i r t u a l disappearance o f a separate domestic w o r k force. I n the l a t t e r h a l f o f this c e n t u r y middle-class w o m e n have been c o n d i t i o n e d t o d o f o r l o v e a n d v i r t u e w h a t servants w e r e once p a i d , albeit v e r y b a d l y p a i d , to d o for them. T h e reluctance o f a d v e r t i s i n g t o become i n v o l v e d i n t h e social c o n t r o v e r sies o f race, class a n d sex reflects t h e uniqueness o f its ideology. A d v e r t i s i n g , as a conscious persuasive activity, is a n i m p o r t a n t element i n m a r k e t c a p i t a l ism,
w h i c h also has a n i d e n t i f i a b l e , u n i f y i n g i d e o l o g i c a l basis o f its o w n .
A c e n t r a l tenet o f t h a t i d e o l o g y is t h a t there are n o ideologies, f o r a d v e r t i s i n g manifests i t s p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n b y b e i n g ostensibly n o n - p o l i t i c a l . I t is n o t any i n d i f f e r e n c e t o , o r any deliberate w i t h d r a w a l f r o m p o l i t i c s , b u t a n awareness t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l cause is n o t advanced b y f r e n z i e d demagoguery. T h e i m p l i c i t p o l i t i c a l d o c t r i n e o f a d v e r t i s i n g is t h a t there are n o p o l i t i c a l doctrines t o discuss. T h e c o r p o r a t e sponsors o f m o s t mass m e d i a a d v e r t i s i n g l i k e t o present t h e i r w o r l d v i e w as t h e established, non-arguable w o r l d v i e w o f a l l i n t e l l i g e n t p e o p l e o f g o o d w i l l . T h e r e is n o call t o debate w h a t everyone k n o w s t o be t r u e . For this reason o n l y a small percentage o f mass m e d i a advertisements c o n t a i n e x p l i c i t p o l i t i c a l i n d o c t r i n a t i o n . M o s t advertisers are m o r e interested i n s e l l i n g goods a n d services t h a n i n p r o m o t i n g ideologies. B u t , o f course, w e m u s t bear i n m i n d t h a t selling goods a n d services is t h e i d e o l o g y o f c a p i t a l i s m . T h e i d e o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n o f a d v e r t i s i n g reflects i t s e c o n o m i c f u n c t i o n . T h e c o m m e r c i a l message, t h e e x h o r t a t i o n t o buy, is t h e p o l i t i c a l message, w h i c h declares t h a t , as all is r i g h t i n t h e w o r l d , i t is safe t o a c q u i r e , possess, a n d accumulate. E c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y are t h e necessary c o n d i t i o n s f o r a c u l t u r e w h i c h defines progress as t h e capacity o f m o r e a n d m o r e p e o p l e t o b u y m o r e a n d m o r e t h i n g s . T h a t stability, i n t u r n , requires a c l i m a t e o f c a l m assurance a n d c o n f i d e n t security, s o m e t h i n g best achieved b y k e e p i n g dist u r b i n g t h o u g h t s o f f t h e p u b l i c agenda. Because i t is d i f f i c u l t t o take sides
The Social Role of Advertising 163 o n a n y issue w i t h o u t o f f e n d i n g s o m e o n e , a n d because t h e o f f e n d e d m a y be l o s t as c u s t o m e r s , a d v e r t i s i n g deals w i t h c o n t r o v e r s i a l issues, n o t b y s t r i d e n t partisanship,
o r by shouted
dogmas,
but by ignoring
the controversy.
A d v e r t i s e r s t r y t o steer clear o f t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a l , t o defuse tensions, a n d t o p o r t r a y a w o r l d o f f a m i l i a r , u n t r o u b l e d certainty. I n t h e e n t e r t a i n m e n t m e d i a , c o r p o r a t e advertisers p r e f e r t o a v o i d association w i t h
programmes
dealing w i t h contentious matters. Burning controversy looks good i n press releases and T V reviews. I t looks awful i n ratings, sales, comments f r o m aggrieved affiliate stations and nasty letters f r o m offended viewers. Constant, w a r m , bright reassurance is the emotional climate i n w h i c h American business, including the television business, feels most at home, and television executives instinctively w o r k t o maintain that climate. 17
B l a n d is safer t h a n c o n t r o v e r s y a n d is m o r e c o n d u c i v e t o m a x i m u m sales. Large-scale business a n d i n d u s t r y f l o u r i s h i n a c l i m a t e o f stability a n d certa i n t y - n o t o n l y i n t h e m a r k e t itself, b u t i n the s u r r o u n d i n g p o l i t i c a l a n d social e n v i r o n m e n t . P u t i n t h e simplest t e r m s , capitalism k n o w s t h a t social unrest is b a d f o r business.
Notes 1. Roland Marchand, Advertising the American Dream (1985), p. 189. 2. D . L. Paletz and R. M . Entman, Media-Power-Politics (1981), p. 179. 3. Rosemary Scott, The Female Consumer (1976), p. 224. Note also Alladi Venkatesh, The Significance of the Women's Movement to Marketing (1985). 4. Dorothy Aaron, About Face: Towards a Positive Image of Women in Advertising (1975), p. 8. 5. Erving Goffman, Gender Advertisements (1979), p. 45. 6. See Rena Bartos, The Moving Target: What Every Marketeer Should Know About Women (1982), pp. 228tf. 7. Denise Warren, 'Commercial Liberation', Journal of Communication, 28:1 (1978), p. 169. 8. Marchand, Advertising the American Dream, pp. 169-70. 9. Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism (1978), p. 74. See also Paletz and Entman, Media-Power-Politics, pp. 178-9. 10. Torben Vestergaard and K i m Schroeder, The Language of Advertising (1985), p. 108. 1 1 . See A. E. Courtney and T. W Whipple, Sex Stereotyping in Advertising (1983), pp. 10-12. 12. See, f o r example, M a r k Snyder, ' O n the Self-Perpetuating Nature of Social Stereotypes', i n D . L . H a m i l t o n , (ed.), Cognitive Processes in Stereotyping and Intergroup Behavior (1981), p. 204. 13. Courtney and Whipple, Sex Stereotyping in Advertising, p. 1 9 1 . 14. See Cyndy Scheibe, 'Sex Roles i n T V Commercials', Journal of Advertising Research, 9 : 1 (1979), p. 23. 15. J. K. Gaibraith, Economics and the Public Purpose (1974), p. 37. 16. David Reisman, Gaibraith and Market Capitalism (1980), p. 78. 17. Robert M a c N e i l , The People Machine (1968), pp. 79-80.
164
Stereotypes and Representations
Questions 1
2
3
Summarise the arguments put forward in this extract. What are the dominant themes in the representation of class, race and gender, and what, for Qualter, are the greatest sins of omission? Undertake your own content analysis of advertisements across a range of media. Do your findings back up those of Qualter, or do you detect any substantial changes or improvements in present advertising culture? What about other groups? Do you find limited and stereotypical representations of, for example, young people, the family or the elderly in advertisements? How do you think that advertisers would defend the allegation that they promote narrow and often misleading images of people?
Further reading Cumberbatch, G. 1990: Television advertising and sex role stereotyping. London: Broadcasting Standards Council. Davidson, M . 1 9 9 1 : The consumerist manifesto: advertising in postmodern times. London: Routledge. Dyer, G. 1982: Advertising as communication. London: Methuen. Goffman, E. 1979: Gender advertisements. London: Macmillan. Goldman, R. 1992: Reading ads socially. London: Routledge. Leiss, W , Kline, S. and Jhally, S. 1986: Social communication in advertising. London: Routledge. Williams, R. 1980: Advertising the magic system. In Problems in materialism and culture. London: Verso. Williamson, J. 1978: Decoding advertisements: ideology and meaning in advertising. London: M a r i o n Boyars. Willis, S. 1995: I want the black one: is there a place for Afro-American culture i n commodity culture? I n Carter, E., Donald, J. and Squires, J. (eds), Cultural remix: theories of politics and the popular. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
16 Television's 'Personality System' John Langer From Media, Culture and Society 4,351-65 (1981)
It has long been recognised by those in Media and Cultural Studies that film stars have played a significant and highly visible role in the twentieth century as cultural symbols or icons: embodiments of particular kinds of values, objects for widespread forms of identification by modem audiences. The final extract in this section takes this as a starting point,
Television's 'Personality System' 165 but then shifts our attention from the realms of cinema and film to that of television and to popular culture more generally. The reading therefore recognises that film stars are now part of a more general social and cultural phenomenon of public visibility and mediation, involving not only the sphere of television, but also popular music, sport, the press, magazines and other areas of the mediated 'personality'. Langer begins his discussion by contrasting the conditions and forms which give rise to film stars and television personalities, discussing the ways in which the two systems compare and interrelate, and the extent to which the regime of television is simply a modern form of that established when cinema was the dominant mode of moving image medium. As you will note, he suggests that there are some key differences between the appeal to audiences maintained by film stars and that of the relations established by television personalities and their respective audiences or fan communities. For Langer, writing in the early 1980s, these differences crystallise fundamental contrasts in the nature and the reception of each medium, and these correspond with very different types of ideological appeal and function. In the changing circumstances of the 1990s, when current television has developed a growing obsession with so-called 'reality programming' and with revealing the private and public lives of 'real people' (see Section 4, readings 30 and 31), Langer's assessment provides an important and provocative focus for renewed attention and study.
I b e g i n w i t h a q u e s t i o n : W h a t is t h e significance o f t h e fact t h a t whereas t h e c i n e m a established a 'star system', t e l e v i s i o n has not? T h e r e are stars o f stage screen and t e l e v i s i o n , b u t n o stars o f t e l e v i s i o n alone. I n s t e a d w e e n c o u n t e r w h a t t e l e v i s i o n calls its ' p e r s o n a l i t i e s ' - those i n d i v i d u a l s c o n s t i t u t e d m o r e o r less exclusively f o r a n d b y t e l e v i s i o n , w h o m a k e
regular
appearances as n e w s readers, m o d e r a t o r s , hosts, c o m p è r e s o r characters, a n d t h o s e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o exist o u t s i d e o f t e l e v i s i o n i n t h e i r o w n r i g h t , b u t are r e c r u i t e d into t e l e v i s i o n at v a r i o u s strategic j u n c t u r e s as resource m a t e r i al - p o l i t i c i a n s , celebrities, experts o r ' o r d i n a r y p e o p l e ... m a d e
strangely
important' (Monaco, 1978: 7).
[..J Star system and personality system as paradigms I n o r d e r t o locate a n d define t h e personality system as i t is c o d e d i n t o t e l e v i s i o n i t m a y be useful t o l o o k at w h a t m i g h t be seen as its p a r a d i g m a t i c c o u n t e r p a r t a n d h i s t o r i c a l antecedent i n t h e cinema - t h e star system. I t has been a r g u e d t h a t t h e star system experienced a n d f i n a l l y fell v i c t i m t o t h e ' e m b o u r geoisement o f t h e c i n e m a t i c i m a g i n a t i o n ' , w h i c h eventually saw t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f stars f r o m 'gods a n d goddesses, heroes, models - e m b o d i m e n t s o f i d e a l ways o f b e h a v i n g ' t o ' i d e n t i f i c a t i o n figures, e m b o d i m e n t o f t y p i c a l ways o f b e h a v i n g ' ( D y e r , 1 9 7 9 : 2 4 ) . A c c o r d i n g t o M o r i n , this process was i n e x t r i cably b o u n d u p w i t h cinema's 'search f o r r e a l i s m ' , w h i c h was m a r k e d b y cert a i n t e c h n i c a l i n n o v a t i o n s (the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f s o u n d , c o l o u r , deep focus), t h e g r o w t h o f social themes i n H o l l y w o o d f i l m s d u r i n g t h e 1930s, t h e p s y c h o l o -
166
Stereotypes and Representations g i z a t i o n o f cinema's protagonists a n d paradoxically, t h e ' d o g m a ' o f the h a p p y e n d i n g . 'Realism, p s y c h o l o g i s m , t h e " h a p p y e n d i n g " ... reveal precisely t h e bourgeois t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f this i m a g i n a t i o n ' ( M o r i n , i n D y e r , 1 9 7 9 : 2 5 ) Chance and occult possession are replaced by psychological motivation. Bourgeois individualism cannot take the death of the hero, hence the insistence on the happy ending. So stars become more usual i n appearance, more 'psychologically' credible i n personality, more individuated i n image (Dyer, 1979: 25). Stars became less directly the f i l m i c representatives o f particular 'virtues' o r 'essences'. T h e cinematic archetype - the v a m p , the g o o d g i r l , the gentleman, the c l o w n , t h e i n n o c e n t , t h e l a n d l o r d - gave w a y t o m o r e i n d i v i d u a t e d social types. Psychological realism a n d the m o t i v a t i o n a l credibility o f screen characters w e r e accompanied by the desire o f audiences t o k n o w the stars that played these characters 'as people', t o have access t o their 'real' lives, t o w h a t they were 'reall y ' l i k e ; i n s h o r t , t o k n o w their 'personalities' - hence t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f t h e fan magazines a n d t h e p u b l i c i t y machine w h i c h became crucial t o the star syst e m as a n image maker. L o w e n t h a l traces a similar process at w o r k d u r i n g the first h a l f o f the century i n the expansion o f biographical stories i n p o p u l a r magazines, w h e r e he finds a significant shift away f r o m w h a t he calls the 'idols o f p r o d u c t i o n ' w h o serve p r i m a r i l y as 'educational models' t o be ' l o o k e d u p o n as examples o f success w h i c h can be i m i t a t e d ' ( L o w e n t h a l , 1 9 6 1 : 113) t o w a r d t h e 'idols o f c o n s u m p t i o n ' w h o p r o v i d e a 'readily grasped e m p i r e ' , merely c o n f i r m i n g ' i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h n o r m a l c y ' ( i b i d . : 135). A n a l y z i n g the stories over t i m e , he discovers t h a t ' w h i l e i t once was rather contemptible t o give m u c h r o o m t o the private affairs a n d habits o f public figures, the t o p i c is n o w the focus o f interest' ( i b i d . : 1 1 9 ) . Parentage, personal relationships, friendships, domesticity, sociability, hobbies a n d culinary proclivities a b o u n d as the thematic structures t h r o u g h w h i c h the heroes a n d celebrities o f magazine biography are revealed i n their 'private lives', n o t so very d i f f e r e n t a f o r m a t , so i t seems, f r o m that used i n the fan magazine f o r the star system. T h i s ' i n t i m a t e v i s i o n ' w i t h its a t t e n d a n t 'obsession w i t h persons' - o n e o f the
most
pervasive
c o n d i t i o n s c h a r a c t e r i z i n g social
c a p i t a l i s m (Sennett, 1 9 7 4 ) -
life
under
modern
seriously e r o d e d t h e ' d i v i n e ' status o f t h e
star system, b u t i t d i d n o t succeed i n d o i n g this c o m p l e t e l y . A s M o r i n p o i n t s o u t , t h e star does n o t cease t o be special, b u t n o w combines ' t h e e x c e p t i o n a l w i t h t h e ordinary, the ideal w i t h the everyday' ( M o r i n , i n Dyer, 1 9 7 9 : 2 5 ) . T h e ' m a g i c ' o f t h e silver screen s t i l l l i n g e r s , even i f this is o n l y i n t e r m s o f a c o l l e c t i v e b u t v e r y p o w e r f u l f o l k m e m o r y o f H o l l y w o o d 'as i t used t o b e ' . I t is l e f t t o television's p e r s o n a l i t y system t o take u p this process o f em¬ bourgeoisement and move i t f o r w a r d , considerably advancing the 'intimate v i s i o n ' t o t h e p o i n t w h e r e w h a t is presented
o n t e l e v i s i o n is precisely
t h a t w h i c h is ' t h e o r d i n a r y ' , w h e r e ' t h e e v e r y d a y ' has superseded a n d supp l a n t e d ' t h e e x c e p t i o n a l ' , w h e r e ' t h e e x c e p t i o n a l ' is t h e e x c e p t i o n than the rule.
rather
Television's'Personality System' 167 I n s o m e respects w h a t m i g h t be t e r m e d t h e classical p a r a d i g m o f t h e star system, b e f o r e i t s s u b j u g a t i o n t o t h e ' r e i g n o f i n t i m a c y ' , c a n be s i t u a t e d i n d i r e c t o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e p e r s o n a l i t y system manifest i n t e l e v i s i o n . I t is t h i s o p p o s i t i o n w h i c h begins t o a r t i c u l a t e some o f t h e t e r m s o f each system. W h e r e a s t h e star system operates f r o m t h e realms o f t h e spectacular, t h e inaccessible, t h e i m a g i n a r y , p r e s e n t i n g t h e cinematic
universe as 'larger
t h a n l i f e ' , t h e p e r s o n a l i t y system is c u l t i v a t e d almost exclusively as ' p a r t o f l i f e ' ; whereas t h e star system always has t h e a b i l i t y t o place distance b e t w e e n itself a n d its audiences t h r o u g h its insistence o n ' t h e e x c e p t i o n a l ' , the p e r s o n ality
system
w o r k s directly t o construct
and foreground intimacy and
i m m e d i a c y ; whereas c o n t a c t w i t h stars is u n r e l e n t i n g l y sporadic a n d uncert a i n , c o n t a c t w i t h t e l e v i s i o n personalities has r e g u l a r i t y a n d p r e d i c t a b i l i t y ; whereas stars are always p l a y i n g ' p a r t s ' e m p h a s i z i n g t h e i r i d e n t i t y as 'stars' as m u c h - perhaps even m o r e t h a n - t h e characters they play, t e l e v i s i o n personalities
' p l a y ' themselves;
whereas
stars
emanate
as idealizations o r
a r c h e t y p a l expressions, t o be c o n t e m p l a t e d , r e v e r e d , desired a n d even blat a n t l y i m i t a t e d , s t u b b o r n l y s t a n d i n g outside t h e realms o f t h e f a m i l i a r a n d t h e r o u t i n i z e d , personalities are d i s t i n g u i s h e d f o r t h e i r
representativeness,
t h e i r t y p i c a l i t y , t h e i r ' w i l l t o o r d i n a r i n e s s ' , t o be accepted, n o r m a l i z e d , exper i e n c e d as
familiar.
Media contexts I f t e l e v i s i o n is i n d e e d a n apparatus f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s y m b o l i c goods w h i c h are m a d e i n t e l l i g i b l e b y a process o f e n c o d i n g , h o w t h e n is t h e p e r s o n a l i t y system ' a r r a n g e d ' w i t h i n t h e television discourse, a n d w h a t o p e r a t i o n s are at w o r k w h i c h p r e c l u d e t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a star system? T o begin w i t h w h a t at first glance seems m o s t o b v i o u s : w a t c h i n g television b y a n d large, as a socially c o n s t r u c t e d act, takes place, t o use a phrase a d o p t e d f r e q u e n t l y a n d f o n d l y b y television's p r a c t i t i o n e r s , ' i n t h e c o m f o r t o f one's o w n h o m e ' , v e r y m u c h e m b e d d e d w i t h i n t h e i n t i m a t e setting t h a t circumscribes the r o u t i n e s o f everyday l i f e ; w a t c h i n g f i l m , h o w e v e r , except o f course those o n t e l e v i s i o n , leads away f r o m t h e h o m e , elsewhere i n t o a n u n f a m i l i a r ' e x c e p t i o n a l ' setting n o t d i r e c t l y c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e n e t w o r k o f intimacies w h i c h m a k e u p everyday l i f e . Television is always ' t h e r e ' , r o u t i n e l y e n c o u n t e r e d a n d ready f o r use w h e n e v e r t h e t e l e v i s i o n experience
is r e q u i r e d . C i n e m a w a t c h i n g , o n t h e
other h a n d , needs t o be pre-arranged, calculated a n d attended t o . T h e i n t i m a c y o f d o m e s t i c l i f e has t o be set aside i n o r d e r t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n the 'special' experience o f t h e c i n e m a . I n fact this is o n e o f the m a j o r ways i n w h i c h f i l m as a leisure a c t i v i t y is p r o m o t e d i n a d v e r t i s i n g - 'give y o u r s e l f a break, g o t o a m o v i e ' , ' g o f o r a n i g h t o u t a n d be e n t e r t a i n e d ' . T h e television image is 'close', o c c u p y i n g a r e l a t i v e l y r e s t r i c t e d space w i t h i n t h e f i e l d o f v i s i o n ( H e a t h a n d S k i r r o w , 1 9 7 7 : 5 4 ) , i n a sense p o s i t i o n i n g the spectator t o take a 'closer l o o k ' . I t c a n be acted o n a n d m a n i p u l a t e d i n t h e m o m e n t o f transmission - t u r n e d
168
Stereotypes and Representations o n , o f f , f i n e t u n e d o r s w i t c h e d f o r alternative images. Because o f its p r o x i m i t y t o t h e ebb a n d f l o w o f everyday life i t can be received casually, w i t h t h e p o t e n t i a l t o become the focus f o r social p a r t i c i p a t i o n d u r i n g the v i e w i n g situat i o n itself. T h e f i l m screen image, i n contrast, hovers over a n d above the spect a t o r massively i m p o s i n g itself u p o n t h e visual f i e l d . By n o t being subject t o c o n t r o l o r m o d i f i c a t i o n at t h e t i m e o f its r e c e p t i o n , i t remains ' d i s t a n t , inaccessible a n d fascinatingly f i x e d ' ( H e a t h a n d S k i r r o w , 1 9 7 7 : 5 4 ) . O n c e t h e f i l m begins, even i f one goes w i t h a g r o u p o f people t o t h e theatre, t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f v i e w i n g are c o n s t i t u t e d b y a n o n y m i t y - t h e nexus o f screen image a n d spectator alone, silent a n d i n t h e d a r k , t h e possibility o f social p a r t i c i p a t i o n r u l e d o u t u n t i l the f i l m is over. L i k e t h e w o r l d , television never stops, is m o r e o r less c o n t i n u o u s ( H e a t h and
S k i r r o w , 1 9 7 7 : 5 4 ) . Its r e a l i t y runs a parallel course t o t h e r e a l i t y o f
everyday l i f e itself, can be t u n e d i n o r o u t at w i l l , a n d can be ' m e t ' v i r t u a l l y at any one p o i n t i n t i m e . Television's ' f l o w ' is contemporaneous w i t h the f l o w o f l i f e . So, n o t o n l y is television 'always already available', there w i l l always be s o m e t h i n g t o w a t c h i m m e d i a t e l y , as soon as t h e set w a r m s u p . Television's ' c o m m u n i c a t i o n a l i t y ' is n o t constrained b y t i m e o r scheduling. C e r t a i n l y there are p r o g r a m m e s o r g a n i z e d a r o u n d p a r t i c u l a r t i m e slots w i t h i n t h e c o n t i n u o u s f l o w , b u t i f one p r o g r a m m e is missed, there w i l l always be another o n e t o take its place. As H e a t h a n d S k i r r o w e x p l a i n , ' t h e r o l e o f t h e image is t o be p r e sent' ( i b i d . : 5 6 ) . C i n e m a , o n t h e other h a n d , is m o r e i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y g r o u n d e d w i t h i n t e m p o r a l operations - i t requires active a t t e n t i o n t o its d e l i n e a t i o n i n t i m e . U n l i k e just s i t t i n g d o w n t o ' w a t c h t e l e v i s i o n ' , ' g o i n g t o t h e m o v i e s ' generally means g o i n g o n t i m e , ' g e t t i n g there f o r t h e credits', ' n o t w a n t i n g t o miss the b e g i n n i n g ' , 'staying t o the e n d ' . A t this p o i n t i t becomes clear that those apparently ' n a t u r a l ' t a k e n - f o r g r a n t e d arrangements w h i c h d i f f e r e n t i a l l y structure v i e w i n g i n r e l a t i o n t o f i l m and television are also w o r k i n g t o inscribe a n d r e p r o d u c e a n entire cluster o f terms - distance/intimacy, o r d i n a r y / e x t r a o r d i n a r y , f a m i l i a r / e x c e p t i o n a l , i m m e diate/remote - as they p e r t a i n t o t h e star/personality systems, a n d this occurs even before t h e set is s w i t c h e d o n o r t h e f i l m is r o l l i n g t h r o u g h t h e p r o j e c t o r gate. T h e act o f television w a t c h i n g is f o u n d i n t h e i n t i m a t e a n d f a m i l i a r terr a i n o f everyday life w h e r e w e receive television's o w n 'intimacies' a n d ' f a m i l iarities' b r o u g h t t o us t h r o u g h its personalities. T h i s correspondence
between
the i n t i m a c y s t r u c t u r e o f television w a t c h i n g a n d the w a y i n w h i c h i n t i m a c y is s t r u c t u r e d t h r o u g h t h e personality system f o r m s o n e o f t h e m a j o r c o n d i t i o n s t h r o u g h w h i c h television negotiates effectively t o w i n t h e consent o f a u d i ences a n d t o render invisible its ideological w o r k .
The regular and the episodic If o n e o f television's central characteristics is t h e 'experience o f f l o w ' , another is its r i t u a l r e g u l a r i t y , its tendency
' t o w a r d a n idea t h a t i t is capable o f
Television's 'Personality System' 169 r e p r o d u c t i o n ' ( A l v a r a d o a n d Buscombe, i n E a t o n , 1 9 7 8 / 7 9 : 6 8 ) . W i t h i n t h e s e q u e n t i a l f l o w o f t e l e v i s i o n there are m o m e n t s carved o u t a n d a r r a n g e d i n t o p a r t i c u l a r c y c l i c a l , repeatable televisual occurrences w h i c h give t h e f l o w its shape a n d substance. Television p r o g r a m m i n g , i n t h e m a i n , operates i n t e r m s o f 'seasons' - t h e series, f o r e x a m p l e , i f i n i t i a t e d , usually runs f o r a n u m b e r o f consecutive episodes n o r m a l l y scheduled at t h e same t i m e o n t h e same day each w e e k , a l t h o u g h these schedules m a y be a l t e r e d i n response t o p o o r ratings. I f a series is d e e m e d successful - w i n n i n g r a t i n g s , c a p t u r i n g audiences a n d l a n d i n g sponsors - there is every chance t h a t i t w i l l re-appear f o r t h e n e x t season. O n t h i s basis a series can be sustained f o r several years i n a r o w . T h i s has, i n fact, been c o m m o n practice w i t h genres l i k e t h e p o l i c e d r a m a , t h e s i t u a t i o n c o m e d y , o r t h e l a t e - n i g h t t a l k show. O t h e r p r o g r a m m e s are n o t necessarily subject t o seasonality - the news cycle, f o r e x a m p l e , is o n e w h i c h recurs each day, a n d possibly several times a day o n a single c h a n n e l a l l t h r o u g h t h e year. These cycles o f r e p e t i t i o n p r o v i d e a f o r u m f o r t h e regular appearance o f t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - t h e newsreader, t h e t a l k s h o w host, t h e lead actor i n a c o p s h o w - a r o u n d w h i c h t h e p r o g r a m m e is o r g a n i z e d . A s a result, these c y c l i c a l r e p e t i t i o n s t e n d t o p l a y a p a r t i n television's s t r u c t u r e o f i n t i m a c y a n d i m m e d i a c y . Each repeated appearance, even t h o u g h i t m a y n o t elicit 'personal data' -
as i n t h e case o f t h e v e r y f o r m a l d e m e a n o r o f t h e
newsreader - nonetheless tends t o b u i l d w h a t is p e r c e i v e d t o be a k n o w a b l e a n d k n o w n ' t e l e v i s i o n s e l f . T h i s t e l e v i s i o n self, increasingly a u t h e n t i c a t e d w i t h each r e g u l a r appearance, coheres i n t o t h e f o r m o f a ' g e n u i n e ' p e r s o n a l i ty. F i n a l l y , t h e v e r y appearance itself becomes a m a r k o f k n o w l e d g e a b o u t that personality. T h i s , o f course, is quite d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e appearance o f a star i n a f i l m , w h i c h occurs perhaps t w i c e i n a year at best. T h e star's appearance occurs as an e v e n t f u l a r r i v a l , o f t e n h e r a l d e d ahead o f t i m e i n press a n d i n d u s t r y releases, n o t t o be repeated i n t h a t same c o n t e x t again, except perhaps i n a sequel. Even t h e r e , h o w e v e r , the event is discrete a n d u n i q u e . I t needs t o be caught i n its singularity, a n d i f i t is repeated, i t always emerges f u l l b l o w n i n its o r i g i n a l l y f i x e d f o r m . Access t o stars t h r o u g h t h e i r f i l m s must be deferred over l o n g periods o f t i m e : i t is episodic a n d ephemeral, c o m i n g o n l y once i n a w h i l e . I n between appearances,
t i m e can be spent r e - v i e w i n g their earlier films o r r e a d i n g f a n
magazines i n a n a t t e m p t t o r e k i n d l e t h e 'aura', o r other stars can be taken u p a n d appreciated. T h e r e is n o n e o f this capriciousness o r u n c e r t a i n t y w h e r e the television personality is concerned. H e o r she reliably appears over a n d over again, w e e k after w e e k , even year after year, p r o v i d i n g t h e coherent
fixed
p o i n t o f r e g u l a r i t y w i t h i n t h e o v e r a l l f l o w o f television. By never b e c o m i n g o v e r l y r o u t i n i z e d a n d f a m i l i a r t h e star system can m a i n t a i n its remoteness a n d u n a t t a i n a b i l i t y , whereas t h e personality system crucially embedded w i t h i n televison's cyclical rituals can m u c h m o r e readily facilitate a sense o f f a m i l i a r i t y a n d accessibility.
170
Stereotypes and Representations
Identity Television personalities
also become a n c h o r i n g p o i n t s w i t h i n t h e i n t e r n a l
w o r l d t h a t each p r o g r a m m e u n i q u e l y establishes i n a n d f o r itself. T h e y exist as m o r e o r less stable ' i d e n t i t i e s ' w i t h i n t h e f l o w o f events, situations o r narratives w h i c h are presented i n a p a r t i c u l a r p r o g r a m m e a t a n y g i v e n p o i n t i n its cycle o f r e p e t i t i o n . F o r e x a m p l e , despite t h e p a n o r a m i c f l o w o f news stories w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e any single early evening news broadcast, i t is always t h e newsreader
w h o remains t h e constant, u n f a l t e r i n g a n d c o h e r e n t i n d e n t i t y ,
w h o 'carries o n regardless'. T h e w o r l d changes, b u t the t e l e v i s i o n p e r s o n a l i t y stays t h e same. I n t h e case o f the news, o n e o f the c o n v e n t i o n a l i z e d m a r k s o f this c o h e r e n t
stable i d e n t i t y w h i c h persists
despite a w o r l d o f f l u x a n d
change, is t h e w a y t h e news reader is f r a m e d b y t h e camera. T h e head a n d shoulders d o m i n a t e , a p p e a r i n g balanced a n d central i n g l i s t e n i n g , u n w a v e r i n g focus - l i k e t h e a u t h o r i t a t i v e carriage o f a p o r t r a i t - w h i c h l o o k s a t us w i t h c a l m d e l i b e r a t i o n . T h e ' r e a l ' w o r l d , w h e r e stories c o m e f r o m , is, i n c o n trast, o f t e n s k e w e d , o f f balance, w i t h shaky camera w o r k d o n e i n t h e heat o f the n e w s w o r t h y m o m e n t . T h e ' r e a l ' w o r l d m a y be unstable a n d u n b a l a n c e d , b u t t h e w o r l d o f t h e television news p e r s o n a l i t y w h o explains
that w o r l d t o
us is n o t . The
establishment
o f t h e t e l e v i s i o n p e r s o n a l i t y as a c o h e r e n t i d e n t i t y
is also t h e occasion f o r coherence t o be i m p a r t e d t o w h a t is p o t e n t i a l l y a diverse
a n d seemingly
chaotic
universe
o f events.
Newsreaders,
then,
n o t o n l y f u n c t i o n as c o h e r e n t i d e n t i t i e s i n t h e f l o w o f events, b u t t h e y act as the p r i n c i p a l i n s t r u m e n t f o r classifying a n d u n i f y i n g these events i n t o some k i n d o f acknowledged events
meaning,
o r d e r . T h e newsreader
placing
them
is responsible
i n referential
contexts
f o r giving
and providing
a p p r o p r i a t e clues t o t h e i r significance i n ' t h e scheme o f t h i n g s ' , f u n c t i o n i n g as 'a v e r y d e f i n i t e e t h i c a l f i g u r e ( g i v i n g ) u n i t y t o w h a t is essentially a very disjointed f o r m a t ' ( M i l l s , 1980). Similar encoding procedures w o r k t o build
the personality
system
across
a
a c t u a l i t y f o r m s o f t e l e v i s i o n - essentially
whole
range
of non-fiction/
t h e same p r i n c i p l e s appear t o
be at w o r k i n c u r r e n t affairs, t a l k shows, v a r i e t y s h o w s ,
documentaries
a n d so o n .
References Dyer, R. 1979: Stars. London: BFI. Eaton, M . 1978/9: Television situation comedy. Screen 19(4). Heath, S. and Skirrow, G. 1977: Television: a world in action. Screen 18(2). Lowenthal, L . 1961: Literature, popular culture and society. Palo Alto, Calif.: Pacific Books. Mills, I . 1980: Pulpit drama, the mythic form of T V news programmes. I n Edgar, P. (ed.), The news in focus. London: Macmillan. Monaco, J. 1978: Celebrity: the media as image makers. N e w York: Delta Books. Sennett, R. 1974: The fall of public man. New York: Vintage Books.
Television's 'Personality System' 171
Questions 1
Summarise the main arguments concerning the differences between the film star and the television personality. Select some examples of each and research their particular appeal and significance as well as their respective differences.
2
Assess the role of the popular press in the construction and mediation of film stars and TV personalities.
3
How do other modem stars, e.g. those in the fields of sport or pop music, relate to the ideas and arguments discussed in this extract?
Further reading Buxton, D . 1990: Rock music, the star system and the rise of consumerism. I n Frith, S. and Goodwin, A . (eds.), On record: rock, pop and the written word. London: Routledge. Connell, I . 1992: Personalities i n the popular media. I n Dahlgren, P. and Sparks, C. (eds.), Journalism and popular culture. London: Sage. Corner, J. 1995: Television form and public address. London: Edward Arnold. Ellis, J. 1982: Visible fictions: cinema, television, video. London: Routledge. Geraghty, C. and Lusted, D . (eds.) 1997: The television studies book. London: Arnold. Lewis, L . (ed.) 1992: The adoring audience: fan culture and popular media. London: Routledge. Livingstone, S. and Lunt, P. 1994: Talk on television: audience participation and public debate. London: Routledge. Lusted, D . 1984: The glut of the personality. In Masterman, L. (ed.), Television mythologies. London: Comedia/MK Media Press. Tolson, A . 1996: Mediations: text and discourse in media studies. London: Arnold.
Section 3
Audiences and Reception
The various extracts in the previous section tended to assume that media representations are implicated in the ways in which we make sense of the social world and construct a sense of identity within it. This section shifts attention to the relationships between audiences and various forms of media output and use. The study of audience reception of media forms has been an especially productive focus for recent mass communication research, although much of this work needs to be contextualised against an historical tendency to assume the direct effects of media imagery on behaviour. In fact, the history of audience research can be understood as a dialogue and debate between two largely opposed positions: one stressing the effects that the media cause in their audiences, the other countering with an emphasis on the various and diverse uses which different audiences in their respective social contexts may make of given forms of media output. One way of summarising this division has been to contrast the idea of what the media do to people against what people do with the media. The readings in this section encompass and analyse both of these dominant premises. Reading 17, by Andrew Tudor, is an historical overview of the developments in audience research and it provides an entry into a discussion undertaken in the following two readings about the power of the media to persuade, influence and corrupt. Graham Murdock and Robin lyicCron critically assess the perspectives and methods which have dominated effects research since the 1930s, while Julian Petley focuses on two recent cases where the media was blamed for influencing the perpetrators of specific violent and much publicised crimes. Readings 20 to 22 are characteristic of a type of research which has assumed prominance throughout the 1980s. They are loosely characterised as ethnographic studies and although they differ from the tradition of ethnography established in anthropology, they are united in that they draw on observation, informal interview techniques and naturalistic research settings. While much of this research has centred on television consumption, Mark Pursehouse's study is significant in that it focuses on readers of a tabloid newspaper, Ann Gray's is an analysis of women's relationship with video technology, and Shaun Moores' is a study of satellite television viewers. Together, these readings help us to build up a picture of media usage in Britain in the 1990s. The section ends with an extract from a useful summary of audience studies by Nick Stevenson, in which he outlines the key debates and dilemmas facing contemporary audience researchers.
17 On Alcohol and the Mystique of Media Effects Andrew Tudor From J . Cook and M. Lewington (eds.), Images of alcoholism (BFI/Alcohol Education Centre 1979)
In this first short extract, which introduces the section, Tudor provides what he calls a 'potted history' of research into media audiences. He identifies four key periods which, he argues, have been characterised by particular forms of research, concern and distinctive ways of conceptualising media audiences. As he suggests, the study of media audiences has historically been dominated from its earliest stages by a number of ingrained and publicly recurrent assumptions and ideas concerning the negative, anti-social effects of exposure to diverse forms of media output. The historical map which he sketches in what follows indicates a general shift from perspectives which asked 'what do the media do to people?' to those which by contrast have reversed the question and ask 'what do people do to/with the media?' In the study of media audiences, their social and cultural contexts, and their consumption of the increasing ranges of media forms and output available to them, this is a pivotal move of great significance. The reading thus provides a useful historical foundation and overview from which to approach and work through the rest of this section on audiences and reception.
I t has l o n g been c l a i m e d that t h e m e d i a can encourage people i n t o acts t h a t they w o u l d o t h e r w i s e n o t consider a n d i n t o beliefs that they w o u l d o t h e r w i s e n o t espouse.
[...] [ I ] t is s t i l l w i d e l y c l a i m e d t h a t t h e mass m e d i a are responsible f o r m u c h ... t h a t is w r o n g i n o u r society, a belief g i v e n constant c u r r e n c y b y t h e m e d i a themselves.
T h u s w e p e r i o d i c a l l y f i n d ourselves
e m b r o i l e d i n w h a t Stan
C o h e n has called ' m o r a l panics': times at w h i c h t h e n e w s - m e d i a , i n p a r t i c u lar,
a m p l i f y certain
concern.
1
topics
into
issues
o f apparently
enormous
W h e n such 'panics' focus o n t h e r o l e o f t h e m e d i a
public
themselves
( w h e r e v i o l e n c e a n d sex are t h e f a v o u r i t e topics) they presuppose t h e t r u t h o f t h e v i e w t h a t t h e m e d i a effect us s i m p l y a n d directly, w h a t e v e r o u r i n d i v i d u a l c o m m i t m e n t s a n d characters. I f i n d t h a t h a r d t o accept. A l t h o u g h t h e m e d i a are certainly n o t guiltless, t h e y d o n o t cause us t o act i n specific ways o r t o believe i n certain things s i m p l y b y v i r t u e o f t h e fact o f t h e i r m e d i a presentation. T h e influence t h a t t h e m e d i a can exert over social behaviour cannot be u n d e r s t o o d i n such simple terms. Yet, i n p u b l i c discussion w e persist i n t a l k i n g about m e d i a effects as i f they are w e l l u n d e r s t o o d , a l t h o u g h r e m a r k a b l y f e w effects studies c o u l d be said t o have conclusively d e m o n s t r a t e d a n y t h i n g at a l l . T o u n d e r s t a n d h o w
On Alcohol and the Mystique of Media Effects t h a t has c o m e t o be so, a n d t o consider t h e alternatives
i t is necessary t o
k n o w s o m e t h i n g o f t h e h i s t o r y o f m e d i a research. I t is a large t o p i c , a n d there are a n u m b e r o f useful summaries available; here I shall l i m i t myself t o somet h i n g o f a p o t t e d h i s t o r y . For convenience 2
I divide i t into four periods:
1 9 2 5 - 1 9 4 0 ; 1 9 4 0 - 1 9 6 0 ; 1960-1970; and 1970 onward.
On media research (i) 1925-1940 I t was i n this p e r i o d t h a t t h e mass audience f o r cinema a n d r a d i o e x p a n d e d b e y o n d a l l expectations,
a d e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h i n consequence
occasioned
a g o o d deal o f p u b l i c discussion. M u c h a r g u m e n t r e v o l v e d a r o u n d t h e adverse effects m o v i e s w e r e p r e s u m e d t o be h a v i n g u p o n c h i l d r e n a n d u p o n certain classes o f a d u l t w h o , i t was i m p l i e d , w e r e less d i s c r i m i n a t i n g t h a n m o r e distanced observers o f the c u l t u r a l scene. O f t e n t h a t concern f o u n d h i g h l y m o r a l istic expression
(the L e g i o n o f Decency were responsible
f o r the 1934
P r o d u c t i o n C o d e ) t a k i n g f o r g r a n t e d that t h e movies d i d i n d e e d have u n f o r t u nate effects. I n t h a t respect, o f course, t h e p a t t e r n remains t h e same today. Organisations like t h e N a t i o n a l V i e w e r s a n d Listeners Association still start b y assuming m e d i a effects, even t h o u g h t h e accumulated evidence o f half-ac e n t u r y o f research h a r d l y p e r m i t s such simple generalisations. I n t h e t h i r t i e s , h o w e v e r , t h e r e w a s n o a c c u m u l a t i o n o f research, a n d i t was as a result o f c o n c e r n a b o u t t h e effects o f m o t i o n p i c t u r e s u p o n c h i l d r e n a n d adolescents t h a t there e m e r g e d t h e f i r s t m a j o r systematic a t t e m p t t o assess t h e i m p a c t o f t h e m o v i e s . These researches w e r e c o l l e c t i v e l y k n o w n as t h e Payne F u n d Studies, a n d u l t i m a t e l y r e p o r t e d i n a d o z e n v o l u m e s coveri n g t o p i c s as v a r i e d as a t t i t u d e change, e m o t i o n a l responses, effects o n sleep p a t t e r n s , a n d j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y . Some w e r e based o n e x p e r i m e n t s , some o n survey w o r k , yet others o n extended interviews. N o t surprisingly, given t h e i r a s s u m p t i o n s , t h e y came d o w n o n t h e side o f those w h o b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e c i n e m a w a s h a v i n g serious effects (Our Movie title
Made
Children
o f t h e p o p u l a r s u m m a r y v o l u m e ) a n d t h e y generally
adverse effects r a t h e r t h a n b e n e f i c i a l ones.
ran the
emphasised
3
O f course t h e i r c o n c l u s i o n s n o w need serious q u a l i f i c a t i o n . Several o f t h e studies are m e t h o d o l o g i c a l l y suspect, a n d m o s t o f t h e m s u f f e r e d f r o m t h e i r emphasis o n i n d i v i d u a l effects at t h e cost o f n e g l e c t i n g t h e social c o n t e x t s i n w h i c h t h e m o v i e s f e a t u r e d . I n t h a t , h o w e v e r , t h e y f o l l o w e d t h e characterist i c t h i n k i n g o f t h e p e r i o d . These years saw t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a d e v e l o p m e n t o f a v i e w o f m o d e r n society - later t o be c h r i s t e n e d M a s s Society - i n w h i c h t h e mass m e d i a w e r e c o n c e i v e d t o be u n d e r m i n i n g , even r e p l a c i n g , t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n s o f social r e l a t i o n s . People i n mass society, i t w a s suggested, were becoming isolated anonymous automatons - reflex products o f the m e d i a . I t was a n image o f social l i f e t h a t d o v e t a i l e d n e a t l y w i t h t h e idea t h a t t h e m e d i a a f f e c t e d p e o p l e d i r e c t l y , regardless o f t h e s o c i o - c u l t u r a l w o r l d i n
175
176
Audiences and Reception w h i c h t h e y l i v e d , a n d i t w a s t h i s account t h a t was t o d o m i n a t e t h i n k i n g a b o u t t h e m e d i a f o r a l m o s t t h i r t y years.
(ii) 1940-1960 By t h e m i d - f i f t i e s t h e Mass Society t h e o r y was at its m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l , a n unquestionable a n d u n q u e s t i o n e d f r a m e w o r k . T h e essence o f the v i e w is w e l l expressed i n this passage f r o m C . W r i g h t M i l l s : (1) the media tell the man i n the mass who he is - they give h i m identity; (2) they tell h i m what he wants t o be - they give him aspirations; (3) they tell h i m how t o get that way - they give him technique; and (4) they tell him how to feel that way even when he is not - they give h i m escape. 4
T o a l l intents a n d purposes society was n o w Mass Society, a n d t h e process o f communication a one-way hypodermic injection into the vein o f the body p o l i t i c . W h o e v e r they w e r e , wherever they w e r e , the m e d i a o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n affected a l l its u n c r i t i c a l consumers equally. Yet even i n t h i s , t h e finest h o u r o f t h e Mass Society researches, there was w o r k i n progress w h i c h w o u l d u l t i m a t e l y render t h e master image suspect. T h e w a r h a d generated considerable interest i n p r o p a g a n d a a n d , especially i n A m e r i c a , there w e r e attempts t o assess t h e effects o f d i f f e r e n t sorts o f p r o p a ganda m a t e r i a l . T h e net result was increasing r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t the 'effect' o f a 5
p a r t i c u l a r i t e m was n o t a simple linear consequence o f the c o n t e n t o f the i t e m itself. Selective p e r c e p t i o n ( p e r c e p t i o n c o n d i t i o n e d b y t h e predispositions o f audience members) p r o v e d far m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n Mass Society t h e o r y suggested. Researchers f o u n d people perversely able t o i n t e r p r e t w h a t they saw o r h e a r d i n l i n e w i t h t h e i r o w n already established beliefs; they w e r e rarely passive recipients o f m e d i a messages. N o r w e r e they t h e social isolates, t h e a n o n y m o u s 'faces i n t h e c r o w d ' o f t h e fifties. Mass society h a d n o t replaced localised g r o u p s t r u c t u r e w i t h a w o r l d o f isolated i n d i v i d u a l s - easy game f o r the c a r n i v o r o u s m e d i a . Social life h a d changed, certainly, b u t g r o u p s still existed, people still i n t e r a c t e d . T h e m e d i a reached t h e m , i f at a l l , v i a a netw o r k o f social r e l a t i o n s ; i t m a y have been d i f f e r e n t t o t r a d i t i o n a l patterns, b u t i t w a s n ' t necessarily i n f e r i o r .
6
By t h e e n d o f the fifties such deviations f r o m t h e o r t h o d o x y w e r e d e m a n d i n g m o r e a n d m o r e a t t e n t i o n . T h o u g h t h e d o m i n a n t perspective still e m p h a sised d i r e c t effects o n i n d i v i d u a l subjects, there was n o w a g r o w i n g b o d y o f research w h i c h , at the very least, was inconclusive a b o u t m e d i a effects.
(Hi) 1960-1970 I t was d u r i n g these ten years t h a t m e d i a researchers recognised t h a t t h e i r f a i l u r e t o a r r i v e at c o n v i n c i n g f i n d i n g s was a result o f the w a y i n w h i c h they h a d conceptualised 'effects' rather t h a n a f a i l i n g i n research t e c h n i q u e . I n 1 9 6 0 a m a j o r r e v i e w o f the c u r r e n t state o f effects research c o u l d p u t i t n o stronger t h a n t h i s : 'mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n does n o t o r d i n a r i l y serve as a necessary
On Alcohol and the Mystique of Media Effect 177 a n d s u f f i c i e n t cause o f audience effects, b u t rather f u n c t i o n s t h r o u g h a nexus o f m e d i a t i n g f a c t o r s ' . T h e p r o b l e m n o w w a s t o establish t h e m e d i a t i n g fac7
t o r s a n d so generate a n e w a n d less restrictive m o d e l o f t h e process o f mass communication.
A l l the time and money
invested i n t r a d i t i o n a l
effects
research h a d p r o d u c e d o n l y c o n f u s i o n . Recognising t h e need t o r e t h i n k t h e p r o b l e m , however, was n o t t h e same as r e t h i n k i n g i t . A n e w u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e r e l a t i o n between m e d i a a n d society was n o t i m m e d i a t e l y f o r t h c o m i n g ; understandably, researchers first t r i e d m o d i fications o f e x i s t i n g approaches. T h e so-called 'laissez-faire' v i e w became p o p ular ( p a r t i c u l a r l y a m o n g those w o r k i n g i n t h e media) i n w h i c h t h e media w e r e n o longer seen t o play t h e m a n i p u l a t i v e r o l e allocated t o t h e m i n t h e Mass Society theories. Instead, they w e r e said t o p r o v i d e a w i d e range o f c u l t u r a l materials f r o m w h i c h people chose w h a t best suited t h e m . I n a real sense t h e people w e r e ' g i v e n w h a t they w a n t ' . T h e school o f research most closely relate d t o this r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n was d u b b e d t h e 'uses a n d gratifications' a p p r o a c h . Audiences w e r e s t u d i e d f r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i e w o f the use they made o f m e d i a p r o d u c t s t o g r a t i f y p a r t i c u l a r needs: t h e emphasis being o n t h e active audience w h i c h a v o i d e d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l passivity a n d isolation assumptions. Descendants o f t h a t style o f research still t h r i v e , a n d have indeed a r r i v e d at a richer u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the social-psychological f u n c t i o n s o f the m e d i a . B u t i n recent years yet another m o d e l o f m e d i a effects has begun t o emerge, this t i m e asking a d i f ferent set o f questions a n d i n m o r e general social terms.
(iv) 1970 onward Perhaps t h e easiest w a y t o appreciate t h e change is t o contrast t h e t r a d i t i o n a l 'effects' emphasis w i t h some o f the c o m m o n features o f m o r e recent perspectives. T h e o l d effects studies focused o n specified effects o n i n d i v i d u a l s w h o , i f n o t i n e x p e r i m e n t a l l y s i m u l a t e d i s o l a t i o n , w e r e selected so as t o m i n i m i s e the i m p a c t o f t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l i t y a n d social b a c k g r o u n d . I n its crudest versions this a p p r o a c h p r o d u c e d almost n o serious evidence o f m e d i a effects. I n t h e hands o f m o r e i m a g i n a t i v e researchers i t d i d p r o d u c e some evidence, b u t even t h e n t h e effects thus isolated w e r e h i g h l y m e d i a t e d a n d barely i d e n t i f i a b l e w i t h i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l before/after m e t h o d o l o g y . Even o n t h e most e x t e n sively researched t o p i c , screen violence, t h e modest results o f effects studies c o u l d h a r d l y be generalised b e y o n d l a b o r a t o r y restrictions.
8
T o this day researchers can rarely agree o n the precise significance o f television a n d m o v i e violence. Yet c o m m o n sense urges that all those v i o l e n t battles a n d chases must be o f some significance; i f t r a d i t i o n a l effects studies can tell us l i t t l e about i t , t h e n w h a t can? I t is i n answer t o that sort o f question that some recent w o r k has emphasised w h a t I shall call t h e 'cultural effect'. O n screen v i o lence, f o r instance, this leads t o t w o key assertions. First, that w h a t is at issue is n o t s i m p l y t h e incidence o f violence, b u t also t h e various contexts i n w h i c h i t features. T h u s , i n analysing representations o f violence i n t h e media w e w o u l d need t o ask detailed
questions about t h e kinds o f narrative i n w h i c h i t features,
178
Audiences and Reception about the stereotypes a n d character typifications t o w h i c h i t relates, a n d about the media-constructed ' w o r l d s ' i n w h i c h i t appears. T h i s , i n c o m b i n a t i o n w i t h systematic audience analysis, w o u l d lead us t o a m u c h better understanding o f the m e a n i n g media violence has f o r those w h o see i t . Secondly, that i t is n o t the single before/after effect w h i c h is significant, b u t the m o r e general consequences o f patterned r e p e t i t i o n . Hence t h e w e l l k n o w n 'desensitisation' argument: t h e c l a i m that constant exposure t o media violence desensitises us t o the real t h i n g . B e h i n d that lies the m o r e general claim that repeated patterns o f action, familiar narratives o r t y p i c a l images can be significant i n ways n o t immediately discern¬ able t o those concerned w i t h effects at an i n d i v i d u a l level. I have called this t h e ' c u l t u r a l effects' approach because i t leads us t o ask how
t h e w o r l d - v i e w s a n d stereotypes f o u n d i n t h e media affect t h e c u l t u r a l
f r a m e w o r k s w e use t o understand o u r everyday w o r l d . T h e media p r o v i d e us w i t h a sort o f ' c u l t u r a l reservoir' w h i c h , directly a n d indirectly, influences w h a t is taken f o r g r a n t e d i n o u r society. By p r o v i d i n g us w i t h the terms w i t h i n w h i c h w e c o m p r e h e n d the w o r l d a r o u n d us, the media t e n d along w i t h other agencies actually t o constitute that w o r l d . It's a very d i f f e r e n t emphasis t o that f o u n d i n the t r a d i t i o n a l concept o f 'effects', a n d i t leads t o very d i f f e r e n t styles o f research. Such analysis w o u l d , f o r instance, require a far m o r e a n d systematic u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f media representations
comprehensive
themselves (and t h e
'languages' i n w h i c h they are cast) as w e l l as d e m a n d i n g that w e conceive t h e m e d i a as articulators o f o u r cultures rather t h a n as sources o f i n d i v i d u a l effects. Four decades o f effects research have n o t delivered the goods. T h a t does n o t mean - as some have suggested - that the media have n o effects. I t means that the effects that they d o have are n o t those w h i c h researchers have t r a d i t i o n a l l y sought. T h e v i r t u e o f the c u l t u r a l effects approaches (and there are m a n y d i f ferent variants c u r r e n t l y available)
is that they take this f a i l i n g o f m e d i a
research seriously, a n d t r y t o develop a n e w analysis w h i c h w i l l overcome i t .
On cultural effects W h a t sorts o f questions, t h e n , s h o u l d one be asking? I n general I t h i n k there are t w o m a j o r areas t o w h i c h w e must pay a t t e n t i o n : they m i g h t be t e r m e d ' w o r l d c o n s t r u c t i o n ' a n d ' w o r l d maintenance'.*
(i) World construction H e r e w e are d e a l i n g p r i m a r i l y w i t h l e a r n i n g o r socialisation a n d hence p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h the i m p a c t o f the m e d i a o n c h i l d r e n a n d adolescents. T o t h e m t h e m e d i a o f f e r a n almost i n f i n i t e l y expandable peer g r o u p , a f o r m i d a b l e a d d i t i o n t o f a m i l y , s c h o o l , a n d friends, t h r o u g h w h i c h ways o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g the w o r l d a n d o f m a p p i n g its features are p r o v i d e d a l o n g w i t h dramatic models o f w h a t w i l l c o u n t as a p p r o p r i a t e behaviour. N o t e that this isn't necessarily a consciously a r t i c u l a t e d process; these are aspects o f o u r lives t h a t , i n the v e r y
On Alcohol and the Mystique of Media Effect 179 social n a t u r e o f t h i n g s , w e c o m e t o take f o r g r a n t e d . Such
socialisation
i n v o l v e s f i r s t l e a r n i n g h o w t o act i n society, a n d t h e n u n l e a r n i n g t h e fact t h a t this was a lesson i n t h e first place. So i t is n o t the m o s t o b v i o u s questions I a m p r o p o s i n g here - w h a t effects w i l l t h e violence i n this m o v i e have o n a n a u d i ence o f 14 year olds? - b u t r a t h e r : i f coercive f o r m s o f social i n t e r a c t i o n are repeatedly s h o w n t o be t h e n o r m a n d t o be f u n c t i o n a l f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' h e r o ' , w i l l resort t o c o e r c i o n become a n established p a r t o f o u r c u l t u r e a n d hence n a t u r a l i s e d , made a n unquestionable feature o f ' h u m a n nature'? O v e r t i m e w e d o l e a r n f r a m e w o r k s f r o m t h e m e d i a , ways o f seeing. A n d w h e n w e have l e a r n e d t h e m w e c o n v e n i e n t l y f o r g e t t h a t they are learned. T h e y c o m e t o be seen as ' c o m m o n sense' o r ' w h a t e v e r y b o d y k n o w s ' . T h e y are n o longer recognised f o r w h a t t h e y are: p a r t i a l , learned f r a m e w o r k s w h i c h relate t o part i c u l a r interests a n d generate p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t s o f view. Instead, they become t h e constants
o f o u r c o g n i t i v e processes, t h e f u n d a m e n t a l assumptions o n
w h i c h w e rest o u r sense o f a n o r d e r e d social l i f e . I n t h a t w a y they become p a r t o f t h e v e r y c o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e w o r l d as w e see i t .
(ii) World maintenance For adults, whose basic f r a m e w o r k s are already established, t h e p r o b l e m is t o l e g i t i m a t e o r m a i n t a i n t h e w o r l d as they see i t . A c c o r d i n g l y , w h a t w e choose t o w a t c h o r read - itself l i m i t e d severely b y w h a t is made available t o us - helps t o d e f i n e a tacit range o f consensus, setting t h e boundaries o f o u r t o l e r a t i o n b y l a b e l l i n g as deviant certain roles, attitudes, a n d activities. I t isn't necessarily a m a t t e r o f conspiracy, t h o u g h i t m a y be. I n large p a r t those w h o c o n t r o l t h e m e d i a are as m u c h captives o f past l e a r n i n g as w e are; they can, i n all honesty, m a i n t a i n t h e i r o w n claims t o i n t e g r i t y a n d independence w h i l e still m a i n t a i n i n g us i n o u r basic conceptions o f the w o r l d . I n d e e d , they are almost o b l i g e d t o d o so. I f they are t o be i n t e l l i g i b l e t o so m a n y o f us they cannot step t o o far b e y o n d t h e b o u n d s o f w h a t w e w i l l accept. T h e i r trade lies i n a r t i c u l a t i n g a c o m m o n c u l t u r e , a n d w e select that w h i c h best fits o u r conceptions a n d r e q u i r e m e n t s . B u t , a n d i t must be emphasised, w e can o n l y select f r o m w h a t is there. I t is i n this respect t h a t the m e d i a act as a c u l t u r a l reservoir. T h e i r l i m i t a t i o n s are also o u r l i m i t a t i o n s , a n d there is a real sense i n w h i c h s o m e t h i n g n o t p r o v i d e d f o r i n a c u l t u r e becomes u n t h i n k a b l e . T h u s , i n research, as w e l l as establishing w h a t the m e d i a do say, w e must also ask about w h a t they d o n ' t say, a b o u t w h a t is s i m p l y absent f r o m t h e reservoir o f conceptions they p r o v i d e . For instance,
a great deal can be learned about m e d i a representations o f
w o m e n b y asking a b o u t the m a n y ways i n w h i c h they are not p o r t r a y e d , itself a r e f l e c t i o n o f the restrictions o n h o w they actually are p o r t r a y e d .
Notes l . S t a n Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics (London, 1972). The moral panic that interests Cohen here is that surrounding the confrontations between mods and rockers i n the mid-sixties.
180
Audiences and Reception 2. See, for example, J. T. Klapper, The Effects of Mass Communication (New York, 1960); Roger L. Brown, Approaches to the Historical Development of Mass Media Studies', in Jeremy Tunstall, (ed.), Media Sociology (London, 1970); Denis McQuail, T h e Influence and Effects of Mass Media', in James Curran, Michael Gurevitch and Janet Woollacott, (eds.), Mass Communication and Society (London, 1977). A n d many others. 3. Many volumes of the Payne Fund Studies have now been reprinted by the Arno Press of N e w York. Perhaps the most interesting is the volume by Herbert Blumer, Movies and Conduct (New York, 1935). 4. C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (New York, 1959), p. 314. 5. The best known o f the w o r k on propaganda was probably that conducted in the American Soldier researches and reported in Carl Hovland, Arthur Lumsdaine and Fred D . Sheffield, Experiments in Mass Communications (New York, 1949). But there was also a great deal of less well known work. 6. The responsibility for this 'rediscovery of the primary group' is usually attributed to Elihu Katz and Paul F. Lazarsfeld in their study Personal Influence (Glencoe, I I I . , 1955). 7. Klapper, The Effects of Mass Communication. 8. For an excellent short summary of w o r k in this area see André Glucksmann, Violence on the Screen (London, 1971). 9. These terms owe something to the work of Peter Berger. Especially Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman, The Social Construction of Reality (Harmondsworth, 1967), and Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy (New York, 1967). However, I do not intend them to carry the whole apparatus of Berger's style of work.
Questions 1
Summarise the principal characteristics and distinctive features of the four historical periods which Tudor outlines in the extract. Can you think of any examples taken from recent debates concerning the media in contemporary settings which are relevant to his discussion?
2
Research and draw up an historical map of the growth and development of media audiences, from the medieval period to the present. How and in what major ways have audiences and forms of media consumption changed?
3
Compare and contrast the characteristic forms of audience relationships established by people with any two different media, for instance newspapers and films, or videos and radio.
Further reading Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M . (eds.) 1991: Mass media and society. London: Edward Arnold. Jensen, K.B. and Rosengren, K.E. 1990: Five traditions i n search of the audience. European Journal of Communication 5, 207-38. Lury, C. 1992: Popular culture and the mass media. In Bocock, R. and Thompson, K . (eds.), Social and cultural forms of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. M c Q u a i l , D . 1994: Mass communication theory: an introduction. London: Sage.
The Television and Delinquency Debate 181 Morley, D . 1992: Television, audiences and cultural studies. London: Routledge. (See Section 5, reading 34.) O'Sullivan, T., Dutton, B. and Rayner, P. 1994: Studying the media: an introduction. London: A r n o l d .
18 The Television and Delinquency Debate Graham Murdock and Robin McCron From Screen Education 30, 51-67 (Spring 1979)
One of the most fiercely debated areas in media research has been that of 'effects', and in particular the potentially harmful effects that various media might have on audiences. This debate has been brought dramatically into the public domain on a number of occasions, and has gained a particular intensity in recent years following the murder of the toddler James Bulger in February 1993 and renewed calls for government legislation to ban socalled Video nasties'. As we saw in Section 1, the media have long been credited with having a powerful influence on people, and early research - coinciding with political propaganda movements - stressed the potential of the media for persuading and manipulating audiences. But despite the fact that more recent research has moved away from a notion of passive audiences susceptible to media messages, to a more sophisticated view of audiences as active users of media material who cannot be viewed in the isolation of their social contexts, the notion of all-powerful media that can persuade, manipulate and corrupt remains strong. Thus, the media has persistently been held responsible for declining moral standards generally (particularly among young people) and blamed for a number of specific 'copy-cat' crimes. As this reading emphasises, worries about rising crime and violence in society have a long history, with a marked inclination to blame popular entertainment. Public outrage tends to become even more focused with the introduction of each new media innovation, and one can chart this history from the popularity of 'Penny Dreadful' comics in the nineteenth century to current fears about unregulated information and images on satellite or cable TV and the Internet. Such anxieties frequently reflect deeper concerns about social change, and declining standards of behaviour among children have been a recurrent focus of attention. The reading notes that two broad perspectives have dominated this area of study: the psychologists approach, which assumes a direct link between exposure to deviant images and imitative behaviour; and the sociological or relational approach, which emphasises the social and cultural contexts within which deviant activities are embedded. The former presents media output as the principal cause of aggressive and deviant behaviour and its methods are primarily those of the controlled laboratory experiment, while the latter sees the media as peripheral and relies largely on ethnographic techniques (interview,
182
Audiences and Reception observation etc.) to consider the subject in relation to, and in the context of, his or her social background and class position. Murdock and McCron criticise both perspectives for their rather narrow and mutually exclusive approaches. While acknowledging that the sociological perspective has produced some of the best empirical work on causes of deviance in Britain in the postwar period, they are nonetheless critical of ethnographers such as Paul Willis for failing to address explicitly the possible impact of media on behaviour: specifically, that of television viewing on criminal activity among juveniles. But they are far more condemnatory of the opposing perspective - as represented by the work of Belson and of Eysenck and Nias (see the 'Further Reading' section of this reading) - which, it is argued, is inadequate in explaining delinquency because the researchers tend to start out with the premise that there is a direct causal link between television viewing and violent behaviour, and set out to prove it, rather than researching possible causes of juvenile crime and asking how television might fit into the overall picture. The insistence on removing television (or any other medium) from the social and cultural context of the viewer and analysing its impact in isolation from other important variables is one of the major criticisms that has been levelled at psychologistic and laboratory-based effects research over the last 20 years. Despite the criticism of such methods, which is part of a more widespread rejection of early research into 'cause and effects', these types of study continue to have credence in a number of quarters. Thus, while Media Studies academics in the UK maintain that there is no substantial evidence for a link between screen violence and real-life violence, and that this is not the most important starting point for any research into why some types of violence are on the increase in society, popular opinion - fuelled by insistence from many psychologists and public figures in the UK and America that there is an indisputable link continues to uphold the view that it is a matter of 'common sense' that society has become more violent since the advent of television and video, and therefore the two phenomena are 'naturally' connected. Belson, and Eysenck and Nias were widely quoted in press reports following the publication of Video violence and the protection of children by child psychologist Elizabeth Newson in 1994, which itself was a response to the killing of James Bulger. For further discussion of this case see reading 19.
Roots of reaction What shall we do w i t h our juvenile delinquents? is a question often asked, but as yet most unsatisfactorily and variously answered ... prisons multiply and are better regulated; Juvenile Offenders Acts are passed and boys whipped by the hundred. The schoolmaster walks abroad enlightening our youth on Geography, History, the Steam Engine and Social Science ... A n d still, in spite of all, the vexing fact of a large amount of juvenile delinquency remains - and the young offender gains ground upon us, the plague of the policeman, the difficulty of the magistrate, a problem to the statesman, and a sorrow to the philanthropist. 1
T h i s passage comes at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f an article o n d e l i n q u e n c y w h i c h appeared i n t h e Edinburgh
Review
f o r 1 8 5 1 . A p a r t f r o m a f e w dated phrases,
The Television and Delinquency Debate 183 i t c o u l d easily be a recent e d i t o r i a l i n t h e Daily
Telegraph
o r Daily
Mail.
Over
a h u n d r e d years o n , c o m m e n t a t o r s are still asking w h y , i n spite o f a l l t h e r e f o r m s a n d changes, 'a large a m o u n t o f juvenile d e l i n q u e n c y r e m a i n s ' , a n d t h e y are s t i l l c o m i n g u p w i t h t h e same answers. T h e n , as n o w , m a n y observers saw a s t r o n g a n d d i r e c t c o n n e c t i o n between t h e r i s i n g adolescent c r i m e rate a n d the g r o w t h o f p o p u l a r e n t e r t a i n m e n t f e a t u r i n g scenes o f sex a n d violence. Back i n 1 8 5 1 , c o n c e r n was focused o n t h e cheap theatres w h i c h w e r e s p r i n g i n g u p i n t h e w o r k i n g class areas o f t h e large t o w n s a n d a t t r a c t i n g a sizeable adolescent audience. T h e Edinburgh
Review
was i n n o d o u b t t h a t these shows,
w i t h t h e i r suggestive sketches a n d vignettes o f v i o l e n t crimes, w e r e m a k i n g a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e increase i n i m m o r a l i t y a n d deviance they saw a m o n g w o r k i n g class y o u t h . One powerful agent for the depraving of the boyish classes of our towns and cities is t o be found i n the cheap shows and theatres, which are so specially opened and arranged for the attraction and ensnaring of the young. When for three-pence a boy can procure some hours of vivid enjoyment from exciting scenery, music and acting ... i t is not to be wondered at that the boy w h o is led on t o haunt them becomes rapidly corrupted and demoralised, and seeks to be the doer of the infamies which have interested h i m as a spectator. 2
T h i s style o f a r g u m e n t rests i n three basic p r o p o s i t i o n s : (1) that deviant imagery i n p o p u l a r entertainment is a p o w e r f u l c o n t r i b u t o r y cause o f delinquency, (2) t h a t there is a direct relationship between exposure t o deviant images a n d i n v o l v e m e n t i n delinquency - t h e higher the exposure, t h e m o r e the i n v o l v e m e n t , a n d (3) t h a t since imagery is connected t o action t h r o u g h psychological processes such as i m i t a t i o n , e x p l a i n i n g subsequent delinquency is p r i m a r i l y a p r o b l e m f o r psychology a n d can be adequately tackled w i t h o u t l o o k i n g at t h e social a n d c u l t u r a l contexts w i t h i n w h i c h delinquency is embedded. T h i s psychologistic approach has tended t o f i n d its professional academic expression i n c o n t r o l l e d l a b o r a t o r y experiments w h i c h deliberately isolate subjects f r o m their social life. A s w e shall see, i t has been enormously i n f l u e n t i a l a n d continues t o d o m i n a t e the c u r r e n t debate o n the d e t r i m e n t a l effects o f television. F r o m t h e outset, this a p p r o a c h has been v i g o r o u s l y a n d consistently chall e n g e d b y sociological perspectives w h i c h place d e l i n q u e n c y f i r m l y i n t h e c o n t e x t o f social relations a n d class structure. I n t h e same year as t h e article just q u o t e d came o u t , 1 8 5 1 , M a r y Carpenter p u b l i s h e d her i n f l u e n t i a l b o o k o n j u v e n i l e o f f e n d e r s , i n w h i c h she stressed t h e need ' t o v i e w t h e c h i l d , not in his individual placed'?
position,
but in his relation
to the class among
which
only he is
Versions o f this r e l a t i o n a l perspective have u n d e r p i n n e d a l o n g t r a d i -
t i o n o f e t h n o g r a p h i c studies i n w h i c h researchers have t r i e d t o u n p a c k t h e d y n a m i c s o f d e l i n q u e n c y using a c o m b i n a t i o n o f i n f o r m a l i n t e r v i e w s a n d d i r e c t observations. T h i s a p p r o a c h was p i o n e e r e d b y t h e great V i c t o r i a n invest i g a t i v e j o u r n a l i s t s like H e n r y M a y h e w a n d Clarence R o o k , a n d later t a k e n u p a n d d e v e l o p e d b y academic sociologists. These studies p r o v i d e a very d i f f e r e n t slant o n t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e mass m e d i a . I n t h e first place they present t h e
184
Audiences and Reception m e d i a as p e r i p h e r a l rather t h a n central, as a m i n o r c o n t r i b u t o r y cause at m o s t . Secondly, they reject t h e n o t i o n o f direct influence a n d see adolescents as actively selecting a n d i n t e r p r e t i n g media m a t e r i a l i n l i n e w i t h t h e i r p r e e x i s t i n g patterns o f social a n d c u l t u r a l i n v o l v e m e n t . T h e o p p o s i t i o n between these t w o perspectives - the psychologistic a n d t h e r e l a t i o n a l - was f i n a l l y cemented d u r i n g t h e debate o n t h e i m p a c t o f t h e m o v i e s i n t h e 1920s a n d 1930s, w h e n f o r t h e first t i m e o p i n i o n o n b o t h sides was backed w i t h evidence gleaned f r o m academic research. O n t h e o n e side s t o o d t h e psychologists, i n c l u d i n g the f o r m i d a b l e f i g u r e o f Sir C y r i l B u r t , i n f l u e n t i a l advocate o f intelligence testing a n d o n e o f the f o u n d i n g fathers o f academic p s y c h o l o g y i n B r i t a i n . H e w e i g h e d i n w i t h The Young
Delinquent,
w h i c h c o n c l u d e d t h a t as causes o f delinquency, 'psychological factors are supreme b o t h i n n u m b e r a n d strength over all t h e rest'. D r a w i n g o n six h u n 4
d r e d o d d pages o f research results, he r a n k e d t h e various c o n t r i b u t o r y causes i n o r d e r o f i m p o r t a n c e . 'Specific instincts', ' e m o t i o n a l i n s t a b i l i t y ' a n d ' i n t e l lectual disabilities' a l l came i n t h e t o p s i x , closely f o l l o w e d b y ' d e t r i m e n t a l interests such as a passion f o r t h e c i n e m a ' at n u m b e r seven. 'Poverty a n d its c o n c o m i t a n t s ' came n e x t t o last at n u m b e r f o u r t e e n . M e a n w h i l e across t h e 5
A t l a n t i c i n C h i c a g o , h o m e o f A l Capone a n d o n e o f t h e capitals o f v i o l e n t c r i m e , a team o f sociologists f r o m t h e u n i v e r s i t y were d e v e l o p i n g a r e l a t i o n a l perspective i n a series o f t w e l v e studies o f t h e m o v i e s ' i m p a c t o n y o u t h . F o r t h e m , differences i n response m a i n l y resulted n o t f r o m i n d i v i d u a l differences i n intelligence o r personality, b u t f r o m variations i n 'the social b a c k g r o u n d o f v i e w e r s ' w h i c h p r o v i d e d 'the basis f o r selection a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ' . T h e same m o t i o n p i c t u r e , they a r g u e d , 'may exert influence i n d i a m e t r i c a l l y o p p o s e d d i r e c t i o n s ' d e p e n d i n g o n ' t h e social m i l i e u , the attitudes a n d interests o f t h e observer'.
6
As t h e locus o f debate has shifted f r o m cinema t o television, so the gap between t h e t w o m a j o r perspectives has w i d e n e d . T h e a r r i v a l o f television as a mass e n t e r t a i n m e n t m e d i u m i n t h e m i d - f i f t i e s c o i n c i d e d w i t h a m a r k e d rise i n the j u v e n i l e c r i m e rate, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r v i o l e n t c r i m e , o n b o t h sides o f t h e A t l a n t i c . T h i s c o n j u n c t u r e generated t w o very d i f f e r e n t research responses. Sociologists o f deviance m o r e o r less i g n o r e d t h e possible i m p a c t o f television a n d c o n t i n u e d t o l o o k f o r t h e social a n d c u l t u r a l r o o t s o f teenage deviance a n d t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o patterns o f d e p r i v a t i o n a n d disadvantage. F o l l o w i n g A l b e r t C o h e n ' s p a t h - b r e a k i n g b o o k Delinquent
Boys
i n 1 9 5 5 , a great deal o f
this w o r k has c o n c e n t r a t e d o n observing groups o f teenage boys i n school a n d o u t o n t h e streets. T h e response o f psychologists o n the other h a n d was almost t h e c o m p l e t e opposite. T h e y t o o k the possible l i n k between television a n d d e l i n q u e n c y as a central research t o p i c a n d pursued i t t h r o u g h c o n t r o l l e d l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s w h i c h deliberately detached subjects f r o m t h e i r everyday social i n t e r a c t i o n s . T h e observational a p p r o a c h has p r o d u c e d some o f the best B r i t i s h e m p i r i c a l sociology o f the last t w o decades, f r o m t h e w o r k o f D a v i d D o w n e s a n d D a v i d
The Television and Delinquency Debate 185 Hargreaves i n t h e sixties t o t h e recent studies o f H o w a r d Parker. Paul W i l l i s a n d o t h e r s . A l t h o u g h this m a t e r i a l offers a n i m p l i c i t account o f the i m p a c t o f t e l e v i s i o n i t does n o t address t h e question directly. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e mass m e d i a a n d deviance has become a p r o m i n e n t t o p i c o f sociological research, b u t i n the c o n t e x t o f l a b e l l i n g a n d a m p l i f i c a t i o n studies w h i c h focus o n t h e w a y i n w h i c h m e d i a presentations o f deviance structure t h e responses o f c o n t r o l agencies a n d the p o p u l a t i o n at large. T h i s w o r k has been immensely valuable i n o p e n i n g u p t h e debate a n d i n raising i m p o r t a n t questions a b o u t the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n coercive a n d i d e o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l . A t the same t i m e i t has
meant
t h a t t h e possible
l i n k s between
television v i e w i n g a n d i n i t i a l
deviance have been m o r e o r less t o t a l l y i g n o r e d o r dismissed as a pseudop r o b l e m , a f i g m e n t o f m e d i a publicity. T h i s , together w i t h the general lack o f interest i n t h e q u e s t i o n s h o w n b y ethnographers, has l e f t a sizeable gap i n t h e sociological l i t e r a t u r e - a gap t h a t is c u r r e n t l y b e i n g o c c u p i e d b y the o p p o s i n g perspective. Recent m o n t h s have seen the p u b l i c a t i o n o f t w o i m p o r t a n t b o o k s o n television's i m p a c t o n social v i o l e n c e : Sex, Violence
and the Media
Eysenck a n d D . K . N i a s , a n d W i l l i a m Belson's Television Adolescent
Boy.
7
Violence
by Hans and the
B o t h o f t h e m received a l o t o f p u b l i c i t y a n d the psychologis-
tic perspective t h e y p r o m o t e increasingly c o m m a n d s a central place i n academic
a n d official
thinking.
I t is s y m p t o m a t i c t h a t they b o t h i g n o r e t h e
sociology o f deviance, Eysenck b y design, Belson b y default. T h e y can d o this because sociologists have themselves dismissed t h e question o f television a n d v i o l e n c e b y s l i p p i n g a r o u n d i t o r displacing the debate elsewhere. I f y o u take a b r o a d t h e o r e t i c a l v i e w o f d e l i n q u e n c y t h e n the possible i m p a c t o f television is n o t a p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t issue. B u t equally, given t h e i r c e n t r a l i t y t o c u r r e n t debates, t h e evidence a n d arguments b y Belson a n d Eysenck s h o u l d be t a k e n seriously a n d c o n f r o n t e d h e a d - o n .
Decontextualising delinquency Eysenck a n d N i a s b e g i n b y c l a i m i n g t h a t ' t h e p r o b l e m i n q u e s t i o n , a n d t h e m e t h o d s o f e m p i r i c a l e n q u i r y , are p s y c h o l o g i c a l ' . T h i s d e f i n i t i o n o f the f i e l d 8
has several advantages f o r t h e m . I t enables t h e m t o dismiss m o r e o r less t h e e n t i r e c o r p u s o f research i n c r i m i n o l o g y a n d sociology as inadequate a n d i r r e l e v a n t . I t also bolsters t h e i r general professional c l a i m t h a t since p s y c h o l o gists are t h e o n l y people w i t h t h e relevant competence a n d expertise they are the o n l y ones e n t i t l e d t o scarce research funds i n a p e r i o d o f cut-backs. F o r m o s t o f t h e b o o k this streak o f blatant self-interest is concealed b e h i n d a façade o f disinterested scientificity, b u t i t occasionally becomes e x p l i c i t : Non-psychologists may have a supportive role to play i n research, particularly when there is concern about institutional problems and policies, but without the necessary training i n statistics, methodology and especially psychological theory they should never be asked to design or control the research projects?
186
Audiences and Reception T h e b o o k , t h e n , is rather less t h a n the comprehensive r e v i e w o f relevant l i t e r a t u r e i t claims t o be a n d rather m o r e o f a p r o m o t i o n j o b f o r psychology i n general a n d t h e trends f a v o u r e d by Eysenck a n d Nias i n particular. T h e m o r e adventurous research i n social psychology a n d symbolic i n t e r a c t i o n i s m h a r d l y gets a l o o k i n . T h e emphasis is very f i r m l y o n laboratory e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n a n d o n the b r a n d o f personality t h e o r y that has made Eysenck's professional name. L a b o r a t o r y experiments have been very w i d e l y used i n research o n t e l e v i sion a n d violence a n d most f o l l o w the same basic design. You take a g r o u p o f people a n d d i v i d e t h e m i n t o t w o (sometimes
three) sub-groups, either b y
assigning t h e m at r a n d o m so that everyone has an equal chance o f e n d i n g u p i n either g r o u p , o r b y t r y i n g t o m a t c h t h e m so that b o t h groups have the same basic c o m p o s i t i o n . You m i g h t , f o r example, w a n t t o ensure that b o t h groups h a d an equal n u m b e r o f m e n a n d w o m e n , m i d d l e a n d w o r k i n g class subjects, i n t r o v e r t s a n d e x t r o v e r t s , o r whatever factors y o u felt were p e r t i n e n t . B o t h g r o u p s are t h e n s h o w n a piece o f f i l m . T h e so-called ' e x p e r i m e n t a l ' g r o u p is s h o w n a sequence f e a t u r i n g violence (almost always inter-personal) w h i l e t h e ' c o n t r o l ' g r o u p w a t c h a piece s h o w i n g ' n e u t r a l ' o r co-operative
behaviour.
T h e responses o f b o t h groups are t h e n measured. A variety o f techniques have been t r i e d f r o m c h a r t i n g physiological changes d u r i n g v i e w i n g ( b l o o d pressure, sweating a n d so o n ) t o observing social behaviour d i r e c t l y afterwards t o see i f subjects behave m o r e aggressively. Since other relevant factors a f f e c t i n g response have
supposedly
been c o n t r o l l e d o r equalised,
a n y differences
b e t w e e n t h e g r o u p s are a t t r i b u t e d t o differences i n the e x p e r i m e n t a l stimulus - t h e f i l m they have just seen. I f t h e people i n the g r o u p w h i c h has w a t c h e d the v i o l e n t sequence are m o r e aggressive t h a n t h e ' c o n t r o l s ' a f t e r w a r d s , this difference is p u t d o w n t o t h e effect o f t h e f i l m . W i t h a f e w notable except i o n s , t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l studies have t e n d e d t o p r o d u c e evidence o f d i r e c t a n d p o w e r f u l effects. H o w e v e r , they are o p e n t o c r i t i c i s m o n several counts. First, there are questions t o be asked about t h e procedures e m p l o y e d . F o r e x a m p l e , h o w far are t h e differences i n response attributable t o t h e f i l m s a n d h o w far are they due t o t h e subjects' willingness t o please t h e experimenters by f u l f i l l i n g t h e i r expectations? H o w far d o t h e s o r t i n g procedures really c o n t r o l t h e i n f l u e n c e o f ' e x t e r n a l ' factors? M a t c h i n g people b y age, sex a n d social b a c k g r o u n d , f o r e x a m p l e , i n n o w a y equalises t h e i m p a c t o f these factors o n t h e i r consciousness a n d behaviour. I n a d d i t i o n , there is o f t e n a very considerable j u m p f r o m t h e stimulus s h o w n o n t h e f i l m t o t h e response that is being measured. Take t h e w e l l - k n o w n e x p e r i m e n t b y Mussen a n d R u t h e r f o r d f o r example.
10
I n t h i s , some c h i l d r e n saw a c a r t o o n o f a w e e d t r y i n g t o choke a
f l o w e r w h i l e others w a t c h e d a f i l m o f a f r o g and a d u c k p l a y i n g co-operatively. A f t e r w a r d s members
o f b o t h groups were asked i f they w o u l d l i k e t o
play w i t h a b a l l o o n o r burst i t . T h e first g r o u p were m o r e l i k e l y t o express a desire t o burst t h e b a l l o o n . G i v e n that this response is o n l y very t e n u o u s l y related t o t h e b e h a v i o u r depicted i n t h e f i l m i t is d i f f i c u l t t o accept t h e results as f i r m evidence f o r a direct c o n n e c t i o n between t h e t w o . C e r t a i n l y several
The Television and Delinquency Debate 187 a l t e r n a t i v e e x p l a n a t i o n s suggest themselves. I t is even m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o take i t as evidence f o r a r e l a t i o n s h i p between television a n d social violence. Yet Eysenck a n d N i a s are p r e p a r e d t o a d d this study t o t h e i r list o f ' g o o d ' e v i dence w i t h o u t c o m m e n t i n g o r raising queries. H o w t h e n d o they get f r o m Mussen's m a r a u d i n g w e e d t o street fights a n d muggings? T h e i r answer is t h a t w a n t i n g t o b u r s t a b a l l o o n a n d k n o c k i n g d o w n o l d ladies b o t h stem f r o m t h e same basic p s y c h o l o g i c a l processes. For t h e m , There seems no reason why mild forms of aggression should not be subject to the same laws as more extreme forms. We do not have one set of theories of mild aggression and another set for serious. 11
T h i s a p p r o a c h c o n v e n i e n t l y ignores t h e fact that v i o l e n t b e h a v i o u r is always e m b e d d e d i n w i d e r patterns o f social a n d c u l t u r a l relations, r a n g i n g f r o m t h e b r i e f encounters b e t w e e n e x p e r i m e n t e r s a n d t h e i r subjects t o t h e c o n t i n u i n g relations o f everyday l i f e . T h i s does n o t mean that psychological processes a n d i n d i v i d u a l differences are i r r e l e v a n t o r u n i m p o r t a n t . B u t i t does me a n t h a t since they w o r k i n a n d t h r o u g h social relations they c a n n o t be adequately s t u d i e d i n i s o l a t i o n f r o m t h e m . Yet this is precisely w h a t l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i ments are designed t o d o .
Notes 1. 'Juvenile Delinquency', Edinburgh Review (1851), pp. 403-4. 2. 'Juvenile Delinquency', p. 409. 3. Mary Carpenter, Reformatory Schools for the Children of the Dangerous and Perishing Classes and Juvenile Offenders (facsimile edn) (Ilford, The Woburn Press, 1968), p. 77 (our emphasis). 4. Sir Cyril Burt, The Young Delinquent (London, University of London Press, 1925), p. 607. 5. Burt, The Young Delinquent, p. 606. 6. Herbert Blumer and Philip M . Hauser, Movies, Delinquency and Crime (New York, Macmillan, 1933), pp. 201-2. 7. H . J. Eysenck and D . K. Nias, Sex, Violence and the Media (London, Maurice Temple Smith, 1978); William A . Belson, Television Violence and the Adolescent Boy (Farnborough, Saxon House, 1978). 8. Eysenck and Nias, Sex, Violence and the Media, p. 10. 9. Eysenck and Nias, Sex, Violence and the Media, pp. 265-6 (our emphasis). 10. P. Mussen and E. Rutherford, 'Effects of Aggressive Cartoons on Children's Aggressive Play', Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62 (1961), p p . 461-4. 11. Eysenck and Nias, Sex, Violence and the Media, pp. 7 4 - 5 .
Questions 1
Summarise Murdock and McCron's main criticisms of psychologists studies. Given that much of our understanding of the media has been dominated by American psychological 'effects' models, what would you define as the main
188
Audiences and Reception
2
3
problems with the tradition and how can we best understand this dominance? A common view among many effects researchers is that concerns over new media frequently reflect or crystallise deeper anxieties in periods of social change. For example, some reactions to radio and cinema in the 1930s reflected fears of change associated with growing industrialisation and mass production techniques, increasing urbanisation, the rise of extremist political movements etc. How could this argument be applied to contemporary concerns about the effects of the media? The media is blamed for causing almost exclusively negative effects, not just desensitisation to violence, but also, for example, the greed and dissatisfaction with one's consumer power which game shows might illicit. But can media content also be said to have positive effects?
Further reading Bandura, A. and Walters, R. 1963: Social learning and personality development. N e w York: H o l t , Rinehart & Winston. Belson, W 1978: Television violence and the adolescent boy. Farnborough: Saxon House. Cumberbatch, G., et al. 1987: The portrayal of violence on British television: a content analysis. London: BBC Data Publications. Eysenck, H . and Nias, B. 1978: Sex, violence and the media. London: Paladin. Gauntlett, D . 1995: Moving experiences: understanding television's influences and effects. Luton: John Libbey. Hodge, B. and Tripp, D . 1986: Children and television. Cambridge: Polity Press. Klapper, J. 1960: The effects of mass communication. New York: Free Press. Noble, G. 1975: Children in front of the small screen. London: Constable. Pearson, G. 1983 : Hooligan: a history of respectable fears. London: Macmillan. Willis, P. 1978: Learning to labour. Farnborough: Saxon House.
19 In Defence of 'Video Nasties' Julian Petley From British Journalism Review 5(3), 52-7 (1994).
The previous extract was written in an age when television content was under scrutiny and 'cop shows' such as The Sweeney and Target were being blamed for declining moral standards and a general desensitisation to violence by groups such as the National Viewers and Listeners Association (of which Mary Whitehouse was vociferous chairperson). Julian Petley's article, written 15 years later, is concerned with two specific cases the murders of toddler James Bulger and teenager Suzanne Capper in 1993. Much of the reporting on these cases was characterised by attributing blame to violent videos (especially Child's Play 3).
In Defence of'Video Nasties' 189 In particular, the trial of the two children 'caught on camera' and subsequently convicted of killing James Bulger, became a catalyst for widespread and powerfully expressed anxieties about the presumed effects of violent media content on the young, and there were a number of calls for greater controls in the form of more stringent censorship. These included a proposal by Liberal Democrat MP David Alton to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to enact a ban on the sale and rental of 'video nasties' (already, in fact, legislated for under the Video Recordings Act of 1984). Within this climate a number of films which had been successful at the cinema were denied video certification, while others had their cinema release delayed for several months. One of the stories given greatest prominence by the media in the aftermath of the Bulger case was the publication of the 'Newson Report' signed by 33 'leading experts', which supported, and indeed purported to provide evidence for, the assumed, common sense view, that there is a direct causal link between screen violence and violence in real life. Petley takes issue with Newson and the newspapers which, in his view, uncritically reported her findings, accusing them of perpetuating a moral panic which they had started in the mid-eighties and trying to find a convenient scapegoat for an incident which could not easily be explained away by other means. Once again, aUhe heart of the fear and indignation expressed by most reporters was the myth of childhood innocence and its corruption by persistent and prolonged exposure to violent video content.
A c c o r d i n g t o m o s t newspapers, B r i t a i n is awash w i t h V i d e o nasties' w h i c h are o p e n l y available t o y o u n g c h i l d r e n ; there is a d i r e c t causal l i n k between t h e v i d e o Child's
Play
3 a n d t h e m u r d e r s o f James Bulger a n d Suzanne C a p p e r ;
academics have at l o n g last recognised t h e ' o b v i o u s ' l i n k between screen v i o lence a n d r e a l - l i f e c r i m e ; a n d t h e B r i t i s h B o a r d o f F i l m Classification is i r r e sponsibly l i b e r a l i n its decisions. I n fact, ' v i d e o nasties' w e r e o u t l a w e d b y p o l i c e a c t i o n u n d e r t h e Obscene P u b l i c a t i o n s A c t even before t h e V i d e o Recordings A c t was passed i n 1 9 8 4 ; t h e r e are n o causal l i n k s whatsoever between Child's
Play 3 a n d t h e Bulger
a n d C a p p e r m u r d e r s , as t h e p o l i c e i n v o l v e d i n b o t h cases readily testify; there has been n o wholesale U - t u r n b y academics o n t h e v e x e d q u e s t i o n o f ' m e d i a effects'; a n d B r i t a i n has o n e o f t h e strictest regimes o f f i l m a n d v i d e o censorship i n t h e w e s t e r n w o r l d . So w h a t lies ( a n d t h a t is i n d e e d t h e operative w o r d ) b e h i n d t h e latest e x a m ple o f t h e ' v i d e o nasty' p a n i c , w h i c h t h e press was i n s t r u m e n t a l i n i g n i t i n g i n the early eighties a n d w h i c h w i t h its h e l p has p e r i o d i c a l l y f l a r e d i n t o life ever since? T h e i n i t i a l i m p e t u s clearly lay i n attempts t o f i n d some sort o f explanat i o n f o r t h e seemingly i n e x p l i c a b l e m u r d e r o f James Bulger i n February 1993.. E x a m i n e t h e b r u t a l i s i n g , i m p o v e r i s h i n g a n d destructive effects o f policies carr i e d o u t i n t h e s p i r i t o f the d o g m a t h a t 'there is n o such t h i n g as society'? N o t o n y o u r l i f e ! So step f o r w a r d t h e scapegoats: sixties 'permissiveness', ' t r e n d y ' teachers,
single m o t h e r s , t h e 'underclass' a n d , o f course, t h e ever-reliable
' v i d e o n a s t y ' , this last h e l p e d i n t o t h e s p o t l i g h t b y t h e Bulger t r i a l judge's
190
Audiences and Reception exceedingly i l l - i n f o r m e d a n d u n c a l l e d - f o r r e m a r k that ' i t is n o t f o r m e t o pass j u d g e m e n t o n t h e i r [Jon Venables' a n d Robert T h o m p s o n ' s ] u p b r i n g i n g b u t I suspect t h a t exposure t o v i o l e n t f i l m s may be i n p a r t an e x p l a n a t i o n ' . B u t there's m o r e t o i t t h a n that. First o f a l l , there's p u r e a n d simple hypocrisy. O u r i n i m i t a b l e papers have l o n g excelled at r e v e l l i n g i n w h a t they p u r p o r t t o c o n d e m n , a n d their l i p - s m a c k i n g descriptions (or, rather, d i s t o r tions) o f various supposed 'nasties' i n the wake o f t h e Bulger a n d Capper m u r d e r s w e r e t h e e p i t o m e o f this k i n d o f j o u r n a l i s m , w h i c h has n o w reached such depths t h a t i t ' s almost impossible t o parody. A l m o s t , b u t n o t q u i t e , as Private
Eye d e m o n s t r a t e d :
Once again the Daily Gnome has forced a major change i n Government policy and made the powers that be see sense. Our week-long series of pieces on the top 100 disgusting videos currently available was a masterpiece of campaigning journalism. Only the Daily Gnome gave a full plot summary and detailed description of each obscene and depraved action on every one of these revolting videos. Only the Daily Gnome published graphic stills of the sort of corrupting filth that is getting into our homes every day. A n d only the Daily Gnome is offering a cut-price video compilation of all the most twisted and most vile moments o f the videos that we have now successfully curbed. C i r c u l a t i o n wars also played their part here t o o . T h e Mirror, and
The Independent,
t h e Telegraph
t h e n , as n o w , f i g h t i n g o f f p r e d a t o r y p r i c i n g b y t h e
M u r d o c h papers, a l l h a d cause t o a d d t o the attack o n Child's
Play 3, since i t
had been s h o w n t w i c e by M u r d o c h ' s BSkyB d u r i n g the Bulger m u r d e r t r i a l i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 3 . ( A t h i r d screening, w h i c h w o u l d have been broadcast
after
the t r i a l , was cancelled - thereby, o f course, o n l y a d d i n g t o the m y t h that t h e f i l m h a d played a role i n the m u r d e r . ) T h u s a sarcastic D i a r y entry i n The Independent Telegraph
o f 2 6 N o v e m b e r under the headline ' O u t r a g e d o f W a p p i n g ' , a article o n the same day headed 'Sky drops f i l m James's killers may
have seen' (even t h o u g h Sky's actions take u p o n l y t w o o f the story's 17 paragraphs), a n d an e d i t o r i a l i n the same day's Mirror
w h i c h argued that 'such v i o -
lence is n o t o n l y available f r o m the local video shop. I t is p u m p e d i n t o m i l l i o n s o f homes v i r t u a l l y every n i g h t o n satellite television. T h e rules w h i c h g o v e r n B B C a n d I T V d o n o t apply t o satellite. T h e y can s h o w w h a t they l i k e , h o w they l i k e , w h e n they like. A n d they d o . Failure t o c o n t r o l their o u t p u t has been due t o G o v e r n m e n t cowardice. I t does n o t w a n t t o upset p o w e r f u l friends.' T h i r d l y , this latest t w i s t i n t h e 'nasty' saga gave the press a m a r v e l l o u s chance t o attack another o f its f a v o u r i t e targets: 'intellectuals'. T h i s came about because, o n 3 1 M a r c h 1 9 9 4 u n d e r t h e f r o n t page headline ' U - T u r n O v e r V i d e o Nasties', t h e Evening
Standard
p u r p o r t e d t o reveal that ' B r i t a i n ' s
t o p psychologists t o d a y confess that they h a d g o t i t w r o n g i n d e n y i n g a l i n k between v i d e o nasties a n d real life violence'. T h i s was meat a n d d r i n k t o t h e populist
press. T h e n e x t day's Mirror
b r a n d e d t h e m as ' V i d i o t s ' f o r t a k i n g so
l o n g t o reach t h e ' o b v i o u s ' , ' c o m m o n sense' c o n c l u s i o n , t h e Daily
Mail
com-
p l a i n e d o f a ' t a r d y c o n v e r s i o n ' a n d t h e ever reliable Peter M c K a y i n The
In Defence of 'Video Nasties' 191 Sunday
Times
c l a i m e d t h a t 'the idea t h a t w e possess 25 " t o p " psychologists is
black comedy. Y o u m i g h t as w e l l t a l k a b o u t 25 t o p three-card t r i c k o p e r a t o r s . ' M e a n w h i l e , t h e Telegraph
accused those academics w h o r e m a i n e d sceptical
a b o u t t h e l i n k o f b e i n g g u i l t y o f a 'trahison
de
clercs\
I n fact, there was b o t h m o r e a n d less t o this story t h a n t h e papers realised, o r cared t o a d m i t . Firstly, t h e d o c u m e n t t o w h i c h t h e Standard,
followed by
o t h e r papers, r e f e r r e d h a d been signed n o t s i m p l y b y psychologists b u t by psychiatrists a n d paediatricians as w e l l . H o w e v e r , o f t h e t o t a l o f 33 signatories (not
25 as t h e Standard
claimed) o n l y three h a d ever spoken p u b l i c l y o n t h e
t o p i c b e f o r e . T h e s t o r y was thus seriously m i s l e a d i n g o n at least t w o counts: c e r t a i n l y n o ' U - t u r n ' h a d t a k e n place. B u t n o t o n l y d i d the papers f a i l t o p o i n t out
t h a t n o t o n e m e d i a specialist h a d signed t h e d o c u m e n t (thereby rather
v i t i a t i n g t h e papers' claims t h a t i t represented ' e x p e r t ' o p i n i o n ) b u t , worse s t i l l , n o - o n e n o t e d ( o r cared, perhaps) t h a t the d o c u m e n t has been w r i t t e n b y Professor Elizabeth N e w s o n o f N o t t i n g h a m U n i v e r s i t y at t h e specific i n v i t a t i o n o f t h e M P D a v i d A l t o n , t o be used as evidence t o s u p p o r t his C r i m i n a l Justice B i l l a m e n d m e n t t o t i g h t e n u p f i l m a n d v i d e o censorship! O n l y R i c h a r d B o s t o n i n his v i d e o c o l u m n i n The Guardian
w e n t i n t o this c r u c i a l matter o f
t h e d o c u m e n t ' s genesis a n d raison d'etre i n any significant d e t a i l .
Lobby E v e n m o r e seriously, at the t i m e o f w r i t i n g n o t one paper has t h o u g h t i t w o r t h r e v e a l i n g t h a t t h e A l t o n a m e n d m e n t was t h e result o f a h i g h l y organised r e l i gious lobby. T u c k e d away i n a c o u p l e o f Daily pieces
about
Movement Democrat.
Alton
I came
for Christian
across
Democracy
Telegraph
references
a n d Sunday
t o something
a n d its newspaper
The
Telegraph called t h e Christian
A s I c o u l d f i n d neither i n t h e L o n d o n p h o n e d i r e c t o r y I r a n g t h e
S P C K b o o k s h o p a n d g o t a n u m b e r ; this I t h e n r a n g , a n d asked t h e m t o send m e details o f the M o v e m e n t a n d a copy o f The Christian
Democrat.
Hardly a
feat o f investigative j o u r n a l i s m , b u t t h e l i t e r a t u r e w h i c h I was sent revealed, inter alia,
t h a t t h e M o v e m e n t h a d raised £ 1 3 , 0 0 0 t o s u p p o r t its v i d e o cam-
p a i g n , t h a t i t h a d i n s t r u c t e d a p a r l i a m e n t a r y d r a u g h t s m a n t o d r a f t the a m e n d m e n t t o the C r i m i n a l Justice B i l l , a n d t h a t i t was responsible f o r g a t h e r i n g the 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 signatories o n t h e m u c h - p u b l i c i s e d p e t i t i o n s u p p o r t i n g t h e a m e n d m e n t . The Christian MCD
Democrat
f o r June 1 9 9 4 t r u m p e t s t h a t ' w i t h t h i s , t h e
can be seen as c o m i n g o f age p o l i t i c a l l y - a n d can l o o k f o r w a r d t o m o r e
successful campaigns', a n d A l t o n is q u o t e d as saying t h a t 'this has s h o w n h o w the M C D really can affect events i f i t wants t o , i f i t picks its issues, attaches t h e m t o G o v e r n m e n t bills t h a t are g o i n g t h r o u g h p a r l i a m e n t ,
campaigns
a r o u n d t h e m ' . Some idea o f w h a t w e can expect is c o n t a i n e d i n t h e statement t h a t ' w e w i l l n o w d i r e c t o u r campaign t o t h e anomalies this a m e n d m e n t w i l l create b e t w e e n w h a t m a y be s h o w n o n v i d e o a n d w h a t is s h o w n o n satellite, cable a n d t e r r e s t r i a l T V . W e l l , d o n ' t say y o u h a v e n ' t been w a r n e d , b u t w h y
192
Audiences and Reception n o t b y the m a i n s t r e a m press, especially given t h e r i s i n g level o f concern about p a r l i a m e n t a r y lobbying? I suspect i t w o u l d be a very d i f f e r e n t s t o r y i f t h e MCP
t u r n e d its u n d o u b t e d energies t o l o b b y i n g f o r a Privacy B i l l .
T h e h i g h l y selective nature o f press interest i n academic research was nicely illustrated a f e w days after the revelation o f the N e w s o n d o c u m e n t w h e n the Policy Studies Institute published its long-awaited r e p o r t i n t o the v i e w i n g habits o f y o u n g offenders. T h i s was f u n d e d by the BBFC, BBC, Independent Television C o m m i s s i o n a n d Broadcasting Standards C o u n c i l . D i s a p p o i n t i n g l y f o r large sections o f t h e press, t h e r e p o r t showed that y o u n g offenders d o n o t have significantly d i f f e r e n t v i e w i n g habits f r o m n o n - o f f e n d i n g c h i l d r e n o f t h e same age. (One m i g h t also note i n passing that amongst those offenders w h o read newspapers, t h e Sun came o u t as favourite.) T h e r e p o r t was totally i g n o r e d b y most papers - the Sun i n c l u d e d . Still, i t got m o r e coverage than a d o c u m e n t signed b y 23 media academics (myself included) w h i c h questioned the w h o l e basis o f N e w s o n ' s discussion paper a n d forcefully stated that her conclusions were c o m pletely o u t o f kilter w i t h most recent academic research o n the media. T h i s was sent t o a l l the same places as the N e w s o n d o c u m e n t - a n d totally
ignored.
N e v e r let the facts get i n the w a y o f a g o o d story. U n a b l e t o get over t h e r a t h e r a w k w a r d fact t h a t t h e p o l i c e officers l e a d i n g the
Bulger
specifically
a n d Capper
cases h a d consistently
Child's
3 , h a d caused t h e k i l l i n g s ,
Play
d e n i e d t h a t videos, a n d most
o f t h e press
s i m p l y f e l l back o n r e p e a t i n g a d nauseam t h a t there must be a l i n k because ' c o m m o n sense' demands i t . T h e r e are all sorts o f v a r i a t i o n s o f this o n e basic ' a r g u m e n t ' (or, rather, a s s u m p t i o n ) , a n d f r o m t h e t r u l y vast n u m b e r o f e x a m ples o n e c o u l d cite, t w o w i l l have t o suffice. I n The Times 1993
w e get t h e w o u l d - b e sophisticated
o f 26 November
v e r s i o n , dressed
u p i n fancy
language: ' T o c l a i m t h a t o n l y some i n d i s p u t a b l e p r o o f o f causal l i n k c o u l d j u s t i f y t h e c u r t a i l i n g o f " f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n " is an evasion o f an o b v i o u s t r u t h : a society t h a t accepts v i v i d l y enacted b r u t a l i t y is ipso facto such
acts
conceivable,
a n d even
encouraging
t h e belief
that
making they are
c o m m o n p l a c e . T h i s is n o t a m a t t e r f o r p r o o f ; i t is self-evident.' T o w h i c h t h e s i m p l e answer is: r u b b i s h . T h e m o r e p o p u l i s t v e r s i o n is nicely i l l u s t r a t e d b y A n n e D i a m o n d ( w h o else?) i n the Mirror us they must
o f 1 December 1 9 9 3 : ' O u r g u t tells
have seen t h e evil d o l l Chucky. T h e y must
f i l m . A n d they must
have l o v e d t h e
have seen i t over a n d over again, because some o f t h e
things t h e y d i d are almost exact copies o f t h e screenplay.' T o w h i c h t h e answer is: n o a m o u n t o f w i s h f u l t h i n k i n g o r p e t u l a n t f o o t - s t a m p i n g w i l l alter the fact t h a t there is n o t a shred o f evidence t h a t t h e Bulger k i l l e r s w a t c h e d Child's
Play 3.
H o w e v e r , w e d o k n o w t h a t they w a t c h e d cartoons i n t h e i r l o c a l v i d e o shop a n d t h a t J o n Venables' f a v o u r i t e f i l m was The Goonies the
consultant
forensic
psychiatrist
D r Susan
Bailey,
(this courtesy o f w h o interviewed
Venables before h i s t r i a l ) . T h e r e are n o parallels o f any significance b e t w e e n the f i l m a n d t h e m u r d e r o f James Bulger; D i a m o n d must have been r e a d i n g
In Defence of 'Video Nasties' 193 t h e i n c r e d i b l y d i s t o r t e d press descriptions o f the f i l m w h i c h t r i e d desperately t o d r a w such parallels. S t i l l , D i a m o n d o b v i o u s l y k n o w s m u c h m o r e
about
t h e m e d i a t h a n I d o ; as she puts i t : ' G o d p r o t e c t us f r o m t h e " o l o g i s t s "
-
because t h e i r h a c k n e y e d p e r c e p t i o n is dangerous. I sometimes t h i n k t h a t a degree i n some s o r t o f " o l o g y " b l i n d s y o u t o c o m m o n sense. W e a l l k n o w t h a t v i o l e n c e begets v i o l e n c e . ' So that's i t - n o w w e k n o w . O f course, once u p o n a time 'everybody
k n e w ' t h a t t h e e a r t h was flat a n d t h a t t h e s u n
r e v o l v e d a r o u n d i t , t h a t illnesses w e r e caused b y ' e v i l h u m o u r s ' a n d c u r e d b y b l e e d i n g , a n d t h a t m i s f o r t u n e s w e r e t h e result o f w i t c h c r a f t . B u t , o f course, w e ' r e m u c h m o r e i n t e l l i g e n t n o w , a n d w e ' v e g o t The Times a n d the Mirror
to
prove i t . The
problem with 'common
sense' assumptions,
p a r t i c u l a r l y i n such a
bleakly a n t i - i n t e l l e c t u a l c u l t u r e as o u r o w n , is t h a t , b e i n g deeply i n g r a i n e d i n t o ' f o l k w i s d o m ' a n d h e l d p a r t i c u l a r l y dear b y t h e p o p u l i s t press, t h e y ' r e v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o challenge effectively. T h e p r o b l e m is a l l the m o r e t r i c k y w h e n those ' c o m m o n sense' assumptions c o n c e r n t h e media. T h i s is because o f t h e c o m m o n l y h e l d v i e w t h a t since everybody consumes the m e d i a t h e n everyone is a n ' e x p e r t ' o n i t . T h u s d u r i n g the a f t e r m a t h o f the Capper a n d Bulger trials w e h a d t o p u t u p w i t h t h e likes o f D i l l i e Keane, R o y Hattersley, L y n d a Lee Potter a n d o t h e r assorted p u n d i t s g i v i n g us t h e i r ' c o m m o n sense' views about the alleged effects o f the m e d i a , a n d d o i n g so w i t h a t o t a l l y u n w a r r a n t e d air o f expertise a n d a u t h o r i t y t o b o o t . I t is s i m p l y n o t t h e case t h a t because people w a t c h television they are e x p e r t o n i t - a l t h o u g h , o f course, t h e y ' r e o b v i ously e n t i t l e d t o h o l d views about i t . Mutatis
mutandis,
w e a l l use language
b u t w e ' r e n o t a l l experts i n phonetics, p h o n o l o g y a n d m o r p h o l o g y , o r able t o debate the f i n e r p o i n t s o f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l grammar. Finally, a n d this is perhaps t h e m o s t d i s t u r b i n g aspect o f t h e w h o l e affair, it's i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h e w o r r y i n g prevalence o f attempts 'nasty' bandwagon t o now-fashionable 'undeserving
poor'
as
they
used
t o hitch the
ideas a b o u t t h e 'underclass', o r t h e to
be
called
i n Victorian
times.
U n s u r p r i s i n g l y this a t t e m p t t o de-legitimise t h e w e l f a r e system b y b l a m i n g the p o o r f o r t h e i r w r e t c h e d state h a d its r o o t s i n Reagan's A m e r i c a , b u t t h a n k s t o sustained campaigns b y t h e Mail,
The Times
a n d Sunday
Times i t
n o w has f o l l o w e r s o n t h e T o r y R i g h t . T h e l i n k was f i r s t m a d e b y B r y a n A p p l e y a r d ( w h o used t o w o r k f o r The Sunday The Independent you
Times)
i n a l e n g t h y piece i n
o n 1 D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 3 i n w h i c h he asked r h e t o r i c a l l y ' w o u l d
a l l o w an ill-educated,
culturally deprived, unemployable
underclass
u n l i m i t e d access t o v i o l e n t p o r n o g r a p h y ? ' T h e n , i n a conscious echo o f t h e f a m o u s r e m a r k a b o u t servants i n t h e 1 9 6 0 L a d y C h a t t e r l e y t r i a l , he goes o n to
argue
that
i f y o u d o away
with
censorship
' y o u don't
just get
M a p p l e t h o r p e f o r t h e connoisseur, y o u also get v i c i o u s d r i v e l f o r t h e masses. M o r e p a i n f u l l y , y o u also get u n a r g u a b l y fine f i l m s such as Taxi Goodfellas,
Driver
and
w h i c h , i f y o u are honest, y o u w o u l d rather w e r e n o t w a t c h e d b y
c e r t a i n types o f p e o p l e . ' Reservoir
Dogs
is also singled o u t as a ' b r i l l i a n t ,
194
Audiences and Reception b l o o d y f i l m t h a t I w o u l d prefer n o t t o be seen b y t h e c r i m i n a l classes (sic) o r the m e n t a l l y unstable o r b y inadequately supervised c h i l d r e n w i t h l i t t l e else i n t h e i r lives'. I suppose this is w h a t T h a t c h e r i t e p u n d i t s w o u l d p r o u d l y call ' t h i n k i n g t h e u n t h i n k a b l e ' . Personally I prefer t h e w o r d snobbery. T h e Mail o f 18 December, i n t h e w a k e o f t h e j u s t - c o n c l u d e d Capper t r i a l , w a s even more 'unthinkable'. N o t i n g that the police had commented o n the murderers' ' o r d i n a r i n e s s ' the Mail
p r o c l a i m e d that 'they are t h e p r o d u c t o f a society
w h i c h tolerates p e t t y c r i m e , t h e b r e a k - u p o f families a n d feckless s p e n d i n g . I t subsidises a n d , i n m a n y cases, encourages t h e m . I t is i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t m o s t o f Suzanne's t o r m e n t o r s w e r e o n social security. B u t t h e n those i n society w h o are g e n u i n e l y o u t o f w o r k b u t w h o have savings, d o n o t receive i n c o m e s u p p o r t . T h u s are t h e p r u d e n t penalised w h i l e t h e negligent are n u r t u r e d . A l l t h i s reflects a society s h o w i n g reckless disregard f o r t h e s u r v i v a l o f its o w n decency. A n underclass is b e i n g created t o d a y w h i c h is a grave t h r e a t t o B r i t a i n ' s f u t u r e . I f i t is n o t c o u n t e r e d , t h e n w e w i l l c o n t i n u e a decline t o w a r d s lawlessness a n d degeneracy.' A h , now I u n d e r s t a n d - i t ' s n o t v i d e o nasties w h i c h create sadistic k i l l e r s , it's t h e w e l f a r e state (or w h a t ' s l e f t o f i t ) . T h i s k i n d o f ' t h i n k i n g ' re-emerged i n A p r i l 1 9 9 4 a r o u n d t h e t i m e o f t h e A l t o n a m e n d m e n t . T h u s i n The Sunday
Times
of 3 April we find Margaret
D r i s c o l l a r g u i n g t h a t 'the c h i l d r e n m o s t l i k e l y t o be damaged are those b e i n g b r o u g h t u p i n s i n k estates w h e r e f a m i l y values n o longer h o l d sway - t h e p r o d u c t s o f the " a n y t h i n g goes" society', w h i l s t a Times
editorial o f 11 A p r i l
h e l d f o r t h t h a t ' h o r r o r - v i d e o a d d i c t i o n is p a r t o f a socially-disadvantaged s i n k c u l t u r e i n w h i c h lack o f p a r e n t a l supervision is e n d e m i c ' . M e a n w h i l e i n the Mail
t w o days later t h e inevitable L y n d a Lee Potter s h r i e k e d t h a t 'there
are thousands o f c h i l d r e n i n this c o u n t r y w i t h fathers they never see a n d m o t h e r s w h o are lazy sluts. T h e y are a l l o w e d t o d o w h a t they w a n t , w h e n t h e y w a n t . T h e y s n i f f glue o n b u i l d i n g sites, scavenge f o r f o o d a n d , u n t i l n o w , t h e y w e r e free t o w a t c h increasingly h o r r i f i c videos. By 16 they are disturbed and dangerous.' G i v e n t h e w a y i n w h i c h t h e press have consistently d e m o n i s e d h o r r o r videos i n t h e w a k e o f t h e Capper a n d Bulger m u r d e r s i t ' s h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g t h a t so m a n y M P s s h o u l d have l i n e d u p b e h i n d D a v i d A l t o n . O f course, these are t h e v e r y last p e o p l e w h o s h o u l d be a l l o w e d t o legislate a b o u t t h e m e d i a : g i v e n t h e l u d i c r o u s hours they choose t o w o r k they rarely w a t c h T V ; a n d I suspect t h a t m o s t o f t h e m have never seen, o r p r o b a b l y even h e a r d of, Psycho o r Peeping
Tom l e t alone m o r e recent h o r r o r movies. S t i l l , i t ' s altogether f i t -
t i n g t h a t t h e a m e n d m e n t is t o t h e C r i m i n a l Justice B i l l , u n d o u b t e d l y o n e o f the m o s t s h a m e f u l pieces o f legislation ever t o be c o n t e m p l a t e d i n B r i t a i n . Its i n t e n d e d c r i m i n a l i s a t i o n o f squatters, travellers, ravers a n d o t h e r T o r y hateobjects has been massively f a c i l i t a t e d by exactly t h e same k i n d o f v i c i o u s , distorted,
hysterical
reporting
o f their
activities
i n t h e press
that
has
characterised t h e papers' scapegoating o f v i d e o i n t h e w a k e o f the Bulger a n d C a p p e r m u r d e r s . T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f t h e recent Royal C o m m i s s i o n o n
In Defence of 'Video Nasties' 195 C r i m i n a l Justice have been n o t s i m p l y i g n o r e d b u t s t o o d o n t h e i r heads: clearly
when
i t comes t o l a w - m a k i n g
i n Britain
today, w h e t h e r
we're
t a l k i n g a b o u t videos o r a n y t h i n g else t h a t can be h i t c h e d u p t o t h e L a w ' n ' O r d e r j u g g e r n a u t , i t is n o t reason t h a t prevails b u t t h e saloon bar p u n d i t s o f t h e p o p u l i s t press a n d t h e b r a y i n g m o b o n t h e f l o o r o f a n n u a l T o r y Party conferences.
Questions 1
2
3
4
What are the predominant elements in 'common sense' accounts of media effects? How would you challenge the common sense view which has dominated the censorship lobby, that we have become a more violent society since the advent of television and that therefore the two are linked? One of the problems with the way that this debate is carried out seems to be with the definition of violence and what constitutes a 'violent act'. How would you define 'violence'? Are there some kinds of violence which are deemed more acceptable for portrayal by the media than others? Carry out your own monitoring of an evening's TV. How many acts of violence and what kinds of violence are portrayed, and how would you analyse them in the light of your understanding of the above readings? One of the most common arguments put forward by those who support the causal links thesis is that the media must have an effect or advertising would not work. How would you assess the adequacy of this argument?
Further reading Barker, M . 1984: The video nasties: freedom and censorship in the media. London: Pluto Press. Barker, M . and Petley, J. 1997: /// effects: the media violence debate. London: Routledge. Barwise, P. and Ehrenberg, A. 1989: Television and its audience. London: Sage. Buckingham, D . 1993: Children talking television: the making of television literacy. London: Falmer Press. Buckingham, D . (ed.) 1993: Reading audiences: young people and the media. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Cumberbatch, G., Maguire, A . and Woods, S. 1993: Children and video games: an exploratory study. Aston University. Birmingham: Communications Research Group. Gunter, B. and McAleer, J. 1990: Children and television: the one-eyed monster? London: Routledge. Liebert, R., Neale, J. and Davidson, E. 1982: The early window: effects of television on children and youth. O x f o r d : Pergamon Press. Postman, N . 1982: The disappearance of childhood. New York: Dell.
20 Looking at The Sun: Into the Nineties with a Tabloid and its Readers Mark Pursehouse From Cultural Studies from Birmingham (Department of Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham 1991)
The following extract has been chosen for two principal reasons. First, it deals with questions about the 'influence' that a particular newspaper format - the popular tabloid - might be said to exert over and among its readership. In so doing, it shifts our attention away from screen-based media - film, television, video and recently computer - to consider the relationships between other, different media, forms of popular culture and their readers. More specifically, the extract calls into question the extent to which we can think about direct and simple 'effects' resulting from all forms of media exposure or use. We have become used to debates and assumptions about the effects or power of the media in the context of films, videos or television programmes. The preceding readings in this section have served to outline some of the major lines of contending debate, argument and evidence in this respect. We are perhaps less used to arguments about the 'effects' of the popular press. They are less often accused of causing direct effects. However, their coverage of controversial issues and their involvement at the cutting edge of the 'manufacture of news' has guaranteed them a special place in public, private and political debate. The study is interesting because, rather than analysing the text of The Sun and then inferring particular 'effects' on its readers, it focuses on the readers themselves and their uses and views of the newspaper they read and buy. Unfortunately we do not have the space to incorporate the full study with its lengthy ethnographic data, but we have included the conclusion which encapsulates many of the findings and makes reference to some of the views expressed in interviews, including those of one of The Sun's most famous adversaries, the Labour MP Clare Short. If you wish to follow up your reading of this extract by turning to the original text and studying the interview material in its entirety, you may find it useful, as you are reading, to make notes about firstly the method used, secondly the responses of interviewees and finally, how they are interpreted and made sense of by the author.
Introduction ' W e l l , f o l k s , this is t h e b i g m o m e n t y o u have a l l been w a i t i n g f o r ' - c l a i m e d The
Sun f r o n t page o f 12 J u l y 1 9 9 1 . T h e phrase was used t o describe t h e
exclusive u n c o v e r i n g o f an o l d p h o t o g r a p h s h o w i n g 'Prince A n d r e w as y o u have never seen h i m before'. I t was a t y p i c a l l y direct appeal t o The Sun's l o y a l readers, c o m p l e t e w i t h o v e r - t h e - t o p hype o f a perfect t a b l o i d s t o r y d e p i c t i n g n a k e d royalty. Perhaps n o t h i n g has changed.
Looking at The Sun Yet questions are b e i n g asked a b o u t a decline i n t a b l o i d sales ( L e a p m a n , 17 A p r i l 1 9 9 1 ; Greenslade, 1 July 1 9 9 1 ) . The Sun itself h i t a c i r c u l a t i o n h e i g h t o f 4.3 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 8 8 , w i t h the a u d i t e d daily sale f o r M a y 1 9 9 1 being just over 3.6 m i l l i o n . E c o n o m i c recession m a y account f o r m u c h o f the f a l l , b u t there m a y be o t h e r reasons f o r the d r o p i n p u b l i c d e m a n d . T h e m a i n focus f o r this paper is a small-scale, q u a l i t a t i v e piece o f research o n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n The Sun, a n d its regular readers, c a r r i e d o u t w h e n The
Sun was at its brightest i n 1988. I t is p r i m a r i l y a study o f h o w The
Sun
seemed t o f i t i n t o t h e real lives o f m a n y y o u n g people i n the late eighties. T h e a d d i t i o n a l q u e s t i o n is w h e t h e r the decline o f The Sun since can be attached t o p o l i t i c a l changes. Was the r e l a t i o n s h i p between The Sun a n d T h a t c h e r i s m so intense t h a t The Sun has lost its shine i n the nineties? C e r t a i n l y the t a b l o i d e n v i r o n m e n t has changed. T h e press has supposedly been w a t c h i n g its o w n standards since the C a l c u t t R e p o r t o f June
1990
focussed o n t h e excesses o f t a b l o i d behaviour. Conservative-led legislation against t h e press, arguably a f f e c t i n g The Sun m o r e t h a n m o s t , w o u l d i n some ways be i r o n i c p r o o f o f c h a n g i n g times. T h e m e d i a p h i l o s o p h y o f M u r d o c h a n d T h a t c h e r o n l y accounted f o r r e g u l a t i o n by the free m a r k e t , b u t n o w o l d e r Conservative
p r i n c i p l e s o f surface-level
respectability a n d p u b l i c m o r a l i t y
t h r e a t e n t o re-emerge. C a l c u t t a r t i c u l a t e d concerns about tastes a n d standards w h i c h have f o r c e d t h e t a b l o i d s i n t o some f o r m o f self-censorship. I t is possible t o detect The Sun b e i n g less vicious i n its personal attacks, slightly less brazen i n its o p i n i o n s a n d a t t e m p t i n g t o s h o w m o r e o f its gentler, h u m a n face. C o i n c i d i n g w i t h this pressure has been the d i l e m m a o f The Sun i n facing the demise o f its i d o l : M a r g a r e t T h a t c h e r a n d her p o l i t i c a l practice. T h e g r a d u a l sense t h a t the T h a t c h e r i t e p r o g r a m m e was l o s i n g p u b l i c favour, f o l l o w e d by the hastiness o f her r e m o v a l f r o m o f f i c e m u s t have taken some confidence f r o m The Sun, after its years o f f o r c e f u l s u p p o r t . Readers, t o o , have h a d n u m e r o u s causes f o r t h o u g h t over recent years. Most
i n f a m o u s l y , the
v i l e r e p o r t i n g o f the
deaths o f n i n e t y people
H i l l s b o r o u g h s t a d i u m i n A p r i l 1 9 8 9 , p r e c i p i t a t e d an effective b o y c o t t o f
at The
Sun o n Merseyside. S i m p l y t o o m a n y ' o r d i n a r y ' people have been v i c t i m s o f the paper's
offensiveness,
spreading its r e p u t a t i o n as a ' b a d '
b e y o n d celebrity targets, intellectuals a n d l e f t - w i n g p o l i t i c i a n s . T h e p u b l i c m o o d t o w a r d s The
newspaper
1
Sun m i g h t i n d e e d have changed. T h e G u l f
W a r coverage o f January 1 9 9 1 was another t a b l o i d loser as readers d e m a n d e d h a r d e r i n f o r m a t i o n t h a n The Sun's appeal t o ' S u p p o r t O u r Boys A n d Put T h i s Flag I n Your W i n d o w ' ( w i t h a U n i o n Jack a n d a n o n y m o u s ' T o m m y ' t a k i n g u p t h e f r o n t page o f 16 January 1 9 9 1 ) . Perhaps the genuine a n x i e t y a n d sense o f the m u l t i n a t i o n a l scope o f the c o n f l i c t made The
Sun's
b l a z i n g j i n g o i s m feel
m i s p l a c e d . I t perhaps missed the m a r k even f u r t h e r w i t h the f o l l o w i n g l u d i crous appeal o f 1 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 0 : 'At the stroke o f n o o n t o m o r r o w , w e i n v i t e all t r u e Brits t o France a n d y e l l " U p Yours D e l o r s ' " (the phrase selected f o r the f r o n t page headline). Debates about E u r o p e a n f i n a n c i a l strategy are s i m p l y n o t The Sun's
strengths!
197
198
Audiences and Reception P r i o r t o R o b e r t M a x w e l l ' s demise, t h e r i v a l Daily
Mirror
was p r o c l a i m i n g
itself: ' N e w s p a p e r f o r the N i n e t i e s . ' Q u i t e apart f r o m the o u t c o m e o f the battle f o r o w n e r s h i p o f t h e Daily
Mirror,
there is an i n t r i g u i n g struggle ahead
w i t h i n t h e newspaper m a r k e t , a r o u n d t h e type o f press B r i t a i n w i l l have, as the nineties d e v e l o p , a n d w h i c h o f the tabloids w i l l best capture the climate o f the t i m e s . I t is a battle related t o a bigger q u e s t i o n , about the type o f p o l i t i c a l 2
climate a n d agenda w h i c h is g o i n g t o emerge post-Thatcher.
Ways of looking Theoretical positions The Sun seems t o be i d e n t i f i e d i n w i d e l y divergent ways, p o s i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r attempts at 'academic'
analysis. T h e so-called ' l i b e r a l ' i n t e l l e c t u a l response
seems t o be o n e o f w o n d e r i n g w h a t there c o u l d possibly be t o analyse a b o u t The Sun. Such p o p u l a r taste can either be i g n o r e d , a l l o w e d as ' f i n e f o r someone else', i n t h e name o f c u l t u r a l r e l a t i v i s m , o r dismissed as ' r u b b i s h ' , n o t w o r t h y o f consideration. F r o m a l e f t p o l i t i c a l perspective describe
t h e paper seems almost t o o easy t o
i n t e r m s o f its racism, n a t i o n a l i s m , sexism,
homophobia,
con-
s u m e r i s m a n d C o n s e r v a t i s m . I t is t e m p t i n g t o c o n c l u d e t h a t this is c r i t i c a l analysis e n o u g h ! T h e danger here is t w o - f o l d . O n t h e o n e h a n d is t h e p r o b lem o f sheer c o m p l a c e n c y - f a i l i n g t o consider t h e endless ways The Sun can cause real offence t o a v a r i e t y o f g r o u p s , cultures a n d beliefs, s i m p l y because all ' r i g h t o n ' p e o p l e k n o w they s h o u l d expect n o t h i n g else f r o m t h e r i g h t w i n g press. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d is t h e p r o b l e m o f w r i t i n g o f f the w h o l e c o n 3
stituency o f t a b l o i d readers as m i s g u i d e d v i c t i m s o f a mass d e c e p t i o n , as passive, d u p e d dopes. M e d i a and cultural studies suffered for some t i m e w i t h this p r o b l e m o f ackn o w l e d g i n g genuine cultural reasons f o r the appeal o f the popular, w h i l e r e m a i n i n g critical. A closer l o o k at the ' p o p u l a r ' audience, the realities o f their media-use, a n d the r e c o g n i t i o n o f the audience by critics shifted the focus o f the debate f r o m the complexities o f the ' t e x t ' t o the complexities o f daily life (Bennett,
1983: 214-227,
1986: 6 - 2 1 ; Buckingham,
1987; Hall, 1980:
1 2 8 - 1 3 8 ; H o b s o n , 1 9 8 2 ; M o r l e y , 1 9 8 0 , 1 9 8 1 , 1 9 8 6 ; Radway, 1 9 8 4 , 1 9 8 6 : 93-123,
1988: 3 5 9 - 3 7 6 ; Walkerdine, 1987: 167-199; Williamson, 1986:
14-15). T h e closer e x p l o r a t i o n o f h o w the p o p u l a r m e d i u m are enjoyed b y t h e audience disturbs t h e idea that they carry u n i f i e d , coherent ideologies. I n t h e case o f The Sun, c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t positions f r o m w h i c h i t can be read presents a series o f conflicts a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s w i t h i n The Sun's v i e w o f the w o r l d . T h e ' f u n ' o f endless, u n p r o b l e m a t i c heterosexual ' b o n k i n g ' sometimes clashes w i t h a sterner m o r a l code a n d t r a d i t i o n a l views o f t h e family. T h e h e d o n i s t i c ' c h e e k y ' r e b e l l i o n o f The Sun has t o f i t w i t h some vicious a u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m . Snubs a n d criticisms o f a u t h o r i t y figures, i n c l u d i n g r o y a l t y , peers,
Looking at The Sun 199 MPs,
judges
a n d t h e police
never
stretch
to
questioning
that
the
B r i t i s h system is best. T h e flashing p o u n d signs o f instant c o n s u m e r i s m sit w i t h d e r i s i o n f o r ' y u p p i e s ' a n d praise f o r the values o f t h r i f t a n d h a r d w o r k . I n o r d e r t o observe these conflicts a v i t a l analytical step is necessary a n d o n w h i c h James C u r r a n a n d C o l i n Sparks have recently argued: When people write about British newspapers, they usually comment only on their overtly political content. Thus, most historians and social scientists have ignored the entertainment features of the popular press... This view is based on the elitist assumption that most of what people read most of the time does not warrant critical study (Curran and Sparks, 1991: 215). T h e need is t o v i e w The Sun as a m e d i a p r o d u c t i n r e l a t i o n t o its regular readers. T h i s requires m o v i n g away f r o m t h e n o t i o n t h a t an 'academic' researcher 4
can i d e o l o g i c a l l y i n t e r p r e t 'a t e x t ' a n d ' r e a d ' i t o n behalf o f everybody else. Such a practice, w i t h its peculiar version o f w h a t i t is ' t o r e a d ' , avoids a l l t h e i m p o r t a n t questions a b o u t h o w such a paper enters i n t o very real areas o f l i v e d c u l t u r e . A f t e r a l l , m a r k e t research can s h o w that despite t h e offence o f t e n recognised, m a n y black people a n d m a n y w o m e n d o b u y a n d enjoy The Sun.
T r y i n g t o f i n d s o m e t h i n g o f t h e investments these readers f i n d i n t a k i n g
the paper is g e t t i n g closer t o t h e ways everyday i d e o l o g i c a l conflicts are actually e x p e r i e n c e d . I f s o m e t h i n g can be discovered about t h e aspects o f their i d e n t i t y w h i c h are p o s i t i v e l y r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e paper this c o u l d be a valuable resource f o r l e f t p o l i t i c s . G e t t i n g closer t o t h e social relations i n w h i c h p o p u l a r c u l t u r e is i n v o l v e d does n o t necessarily m e a n t h r o w i n g away i d e o l o g i c a l c r i t i q u e . Rather, t h e c r i t i q u e c a n be f o r m u l a t e d f r o m m o r e clearly d e f i n e d positions. Put a n o t h e r way, readers become less o f a ' p r o b l e m ' i n need o f e x p l a n a t i o n ( t r a p p e d as i d e o l o g i c a l v i c t i m s , i n a rather Althusserian w a y ) a n d become m o r e active p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e m e a n i n g contest. Politically, there are u r g e n t questions f o r t h e left about its images a n d its c u l t u r e f r o m w h i c h t h e e x a m p l e o f the relations between The Sun a n d its readers m a y even p r o v e useful. S o m e w h a t i r o n i c a l l y , I a m suggesting
there
m a y be m o r e valuable p o l i t i c a l insights b y g e t t i n g away f r o m t h e m o r e o v e r t , d i r e c t style o f i d e o l o g i c a l analysis.
^
Conclusions Living The Sun T h e sheer enthusiasm w i t h w h i c h people spoke about t h e i r uses a n d o p i n i o n s o f t h e t a b l o i d s c o n f i r m e d t h e sense o f a lively, active engagement w i t h such papers. 'Readings' c a n n o t o n l y be e x p l a i n e d i n r e l a t i o n t o 'deep' i d e o l o g i c a l bases (identities a r o u n d race, n a t i o n , class, gender, age) because t h e t a b l o i d s b e c o m e a resource amongst a l l sorts o f everyday experiences. I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e w a y The Sun seemed t o o f f e r r e l a x a t i o n , b o t h at w o r k a n d at h o m e , p o s i t i o n s t h e paper as a site o f ' p r i v a t e ' leisure space - perhaps i n an a t t e m p t t o
200
Audiences and Reception s m o o t h over some o f t h e daily aspects o f i d e n t i t y c o n f l i c t . The Sun offers a t e m p o r a r y respite f r o m some m o r e serious social relations a n d instead fits i n t o patterns o f leisure interests.
5
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e evidence f r o m these i n t e r v i e w s w o u l d suggest that The Sun is recognised as c o n t a i n i n g some i m p o r t a n t ingredients f o r appearing t o k n o w a n d get close t o its readers. The Sun's h u m o u r , 'street credible' sociability a n d s i m p l i f y i n g 'commonsense' are i m p o r t a n t aspects t o its appeal. I t gains c r e d i bility, almost becomes friends w i t h readers, t h r o u g h appearing t o ' t a l k t h e same language'. H o w e v e r , i t seems i m p o r t a n t t o emphasise that there are m a n y elements o f everyday experience, m a n y ways o f t a l k i n g , w h i c h The Sun cannot satisfy. Even the m o s t a v i d readers h a d conflicts a n d doubts i n their relationship w i t h The Sun.
T h e r e was a s t r o n g k n o w l e d g e o f w h a t c o u l d be expected f r o m t h e
t a b l o i d genre. T h e y criticised factual inaccuracies, i d e n t i f i e d m a n y o v e r - t h e - t o p o p i n i o n s a n d d i d n o t appreciate some o f t h e gross exaggerations o f character descriptions. T h e y expect t o laugh ' a t ' as w e l l as ' w i t h ' The Sun. Paul o p e n l y criticised t h e one-dimensional c r i t i q u e o f The Sun w h i c h fails t o account f o r either the scepticism o r the f r u s t r a t i o n p r o v o k e d i n regular readers: A l l these people who go round slagging off The Sun - saying " O h you buy The Sun, ha-ha-ha" and laughin', erm - well they ought to think twice about why they're laughin'. I mean, yes laugh if they - i f I was buying it because I thought it was a good paper but keep your mouth shut if er, you don't really know why I ' m buying i t . T h e ' p r i v a t e ' e n j o y m e n t o f The Sun does n o t d i r e c t l y p r o d u c e m o r e ' p u b l i c ' a p p r o v a l o f its apparent values. W h i l e people spoke o f t h e i r personal investments i n l o o k i n g at t h e paper, they w e r e aware other people c o u l d be r e a d i n g i t d i f f e r e n t l y . T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between The Sun a n d its readers operates i n this sometimes c o n f l i c t i n g space between ' p r i v a t e ' uses a n d investments i n t h e paper a n d t h e simultaneous k n o w l e d g e o f other positions a n d considerations f r o m a w i d e r ' p u b l i c ' perspective. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e paper conseq u e n t l y lives a n d changes i n r e l a t i o n t o p a r t i c u l a r i d e n t i t y p r i o r i t i e s , d e p e n d i n g u p o n a variety o f personal experiences, responsibilities a n d investments. Questions o f ' i n f l u e n c e ' d e p e n d u p o n h o w readers are seeking t o resolve t h e f r a g m e n t e d p r i o r i t i e s o f i d e n t i t y i n w h i c h they have t o operate i n t h e i r o w n lives. I t may w e l l be t h a t the o n l y w a y t o p r e d i c t l i k e l y responses t o m a t e r i a l physically i n The Sun is t o l o o k at the w a y t h e i d e n t i t y investments o f people are o f f e r e d as socially active outside the r e a d i n g m o m e n t . T h i s at least offers some o p t i m i s m f o r alternative constructions t o t h e t a b l o i d w o r l d o f The Sun. T h e r e are l i m i t s t o t h e capabilities o f The Sun. Readers k n o w h o w m u c h there is t o gain f r o m r e a d i n g a t a b l o i d newspaper. T h e y d o n o t expect t o f i n d answers t o life's real anxieties o r features w h i c h align w i t h m a n y real experiences. T h e m a i n site w h i c h seemed s t r o n g l y relev a n t i n real life b u t barely present i n n e g o t i a t i n g The Sun was t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f a sense o f t h e social, as opposed t o t h e isolated i n d i v i d u a l . T h e o n l y real
Looking at f/?e Sun g r o u p The
Sun acknowledges is the c o m m u n i t y o f Sun readers. I n its crude
classifications The Sun m a y i g n o r e t h a t people live by h e l p i n g each o t h e r o u t a n d l e a v i n g each o t h e r r o o m t o live. Readers d i d n o t seem t o recognise
The
Sun w i t h any sense o f w a r m t h or honesty, b u t w i t h an i r o n i c distance, realisi n g the p h o n e y n a t u r e o f m u c h supposedly spontaneous w i t a n d accepting stories c o u l d n o t always be t a k e n as they seemed. T h i s at least leaves r o o m f o r a l t e r n a t i v e c o n s t r u c t i o n s t o f i n d a m o r e relevant language - reaching the same readers w i t h a m o r e accurate v e r s i o n o f everyday language, h u m o u r a n d people's real considerations. W h i l e The Sun gets close t o some aspects o f h o w real c u l t u r e is l i v e d , there are o t h e r possibilities w h i c h i t does n o t reach. T h e central focus o f a t t e n t i o n needs t o be the d i m e n s i o n s o f everyday life w h i c h c o n t r i b u t e t o w a r d s various possible relations w i t h such ' p o p u l a r ' texts. The
Sun's
ability to w o r k f r o m
m u l t i p l e p o s i t i o n s a n d pay close a t t e n t i o n t o c u l t u r a l m o v e m e n t s
offers
lessons f o r those i n v o l v e d i n disseminating a very d i f f e r e n t set o f values. T h e i m p o r t a n t p o i n t is t h a t Sun readers are n o t s i m p l y mistaken o r w r o n g b u t t h a t t h e y have a v a r i e t y o f genuine social factors a n d positions g i v i n g t h e m p a r t i c u lar investments i n w h a t the ' t e x t ' contains. I n d e e d the supposed ' t e x t ' is a m u l t i p l e , s h i f t i n g body, e x i s t i n g o n l y i n r e l a t i o n t o these o t h e r social factors a n d p o s i t i o n s . I t is the real social practices i n w h i c h ' t e x t s ' a n d 'readers' are i n v o l v e d w h i c h need f u r t h e r study rather t h a n any n o t i o n t h a t they can be separated a n d h e l d i n an isolated r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h e r e is clearly a difference between t r u l y ' l i v i n g The Sun
9
a n d the tendency
o f m y o w n style o f analysis o f The Sun, f r o m the perspective o f a l e f t r e c o g n i t i o n o f r e a c t i o n a r y elements o f social c o n c e r n . T h e L e f t has h a d t o revive the i m p o r t a n c e o f the ' p o l i t i c s o f i d e n t i t y ' i n an era w h e n increasing social f r a g m e n t a t i o n a n d d i v i s i o n necessarily means people o c c u p y i n g a m o r e m u l t i p l e range o f i d e n t i t y locations ( B r u n t , 1 9 8 8 :
2 0 - 2 3 and H a l l , 1988:
24-29). A
l o o k at the f u l l , v a r i e d ways readers meet The Sun is perhaps p r o o f e n o u g h o f a c o m p l e x , l i v e l y struggle i n this era o f the ' p o l i t i c s o f i d e n t i t y ' . I n t r u t h , so far, The Sun m a y i l l u s t r a t e , rather better t h a n the L e f t , the possibilities g a i n e d by addressing m u l t i p l e i d e n t i t i e s . The Sun does n o t constantly 6
b o m b a r d a single i d e n t i t y p o s i t i o n or expect t o always gain everybody's a p p r o v a l , b u t i t does w o r k t o d i f f e r e n t aspects o f i d e n t i t y (at d i f f e r e n t times, t o variable degrees). T h e L e f t has t o get used t o ways o f r e l a t i n g t o t h a t c o n stituency o f p e o p l e w h o lead largely a p o l i t i c a l a n d o f t e n c o n f l i c t i n g lives. These are the p e o p l e w h o c h i e f l y read The Sun because i t is c o n v e n i e n t , relaxi n g a n d m i g h t o f f e r an e n l i g h t e n i n g m o m e n t , the chance f o r s o m e t h i n g t o d o , a conversational item or a touch of humour.
7
Politcal and tabloid futures L o o k i n g at the r e l a t i o n s h i p between The
Sun,
its readers a n d T h a t c h e r i s m
o f f e r s some relevant lines o f t h o u g h t f o r the unclear p o l i t i c a l f u t u r e ahead f o r
201
202
Audiences and Reception B r i t a i n i n t h e nineties. T o begin w i t h , t h e idea that I c o u l d l o o k at The Sun i n 1 9 8 7 - 8 8 t o f i n d a coherent p o p u l a r expression o f T h a t c h e r i s m , a n d t h e n speak t o readers w h o were p i c k i n g u p these values, soon l o o k e d i n a p p r o p r i ately s i m p l i s t i c . B o t h t h e media p r o d u c t a n d the readers w e r e i n v o l v e d i n m o r e c o n f l i c t i n g a n d f l u i d relations t h a n c o u l d be reduced t o t h e d o m i n a n t tenets o f a p o l i t i c a l , hegemonic m o v e m e n t . H o w e v e r , this is n o t t o argue t h a t these
complex
relations
never
d o align.
The
Sun p u t f o r w a r d
certain
T h a t c h e r i t e voices, o n occasions very l o u d l y , a n d must have reached t h r o u g h t o m a n y readers, at various times, just by p u t t i n g f o r w a r d such values as p a r t o f t h e stock o f possibilities. Paul f o u n d a useful m e t a p h o r w h e n he said he m a y use the paper f o r ' a m m u n i t i o n ' t o bolster his o p i n i o n s . The
Sun is u n l i k e l y t o change an o p i n i o n against a c o n f l i c t i n g v i e w c o n -
s t r u c t e d b y m o r e p r i m a r y relations a n d experiences. The Sun m i g h t have t h e ' i n f l u e n c e ' o f p r o v i d i n g m a t e r i a l t o an a r g u m e n t w h e n there is already an i n v e s t m e n t i n t a k i n g such a stance. Perhaps, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , this c o n c l u s i o n t h a t h e a r t - f e l t attitudes a n d values w i l l n o t change, h o w e v e r h a r d a newspaper tries, i f o t h e r experiences are n o t served by this change, need n o t a p p l y t o t h e practice o f s w i t c h i n g v o t i n g i n t e n t i o n s . T h e p o l i t i c a l apathy o f m a n y readers means there is n o t really an i m p o r t a n t investment i n h o l d i n g a p o l i t i c a l i d e n t i t y as a p r i o r i t y w h e n r e a d i n g the paper. T h i s sheer lack o f interest leaves a gap w h e r e t h e instant headlines, images a n d arguments o f The Sun m i g h t cause a change i n t h e casting o f a v o t e , w h i c h is itself seen as o f l i t t l e relevance t o t h e r o u t i n e s o f everyday l i f e . T h e o t h e r i m p o r t a n t a r g u m e n t i n 8
r e l a t i o n t o p o l i t i c a l 'influences' is that ideas o r arguments i n i t i a l l y h a r d l y n o t i c e d o r registered as relevant can be recollected o r r e t u r n e d t o i n conversation later. T h e 'stock o f possibilities' can be activated i f personally relevant circumstances arise. F o r e x a m p l e , I s h o u l d n o t expect t o f i n d o n e coherent response t o t h e w h o l e o f T h a t c h e r i s m o r The Sun's i d e o l o g y f r o m o n e person, b u t i n a s i t u a t i o n such as t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o b u y p r i v a t i s e d shares o r a disagreement w i t h a L a b o u r c o u n c i l this real, practical s i t u a t i o n may b r i n g t o t h e f o r e a p o i n t o r an a t t i t u d e encountered i n The Sun. Just as t h e paper need never be read i n a ' t o t a l ' , u n i f i e d w a y the experience o f T h a t c h e r i s m f o r m a n y people was p r o b a b l y n o t o n e o f either a l l ' f o r ' o r a l l 'against', b u t o n e o f e n c o u n t e r i n g p a r t i c u l a r aspects o f p o l i c y w h e n they h a d t o be l i v e d . U n d o u b t e d l y The Sun f i t t e d best w i t h its readers w h e n i t was n o t engaged i n o b v i o u s l y representing T h a t c h e r i s m . Yet i n some ways the horoscopes, crossw o r d s , cartoons, sports pages a n d television chat say the most about The
Sun's
politics. I t is a w o r l d o f ' e n t e r t a i n m e n t ' , consumerism, easy self-pleasure, rather t h a n social concerns o r active, p r o d u c t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o society. T h e very rejection
o f ' p o l i t i c s ' i n favour o f ' e n t e r t a i n m e n t ' perhaps
illustrates t h e
changes t o t h e p o l i t i c a l climate d u r i n g the eighties. The Sun was able t o t u r n far-reaching ' p u b l i c ' , ideological values i n t o accessible personal stories a n d its c o n f i d e n t personality suited the individualised spirit o f T h a t c h e r i s m . A b o v e a l l , The Sun was i n v o l v e d i n t h e apparent d e p o l i t i c i s i n g o f politics itself a n d p u b l i c
Looking at The Sun l i f e , t u r n i n g a l l i n t o i n d i v i d u a l issues, personalities a n d choices, creating a c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the increasingly 'private* f o r m s o f social i d e n t i t y people e x p e r i enced as larger senses o f social groups were denied o r f r a g m e n t e d . H o w e v e r , just as The
Sun s u p p o r t e r s I spoke t o at the h e i g h t o f its success
f e l t d o u b t s , absences a n d a m b i g u i t i e s about the paper, i t seems m a n y p e o p l e f e l t c o n f l i c t s a n d antagonisms a b o u t the T h a t c h e r i t e d i r e c t i o n . As o r d i n a r y p e o p l e began t o q u e s t i o n the T h a t c h e r i t e p r o g r a m m e some o f the c e r t a i n t y a n d boldness f a d e d f r o m The Sun. A t the e n d o f the eighties p e o p l e w h o h a d g a i n e d f r o m t a x cuts w e r e seeing t h e y h a d n o t been p a r t o f an
'economic
m i r a c l e ' a n d m a n y services, l i k e h e a l t h a n d e d u c a t i o n became m o r e apprecia t e d as t h e o n s l a u g h t o n p u b l i c s p e n d i n g deepened. People d i d n o t seem t o l i k e the l o o k o f a society based o n ruthless e c o n o m i c i n d i v i d u a l i s m a n d as splits d e v e l o p e d at the level o f o v e r t p o l i t i c s a n u m b e r o f o l d values f o u n d an o p p o r t u n i t y t o be r e a r t i c u l a t e d . Even a d v e r t i s i n g agencies w e r e p r o c l a i m i n g a softer image o f ' t h e c a r i n g nineties' before November
the f i n a l f a l l o f T h a t c h e r
in
1990.
I t was 'the m e n i n grey suits' a n d an o l d e r version o f paternalistic, p r a g m a t ic
Conservatism
which
stopped
the
'radical'
Thatcherite
steamroller.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y f o r The Sun, o t h e r t h a n an interest i n large p r o f i t s , this represents v e r y d i f f e r e n t g r o u n d o n w h i c h t o w o r k . I t certainly is n o t clear yet exactly w h a t J o h n M a j o r l e d post-Thatcher
Conservatism contains, b u t any
k i n d o f r e t u r n t o 'consensus' p o l i t i c s (even i f o n l y a gloss o f style) p r o v i d e s d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r R i g h t - w i n g tabloids after t h e i r zealous, crusading years. T h i s gap i n t h e p o l i t i c a l - c u l t u r a l c l i m a t e , o n t o p o f doubts about w h a t t a b l o i d excesses w i l l be t o l e r a t e d p o s t - C a l c u t t , leaves The Sun w i t h o u t a refreshingly bright vision or purpose. T h e relative f i g h t b a c k f r o m the Daily
Mirror
perhaps aligns w i t h the fact
t h a t m a n y n o n - T h a t c h e r i t e values never d i d really go away. T h e Daily
Mirror
has p i c k e d u p its o w n m o r e c o n f i d e n t i d e n t i t y based o n a m o r e ' h u m a n ' face, f o l l o w i n g some years o f t r y i n g t o out-Sun
The
Sun.
T h e tackiness has been
r e d u c e d a n d the news c o n t e n t increased. T a l k i n g t o a small g r o u p o f t a b l o i d readers, as I d i d , h i g h l i g h t e d a simple t r u t h : social concerns, sharing, h e l p f u l c o m m u n i t i e s , k n o w l e d g e s o f injustice a n d senses o f inequalities never disappeared. As p a r t o f m y research I sought the views o f Clare Short o n The
Sun,
a n d its p a r t i c u l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h its readers a n d her o w n perceptions o f the target o f her c a m p a i g n . I n September 1 9 8 8 , she expressed f r u s t r a t i o n t h a t the above values w e r e r e m a i n i n g p o l i t i c a l l y u n t a p p e d : The Sun's success is, sort of, another side of the coin of some of Labour's problems.... We've got to the point where people's sense of why they're voting Labour - what values that represents - that should be a natural part of their life - have been so eroded that they're not surprised or offended by it [The Sun]. It's a complex thing the Thatcher success. It isn't true that she's created a new consensus - it's partly w i t h an idea of opposition that just electorally explains things and partly the eroded values that belong to us that we've [the Labour Party]
203
204
Audiences and Reception failed, erm, made to live i n people's lives. And I think The Sun belongs to such an era. Some o f the successful attachments o f The Sun t o its readership p r o v i d e useful lessons f o r visions o f the democratic L e f t . A key feature, f r o m t h e evidence o f this research, is t h e need t o use a language recognisable t o t h e ways b y w h i c h people really l i v e . T h e politics o f the nineties w i l l have t o pay close a t t e n t i o n t o h o w groups o f people i d e n t i f y themselves a n d t h e terms b y w h i c h they articulate t h e i r lives. Clare Short p r o v i d e d a clear example: People who are objectively 'working class' don't all call themselves 'working class' ... I t doesn't mean that class doesn't exist and all the issues of class don't exist, but it's no good using a language that people aren't talking ... So i f you have ranting speeches about 'working class means stand together' then nobody's going to be listening to that kind of thing. I t can be argued t h a t The Sun has played a p a r t i n m o v i n g the L e f t away f r o m the everyday language o f people b y using a largely depoliticised language t o represent its o w n p r e f e r r e d interests a n d p r o m o t i n g a l i g h t - h e a r t e d e n t e r t a i n m e n t w h i c h seeks t o laugh at a l l o p p o s i t i o n , leaving L e f t
counter-arguments
w i t h t h e appearance o f 'serious' p o l i t i c a l r h e t o r i c . The Sun holds a f o r m o f influence s i m p l y b y recognising
the importance
o f everyday
conversation.
A m o n g s t m y i n t e r v i e w s Dave summarised t h e significance o f this p o i n t : 'Even p o l i t i c s they [The Sun] make simple ... a n d people t h i n k they k n o w about p o l itics so they can argue about i t at the bar.' A n o t h e r o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h e L e f t t h a t The Sun clearly i l l u m i n a t e s is t h e need t o p u t f o r w a r d a p o s i t i v e v i s i o n o f a f u t u r e society. The Sun g a i n e d appeal f r o m its up-beat, b r i g h t , l i v e l y a t t i t u d e a n d images, l e a v i n g t h e L e f t w i t h a s o m e w h a t grey, d o w d y contrast. T h e d i s m a n t l i n g o f oppressive c o m m u n i s t bureaucracies m i g h t h e l p , b u t there is s t i l l a v a c u u m t h e L a b o u r Party's r e d rose h a r d l y f i l l s . A g a i n , b y w o r k i n g at t h e c u t t i n g edge o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e t h e t a b l o i d s have a p a r t t o play i n o f f e r i n g h o p e f u l visions. I asked C l a r e S h o r t a b o u t h e r o w n ' s p o i l s p o r t ' image (at best!) i n The Sun a n d she was r a t h e r amused at t h e idea t h a t ' F u n a n d f r e e d o m a n d happiness' c o u l d possibly men
when
erent',
belong
they're
'libertarian'
more
thirty'
t o the Tory MPs w h o 'look like little o l d than
the Labour
traditions. Again, the Left
movement's has lost
more ground
'irrevi n an
advantageous area, possibly because o f its recent struggle i n t h e f i e l d o f p o p ular culture. I t is t e m p t i n g t o conclude that L e f t politics is i n need o f a r e v i v a l w i t h r e g a r d t o p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . Stuart H a l l has asked, 'Can a socialism o f the 21st c e n t u r y revive, o r even survive, w h i c h is w h o l l y cut o f f f r o m the landscapes o f p o p u l a r pleasures, h o w e v e r c o n t r a d i c t o r y a t e r r a i n they are?' ( 1 9 8 8 : 2 8 ) . My
argument,
f r o m this research, must
be that,
however
contradictory
the g r o u n d w o r k e d o n b y t h e tabloids, t h e k i n d o f appeals they w o r k o n have t o be t a c k l e d i f t h e L e f t is t o reach significantly w i d e r t h a n the already
Looking at The Sun c o n v e r t e d . T h e r e m a y be a h i g h price t o pay f o r c o n d e m n i n g tabloids w i t h the t y p e o f c r i t i q u e w h i c h o n l y focusses o n the level o f ( a d m i t t e d l y a w f u l ) i d e o l o g i c a l representations. T h e danger is o f e n t i r e l y missing the levels at w h i c h such t a b l o i d s are recognised (the identities a n d investments they serve) a n d t h e r e b y a b a n d o n i n g the p o p u l a r g r o u n d . A closer l o o k at the p o l i t i c s o f ' e n t e r t a i n m e n t ' , leisure a n d pleasure needs t o be p a r t o f the v i s i o n o f the d e m o c r a t i c L e f t just as m u c h as the c o n s u m e r i s m o f the R i g h t . To this e n d , t a l k i n g t o Sun readers p r o v i d e d an interesting resource f o r s t u d y i n g c h a n g i n g times.
Notes 1.
2.
3. 4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Clare Short's campaign and Bill against the display of sexually provocative naked women i n newspapers provides an example. She has received thousands of letters of support, culminating i n the publication of selected letters: Short, 1991. Michael Leapman makes this point: 'Historically ... individual titles have forfeited market supremacy by failing to adapt quickly enough to changes in public preferences; for instance, the Daily Herald and Sunday Dispatch in the fifties, the Daily Express and Daily Mirror in the seventies ... The first tabloid editor to capture the true mood of the nineties could move well ahead of the field', The Independent, 17 A p r i l 1991. Racism has been identified w i t h The Sun so frequently the Institute for Race Relations have published w o r k on the subject; see Searle, 1989. There are a number of books viewing The Sun ' f r o m the inside' shedding some light on the production and construction of The Sun's w o r l d : see Chippindale and Horrie, 1990; Lamb, 1989; Grose, 1989. Janice Radway (1988), has noted the importance leisure pursuits can play i n perceptions of self-identity; 'For many individuals and subgroups, in fact, the conceptually subordinated leisure w o r l d is the primary site for the elaboration of what is taken to be meaningful identity.' Frank M o r t and Nicholas Green (1988), have made a similar point in relation to the multiple complexities advertisers put to w o r k : 'Advertisers seem to know instinctively what political activists have been slow to understand. Most of us do not have one fixed political identity. We are not in any simple sense "black" or "gay" or "upwardly mobile".' These reasons for reading the paper offer a contrast to some of the ' o l d ' , alienating language of politics: Brunt (1988), ' I t is not, after all, obvious w h y anyone, particularly i n such an apolitical culture as Britain, should ever choose to define themselves as political. For the commonsense opinion of politics is that, like religion, it spells trouble. It is what you do not discuss at high points of social togetherness, like family weddings or Christmas, or even just having a d r i n k . ' Recent research f r o m William Miller at Glasgow University argues the Tory tabloids can indeed change voting patterns. This research has been published (How Voters Change f r o m Clarendon Press) though the argument is outlined by Ivor Crewe's article 'Revenge of the M i n d Benders', in The Guardian, 19 November 1990.
205
206
Audiences and Reception
References Bennett, T. 1983: Text, readers, reading formations. Literature and History 9(2) Bennett, T. 1986: The politics of 'the popular' and popular culture. I n Bennett, T., Mercer, C. and Woolacott, J. (eds.), Popular culture and social relations. M i l t o n Keynes: Open University Press. Brunt, R. 1988: Bones in the corset. Marxism Today, October. Buckingham, D . 1987: Public secrets: EastEnders and its audience. London: British Film Institute. Chippindale, P. and H o m e , C. 1990: Stick it up your punter - the rise and fall of The Sun. London: Heinemann. Curran, J. and Sparks, C. 1991: Press and popular culture. Media, Culture and Society 13. Grose, R. 1989: The Sun-sation - behind the scenes of Britain's bestselling daily newspaper. London: Angus & Robertson. Hall, S. 1980: Encoding/decoding. I n Hall, S., Hobson, D . , Lowe, A . and Willis, P. (eds.), Culture, media, language. London: Hutchinson. Hall, S. 1988: Brave new w o r l d . Marxism Today, October. Hobson, D . 1982: Crossroads: the drama of a soap opera. London: Methuen. Lamb, L . 1989: Sunrise - the remarkable rise and rise of the best-selling Soaraway Sun. London: Macmillan. Morley, D . 1980: The 'nationwide' audience: structure and decoding. London: British Film Institute. Morley, D. 1981: The nationwide audience - a critical postscript. Screen Education 39. Morley, D . 1986: Family television: cultural power and domestic leisure. London: Comedia. M o r t , F. and Green, N . 1988: You've never had it so good again. Marxism Today, May. Radway, J. 1984: Reading the romance: women, patriarchy and popular literature. Chapel H i l l : University of N o r t h Carolina Press. Radway, J. 1986: Identifying ideological seams: mass culture, analytical method and political practice. Communication, 9. Radway, J. 1988: Reception study: ethnography and the problems of dispersed audiences and nomadic subjects. Cultural Studies 2(3). Searle, C. 1989: Your daily dose: racism and The Sun. In Murray, N . and Searle, C , Racism and the press in Thatcher's Britain. London: Institute of Race Relations. Short, C. 1991: Dear Clare ... this is what women feel about Page 3. Radius. Walkerdine, V. 1987: Video replay: families, films and fantasy. In Burgin V , Donald, J. and Kaplan, C. (eds.), Formations of fantasy. London: Methuen. Williamson, J. 1986: The problems of being popular. New Socialist, September.
Questions 1
2
From your reading of this short extract what would you surmise might be the main questions and problems concerning method of analysis and the conclusions drawn? The study was based on interviews carried out with readers of The Sun in 1988 ('when The Sun was at its brightest'). What has happened to the style of The Sun and its tabloid market since 1988, especially with regard to its shifts of support prior to the 1997 general election?
Technology in the Domestic Environment 207
3
Carry out one or two interviews of your own with readers of a current popular tabloid daily newspaper. On the basis of these interviews, how would you summarise their relationship with the paper in question?
Further reading Chippindaie, P. and H o m e , C. 1988: Disaster! The rise and fall of News on Sunday. London: Sphere. Chippindaie, P. and Horrie, C. 1990: Stick it up your punter - the rise and fall of The Sun. London: Heinemann. Dahlgren, P. and Sparks, C. (eds.) 1992: Journalism and popular culture. London: Sage. Fiske, J. 1989: Reading the popular, London: Unwin Hyman. Fiske, J. 1989: Understanding popular culture. London: Unwin Hyman. McGuigan, J. 1992: Cultural populism. London: Routledge. McNair, B. 1995: An introduction to political communication. London: Routledge.
21 Technology in the Domestic Environment Ann Gray From Video playtime: the gendering of a leisure technology (Routledge 1992)
Like the previous extract, this reading demonstrates by means of detailed interview the relationship between a specific medium - in this case, video - and its users. But as with the previous extract, limitations of space prevent us from including the detailed interview transcripts in their entirety and, as before, we would recommend that if you wish to follow up your reading with more detailed information about the ethnographic research methods employed and the responses of interviewees, you should refer to the original text. The overall aim of the research was to understand how, and on what terms, the video cassette recorder (VCR) was domesticated in British homes in the 1980s. This was the decade when the VCR rapidly became a widely accepted part of the technological and cultural landscape of many homes, a taken-for-granted attachment for the television screen. In particular, Gray was concerned to investigate how women related to and used the VCR, and to explore the types of impact it made upon their lives and the household cultures in which they lived. The central focus for the study lies, then, in its analysis of the significance of gender in structuring women's and men's relationships with domestic media and communications technologies. Earlier in the study, Gray investigates the extent to which social class, education and generation play a part in women's relationships with video technology, but she concludes that while such variables raise some important issues relating to gender, in terms of different kinds of viewing contexts, confidence in one's ability to
208
Audiences and Reception operate the VCR etc., gender itself is the key determinate in the use of, and expertise in, video technology in the home. The reading begins by exploring the reasons behind the acquisition of the VCR in the home.
Winning consent T h e purchase o f the V C R was o f t e n t h e subject o f n e g o t i a t i o n , largely, b u t n o t always, instigated b y m e n , w i t h a variety o f 'carrots' o f f e r e d . Beth's husband, f o r e x a m p l e , h a d a w o r k - r e l a t e d reason f o r t h e purchase o f the V C R , b u t , as she p o i n t e d o u t , her house is f u l l o f 'gadgets'. We've got several tape recorders, we've got an early Sinclair computer and a later Sinclair computer, certainly a wireless for each room ... it's just that we've always had video recorders before anybody else had video recorders ... the only thing we haven't got is a compact disc player ... but that's just because we'd just bought a whole new stereo system. But we bought a video recorder. We were working for the Open University at the time and he made this great case that we really needed a video recorder so we could watch our programmes, and we didn't watch many O U programmes. (Beth) A t another p o i n t i n t h e i n t e r v i e w I asked her w h y they h a d g o t the v i d e o , a n d she r e p l i e d , Because George loves gadgets. He bought i t , I wouldn't have bought i t , but then he buys all those things. I buy silly things. (Beth) For three o f t h e w o m e n , t h e reasons f o r t h e decision t o purchase t h e V C R h a d resulted i n t h e w o m e n b e i n g m a r g i n a l t o its use. Sheila a n d K a y w e r e ' n o t i n t e r e s t e d ' i n g e t t i n g a v i d e o , a l t h o u g h their husbands a n d f a m i l y w e r e v e r y keen. K a y felt t h a t h e r husband a n d f a m i l y were already w a t c h i n g t o o much television. Were you in favour of getting the video} N o . I was dead against it until the Royal Wedding. That's where I slipped up you see. I said I w o u l d love that, you know, for posterity, to have ... and he said, right ... I ' l l go and get a video recorder and you shall have i t [laugh] and that's what he d i d . (Kay) Kay
hardly
ever
recorded
things
-
' I don't
even
know
h o w to work
the t h i n g p r o p e r l y ' - a n d w h i l s t her husband's case f o r getting the video was that he w o u l d be able t o record things and therefore go o u t m o r e w i t h her, this h a d n ' t actually happened. I n effect, he had ended u p w a t c h i n g m o r e . Well, because he records ... there's always something on the other side he wants to watch, so he'll watch one channel, record the other side, and then he has a backlog of things that he's got to sit and watch, so even when ... like Monday night is very bad on television, there's nothing really on, but he's got a backlog of stuff that he wants to watch, so ... (Kay) Similarly, Sheila, whose teenage c h i l d r e n were the m a i n instigators o f the p u r chase, rarely used the v i d e o recorder a n d was n o t interested i n its use.
Technology in the Domestic Environment 209 T h e p r i m e m o t i v a t i o n i n Shirley's h o u s e h o l d f o r t h e purchase o f a v i d e o r e c o r d e r was the desire f o r a v i d e o camera t o r e c o r d their c h i l d r e n . Roger had been toying w i t h the idea of getting a camera for some while and eventually we bought i t t o coincide w i t h the second daughter ... so ... that was the incidental reason for i t , although I suppose we do use the video for recording. (Shirley) W h i l s t they d i d use t h e v i d e o , as w e have seen i n the previous chapter, Shirley d i d n o t feel i t was 'her t e r r i t o r y ' ; her husband operated the camera a n d tended t o d o m i n a t e the use o f the v i d e o recorder. Rene was v e r y keen t o get a v i d e o a n d its purchase was p a r t o f a bargain. We needed a new television and my husband said, right, we'll have one w i t h Teletext. I said, well, if you're having your Teletext, I ' m having a video. Why did you want a video? Well, because of the things he used t o watch. Say, for instance, Match of the Day on a Saturday night, well, there could be, as I recall, Tales of the Unexpected on the other side which I enjoyed, but because I got my o w n way so much during the week, I thought, well it's only fair t o let h i m watch Match of the Day i n colour. N o w , I w o u l d either take the television up to bed i n the winter, or I ' d go in the kitchen and watch ... and it's damned uncomfortable in the kitchen and I don't always particularly want t o be in bed. You know, watching television, particularly because I fall asleep, you know, i f I take the television t o bed I've really ... it's got t o be really something special that keeps me awake t o watch i t , so that's the reason I wanted a video. (Rene) Rene is a keen v i d e o user a n d so is her husband, a l t h o u g h he was n o t i n f a v o u r o f h a v i n g a V C R ; his reaction t o her w a n t i n g a v i d e o was ' y o u w a t c h e n o u g h r u b b i s h already', associating t h e V C R w i t h e n t e r t a i n m e n t as against 'his' Teletext, the provider o f i n f o r m a t i o n . Another
important
bargaining
position
was t h e a r g u m e n t
that the
v i d e o w a s ' f o r t h e c h i l d r e n ' a n d this o f t e n came i n t o p l a y at C h r i s t m a s . A number
o f working-class
women
r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e V C R was r e n t e d at
C h r i s t m a s ' f o r t h e c h i l d r e n ' because o f t h e g o o d f i l m s o n t h e n , w h i c h t h e y could record. It was my husband really wanted i t i n the first place. I honestly didn't think we'd watch i t . I mean we do. But all the time I thought, oh we don't really need one. Then i t got t o Christmas time and he said it would be nice for the kiddies ... so ... (Betty) For those households o n l o w incomes w i t h y o u n g c h i l d r e n , i t is n o t surprising that e c o n o m i c factors a n d lack o f f r e e d o m t o g o o u t were m o t i v a t i n g elements. He bought a video because we couldn't afford t o go to the pictures. I t was expensive when there's five of us going. (Alison) T h e o t h e r f a c t o r f o r t w o o f the w o m e n was t h e fact t h a t t h e y w o r k e d i n t h e e v e n i n g a n d i t m e a n t t h a t t h e y d i d n ' t miss t h e i r f a v o u r i t e p r o g r a m m e s (soap opera).
210
Audiences and Reception He decided he wanted a video, he's wanted one since a couple of years ago and I said no ... I ' m not interested. But then when I started on i n the evenings ... he says 'Well, we can get one now because then I can tape Coronation Street for when I ' m at w o r k ' . . . so I wouldn't be without it now. (Cathy) T h e r e is n o d o u b t here whose decision i t was t o have a v i d e o a n d here is a very clear e x a m p l e o f this k i n d o f n e g o t i a t i o n . Brenda r e p o r t e d t h a t they wanted a V C R mainly for recording. The Olympics were coming on and I was working in the evening, and my husband would tape things we could watch together when I came home. Can you remember whose idea it was to get the video} Well, my husband had seen one and we talked about i t and said ... when they first came out we said, no ... because what was the point if you wanted to watch something, i f you were out you'd stop i n and watch it, i f you really wanted to watch i t . . . but then I started working evenings and he found out what it was like looking after three kids [laugh]; that clinched it. (Brenda)
Everybody's got one T h e acquisition o f V C R s b y friends and colleagues was an i m p o r t a n t a d d i t i o n a l factor
behind
t h e decisions
f o r lower-income
groups.
VCR-related
talk
becomes a feature at w o r k , i n t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d a n d at social gatherings a n d i n this w a y i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e advantages o f the V C R is shared a n d n o n o w n e r s can r a p i d l y be persuaded t o become owners. Well, they were all getting them where he works, and he thought i t would be a good idea. (Alison) I think Megan was the first to get one round here and, you know ... well that persuaded us really. Most people have got 'em now. (Janet) T w o o f t h e w o m e n declared that i t h a d been a j o i n t decision t o purchase t h e machine. These were Susan a n d M i c h e l l e - f u l l - t i m e w o r k e r s , m a r r i e d b u t w i t h no children.
There's nothing else to do T w o o f the w o m e n w e r e u n d e r 2 1 a n d l i v i n g w i t h their parents. A l t h o u g h o n e h a d a j o b , w o r k i n g i n a supermarket, a n d t h e other was u n e m p l o y e d , they b o t h h a d a very l i m i t e d a m o u n t o f m o n e y t o spend o n g o i n g o u t a n d l i v e d i n an area w h i c h , as far as they were concerned, o f f e r e d very l i t t l e i n t h e w a y o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t . C h r i s t i n e , the o n e i n e m p l o y m e n t , said, There's nothing to do ... I think it's w i t h not many of us having much money and i t costing so much to go out, I think that's the reason. I don't go out during the week, unless it's a special occasion, I mean there's not much going off, except pubs that are open ... it's a shame though because we're only 2 1 and we've no life, really. (Christine) Sandra, u n e m p l o y e d , was also short o f cash a n d b o t h these w o m e n w e n t t o the c i n e m a very i n f r e q u e n t l y .
Technology in the Domestic Environment 211 I think I've been once so far this year. I went about twice last year. It's only if there's a f i l m that I really want to watch and usually my sister goes w i t h me because we both like the same kind of films, but normally we can get a video and watch it at home, all the family can watch it together. (Sandra) Sometimes, on Monday nights we'll go 'cos it's only a pound in for any age, and if there's a decent f i l m on we'll go, but there haven't been many films. We go see cartoons and weepies, that's all we do. I sometimes take my sister, or sometimes go w i t h people f r o m w o r k if they want to go see it as well. (Christine) T h e m a i n reason g i v e n b y C h r i s t i n e f o r r e n t i n g a V C R was that there was n o t h i n g g o o d o n television d u r i n g the week w h e n she h a d t o stay i n . M y life's more or less come home, have my tea, watch television and go to bed about nine o'clock and I was just getting fed up and all my friends, well some of my friends at w o r k , have got videos and they were saying, ' O h I watched so and so video this week, and i t was really good' and I thought, well, if they're watching all them films and there's nothing on television, I might get one. (Christine) A g a i n this is evidence, as seen earlier, o f peer g r o u p pressure t o acquire a V C R . H o w e v e r , she f o u n d h i r i n g f i l m s f r o m t h e v i d e o l i b r a r y o f t e n b e y o n d her means. I haven't watched one for a while, it's just a matter of going down and getting one, I ' m a bit skint you see ... they cost a pound to one pound fifty; i t isn't much, but w i t h me going out on Saturday and Sunday and spending more money than what I intended ... I haven't been able t o afford one and my dinners at w o r k has cost me a bit more, and I've got some new things, new clothes; there are a few new films, but not many that interest me, so I think that's the reason. (Christine) U n l i k e C h r i s t i n e , Sandra f o u n d t h a t there w e r e lots o f p r o g r a m m e s o n t e l e v i s i o n t h a t interested h e r a n d t h a t she w a n t e d t o r e c o r d . H e r m a r r i e d sister a n d b r o t h e r b o t h h a d a V C R a n d she f o u n d she was constantly asking t h e m t o r e c o r d things f o r her. She t h e r e f o r e managed t o persuade her father t o rent a machine. Well, my brother had his video for about a year and a half, and my sister had had hers for nearly a year and I had some tapes at her house, you see, and I used t o ring her up and say ... oh quick, you know, put the tape in, I want this taping and ... I don't know, I think my Dad got fed up with the 'phone bill and I kept saying, you know, it's wonderful, you'll be able to sit here w i t h all your cowboy films on a Saturday ... so I kind of persuaded my Dad to get it. (Sandra) B o t h these w o m e n w e r e t h e d o m i n a n t users i n t h e h o u s e h o l d a n d b o t h c l a i m e d t o use i t m o r e f o r h i r i n g f i l m s t h a n r e c o r d i n g o f f air.
Summary I t w o u l d seem t h a t class a n d e d u c a t i o n are n o t significant variables i n attitudes t o w a r d s t e c h n o l o g y i n t h e h o m e . Gender is the key d e t e r m i n a n t i n t h e use o f
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Audiences and Reception a n d expertise i n specific
pieces o f domestic
e q u i p m e n t . T h i s i n t u r n can
be seen t o relate t o t h e gendered d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r w i t h i n t h e h o m e a n d its associated technology. Recent research i n t o the acquisition o f r a d i o a n d t e l e v i sion has i d e n t i f i e d v e r y similar patterns o f use a n d d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g across gender ( M o o r e s 1 9 8 8 ; O ' S u l l i v a n 1 9 9 1 ) . I n t h e l i g h t o f the w o m e n ' s attitudes to older
forms o f entertainment
technology
such
as r a d i o a n d cassette
recorders, w e can perhaps see t h e i r resistance t o v i d e o t e c h n o l o g y as a passing phase. T h i s w o u l d certainly f i n d s u p p o r t i n Sherry Turkle's ( 1 9 8 4 ) arguments i n r e l a t i o n t o ' c o m p u t e r p h o b i a ' , w h i c h she argues is t r a n s i t i o n a l . H o w e v e r , w e can see f r o m this study that there is m o r e at stake f o r m a n y o f t h e w o m e n . O n e p o i n t t o make is that i t seems that t h e w o m e n w i l l always be 'lagging b e h i n d ' i n mastery o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d i n f o r m a t i o n technology. H o w e v e r , the c r u c i a l p o i n t t o be d r a w n f r o m this analysis is that t h e domestic
context
a n d t h e social relations w i t h i n i t have quite p o w e r f u l consequences i n r e l a t i o n t o w o m e n a n d n e w technology. J o n a t h a n G e r s h u n y has created a n i n d e x s h o w i n g t h e extent t o w h i c h d i f ferent pieces o f domestic technology are used b y w o m e n a n d m e n (Gershuny 1 9 8 2 ) . U s i n g t i m e - b u d g e t survey data he f o u n d t h a t t h e m e n i n his study m a i n l y used e q u i p m e n t l i k e electric drills a n d electric saws t o p e r f o r m o n e - o f f jobs w i t h a h i g h l y visible e n d p r o d u c t . T h e w o m e n used t e c h n o l o g y f o r t h e e x e c u t i o n o f day-to-day chores, the end p r o d u c t s o f w h i c h are usually i m m e diately c o n s u m e d , t e c h n o l o g y such as t h e cooker, t h e w a s h i n g m a c h i n e , t h e i r o n , a n d so o n . A l s o , Gershuny notes that t h e m o r e ' h i - t e c h ' a device is, t h e m o r e l i k e l y i t is t o be m a l e - d o m i n a t e d i n its use. H i s study indicates t h a t e n t e r t a i n m e n t t e c h n o l o g y falls w i t h i n a n e u t r a l cluster, being neither
female
n o r male specific. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , he does n o t include t h e V C R amongst this e q u i p m e n t , b u t w e can see that most o f t h e w o m e n i n t h e study d o n o t feel p r o f i c i e n t i n t h e o p e r a t i o n o f the V C R , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r w i t h t h e t i m e s w i t c h f o r pre-setting recordings. Advertisements f o r domestic a n d entertainment technology o f t e n i m p l y a male o r female operative t h r o u g h b o t h visual a n d textual codes. Early advertisements f o r the V C R stressed its ' h i - t e c h ' nature, were very rarely seen i n a domestic setting, a n d emphasized technical c o m p l e x i t y i n its use a n d o p e r a t i o n . I n a n i n t e r v i e w d u r i n g August 1 9 8 7 w i t h Master care L t d . , a f o l l o w - u p service agency f o r V C R s , I discovered that a very h i g h percentage o f call-outs f o r engineers resulted f r o m m a l f u n c t i o n s o f t i m e r mechanisms, largely o w i n g t o user error. T h i s l e d t o design changes and a n u m b e r o f campaigns stressing the s i m p l i c i t y rather t h a n the c o m p l e x i t y o f t i m e - s w i t c h mechanisms a n d , significantly, women
were
often
represented
as operatives
i n these
advertisements.
Conversely, m i c r o - w a v e cookers have been marketed o n their simplicity, b u t here the operatives are male: 'so simple even men can use i t ! ' ( H i t a c h i advertisment, 1987). T h e ways i n w h i c h consumers are addressed t h r o u g h advertisements o n t e l e v i s i o n , i n t h e press, a n d i n magazines w o u l d seem t o have an effect i n
Technology in the Domestic Environment t e r m s o f t h e assumed k n o w l e d g e a n d use o f specific pieces o f e q u i p m e n t i n t h e h o m e . T h i s places w o m e n at a disadvantage w i t h r e g a r d t o use o f the V C R , a n d those members o f the h o u s e h o l d w h o have t i m e t o become V C R c o m p e t e n t t e n d t o d o m i n a t e its use. T h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e w o m e n w e r e persuaded i n t o the purchase o r r e n t a l o f t h e V C R b y t h e i r partners. T h i s makes sense given gender specific concepts o f 'spare t i m e ' i n the h o m e a n d the t a r g e t i n g o f a d v e r t i s i n g campaigns. T h e m e n w e r e l o o k i n g t o w a r d s f u r t h e r h o m e e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d leisure p r o v i s i o n f o r w h i c h t h e w o m e n themselves c o u l d see n o need. T h e i r spare t i m e is l i m i t e d , a n d t h e V C R is conceived as n e e d i n g t i m e f o r its use. I t is i n t e r e s t i n g , h o w e v er, t h a t some o f t h e m e n managed t o persuade t h e i r r e l u c t a n t partners b y c o n v i n c i n g t h e m t h a t they did have a need f o r the V C R . Consent was also o f t e n w o n b y v i r t u e o f an 'event'. Christmas was the most c o m m o n , b u t p u b l i c events such as a r o y a l w e d d i n g a n d the O l y m p i c s w e r e also c i t e d as key factors i n t h e e v e n t u a l decision. T h e r e is also evidence, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the l o w e r - i n c o m e g r o u p s , o f access t o a V C R b e c o m i n g t h e n o r m i n social a n d w o r k groups a n d an i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f c o n v e r s a t i o n a l currency. I n the h i g h e r - i n c o m e g r o u p this d i m e n s i o n was n o t e x p l i c i t l y stated. H o w e v e r , the fact t h a t available disposable i n c o m e is spent o n the V C R , rather t h a n o n any o t h e r p r o d u c t o r service, indicates t h e i r awareness o f the p r o d u c t . S i m o n F r i t h has p l o t t e d the middle-class consumer's g r a d u a l a p p r o a c h t o this m o m e n t o f a c q u i s i t i o n : We read of new devices that cost huge amounts of money and seem to have no immediate purpose; we follow reports of the prices coming down and domestic value going u p ; we see or hear the machines at w o r k for richer or more foolish friends; we find ourselves thinking one day ' i f only I could do that', and then the price or rental costs suddenly seem right, we get the equipment for ourselves and soon can't live without it. (Frith 1988: 91) I t is the case, h o w e v e r , t h a t f o r some o f the households the V C R was seen as a necessity, m a i n l y because o f lack o f disposable i n c o m e f o r trips t o the c i n e m a , o r because o f the presence o f c h i l d r e n . T h e r e is thus a m a r k e d d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n households: between those w h e r e the V C R was t h o u g h t o f as an i n d u l g e n c e o r i m p u l s e buy, the purchase o f w h i c h was made possible b y available e x t r a cash, a n d those w h e r e the purchase o r r e n t o f a V C R was a m a j o r expense t o be c a r e f u l l y considered a n d p l a n n e d .
References Frith, S. 1988: Fast forward. Screen 29(2). Gershuny, J. 1982: Household tasks and the use of time. In Walman, S. et al. (eds), Living in South London. London: Gower. Moores, S. 1988: The box on the dresser: memories of early radio and everyday life. Media, Culture and Society 10(1). O'Sullivan, T. 1991: Television memories and cultures of viewing 1950-65. I n Corner, J. (ed.), Popular television in Britain: studies in cultural history. London: BFI. Turkle, S. 1984: The second self: computers and the human spirit. London: Granada.
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Questions 1
2
3
How would you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the ethnographic methods employed in this kind of research (i.e. based on in-depth interviews, detailed discussion and observation)? What are the key issues at stake in evaluating this kind of data and evidence? Carry out some of your own interviews with both males and females and summarise their relationships with video and other 'new' technologies. To what extent - and how -do the responses of women differ from those of men? Carry out a content analysis of advertisements for various media or other technologies. To what extent is it still appropriate to say that 'the more hi-tech a device is, the more likely it is to be male-dominated in its use' and how far, and in what ways, does advertising perpetuate and promote such ideologies?
Further reading Baehr, H . and Gray, A. 1995: Turning it on: a reader in women and media, London: Arnold. Cockburn, C. and Furst-Dilic, R. 1994: Bringing technology home: gender and technology in a changing Europe. Buckingham: Open University Press. Hammersley, M . and Atkinson, P. 1983: Ethnography: principles in practice. London: Tavistock. Livingstone, S. 1992: The meaning of domestic technologies: a personal construct analysis of familial gender relations. I n Silverstone, R. and Hirsch, E., Consuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces. London: Routledge. Lull, J. 1990: Inside family viewing: ethnographic research on television's audiences. London: Routledge. Moores, S. 1993: Interpreting audiences: the ethnography of media consumption. London: Sage. (See reading 22.) Morley, D . 1986: Family television: cultural power and domestic leisure. London: Comedia. Morley, D . 1992: Television, audiences and cultural studies. London: Routledge. (See Section 5, reading 34). Van Zoonen, L. 1994: Feminist media studies. London: Sage.
22 Satellite TV as Cultural Sign Shaun Moores From 'Media, Technology and Domestic Life', in Interpreting audiences: the ethnography of media consumption (Sage 1993)
In this extract Moores, like Gray in the previous reading, is concerned to explore and to understand the cultural contexts and conditions which surround the entry and reception of
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 215 new media technologies in the home. Whereas Gray focused on the VCR and women's attitudes to and relations with television and video, in this extract Moores writes about the recent purchase and reception of satellite television in Britain. As in the previous two readings, his method of research is ethnographic in that it uses extended informal interviews, discussions and observations based upon a relatively small number of cases. His discussion foregrounds the picture which emerges from two particular households in one suburban residential area in a large city in South Wales. His long-term aim is to report on a range of households from varying types of residential neighbourhood. In approaching the reading, you will find it useful to spend some time initially on the discussion of three central concepts - consumption, embedding and articulation - which form the theoretical framework for the study. This provides the foundation from which to work through and assess the detailed accounts provided in the latter half of the reading. You may find that these accounts of the 'micro-worlds' of the domestic and familial interiors of others invites comparison with your own settings or those known to you.
Satellite TV as cultural sign M y c u r r e n t research ... rather l i k e the w o r k I d i d a f e w years ago o n early r a d i o ' s a r r i v a l i n t h e p r i v a t e sphere ( M o o r e s , 1 9 8 8 ) , is concerned w i t h t h e place o f a n e w m e d i a t e c h n o l o g y i n everyday l i f e . I t is a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f satellite T V ' s c u l t u r a l significance
as a n object o f domestic
consumption.
T h r o u g h a n analysis o f conversational i n t e r v i e w s r e c o r d e d at the homes o f consumers l i v i n g i n a S o u t h Wales city, I a m m a p p i n g o u t various meanings w h i c h have c o m e t o be invested i n the t e c h n o l o g y at the p o i n t o f its e n t r y i n t o specific
social contexts
a n d situations. T h e m e t h o d o f i n q u i r y , t h e n , can
b r o a d l y be described as e t h n o g r a p h i c - a n d m y purpose has been t o chart the c o n d i t i o n s o f satellite T V ' s ' m u l t i - a c c e n t u a l i t y ' w i t h i n a n d across d i f f e r e n t h o u s e h o l d a n d n e i g h b o u r h o o d cultures. T h i s [extract] offers a series o f reflect i o n s o n t h e study, addressing some o f t h e general theoretical issues that u n d e r p i n the p r o j e c t a n d i d e n t i f y i n g p a r t i c u l a r themes w h i c h have emerged i n the course o f the f i e l d w o r k . I begin by discussing three terms, o r k e y w o r d s , that help t o p r o v i d e a c o n ceptual f r a m e w o r k f o r the research. T h e first o f these, ' c o n s u m p t i o n ' , is e v i d e n t l y u n d e r g o i n g s o m e t h i n g o f a r e h a b i l i t a t i o n i n media a n d c u l t u r a l studies at present. If, i n the past, i t has o f t e n been placed alongside p r o d u c t i o n i n a b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n - w i t h passive c o n s u m p t i o n as the p o o r r e l a t i o n t o an active p r o d u c t i o n - t h e n a n u m b e r o f theorists have n o w begun t o redress the i m b a l ance by r e f e r r i n g t o c o n s u m p t i o n itself as ' p r o d u c t i v e ' . I t is a m o m e n t at w h i c h objects a n d texts are actively a p p r o p r i a t e d a n d i n t e r p r e t e d as they come i n t o contact w i t h the everyday practices o f social subjects. O f course, there can be dangers associated w i t h this k i n d o f approach. I n focussing o n the meanings t h a t consumers create w h e n they ' r e a d ' satellite T V , w e s h o u l d be careful n o t t o lose sight altogether o f the technology's design a n d m a r k e t i n g o r the sounds
216
Audiences and Reception a n d images t h a t are broadcast. Satellite T V ' s significance is p a r t l y d e t e r m i n e d b y i t s p o s i t i o n i n g w i t h i n t h e h o m e a n d residential area, b u t t h e m o m e n t s o f m a n u f a c t u r e a n d p r o m o t i o n also exert considerable
pressure o n r e c e p t i o n
activity. So technologies are n o t c o m p l e t e l y o p e n t o be used a n d made sense o f i n any w a y o n e chooses. A degree o f closure has already been i m p o s e d elsew h e r e i n t h e c u l t u r a l c i r c u i t (Johnson, 1 9 8 6 ) . A n o t h e r , related danger is the p o p u l i s t celebration o f consumer freedoms. Despite h i s g o o d p o l i t i c a l i n t e n t i o n s , J o h n Fiske ( 1 9 8 9 ) presents us w i t h a m o d e l o f c u l t u r a l c o n s u m p t i o n w h i c h is g u i l t y o f such a mistake. F o l l o w i n g M i c h e l D e Certeau ( 1 9 8 4 ) , he has emphasized t h e 'tactical resistances' o f subo r d i n a t e g r o u p s i n t h e i r constant daily struggle against the p o w e r o f the d o m i n a n t . F o r Fiske, ' t h e p o p u l a r ' is a site w h e r e t h e weak f r e q u e n t l y succeed i n p u t t i n g one over o n t h e s t r o n g - ' p o a c h i n g ' o n t h e c o m m o d i t i e s o f a capitalist system,
a n d asserting
their o w n meanings
a n d pleasures i n t h e process.
A l t h o u g h i t is u n d o u b t e d l y the case that c u l t u r e is a contested sphere, his w r i t ings u n f o r t u n a t e l y suffer f r o m an o v e r l y o p t i m i s t i c a n d rather r o m a n t i c perc e p t i o n o f everyday l i f e i n t h e p o s t m o d e r n w o r l d . Fiske tends t o overestimate the progressive p o t e n t i a l o f c o n s u m p t i o n practices a n d fails t o a c k n o w l e d g e any o f the p r o f o u n d l y reactionary elements at play i n p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . S o m e b o d y else w h o m i g h t be accused o f s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y celebrating t h e ' s y m b o l i c creativities' o f consumers is Paul W i l l i s i n Common
Culture
(1990).
H o w e v e r , W i l l i s ' s recent b o o k has i m p o r t a n t advantages over Fiske's. H e g r o u n d s his c o m m e n t a r y i n an extensive e m p i r i c a l study o f y o u n g people's c u l t u r a l experiences, a n d he is keen t o stress the m a t e r i a l a n d social
con-
straints t h a t bear d o w n o n those research subjects. I n the strand o f B r i t i s h c u l t u r a l studies w h i c h is represented
b y his c o n t i n u i n g w o r k (see also W i l l i s ,
1 9 7 7 , 1 9 7 8 ) - a n d b y M o r l e y ' s audience inquiries t o o ( M o r l e y , 1 9 8 0 , 1 9 8 6 ) detailed a t t e n t i o n t o questions o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , use a n d c o n t e x t has always been a c c o m p a n i e d b y a genuine sociological concern w i t h t h e p a t t e r n i n g o f c u l t u r e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I w o u l d w a n t m y o w n investigation t o be c o n sidered p a r t o f this same analytical s t r a n d , because i t opens u p a convenient p a t h w a y between
D e Certeau's interest
i n imaginative ways o f ' m a k i n g
d o ' a n d Pierre B o u r d i e u ' s p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h t h e s t r u c t u r e d distinctions o f consumer b e h a v i o u r
( B o u r d i e u , 1 9 8 4 ) . W h a t w e r e q u i r e is a t h e o r y a n d
m e t h o d t h a t recognizes b o t h creativity a n d constraint i n q u o t i d i a n l i f e . T h e second t e r m i n m y conceptual vocabulary is ' e m b e d d i n g ' . I e m p l o y i t i n an e f f o r t t o stress t h e situated nature o f c o n s u m p t i o n practices a n d c u l t u r a l objects. S t u d y i n g satellite T V ' s p o s i t i o n i n t h e day-to-day lives o f social a u d i ences necessarily involves an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the t e c h n o l o g y as embedded at several, i n t e r c o n n e c t e d levels o r instances (Silverstone, 1 9 9 0 : 1 7 4 ) . P r i m a r i l y , there is t h e level o f households a n d families - t h e i m m e d i a t e physical a n d human
contexts
o f r e c e p t i o n . T h i s includes spatial divisions inside t h e h o m e ,
the t e m p o r a l r o u t i n e s o f its inhabitants, a n d the i n t e r p e r s o n a l ties a n d tensions t h a t have f o r m e d between h o u s e h o l d members. A n y n e w c o m m o d i t y
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 217 t h a t arrives w i l l i n e v i t a b l y become enmeshed w i t h i n t h e e x i s t i n g dynamics o f p o w e r i n t h e domestic r e a l m . I t t h e r e f o r e has t o be analysed i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e range o f artefacts a n d activities t h a t are already i n place. O n c e again, t h o u g h , p o t e n t i a l p r o b l e m s arise w h e n t h e n o t i o n o f e m b e d d i n g is t a k e n u p i n ethnographies o f m e d i a use, just as there w e r e certain dangers associated w i t h ideas a b o u t t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f c o n s u m p t i o n . We r u n t h e risk o f assuming d o m e s t i c cultures t o be f i x e d entities i n t o w h i c h goods are inserted a n d i n c o r p o r a t e d w i t h o u t a n y r e s u l t i n g i m p a c t o n t h e pre-given structure. Instead, as I have f o u n d i n m y conversations w i t h consumers, t h e f a m i l y is best seen as a 'system i n process'. T o a l i m i t e d extent, practices a n d dynamics m a y change over t i m e , a n d t h e e n t r y o f a n e w t e c h n o l o g y can occasionally serve as t h e signal f o r a r e n e g o t i a t i o n o f i n t e r n a l boundaries a n d relationships i n t h e h o m e . C o m m u n i c a t i o n technologies can also be i m p l i c a t e d i n t h e r e d r a w i n g o f boundaries a n d relationships between the private sphere o f the h o u s e h o l d a n d various p u b l i c w o r l d s b e y o n d . T h i s actually goes f o r ' c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ' i n its m o s t general sense, a n d w o u l d a p p l y just as w e l l t o a machine l i k e t h e m o t o r car as i t does t o t h e m e d i u m o f television. B o t h these objects are i n t h e business o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n - albeit o f slightly d i f f e r e n t sorts - a n d each facilitates w h a t G i d d e n s ( 1 9 8 4 ) has called a 'time-space convergence'. T h e y have b r o u g h t i n d i viduals a n d families i n t o t h e presence o f places a n d events that w e r e previously distant o r u n k n o w n , enabling t h e m t o i d e n t i f y w i t h dispersed y e t k n o w a b l e c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t o imagine themselves as embedded i n r e g i o n a l , n a t i o n a l a n d even t r a n s n a t i o n a l collectivities. I t is w o r t h r e m e m b e r i n g here h o w W i l l i a m s ( 1 9 7 4 : 2 6 ) , i n his b o o k o n television as technology a n d c u l t u r a l f o r m , lists broadcasting side b y side w i t h t h e car w h e n discussing t h e tendency i n t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y l i v i n g w h i c h he refers t o as ' m o b i l e p r i v a t i z a t i o n ' . So, i n researchi n g t h e domestic c o n s u m p t i o n o f satellite T V , I a m interested i n asking about the k i n d s o f m o b i l i t y t h a t t h e object a n d its texts offer viewers - t o w h a t n e w destinations is i t p r o m i s i n g t r a n s p o r t a n d w h o chooses t o make the journey? ^ A t a n i n t e r m e d i a t e level, between t h e m i c r o - c o n t e x t o f t h e h o m e a n d t h e large-scale ' i m a g i n e d c o m m u n i t i e s ' t o w h i c h the m e d i a p r o v i d e access, there is t h e artefact's e m b e d d i n g i n particular residential n e i g h b o u r h o o d s a n d u r b a n cultures. Few h o u s e h o l d technologies are visible f r o m the street - they are usually h i d d e n o u t o f sight b e h i n d closed doors a n d d r a w n curtains - b u t satellite T V ' s dish aerial is an extremely p u b l i c s y m b o l o f possession. D i s p l a y e d o n e x t e r i o r w a l l s o r r o o f t o p s , dishes o p e n l y announce t h e technology's a r r i v a l . T h e y give outsiders a fair i n d i c a t i o n o f the types o f sounds a n d images t h a t are b e i n g c o n s u m e d i n p r i v a t e . W e c o u l d pursue t h e c o m p a r i s o n w i t h automobiles a l i t t l e f u r t h e r n o w , because just as t h e car p a r k e d at t h e f r o n t o f the house says s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h e lifestyle o f its d r i v e r , so t h e satellite aerial is a sign t o be r e a d b y n e i g h b o u r s a n d passers-by. H o w i t is v a l u e d w i l l d e p e n d , o f course, o n the person m a k i n g the j u d g e m e n t a n d the geographical area i n w h i c h i t is sited. For o n l o o k e r s , t h e dish can either be a focus o f disgust o r a matter o f i n d i f f e r ence. Similarly, f o r o w n e r s , i t m a y be a source o f p r i d e o r else a cause o f
218
Audiences and Reception embarrassment. T h e task is t o m a t c h these varied decodings a n d dispositions t o social patterns o f taste i n c o n t e m p o r a r y c u l t u r e . T h i s leads us neatly o n t o questions o f ' a r t i c u l a t i o n ' , t h e last o f m y keyw o r d s . A s H a l l ( 1 9 8 6 : 5 3 ) has p o i n t e d o u t , t h e t e r m can have a dual s i g n i f i cance. O n t h e o n e h a n d , i t refers t o t h e act o f speaking - t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f l i n g u i s t i c utterances - a n d o n t h e o t h e r i t implies a l i n k i n g together, a connect i o n t h a t is f o r g e d between t w o separate things. For example, i n his w r i t i n g s o n t h e B r i t i s h N e w R i g h t , H a l l ( 1 9 8 8 ) employs t h e w o r d t o account f o r a linkage o f i d e o l o g i c a l elements i n t h e p o l i t i c a l discourse o f T h a t c h e r i s m . I m a k e use o f the t e r m rather d i f f e r e n t l y here, w h i l s t r e t a i n i n g its double-edged m e a n i n g . M y o w n concern is w i t h the ways i n w h i c h a n e w m e d i a t e c h n o l o g y gets ' h i t c h e d u p ' t o l i v e d cultures o f c o n s u m p t i o n , a n d thereby enables social subjects t o actively ' v o i c e ' senses o f i d e n t i t y a n d d i s t i n c t i o n . A s satellite T V is e m b e d d e d at each o f the levels o r instances o u t l i n e d above - a r t i c u l a t i n g w i t h relations i n a n d between t h e p r i v a t e a n d p u b l i c spheres - i t gives consumers an o p p o r t u n i t y t o articulate t h e i r subjectivities. I n these simultaneous practices o f connection and expression, t h e technology becomes - t o b o r r o w Valentin Volosinov's remarks o n the spoken w o r d - 'a l i t tle arena f o r the clash a n d criss-crossing o f d i f f e r e n t l y o r i e n t e d social accents' (Volosinov, 1 9 7 3 : 4 1 ) . T h e c o n t i n u a l dialogue between artefact a n d everyday contexts is w h a t transforms satellite T V i n t o a multi-accentual sign a n d w h a t allows i t t o f u n c t i o n , quite literally, as a ' m e d i u m ' f o r cultural forces o f i d e n t i f i cation o r d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . H a l l (1986) reminds us that articulations are always contingent a n d non-necessary. There is n o t h i n g inevitable, he suggests, about the c o u p l i n g together o f discursive elements. T h i s applies t o the embedding o f media technologies as w e l l . We cannot predict, simply f r o m the development o f a n e w means o f broadcasting, h o w i t w i l l eventually come t o have significance for audience groupings. I t is certainly the case, as I n o t e d earlier, that designers and advertisers play an i m p o r t a n t part i n encoding the object p r i o r t o consumpt i o n . P r o g r a m m i n g policies are also f o r m u l a t e d w i t h specific v i e w i n g publics and m a r k e t segments i n m i n d . H o w e v e r , the linkages made w i t h local settings d e m a n d detailed empirical investigation. M y c o m m i t m e n t , therefore, has been to qualitative research carried o u t at homes i n selected n e i g h b o u r h o o d areas w h e r e satellite dishes have recently been erected. Households i n m y study are distributed across three different areas o f the same city (the basic idea f o r such a geographical segmentation is b o r r o w e d f r o m models n o w being e m p l o y e d i n c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t research - f o r example, see C A C I M a r k e t Analysis, 1985). By t a l k i n g t o f a m i l y members about their n e w l y acquired c o m m o d i t i e s , a n d b y observing t h e domestic a n d residential e n v i r o n m e n t s , I believe i t is possible t o construct suitably ' t h i c k ' descriptions (Geertz,
1 9 7 3 ) o f situated
consumer
activity. For t h e purposes
o f the present discussion, I i n t e n d t o concentrate o n data
f r o m o n e o f m y three n e i g h b o u r h o o d s (a m o r e complete account o f a l l t h e households appears i n M o o r e s , 1 9 9 6 ) . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r d i s t r i c t is made u p o f
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 219 p r i v a t e l y o w n e d p r o p e r t i e s t h a t w e r e o r i g i n a l l y b u i l t just after t h e t u r n o f t h e c e n t u r y - a c o l l e c t i o n o f large b a y - f r o n t e d E d w a r d i a n terraces a n d detached houses. Situated i n i t is a small p a r k w i t h trees a n d a stream, s u r r o u n d e d b y o r n a t e a n t i q u e r a i l i n g s . Estate agents refer t o its ' a u t h e n t i c ' h i s t o r i c a l qualities, a n d w h i l e some o f the r o a d names echo those o f English stately homes, others recall f a m o u s m i l i t a r y battles overseas. L y i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y five k i l o m e t r e s f r o m t h e c i t y centre, t h e area has a m i x e d p o p u l a t i o n o f s k i l l e d m a n u a l w o r k ers a n d middle-class professionals. I n some w a y s , t h e n , i t is comparable w i t h a c o m m u n i t y i n t h e n o r t h - w e s t o f E n g l a n d t h a t was s t u d i e d b y D e r e k W y n n e ( 1 9 9 0 ) . H e sought t o contrast t h e lifestyles a n d leisure patterns o f h o u s i n g estate residents w h o h a d v e r y d i f f e r e n t sorts o f ' c u l t u r a l c a p i t a l ' at t h e i r disposal - a n d his f i e l d w o r k h i g h l i g h t e d t h e f r i c t i o n s between t h e m over matters o f taste. S i m i l a r clashes o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d d i s p o s i t i o n i n m y o w n d i s t r i c t give rise t o c e r t a i n anxieties about satellite T V w h i c h are f r e q u e n t l y expressed in the conversational interviews. A distinguishing feature o f t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d I have chosen t o analyse here is its age. W y n n e ' s e t h n o g r a p h y was c o n d u c t e d o u t o f t o w n o n a m o d e r n estate. T h e households discussed b e l o w are located i n a city suburb w h i c h , f o r various reasons o u t l i n e d i n t h e previous paragraph, has s t r o n g connotations o f 'heritage'. I n these circumstances, t h e arrival o f a n e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technology w i t h its futuristic dish o n o p e n display - results i n a curious collision o f aesthetic a n d c u l t u r a l codes (early p r o m o t i o n a l material f o r satellite T V made interesting use o f science f i c t i o n imagery - w i t h advertisements f o r t h e p o p u l a r 'Amstrad F i d e l i t y ' system p i c t u r i n g t h e dish a n d receiver u n i t together o n a cratered moonscape). B r u n s d o n ( 1 9 9 1 ) , i n her r e v i e w o f newspaper reports o n c o n t r o versies over t h e siting o f aerials, notes that tensions t e n d t o surface w h e n t h e objects are installed o n o l d buildings considered t o have architectural m e r i t . Discourses o f i n n o v a t i o n a n d conservation c o n f r o n t each other, exerting pressure i n opposite directions, a n d i t is precisely this c o n t r a d i c t i o n between senses o f 'the m o d e r n ' a n d 'the t r a d i t i o n a l ' w h i c h runs t h r o u g h m u c h o f the f o l l o w i n g commentary. Such a c o n f l i c t , I w i l l argue, is n o t c o n f i n e d t o antagonisms at the level o f t h e residential area. I t can get ' g r i d d e d ' , i n c o m p l e x a n d s h i f t i n g ways, o n t o social divisions o f gender o r generation w i t h i n domestic life - a n d m a y also help t o constitute o u r broader feelings o f collective identity. L e t m e start t o u n p a c k these remarks n o w b y l o o k i n g i n m o r e d e t a i l at some o f t h e homes i n m y n e i g h b o u r h o o d (names o f t h e families have been changed). For instance, t h e Gibsons - w h o have a ' C a m b r i d g e ' dish - live i n an o l d house w h i c h once b e l o n g e d t o a w e l l k n o w n f a m i l y o f solicitors i n t h e city. T h e r e is a s t r i k i n g divergence o f tastes a n d competences
between M r
G i b s o n a n d his n i n e t e e n - y e a r - o l d s o n . T h e father takes great pleasure i n t h e ' c h a r a c t e r ' a n d heritage value o f the b u i l d i n g they o w n . H e is c u r r e n t l y restori n g o n e o f t h e o r i g i n a l a n t i q u e fireplaces, w h i c h he discovered h i d d e n b e h i n d a p l a s t e r b o a r d w a l l , a n d has plans t o strip a n d v a r n i s h a w o o d e n dresser i n t h e back d i n i n g r o o m . A s w e shall see, he is e x t r e m e l y a n x i o u s a b o u t t h e dish's
220
Audiences and Reception appearance o n t h e i r h o u s e f r o n t . I t was t h e son, Tony, w h o w a n t e d a satellite receiver. Since he l e f t school three years ago a n d gained his o w n i n d e p e n d e n t source o f i n c o m e as a s h i f t w o r k e r i n a bakery, T o n y has chosen t o buy a range o f the latest m e d i a technologies. These c o m m o d i t i e s a d o r n his attic b e d r o o m , described t o m e b y M r G i b s o n as 'a c o n g l o m e r a t i o n o f electronics'. T o u n d e r stand t h e p o s i t i o n that satellite T V occupies i n this particular f a m i l y ' s intergenerational a n d time-space relations, i t is necessary f o r us t o e x p l o r e t h e d y n a m i c structure o f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s a n d distinctions w h i c h is i n play. A t t h e t o p o f t h e house, separated f r o m t h e m a i n l i v i n g area b y a n a r r o w staircase a n d l a n d i n g , is Tony's r o o m . H e is intensely p r o u d o f this space a n d the objects t h a t are arranged inside, r e g a r d i n g i t as a place i n t o w h i c h he can retreat a n d as a s y m b o l o f independence f r o m t h e rest o f his f a m i l y : ' I ' m t h e o n l y o n e w h o really k n o w s h o w t o use any o f m y electrical
equipment.
N o b o d y else comes i n m y r o o m - I t h i n k o f i t as m y space ... u p here, I can w a t c h a n y t h i n g I w a n t , read, sleep, t h i n k about l i f e , listen t o music.' A r o u n d the television set there is a remarkable 'entourage' (Leal, 1 9 9 0 : 2 1 ) o f technol o g i c a l h a r d w a r e a n d s o f t w a r e , as w e l l as an array o f decorative images a n d artefacts. T w o v i d e o recorders, a h i - f i system a n d the satellite receiver are a l l stacked o n shelves u n d e r n e a t h t h e T V T h e y have been w i r e d together, t o o , so that t h e s o u n d comes o u t o f f o u r ' D o l b y S u r r o u n d ' speakers m o u n t e d o n brackets i n each corner o f the r o o m . A c c o r d i n g t o M r G i b s o n , 'it's l i k e a disco i n there ... i f he t u r n e d t h e v o l u m e u p any m o r e , i t ' d b l o w t h e w h o l e r o o f o f f . T o n y has m o v e d his b e d t o a central p o i n t between these sources o f s o u n d , a n d five d i f f e r e n t r e m o t e c o n t r o l devices rest o n t o p o f t h e 'Bart S i m p s o n ' d u v e t cover (The Simpsons
is an A m e r i c a n c a r t o o n s h o w broadcast
o n Sky). O n a bedside table there is a Simpsons a l a r m clock w h i c h wakes h i m i n t i m e f o r t h e s h i f t w o r k . T h e walls are covered w i t h posters o f sports cars, w h i l s t neat piles o f v i d e o tapes a n d C D s l i e o n t h e f l o o r . H i s v i e w i n g preferences are f o r science f i c t i o n a n d h o r r o r - r e c o r d i n g several f i l m s o f f t h e Sky M o v i e s channel - a n d he also collects tapes about t h e m a k i n g o f f i l m s , especially those c o n c e r n e d w i t h stunts a n d special effects. I t is possible, I believe, t o read these assembled goods as signs o f a struggle t o f a s h i o n some l i m i t e d degree o f a u t o n o m y i n t h e face o f p a r e n t a l a u t h o r i t y . The
b a k e r y j o b has n o t earned h i m e n o u g h t o get a h o m e o f his o w n ,
enforcing
a reliance
o n parents
for accommodation,
b u t he is able t o
save u p a n d purchase things - items that are treasured precisely because they p r o v i d e a statement o f personal i d e n t i t y . O f course, t h a t i d e n t i t y takes shape u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s n o t e n t i r e l y o f his 6 w n choosing. H e is, as t h e poststructuralists w o u l d say, c o n s t i t u t e d as a subject o n l y as a consequence o f b e i n g 'subject-ed'
t o a n d positioned w i t h i n the symbolic order o f culture. Tony
i n h a b i t s a specifically masculine w o r l d o f gadgets, fast cars a n d sci-fi fantasies (a w o r l d w h i c h h e shares, i n c i d e n t a l l y , w i t h his friends a n d f e l l o w w o r k e r s ) . H o w e v e r , i n t h e s p i r i t o f c u r r e n t developments i n audience studies, I w a n t t o insist o n a m o r e situated t h e o r y o f subjectivity a n d discourse t h a t recog-
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 221 nizes a measure o f h u m a n agency a n d understands m e a n i n g as negotiable. For t h i s teenager i n t h i s i m m e d i a t e c o n t e x t , t h e n , satellite T V is p a r t o f a constellation
o f technologies
a n d practices
which
provides the cultural
m a t e r i a l t o express d i f f e r e n c e a n d establish c o m p e t e n c e . Tellingly, his father confesses c o m p l e t e i n c o m p e t e n c e w h e n i t comes t o o p e r a t i n g t h e m a c h i n e r y i n T o n y ' s b e d r o o m : ' H e k n o w s w h e r e e v e r y t h i n g is, b u t I d o n ' t ... I r e m e m ber g l a n c i n g o v e r at i t - t h e electronics a n d w i r i n g - a n d just o n e l o o k was enough for me.' M r . Gibson's interest i n r e s t o r i n g antique furnishings a n d f i t t i n g s has, i t s h o u l d be stated, g r o w n considerably
over t h e p e r i o d since satellite T V
e n t e r e d t h e i r h o m e . T h i s heightened investment i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l is a d i r e c t response t o his son's passion f o r t h e m o d e r n . As I argued earlier, t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a t e c h n o l o g y i n t o t h e f a m i l y system occasionally
coincides w i t h a
r e d r a w i n g o f domestic boundaries a n d relationships, a n d i t certainly appears t o be t h e case here. T o n y makes a p a r t i a l b i d f o r independence. H i s father, m e a n w h i l e , defines a clearly c o n t r a s t i n g f i e l d o f k n o w l e d g e a n d skills. T h e i n t e r g e n e r a t i o n a l p a t t e r n is clear - a l t h o u g h there remains a single e x c e p t i o n t o t h e general r u l e . M r s . Gibson's taste f o r sixties p o p music has been i n h e r i t ed b y Tony, w h o started b o r r o w i n g her scratched LPs w h e n he was still at s c h o o l . T h o s e same recordings have n o w been b o u g h t o n C D , f o r m i n g a large p a r t o f his musical library. Perhaps t h e r a i d i n g o f styles f r o m a previous era is n o t so s u r p r i s i n g - c o n s i d e r i n g t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y t r e n d i n y o u t h cultures w h i c h D i c k H e b d i g e ( 1 9 8 8 ) has t e r m e d ' r e t r o - c h i c ' - b u t i t adds a f u r t h e r t w i s t t o t h e o p p o s i t i o n s b e t w e e n ' o l d ' a n d ' n e w ' i n the G i b s o n h o u s e h o l d . T h e story o f h o w their external dish was selected a n d t h e n positioned o n the f r o n t w a l l is a revealing account o f c o n f l i c t a n d c o m p r o m i s e . I n this instance, installing t h e satellite aerial was very m u c h a public enactment o f private tensions. I t was also g o i n g t o be a p o t e n t i a l cause o f embarrassment
for M r .
G i b s o n , given the ' t o n e ' o f the n e i g h b o u r h o o d they live i n . Realizing the technical impracticalities o f siting at the rear o f the house, Tony h a d t o enter i n t o a debate w i t h his father over the aesthetics o f display. M r . Gibson's comments o n the circular A m s t r a d dishes - the most c o m m o n l y seen aerials - are decidedly u n c o m p l i m e n t a r y . H e calls t h e m ' f r y i n g pans w i t h handles o n ' , a n d says: They look completely out of place on houses like this, old houses w i t h character ... I didn't want an unsightly thing hovering up there. If it was just a prefabricated sort of house, then sure, I wouldn't mind - but as we've got bay windows and all the stonework at the front, I wasn't going to have something that wouldn't blend in ... wouldn't retain the character of the area. A f t e r c o n s u l t i n g o n e o f t h e consumer guide magazines w h i c h have recently c o m e o n t o t h e m a r k e t , T o n y eventually managed t o convince his father o f t h e ' C a m b r i d g e ' system's u n o b t r u s i v e qualities. T h e name itself suggests a higherstatus c o m m o d i t y , w i t h distant associations o f e d u c a t i o n a n d heritage, a n d its aerial is a rectangular s t o n e - c o l o u r e d b l o c k rather t h a n t h e usual w h i t e sphere. E v e n M r . G i b s o n a d m i t s t h a t ' i t ' s c o m p a c t a n d l o o k s neater o n t h e side o f
222
Audiences and Reception houses ... there's m a n y a p e r s o n ' l l pass a n d n o t notice y o u ' v e g o t i t ' ( I r e t u r n t o t h e t h e m e o f ' i n v i s i b i l i t y ' later). T h i s tentative agreement between father a n d son is n o t q u i t e t h e e n d o f t h e story, t h o u g h . W h e n a w o r k m a n came t o f i x t h e dish at t h e f r o n t , there w e r e r e c e p t i o n d i f f i c u l t i e s caused b y a tall tree w h i c h stands across t h e w a y f r o m t h e i r h o m e . A s n o w - l i k e effect was created o n the screen, a n d t h e interference p r o b l e m c o u l d o n l y have been solved b y using an extension pole s t r e t c h i n g o u t a m e t r e o r so above the bay. Predictably, M r . G i b s o n refused t o accept such a s o l u t i o n - 'it's be stuck o u t like a l o l l i p o p ' - so the aerial w e n t u p i n a n alcove o f t h e bay w i n d o w despite t h e rather p o o r p i c t u r e quality. Thereafter, T o n y h a d a constant visual r e m i n d e r as he w a t c h e d o f the i n t r i g u i n g c o m p r o mise t h a t was struck. I t t o o k the l a u n c h o f a second 'Astra' satellite, a n d a n o t h e r visit f r o m t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n engineer t o realign his d i s h , f o r t h e situat i o n f i n a l l y t o be r e c t i f i e d . M y closing c o m m e n t o n the Gibsons - o n e w h i c h provides a c o n v e n i e n t link with
the next
h o u s e h o l d I discuss
-
concerns t h e i r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s ,
t h r o u g h t e l e v i s i o n , w i t h larger n a t i o n a l o r transnational c o m m u n i t i e s . Some m i g h t protest t h a t small-scale e t h n o g r a p h i c research o f t h e sort I have been d o i n g is an i n a p p r o p r i a t e means o f investigating t h e c u l t u r a l c o n s t r u c t i o n o f collective i d e n t i t i e s . T h e best existing w o r k o n this theme has taken p u b l i c representations a n d narratives as a s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r analysis (e.g. F o r m a t i o n s C o l l e c t i v e , 1 9 8 4 ; Bhabha, 1 9 9 0 ) , rather t h a n t r y i n g t o e x p l o r e t h e sentiments o f actual social subjects i n t h e private d o m a i n . H o w e v e r , a recently p u b l i s h e d b o o k b y M i c h a e l B i l l i g - Talking
of the Royal
Family
(1992) -
demonstrates
the relevance o f conversational i n t e r v i e w s w i t h families f o r e x a m i n i n g discourses o f n a t i o n h o o d . G e t t i n g t h e m t o speak a b o u t t h e B r i t i s h royals, he p o i n t s t o p o w e r f u l ' c o m m o n sense' articulations o f m o n a r c h y , d o m e s t i c i t y a n d n a t i o n a l i t y . T a l k i n g a b o u t TV, i n b o t h its terrestrial a n d satellite varieties, can deliver s i m i l a r insights i n t o processes o f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . As M o r l e y ( 1 9 9 1 : 1 2 ) puts i t , ' t h e s i t t i n g r o o m is exactly w h e r e w e need t o start f r o m i f w e f i n a l l y w a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e c o n s t i t u t i v e dynamics o f abstractions such as " t h e c o m m u n i t y " o r " t h e n a t i o n ' " . A l t h o u g h M o r l e y overstates t h e a r g u m e n t a l i t tle, broadcasting does connect t h e space o f t h e h o m e w i t h electronic 'image spaces', a n d i n t h e case o f t h e Gibsons an interesting d i s t i n c t i o n is made between d i f f e r e n t t e r r i t o r i e s o f transmission. Tony's positive feelings a b o u t the A s t r a broadcasts (he tunes i n t o c o n t i n e n t a l stations like R T L Plus o r Pro 7 as w e l l as t h e Sky channels a n d M T V Europe) are i n t i m a t e l y related t o his dismissal o f established terrestrial p r o g r a m m i n g as t r a d i t i o n a l a n d o l d fashioned. I n fact, he labels i t negatively as ' B r i t i s h ' T V M r . a n d M r s . G i b s o n use precisel y t h e same label themselves, b u t here its value is c o m p l e t e l y reversed. T h e y prefer t o w a t c h B B C o r I T V i n the l i v i n g r o o m d o w n s t a i r s . For t h e H a r v e y s , a f a m i l y l i v i n g nearby, there are f u r t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g c o n nections b e i n g f o r g e d between everyday experience a n d t h e n e w 'spaces o f i d e n t i t y ' made available by satellite T V Dave a n d L i z H a r v e y are i n t h e i r late
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 223 t w e n t i e s a n d have three y o u n g c h i l d r e n aged f i v e , f o u r a n d six m o n t h s . T h e y m o v e d t o the c i t y f o u r years ago f r o m the M i d l a n d s r e g i o n o f E n g l a n d , w h e r e he h a d s t u d i e d f o r a p o l y t e c h n i c degree i n electronic engineering. She w o r k s as a h o u s e w i f e a n d M r . H a r v e y is n o w self-employed, h a v i n g g i v e n u p a salaried j o b t o start his o w n small business designing a n d m a n u f a c t u r i n g c o m p u t e r r o b o t i c s e q u i p m e n t f o r e x p o r t . T h i s m a r r i e d couple perceive the satellite t e c h n o l o g y t o be o f f e r i n g t h e m an e x p a n d e d range o f v i e w i n g choices a l t h o u g h D a v e gets t o exercise t h a t choice m o r e t h a n L i z - a n d , significantly, he speaks a b o u t the 'larger feel' created by a type o f television transmission w h i c h transcends t h e boundaries o f n a r r o w l y B r i t i s h broadcasting. W h i l s t the first o f these perceptions is w h a t w e m i g h t reasonably expect t o hear f r o m satellite T V consumers, since the t e c h n o l o g y has been m a r k e t e d as o f f e r i n g increased f r e e d o m o f choice f o r its viewers, the second set o f feelings is far less p r e d i c t a b l e . M r . H a r v e y explains t h a t : When I ' m watching Sky - because it's f r o m a European satellite - and when I ' m looking at some of the other continental stations that are available, I very much get the sense of being a European. A lot of the channels are an hour ahead, they're on European time. If you're just channel-hopping, which is a bit of a sport for me - buzzing round eight or nine stations to see what's going on - you do get the feeling of not being restricted in the good old British way. It's quite something when you can sit down in your own front room and watch what's on in another country. W i l l i s ( 1 9 8 0 : 9 0 ) has w r i t t e n about the p o t e n t i a l that e t h n o g r a p h y has f o r 'surp r i s i n g ' us - f o r t h r o w i n g u p e m p i r i c a l data a n d conceptual issues n o t p r e f i g u r e d i n the researcher's s t a r t i n g p a r a d i g m - a n d i n this early i n t e r v i e w , I was g e n u i n e l y surprised by Dave's statement o f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . T h e o p p o s i t i o n he constructs here b e t w e e n r e s t r i c t i o n a n d m o b i l i t y is m a p p e d o n t o another dist i n c t i o n i n w h i c h 'Britishness' a n d 'Europeanness' are contrasted ('not b e i n g r e s t r i c t e d i n the g o o d o l d B r i t i s h w a y ' ) . Even i f his v i e w i n g pleasures take the f o r m o f a ' t o u r i s t i c g r a z i n g ' , i t remains the case t h a t satellite T V is h e l p i n g h i m t r a v e l t o n e w places a n d t o reimagine the boundaries o f c o m m u n i t y . O f course, the image spaces p r o d u c e d by a c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t e c h n o l o g y
cannot
reshape n a t i o n a l subjectivities o n t h e i r o w n . O n l y w h e n those audio-visual t e r r i t o r i e s are a r t i c u l a t e d w i t h e x i s t i n g situations a n d discourses can a f i c t i o n l i k e E u r o p e be ' r e a l i z e d ' by certain groups o f people. So M r . H a r v e y , w h o manufactures h i - t e c h goods f o r the e x p o r t m a r k e t , already i d e n t i f i e s s t r o n g l y w i t h a t r a n s n a t i o n a l business c o m m u n i t y . T h e fact t h a t his parents have b o u g h t a r e t i r e m e n t h o m e o n the c o n t i n e n t also c o n t r i b u t e s t o Dave's r e c o g n i t i o n o f h i m s e l f as 'a E u r o p e a n ' . T h e i r v i l l a is n o w a regular d e s t i n a t i o n f o r f a m i l y holidays a b r o a d . M r s . H a r v e y , t o o , finds that the idea o f E u r o p e has a certain l i m i t e d salience. W h e n her y o u n g e r sister - an arts student at u n i v e r s i t y - came t o visit w i t h a b o y f r i e n d f r o m France, they w e r e able t o s h o w t h e m French-language p r o g r a m m e s o n satellite T V Some o f these circumstances
are o b v i o u s l y u n i q u e t o the H a r v e y h o u s e h o l d - w h i l e
224
Audiences and Reception others, such as t h e c o m m e r c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l significance o f a single E u r o p e a n m a r k e t , have m u c h w i d e r currency. W h a t w e need t o specify, t h o u g h , are p r e cisely those interdiscursive m o m e n t s at w h i c h p r i v a t e lives a n d p u b l i c w o r l d s meet
a n d mesh
together. A n y t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f collective identities w i l l
i n e v i t a b l y be uneven i n its d e v e l o p m e n t a n d w i l l necessarily be g r o u n d e d i n q u o t i d i a n practices. T h e t h e m e o f ' m o d e r n versus t r a d i t i o n a l ' runs just as p o w e r f u l l y t h r o u g h pursuits a n d disputes i n t h e H a r v e y s ' h o m e as i t d i d t h r o u g h t h e Gibsons'. I n this family, i t is t h e father w h o is a self-confessed gadgeteer. F r o m t h e t i m e he began p l a y i n g a r o u n d w i t h l i g h t b u l b s a n d circuits as a teenager, Dave has always been enthusiastic about electronics. H e can be located w i t h i n w h a t H a d d o n ( 1 9 8 8 ) has called ' h o b b y i s t ' c u l t u r e - a p r e d o m i n a n t l y masculine sphere o f social a c t i v i t y w h e r e consumers are concerned t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h all t h e latest i n n o v a t i o n s i n i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n technology. T h e i r house c u r r e n t l y contains three computers (one o f w h i c h he assembled h i m s e l f o u t o f I B M parts), t w o V C R s a n d t w o televisions, i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e satellite system a n d a c o m p a c t disc player. A n interest i n electronic music has also resulted i n plans t o b u y a synthesizer. L i z , however, is e x t r e m e l y conscious o f the fact t h a t 'people d o take t h e m i c k e y o u t o f us ... w e ' r e constantly t r i p p i n g over m o n i t o r s a n d t h i n g s ' . H e r feelings t o w a r d s these gadgets are d i s t i n c t l y m o r e a m b i v a l e n t t h a n those o f her husband. I n d e e d , she is clearly f r u s t r a t e d by the fact t h a t m o n e y spent o n his ' t o y s ' is m o n e y w h i c h goes unspent o n h e r p r e f e r r e d pastime o f c o l l e c t i n g antique f u r n i t u r e (there is a g r o w i n g b o d y o f w o r k o n f a m i l y resource d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d the c o n t r o l o f m o n e y w i t h i n m a r riage w h i c h serves t o i l l u m i n a t e these sorts o f situations - see B r a n n e n
&
W i l s o n , 1 9 8 7 ; Pahl, 1 9 8 9 ) . I f t h e h o u s e h o l d dynamics a n d differences o f taste appear t o be o r g a n i z e d c h i e f l y a l o n g gendered lines, they are best h i g h l i g h t e d b y focussing o n i n t e r personal relations across three generations - b y l o o k i n g first at t h e ties t h a t M r . a n d M r s . H a r v e y have w i t h their c h i l d r e n , a n d t h e n at the tensions w h i c h arise w h e n h e r parents come f r o m t h e M i d l a n d s t o visit. A l t h o u g h t h e y o u n g sters are d e n i e d access t o certain areas o f domestic space, i n c l u d i n g t h e f r o n t l i v i n g r o o m w h e r e satellite T V is w a t c h e d , this does n o t mean t h a t they are k e p t a w a y f r o m m e d i a technologies altogether. O n t h e contrary, t h e o l d e r v i d e o r e c o r d e r was ' g i v e n t o t h e k i d s ' a n d Dave's m i c r o - c o m p u t e r f r o m c o l lege days has n o w been h a n d e d d o w n t o the f i v e - y e a r - o l d , P h i l . These are v e r y g o o d i l l u s t r a t i o n s o f t h e ' c u l t u r a l b i o g r a p h y ' o f objects (see K o p y t o f f , 1 9 8 6 ; Silverstone et aL, 1 9 9 2 ) , w h e r e a technology's p o s i t i o n a n d f u n c t i o n w i t h i n the h o m e e n v i r o n m e n t has s h i f t e d , a n d its 'career' can be traced against t h e c h a n g i n g biographies o f f a m i l y members. Goods a n d competences here are passing t h r o u g h a g r a d u a l process o f inheritance. M r . H a r v e y r e p o r t s p r o u d l y on
h i s son's progress
with
t h e m i c r o : 'he k n o w s h o w t o p u t discs i n ,
k n o w s w h a t disc drives are, a n d can operate t h e m ... w h i c h is great because I ' d l i k e h i m t o get i n t o c o m p u t i n g ' . Understandably, L i z is less sure a b o u t t h e
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 225 a c q u i s i t i o n o f his father's enthusiasm f o r electronic gadgetry. She r e a d i l y a c k n o w l e d g e s the e d u c a t i o n a l advantages
o f a t e c h n o l o g i c a l literacy -
yet
describes P h i l w i t h some regret as 'a c h i l d o f the nineties'. H e r o w n recent e f f o r t s t o h a n d o n nostalgic pleasures t o the c h i l d r e n e n d e d i n b i t t e r disapp o i n t m e n t . M r s . H a r v e y purchased a v i d e o r e c o r d i n g o f the B B C ' s o r i g i n a l Watch
with
Mother
broadcasts as a g i f t f o r t h e m , o n l y t o discover t h a t t h e y
f o u n d i t slow and boring i n comparison w i t h modern American cartoon shows l i k e , f o r e x a m p l e , Teenage Mutant
Hero
Turtles.
M e a n w h i l e , M r s . H a r v e y ' s m o t h e r a n d father have t a k e n e x c e p t i o n t o the satellite aerial w h i c h is m o u n t e d o n the house e x t e r i o r . I t has been the source o f arguments b e t w e e n parents a n d daughter w h e n they come t o stay. ' M y mum
t h i n k s it's rather v u l g a r , ' L i z explains. 'She says t o m e , " Y o u really
s h o u l d n ' t have t h a t t h i n g o n the f r o n t o f such a l o v e l y E d w a r d i a n h o m e " . ' T h e r e c o u l d be n o m o r e e m p h a t i c statement o f the i n n o v a t i o n / c o n s e r v a t i o n c o n f l i c t . C o m p a r i n g the perceived ugliness o f an A m s t r a d dish w i t h assumed
the
beauty o f p e r i o d architecture, the g r a n d m o t h e r f o r m s a c r i t i c a l
j u d g e m e n t o n the basis o f certain m o r a l a n d aesthetic values t h a t p r i v i l e g e past o v e r present. W e have seen h o w this j u x t a p o s i t i o n o f t r a d i t i o n a l a n d m o d e r n codes is at the r o o t o f n u m e r o u s f r i c t i o n s i n the H a r v e y family. Liz's desire f o r pieces o f a n t i q u e f u r n i t u r e is o p p o s e d t o Dave's fascination w i t h electronic gadgets. S i m i l a r l y , the u n c e r t a i n feelings she has about P h i l l e a r n i n g t o use a m i c r o - c o m p u t e r contrasts w i t h Dave's evident p r i d e i n his son's achievements. As f o r the disagreement between M r s . H a r v e y a n d her parents over the dish o n the f r o n t w a l l , she chooses t e m p o r a r i l y t o side w i t h her husb a n d - r e l u c t a n t l y i d e n t i f y i n g w i t h ' m o d e r n i t y ' because she is f o r c e d o n t o the defensive b y t h e i r u n f a v o u r a b l e c o m m e n t s . I n these d i f f e r e n t situations, L i z has t o negotiate the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s o f her gendered a n d generational subject p o s i t i o n s as they are r e l a t e d t o p a r t i c u l a r senses o f ' o l d ' a n d ' n e w ' . B o t h M r . a n d M r s . H a r v e y are amused by her parents' remarks o n the satell i t e d i s h , a n d yet there are s t r o n g i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t they t o o are anxious over its appearance. So Dave sees i t , i n p a r t , as a s y m b o l o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l progress - a sign o f b e i n g ahead o f the times - b u t w o r r i e s about the c o n n o t a t i o n s i t may have f o r others i n v i e w o f the 'character' o f the n e i g h b o u r h o o d . H e a d m i t s t h a t i f they w e r e t o p u t t h e i r p r o p e r t y o n the m a r k e t i n the near f u t u r e , he w o u l d seriously consider t a k i n g the aerial d o w n - ' i f i t p r o v e d d e t r i m e n t a l t o the sale o f t h e house'. L i z confesses t h a t ' m o s t o f the people w e k n o w d o actually t h i n k it's a b i t v u l g a r ' . A l s o , a local c o u n c i l l o r has been d i s t r i b u t i n g leaflets t o residents i n the d i s t r i c t , asking f o r o p i n i o n s o n the spread o f dishes. T h e f o l l o w i n g extract f r o m m y i n t e r v i e w w i t h the H a r v e y s clearly d e m o n strates t h e anxieties they have a b o u t the p o s i t i o n i n g a n d visual i m p a c t o f the a e r i a l , w h i c h D a v e i n s t a l l e d himself, o n the f r o n t w a l l : Liz: We d i d try to put the dish round the back, didn't we? ... Still, I don't think it's as bad - as noticeable - on our house as it is on some where there's just a straight r o w of houses in a line. Then it can look awful.
226
Audiences and Reception Dave: Yes. I f it was out at the end of the bay, i t ' d be apparently obvious from all directions. Whereas at the moment you can actually come down the road and not realize it's there. I t is i n t e r e s t i n g t o c o m p a r e the sentiments being expressed here w i t h t h e o p i n ions t h a t w e r e v o i c e d b y M r . G i b s o n . H e perceived aerials o n m o d e r n 'prefabr i c a t e d ' b u i l d i n g s as less o f a n eyesore t h a n those o n t r a d i t i o n a l E d w a r d i a n houses. M r s . H a r v e y disagrees - b u t o n l y because she believes bay f r o n t s h e l p t o h i d e t h e m better. W h a t L i z a n d Dave share w i t h M r . G i b s o n is a desire f o r the object t o be made ' i n v i s i b l e ' . O n this p o i n t , M r . H a r v e y announces his i n t e n t i o n t o site t h e i r n e x t dish i n the l o f t . O n e o f the specialist magazines f o r satellite T V consumers r a n a feature recently o n t h e possibilities o f receiving a signal t h r o u g h acrylic glass r o o f t i l e s , a n d he is w i l l i n g t o t r y t h e idea o u t f o r himself. I n fact, there are regular advertisements i n these magazines f o r p i g ments t h a t p r o m i s e t o stain t h e aerial i n colours w h i c h b l e n d neatly i n t o a n y residential b a c k g r o u n d - a d d i n g t h e tactic o f camouflage t o e x i s t i n g m e t h o d s o f seclusion. L i s t e n i n g t o the accounts given by other families i n the same n e i g h b o u r h o o d , w e can hear a w h o l e range o f 'resonances' w i t h those processes o f c o n s u m p t i o n , e m b e d d i n g a n d a r t i c u l a t i o n that are at w o r k i n the Gibson a n d H a r v e y households. I n m y t w o p o r t r a i t s , I have opened u p a n d e x p l o r e d a n u m b e r o f i m p o r t a n t issues. Close a t t e n t i o n has been p a i d t o t h e ways i n w h i c h media technologies get stitched i n t o t h e fabric o f domestic cultures - a n d , i n p a r t i c ular, t o the ways i n w h i c h social divisions o f gender o r generation p r o d u c e d i f ferential dispositions t o w a r d s a technology like satellite T V T h e p a r t played b y this n e w m e d i u m i n h e l p i n g t o construct senses o f collective i d e n t i t y a n d transnational c o m m u n i t y was also discussed. I anticipate objections t o using conversational i n t e r v i e w s f o r such an i n q u i r y , b u t c o n t i n u e t o argue that f i e l d research provides us w i t h valuable material o n the interrelations o f private a n d p u b l i c i n everyday life. Finally, m y analysis has sought t o understand t h e c o n tested meanings o f satellite dishes i n a specific residential setting - i n c l u d i n g the feelings o f p r i d e , disgust o r embarrassment
evoked b y these objects.
Pursuing each o f t h e thematic strands developed above, I n o w w a n t t o cite some f u r t h e r examples f r o m t h e i n t e r v i e w data i n o r d e r t o a m p l i f y m y e t h n o graphic reading. For instance, there is a d e f i n i t e p a t t e r n o f satellite t e c h n o l o g y being desired a n d a c q u i r e d b y male consumers. O n l y i n o n e family, t h e C l a r k s , have I c o m e across a s i t u a t i o n i n w h i c h the w o m a n was responsible f o r the decision t o p u r chase a dish - a n d i n this case, i t was a m o t h e r b u y i n g her t h i r t e e n - y e a r - o l d son a special g i f t at Christmas. T h e b o y - a keen f o l l o w e r o f the sports coverage o n A s t r a - always used t o be o u t w a t c h i n g at a friend's house before t h e C l a r k s g o t a receiver just over a year ago. H i s m o t h e r w a n t e d h i m t o spend m o r e t i m e at h o m e i n t h e evenings, a n d saw satellite T V as a means t o t h a t e n d . Programmes o n t h e E u r o s p o r t a n d Screensport channels have been t h e m a i n a t t r a c t i o n t o male viewers f r o m other households i n t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 227 t o o . So, against t h e i r w i v e s ' wishes, M r . M o r g a n a n d M r . L l o y d b o u g h t aerials w h i c h enable t h e m t o see soccer a n d b o x i n g matches t h a t are n o t s h o w n o n t h e t e r r e s t r i a l stations: Mr. M . : I was the one w h o wanted to have i t . She didn't want me to have i t at all. I was watching sport all the time and she didn't like i t . I t cost us t w o hundred pounds. That was the other thing she didn't like - the money i t cost but I w o n i n the end, I always do. Mrs. L . : He got i t for the sports channels. Mr. L . : The boxing ... they've got a lot on there which you don't get on the ordinary television. It's on nearly every night. Mrs. L . : I didn't want t o have i t . I was very much against i t , but I had to get used to i t . T h e r e is also a n o t h e r instance o f a y o u n g gadgeteer i n his b e d r o o m - e c h o i n g t h e experiences o f T o n y G i b s o n . Steve Price, a m e r c h a n t sailor i n his early t w e n t i e s , s t i l l lives i n an upstairs flat at t h e parental h o m e f o r several m o n t h s o f t h e year w h e n he is n o t at sea. W i t h t h e m o n e y he earns, Steve has p u t t o g e t h e r a h i g h - q u a l i t y h i - f i system a n d o w n s t w o v i d e o machines i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e satellite T V e q u i p m e n t . B y contrast, a n d i n c o m m o n w i t h M r . a n d M r s . G i b s o n , t h e m o t h e r a n d father 'never w a t c h i t ... t h e y ' r e n o t interested - they get t h e o r d i n a r y channels o n t h e i r set d o w n s t a i r s ' . T h i s y o u n g m a n , m u c h l i k e Dave H a r v e y o r Tony, talks about feeling ' l i m i t e d ' b y t h e f o u r stations w h i c h are available f r o m terrestrial broadcasting services. H i s w o r k i n t h e m e r c h a n t navy occasionally takes h i m t o t h e U S A , w h e r e he has witnessed m u l t i - c h a n n e l cable systems first h a n d . Steve's acquisit i o n o f satellite t e l e v i s i o n o n r e t u r n i n g t o t h e U K was an a t t e m p t t o recreate t h a t experience: ' I ' v e w a t c h e d q u i t e a b i t o f T V over t h e r e , a n d t h o u g h t " t h e m o r e t h e m e r r i e r " , y o u k n o w - a w i d e r variety - w h i c h is w h y I b o u g h t i t . ' T h e sign o f ' A m e r i c a ' is p r o m i n e n t here, rather t h a n t h e idea o f ' E u r o p e ' , b u t the p r i n c i p l e s o f t r a v e l a n d m o b i l i t y ( b o t h actual a n d i m a g i n a r y ) are present again. T h e r e has, o f course, been a l o n g h i s t o r y o f debates c o n c e r n i n g t h e e x p o r t o f A m e r i c a n styles t o B r i t a i n ( H e b d i g e , 1 9 8 2 ) - w i t h some social g r o u p s b r a n d i n g US c u l t u r e as vulgar a n d others choosing t o celebrate i t . W h a t w e have t o d o , as ethnographers o f m e d i a r e c e p t i o n , is seek o u t those interdiscursive m o m e n t s o f c o n n e c t i o n I spoke about earlier i n this chapter w h e r e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s w i t h n e w image spaces are made. O n e such m o m e n t can be f o u n d i n m y i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e Sharmas, a middle-class Asian family. For the father, Astra's 'non-Britishness' is o f p a r t i c u l a r significance. C o m p a r i n g t h e modes o f address e m p l o y e d b y announcers o n B B C 1 a n d Sky N e w s , he comments that: W i t h the BBC, you always feel as though the structure of society is there - the authority. Their newsreaders speak just like schoolmasters. They're telling you, like schoolmasters telling the kids. I think Sky News has more of a N o r t h American approach. It's more relaxed. They treat you like equals and don't take the audience for a bunch of small kids.
228
Audiences and Reception M r . Sharma's assessment is t h e consequence o f a broader h o s t i l i t y t o w a r d s establishment values i n w h i t e B r i t i s h society - a n d t o w a r d s t h e B B C as an i n s t i t u t i o n w h i c h , f r o m his perspective, embodies t h e m . A n x i e t y over t h e p u b l i c display o f dishes, clearly e v i d e n t i n m y f a m i l y p o r t r a i t s , is w i d e l y expressed b y consumers elsewhere i n t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d . M r s . C l a r k , t h e w o m a n w h o purchased a satellite receiver t o please h e r s o n , f o u n d t h a t she w o r r i e d a b o u t t h e aerial's appearance w h e n i t was f i t t e d t o the f r o n t o f the house: ' I w a n t e d i t t o g o o n t h e back ... t h e y ' r e a b i t u n s i g h t ly, a n d n o b o d y else i n t h e street has g o t o n e . ' Similarly, Steve Price a d m i t s t o second t h o u g h t s after i n s t a l l i n g a dish b y himself. ' I d o w o n d e r i f i t l o o k s a b i t o u t o f place,' he says, 'because t h e l o c a l c o u n c i l have p a i n t e d t h e o l d r a i l ings a n d made t h e p a r k nice - I suppose that's w h y . ' I t is t h e n o w f a m i l i a r o p p o s i t i o n b e t w e e n i n n o v a t i o n a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n w h i c h p r o v o k e s his d o u b t s , a n d t h i s c o n f l i c t o f c u l t u r a l tastes f u n c t i o n s i n t h e M o r g a n s ' h o m e as w e l l . W h i l e t h e h u s b a n d usually gets his w a y i n disputes over t h e a c q u i s i t i o n a n d use o f m e d i a technologies, t h e w i f e c o n t r o l s decisions i n t h e d o m a i n o f i n t e r i o r d e c o r a t i o n . M r s . M o r g a n has created an a n t i q u e l o o k i n t h e l o u n g e w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l o r n a m e n t s a n d f u r n i s h i n g s , alongside a fireplace w h i c h she h a d specially r e s t o r e d f o r t h e r o o m . H e r general o p i n i o n o f satellite TV, as I have p r e v i o u s l y n o t e d , is l o w - a n d there are concerns a b o u t h o w t h e aerial is i n t e r p r e t e d b y p e o p l e l i v i n g i n t h e i r street. M r . M o r g a n , a l o r r y d r i v e r , refers t o t h e v i e w s o f a teacher's w i f e across t h e r o a d : 'She t h i n k s i t l o w e r s t h e t o n e o f t h e area w i t h a dish o u t t h e f r o n t ... there's a l o t o f d o c t o r s a n d teachers r o u n d here, a n d I d o n ' t t h i n k t h e y ' r e keen o n t h e m . ' As f o r his o w n percept i o n , M r . M o r g a n is less a n x i o u s t h a n m o s t interviewees i n t h e d i s t r i c t . ' W h y w o r r y ? ' he asks. ' L i f e ' s t o o s h o r t , i s n ' t i t ? ' I n fact, his expression o f i n d i f f e r e n c e has m o r e i n c o m m o n w i t h responses r e c o r d e d i n m y w o r k i n g class n e i g h b o u r h o o d . T h e r e , t h e e r e c t i o n o f dishes seems t o be r e l a t i v e l y unproblematic. O n a f i n a l n o t e , I w o u l d l i k e t o stress t h e considerable divergences i n emphasis a n d m e t h o d b e t w e e n m y o w n c u r r e n t w o r k a n d e x i s t i n g academic w r i t i n g s o n satellite broadcasting. I n t h e m a i n , p u b l i s h e d essays a n d m o n o graphs ( N e g r i n e , 1 9 8 8 ; C o l l i n s , 1 9 9 0 ; C r i t c h e r & M c C a n n , 1 9 9 0 ) have focussed o n i n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i c y issues. T h e y o u t l i n e patterns o f o w n e r s h i p , d r a w f r o m t h e available q u a n t i t a t i v e data o n audience size, a n d m a k e speculative forecasts a b o u t t h e f u t u r e t a k e - u p a n d e c o n o m i c v i a b i l i t y o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y . W h a t remains t o t a l l y absent f r o m this l i t e r a t u r e is a n y u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e significance t h a t satellite T V has f o r consumers i n everyday social c o n t e x t s . O f course, a l l types o f research
( m i n e i n c l u d e d ) w i l l have
t h e i r ' o p p o r t u n i t y costs' - those lines o f i n q u i r y w h i c h are sacrificed i n f a v o u r o f others -
a n d I a m c e r t a i n l y n o t suggesting t h a t t h e matters
dealt w i t h b y these a u t h o r s are u n i m p o r t a n t . H o w e v e r , I a m i n s i s t i n g o n the n e e d f o r an analysis w h i c h engages w i t h t h e f i n e - g r a i n e d d e t a i l o f situ a t e d c o n s u m p t i o n practices.
M y i n v e s t i g a t i o n can t h e r e f o r e be seen as
Satellite TV as Cultural Sign 229 c o n t r i b u t i n g t o w h a t Klaus B r u h n Jensen ( 1 9 9 1 ) calls 'the q u a l i t a t i v e t u r n ' i n mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n s research - a n d i t f o r m s p a r t o f an e m e r g i n g t r a d i t i o n o f w o r k i n c u l t u r a l studies t h a t is addressing the domestic uses a n d meanings o f media technologies.
References Bhabha, H o m i (ed.) 1990: Nation and narration. London: Routledge. Billig, Michael 1992: Talking of the royal family. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, Pierre 1984: Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste. L o n d o n : Routledge & Kegan Paul. Brannen, Julia and Wilson, Gail (eds.) 1987: Give and take in families: studies in resource distribution. London: Allen & Unwin. Brunsdon, Charlotte 1991: Satellite dishes and the landscapes of taste. New Formations 15, 2 3 - 4 2 . C A C I Market Analysis 1985: A classification of residential neighbourhoods. London: C A C I Inc.-International. Collins, Richard 1990: Satellite television in Western Europe. London: John Libbey. Critcher, Chas and McCann, Paul 1990: Satellite television: pie i n the sky? I n Williams, N o e l and Hartley, Peter (eds.), Technology in human communication. London: Pinter. De Certeau, M i c h e l 1984: The practice of everyday life. Berkeley Calif.: University of California Press. Fiske, John 1989: Understanding popular culture. Boston, Mass.: Unwin Hyman. Formations Collective (eds.) 1984: Formations of nation and people. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Geertz, C l i f f o r d 1973: The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. N e w York: Basic Books. Giddens, Anthony 1984: The constitution of society: outline of the theory of struc¬ turation. Cambridge: Polity Press. H a d d o n , Leslie 1988: The home computer: the making of a consumer electronic. Science as Culture 2, 7 - 5 1 . H a l l , Stuart 1986: O n postmodernism and articulation: an interview w i t h Stuart H a l l . Journal of Communication Inquiry 10(2), 45-60. H a l l , Stuart 1988: The hard road to renewal: Thatcherism and the crisis of the left. London: Verso. Hebdige, Dick 1982: Towards a cartography of taste, 1935-1962. In Waites, Bernard, Bennett, Tony and M a r t i n , Graham (eds.), Popular culture: past and present. London: Croom H e l m . Hebdige, Dick 1988: Hiding in the light: on images and things. London: Routledge. Jensen, Klaus Bruhn 1991: Introduction: the qualitative turn. In Jensen, Klaus Bruhn and Jankowski, Nicholas (eds.), A handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communication research. London: Routledge. Johnson, Richard 1986: The story so far: and further transformations? In Punter, David (ed.), Introduction to contemporary cultural studies. London: Longman. Kopytoff, Igor 1986: The cultural biography of things: commoditisation as process. In Appadurai, Arjun (ed.), The social life of things: commodities in cultural perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Leal, Ondina Fachel 1990: Popular taste and erudite repertoire: the place and space of television in Brazil. Cultural Studies 4(1), 19-29.
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Audiences and Reception Moores, Shaun 1988: T h e box on the dresser': memories of early radio and everyday life. Media, Culture and Society 10(1), 2 3 ^ 0 . Moores, Shaun 1996: Satellite television and everyday life: articulating technology. Acamedia Research Monograph 18. Luton: John Libbey Media. Morley, David 1980: The 'nationwide' audience: structure and decoding. London: BFI. Morley, David 1986: Family television: cultural power and domestic leisure. London: Comedia. Morley, David 1991: Where the global meets the local: notes from the sitting room. Screen 32(1), 1-15. Negrine, Ralph (ed.) 1988: Satellite broadcasting: the politics and implications of the new media. London: Routledge. Pahl, Jan 1989: Money and marriage. London: Macmillan. Silverstone, Roger 1990: Television and everyday life: towards an anthropology of the television audience'. I n Marjorie Ferguson (ed.), Public communication: the new imperatives. London: Sage. Silverstone, Roger, Hirsch, Eric and Morley, David 1992: Information and communication technologies and the moral economy of the household. In Silverstone, Roger and Hirsch, Eric (eds.), Consuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces. London: Routledge. Volosinov, Valentin 1973: Marxism and the philosophy of language. N e w York: Seminar Press. Williams, Raymond 1974: Television: technology and cultural form. London: Fontana. Willis, Paul 1977: Learning to labour: how working class kids get working class jobs. Aldershot: Saxon House. Willis, Paul 1978: Profane culture. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Willis, Paul 1980: Notes on method. In Hall, Stuart, Hobson, Dorothy, Lowe, Andrew and Willis, Paul (eds.), Culture, media, language: working papers in cultural studies 1972-79. London: Hutchinson. Willis, Paul 1990: Common culture: symbolic work at play in the everyday cultures of the young. M i l t o n Keynes: Open University Press. Wynne, Derek 1990: Leisure, lifestyle and the construction of social position. Leisure Studies 9(1), 21-34.
Questions 1
What do you take to be the key ideas in the extract associated with consumption, embedding, mobile privatisation and articulation? How are they helpful in studying forms of media reception?
2
Analyse a range of advertising material for new media technologies - satellite TV, compact discs and players, domestic multi-media systems etc. What techniques do these adverts use in attempting to promote the appeal of their product and how do they do it?
3
Using Moores' approach as a model, carry out at least one detailed householdbased study of media technologies - established as well as new - and their use and cultural significance for various members of the household. As well as recording matters of relevant detail you should consider any issues which might arise concerning the method of enquiry itself and your role as investigator/researcher.
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 231
Further reading
Alasuutari, P. 1995: Researching culture: qualitative method and cultural studies. London: Sage. Jensen, K.B. and Janowski, N . W. (eds.) 1991: A handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communication research. London: Routledge. L u l l , J. 1990: Inside family viewing: ethnographic research on television's audiences. London: Routledge. McGuigan, J. 1992: Cultural populism. London: Routledge. Moores, Shaun 1996: Satellite television and everyday life: articulating technology. Acamedia Research Monograph 18. Luton: John Libbey Media. Silverstone, R. 1994: Television and everyday life. London: Routledge. Silverstone, R. and Hirsch, E. (eds.) 1992: Consuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces. London: Routledge,
23 Critical Perspectives within Audience Research Nick Stevenson From Understanding media cultures: social theory and mass communication (Sage, 1995)
In the final reading in this section on audiences and the reception of media output, Stevenson provides a very useful overview and commentary on the key issues at stake in audience research in its current phase. Initially, he begins by noting the intensifying competition for audiences and consumers in the 1980s and 1990s and the complications posed by the development of new technologies - VCRs, remote control units and cable networks for instance - and their cultural and market impacts in the same period. The extract then 'maps' and provides a critical survey of key areas of research and debate associated with recent audience studies. In its original format, Stevenson's discussion is quite lengthy and we have only been able to include his assessment of the work of John Fiske and his particular approaches to the study of popular culture and modern forms of cultural reception. This forms the final part of the extract and includes a series of arguments about the possibilities for diverse forms of cultural creativity and resistance to be understood as part and parcel of the ways in which people actively use and relate to popular culture in everyday life. The commentary that Stevenson provides assumes a fairly advanced degree of familiarity with the historical as well as the contemporary contours of sociological and cultural theories concerning media audiences. One of the strengths of the extract, however, is its ability to summarise cogently different or contending positions of research and theory, and to provide useful signposts for further reading and study, as well as posing the key questions to think about. Throughout your reading of the extract, you will find it useful to make notes on both conceptual and methodological issues for discussion.
232
Audiences and Reception
The emergence of critical audience studies Basically t w o kinds o f audience research are c u r r e n t l y being undertaken. T h e first a n d m o s t w i d e l y circulated f o r m o f k n o w l e d g e about the audience is gathered b y large-scale c o m m u n i c a t i o n institutions. T h i s f o r m o f investigation is made necessary as television, r a d i o , cinema a n d p r i n t p r o d u c t i o n need t o attract viewers, listeners a n d readers. I n order t o capture an audience m o d e r n institutions require k n o w l e d g e about the 'public's' habits, tastes a n d dispositions. T h i s enables media corporations t o target certain audience segments w i t h a p r o g r a m m e o r t e x t u a l strategy. T h e desire t o k n o w w h o is i n the audience at any one t i m e provides useful k n o w l e d g e that attracts advertisers, and gives b r o a d casters certain impressions o f w h o they are addressing. Some critics have suggested that the n e w cable technology that w i l l a l l o w telev i s i o n transmissions t o be transferred d o w n phone wires w i l l be able t o calculate h o w m a n y people i n a particular area o f the city watched last night's H o l l y w o o d blockbuster. T h i s increasingly individualised k n o w l e d g e base dispenses w i t h t h e p r o b l e m o f existing n e t w o r k s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n where the m a j o r i t y o f advertisements m i g h t be w a t c h e d by an underclass t o o p o o r t o purchase the goods o n offer. Yet t h e belief that n e w technology w i l l deliver a streamlined consumerh u n g r y audience t o advertisers sounds like an advanced f o r m o f capitalist w i s h f u l f i l m e n t . T h i s m i g h t be the strategy b e h i n d a n u m b e r o f investments i n n e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies, b u t its realisation is a different matter. Audiences have devised ways o f a v o i d i n g semiotic capitalism's attempts t o make t h e m sit t h r o u g h o b l i g a t o r y periods o f advertising. T h i s is achieved by w a t c h i n g another channel, m a k i n g a cup o f tea d u r i n g the commercial break, o r pressing the fastf o r w a r d b u t t o n o n the video. I n response, commercial culture has sought t o integrate advertising i n t o the programmes themselves. A l t h o u g h this makes some f o r m o f engagement w i t h consumer products unavoidable, the audience has n o t been rendered passive. D u r i n g the 1 9 9 4 W o r l d C u p , A m e r i c a n viewers keen t o a v o i d a variety o f commercial strategies that had been integrated i n t o the c o m m e n t a r y switched t o Spanish-language cable television stations. These p r o v i d e d better coverage, as the advertising was n o t as intrusive, a l t h o u g h i t is u n l i k e l y that t h e vast m a j o r i t y o f the viewers w o u l d have u n d e r s t o o d the l i n guistic f r a m i n g o f the event. This example points t o a situation where the capitalisation a n d p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f different n e t w o r k s make i t easier f o r the audience to escape ' p a r t i c u l a r ' media strategies f o r their a t t e n t i o n . T h e c h a n n e l - h o p p i n g v i e w i n g patterns fostered by these conditions w i l l again make i t m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o calculate audience share. But, as I e n A n g ( 1 9 9 1 ) has argued, t h e practice o f m a k i n g t h e audience statistically k n o w a b l e has the consequence o f r e i f y i n g its actual social practices. We m a y k n o w t h a t 2 0 per cent o f w o m e n health w o r k e r s w a t c h e d last n i g h t ' s episode o f thirtysomething,
b u t this actually tells us very l i t t l e a b o u t t h e i r
v i e w i n g c o n t e x t , o r i n d e e d t h e m e a n i n g t h a t was constructed f r o m t h e p r o g r a m m e b y the w o m e n . T h e f o r m o f q u a n t i f i a b l e k n o w l e d g e r e q u i r e d b y c o m -
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 233 m e r c i a l a n d state i n s t i t u t i o n s is c o n t i n u a l l y d i s r u p t e d b y t h e everyday practice o f t h e audience. F o r A n g , a n d others, t h e members o f t h e audience r e m a i n s l i g h t l y anarchistic. O u r h e a l t h w o r k e r settling d o w n t o w a t c h
thirtysomething
m i g h t also be z a p p i n g over t o another channel t o w a t c h t h e n e w Prince v i d e o , o r i n d e e d she c o u l d be i n t e r r u p t e d b y a w o r k - r e l a t e d telephone call. I n such a c o n t e x t i t w o u l d be d i f f i c u l t t o decide w h a t actually counts as ' w a t c h i n g ' . I t is the so-called o r d i n a r y practices a n d pleasures o f v i e w i n g , l i s t e n i n g a n d readi n g t h a t constitute t h e second p a r a d i g m o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n research. T h i s s t r a n d o f audience w a t c h i n g has been developed by i n t e r p r e t a t i v e approaches t o sociology a n d m e d i a studies. Against t h e m o r e i n s t r u m e n t a l concerns o f c o m m e r c i a l organisations these studies have sought t o address t h e l i f e - w o r l d c o n t e x t s o f m e d i a audiences. H e r e t h e concerns o f audience research are focused o n o f f e r e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s a n d t h e social relations o f r e c e p t i o n . C o n t e m p o r a r y interest i n t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i v e activity o f t h e audience usually c o n t a i n s a s t r o n g c r i t i q u e o f t h e c u l t u r a l pessimism o f certain members o f t h e early F r a n k f u r t s c h o o l , a n d an indebtedness t o t h e so-called uses a n d g r a t i f i c a t i o n s a p p r o a c h . . . . [ Q e r t a i n members o f t h e F r a n k f u r t school t e n d e d t o v i e w p o p u l a r c u l t u r e t h r o u g h a specific attachment t o h i g h f o r m s o f m o d e r n i s t a r t . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u r a l d i s p o s i t i o n meant t h a t they d i d n o t problematise t h e r e a d i n g activities o f a socially situated audience. I t is a d i s p o s i t i o n evident i n l i t e r a r y approaches t o t h e m e d i a , l i k e that o f R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s , a n d Fredric Jameson, w h o s e readings o f c u l t u r e are i n t e n d e d t o b o t h m i r r o r a n d replace those o f absent social subjects. Uses a n d gratifications research, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , has sought t o substitute t h e idea o f w h a t measurable 'effects' t h e media have o n t h e audience w i t h an analysis o f t h e ways i n w h i c h people use t h e m e d i a . T h i s research, m o s t l y p i o n e e r e d b y postwar social psychology, b r o u g h t t o t h e f o r e t h e n o t i o n that t h e audience's perceptions o f messages c o u l d be r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e meanings i n t e n d e d b y t h e i r producer(s).
While
t h e r e remains some dispute as t o t h e debt c u r r e n t audience research owes t o this perspective,
i t is n o t o u r c o n c e r n here ( C u r r a n , 1 9 9 0 ; M o r l e y , 1 9 9 2 ) .
Instead, a w o r d o r t w o needs t o be said, b y w a y o f a n i n t r o d u c t i o n , o n t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l r o o t s o f t h e r e n e w e d c o n c e r n w i t h t h e audience. T h e strands o f c u l t u r a l t h e o r y I w a n t t o address have a l l g r o w n o u t o f t h e q u e s t i o n i n g o f the a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e m e a n i n g o f an a c t i o n can s i m p l y be taken f o r g r a n t e d . T h a t is, t h e subjectivity o f t h e audience is constructed t h r o u g h its i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h c e r t a i n m a t e r i a l c o n d i t i o n s o f existence a n d a variety o f symbolic f o r m s . These concerns are usually c o n n e c t e d w i t h a symbolic c o n c e p t i o n o f c u l t u r e . T h e w r i t i n g o f t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t C l i f f o r d Geertz ( 1 9 7 3 ) has been p a r t i c u l a r l y v i t a l i n h e l p i n g shape a symbolic
a p p r o a c h t o c u l t u r a l studies. Geertz
argues t h a t w h a t w e call c u l t u r e is t h e w e b o f s i g n i f i c a t i o n that has been spun by m e a n i n g f u l actions, objects a n d expressions. I n this sense, c u l t u r e is neither objective n o r subjective.
T h e empiricist claim that the p r o d u c t i o n o f hard
objective data (such as t h a t p r o d u c e d by v i e w i n g figures) can p r o v i d e a secure anchoring
f o r t h e social
sciences
is dismissed
b y this
approach.
Such
234
Audiences and Reception objectivistic claims seem t o h o l d o u t t h e possibility o f breaking o u t o f the circle o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n altogether. Geertz's stress o n t h e symbolic nature o f c u l t u r e retains a n openness t o f u r t h e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s by the lay actors themselves o r t h e investigative sociologists. H e r e there is a need t o distinguish between first-
a n d second-order
interpretations:
a separation
needs t o be
made
between t h e intersubjective meanings p r o d u c e d b y t h e agents themselves, a n d the sense social scientists make o f these i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . C u l t u r a l expressions are m e a n i n g f u l f o r social agents as w e l l as f o r t h e researchers t h a t study t h e m . Further, i f w e can agree that m e a n i n g is a p u b l i c a n d intersubjective p r o p e r t y , this entails t h a t i t is n o t s o m e h o w h e l d inside people's heads. I n s h o r t , a g o o d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r linguistic c o m m u n i t y is n o t g o v e r n e d by t h e a u t h o r ' s cleverness, b u t b y his o r her a b i l i t y t o take the reader t o the 'heart' o f the s y m b o l i c a l l y p r o d u c e d c o m m o n meanings. James Carey ( 1 9 8 9 ) , c o m m e n t i n g o n t h e recent 'interpretative t u r n ' w i t h i n m e d i a sociology, argues that there has been a corresponding m o v e away f r o m f u n c t i o n a l approaches. By f u n c t i o n a l analysis he means research that concentrates u p o n w h e t h e r o r n o t the mass media c o n f i r m o r d i s r u p t the status q u o . A m o r e symbolic approach t o c u l t u r a l f o r m s , he suggests, w o u l d seek t o examine the i n t e r a c t i o n o f symbolic meanings w i t h i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n . A n d yet w h i l e this is a legitimate area o f i n q u i r y , there remains a f u n d a m e n t a l d i f f i c u l t y w i t h this k i n d o f approach t o mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n studies. T o p u t i t bluntly, some o f the studies that have utilised this particular understanding o f culture r e m a i n under-appreciative o f the o p e r a t i o n o f p o w e r a n d social structure i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d reception o f symbolic f o r m s . . . . I shall argue that the p r o d u c t i o n o f m e a n i n g s h o u l d be related t o the o p e r a t i o n o f institutions and p o w e r . Further, that t h e symbolic celebration o f the interpretative capacity o f the audience, i n certain instances, has been a l l o w e d t o replace a m o r e critical a n d n o r m a t i v e social theory.
[...]
John Fiske and the pleasure of popular culture J o h n Fiske ... has sought t o articulate a theory o f popular culture that builds u p o n H a l l ' s o r i g i n a l encoding/decoding essay. R u n n i n g t h r o u g h most o f his w r i t i n g o n p o p u l a r culture is the distinction between instrumental streamlined f o r m s o f p r o d u c t i o n that characterise capitalism, a n d the creative
meanings
invested i n these products by the consumers. T h e r e is a radical break between the interests o f the economic institutions that produce c u l t u r a l f o r m s and the interpretative concerns o f the audience. Fiske expresses this d i s t i n c t i o n as an o p p o s i t i o n between the ' p o w e r bloc' (the d o m i n a n t c u l t u r a l , p o l i t i c a l a n d social order) a n d the 'people' (sets o f felt social allegiances cut across b y class, gender, race, age, etc.). T h e ' p o w e r bloc' produces u n i f o r m mass-produced which
products
are then transformed i n t o practices o f resistance b y the 'people'. As
Fiske argues, ' p o p u l a r culture is made by the people, n o t p r o d u c e d by t h e culture i n d u s t r y ' (Fiske, 1989a: 2 4 ) . T o be considered
popular,
therefore,
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 235 c o m m o d i t i e s have t o be able t o be mass p r o d u c e d f o r economic r e t u r n , a n d be p o t e n t i a l l y o p e n t o t h e subversive readings o f the people. For Fiske, once I have purchased t h e n e w M a d o n n a compact disc f r o m the local music store, the p r o d uct has become detached f r o m t h e strategies o f capitalism. T h e music o f M a d o n n a is n o t s i m p l y a standardised p r o d u c t that can be purchased t h r o u g h the institutions o f global capitalism, b u t is a c u l t u r a l resource o f everyday life. T h e act o f c o n s u m p t i o n always entails the p r o d u c t i o n o f meaning. T h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f m e a n i n g requires us t o study three levels o f t e x t u a l i t y w h i l e teasing o u t t h e specific relations between t h e m . First there are t h e c u l t u r a l f o r m s t h a t are p r o d u c e d a l o n g w i t h t h e n e w M a d o n n a a l b u m t o create the idea o f a m e d i a event. These can i n c l u d e concerts, books, posters a n d videos. A t t h e n e x t level, there is a variety o f media t a l k i n p o p u l a r magazines a n d newspapers, television p o p p r o g r a m m e s a n d r a d i o shows a l l o f f e r i n g a v a r i e t y o f c r i t i c a l c o m m e n t a r y u p o n M a d o n n a . T h e f i n a l level o f t e x t u a l i t y , the o n e t h a t Fiske claims t o be most attentive t o , involves t h e ways i n w h i c h M a d o n n a becomes p a r t o f o u r everyday l i f e . A c c o r d i n g t o Fiske ( 1 9 8 7 a , 1989b), Madonna's
career was launched b y a r o c k v i d e o o f an early
song
called ' L u c k y Star'. She became established i n 1985 as a c u l t u r a l i c o n t h r o u g h a series o f successful LPs a n d singles, t h e f i l m Desperately shots t h a t appeared i n Penthouse
a n d Playboy,
Seeking
Susan,
nude
as w e l l as t h e successful m a r -
k e t i n g o f a certain ' l o o k ' . Fiske argues that M a d o n n a symbolically plays w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l m a l e - d o m i n a t e d stereotypes o f t h e v i r g i n a n d t h e w h o r e i n o r d e r t o subtly subvert p a t r i a r c h a l meanings. T h a t is, t h e t e x t u a l i t y o f M a d o n n a ideo l o g i c a l l y destabilises t r a d i t i o n a l representations o f w o m e n . Fiske accounts f o r M a d o n n a ' s success b y a r g u i n g that she is an o p e n o r w r i t e r l y t e x t rather t h a n a closed readerly o n e . I n this way, M a d o n n a is able t o challenge her fans t o r e i n v e n t t h e i r o w n sexual identities o u t o f t h e c u l t u r a l resources that she a n d p a t r i a r c h a l capitalism p r o v i d e s . H e n c e M a d o n n a as a t e x t is polysemic, patriarchal
a n d sceptical. I n t h e f i n a l analysis,
Madonna
is n o t p o p u l a r
because she is p r o m o t e d b y t h e c u l t u r e industry, b u t because her attempts t o forge h e r o w n i d e n t i t y w i t h i n a m a l e - d e f i n e d c u l t u r e have a certain relevance f o r h e r fans. W h i l e Fiske d r a w s f r o m a range o f c u l t u r a l theory, most n o t a b l y semiotics a n d p o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s m , t h e w o r k o f M i c h e l D e Certeau ( 1 9 8 4 ) has a particular resonance f o r his a p p r o a c h . For D e Certeau, p o p u l a r c u l t u r e is best d e f i n e d as the o p e r a t i o n s p e r f o r m e d u p o n texts, rather t h a n t h e actual domains o f t h e texts themselves. Everyday life has t o operate w i t h i n t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l spaces t h a t have been carved o u t b y t h e p o w e r f u l . T o read a fashion magazine, listen t o a p u n k a l b u m , p u t o n a soccer s u p p o r t e r ' s scarf, o r p i n u p a p i c t u r e o f Bruce Springsteen, is t o discover a w a y o f using c o m m o n c u l t u r e that is n o t s t r i c t l y p r o s c r i b e d b y its makers. T h e act o f c o n s u m p t i o n is part o f the 'tactics' o f t h e w e a k t h a t w h i l e o c c u p y i n g t h e spaces o f t h e s t r o n g converts d i s c i p l i n a r y a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l t i m e i n t o t h a t w h i c h is free a n d creative. T h e specific tactics t h a t evade i n s t r u m e n t a l modes o f d o m i n a t i o n , o r w h a t D e C e r t e a u
236
Audiences and Reception sometimes calls c u l t u r a l p o a c h i n g , i n practice never become r e i f i e d as they are constantly s h i f t i n g a n d thereby evade d e t e c t i o n . I n this v e i n , D e Certeau describes as ' l a p e r r u q u e ' those a r t f u l practices t h a t are able t o t r i c k order. F o r instance, t h e practice o f w r i t i n g a love letter w h i l e at w o r k is a means o f steali n g t i m e f r o m an i n s t r u m e n t a l activity a n d d i v e r t i n g i t i n t o a m o r e sensuous p u r s u i t . T h u s w h i l e t h e practices o f the p o w e r f u l d o m i n a t e the p r o d u c t i o n o f c u l t u r a l f o r m s a n d regulate the spaces o f their r e c e p t i o n , the r e a d i n g processes o f t h e w e a k elude strategies
o f direct c o n t r o l . T o take another
example
d e r i v e d f r o m D e C e r t e a u ; w h i l e Spanish colonisers were 'successful' i n i m p o s i n g t h e i r o w n c u l t u r e o n indigenous Indians, t h e d o m i n a t e d w e r e able t o m a k e o f this i m p o s e d c u l t u r e s o m e t h i n g d i f f e r e n t f r o m that w h i c h t h e c o n querors i n t e n d e d . T h i s was n o t achieved t h r o u g h r e v o l u t i o n a r y struggle, b u t by accepting t h e c u l t u r e o f t h e Spanish a n d subtly t r a n s f o r m i n g i t f o r t h e i r o w n ends. F o l l o w i n g D e Certeau, Fiske dispenses w i t h t h e n o t i o n o f t h e ' p r e f e r r e d r e a d i n g ' evident w i t h i n t h e o r i g i n a l e n c o d i n g / d e c o d i n g m o d e l . B o t h Fiske a n d D e Certeau are keen t o distance themselves f r o m c u l t u r a l theories, like those p r o p o s e d b y t h e early F r a n k f u r t school, w h i c h assume that t h e consumer becomes m o r e l i k e t h e p r o d u c t , rather t h a n t h e n o t i o n t h a t consumers m a k e the p r o d u c t m o r e l i k e themselves. M o r e conservative c u l t u r a l accounts, f o r D e C e r t e a u , stem f r o m t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t belief that certain a u t h o r i s e d f o r m s o f k n o w l e d g e w e r e capable o f t r a n s f o r m i n g the habits o f the people. T h i s particular d i s p o s i t i o n establishes a d e f i n i t e h i e r a r c h y between those professional intellectuals w h o construct t h e t e x t a n d those w h o are meant t o passively assimilate i t . T h e ' p o w e r b l o c ' , i n this r e a d i n g , attempts t o close d o w n t h e p o t e n t i a l meanings o f t h e t e x t by hierarchically f i x i n g certain i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s over others. T h e m o d e r n w o r l d , however, has witnessed a decline i n t h e p o w e r o f t r a d i t i o n i n general, a n d intellectuals i n p a r t i c u l a r , t o prescribe meanings i n this way. D e Certeau w r i t e s : Just as the aeroplane makes possible a growing independence w i t h respect to the constraints imposed by geographical organisation, the techniques of speed reading obtain, through the rarefaction of the eye's stopping points, an acceleration of its movements across the page, an autonomy in relation to the determinants of the text and a multiplication of the spaces covered. Emancipated from places, the reading body is freer in its movements. (De Certeau, 1984: 176) I n d e e d , f o r D e C e r t e a u , the need t o w r i t e f l o w s f r o m a psychic desire t o master a n d o r d e r t h e w o r l d . T h e emergence o f t h e n o v e l , t h e r e f o r e , was an a t t e m p t t o recapture some o f the cosmological language that h a d p r e v i o u s l y d e f i n e d one's place i n t h e w o r l d w i t h i n t r a d i t i o n a l society. I n t h e m o d e r n age o f a t o m i s e d i n d i v i d u a l i s m there has been a f u r t h e r decline i n t h e c o m m i t m e n t t o c e r t a i n beliefs. Further, as those i n s t i t u t i o n s , such as religious a n d p o l i t i c a l organisations lose t h e i r capacity t o engender belief, t h e people take refuge i n m e d i a a n d leisure activities. W e n o w live i n a ' r e c i t e d ' society t h a t constantly circulates narratives a n d stories t h r o u g h t h e m e d i u m o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 237 I n t h e p o s t - t r u t h w o r l d , t h e people are saturated b y a p l u r a l i t y o f discourses t h a t are s t r u g g l i n g f o r t h e consent o f t h e audience, t h e difference being t h a t t h e e x p l o s i o n o f messages t h a t characterises m o d e r n i t y is n o longer stamped w i t h t h e ' a u t h o r i t y ' o f t h e i r authors. D e Certeau a p t l y describes t h e w a y i n w h i c h o l d religious f o r m s o f a u t h o r i t y have been s u p p l a n t e d by a p l u r a l i t y o f narratives
that
empower
t h e reader,
rather
than
the writer.
Similarly,
Fiske argues t h a t t h e shift f r o m n a t i o n a l t o g l o b a l capitalism has meant t h a t the system o f p r o d u c t i o n has become m o r e ' d i s t a n t ' , leaving t h e necessary space f o r o p p o s i t i o n a l tactics. T h e central p a r a d o x o f m o d e r n i t y i d e n t i f i e d b y Fiske a n d D e Certeau is t h a t t h e m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n that is p r o d u c e d b y t h e p o w e r b l o c , t h e less i t is able t o g o v e r n t h e various i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s made o f i t by socially situated subjects. T o illustrate this p o i n t , Fiske ( 1 9 8 7 b ) o f t e n d r a w s u p o n t h e seminal research o f H o d g e a n d T r i p p ( 1 9 8 6 ) i n t o c h i l d r e n ' s r e l a t i o n ship w i t h t e l e v i s i o n . H o d g e a n d T r i p p a i m t o r e f u t e t h e j o i n t m y t h s t h a t television is necessarily e d u c a t i o n a l l y b a d f o r c h i l d r e n a n d t h a t parents a n d c h i l d r e n read t e l e v i s i o n i n t h e same w a y . T h i s c o n c e r n
is p a r t i c u l a r l y e v i d e n t i n t h e i r a t t e m p t t o
u n r a v e l t h e reasons f o r t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e soap o p e r a Prisoner H
amongst
Australian schoolchildren.
Hodge
Cell
Block
a n d Tripp f o u n d that the
s c h o o l c h i l d r e n psychically i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e w o m e n prisoners o f t h e t e l e v i s i o n series. T h e a u t h o r s e x p l a i n this p h e n o m e n o n t h r o u g h t h e s t r u c t u r a l s i m i l a r i t i e s o f t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e c h i l d r e n w i t h i n t h e school a n d those o f t h e fictional prisoners.
Schoolchildren
a n d t h e prisoners
l i v e u n d e r a single
a u t h o r i t y , are t r e a t e d alike i n a t i g h t l y scheduled o r d e r i m p o s e d f r o m above, a n d have t h e i r activities c o - o r d i n a t e d b y t h e r a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n . T h e s c h o o l c h i l d r e n also a r t i c u l a t e d a n u m b e r o f p o i n t s o f s i m i l a r i t y , b e t w e e n t h e s c h o o l a n d t h e p r i s o n , i n terms o f t h e w a y they are o f t e n shut i n , separated f r o m f r i e n d s , have n o r i g h t s , w o u l d n ' t be there unless they h a d t o be, a n d are m a d e t o suffer rules they see l i t t l e p o i n t i n k e e p i n g . T h e p u p i l s ' o w n self-perceptions
resembled those represented
by the prisoners,
w h o w e r e also r e d u c e d t o ' c h i l d l i k e ' roles w i t h i n t h e p r o g r a m m e s . Similarly, t h e teachers a n d t h e p r i s o n w a r d e r s , as figures o f a u t h o r i t y , w e r e o f t e n p o s i t i o n e d together. H e n c e t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f Prisoner
Cell Block
H is t h e result
o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t schools are l i k e prisons. T o r e t u r n t o Fiske's a r g u m e n t s , as H o d g e a n d T r i p p a m p l y d e m o n s t r a t e , t h e ' p o p u l a r ' is an o p e n , f l u i d a n d s h i f t i n g c u l t u r e t h a t is realised t h r o u g h t h e s y m b o l i c tactics o f t h e w e a k . T h e s y m b o l i c practices o f t h e s c h o o l c h i l d r e n can o n l y be m a d e sense o f i f t h e i r v a r i o u s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s are u n d e r s t o o d i n terms o f t h e a s y m m e t r i c a l r e l a t i o n s o f p o w e r t h a t exist between adults a n d c h i l d r e n . I f Fiske's c o n c l u s i o n s are accepted, a l t h o u g h I a d m i t I a m n o t t o t a l l y c o n v i n c e d , t h e n research i n t o c h i l d r e n a n d t e l e v i s i o n s h o u l d be c o n c e r n e d less w i t h t h e i d e o l o g i c a l c o r r u p t i n g influences o f t e l e v i s i o n t h a n w i t h t h e w a y i t is used as a f o r m o f resistance.
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Life's more fun with the popular press I n a r e p r i n t e d i n t e r v i e w , Fiske describes his o w n theoretical o u t p u t as being c o n c e r n e d t o articulate 'a socialist theory o f pleasure' (Fiske, 1 9 8 9 b ) . These i r r e v e r e n t f o r m s o f jouissance
that erupt f r o m b e l o w are opposed
t o the
disciplinary techniques utilised b y the p o w e r bloc. H e r e there is a double pleasure i n v o l v e d i n the audience's reading o f p o p u l a r texts. T h e first is t h e enjoyment i n v o l v e d i n the symbolic p r o d u c t i o n o f meanings that oppose those o f t h e p o w e r bloc, a n d t h e second concerns the actual activity o f being p r o d uctive. These practices are p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t w i t h i n m o d e r n settings, as n o t u n l i k e his colleague J o h n
H a r t l e y ( 1 9 9 2 ) , Fiske argues that
modern
bureaucratic politics is c o n t r o l l e d by a small, p o w e r f u l m i n o r i t y . T h e 'distance' o f p a r l i a m e n t a r y democracy f r o m the fabric o f people's everyday lives means that p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e p o l i t i c a l comes t h r o u g h t h e creative use o f p o p u l a r p r o d u c t s . I n this scenario, t h e m a r k e t , u n l i k e the declining h i g h culture o f t h e p o w e r f u l , brings certain c u l t u r a l products w i t h i n the critical horizons o f t h e people. T h e p r o b l e m w i t h m u c h o f the c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n o f the p o w e r bloc is that i t remains insufficiently polysémie and t o o concerned w i t h the discovery o f objective t r u t h . T h e search f o r a final universal t r u t h , w h i c h this p o s i t i o n implies, is t o t a l i t a r i a n rather t h a n democratic. T h e result is the closing d o w n o f the p l u r a l i t y o f truths that s h o u l d be a l l o w e d expression under a democratic order. A r g u m e n t s that t h e news s h o u l d be m o r e accurate a n d objective are actually s u p p o r t i v e o f the discursive practices o f the p o w e r bloc. A m o r e d e m o cratic f o r m o f electronic j o u r n a l i s m w o u l d seek t o ironise t r u t h claims b y seeki n g t o reveal t h e ways i n w h i c h they are socially a n d historically p r o d u c e d . T o c l a i m that there is o n e t r u t h , therefore, is t o capitulate t o the d o m i n a n t regime o f t r u t h , a n d deny the p o t e n t i a l l y liberatory pleasure o f the t e x t . But once t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n has given u p ' t h e tone o f the a u t h o r - g o d ' (Fiske, 1 9 8 9 b : 193) this s h o u l d encourage viewers t o become m o r e actively i n v o l v e d i n m a k i n g sense o f the w o r l d . W h i l e citizens are excluded f r o m direct f o r m s o f involvement
i n t h e decision-making
processes o f m o d e r n
representative
democracies, they c o u l d be a l l o w e d m o r e m i c r o f o r m s o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a semiotic
democracy.
Fiske ( 1 9 9 2 ) has recently sought t o make these theoretical points m o r e c o n crete t h r o u g h a discussion o f the press. H e r e he outlines three d i f f e r e n t f o r m s o f news p r o d u c t i o n : quality, alternative a n d p o p u l a r . As w e saw above, t h e c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e ' p o w e r bloc' ideologically disguises t h e interested nature o f its p r o d u c t i o n b y appeals t o universal values. I n this way, t h e q u a l i t y press, t h r o u g h t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f objective facts actually gears its o u t p u t t o w a r d s p r o d u c i n g belief rather t h a n scepticism amongst its readers. T h e eighteenth-century
p u b l i c sphere, defended i n Habermas's ( 1 9 8 9 ) account, was
n o t so m u c h a b o u t c o m m u n i c a t i v e l y o p e n i n g u p certain repressed questions, as i t was a strategy o f d o m i n a t i o n . I t was t h e p o w e r bloc rather t h a n t h e c i t i zens w h o decided t o circulate
certain
forms o f i n f o r m a t i o n that d i d n o t
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 239 r e q u i r e t h e active engagement o f t h e w e a k . N e x t , t h e transmission o f m o r e r a d i c a l perspectives is sustained b y t h e alternative press, w h i c h is dependent upon
t h e practice
o f radical journalists a n d is m a i n l y c o n s u m e d
by the
educated m i d d l e class. T h i s f o r m o f news is m o r e c r i t i c a l o f t h e practices o f the d o m i n a n t t h a n t h e q u a l i t y press, b u t its readers a n d w r i t e r s are usually m a d e u p o f m o r e m a r g i n a l representatives
o f t h e p o w e r bloc itself. T h e
t a b l o i d o r p o p u l a r press, u n l i k e t h e q u a l i t y o r alternative press, deconstructs the o p p o s i t i o n b e t w e e n news a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t . T h i s is a necessary m o v e as e n t e r t a i n m e n t is just as m u c h a discursive p r o d u c t as so called ' h a r d ' news, a n d f o r t h e news t o become m o r e p o p u l a r i t needs t o be able t o pleasurably engage t h e audience. Fiske also claims that w h i l e t h e q u a l i t y press produces a b e l i e v i n g subject t h e tabloids encourage m o r e c r i t i c a l f o r m s o f c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n amongst t h e i r readers. T h r o u g h t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f o p e n texts t h e t a b l o i d press produces: sceptical laughter which offers the pleasures of disbelief, the pleasures of not being taken i n . This popular pleasure of 'seeing through' them (whoever constitutes the powerful them of the moment) is the historical result of centuries of subordination which the people have not allowed to develop into subjection. (Fiske, 1992: 49) W h a t is i m p o r t a n t a b o u t t h e t a b l o i d press is n o t w h e t h e r t h e articles a n d features i t r u n s are actually t r u e , b u t its o p p o s i t i o n a l stance t o o f f i c i a l regimes o f t r u t h . Fiske illustrates this a r g u m e n t b y r e f e r r i n g t o a story c o n c e r n i n g aliens l a n d i n g f r o m o u t e r space, w h i c h he claims t o be a r e c u r r e n t o n e w i t h i n t a b l o i d j o u r n a l i s m . T h e p o i n t about such stories is that they subversively b l u r t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n facts a n d f i c t i o n , thereby d i s r u p t i n g the d o m i n a n t l a n guage game disseminated b y t h e p o w e r bloc. Further, w h i l e o f f i c i a l news a t t e m p t s t o i d e o l o g i c a l l y mask the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s evident w i t h i n its discourse, t h e t a b l o i d press deliberately seeks t o exaggerate certain n o r m s , hereby abnor¬ malising
t h e m . Fiske's a r g u m e n t here is that the sensationalised stories charac-
teristic o f t h e tabloids p r o d u c e a w r i t e r l y t e x t i n t h a t they o p e n l y i n v i t e t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e i r readers. T h e t a b l o i d s , l i k e o t h e r p o p u l a r texts such as M a d o n n a a n d soap operas, m a i n t a i n their p o p u l a r i t y b y i n f o r m i n g p e o p l e a b o u t t h e w o r l d i n a w a y that is o p e n t o the tactics o f the weak. I n this r e a d i n g , t h e various f o r m s o f d e p o l i t i c i s a t i o n evident w i t h i n
Western
democracies are a t t r i b u t a b l e m o r e t o the q u a l i t y t h a n t o the p o p u l a r press. O n the o t h e r h a n d , Fiske claims t o be aware that t h e p o p u l a r press is rarely o r c h e s t r a t e d t o w a r d s p o l i t i c a l l y progressive ends. B u t the c u l t u r a l a n d stylistic f o r m o f t h e p o p u l a r press c o u l d , a c c o r d i n g t o Fiske, be t u r n e d against t h e interests
o f t h e p o w e r f u l . A L e f t p o l i t i c a l strategy s h o u l d steer clear o f
'preachiness' (Fiske, 1 9 8 9 a : 1 7 8 ) a n d advocate pleasurable texts that refuse the t e m p t a t i o n o f i m p o s i n g certain socially correct meanings. T h i s w o u l d h o l d o p e n t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a genuinely l e f t - w i n g paper that d i d n o t seek r i g i d l y t o c o n t r o l t h e meanings p r o d u c e d by its readers.
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Pointless populism or resistant pleasures? T h e m a i n strength o f J o h n Fiske's approach t o the study o f m e d i a a n d c u l t u r e is t h e emphasis he places u p o n t h e creative w o r k u n d e r t a k e n b y the audience i n the p r o d u c t i o n o f negotiated a n d o p p o s i t i o n a l readings. T h e study o f p o p u lar c u l t u r e is n o t a b o u t the m a c r o issues o f p o l i t i c a l economy, i d e o l o g y o r t h e p u b l i c sphere, b u t about t h e evasive tactics o f t h e weak. T h i s v i e w offers a n i m p o r t a n t corrective t o those w h o c o n t i n u e t o ignore the capacity o f the a u d i ence t o i n v o l v e themselves i n semiotic insurgence. But I w a n t t o argue that the w r i t i n g o f J o h n Fiske is irredeemably f l a w e d . H e r e I shall offer five m a i n reasons f o r this c l a i m : (1) his account pays insufficient a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i n s t i t u tions that structurate t h e reception
o f symbolic
f o r m s ; (2) his arguments
foreclose t h e possibility o f a t h e o r y o f ideology; (3) his v i e w o f t h e p o p u l a r press excludes any concrete investigation o f its actual c o n t e n t ; (4) he lacks a critical conception
o f the political importance o f the fragmentation o f the
p u b l i c sphere; a n d (5) he consistently substitutes his o w n r e a d i n g o f p o p u l a r f o r m s f o r those o f the audience. 1 . Fiske's socialist t h e o r y o f pleasure is dependent o n a v i e w o f t h e m a r k e t d e m o c r a t i s i n g t h e people's access t o c u l t u r a l goods. T h i s assumption can o n l y be m a i n t a i n e d i f mass f o r m s o f c u l t u r e are c o m p a r e d w i t h so-called ' h i g h c u l t u r e ' . A s B o u r d i e u ( 1 9 8 4 ) has argued, access t o t h e relevant c u l t u r a l d i s p o s i t i o n f o r t h e enjoyment o f the ' o f f i c i a l arts' is dependent u p o n the subject's f a m i l y a n d educational b a c k g r o u n d . T h i s d i s p o s i t i o n , o r w h a t B o u r d i e u refers t o as t h e d o m i n a n t aesthetic, is a learnt b o d i l y sense t h a t emphasises t h e p r i m a c y o f detachment
and contemplation
over
active
f o r m s o f i n v o l v e m e n t . T h e habitus o f the d o m i n a n t class can be discerned i n t h e i d e o l o g y o f n a t u r a l charisma, as w e l l as t h e n o t i o n that 'taste' is a g i f t f r o m n a t u r e . T h e d o m i n a n t lifestyle is historically b o r n o u t o f a d i v i sion w i t h i n t h e d o m i n a n t class between t h e i n d u s t r i a l bourgeoisie a n d t h e intelligentsia. T h e intelligentsia's separation
f r o m material necessity has
m e a n t t h a t they have t r a d i t i o n a l l y misrecognised
their o w n c u l t u r a l p r o -
d u c t i o n as disinterested. Bourdieu's a i m is t o treat apparently n e u t r a l practices, such as those i n v o l v e d i n c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , as a strategic means o f g a i n i n g m o n e y a n d p o w e r . T h e intelligentsia's aesthetic d i s p o s i t i o n n a t u ralises t h e i r specific p r o d u c t i o n a n d reception o f certain types o f s y m b o l i c goods. I n o p p o s i t i o n , the p o p u l a r aesthetic, the p r o d u c t o f the c u l t u r a l disp o s i t i o n o f t h e w o r k i n g class, expresses a desire f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d i m m e d i a t e f o r m s o f g r a t i f i c a t i o n . T h i s w o u l d e x p l a i n the p o p u l a r i t y o f soccer as a spectator sport amongst working-class males, given the o p p o r t u n i ties f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n t h r o u g h fashion, c h a n t i n g a n d singing. T h e range o f c u l t u r a l practices t h a t are e m b o d i e d i n the p o p u l a r aesthetic are distinct f r o m those generated b y t h e d o m i n a n t aesthetic. H e n c e t h e social space generated f o r audience p a r t i c i p a t i o n w i t h i n the d o m i n a n t aesthetic is m o r e t i g h t l y regulated. T o gain pleasure f r o m t h e less spontaneous atmosphere
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 241 o f a n a r t gallery o r m u s e u m , a c c o r d i n g t o B o u r d i e u , presupposes t h a t o n e has access t o the a p p r o p r i a t e social codes a n d dispositions. T o r e t u r n t o Fiske, w e can see t h a t his a n d Bourdieu's accounts r e t a i n a s i m i l a r i t y i n r e l a t i o n t o the p o p u l a r need f o r a s t r o n g sense o f i n v o l v e m e n t i n c u l t u r a l practices. W h e t h e r these practices are the result o f the excess o f the t a b l o i d s , t h e w r i t e r l y texts o f soap operas o r the m o r e i m m e d i a t e pleasures o f soccer spectatorship, they can be d e f i n e d i n o p p o s i t i o n t o b o t h t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l p r o d u c t i o n o f the p o w e r bloc a n d the aesthetic d i s p o s i t i o n o f the bourgeoisie. T h e r e does i n d e e d seem t o be some j u s t i f i c a t i o n i n t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t t h e p o p u l a r c u l t u r e o f t h e market-place
is m o r e inclusive
t h a n t h a t o f the educated bourgeoisie o r the p o w e r bloc. But neither Fiske, n o r B o u r d i e u , i n t h e i r a d m i t t e d l y distinct analyses, p a y a n y sustained a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f the c u l t u r e i n d u s t r y ( G a r n h a m , 1 9 8 6 ) . F o r instance, t h e c o m m e r c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s o f late capitalism are geared t o w a r d s t a r g e t i n g c e r t a i n audience segments. D i c k H e b d i g e has described t h e post¬ F o r d i s t m o v e away f r o m mass t o m o r e f l e x i b l e f o r m s o f p r o d u c t i o n as t h e 'sociology o f a s p i r a t i o n ' ( H e b d i g e , 1 9 8 9 : 5 3 ) . By this he means t h a t c o m m e r c i a l f o r m s o f c u l t u r e are s y m b o l i c a l l y arranged t o connect w i t h t h e lifestyles a n d t h e f u t u r e desires o f consumer groups. W h a t is n o t clear is t h a t the o p p o s i t i o n a l readings o f target groups actually constitute f o r m s o f resistance t h a t subvert t h e e c o n o m i c structures o f late capitalism, o r t h a t c o m m e r c i a l f o r m s o f c u l t u r e are as m a t e r i a l l y accessible as Fiske i m p l i e s . C o m p u t e r games, f o r e x a m p l e , are sold t o a y o u n g teenage audience t h r o u g h television advertising, trade magazines, television
programmes,
r a d i o shows a n d t h e p o p u l a r press. Fiske c o u l d argue that some game f o r mats constitute relatively o p e n texts, w h i c h leaves t h e m o p e n t o semiotic f o r m s o f resistance. T h e p r o b l e m w i t h this argument is t h a t i t is d i f f i c u l t t o see h o w t h e structures o f late capitalism are threatened by this activity. I n d e e d , as w i t h o t h e r c u l t u r a l f o r m s , c o m p u t e r games are l i k e l y t o have a certain semiotic openness deliberately b u i l t i n t o t h e m . ... [ S t r u c t u r e s o f d o m i n a t i o n are just as l i k e l y t o be m a i n t a i n e d t h r o u g h social a t o m i s m as b y i d e o l o g i c a l consensus. A society whose i m a g i n a r y is c o n s t i t u t e d t h r o u g h difference a n d d i v e r s i t y rather t h a n sameness provides a p l u r a l i t y o f markets f o r capitalist a c c u m u l a t i o n strategies. O f course this does n o t m e a n , as Fiske demonstrates, t h a t certain readings c r i t i c a l o f t h e d o m i n a n t social o r d e r c a n n o t be o p e n e d u p t h r o u g h an engagement w i t h t h e p o p u l a r . W h a t I a m a r g u i n g instead is that a f r a g m e n t e d c u l t u r e may u n d e r m i n e t h e social cohesion necessary t o p r o d u c e relations o f s o l i d a r i t y w i t h those n o t i m m e d i a t e l y present i n t i m e a n d space. T h i s s i t u a t i o n is l i k e l y t o destabilise p o l i t i c a l attempts t o s y m b o l i c a l l y create alliances amongst the w e a k against the p o w e r bloc.
I n d e e d , o n e c o u l d argue that t h e c u l t u r a l l y f r a c t u r e d
n a t u r e o f t h e audience w o r k s i n t h e interests o f t h e c u l t u r e industry, as i t p r o v i d e s n e w markets a n d p r o m o t e s an i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c c u l t u r e . I f this a r g u m e n t is f o l l o w e d , t h e n a m o r e effective means o f resisting the
242
Audiences and Reception capitalist c o m p u t e r game i n d u s t r y w o u l d be b y t h e use o f d e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n strategies. Such practices c o u l d i n c l u d e t h e setting u p o f p u b l i c l e n d i n g libraries i n c o m p u t e r games a n d t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f n e w games b y co-operatives. T h a t such projects are u n l i k e l y t o occur is surely due t o t h e fact that investment is c o n t r o l l e d b y large transnational
corporations,
w h i c h i n t u r n are progressively p r i v a t i s i n g p u b l i c f o r m s o f c u l t u r e . T h i s p r o b l e m is c o m p l e t e l y bypassed b y Fiske. I n fact, he even suggests, at o n e p o i n t , that n e w f o r m s o f s o l i d a r i t y evident o n t h e dance f l o o r , i n f a n c u l t u r e a n d o t h e r p o p u l a r practices c o u l d p r o v i d e the basis f o r a m o r e socially just society (Fiske, 1989a: 1 7 6 ) . A m o r e i n s t i t u t i o n a l frame o f reference c o u l d have m o r e adequately contextualised the creative responses o f t h e audience b y l i n k i n g t h e m t o socially r e p r o d u c i b l e structures o f d o m i n a t i o n . I n this i n t e r p r e t a t i o n semiotic playfulness a n d t h e d o m i n a n c e o f t h e status q u o c o u l d be m o r e closely related t h a n Fiske is aware. Similarly, t h e absence o f an i n s t i t u t i o n a l perspective b l i n d s Fiske t o m a t e r i a l rather t h a n symbolic distinctions amongst t h e audience. A s Peter G o l d i n g ( 1 9 9 0 ) has argued, t h e Western capitalist nations e x h i b i t massive inequalities i n terms o f t h e i r access t o c u l t u r a l goods. T h i s s i t u a t i o n is m a i n l y d e t e r m i n e d b y the m u c h publicised e v e r - w i d e n i n g gap between r i c h a n d p o o r . Fiske seems t o assume that t h e capitalist m a r k e t has a d e m o c r a t i s i n g effect i n t h a t i t makes w i d e l y available a w h o l e range o f pleasurable texts. T h i s a r g u m e n t , as w e have seen, has some validity, i f o n e compares g e n u i n e l y p o p u l a r c u l t u r a l f o r m s t o those that r e q u i r e t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f scarce s y m b o l i c resources. Yet i f w e r e t u r n t o t h e analysis o f c o m p u t e r games presented above, w h a t s h o u l d be obvious is that i t neglects t o m e n t i o n t h e u n e q u a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the necessary c o m p u t e r technology. I n 1 9 8 6 , 3 2 . 1 per cent o f those whose h o u s e h o l d i n c o m e was over £ 5 5 0 a w e e k o w n e d a h o m e c o m p u t e r , c o m p a r e d t o 1.3 per cent o f those s u r v i v i n g o n £ 4 5 o r less ( G o l d i n g , 1 9 9 0 ) . Class structure t h e n erects certain m a t e r i a l , i n a d d i t i o n t o s y m b o l i c , barriers t o c u l t u r a l f o r m s o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n , t h a t are neglected by Fiske's concern w i t h signs a n d symbols. 2. A c r i t i c a l t h e o r y o f i d e o l o g y is dependent u p o n the n o t i o n that certain l i n guistic signs s y m b o l i c a l l y r e i n f o r c e o r leave u n q u e s t i o n e d m a t e r i a l relat i o n s o f d o m i n a t i o n . Fiske, I w o u l d argue, forecloses t h e possibility o f a t h e o r y o f i d e o l o g y b y always r e a d i n g t h e p o p u l a r as a f o r m o f resistance. R e t u r n i n g t o B o u r d i e u , i t is apparent that Fiske lacks a t h e o r y o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n as such. B o u r d i e u refers t o t h e d o m i n a n t aesthetic as arbitrary, since there is n o i n t r i n s i c reason w h y certain upper-class accents a n d tastes s h o u l d be i n d i c a t i v e o f a h i g h c u l t u r e . C u l t u r e is a t o o l o f class d o m i n a t i o n . T h e bourgeoisie misrecognise
their lifestyle a n d c u l t u r a l f o r m s o f
p r o d u c t i o n as being ahistorical a n d disinterested. T h e e d u c a t i o n system, f o r e x a m p l e , reproduces t h e d o m i n a n c e o f the bourgeoisie t h r o u g h t h e recognised s u p e r i o r i t y o f t h e d o m i n a n t aesthetic. B o u r d i e u a n d Passeron
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 243 ( 1 9 7 7 ) argue t h a t e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s impose t h e d o m i n a n t f o r m o f life o n t h e w o r k i n g classes. T h e d o m i n a n t habitus does n o t socialise subjects i n t o t h e c u l t u r a l patterns r e q u i r e d b y t h e education system, b u t results i n the
self-exclusion
o f the dominated
classes. T h r o u g h
a process
that
B o u r d i e u calls s y m b o l i c violence, t h e w o r k i n g class recognises t h a t t h e d o m i n a n t habitus is superior t o its o w n . For B o u r d i e u ( 1 9 9 1 ) language does n o t serve as a p u r e i n s t r u m e n t o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n b u t expresses t h e social p o s i t i o n o f t h e speaker. I t is n o t , i n other w o r d s , t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f the bourgeoisie's vocabulary t h a t ensures its superiority. Instead t h e s y m b o l i c d o m i n a n c e o f t h e bourgeoisie is m a i n t a i n e d b y its a b i l i t y t o censor the l e g i t i m a c y o f o t h e r modes o f expression. Working-class lifestyles, o n this r e a d i n g , are c u l t u r a l l y d o m i n a t e d a n d evaluated f r o m t h e perspective o f the d o m i n a n t c u l t u r a l style. T h u s even those w h o enjoy the r o b u s t activities o f s u p p o r t i n g a soccer team are l i k e l y t o v i e w higher f o r m s o f c u l t u r a l practice (such as v i s i t i n g the opera) as h a v i n g greater w o r t h . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , Fiske views t h e p o p u l a r as t h e site o f resistance rather t h a n d o m i n a t i o n . H e discounts t h e possibility, w h i c h a d m i t t e d l y B o u r d i e u overstates, t h a t the people w o u l d v i e w their o w n c u l t u r a l practices as being less i m p o r t a n t t h a n those o f the p o w e r bloc. W h a t Bourdieu's analysis reveals is t h a t cert a i n c u l t u r a l styles a n d dispositions are able t o impress themselves u p o n others due t o relations o f a u t h o r i t y that exist outside o f language. O n a d i f f e r e n t subject, M i c h a e l Schudson ( 1 9 9 3 ) shares Fiske's doubts c o n c e r n i n g t h e extent t o w h i c h advertising directly affects consumer choices. T h i s is because advertising competes w i t h other f o r m s o f i n f o r m a t i o n (press reviews, peer assessment, b r a n d loyalty) a n d is also t h e subject o f p o p u l a r disbelief. I n some respects, however, advertising can be a p o w e r f u l m e d i u m f o r persuading m o r e vulnerable
consumers o f the merits o f a par-
ticular p r o d u c t . O n e such g r o u p are y o u n g c h i l d r e n , w h o necessarily have access t o m o r e restricted sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n w h e n c o m p a r e d t o adults. W h i l e they are able t o make sense o f television advertisements,
they are
unable t o decipher m u c h o f the o u t p u t o f the p r i n t media a n d are relatively inexperienced
c u l t u r a l consumers. Fiske, i n response, w o u l d u n d o u b t e d l y
object that H o d g e a n d T r i p p ' s study argues that c h i l d r e n a n d adults read television i n very d i f f e r e n t ways. W h i l e this may be t r u e , Fiske is unable t o account f o r t h e reasons w h y c h i l d r e n seem t o be such easy prey f o r advertisers. J i m M c G u i g a n ( 1 9 9 2 ) adds that n o t o n l y are advertisements
geared
t o w a r d s creating m a t e r i a l desires amongst a y o u n g audience, b u t television programmes
a n d f i l m s are o f t e n specifically p r o d u c e d i n order t o sell a
range o f p r o d u c t s f r o m expensive toys t o T-shirts. T h a t is, c h i l d r e n m a y decode symbolic f o r m s d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m t h e ways t h e producers
o f the
image i n t e n d e d , w h i l e b e c o m i n g convinced o f the desirability o f a particular p r o d u c t . T h u s , i n so far as Fiske is hostile t o a critical concept o f ideology, i t w o u l d seem that he is able t o appreciate o n l y a n a r r o w range o f c u l t u r a l practices.
244
Audiences and Reception 3. W h a t i m m e d i a t e l y strikes t h e reader o f Fiske's analysis o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e is t h e inadequacy o f his perceptions o f its c o n t e n t . A l t h o u g h Fiske's ( 1 9 8 2 ) b a c k g r o u n d i n semiotics means t h a t he was f u l l y e q u i p p e d t o p r o b e t h e i n t e r n a l structures o f p o p u l a r texts, he gives t h e m a decidedly o n e - d i m e n sional r e a d i n g . T h e r e are, i n fact, f e w sustained analyses o f p o p u l a r texts i n his w o r k . T h i s leads o n e t o d o u b t some o f the claims he makes o n behalf o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . A t t h e heart o f his v i e w o f t h e p o p u l a r press is t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t discursive modes o f exaggeration p r o d u c e a certain scepticism w i t h i n t h e r e a d i n g subject. For Fiske, stories a b o u t aliens l a n d i n g f r o m o u t e r space subvert t h e language game o f the p o w e r bloc. O n e o f the p r o b l e m s w i t h this a r g u m e n t is that Fiske offers very l i t t l e b y t h e w a y o f evidence t o s u p p o r t his a r g u m e n t c o n c e r n i n g t h e w i d e s p r e a d n a t u r e o f such stories. I n d e e d , m u c h m o r e evidence is available f o r a r g u i n g t h a t t h e actual c o n t e n t o f t h e t a b l o i d press is o v e r t l y i d e o l o g i c a l . F o r instance, t h e systematic c o n t e n t studies o f Van D i j k ( 1 9 9 1 ) have d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e racist n a t u r e o f m u c h o f press c o n t e n t . I n a study o f the B r i t i s h a n d D u t c h press d u r i n g t h e 1980s he uncovers t h e extent t o w h i c h press coverage i d e o l o g i cally reproduces a system that sustains w h i t e g r o u p d o m i n a n c e . W h i l e these issues c a n n o t be e x p l o r e d here, i t c o u l d be argued, i n terms o f actual c o n t e n t , t h a t t h e p o p u l a r press is m o r e readily characterised b y t h e racist n a t u r e o f its c o n t e n t , t h a n b y t h e sort o f bizarre stories Fiske discovers. Rather t h a n a b n o r m a l i s i n g c o m m o n l y h e l d n o r m s , t h e p o p u l a r press is m o r e o f t e n i n v o l v e d i n s y m b o l i c a l l y creating certain o u t - g r o u p s . T h e w h i t e n a t i o n a l press consistently ignores those subjects t h a t are o f m o s t c o n c e r n t o ethnic m i n o r i t i e s (housing, w o r k , health) w h i l e representing t h e m as a social p r o b l e m ( r i o t s , c r i m e , i m m i g r a t i o n ) . T h e r e is a case f o r a r g u i n g a n d this p o i n t is f o r c i b l y made by Van D i j k - that by representing ethnic m i n o r i t i e s i n such a w a y t h e press is h e l p i n g t o sustain w h i t e d o m i n a n c e . T h i s is n o t t o argue that such stories w o u l d necessarily
be u n c r i t i c a l l y
accepted b y t h e i r readers, b u t I w o u l d w a n t t o at least h o l d o p e n such a possibility. T h a t Fiske largely ignores such arguments i r r e d e e m a b l y c o m promises his m o r e impressionistic v i e w o f the c o n t e n t o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . 4 . I n dealing w i t h t h e alternative press, Fiske argues t h a t i t has a tendency t o be a u t h o r i t a r i a n a n d o v e r l y prescriptive. Similarly, i n his v i e w t h e c u l t u r e o f the p o w e r bloc concentrates u p o n t h e ' o f f i c i a l ' activities o f the r i c h a n d p o w e r f u l i n a w a y t h a t is distant f r o m t h e lives o f so-called o r d i n a r y p e o p l e . These very practices constitute t h e m a j o r reason, o f f e r e d by Fiske, f o r t h e ' c u l t u r e g a p ' that has o p e n e d u p w i t h i n Western
democracies
between elected p o l i t i c i a n s a n d t h e populace. I n place o f t h e q u a l i t y a n d alternative press, Fiske
advocates a m o r e p o l i t i c a l l y diverse range o f
p o p u l a r texts. T h i s a r g u m e n t contrasts w i t h the perspectives o f W i l l i a m s a n d H a b e r m a s w h o suggest t h a t m o d e r n i t y has witnessed t h e g r o w i n g d i f ferentiation o f high- and low-quality forms o f i n f o r m a t i o n . This and
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 245 o t h e r processes, i n c l u d i n g t h e p r i v a t i s a t i o n o f k n o w l e d g e , social a t o m i s m , e c o n o m i c stagnation
a n d t h e restricted nature o f democracy,
has c o n -
t r i b u t e d t o t h e progressive d e p o l i t i c i s a t i o n o f t h e p u b l i c sphere. I n t u r n , this has created a social v a c u u m w h i c h t h e tabloids f i l l w i t h t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r b r a n d o f scandal a n d sensation. Fiske, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , uncovers some o f t h e discursive strategies t h a t have been i n c o r p o r a t e d b y p o p u l a r news, a n d r e m i n d s us t h a t t h e audience is capable o f m a k i n g p l u r a l
meanings.
H o w e v e r , Fiske's a r g u m e n t t h a t a p l u r a l i s t , p a r t i c i p a t o r y c u l t u r e can o n l y be sustained once t h e q u a l i t y press has become m o r e l i k e t h e tabloids is t o t a l l y m i s t a k e n . C o l i n Sparks ( 1 9 9 2 ) has argued that t h e p o p u l a r press tends t o represent t h e w o r l d i n terms o f a n i n d i v i d u a l i s e d c o n f l i c t between g o o d a n d e v i l . T h e q u a l i t y press, regardless o f its p o l i t i c a l c o n t e n t , is m u c h m o r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h r e l a t i n g 'events' t o t h e p u b l i c c o n t e x t o f social a n d p o l i t i c a l relations. Sparks j u s t i f i a b l y argues that a n i n f o r m e d p u b l i c debate necessarily rests o n t h e discussion o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l processes a n d practices o p e n e d u p b y t h e q u a l i t y press. I w o u l d a d d t h a t Fiske misunderstands t h e o r i g i n a l n o t i o n o f t h e p u b l i c sphere that has been developed b y W i l l i a m s and Habermas.
Despite t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e i r approaches, b o t h w r i t e r s
stress t h e need f o r a c o m m u n i c a t i v e sphere p r o t e c t e d f r o m t h e o p e r a t i o n o f m o n e y a n d p o w e r . T h u s t h e c u l t u r e o f t h e p o w e r bloc s h o u l d be less a b o u t p r o d u c i n g belief, a n d m o r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e process o f r a t i o n a l a r g u m e n t a n d discussion. T h a t t h e actually existing p u b l i c sphere o f t e n e m p l o y s i d e o l o g i c a l strategies t o legitimise t h e d o m i n a n c e o f r u l i n g elites is u n d e n i a b l e . B u t , as W i l l i a m s a n d H a b e r m a s argue, a m o r e democratic society a n d c u l t u r e can be ensured o n l y b y t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f diverse f o r m s o f k n o w l e d g e , a n d t h e social a n d p o l i t i c a l structures t h a t encourage d e m o c r a tic f o r m s o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n . J o h n Keane ( 1 9 9 1 ) argues i n this v e i n that i n f o r m e d debate amongst t h e citizens o f m o d e r n democracies, especially w i t h i n globalised settings, is dependent u p o n h i g h - q u a l i t y f o r m s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . I n h i s terms, a n d similar t o Sparks, g o o d investigative j o u r n a l i s m depends u p o n t h e patient processes o f investigation that seek t o keep a w a t c h f u l eye over those i n p o w e r . M y suspicion is that Fiske's v i s i o n o f a m o r e p a r t i c i p a t o r y c u l t u r e is m o r e l i k e l y t o revolve a r o u n d a diet o f hype a n d scandal. T h i s v i e w is r e i n f o r c e d b y his misrepresentation
o f certain
d e m o c r a t i c t r a d i t i o n s a n d his p o p u l i s t belief i n t a b l o i d fictions. 5.
Fiske's central c l a i m is t h a t t h e f l u i d practices o f consumers constitute a f o r m o f resistance against t h e d o m i n a n t i n s t r u m e n t a l society. W h i l e I have questioned
some o f his assumptions
concerning
t h e n o t i o n o f semiotic
resistance, Fiske has been accredited w i t h o p e n i n g u p t h e theoretical space f o r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e audience. T h e p r o b l e m here is t h a t , similar t o D e C e r t e a u , Fiske o f t e n substitutes his o w n experience o f t h e t e x t f o r t h a t o f t h e audience. J o h n F r o w ( 1 9 9 1 ) argues t h a t D e Certeau's semiotic categories lead h i m t o i m p l a n t his o w n voice, w h e r e w e s h o u l d expect t o f i n d
246
Audiences and Reception those o f t h e users o f p o p u l a r c u l t u r e . Fiske offers very l i t t l e by w a y o f e m p i r i c a l evidence t o s u p p o r t his claims c o n c e r n i n g the v i b r a n t activities o f t h e audience. T h i s is due t o his o w n enthusiasm f o r p o p u l a r texts a n d his i n t e l l e c t u a l b a c k g r o u n d i n semiotic
forms o f content
analysis. H i s
analysis o f the i n t e r t e x t u a l nature o f M a d o n n a is largely based o n his o w n s k i l f u l r e a d i n g , a n d o n l y b r i e f l y engages w i t h t h e perspectives o f her 'fans' t h r o u g h t h e letters page o f a teenage magazine. Similarly, Fiske's a r g u m e n t t h a t t h e t a b l o i d press is open t o t h e subversive tactics o f the w e a k remains at t h e level o f the t e x t . H e is unable t o offer any e m p i r i c a l s u p p o r t f o r his a r g u m e n t . A d m i t t e d l y , w h i l e television a n d f i l m studies are b e g i n n i n g t o o p e n u p perspectives o n t h e audience, there has, as yet, been l i t t l e research o f a comparable q u a l i t y o n magazine a n d newspaper c u l t u r e . One
o f t h e f e w examples o f such
research
is o f f e r e d
by M a r k
Pursehouse ( 1 9 8 7 ) i n an e t h n o g r a p h i c a c c o u n t o f the r e a d i n g practices o f t a b l o i d consumers.
Pursehouse accurately describes t h e m o d e o f address
o f t h e Sun newspaper as ' h e t e r o s e x u a l ,
m a l e , w h i t e , conservative,
capi-
t a l i s t , n a t i o n a l i s t ' ( 1 9 8 7 : 2 ) . H i s s t u d y represents t h e i n t e r v i e w subjects as a r t f u l l y n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h t h e w a y i n w h i c h t h e newspaper is s y m b o l i cally c o n s t r u c t e d .
T h i s was p a r t i c u l a r l y e v i d e n t amongst
the w o m e n
readers w h o v i e w e d t h e page three p i n - u p s a n d t h e sports sections as o f f l i m i t s . Pursehouse also reveals t h a t m a n y o f the readers v i e w e d t h e paper as a source o f f u n a n d r e l a x a t i o n t o be e n j o y e d as a ' b r e a k ' f r o m w o r k r o u t i n e s . Yet t h e newspaper is c o m m o n l y i n t e r p r e t e d as a w o r k i n g - c l a s s paper, u n l i k e t h e qualities, w h i c h are p r e s u m e d t o have a m o r e m i d d l e class r e a d e r s h i p . T h e Sun, f o r these readers, is d e f i n e d b y t h e personal use i t has i n o r d i n a r y contexts. We can i n t e r p r e t this r e a d i n g as a f o r m o f i d e o l o g i c a l m a s k i n g o r d i s s i m u l a t i o n . As J. B. T h o m p s o n ( 1 9 9 0 ) has p u t i t , d i s s i m u l a t i o n is established w h e n certain social r e l a t i o n s are l i n g u i s t i cally concealed. W h e n t h e newspaper is read as a f o r m o f p r i v a t e entert a i n m e n t i t becomes detached f r o m t h e axes o f p o w e r a n d p o l i t i c s . T h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e newspaper as w o r k i n g - c l a s s , I w o u l d suggest, denies its p o l i t i c a l a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l l o c a t i o n . As is w e l l k n o w n , t h e Sun is o w n e d by the global media empire o f Rupert M u r d o c h , and throughout t h e 1980s i t h e l p e d c o n s t r u c t t h e a u t h o r i t a r i a n p o p u l i s t p o l i t i c s o f t h e far R i g h t . T h a t Pursehouse's readers are unable t o give t h e newspaper a m o r e p o l i t i c a l r e a d i n g is p r o b a b l y the result o f its b e i n g seen as a means o f p r i v a t e pleasure rather t h a n p u b l i c c o n c e r n . eneutic
Fiske's lack o f h e r m -
s e n s i t i v i t y t o t h e h o r i z o n s o f t h e audience,
despite his claims
t o t h e c o n t r a r y , slides his o w n r e a d i n g o f t a b l o i d newspapers o f t h e audience. both
open
M o r e i n t e r p r e t a t i v e l y sensitive
i n t o that
investigations
o u t t h e space f o r t h e responses o f t h e audience,
should while
p o s i t i o n i n g t h e m w i t h i n u n e q u a l social r e l a t i o n s . T h i s is precisely w h a t Fiske fails t o d o .
Critical Perspectives within Audience Research 247 References Ang, I . 1991: Desperately seeking the audience. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, P. 1984: Distinction. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, P. 1991: Language and symbolic power, ed. and introduction by John B. Thompson. Cambridge: Polity Press. Bourdieu, R and Passeron, C. P. 1977: Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage. Carey, J.W 1989: Communication as culture: essays on media and society. London: Unwin Hyman. Curran, J. 1990: The 'new revisionism' i n mass communications research. European Journal of Communications 5(2-3), 135-64. De Certeau, M . 1984: The practice of everyday life. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press. Fiske, J. 1982: Introduction to communication studies. London: Routledge. Fiske, J. 1987a: British cultural studies and television. In R. Allen (ed.), Channels of Discourse. London: Methuen Fiske, J. 1987b: Television culture. London: Methuen. Fiske, J. 1989a: Understanding popular culture. London: Unwin Hyman. Fiske, J. 1989b: Reading the popular. London: Unwin Hyman. Fiske, J. 1992: Popularity and the politics of information. In Dahlgren, P. and C. Sparks (eds.), Journalism and popular culture. London: Sage. Frow, J. 1991: Michel de Certeau and the practice of representation. Cultural Studies 5(1), 52-60. Garnham, N . 1986: Extended review: Bourdieu's distinction. Sociological Review 34. Geertz, C. 1973: The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. New York: Basic Books. Golding, R 1990: Political communication and citizenship: the media and democracy in an inegalitarian social order. I n Ferguson, M . (ed.), Public communication: the new imperatives. London: Sage. Habermas, J. 1989: The structural transformation of the public sphere, trans. Thomas MacCarthy. Cambridge: Polity Press. Hartley, J. 1992: The politics of pictures: the creation of the public in the age of popular media. London: Routledge. Hebdige, D . 1989: After the masses. Marxism Today, January. Hodge, B. and Tripp, D . 1986: Children and television. Cambridge: Polity Press. Keane, J. 1991: The media and democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press. McGuigan, J. 1992: Cultural populism. London: Routledge. Morley, D . 1992: Television, audiences and cultural studies. London: Routledge. Pursehouse, M . 1987: Life's more fun with your number one 'Sun' - interviews with some 'Sun' readers. CCCS Occasional Paper, no. 85, Birmingham. Schudson, M . 1993: Advertising, the uneasy persuasion: its dubious impact on American society. London: Routledge. Sparks, C. 1992: Popular journalism: theories and practice. In Dahlgren, R and Sparks, C. (eds.), Journalism and popular culture. London: Sage. Thompson, J. B. 1990: Ideology and modern culture: critical social theory in the era of mass communication. Cambridge: Polity Press. Van Dijk, T. A . 1991: Racism and the press: critical studies in racism and migration. London: Routledge. Williams, R. 1979: Marxism and literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
248
Audiences and Reception
Questions 1
Stevenson suggests that there are a number of key dilemmas facing contemporary studies of media audiences. How would you summarise his main arguments?
2
Choose an example of media output and discuss issues concerning its reception and cultural impact. Use your example to work through the issues that Stevenson develops in his critique of Fiske's work.
3
What methods of investigation might be used for researching and studying audiences and their varied forms of media consumption? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of selected methods.
Further reading Abercrombie, N . 1996: Television and society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Alasuutari, P. 1995: Researching culture. London: Sage. Ang, I . 1996: Living room wars: rethinking media audiences for a postmodern world. London: Routledge. Boyd-Barrett, O. and Newbold, C. (eds.) 1995: Approaches to media: a reader. London: Edward Arnold. Buckingham, D . 1993: Children talking television: the making of television literacy. London: The Falmer Press. Fiske, J. 1989a: Understanding popular culture. London: Unwin Hyman. Fiske, J. 1989b: Reading the popular. London: Unwin Hyman. McGuigan, J. 1992: Cultural populism. London: Routledge. Moores, S. 1993: Interpreting audiences: the ethnography of media consumption. London: Sage. (See reading 22.) Morley, D . 1992: Television, audiences and cultural studies. London: Routledge. Silverstone, R. 1994: Television and everyday life. London: Routledge. Van Zoonen, L . 1994: Feminist media studies. London: Sage.
Section 4
Producers and Production
Section 4 turns from issues concerning the reception of media output to matters of production, and in readings encompassing a wide range of media - television news and drama, the press, radio, pop and rock music, cinema and video technology - we hope to show the economic, political and cultural determinants which influence the production of all media texts and which in turn shape their distribution, reception and consumption. The common thread running through all these readings is that media texts are commodities just like any other products of industry, and their production shares many of the routines and characteristics of assembly line manufacture, such as that of cars or computers. In the first two readings, Peter Golding and Roger Bolton analyse the 'manufacture' of broadcast news and current affairs respectively, demonstrating that both have certain ideological functions, operate within various constraints, and serve particular vested interests. Stephen Barnard extends this focus to consider the restrictions which radio producers and programme-makers face, and he draws our attention to the role of 'gatekeepers', a theme which is picked up and developed by Keith Negus in his analysis of the practices of key personnel in the record industry. Richard Kilborn, in reading 28, taken from his study of the making of soap operas, continues the theme of the constraints which guide production practices and also refers back to some of the issues raised in the previous section about the sense that audiences make of this enduring genre. The final three readings in this section introduce the theme of new media technologies and consider their implications for cultural forms. In reading 2, Janet Wasko looks at film production, specifically the use of special effects in Hollywood movies, while in readings 30 and 31 Peter Keighron and Andrew Goodwin consider the rather different production issues and problems raised by so-called 'reality programming' or 'people TV'. Common to all the readings in this section, then, is a consideration of the technical, structural and financial pressures which face media producers. Although many adopt a more optimistic stance and argue that in an increasingly fragmented market the media cater for all tastes, interests and opinions, most of the writers here are rather more pessimistic and broadly support the view that such pressures frequently result in takeover, merger and integration. It is argued that these forces can in turn lead to standard professional routines and institutional practices which limit the parameters of power and freedom, undermine professional autonomy and encourage consensus among the audience by repetition and imitation of successful tried-and-tested formulae.
24 The Missing Dimensions - News Media and the Management of Change Peter Golding From E. Katz and T. Szecsko (eds.), Mass media and social change (Sage 1981)
In this reading, Golding considers the processes and structures of news production and the extent to which news can be said to be 'manufactured'. In other words, he argues that far from being spontaneous reactions to random events, news is selected, shaped and structured according to a range of ideological conventions, institutional practices and assumptions about the audience, as well as the more obvious practical considerations. Golding argues that there are many requirements and regulations governing broadcast news (as distinct from news in the more partisan press) and outlines in detail the sequential processes of planning, gathering, selecting and presenting news for television broadcast. He goes on to highlight what he sees as the missing dimensions of television news (social process and power) which result in the promotion of a particular 'world view'. Finally, the extent to which this world view can be considered a coherent ideology is discussed. The ideological nature of broadcast news cannot, according to Golding, be put down to a deliberate intent to deceive on the part of those who work in news organisations, but must be attributed largely to the occupational routines and practices of journalists, and he concludes that reporters and editors play a vital role in consensus formation which they perpetuate by means of a structure of professionally defined news values. In doing this, the news media reproduce the very definitions of a situation which favour those in power and legitimate existing structures, reinforce scepticism towards those who dissent or deviate in some way from the perceived consensus, and portray a view of a world where change is unnecessary and undesirable. W h a t then are the r o u t i n e practices w h i c h define news production? O u r r e search was conducted i n the newsrooms o f the m a i n television stations i n three highly contrasted societies: N i g e r i a , Sweden a n d Ireland. Broadly, o u r research f o u n d p r o d u c t i o n falling r o u g h l y i n t o a cycle o f four sequences: p l a n n i n g , gathe r i n g , selection, and presentation. We can describe each o f these briefly.
(a) Planning C e n t r a l a m o n g journalistic beliefs is the idea o f news as r a n d o m a n d u n predictable
events t r a c k e d
d o w n by the skills o f journalistic
anticipation
a n d c i r c u m s p e c t i o n . I n fact m u c h t i m e is spent i n t h e n e w s r o o m r e d u c i n g t h e uncertainty
o f t h e task by p l o t t i n g
events i n advance a n d d e t e r m i n i n g
w h i c h are t o become news. L o n g - t e r m p l a n n i n g considers general themes a n d
The Missing Dimensions 251 policies t o be i n c l u d e d i n news coverage a n d o f t e n its r e l a t i o n s h i p t o other broadcasting. M o r e i m p o r t a n t , because closer t o a n d m o r e a d e t e r m i n a n t o f d a i l y news p r o d u c t i o n , is s h o r t - t e r m p l a n n i n g . T w o mechanisms achieve t h i s : the d i a r y a n d the e d i t o r i a l conference. T h e d i a r y is a key d o c u m e n t i n any news o f f i c e . I t records events t h a t
automatically
predictable
m e r i t coverage by t h e i r unquestionable
public
i m p o r t a n c e . I t is also a register o f less significant events v y i n g f o r i n c l u s i o n i n the ' a u t o m a t i c ' category. I n a sense p r o d u c t i o n o f the d i a r y is news p r o d u c t i o n i n advance, except t h a t i t is based o n the mere k n o w l e d g e that events w i l l occur n o t i n observation o f t h e m u n f o l d i n g . T h e d i a r y is the i m p l i c i t script of news. T h e d i a r y is w r i t t e n f r o m the press releases a n d i n v i t a t i o n s w h i c h f l o w i n t o the n e w s r o o m , a n d f r o m the past r e c o r d o f r o u t i n e coverage. I t is a newspaper practice m u c h scorned f o r the 'soft' nature o f the news i t p r o m o t e s , a n d because i t stifles i n i t i a t i v e , inventiveness a n d journalistic enterprise. O n the other h a n d there's something about the special nature o f broadcasti n g , its m o n o p o l y s i t u a t i o n a n d quasi-official status, that makes the r e c o r d i n g o f such events a matter o f duty. Television news becomes a broadcast ' j o u r n a l ism o f r e c o r d ' . M a n y N i g e r i a n journalists t o o k p r i d e i n the diary as evidence o f the professionalism w i t h w h i c h their w o r k was c o n d u c t e d , a n d t o o k i t as a sign o f the i m p r o v e d status o f the o c c u p a t i o n that they were i n v i t e d t o such events. H o w e v e r , m a n y were sceptical o f its value, a n d voiced the c o n v e n t i o n a l dislike o f d i a r y stories as d u l l , repetitive, a n d u n d e m a n d i n g . T h i s distaste f o r diary stories is universal, suggesting that their persistence is due t o organisational imperatives m o r e
p o w e r f u l t h a n the taste o r choice o f journalists. These
imperatives are the u n c h a n g i n g d e f i n i t i o n s o f n e w s w o r t h y events and the need f o r p r e - p l a n n i n g i n an essentially cumbersome o p e r a t i o n . T h e d a i l y r o u t i n e o f p l a n n i n g is c o n d u c t e d at e d i t o r i a l conferences: gatherings o f variable
f o r m a l i t y w h i c h r i t u a l l y celebrate the l i m i t e d
discretion
i n v o l v e d i n news selection. E d i t o r i a l conferences signify o n the one h a n d the degree t o w h i c h news is arranged a n d selected a p r i o r i , w h i l e o n the o t h e r h a n d t h e i r repetitiveness f r o m day t o day a n d l i m i t e d o u t c o m e p o i n t u p the u n c h a n g i n g nature o f these a p r i o r i choices.
(b) Gathering I f news is a b o u t the u n p r e d i c t a b l e , its p r o d u c t i o n is about p r e d i c t i o n . B o t h the d i a r y a n d the e d i t o r i a l conference are a i m e d at p l o t t i n g the f l o w o f events i n the w o r l d a n d m a r k i n g t h e m f o r m a n u f a c t u r e i n t o 'stories'. A m o n g the m o s t c o m m o n o f sentiments
i n the newspaper
w o r l d is the
' p r i d e i n b e i n g a r e p o r t e r ' , a p r i d e o f t e n advanced i n deliberate reaction t o the l o w l y status o f the news-gatherer by the side o f the l e a d e r - w r i t e r o r b y - l i n e d c o r r e s p o n d e n t . T h e sentiment lives o n i n broadcasting, b u t is stunted by the l i m i t e d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r active f o o t - i n - t h e - d o o r sleuth j o u r n a l i s m o f f e r e d by
252
Producers and Production the m e d i u m . First, broadcast j o u r n a l i s m actually produces far fewer stories per day t h a n newspaper j o u r n a l i s m ; there is just n o t t h e space f o r a large v o l u m e o f reportage. Secondly, t h e d e m a n d f o r f i l m o r tape accessories t o a story puts a p r e m i u m o n s w i f t , i n d i v i d u a l r e p o r t i n g , a n d at its most
cumbersome
involves a f u l l team o f r e p o r t e r , cameraman, s o u n d - m a n , l i g h t i n g m a n a n d associated e q u i p m e n t w h i c h cannot possibly be as m o b i l e o r f l e x i b l e as o n e m a n a n d a n o t e p a d . T h i r d , broadcast j o u r n a l i s m is i n h e r e n t l y passive because o f t h e l a b o u r a n d resources r e q u i r e d f o r processing, as opposed t o g a t h e r i n g news. O n l y a m i n o r i t y o f stories can be covered b y newsroom-based
reporters
o r correspondents. N e w s g a t h e r i n g , t h e n , taps some o f the core elements o f j o u r n a l i s m ' s occup a t i o n a l i d e o l o g y : t h e j o u r n a l i s t as news h o u n d , t h e o u t w a r d o r i e n t a t i o n o f j o u r n a l i s m as a n active c o l l e c t o r o f i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e independence o f j o u r nalist f r o m source. I n practice broadcast j o u r n a l i s m is r e l a t i v e l y l i m i t e d i n t h e g a t h e r i n g i t can d o , a n d t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f television news is i n large p a r t a b o u t t h e passive processing o f news t h e n e w s r o o m c a n n o t a v o i d . G a t h e r i n g is possible i n p r o p o r t i o n t o resources available, b u t t h e t h r e s h o l d is v e r y h i g h so
t h a t news
g a t h e r i n g remains
t h e i c i n g o n t h e cake. Even
i n highly
e q u i p p e d a n d f i n a n c e d news organizations there is e n o r m o u s reliance o n t h e news g a t h e r i n g o f agencies a n d o n a f e w d e f i n e d i n s t i t u t i o n a l sources, m o s t notably government.
(c) Selection T h e s i f t i n g a n d m o u l d i n g o f m a t e r i a l c o m i n g i n t o t h e n e w s r o o m is the process o f c o n v e r t i n g observed events i n t o stories. T h e skills i n v o l v e d are largely those o f ' s u b - e d i t i n g ' ; t h a t is e d i t i n g , b u t w i t h less p o w e r o f discretion t h a n a newspaper e d i t o r . I n practice these skills range f r o m t h e c o r r e c t i o n o f style a n d g r a m m a r t o c o n f o r m w i t h standard practice, t o complete responsibility for the final product. First a m o n g e l i g i b l e stories f o r selection are those p r o d u c e d b y r e p o r t e r s and correspondents
w o r k i n g f o r t h e n e w s r o o m . T h e fact t h a t these are
n o r m a l l y p r o d u c e d i n response t o a desk request adds t o t h e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t t h e y w i l l be used. T r a d i t i o n a l l y reporters a n d sub-editors are i n permanent conflict. T o t h e reporter t h e sub is an unfeeling butcher hacking the finest prose f o r u n w o r t h y ends. T o the sub the reporter is c a l l o w and undisciplined, unaware o f the overall needs o f t h e p r o g r a m m e . L i k e many mythologies created i n t h e newspaper w o r l d this image carried over i n t o broadcasting b u t is m u c h m u t e d . T h e o p p o r tunities f o r c o n f l i c t are few; there is little chance for extensive w r i t i n g o n w h i c h t o w i e l d the axe, most stories prepared are used, and many other restraints apart f r o m the sub-editor are apparent t o the reporter, i n c l u d i n g technical ones. T h e second source o f m a t e r i a l f o r selection is t h e news agencies. These are a p r i m e e x a m p l e o f a supply w h i c h creates a n d shapes its o w n d e m a n d . T h e r e
The Missing Dimensions 253 are t h r e e s i g n i f i c a n t aspects o f t h e use o f t h e w i r e agencies i n news c o m p i l a t i o n . F i r s t , despite reservations a b o u t t h e s u i t a b i l i t y o f t h e i r m a t e r i a l , t h e agencies are essential sources o f f o r e i g n news. I n d e e d , t h e y are q u i t e l i t e r a l l y irreplaceable. T h u s t h e m o s t fervent o p p o n e n t o f agency style o r a p p r o a c h has the choice o f agency f o r e i g n news o r n o f o r e i g n news. T h e cost o f f o r e i g n c o r r e s p o n d e n t s is i n f i n i t e l y greater t h a n agency subscriptions. For less w e l l - o f f o r g a n i z a t i o n s s u p p o r t o f f o r e i g n correspondents is b e y o n d t h e i r budgets. For t h e m t h e r e g i o n a l i z e d services o f t h e agencies, o f t e n at s c a l e d - d o w n subscript i o n rates, are t h e o n l y feasible source o f f o r e i g n news. T h e second aspect o f agency use is the global u n i f o r m i t y o f news d e f i n i t i o n s their use imposes o n newsrooms. Selections can o n l y be made f r o m the material available, a n d clear guidance is given as t o the i m p o r t a n c e a n d relative significance o f news items. ' N i g h t l e a d s ' , m i d - d a y summaries, 'splashes', 'flashes' are p r o v i d e d as cues f o r copy- a n d sub-editors. I n remoter stories f o r w h i c h the n e w s r o o m cannot supply its o w n expertise agency i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is n o t lacking. T h i s leads t o t h e t h i r d aspect o f agency significance. A l t h o u g h n e w s r o o m s clearly have a n a u t o n o m y , t o a greater o r lesser extent, i n t h e i r choice a n d t r e a t m e n t o f f o r e i g n stories, these choices t e n d t o be i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e sheer authority
o f t h e agencies.
Hollywood
gossip
O n e agency
a n d baseball
scores,
m a y be despised
for providing
b u t the subscription
continues.
A n o t h e r is d e r i d e d f o r its l i n g e r i n g B r i t i s h i m p e r i a l u n d e r t o n e s , b u t again i t r e m a i n s . A g e n c y coverage alerts t h e n e w s r o o m s t o w o r l d news events, a n d i t is a r o u n d this k n o w l e d g e t h a t n e w s r o o m s b u i l d t h e i r o w n coverage. So even those n e w s r o o m s able t o send o u t teams t o f o r e i g n stories w i l l d e p e n d o n agency selection f o r n o t i c e o f w h i c h stories t o consider. T h e agencies are thus an early w a r n i n g service f o r n e w s r o o m s whose actions are d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e observations i n agency w i r e s .
(d) Presentation S i m p l y stated, news g a t h e r i n g is m o s t concerned w i t h news sources, news p r o cessing w i t h t h e audience. T h i s is an o v e r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n , b u t t h e presentation of news is, o f a l l t h e p r o d u c t i o n processes, t h e m o s t hedged a r o u n d w i t h trade l o r e a b o u t w h a t audiences w i l l a n d w i l l n o t accept, c o m p r e h e n d o r enjoy. C o n c e r n a b o u t audiences involves social values. B u t day t o day p r o d u c t i o n has n o t i m e t o consider social values a n d relies o n news values t o guide select i o n a n d p r e s e n t a t i o n . Presentation is t h e s k i l l o f t u r n i n g t a k e n - f o r - g r a n t e d news values i n t o rules o f p r o d u c t i o n . I n assessing audience response j o u r n a l ists have t o r e l y o n accepted d e f i n i t i o n s o f news, w h a t makes a g o o d o r a n o t so g o o d story. J o u r n a l i s t i c n o t i o n s o f w h a t is a n d is n o t news have been f o r g e d i n t h e w o r k s h o p s o f a c o m m e r c i a l press serving h i s t o r i c a l l y p a r t i c u l a r needs a n d interests. I t is i n this process t h a t news values are created. N e w s values are used i n t w o ways. T h e y are c r i t e r i a o f selection f r o m mater i a l available t o t h e n e w s r o o m o f those items w o r t h y o f i n c l u s i o n i n t h e f i n a l
254
Producers and Production p r o d u c t . Second, they are guidelines f o r the presentation o f items suggesting w h a t t o emphasise, w h a t t o o m i t , a n d w h e r e t o give p r i o r i t y i n the preparat i o n o f the items f o r presentation t o the audience. N e w s values are thus w o r k i n g rules, c o m p r i s i n g a corpus o f o c c u p a t i o n a l l o r e w h i c h i m p l i c i t l y a n d o f t e n expressly explains a n d guides n e w s r o o m s practice. N e w s values derive f r o m unstated o r i m p l i c i t assumptions or judgements about three things: (a) T h e audience. Is this i m p o r t a n t t o the audience o r w i l l i t h o l d t h e i r attention? Is i t o f k n o w n interest, w i l l i t be u n d e r s t o o d , enjoyed, registered, perceived as relevant? (b)
Accessibility
-
in two
senses,
prominence
and
ease o f
capture.
P r o m i n e n c e : t o w h a t extent is the event k n o w n t o the news o r g a n i z a t i o n , h o w o b v i o u s is i t , has i t made itself apparent? Ease o f capture: h o w available t o journalists is the event, is i t physically accessible, manageable technically, i n a f o r m amenable t o j o u r n a l i s m , is i t ready-prepared f o r easy coverage, w i l l i t r e q u i r e great resources t o obtain? (c) F i t . Is the i t e m consonant w i t h the pragmatics o f p r o d u c t i o n r o u t i n e s , is i t c o m m e n s u r a t e w i t h technical a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l possibilities, is i t h o m o l o gous w i t h the exigencies a n d constraints i n p r o g r a m m e m a k i n g a n d the l i m i t a t i o n s o f the m e d i u m ? Does i t make sense i n terms o f w h a t is already k n o w n about the subject? I n o t h e r w o r d s , news values themselves derive f r o m the t w o p r i m e d e t e r m i nants o f n e w s - m a k i n g , perceptions o f the audience a n d the availability o f m a t e r i a l . H i s t o r i c a l l y news values come t o i m b u e the necessities o f j o u r n a l i s m w i t h the lustre o f g o o d practice. T h e y represent a classic case o f m a k i n g a v i r t u e o f necessity. T h e r e is n o need here t o describe at length the m a j o r values used t o evaluate a n d present news. T h e most obvious are d r a m a (news stories are, after a l l , stories as w e l l as news); visual attractiveness; i m p o r t a n c e (begging the large q u e s t i o n o f significance); size (of its k i n d ) ; p r o x i m i t y ( b o t h c u l t u r a l a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l ) ; b r e v i t y [ . . . ] ; 'negativity (news is about i n t e r r u p t i o n s i n the s m o o t h f l o w o f social process, a h i s t o r i c a l l y d e r i v e d d e f i n i t i o n ) ; a n d recency. N e w s is about elites, a n d about personalities. T h i s list may n o t exhaust all news values b u t i t includes the m a i n ones. T h e i r obviousness can be i l l u s t r a t e d by c o m p i l i n g a list o f a n t o n y m s . I t is h a r d t o imagine broadcast
journalists anywhere seeking news w h i c h dealt w i t h
small events, the l o n g t e r m , d u l l , distant, visually b o r i n g , u n i m p o r t a n t people, and so o n . Yet m a n y o f these labels describe events a n d processes w h i c h may w e l l have significance f o r news audiences, b u t w h i c h are n o t news. T h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f news values is p a r t o f the process by w h i c h this l a b e l l i n g occurs. These f o u r sequential processes i n television news p r o d u c t i o n each have characteristics w i t h i m p o r t a n t consequences f o r the final p r o d u c t . I n s u m , the p r o d u c t i o n o f television news is passive, r o u t i n e , l i m i t e d a n d selective. T h i s is n o t a c r i t i c i s m o f journalists b u t an inevitable consequence o f the w o r k i n g r o u t i n e s a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l lore w h i c h shape t h e i r professional lives. I w a n t
The Missing Dimensions 255 b r i e f l y t o t u r n t o some o f the consequences o f these patterns f o r t h e c o n t e n t o f t e l e v i s i o n news.
Television news: the missing dimensions O u r research i n c l u d e d a d e t a i l e d statistical analysis o f t e l e v i s i o n news i n t h e t h r e e c o u n t r i e s . R a t h e r t h a n struggle here t h r o u g h t h e q u a g m i r e o f statistics p r o d u c e d , I w a n t t o h i g h l i g h t o n e o r t w o areas. I w a n t t o suggest t h a t t e l e v i s i o n n e w s lacks t w o c r u c i a l d i m e n s i o n s as an account o f t h e w o r l d a r o u n d us. These are p o w e r a n d process. By m a k i n g social p o w e r a n d social process i n v i s i b l e , t e l e v i s i o n news creates a p a r t i c u l a r v i e w o f t h e w o r l d w h i c h is i n c o m p l e t e , n o t b y design o r i n t e n t , b u t b y its v e r y n a t u r e . P o w e r is i n v i s i b l e i n t h r e e w a y s . First geograpically, t h e p i c t u r e t e l e v i s i o n n e w s gives us o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s reflects t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f agency and
organization
correspondents
rather
than
R o u g h l y 6 0 p e r c e n t o f these c o r r e s p o n d e n t s
world
power
structures.
are i n Western E u r o p e a n d
N o r t h A m e r i c a . F o r m a n y E u r o p e a n audiences, L a t i n A m e r i c a is v i r t u a l l y i n v i s i b l e , w h i l e A f r i c a a n d Asia emerge as occasional war,
disaster,
o r as e x o t i c
locales
f o r inspection
l o c a t i o n s o f unrest, b y Western
leaders.
Especially f o r audiences i n the T h i r d W o r l d t h e i r f e l l o w s i n three c o n t i n e n t s are i n v i s i b l e , a n d c o m m u n a l i t y o f interests c a n n o t emerge. T h u s i t is n o t t h e effect
o f r i c h a n d p o w e r f u l n a t i o n s o n t h e T h i r d W o r l d w h i c h is seen, b u t
t h e i r attractiveness as m o d e l s a n d benevolence as a i d givers a n d d i p l o m a t i c mediators. W h i l e f o r e i g n news is g e o g r a p h i c a l l y d i s t o r t e d i n this systematic w a y , i t is s t i l l o n l y a p a r t o f news b u l l e t i n s . T h e m o r e o b v i o u s g e o g r a p h i c a l i m b a l a n c e is t h e heavy c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n d o m e s t i c affairs a n d events. H o m e news r e p resented f r o m 3 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e stories o n R T E (this excludes N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d stories w h i c h a c c o u n t e d f o r a n o t h e r 3 6 percent) t o over 5 0 p e r c e n t o n R a p p o r t i n S w e d e n . T h e I r i s h c o n c e r n w i t h Ulster o f course influences t h e figures t h e r e , w h i l e i n N i g e r i a t h e r e l a t i v e s i m p l i c i t y o f d e a l i n g w i t h f o r eign news contrasts w i t h t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f l o c a l news g a t h e r i n g , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e l e v i s i o n , w h e r e f o r e i g n news is t w o - t h i r d s o f the t o t a l . B u t g e n e r a l l y t h e w o r l d n e w s is f i r s t a n d f o r e m o s t a d o m e s t i c affair. T h e second w a y i n w h i c h p o w e r is evacuated is i n t h e s i m p l i f i c a t i o n o f t h e d r a m a t i s personae o f news. T h e f u r t h e r away, b o t h g e o g r a p h i c a l l y a n d c u l t u r a l l y , t h e m o r e a c o u n t r y ' s affairs are l i k e l y t o be p o r t r a y e d i n t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f o n e o r t w o senior p o l i t i c a l figures, u n t i l i n r e m o t e r c o u n t r i e s o n l y t h e h e a d o f state is v i s i b l e . N e w s is a b o u t the actions o f i n d i v i d u a l s , n o t corporate
entities, thus i n d i v i d u a l a u t h o r i t y rather than the exertion o f
e n t r e n c h e d p o w e r is seen t o be t h e m o v e r o f events. J o u r n a l i s m , a n d espec i a l l y t e l e v i s i o n n e w s , is t h e last refuge o f t h e great m a n t h e o r y o f h i s t o r y . Yet faces change, p o w e r - h o l d e r s are r e p l a c e d , a n d such changes take p r i d e o f place
i n t h e c i r c u m s p e c t i o n o f news. T h e c o n t i n u i n g a n d consistent
256
Producers and Production p o w e r o f t h e p o s i t i o n is masked b y emphasising t h e r e c u r r e n t changes o f o f f i c e - h o l d e r a n d t h e i r significance. T h i r d l y , p o w e r disappears i n the process o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n the news creates, the agenda o f issues a n d arenas t o w h i c h a t t e n t i o n is d i r e c t e d . I n particular p o l i t i c s is separated f r o m p o w e r . Politics is seen i n the p u b l i c display o f f o r m a l i t y , gesture a n d speech b y m a j o r p o l i t i c a l actors. I t is d e f i n e d by reference t o the state a n d central i n s t i t u t i o n s o f p o l i t i c a l n e g o t i a t i o n . T h u s p o w e r is r e d u c e d t o areas o f negotiable c o m p r o m i s e , a n d p o l i t i c s t o a r e c u r r e n t series o f decisions, debates a n d personalities. I t is r e m o v e d f r o m the i n s t i t u t i o n s o f p r o d u c t i o n ; thus news bears witness t o the i n s t i t u t i o n a l separation o f e c o n o m ics a n d p o l i t i c s , a p r e c o n d i t i o n f o r the evacuation o f p o w e r f r o m its account o f the w o r l d . Social process is t h e o t h e r d i m e n s i o n largely absent f r o m news. N e w s is a b o u t the present, o r the i m m e d i a t e past. I t is an account o f today's events. I n the w o r d s o f O r t e g a y Gassett, t h e j o u r n a l i s t 'reduces t h e present t o t h e m o m e n t a r y , a n d the m o m e n t a r y t o the sensational'. T h e w o r l d o f broadcast news is a display o f single events, m a k i n g h i s t o r y i n d e e d 'one d a m n t h i n g after a n o t h e r ' . Yet i n this w h i r l o f i n n u m e r a b l e events the l i n g e r i n g i m p r e s s i o n is o f stasis. Events are interchangeable, a succession rather t h a n an u n f o l d i n g . W h a t is p r o v i d e d is a t o p p i n g u p o f the k n o w n range o f events i n the w o r l d w i t h m o r e o f the same. A reassuring sameness assimilates each succession o f events t o ready-made patterns i n a timeless mosaic. T h i s f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f social process, evacuating history, has been described as 'a k i n d o f consecration t o collective amnesia'. I n a real sense reason disappears as actors f l i t across the j o u r n a l i s t i c stage, p e r f o r m a n d h u r r i e d l y disappear. T h u s i n d u s t r i a l relations appear n o t as a n e v o l v i n g c o n f l i c t o f interest b u t as a sporadic e r u p t i o n o f inexplicable anger a n d r e v o l t . S i m i l a r l y the p o l i t ical affairs o f f o r e i g n lands appear as spasmodic convulsions o f a m o r e o r less v i o l e n t t u r n , w h i l e i n t e r n a t i o n a l relations can sometimes appear t o be n o m o r e t h a n the occasional urge f o r t r a v e l a n d conversation i n d u l g e d i n by the d i p l o m a t i c jet-set. S i m p l i f i c a t i o n s t o be sure, b u t n o m o r e so t h a n i n the p r o d uct they describe. These a r e , o f course, fair
b r o a d generalizations.
s u m m a t i o n o f t h e statistical
B u t I believe they are a
analyses o f news
broadcasting
have been p r o d u c e d b y n u m e r o u s researchers i n t h e last f e w years.
which They
are n o m o r e a c r i t i c i s m o f t e l e v i s i o n j o u r n a l i s t s t h a n t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f p r o d u c t i o n n o t e d earlier. T h e y are a c o m m e n t a r y o n t h e i n t r i n s i c characteristics
o f t h e c u l t u r a l artefact w e have c o m e t o accept as t e l e v i s i o n
news.
Bias, objectivity, and ideology T h e n o t i o n o f bias is o f t e n contrasted w i t h objectivity, a n d f o r clarity's sake t w o distinctions s h o u l d be made. First, i m p a r t i a l i t y a n d objectivity are distinct.
The Missing Dimensions 257 I m p a r t i a l i t y i m p l i e s a disinterested approach t o news, l a c k i n g i n m o t i v a t i o n t o shape o r select m a t e r i a l according t o a particular v i e w o r o p i n i o n . Objectivity, h o w e v e r d e f i n e d , is clearly a broader d e m a n d t h a n this. A journalist m a y w e l l be i m p a r t i a l t o w a r d s t h e material o n w h i c h he w o r k s , yet fail t o achieve object i v i t y - a c o m p l e t e a n d unrefracted capture o f t h e w o r l d - due t o the i n h e r e n t l i m i t a t i o n s i n news g a t h e r i n g a n d processing. Second, the bias o f an i n d i v i d u a l r e p o r t e r dealing w i t h a single event m a y be reduced o r even e l i m i n a t e d by, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e deliberate a p p l i c a t i o n o f self-discipline a n d professional
standards
o f r e p o r t o r i a l fairness a n d accuracy, o r by t h e use o f several reporters o f k n o w n a n d d i f f e r i n g views. T h i s f o r m o f bias must be distinguished f r o m bias i n h e r e n t i n t h e practice o f j o u r n a l i s m per se. T h e f o r m e r is conscious o r at least detectable i n i n d i v i d u a l reports, the latter is accumulative a n d results f r o m news c o l l e c t i o n a n d p r o d u c t i o n as a t o t a l process. I n other w o r d s w e s h o u l d distinguish bias as the deliberate a i m o f j o u r n a l i s m , w h i c h is rare, f r o m bias as the inevitable b u t u n i n t e n d e d consequence o f o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h e r e are, t h e n , three possible views o f journalistic o b j e c t i v i t y a n d i m p a r tiality. First, t h e r e is t h e professional v i e w t h a t i t is possible t o be b o t h , based i n t h e idea t h a t o b j e c t i v i t y a n d i m p a r t i a l i t y are attitudes o f m i n d . Second is the v i e w t h a t o b j e c t i v i t y m a y w e l l be a nebulous a n d unattainable g o a l , b u t t h a t i m p a r t i a l i t y is still desirable a n d possible. T h e t h i r d view, t h a t neither objectivity n o r i m p a r t i a l i t y are i n any serious sense possible i n j o u r n a l i s m , comes f r o m a change o f analytical
perspective,
f r o m t h e s h o r t - t e r m a n d deliberate p r o d u c t i o n o f news stories t o the l o n g - t e r m a n d r o u t i n e , unreflective practices o f j o u r n a l i s m as I have analyzed t h e m i n this paper. O b j e c t i v i t y a n d i m p a r t i a l i t y r e m a i n the aims o f most day t o day j o u r n a l i s m . B u t w e s h o u l d understand these terms as labels a p p l i e d b y journalists t o the rules w h i c h g o v e r n their w o r k i n g routines. O b j e c t i v i t y is achieved by subs c r i b i n g t o a n d observing these sets o f rules, w h i c h are themselves the object o f o u r analysis. W e have seen h o w these rules, b o t h the e x p l i c i t regulations o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l charters a n d n e w s r o o m manuals, a n d the i m p l i c i t u n d e r s t a n d ings o f news values, are d e r i v e d f r o m the currents o f supply and d e m a n d w h i c h eddy r o u n d t h e n e w s r o o m . T h e assumed needs a n d interests o f audiences o n the o n e h a n d , a n d t h e t r u n c a t e d supply o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n t o the n e w s r o o m o n the other, b o t h exert pressures t o w h i c h the organization o f news p r o d u c t i o n responds. W h a t are t h e consequences o f these pressures? W h e n w e c o m e t o assess news as a coherent v i e w o f the w o r l d , t h a t is t o step u p f r o m news values t o social values, w e enter an altogether m o r e c o m p l e x a n d t a n g l e d a r g u m e n t . N e w s is i d e o l o g y t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t i t p r o v i d e s an i n t e g r a t e d p i c t u r e o f reality. B u t an i d e o l o g y is m o r e t h a n t h i s ; i t is also t h e w o r l d v i e w o f p a r t i c u l a r social g r o u p s , a n d especially o f social classes. T h e c l a i m t h a t news is i d e o l o g y i m p l i e s t h a t i t p r o v i d e s a w o r l d v i e w b o t h consist e n t i n itself, a n d s u p p o r t i v e o f the interests o f p o w e r f u l social g r o u p i n g s . T h i s can c o m e a b o u t i n t w o ways. First, news is s t r u c t u r e d b y t h e exigencies o f organized p r o d u c t i o n w h i c h
258
Producers and Production are t h e m a i n concern o f this study. These a l l o w o n l y a p a r t i a l v i e w o f t h e r e p o r t e d w o r l d w h i c h m a y o r m a y n o t coincide w i t h a r u l i n g ideology. T h e h i s t o r i c a l process b y w h i c h this coincidence occurs is m o r e t h a n accidental, and is r o o t e d i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f news as a service t o elite groups. T h u s most o f t h e basic goals a n d values w h i c h s u r r o u n d j o u r n a l i s m refer t o t h e needs a n d interests o f these groups. Second, i n a t t e m p t i n g t o reach
wide-
spread, a n o n y m o u s audiences, news draws o n the most b r o a d l y h e l d c o m m o n social values a n d assumptions, i n other w o r d s t h e p r e v a i l i n g consensus, i n establishing c o m m o n g r o u n d f o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h its audiences.
I n the
case o f broadcast j o u r n a l i s m t h e c o m p l e x relationship w i t h the state exaggerates this need t o c l i n g t o t h e central a n d least challenged social values w h i c h p r o v i d e i m p l i c i t d e f i n i t i o n s o f actions a n d events as acceptable o r unacceptable, usual o r u n u s u a l , legitimate o r i l l e g i t i m a t e . I have suggested t h a t there are t w o k e y elements t o t h e w o r l d o f b r o a d cast n e w s : t h e i n v i s i b i l i t y o f social process, a n d t h e i n v i s i b i l i t y o f p o w e r i n society. W i t h these t w o missing d i m e n s i o n s - social process o r h i s t o r y , a n d power -
news i n d e e d p r o v i d e s a w o r l d v i e w . T h e q u e s t i o n remains t o
w h a t e x t e n t this is a c o h e r e n t ideology. Analyses w h i c h see news as necessari l y a p r o d u c t o f p o w e r f u l g r o u p s i n society, designed t o p r o v i d e a v i e w o f t h e w o r l d c o n s o n a n t w i t h t h e interests o f those g r o u p s , s i m p l i f y t h e situat i o n t o o f a r t o be h e l p f u l . T h e o c c u p a t i o n a l r o u t i n e s a n d beliefs o f j o u r n a l ists d o n o t a l l o w a s i m p l e c o n d u i t b e t w e e n t h e r u l i n g ideas o f t h e p o w e r f u l and
t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n v i a t h e air-waves. Yet t h e absence o f p o w e r a n d
process clearly precludes t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f views w h i c h m i g h t q u e s t i o n the p r e v a i l i n g d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d c o n t r o l . A w o r l d w h i c h appears f u n d a m e n t a l l y u n c h a n g i n g , subject t o t h e genius o r caprice o f m y r i a d p o w e r f u l i n d i v i d u a l s , is n o t a w o r l d w h i c h appears susceptible
t o r a d i c a l change o r
challenge. T h e r e are t h r e e ways, t h e n , i n w h i c h broadcast news is i d e o l o g i c a l . First i t focuses o u r a t t e n t i o n o n those i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d events i n w h i c h social c o n f l i c t is m a n a g e d a n d r e s o l v e d . I t is precisely t h e arenas o f consensus f o r m a t i o n w h i c h p r o v i d e b o t h access a n d a p p r o p r i a t e m a t e r i a l f o r m a k i n g t h e news. Second, broadcast news, i n s t u d i o u s l y f o l l o w i n g s t a t u t o r y demands t o eschew p a r t i a l i t y o r c o n t r o v e r s y , a n d professional demands f o r o b j e c t i v i t y and n e u t r a l i t y , is l e f t t o d r a w o n t h e value a n d beliefs o f t h e broadest social consensus. I t is this process w h i c h Stuart H a l l describes as ' t h e steady a n d u n e x a m i n e d p l a y o f attitudes w h i c h , v i a t h e m e d i a t i n g s t r u c t u r e o f p r o f e s s i o n a l l y d e f i n e d news values, inclines a l l t h e m e d i a t o w a r d t h e status q u o ' ( H a l l , 1 9 7 0 : 1 0 5 6 ) . T h e p r e v a i l i n g beliefs i n any society w i l l r a r e l y be those which merely
question reinforce
e x i s t i n g social scepticism
o r g a n i z a t i o n o r values.
about
such
News will
itself
d i v e r g e n t , dissident, o r d e v i a n t
beliefs. T h i r d l y , as w e have seen, broadcast
news is, f o r h i s t o r i c a l a n d
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l reasons, i n h e r e n t l y incapable
of providing a portrayal of
social
change o r o f d i s p l a y i n g t h e o p e r a t i o n o f p o w e r i n a n d b e t w e e n
societies. I t t h u s p o r t r a y s a w o r l d w h i c h is u n c h a n g i n g a n d unchangeable.
The Missing Dimensions 259 T h e k e y elements o f any r u l i n g i d e o l o g y are the u n d e s i r a b i l i t y o f change, and
its impossibility;
a l l is f o r t h e best
a n d change
would
do more
h a r m t h a n g o o d , even i f i t w e r e possible. Broadcast news substantiates t h i s p h i l o s o p h y because o f t h e i n t e r p l a y o f t h e t h r e e processes w e have just described.
Conclusion: news and the containment of social change L e g i t i m a t i o n is t h e process b y w h i c h
a social o r d e r is made t o appear
i n e v i t a b l e a n d just. T h e extent t o w h i c h any social o r d e r appears unjust w i l l d e p e n d o n the s t r u c t u r a l l o c a t i o n a n d experiences o f those w h o , objectively, m i g h t seem m o s t l i k e l y t o w i s h t o challenge t h a t social order. I c a n n o t , i n this paper, r e v i e w the v a r i o u s approaches w h i c h have been made t o this p r o b l e m by sociologists a n d historians. M o s t such attempts are c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f a value system w h i c h is able t o a c c o m m o d a t e the existence o f i n e q u a l i t i e s , either by m a s k i n g t h e i r extent o r by j u s t i f y i n g the social processes w h i c h generate t h e m . I n this paper I have suggested t h a t one o f the sources o f such a value system m a y be broadcast news. For large n u m b e r s o f people television news i n p a r t i c ular has become a d o m i n a n t source o f explanations a n d i ma g e ry b y w h i c h t h e y m a k e sense o f t h e i r o w n lives a n d the society a r o u n d t h e m . I have suggested t h a t t e l e v i s i o n news p r o v i d e s a p i c t u r e o f the w o r l d w h i c h renders r a d i cal social changes i n v i s i b l e , undesirable, a n d unnecessary.
I n the complex
i n t e r p l a y o f m e d i a t e d a n d s i t u a t i o n a l c u l t u r e the crucial c o n t r i b u t i o n o f televis i o n news is t o c o n t a i n social change by f a i l i n g t o p r o v i d e the values a n d s y m bols w h i c h w o u l d p r o v o k e o r sustain i t .
Reference H a l l , S. 1970: A w o r l d at one w i t h itself. New Society, 18 June, 1056-8.
Questions 1
At the beginning of this extract, Golding outlines some of the tensions between sociologists' and journalists' perspectives of news. How would you summarise these differing approaches and objectives?
2
Analyse a news bulletin on radio or television. What are the news values underlying the reporting and how might the treatment of the same story vary as a result of different news values on other stations/channels or programmes? Which stories conform to the stages of planning, gathering, selection and presentation to which Golding refers?
3
How do the news values underpinning news content reflect the concerns and preoccupations of the media industry, and indeed the society of which it is a part?
260
Producers and Production
Further Reading Bell, A. 1991: The language of news media. O x f o r d : Basil Blackwell. Cohen, S. and Young, J. (eds.) 1973: The manufacture of news: deviance, social problems and the mass media. London: Constable. Golding, P. and Elliott, P. 1979: Making the news. London: Longman. H a l l , S., Critcher, C , Jefferson, X , Clarke, J. and Roberts, B. 1978: Policing the crisis: mugging the state of law and order. London: Macmillan. Halloran, J., Murdock, G. and Elliott, P. 1970: Demonstrations and communication: a case study. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Hartley, J. 1982: Understanding news. London: Methuen. Negrine, R. 1994: Politics and the mass media in Britain, 2nd edn. London: Routledge. Philo, G. (ed.) 1995: The Glasgow media group reader, vols. I and I I . London: Routledge. Schlesinger, P. 1987: Putting reality together. London: Methuen. Tunstall, J. 1971: Journalists at work. London: Constable.
25 The Problems of Making Political Television: A Practitioner's Perspective Roger Bolton From R Golding, G. Murdock and R Schlesinger (eds.), Communicating politics (Leicester University Press 1986)
This extract further illustrates the point made in the previous reading that news and media output is ideological, not by virtue of an overt intent to deceive or manipulate, but because those who work in the media are socialised into its ethics and processes and meet the routine demands of the job in ways which uphold the procedures and conventions of media institutions and the economy which supports them. In both extracts, the different - and in many ways complementary - approaches of social scientists and journalists are highlighted and Bolton, who is a former editor of BBC's Panorama, concurs with Golding's view that TV news and current affairs reflect and reproduce a consensual view which frequently renders invisible those who hold genuinely original or radical viewpoints; as Bolton puts it, the debate is often 'deprived of the richness of the unorthodox'. He also alludes to the news values which he and his colleagues almost unwittingly adhere to and which, in his view, lead to an over-dramatised, simplified and largely superficial view of events. Throughout this reading Bolton draws our attention to the pressures on reporters to make news and current affairs programmes which entertain as well as inform within the almost overwhelming constraints - technical, structural and financial - which face them. And although he concentrates on the ways in which those who work in the media can be manipulated by politicians and civil servants, which, he argues, limits informed debate and reduces accountability, he also states that broadcasters and journalists must take their
The Problems of Making Political Television 261 share of the blame. Finally, he concludes that it is incumbent upon media academics and practitioners to work together for a greater understanding of the processes and structures which underlie the production of broadcast news and documentary.
Political television is g e t t i n g better, as are m e d i a studies o f broadcasting. T h a t p o i n t m u s t be m a d e first as any study o f the p r o b l e m s o f p o l i t i c a l p r o g r a m m e m a k i n g w i l l m a k e t h e w h o l e enterprise seem impossible. T h e p r o b l e m s range f r o m t h e i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l constraints a j o u r n a l i s t faces t o t h e p r o b l e m s o f his o w n l i m i t e d experience a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g , t h e technical demands o f his m e d i u m , t h e l i m i t e d a t t e n t i o n span o f his audience a n d their d i f f e r e n t levels o f k n o w l e d g e a n d intelligence. T h e n there are t h e m a n i f o l d temptations along t h e way: money, a m b i t i o n , self-publicity. Occasionally there is a test o f courage a n d , w i t h o u t g l a m o r i z i n g the business o r m i s t a k i n g careless rashness for bravery, there are m o m e n t s w h e n the i n d i v i d u a l is tested i n a w a y that rarely happens i n other parts o f television. H o w e v e r , despite a l l t h e problems it's getting better a l l the t i m e a n d there is t o n i g h t ' s p r o g r a m m e t o get o n the air. Broadcasters are eternal optimists, always believing t h a t yesterday's disaster w i l l be w i p e d o u t by today's success.
The internal constraints M o s t p r a c t i t i o n e r s are aware o f the l i m i t a t i o n s o f the m e d i u m a n d the i n t e r n a l constraints faced b y broadcasters a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r b y makers o f p o l i t i c a l telev i s i o n p r o g r a m m e s . Television is a 'mass' m e d i u m , its audience has a w i d e range o f intelligence a n d k n o w l e d g e . Despite t h e w i d e s p r e a d belief that most o f t h e viewers f o r serious c u r r e n t affairs p r o g r a m m e s must be o f m o r e t h a n average i n c o m e a n d e d u c a t i o n , audience research studies s h o w that t h e m a j o r ity
o f t h e audience
Panorama
f o r t h e BBC's
flagship c u r r e n t
affairs
programme
comes f r o m t h e l o w e r reaches o f t h e class s t r u c t u r e . Broadcasters
c a n n o t assume t o o m u c h b u t i f they assume ignorance i t severely l i m i t s w h a t t h e y can get across i n w h a t is a very l i m i t e d p e r i o d , t h e o r d i n a r y a t t e n t i o n span. T h e eternal c o m p r o m i s e begins, a n d i t is c o m p o u n d e d b y t h e need t o keep a f r e q u e n t l y t i r e d audience attentive. N o b o d y has t o w a t c h , a n d m o s t p e o p l e w i s h t o be e n t e r t a i n e d as w e l l as i n f o r m e d . I plead g u i l t y t o f o r g e t t i n g t h a t o n m a n y occasions. As o n e c a n n o t re-read a television paragraph t h e p r o g r a m m e - m a k e r must signpost w i t h p a r t i c u l a r care, s u m m a r i z i n g at f r e q u e n t intervals. I t is h a r d t o a v o i d s i m p l i f y i n g a n d there are sirens t o be h e a r d c a l l i n g t h e p r o d u c e r away f r o m the difficult and the complex. 'Television can't cope w i t h ideas, i t ' s f o r s t o r y - t e l l i n g , f o r facts n o t issues.' I have h e a r d this siren song f r o m t h e m o u t h s o f most distinguished broadcasti n g figures. I t has t o be a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e a r g u m e n t has some force. F o r every Civilisation
a n d Ascent
of Man there are m a n y failures, b u t those t w o series
262
Producers and Production stand as beacons a n d surely d e m a n d o f all practitioners o f p o l i t i c a l j o u r n a l i s m an answer t o t h e q u e s t i o n , W h y hasn't there been a series about p o l i t i c a l ideas o f equal d i s t i n c t i o n ? The Sea of Faith
provides a f u r t h e r e x a m p l e , presented
by D o n C u p i t t , D e a n o f E m m a n u e l College, C a m b r i d g e , a leading t h e o l o g i a n w h o some believe can n o longer be considered a C h r i s t i a n . I t h a d its d i f f i c u l t m o m e n t s , b u t i t d e m o n s t r a t e d that television a n d c o m p l e x ideas need n o t be i n c o m p a t i b l e , a n d can be w a t c h e d w i t h e n j o y m e n t by significant n u m b e r s . A n o t h e r siren voice sings, 'You've got t o have a v i l l a i n , it's got t o be us against t h e m . ' Investigative a n d consumer journalists are p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o n e t o t h e o v e r w h e l m i n g c o m p u l s i o n t o nail a v i l l a i n i n t h e last frame. N a r r o w c h a u v i n ism is o f t e n present; i f i n d o u b t blame t h e Frogs. O t h e r voices: 'Forget t h e issues, i t ' s t h e personalities t h a t matter.' ' M a k e t h e facts f i t t h e story t h e p u b lic w a n t t o hear.' ' O h G o d that's b o r i n g . '
'Yield not to temptation' I n some ways television can encourage a superficial approach t o p o l i t i c a l telev i s i o n . A 'scandal' is m o r e attractive t h a n a c o m p l e x a n d d i f f i c u l t a r g u m e n t . For e x a m p l e , i t is m u c h easier t o make a m o v i n g short f i l m about t h e closure o f a h o s p i t a l (usually a t t r i b u t e d t o 'grey u n f e e l i n g bureaucrats') w i t h u n d e r standably angry a n d e m o t i o n a l parents a n d m o v i n g pictures o f c h i l d patients, t h a n t o e x p l a i n t h e c o n f l i c t o f p r i o r i t i e s i n a d e c l i n i n g economy. T h i s is n o t t o argue t h a t such f i l m s are b a d , s i m p l y that they are n o t sufficient. T h e situat i o n s they p o r t r a y must be placed i n c o n t e x t . A p r o g r a m m e w h i c h is o n t h e side o f the s u f f e r i n g a n d w h i c h focuses t h e public's anger o n a target is o f t e n t h o u g h t successful. I t has b r o u g h t an ' e v i l ' out
into
the open
and the 'guilty'
persons
have
been
identified.
This
'accusatory' f o r m o f television gives the viewer a n d t h e makers a g l o w o f satisfaction b u t I fear i t is o f t e n close t o t h e satisfaction given by u n s c r u p u l o u s p o l i t i c i a n s t o a b e w i l d e r e d p u b l i c . T h e need t o blame rather t h a n t o u n d e r stand is shared a m o n g politicians a n d broadcasters. I t leads t o a quieter m i n d , a n d a m o r e s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d f i l m , i f o n l y the prosecution's case is heard - a n d the defence doesn't get a w o r d i n edgeways. I d o n o t mean t o suggest that investigative p r o g r a m m e s that c h a m p i o n c o n sumer r i g h t s , l i k e B B C I's Watchdog
o r Radio 4's Checkpoint,
d o a disservice:
far f r o m i t . T h e y d o a genuinely g o o d j o b o n behalf o f t h e p u b l i c , f o r they deal w i t h areas w h e r e t h e t r u t h a n d the facts can o f t e n be established. T h i s p r o d u c t is dangerous, that m a n did d e f r a u d his company, this u n e m p l o y e d person was cheated b y a l o a n shark. N o r d o I argue t h a t broadcasters s h o u l d be a f r a i d t o p u t conclusions at t h e end o f their p r o g r a m m e s . A l l I w i s h t o d o is t o p o i n t o u t t h e tendency o f the m e d i u m t o push one i n t o b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e p r o g r a m m e - m a k i n g . O n e s h o u l d n o t g o w i t h t h e t i d e unless t h e necessary t h o u g h t , research a n d o p e n - m i n d e d c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f alternative arguments has been c a r r i e d o u t . I n a d d i t i o n , this 'black a n d w h i t e ' a p p r o a c h usually
The Problems of Making Political Television 263 d r a w s o n e away f r o m t h e m a j o r issues t o the m o r e d r a m a t i c a n d visible ones. T h i s does d e m o c r a c y a disservice, makes sensible p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g m o r e d i f f i c u l t a n d plays i n t o t h e hands o f those w h o w i s h t o see us f r o l i c o n t h e surface w h i l e t h e y carry o n unobserved i n the depths. C o n s i d e r . Y o u are a y o u n g p r o g r a m m e - m a k e r . Y o u are faced w i t h t h e choice
between
making a film
about
Dr. Armand
Hammer,
friend o f
L e n i n , Brezhnev, A m e r i c a n presidents, t h e Chinese, Prince Charles, p a t r o n o f t h e arts, o i l t y c o o n , etc., etc., w i t h a PR C o m p a n y p u s h i n g g l a m o r o u s m a t e r i a l , free j e t f l i g h t s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d a n d an ' e x c l u s i v e ' i n t e r v i e w , o r t r y i n g t o e x p l a i n t h e c o m i n g crisis i n t h e f u n d i n g o f pensions. O n e w a y lies pleasure, t h e applause o f audience a n d e d i t o r s , a n d g o o d r a t i n g s . A n d t h e o t h e r ? I s o m e t i m e s t h i n k M e p h i s t o p h e l e s sits i n t h e c u t t i n g r o o m s . I t is t o t h e c r e d i t o f m a n y p r o g r a m m e - m a k e r s t h a t they d o resist t h e t e m p t a t i o n .
An expensive business T h e economics o f t h e m e d i u m are a further, obvious constraint, as is w h a t I o f t e n regard as an obsession w i t h o v e r m a n n i n g a n d productivity. People are expensive, cameras d o n ' t charge o v e r t i m e o r eat, so there is an understandable tendency t o h o l d d o w n numbers o f those elements o f p r o d u c t i o n u p o n w h i c h one cannot charge capital depreciation. T h e B B C is p a r t i c u l a r l y b o t h e r e d about this, especially at licence fee t i m e . Some newspapers seem t o positively enjoy t a u n t i n g the C o r p o r a t i o n over the numbers o f people i t employs, as i f a number, say 3 0 , 0 0 0 , were a g o o d o r b a d t h i n g i n itself. A t Party Conference t i m e there are always articles about B B C o v e r m a n n i n g . H o w e v e r , they o f t e n fail t o relate the numbers t o t h e range o f broadcasting t h e B B C does o n the External Services, f o u r national r a d i o netw o r k s , t w o n a t i o n a l television n e t w o r k s , regional television and local r a d i o . T h e same person cannot service Breakfast
Time
and Newsnight
a n d sleep as w e l l .
N o r d o [the articles] take i n t o account the c o m p l e x technical facilities r e q u i r e d . A television p r o d u c e r has t o take m o r e than a t y p e w r i t e r t o get his p r o g r a m m e o n the air; i n effect he has t o take his w h o l e p r i n t i n g press. So there is considerable pressure t o restrict the n u m b e r o f p r o d u c t i o n staff, a n d t h e expansion o f daily p r o g r a m m i n g makes i t even m o r e d i f f i c u l t f o r d e p a r t m e n t a l heads t o husband their h u m a n resources and give broadcast j o u r nalists t h e t i m e t o d o o r i g i n a l research. O n e can e n d u p simply reprocessing someone else's 'facts'. Increasingly t o o the c o m p l e x technical requirements o f television mean that m o r e and m o r e t i m e has t o be spent o n mastering the 'television t y p e w r i t e r ' , using t h e c o m p l e x graphics, a n d so o n , rather than o n the subject material itself. I n such circumstances i t is n o t necessarily the best j o u r n a l ists w h o rise t o the t o p . Sadly this p r o b l e m is o f t e n c o m p o u n d e d b y L u d d i t e p o l i t i c a l journalists w h o sometimes refuse t o learn i n i t i a l p r o d u c t i o n techniques, t h o u g h , t o be fair, there is little t r a i n i n g t o help t h e m d o so. I t is usually sink o r s w i m i n television, even today. T h e late entry f r o m Fleet Street, o r elsewhere, is
264
Producers and Production rarely able t o catch u p o n the techniques required. H i s p o l i t i c a l k n o w l e d g e , insights a n d enthusiasms may then g o t o waste.
The mote in the eye T h e r e is a f u r t h e r potential internal constraint o n broadcasters a n d indeed a l l journalists, t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f r e p o r t i n g the affairs o f our o w n w o r k p l a c e and o f a c k n o w l e d g i n g the pressures u p o n us. O n e has t o acknowledge that the j o u r n a l istic i n t e g r i t y o f an organization does sometimes come i n t o conflict w i t h w h a t is perceived as its i n s t i t u t i o n a l interest. O r p u t another way, d o media organizations r e p o r t themselves as freely as they r e p o r t other groups? I have m y doubts. O r p u t a t h i r d way, does the B B C i n the licence fee application p e r i o d act w i t h greater caution t h a n at other times? T h e answer is yes. Such damage can be l i m i t e d b y a m o r e honest approach t o the audience, a c k n o w l e d g i n g the c o n f l i c t . A n d , t o be fair, many ' d i f f i c u l t ' programmes are transmitted a n d some o n l y t e m p o r a r i l y postponed. O n e ought n o t t o be surprised: we w o u l d be angels o r possibly masochists i f w e gladly scored w h a t i n the business is k n o w n as ' o w n goals', a n d n o one is objective about themselves o r their o w n organization. I have t o a d m i t that I felt betrayed by m y B B C N e w s colleagues w h e n they published a factual statement about m y involvement i n a particular controversy. T h e statement was accurate b u t necessarily brief and therefore the context was n o t supplied. 'But y o u d o n ' t understand, you're giving a misleading impression.' I f o u n d myself m o u t h i n g the w o r d s m y 'victims' must have used about investigative programmes I've made. It's a salutary experience. W h e n w e k n o w somet h i n g about a subject w e become aware o f h o w superficial the r e p o r t i n g o f this is. Hence o u r anger. N o n e the less, the news report had been accurate. I n t h e case o f t h e broadcasting institutions such sensitivity is o f t e n heightened b y a mistrust o f the fairness o f t h e r e p o r t i n g o f certain newspapers w h o are t h o u g h t t o be opposed t o the Broadcasting d u o p o l y a n d the licence fee a n d t o have a financial interest i n its dismemberment. C a n i t be coincidence that the Rupert M u r d o c h - o w n e d Times
published so many leaders critical o f t h e
B B C d u r i n g t h e 1985 licence fee campaign? T h i s tends t o make management defensive a n d w a r y o f public debate. Still t h e B B C management has a decent r e c o r d o f g o i n g o n t o t h e air t o be 'clobbered' over an issue, a l t h o u g h t h e p r o ducers o f r e v i e w programmes like B B C 2's Did you see ...? a n d B B C r a d i o 4's Feedback
must be aware o f t h e l i m i t s o f their critical independence.
I admire
the w a y they e x p l o r e t h e c l i f f edges. T h e r e is another p r o b l e m h i n d e r i n g o p e n discussion. Far t o o m a n y o f us m a k i n g programmes are b o t h t o o p r o u d a n d t o o scared t o a d m i t mistakes. O u r apparent arrogance irritates t h e p u b l i c b u t w e fear an admission w i l l be e x p l o i t e d by o u r enemies, a n d the press.
[...]
The outside world R e p o r t i n g is o f t e n n o t t h e p r o b l e m , i t is analysis that poses t h e d i f f i c u l t y . T h e facts can o f t e n be established, t h e causes m a y be matters o f o p i n i o n . B u t
The Problems of Making Political Television 265 s i m p l y t o state t h e facts, ' t w o people w e r e shot i n N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d t o d a y ' , i s n ' t e n o u g h . W h y w e r e they shot, w h y is anyone shot i n N o r t h e r n Ireland? T h e q u e s t i o n ' w h y ? ' is arguably the most i m p o r t a n t one. So have t h e o p i n i o n s , t h e various analyses, been given a i r time? I t is here t h a t w e m u s t a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t the range o f voices, o f o p i n i o n s , is t o o n a r r o w . T h e desire, sometimes encouraged b y the m a i n p o l i t i c a l parties, t o ensure t h a t discussions are representative o f percentages a n d p o w e r groups means t h a t the r a d i c a l , m i n o r i t y , o r n e w o p i n i o n is less w e l l represented. T h e debate is therefore
often
Conservative
t o o narrow,
d e p r i v e d o f t h e richness
maverick Enoch
P o w e l l o n t h e nuclear
o f the unorthodox. deterrent o r o n t h e
Russians is s e l d o m h e a r d . T h e distinguished h i s t o r i a n a n d anti-nuclear p o l e m i cist E. R T h o m p s o n
struggles i n relative silence u n t i l t h e C a m p a i g n f o r
N u c l e a r D i s a r m a m e n t flourishes. T o o o f t e n ideas w a i t u p o n p o l i t i c a l b a c k i n g before r e a c h i n g the airways. T h e B B C does keep a list o f appearances b y M P s i n its j o u r n a l i s t i c p r o grammes
a n d i t does t r y t o keep a balance between t h e m . I t is perhaps
i n e v i t a b l e t h a t news a n d c u r r e n t affairs p r o g r a m m e s t e n d t o feature representatives o f g r o u p s t h a t decide w h e t h e r ideas w i l l be p u t i n t o effect, rather t h a n those w i t h s i m p l y fresh o r i n t e r e s t i n g ideas. T h e d i f f i c u l t y o f access can be e x p l a i n e d b y a lack o f i n t e l l e c t u a l c u r i o s i t y by producers as w e l l as b y e x t e r n a l pressures, b u t the B B C C o m m u n i t y P r o g r a m m e U n i t a n d C h a n n e l 4 are ensuri n g t h a t m a n y m o r e voices are h e a r d .
Facts? - what facts? L e t us t u r n t o t h e ' m i s s i n g ' facts t h e n . T h e laws o f l i b e l , ' D - N o t i c e s ' a n d t h e O f f i c i a l Secrets A c t keep some matters f r o m t h e p u b l i c , a n d a n expensively lost l i b e l case is a p o w e r f u l incentive t o a d o p t a m u c h m o r e cautious a p p r o a c h i n g i v i n g legal advice. I n A p r i l 1 9 8 5 t h e B B C settled a l i b e l case b r o u g h t against o n e o f its p r o g r a m m e s , That's
Life,
b y a D r . Gee. T h e BBC's costs
w e r e r e p o r t e d t o be over £ 1 m i l l i o n . I t gave m a n y pause f o r t h o u g h t , a n d i t w o u l d n o t be s u r p r i s i n g i f some journalists decided t o take a break
from
' i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ' i n the consumer area leaving m a n y stories u n t o u c h e d . A f u r t h e r p r o b l e m is o u r sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e y are l i m i t e d , a n d g o v e r n m e n t a n d m o s t i n s t i t u t i o n a l bodies, f r o m t h e trade u n i o n s t o W h i t e h a l l , w a n t t o keep i t t h a t way. I n f o r m a t i o n is t o be released o n their
terms. J.
D o w n i n g w r i t e s elsewhere ... about g o v e r n m e n t secrecy a n d the m e d i a , a n d the l e g i s l a t i o n i n o p e r a t i o n . H o w e v e r , ministers break some o f these Acts c o n t i n u a l l y w i t h 'leaks' a n d w i t h i m p u n i t y . T h e price o f the 'leak' f o r journalists is o f t e n t h e i n a b i l i t y t o check i t against t h e facts. T h e r e w a r d f o r p o l i t i c i a n s is either setting t h e agenda a n d d i c t a t i n g t h e terms o f t h e a r g u m e n t , o r testing an idea before p u b l i c l y b a c k i n g i t ; o r , o f course, the c o w a r d l y dissociation o f a C a b i n e t m e m b e r f r o m his C a b i n e t w i t h o u t t h e inconvenience o f leaving i t , a t e c h n i q u e p u s h e d t o its l i m i t s a n d b e y o n d i n t h e T h a t c h e r Cabinet i n early
266
Producers and Production 1986. So journalists are w e l l advised t o treat all sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h suspicion. I h o p e w e are as energetic i n discovering i n f o r m a t i o n as w e are i n receiving i t . T h o s e w h o give us i n f o r m a t i o n are increasingly aware o f t h e mechanics o f broadcasting a n d are therefore i n a m u c h i m p r o v e d p o s i t i o n t o m a n i p u l a t e i t . A n d o f course W h i t e h a l l is f u l l o f people w h o are p a i d t o release i n f o r m a t i o n o n l y i n t h e interests o f governments. Even p r i m e ministers' press secretaries ('sources close t o t h e Prime M i n i s t e r ' ) have been k n o w n t o tell t e r m i n o l o g i c a l inexactitudes. H a r o l d W i l s o n 'let i t be k n o w n ' h o w he h a d 'read the R i o t A c t ' to t h e Parliamentary L a b o u r Party o n m a n y occasions. O n o n e famous day he was r e p o r t e d as t h r e a t e n i n g t o take t h e i r ' d o g licences' away, t h a t is, w i t h d r a w the w h i p . These accounts w e r e o f t e n read w i t h amazement by M P s w h o w e r e present a n d r e m e m b e r e d things very d i f f e r e n t l y . H a r o l d W i l s o n was also e x t r e m e l y w e l l i n f o r m e d about newspaper deadlines a n d f r e q u e n t l y c a p t u r e d headlines w i t h a last-minute story. N o w a d a y s m o s t p o l i t i c i a n s play t h a t game. G e t y o u r r e t a l i a t i o n i n first, said t h e late B i l l Shankley, M a n a g e r o f L i v e r p o o l Football C l u b . M o s t inhabitants o f g o v e r n ments d o n ' t need t o be t o l d t h a t . T h e r e are various o t h e r tricks w h i c h can be used i n the PR offensive. R i n g up a television p r o g r a m m e a n d o f f e r an 'exclusive' i n t e r v i e w . T h e p r o d u c e r s rarely say n o i f they t h i n k they w i l l beat a r i v a l . G o o n c u r r e n t affairs p r o grammes
like Weekend
World
o r The World
This
Weekend
o n Sunday as
M o n d a y m o r n i n g ' s newspaper headlines are t h e easiest ones t o capture. Issue a v e r y l o n g a n d c o m p l i c a t e d W h i t e Paper t o journalists o n l y o n t h e day o f p u b l i c a t i o n , a n d h o l d a press conference close t o t h e news deadline. T h e j o u r nalists w i l l n o t have t i m e t o absorb i t a l l , they w i l l have t o accept the s u m m a r y given b y t h e p o l i t i c i a n s a n d a day o r so later w h e n t h e d i f f i c u l t questions are b e g i n n i n g t o be f o r m e d i n t h e broadcaster's m i n d , w h o cares? T h e headlines have been w o n , t h e terms o f the argument established i n favour o f t h e p o l i t i cian c o n c e r n e d . If a d i f f i c u l t television discussion is p r o p o s e d - refuse t o take p a r t , say y o u w e r e m i s l e d about t h e nature o f the p r o g r a m m e , a n d i f i t goes ahead say i t is o b v i o u s l y biased. I f y o u are a Cabinet minister refuse t o participate i n a discussion w i t h anyone less senior t h a n yourself. I t l i m i t s t h e f i e l d . T h e other t r i c k i n this area is t o d e m a n d a separate i n t e r v i e w . Programme makers can be so desperate t o get t h e minister that they agree. I have b u c k l e d t o such pressures, I ' m a f r a i d . A n o t h e r technique is t o d o o n l y a ' l i v e ' i n t e r v i e w o n t h e news. T h a t w a y y o u can't be e d i t e d a n d i n t h e t w o o r three minutes available i t is u n l i k e l y that the questioner w i l l be able t o p u t y o u o n the spot. D u r i n g the Falklands War, television
was sometimes
t a k i n g the M i n i s t r y
o f Defence pressman I a n
M a c D o n a l d ' s statements ' l i v e ' , thus f r u s t r a t i n g any a t t e m p t t o p u t t h e remarks i n t o c o n t e x t . T h e dangers o f such ' l i v e ' i n t e r v i e w s are w e l l u n d e r s t o o d b y t h e b r o a d c a s t i n g a u t h o r i t i e s w h o have t r i e d t o ensure that they d o n o t recur.
The Problems of Making Political Television 267 A significant b l o w t o i n f o r m e d p o l i t i c a l discussion a n d debate was struck b y the emergence o f M r . (later Sir G o r d o n ) Reece a n d t h e Saatchi Brothers at Conservative
Central
Office.
W h i l e they were
amateurs
compared
R o n a l d Reagan's entourage, they signalled a c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n image
with rather
t h a n c o n t e n t . T h e y w e r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h w i n n i n g elections n o t arguments. Attention
was s w i t c h e d
f r o m t h e q u a l i t y press i n Fleet Street t o t h e
mass c i r c u l a t i o n newspapers. broadcasting, Panorama,
K n i g h t h o o d s a n d ennoblements
J i m m y Young o n Radio
followed. In
2 was f a v o u r e d rather
more
than
chat shows rather t h a n R o b i n Day. M r . Young f r e q u e n t l y asked
d i f f i c u l t questions a n d occasionally Sir R o b i n o r Sir Alastair was a l l o w e d i n b u t , this aside, t h e o v e r a l l result was a gentler r i d e i n m o r e relaxed s u r r o u n d ings f o r a larger audience.
E m i n e n t l y sensible i f y o u are M r s .
Thatcher,
e x t r e m e l y f r u s t r a t i n g i f y o u are a p o l i t i c a l j o u r n a l i s t . A n d ' t o u g h ' i n t e r v i e w s are g e t t i n g t o u g h e r - f o r t h e i n t e r v i e w e r . For example, M r s . T h a t c h e r has i n v e n t e d her o w n w a y o f dealing w i t h questions. D o n ' t take a b r e a t h , o r h a l t , at t h e e n d o f sentences. T h i s means t h a t t h e i n t e r v i e w e r either can't get his q u e s t i o n i n o r seems t o be r u d e l y i n t e r r u p t i n g i f he is. I f the p r o g r a m m e is l i v e the t i m e soon runs o u t , a n d a c c o u n t a b i l i t y is evaded.
What politics does television cover? So t h e p r o b l e m s o f m a k i n g p o l i t i c a l television are considerable. W h a t sort o f p o l i t i c a l television d o w e make? H o w successful has news
management,
i m a g e - m a k i n g a n d pressure g r o u p s ' l o b b y i n g been? O f course, those w h o are e m p l o y e d i n m a k i n g p o l i t i c a l television have a vested interest i n p r o c l a i m i n g its success. Perhaps i t is successful o n l y i n t h e short t e r m , a n d i n t h e margins. T h e p e n d u l u m swings a n d governments are ejected f r o m office as the signs o f t h e i r f a i l u r e become apparent, o r t h r o u g h simple b o r e d o m o n the voters' p a r t . E v e n t u a l l y t h e t r u t h may c o m e o u t b u t a l o t o f damage can be done i n the s h o r t t e r m , a l o t o f decisions taken a n d a l o t o f t i m e a n d energy spent o n isol a t i n g t h e PR a n d pressures, t i m e a n d energy w h i c h o u g h t t o have been spent addressing t h e issues a n d i n f o r m i n g the p u b l i c . Yesterday is, w e l l , yesterday, say the PR m e n . Today's headlines are w h a t matters. I t a l l acts as a sort o f camouflage t o hide t h e real p o l i t i c a l debate w h i c h s h o u l d be t a k i n g place. H a r o l d W i l s o n is r e p o r t e d as saying that t h e L a b o u r Party was rather l i k e a stage-coach. T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g was t o keep i t g o i n g . I f y o u d i d t h a t t h e n t h e passengers inside w o u l d t a l k t o each other a n d leave the d r i v e r t o get o n w i t h i t . H o w e v e r , i f the stage-coach stopped at the crossroads t h e n t h e passengers w o u l d get o u t , argue about w h i c h d i r e c t i o n t o g o a n d never get back i n again. I w o u l d suggest that w h i l e i t is the p o l i t i c i a n s ' j o b t o d r i v e the coach, i t is the j o u r n a l i s t s ' responsibility t o ensure that the passengers have seen the signpost. A l l o f this leads t o t w o tiers o f p o l i t i c a l debate, t h e p u b l i c a n d t h e p r i v a t e . T h e p u b l i c debate usually starts w h e n t h e decision has been t a k e n ; sometimes
268
Producers and Production i t m a y never h a p p e n at a l l . O n t h e surface statements are made, images create d , poses s t r u c k , insults exchanged. U n d e r n e a t h t h e reality is o f t e n t h e o p p o site. O n e o f m y m a i n frustrations as a p o l i t i c a l journalist a n d e d i t o r has been m y f r e q u e n t f a i l u r e t o h e l p the p u b l i c get i n t o t h e real debate w h i l e i t is g o i n g o n , w h i l e i t is u n d e c i d e d i n Cabinet, p a r t y a n d Parliament. A t t h e t i m e o f w r i t i n g there is a real debate t o be h a d about t h e f o r t h c o m i n g defence crises w h e r e once m o r e o u r c o m m i t m e n t s exceed o u r capacities. I t is also clear t h a t u n e m p l o y m e n t is u n l i k e l y t o g o d o w n significantly i n t h e l o n g t e r m , l e t alone t h e short t e r m , b u t w h e r e is t h e debate about h o w society s h o u l d adjust t o t h a t fact? T h e Conservative a n d L a b o u r Parties, f o r d i f f e r i n g reasons, f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o accept this p u b l i c l y , a l t h o u g h they must k n o w i t t o be t r u e . T h e real p r o b l e m s o f m a n a g i n g economic decline cannot be addressed w i t h o u t a c k n o w l e d g i n g this decline, b u t this is h a r d l y t h e best p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r re-election. A n y w a y i t has t o be a d m i t t e d that m u c h o f t h e p u b l i c is just n o t interested. Does this suggest that the media p r o v i d e a p l a t f o r m f o r t h e s o u n d a n d the fury, w h i l e elsewhere 'real p o l i t i c s ' goes on? T h a t w o u l d be u n f a i r t o m a n y parts o f t h e m e d i a . I t w o u l d be w r o n g t o lump
t h e Financial
Times
in with
t h e Sun, o r Newsnight
with
TV-am.
Somewhere i n t h e m e d i a most o f t h e i m p o r t a n t issues are dealt w i t h at o n e t i m e o r another. T h e p r o b l e m is one o f p r i o r i t y , n o t presence. G e t t i n g t h e i m p o r t a n t issues t o t h e f o r e f r o n t o f the debate, ahead o f t h e p e r i p h e r a l a n d transient, is the p r o b l e m . Political television s h o u l d be about t h e w a y countries are g o v e r n e d , o r c o u l d be g o v e r n e d , their p o l i t i c a l systems a n d the i m p o r t a n t decisions w h i c h are b e i n g t a k e n , o r w h i c h need t o be taken. M a n y argue that p o l i t i c a l coverage is t o o m u c h about personalities rather t h a n p o l i t i c s . O t h e r s argue t h a t television's p o l i t i c a l coverage is t o o Westminster- o r W h i t e h a l l - d o m i n a t e d , n o t e n o u g h o f the ' r e a l ' w o r l d a n d people's o r d i n a r y experience. I believe p o l i t i c a l television s h o u l d be, a n d is, about a l l these things. I t is t h e p r o p o r t i o n s w e s h o u l d argue about a n d w h i c h are w r o n g . O u r domestic p o l i t i c a l coverage is obviously hampered b y the fact that none o f us is objective about o u r o w n country. We must t r y t o become m o r e so b u t w e must first acknowledge the subjective impulses. As I have m e n t i o n e d earlier, the B B C acknowledges a bias - towards parliamentary democracy, a bias w h i c h I w e l c o m e . B u t w e must acknowledge, i f w e are t o begin f r o m that standpoint, that voices outside that f o r m o f democracy must be heard. H o w e v e r , some people believe that broadcast j o u r n a l i s m has taken a k n o c k t o its collective confidence because i t is n o w being said that there is n o such t h i n g as objectivity. T h e t r a i n e d observer is n o w being t o l d that a l l his judgements are subjective, a n d he is still r e c o v e r i n g f r o m t h e shock. T h e G l a s g o w U n i v e r s i t y M e d i a G r o u p has perhaps h a d the greatest influence here a l t h o u g h its o w n subjectivity a n d lack o f broadcasting experience has l i m i t e d its effects u p o n many practitioners.
[...]
The Problems of Making Political Television 269
What can the broadcaster do? Faced w i t h these p r o b l e m s o f i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l restraint a n d w i t h t h e inadequacy o f m u c h t h a t w e d o , broadcast journalists s h o u l d be asking t h e m selves some v e r y h a r d questions. H o w m u c h better can w e d o , even given these problems? We broadcasters s h o u l d blame ourselves as w e l l as t h e p o l i t i c i a n s f o r t h e state o f p o l i t i c a l broadcasting. T h e i r responsibility is t o manage change n o t ensure a g o o d debate a n d o n e s h o u l d accept that there are m a n y issues w h e r e i t w o u l d be p o l i t i c a l l y irresponsible t o be f r a n k i n p u b l i c , a l t h o u g h g o v e r n ments f r e q u e n t l y d o use t h e cover o f ' t h e n a t i o n a l interest' s i m p l y t o conceal mistakes a n d cover embarrassment.
A r m s l i m i t a t i o n s talks a n d discussions
o v e r Z i m b a b w e o r I r e l a n d are examples w h e r e p o l i t i c a l d i s c r e t i o n is v i t a l i n o r d e r t o achieve t h e e n d result. H o w e v e r , i f w e recognize t h e need f o r such d i s c r e t i o n b y p o l i t i c a n s , y e t also recognize the need f o r t h e p u b l i c t o be p r o p e r l y i n f o r m e d a b o u t these issues, w h i l e they are c u r r e n t , t h e n I believe i t m u s t f a l l t o journalists t o place these items o n t h e p u b l i c agenda. A f o r m e r D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l o f t h e B B C disagreed. I n his v i e w i t was t h e d u t y o f Parliament, as a n elected body, t o decide t h e agenda. I t was n o t a n issue, i n his v i e w , i f there was n o real debate about i t i n t h e C o m m o n s . T h u s t h e u n i f i c a t i o n o f I r e l a n d was n o t a n issue because t h e f r o n t benches o f b o t h m a j o r parties h a d agreed t h a t i t was n o t , despite t h e views o f a very large m i n o r i t y r e c o r d e d i n p u b l i c o p i n i o n p o l l s , n o t t o m e n t i o n m a n y people i n I r e l a n d , n o r t h and south. I disagree w i t h h i m . Broadcasters have n o r i g h t t o place t h e issues they r e g a r d as i m p o r t a n t before e v e r y t h i n g else b u t they d o have a d u t y t o p u t t h e m o n t h e list. T h i s d u t y derives f r o m the k n o w l e d g e they have o f t h e real p o l i t i c a l debate t h a t goes o n outside t h e C h a m b e r o r t h e s t u d i o , a n d t h e facts they u n e a r t h i n t h e i r r e p o r t s . T h e broadcasters' responsibility t o the audience is t o speak t h e t r u t h as they see i t , t o be m o r e o p e n about their procedures and l i m i t a t i o n s , t o be m o r e aware o f t h e i r o w n subjectivity. T h e broadcaster is p r i v i l e g e d w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n a n d he must share i t . I n t h e l i g h t o f a l l these f o r m i d a b l e p r o b l e m s a n d duties, h o w q u a l i f i e d are television's p r o d u c e r s t o p r o d u c e p o l i t i c a l journalism? W e l l , they are m o s t l y w h i t e , middle-class a n d r e l a t i v e l y y o u n g , a n d they are almost as l i k e l y t o be female as male. A large n u m b e r w i l l have gone t o O x b r i d g e , they w i l l be i n s t i n c t i v e l y suspicious o f a u t h o r i t y , l i b e r a l o n social issues, u n c e r t a i n o n econ o m i c ones. T h e y w i l l be i n d e p e n d e n t , a m b i t i o u s a n d i n t e l l i g e n t . T h e y w i l l p r o b a b l y have arts o r p o l i t i c s degrees. T h e y are n o t representative, b u t they are o f t e n h i g h l y s k i l l e d , a n d t h e vast m a j o r i t y t r y n o t t o w i e l d p r i v a t e p r e j u dices a n d d o strive f o r t h e t r u t h . A n d o f course they are n o t alone. T h e y have e d i t o r s above t h e m ( w h o w i l l p r o b a b l y be 3 5 - 4 5 , almost exclusively male) who
are w e l l advanced o n t h e r o a d t o c y n i c i s m ! A n d they w o r k w i t h presen-
ters a n d r e p o r t e r s w h o are o f t e n h i g h l y q u a l i f i e d a n d rather older.
270
Producers and Production W h a t they d o require is far m o r e t i m e t o t h i n k a n d far m o r e t r a i n i n g . I n m y v i e w y o u n g producers s h o u l d be shipped t o Party Conferences a n d made t o listen t o every debate, a n d g o t o evening meetings. Such attendance is a n essential p a r t o f p o l i t i c a l education regardless o f w h a t the Sun o r the Mail o r the Daily
Telegraph
Commons
w i l l say. Producers s h o u l d f r e q u e n t l y attend the H o u s e o f
a n d also get o u t o f L o n d o n . A b o v e a l l , television
management
s h o u l d arrange that the best authorities i n d i f f e r e n t fields s h o u l d be b r o u g h t to t h e m , a w i d e variety o f p o l i t i c a l t h o u g h t and analysis placed before t h e m . I n s h o r t , w e must ensure that a c o n t i n u i n g p o l i t i c a l education is b u i l t i n t o a p r o d u c e r ' s career, t o supplement his practical experience. Those p o l i t i c a l specialists i n broadcasting must also share their k n o w l e d g e , n o t just w i t h their audience, b u t also w i t h their colleagues. I t is a tragedy t h a t P h i l i p E l l i o t t is n o longer here t o make his always p e r t i nent c o n t r i b u t i o n . I f o u n d his w r i t i n g f u l l o f sympathy, u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d g o o d sense, even w h e n i t h u r t . H e eschewed t h e easy gibe a n d t h e easy answer a n d he was never deflected f r o m the central questions. H e u n d e r l i n e d o u r l i m i t a t i o n s w i t h o u t self-righteousness.
H e k n e w that broadcasters a n d
m e d i a academics have a r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o educate each other, as w e l l as t o educate themselves. A n d i t is here that m e d i a academics can play a p a r t . T h e y m u s t reach the parts o f the BBC they haven't reached so far, the daily a n d w e e k l y p r a c t i t i o n e r s , as w e l l as managers l i k e myself. T h e y w i l l meet some p r e j u d i c e a n d a n t a g o n i s m w i t h i n the C o r p o r a t i o n a n d they w i l l have t o make
sacrifices! T h e y
acknowledge
must w r i t e i n simple, d i r e c t English. T h e y
must
t h e i r lack o f practical k n o w l e d g e a n d a t t e m p t t o r e m e d y i t .
T h e y m u s t l o o k f o r the c o c k - u p rather t h a n the conspiracy. Perhaps the result o f this d i a l o g u e w i l l be a t e m p o r a r y loss o f confidence by b o t h parties i n o l d certainties, b u t i t is a n essential p r e l u d e t o o u r being able t o discharge
our
j o i n t duty, t o pursue the t r u t h m o r e r i g o r o u s l y a n d t o i n f o r m o u r democracy m o r e fully.
Questions 1
What are the predominant news values' which current affairs programmes such as Panorama and World in Action adhere to? How and in what ways do they differ from the underlying values in TV and radio news broadcasts?
2
If, as both Golding (in the previous reading) and Bolton suggest, news is produced by, and aimed at, a political and cultural elite, what are the implications for those who are not part of that elite, or who are in some way marginalised from the mainstream? Who might those groups include?
3
Bolton refers to Margaret Thatcher's urge to starve terrorists of the 'oxygen of publicity'. What are the cases for and against imposing a broadcasting ban on interviews with opponents of the government, including terrorist organisations?
Keepers of the Castle 271
Further reading Barnouw, E. 1992: Documentary: a history of the non-fiction film, 2nd revised edn. O x f o r d : O x f o r d University Press. Elliott, P. 1972: Media organisations and occupations: an overview. I n Curran, J., Gurevitch, M . and Woollacott, J. (eds.), Mass communication and society, London: Edward A r n o l d . Gallagher, M . 1982: Negotiation of control i n media organizations and occupations. In Gurevitch, M . , Bennett, T., Curran, J. and Woollacott, J., Culture, society and the media, London: Routledge. Hillyard, P. and Percy-Smith, J. 1988: The coercive state: the decline of democracy in Britain. London: Fontana. Horrie, C. and Clarke, S. 1994: Fuzzy monsters: fear and loathing at the BBC. London: Heinemann. Lorenz, A. L . and Vivian, J. 1996: News reporting and writing, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. Philo, G . (ed.) 1995: The Glasgow media group reader, vols I and I I . London: Routledge. Schlesinger, P., Murdock, G. and Elliott, P. 1983: Televising terrorism: political violence in popular culture. London: Comedia. Tracey, M . 1977: The production of political television. London: Routledge &c Kegan Paul. Tunstall, J. 1993: The television producers. London: Routledge. Winston, B. 1996: Framing the real. London: BFI.
26 Keepers of the Castle: Producers, Programmers and Music Selection Stephen Barnard From On the radio: music radio in Britain (Open University Press 1989)
This extract continues the emphasis on media producers and the constraints associated with particular contexts of production which is the dominant theme running throughout this section. Radio is a modern medium which has, by comparison with television and film for example, received relatively little analytical attention. It has been described as the 'Cinderella' of Media Studies. In what follows, Barnard provides a detailed account of the production contexts associated with popular music radio in Britain, in particular BBC Radio 1. In the initial stages of the extract, Barnard usefully summarises the idea of the producer as a gatekeeper, someone who makes key decisions and selections concerning the fate and the form of potential media output or content, in accordance with their role and position within a professionalised occupational culture and hierarchy. He provides a brief historical account of the development and key changes within BBC music policy in the postwar period and then focuses on questions concerning the playlist - a weekly list of records
272
Producers and Production which have guaranteed regular airtime - and its function for Radio 1 in the 1980s. At the heart of his discussion are a number of issues concerning the relationships between the music industry, the charts and radio airtime given to particular types and formats of popular music. It is important to approach Barnard's study with a view of its own history. It was published first in 1989 and based very much on research undertaken in the 1980s. Since then a number of significant changes have overtaken the empirical detail of the research, perhaps most notably changes in the compilation and organisation of the weekly music charts and some major and much reported changes of personnel and policy at 1 FM, as it now prefers to call itself, as well as key changes across the radio sector in the United Kingdom as a whole. However, the style and focus of the analysis provide a useful basis from which to think about questions concerning the formats of the radio 'soundscapes' - musical and otherwise - of the late 1990s. Barnard usefully summarizes some of these issues in the postscript which he wrote especially for this volume.
I don't mind when people say we play wallpaper music. A lot c f people spend a lot of time and money choosing the right wallpaper for their homes. Bob Snyder, former Programme Controller, Radio Trent 1
... I have t o u c h e d u p o n the general principles g u i d i n g the use a n d selection o f p o p u l a r music by r a d i o stations i n B r i t a i n : the tendency t o concentrate o n the most musically familiar, the unwillingness t o deviate f r o m a selection o f records based o n chart placings o r potential chart placings, the isolation o f n o n - m a i n stream music t o peripheral programmes outside the peak-time hours, the preference s h o w n f o r commercially p r o d u c e d records over live o r specially recorded music d u r i n g those peak hours. These tendencies need t o be examined m o r e closely i n the c o n t e x t o f the decisions taken by those w h o , t o use sociological t e r m i n o l o g y , are the 'gatekeepers' o f r a d i o : the p r o g r a m m e controllers and p r o g r a m m e producers w h o oversee n o t o n l y w h a t is played o n the r a d i o b u t the e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h i t is heard, the frequency o f its playing and its p o s i t i o n i n g w i t h i n programmes. They, far m o r e than presenters, are the source o f p o w e r i n music r a d i o , but the i n t e n t i o n here ... is n o t simply t o equate their apparent c o n t r o l o f r a d i o o u t p u t w i t h a necessarily major influence over the fate o f r e c o r d industry p r o d u c t , n o r is i t t o p i n 'responsibility' o n t h e m f o r the blandness and predictability o f so m u c h music p r o g r a m m i n g . Rather, i t is t o explore h o w gatekeepers b o t h represent and p a t r o l the t w i n ideologies o f consensus and c o n sumer sovereignty, a n d t o assess the end result - a pattern o f p r o g r a m m i n g a n d a style o f presentation w h i c h , d u r i n g the daytime hours at least, uses p o p u l a r music as a barrier against tension, conflict and d i s r u p t i o n . First o f a l l , w e must c l a r i f y w h a t 'gatekeeping' entails. Gatekeepers, o f course, c a n be f o u n d i n all m e d i a , a n d the source o f the concept (and t h e t e r m ) is D a v i d M a n n i n g W h i t e ' s study o f e d i t o r i a l practices i n m i d - w e s t newspapers, The 'Gatekeeper : 3
A Case
Study
in the Selection
of News.
1
White
f o u n d t h a t editors chose w h i c h stories t o f o l l o w u p , w h i c h t o headline a n d
Keepers of the Castle 273 w h i c h t o relegate t o shorter items, according t o a n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t criteria: the particular e d i t o r i a l line ( p o l i t i c a l a n d otherwise) o f the newspaper
con-
cerned, w h e t h e r t h e story h a d a local angle, qualities o f ' h u m a n interest' a n d so o n . M e d i a gatekeepers, i n W h i t e ' s analysis, determine n o t o n l y w h a t is mediated by technological means b u t t h e manner,
the nuances o f its c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
Later research w o r k has concentrated o n e x p l o r i n g the value systems a n d organ i z a t i o n a l constraints under w h i c h gatekeepers w o r k , a n d h o w these are c o m m u n i c a t e d a n d r e i n f o r c e d d o w n a chain o f c o m m a n d . Certain researchers, f o r e x a m p l e , have p a i d particular regard t o the inculcation o f notions o f professionalism f r o m seniors t o j u n i o r s (most obviously, editors t o reporters) a n d the maintenance o f a n e d i t o r i a l line - an encapsulation o f a certain ideology - n o t so m u c h t h r o u g h direct enforcement o r threats o f the sack as t h r o u g h encouragi n g a k i n d o f n o t i o n a l independence based o n self-censorship, the skill o f knowing w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o be t o l d w h i c h stories are acceptable a n d w h i c h are n o t .
3
T h i s is a l l relevant t o understanding t h e ' e d i t o r i a l ' practices o f music r a d i o , because p r o g r a m m e producers, t o o , are c o n t i n u a l l y called u p o n t o p u t their o w n tastes a n d preferences b e h i n d t h e m i n favour o f a professional assessment o f w h i c h music w i l l most f i t the e d i t o r i a l p r o f i l e o f their station. H o w e v e r , the fact t h a t the r a d i o gatekeeper is dependent o n a commercial source - the r e c o r d manufacturers - f o r m u c h o f his material complicates the issue, as he then becomes a m e d i a t o r i n their m a r k e t i n g strategies as w e l l as an enactor o f his o w n . T h e r a d i o gatekeeper may appear t o mediate between manufacturer a n d consumer, i n t h e same w a y that r e c o r d reviewers i n newspapers d o , b u t his responsibilities
u l t i m a t e l y l i e elsewhere. Radio gatekeepers have a responsibility
t o the p u b l i c o n l y i n the vaguest sense: their p r i m a r y concern is t o serve the particular
publics that the stations' managers o r owners have delineated.
Precisely w h o , t h e n , are the gatekeepers w h o make the decisions as t o w h i c h music is p l a y e d o n B r i t i s h r a d i o , a n d h o w has their r o l e evolved? I n t h e case o f R a d i o 1 a n d R a d i o 2 , t h e responsibility f o r music selection lies w i t h i n d i v i d u a l p r o g r a m m e p r o d u c e r s , t h o u g h i n the f o r m e r case the p r o d u c e r draws o n a playlist p r e d e t e r m i n e d by c o m m i t t e e ; w i t h i n independent local r a d i o ( I L R ) , t h e responsibility generally lies w i t h a single person, usually t h e station's
pro-
g r a m m e c o n t r o l l e r o r a specially a p p o i n t e d head o f music. Differences i n personnel levels m a i n l y reflect d i f f e r e n t economies o f scale, b u t they also reflect d i f f e r e n t t r a d i t i o n s a n d p r i o r i t i e s . F o r o n e t h i n g , there is a s t r o n g bureaucratic t r a d i t i o n w i t h i n t h e B B C w h i c h I L R stations, because o f the perpetual concent r a t i o n o n c o m m e r c i a l returns a n d cost-effective, self-sufficient o p e r a t i o n , have largely a v o i d e d e m u l a t i n g . A l s o , t h e c o m m e r c i a l i m p e r a t i v e i n I L R is t o m a i n t a i n a consistent musical i d e n t i t y t h r o u g h o u t the p r i m e - t i m e h o u r s ; the e m p h a sis is o n c o n t i n u i t y , f l o w , a consistent voice, t o encourage t u n e d . T h a t k i n d o f consistency
listeners t o stay
can be threatened w h e n presenters
either
i n d u l g e t h e i r o w n musical tastes o r play the same r e c o r d t o o o f t e n , so there is a p a r t i c u l a r need i n I L R f o r music formats t o be b o t h p r e d e t e r m i n e d a n d p o l i c e d by a n i n d i v i d u a l w h o has t h e complete day-to-day o u t p u t o f t h e station i n
274
Producers and Production m i n d . Radios 1 a n d 2 have tended t o be m u c h ' f r e e r ' i n c o m p a r i s o n , t h e k e y difference being that, despite the sequential nature o f m u c h o f their o u t p u t , b o t h n e t w o r k s were r u n u n t i l late 1 9 8 7 ( w h e n p o l i c y changes, discussed later i n this chapter, w e r e i n t r o d u c e d ) as collections o f connected b u t i n d i v i d u a l l y executed p r o g r a m m e s . I n t r a d i t i o n a l B B C t h i n k i n g , separate p r o g r a m m e p r o d u c t i o n is a sign o f q u a l i t y and a t t e n t i o n t o detail, a m a r k o f professionalism; as R a d i o 1 c o n t r o l l e r J o h n n y Beerling says, ' t h e most successful t h i n g y o u c o u l d d o o n the surface o f i t is just play T o p Forty music all day w i t h disc jockeys like T o n y B l a c k b u r n a n d p u t the t h i n g o n a f o r m a t and just rotate i t . W e d o n ' t d o that b y any means. I t h i n k w e t r y t o treat the audience i n t e l l i g e n t l y ' .
4
M o s t i m p o r t a n t o f a l l , Radios 1 and 2 , u n l i k e I L R stations, see themselves as personality stations first a n d foremost, their success h i n g i n g o n the appeal o f the disc jockeys. Producers act as stage managers t o t h e presenters a n d m a y even choose records o n the basis o f w h e t h e r they are ' r i g h t ' f o r t h a t presenter's p u b l i c image. I n local r a d i o , w i t h a f e w exceptions, presenters have a m u c h m o r e l o w - k e y role a n d their personalities are generally (and quite deliberately) subservient t o the image o f the station. G i v e n a l l this, the music choices made by gatekeepers i n b o t h national a n d local B B C a n d c o m m e r c i a l r a d i o nevertheless f o l l o w a remarkably similar patt e r n , w h i c h s e l f - i m i t a t i o n a n d c o n t i n u a l aping o f competitors cannot
alone
e x p l a i n . T h a t they share similar perceptions, a similar sense o f professionalism, even a c o m m o n ideology, is obvious, a n d I have already c o m m e n t e d o n t h e m o b i l i t y o f labour between t h e t w o systems a n d t h e degree t o w h i c h I L R stations deliberately d r e w o n B B C experience i n fashioning their music policies. Historically, musical gatekeeping i n British radio has been paternalistically m o t i v a t e d , a n d the legacy o f this lives o n .
Producers and programming . . . [ T ] h e gatekeeper r o l e e v o l v e d at t h e B B C w i t h p a r t i c u l a r reference t o p o p ular music, i n i t i a l l y t h r o u g h dance-band leaders w h o learnt t h e degree o f acceptability o f certain songs o r types o f music by t r i a l a n d e r r o r , t h e n via t h e B B C ' s t w o directors o f dance music, Jack Payne a n d H e n r y H a l l , w h o sought t o lead b y e x a m p l e . A l t h o u g h d i r e c t l y responsible t o senior management f o r the decisions they made, b o t h m e n were t o some extent t h e i r o w n masters, i n t e r p r e t i n g a vague b r i e f t o p r o v i d e tasteful, acceptable dance music i n a m a n n e r calculated n o t t o i n c u r the displeasure o f their employers - o p e r a t i n g w h a t was i n effect a k i n d o f self-censorship, creating music that n o t o n l y m a t c h e d t h e B B C p e r c e p t i o n o f p o p u l a r music as l i g h t , r e l a x i n g a n d 'domest i c ' b u t h e l p e d i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e i t . B e g i n n i n g i n t h e w a r years, t h e gatekeeping f u n c t i o n became m o r e diffuse, less o p e n t o i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , as p o l i c y - m a k i n g came under t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o f committees assumed
a n d producers
a n almost clerical r o l e , c o n t i n u a l l y r e f e r r i n g back a n y songs o r
records t h o u g h t l i k e l y t o be c o n t e n t i o u s . O u t o f the ensuing bureaucracy g r e w
Keepers of the Castle 275 the t w o centres o f p o p u l a r music o u t p u t , t h e G r a m o p h o n e D e p a r t m e n t a n d the P o p u l a r M u s i c D e p a r t m e n t , a n d a dual supply system t h a t o n l y o u t l i v e d its usefulness once Radios 1 a n d 2 started a n d t h e need f o r p r o g r a m m e s w i t h a consistent n e t w o r k i d e n t i t y was established. R a d i o 1 i n p a r t i c u l a r was n o t just a d e p a r t u r e i n p r o g r a m m i n g terms b u t also i n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , as t h e p r o d u c er's p r i m e accountabilities s h i f t e d f r o m s u p p l y departments t o t h e n e t w o r k itself, t h e r e b y f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a R a d i o 1 'house style' i n pres e n t a t i o n a n d a c o r p o r a t e p o l i c y o n music selection. T h a t p o l i c y has changed i n ways b o t h subtle a n d o b v i o u s over t h e years, b u t a certain R a d i o 1 ' i d e o l o g y ' has been m a i n t a i n e d t h r o u g h o u t , t o w h i c h t h e attitudes a n d w o r k i n g practices o f its present-day gatekeepers
- t h e n e t w o r k management team a n d ,
m o s t crucially, t h e p r o d u c e r s w h o r e p o r t t o t h e m - give clues. As L i g h t P r o g r a m m e o f f s h o o t s , b o t h Radios 1 a n d 2 r e t a i n t h e vestiges o f L i g h t P r o g r a m m e values. L i k e its p a r e n t n e t w o r k , R a d i o 1 categorizes p o p u l a r music as either easy-listening b a c k g r o u n d music or as a c u l t u r a l l y v a l i d , quasiclassical music r e q u i r i n g i s o l a t i o n t o t h e p e r i p h e r y o f t h e schedules, b o t h i n deference t o its assumed s u p e r i o r i t y t o standard p o p fare a n d t o p r e v e n t i t disr u p t i n g m a i n s t r e a m p r o g r a m m i n g . ( T h a t t h e R a d i o 1 version o f b a c k g r o u n d music is d i f f e r e n t f r o m R a d i o 2's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i t is s i m p l y a factor o f t h e f o r m e r ' s dependence, f o r reasons w e shall e x a m i n e , o n t h e r e c o r d sales chart as a source o f m a t e r i a l . ) T h e pervasiveness o f L i g h t P r o g r a m m e values - its p o p u l i s m , its domestic ambience, its c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e e n t e r t a i n m e n t ethic can be a t t r i b u t e d t o t w o factors i n p a r t i c u l a r , b o t h t o d o w i t h the personnel i n v o l v e d . First, there has been a c o n t i n u i t y at management level: R a d i o 1 has been
successively
headed
b y R o b i n Scott,
Derek
Chinnery and Johnny
B e e r l i n g , a l l o f t h e m L i g h t P r o g r a m m e t r a i n e d a n d the latter t w o w i t h t e c h n i cal b a c k g r o u n d s , h a v i n g come t o t h e B B C after service i n the a r m e d forces as t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t o r s . O n e o f the m o s t t e l l i n g features o f B B C radio's p r e - 1 9 6 7 p o p u l a r music o u t p u t was t h a t i t was t r u s t e d t o those o n t h e technical rather t h a n e d i t o r i a l side o f B B C o p e r a t i o n s , i n contrast t o t h e academic
editorial
bias a m o n g p r o d u c e r s o n t h e T h i r d P r o g r a m m e . A T h i r d P r o g r a m m e p r o d u c er, because o f his ' c u l t u r a l ' responsibilities, was r e c r u i t e d o n t h e basis o f his musical k n o w - h o w ; L i g h t P r o g r a m m e producers o n t h e o t h e r h a n d m i g h t w e l l have been m u s i c a l l y literate (several d u r i n g t h e 1950s a n d 1960s w e r e exmusicians w i t h dance-bands), b u t they w e r e p r i m a r i l y r e c r u i t e d o n t h e basis o f t h e i r t e c h n i c a l expertise, a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a b i l i t y and/or t h e i r experience i n r a d i o overseas. B o t h t h e B r i t i s h Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) a n d t h e r a d i o services o f t h e o l d C o m m o n w e a l t h were regarded as g o o d t r a i n i n g g r o u n d s . W h i l e t h e c r i t e r i a f o r r e c r u i t i n g producers have changed i n t h e t w e n t y years since t h e 1 9 6 7 u p h e a v a l , t h e i n t e r n a l management structure o f the t w o n e t w o r k s remains m u c h as i t was i n t h e L i g h t P r o g r a m m e days, w i t h the respective C o n t r o l l e r s p r e s i d i n g over a t w o - t i e r h i e r a r c h y o f executive producers and programme producers. T h e o t h e r key t o R a d i o l ' s maintenance o f essentially p o p u l i s t values lies i n
276
Producers and Production the general area o f p r o d u c e r professionalism - t h e w a y i n w h i c h p r o g r a m m e p r o d u c e r s , w o r k i n g t o those i n executive p o s i t i o n s , absorb a n d replicate those values i n t h e i r d a i l y d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g . A g o o d s t a r t i n g - p o i n t here is t o develop the parallel made earlier between t h e selection o f records f o r broadcasting a n d t h e selection o f news items f o r dissemination: t h e process o f selection i n b o t h cases calls u p o n t h e p r o d u c e r / j o u r n a l i s t t o exercise j u d g e m e n t o n quest i o n s o f p r i o r i t y , t o p i c a l i t y a n d audience interest. Professional
j u d g e m e n t over-
rides personal taste o r personal p o l i t i c s : i n newspapers, f o r instance,
news
value m a y be d e t e r m i n e d b y requirements f o r sensationalism, beating t h e o p p o s i t i o n i n a c i r c u l a t i o n w a r , a certain p o l i t i c a l l i n e , an i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s m o r p a r o c h i a l i s m i n o u t l o o k , t h e consumer o r i e n t a t i o n o f the readership. L i k e w i s e i n music r a d i o , professional j u d g e m e n t o n t h e acceptability o f certain records t o t h e audience overrides personal likes o r dislikes, a n d ' e n t e r t a i n m e n t v a l u e ' w i l l be s i m i l a r l y evaluated a c c o r d i n g t o questions o f h o w t h e records m a t c h the t o n e a n d ambience o f t h e station. As J o h n D o w n i n g w r i t e s i n The Machine,
Media
' i n g r a i n i n g a d e f i n i t i o n o f professional excellence is the o n l y effec-
tive m e c h a n i s m
f o r ensuring t h e spontaneous
acceptable i t e m s ' ;
5
[his italics] p r o d u c t i o n o f
i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e process o f selecting o r d i s c a r d i n g
items, p r i o r i t i z i n g some a n d u n d e r p l a y i n g others, becomes i n t e r n a l i z e d t o t h e p o i n t t h a t n o reference back t o one's superiors is necessary - t h e house style, the e d i t o r i a l p o l i c y , is absorbed a n d j u s t i f i e d by t h e i n d i v i d u a l o n professional g r o u n d s . O n a practical level, t h e news journalist is c o n t i n u a l l y faced b y a n u m b e r o f c o n t r o l mechanisms t h a t have some parallels i n r a d i o : r e c r u i t m e n t itself, w h e r e b y p o t e n t i a l staff are j u d g e d b y their past w o r k a c c o r d i n g t o h o w w e l l t h e y f i t i n w i t h t h e e d i t o r i a l posture o f t h e newspaper; s h o r t - t e r m c o n tracts, t h e insecurity engendered by w h i c h fosters a spirit o f acquiescence rather t h a n challenge; s u b o r d i n a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l style t o t h a t o f a house style; a n d o f course t h e submission o f w o r k t o editors o r sub-editors. I n television a n d r a d i o news there is the a d d i t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t , set d o w n i n the B B C C h a r t e r a n d the IB A A c t , t o 'balance' every i t e m : the news r e p o r t e r o r newsreader is, i n theory, a passive relater o f events, neutral i n his o p i n i o n s a n d i m p a r t i a l i n his coverage. T h a t the n o t i o n o f ' n e u t r a l i t y ' is disingenuous p r o b ably needs l i t t l e elaboration here, as there is plenty o f e m p i r i c a l evidence t o suggest t h a t i m p a r t i a l i t y becomes synonymous w i t h an insidious partiality
for
the n o t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l ' m o d e r a t i o n ' , but i t is i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o r d that j o u r n a l istic professionalism w i t h i n t h e B B C , I T N a n d I R N is equated w i t h an a d herence t o t h e n e u t r a l i t y ethic. A n d as i n j o u r n a l i s m , so i n other e d i t o r i a l broadcasting matters: n o w h e r e does the concept o f professional n e u t r a l i t y - o f acting as w h a t S i m o n F r i t h calls an 'honest b r o k e r ' between the r e c o r d i n d u s t r y a n d t h e r a d i o audience
6
die harder t h a n i n the c o r r i d o r s o f Radio l ' s E g t o n
H o u s e . R a d i o 1 depends so heavily o n t h e sales chart - and invests a considerable sum i n its c o m p i l a t i o n - because the chart is itself supposedly a n e u t r a l , dispassionate, accurate r e c o r d o f c u r r e n t l y p o p u l a r preferences.
Keepers of the Castle 277
Picking the playlist BBC
r a d i o p r o d u c e r s are c o - o r d i n a t o r s a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , t a k i n g respons-
i b i l i t y f o r b u d g e t i n g , f o r m e d i a t i n g between presenters a n d m a n a g e m e n t , f o r c o m p i l i n g P e r f o r m i n g R i g h t Society (PRS) a n d P h o n o g r a p h i c Performance L t d (PPL) l o g g i n g sheets, f o r ensuring t h a t t h e p r o g r a m m e meets t h e r e q u i r e d technical standards, a n d f o r t h e a u d i t i o n i n g a n d h i r i n g o f bands f o r s t u d i o sessions. M o s t o f a l l , h o w e v e r , producers have a degree o f e d i t o r i a l c o n t r o l over o u t p u t t h a t the B B C tends t o p u b l i c l y u n d e r p l a y : It's BBC policy generally that i f you employ a freelance [a presenter] whose interest is i n exploiting his o w n talent, he is not and shouldn't need to be concerned w i t h BBC policies. I n the case of someone like M i k e Read who rolls on day after day, he knows the content is going to be largely Top 40 and he's very happy t o leave i t t o a producer to choose the running order or to listen to the hundred or so singles released during a week. The job of sifting and sorting, deciding what is good entertainment value for our market, is something the producers do. Someone has to take the responsibility. 7
T h e key phrases here are ' r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ' a n d ' d e c i d i n g w h a t is g o o d e n t e r t a i n m e n t value f o r o u r m a r k e t ' (sic):
professionalism a n d t h e sustainment o f t h e
B B C ' s i d e o l o g y o f p u b l i c service ( w h i c h , since t h e w a r , has meant serving u p w h a t t h e p u b l i c is assumed t o w a n t , n o t w h a t R e i t h a n d his colleagues once d e e m e d i t t o be i n n e e d o f ) g o h a n d i n h a n d . Yet i n seeking t o define w h a t constitutes ' g o o d e n t e r t a i n m e n t value' i n p o p u l a r music, B B C producers t e n d t o absolve themselves o f responsibility b y t a k i n g t h e T o p F o r t y chart as t h e i r f r a m e o f reference: the t h i n k i n g is t h a t the chart is a r e f l e c t i o n o f w h a t people are b u y i n g , t h e r e f o r e o f w h a t is most c u r r e n t l y p o p u l a r , therefore i t is t h e f u n c t i o n o f a r a d i o station w i t h a b r i e f t o be p o p u l a r a n d p r o v i d e a n u p - t o date, pop-based service t o take heed o f w h a t t h e chart indicates. Just as a news r e p o r t e r claims t o d o n o m o r e t h a n r e p o r t facts, so a music r a d i o p r o ducer claims t o d o n o m o r e t h a n reflect p u b l i c taste. M a n y w r i t e r s have p o i n t e d u p t h e c i r c u l a r i t y o f this a r g u m e n t , t h a t a r e c o r d is o n l y l i k e l y t o reach t h e sales c h a r t after i t is h e a r d o n R a d i o 1 ; f r e q u e n t l y , t h e s t a t i o n is o n l y p l a y i n g those records t h a t its o w n p r o d u c e r s have preselected
as p o t e n t i a l c h a r t h i t s , so the T o p F o r t y is t o a great e x t e n t
s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g . R a d i o l ' s o w n spokespeople c o n t i n u a l l y c o n t r a d i c t themselves w h e n e x p l a i n i n g the importance o f a Top-Forty-based
music p o l i c y . T h i s is
C h i n n e r y again: We're a popular service. W h y do people listen? They want to hear their favourite music and that is represented by the charts, the one yardstick you have of the popularity of the material.... Those listeners who don't buy records don't know what they want to listen to until they hear i t ; the fact that enough people buy a record t o put i t into the chart, that makes i t even more important that Radio 1 plays i t . By playing it you are increasing its familiarity and hopefully its popularity, and people w i l l grow to recognise i t . 8
278
Producers and Production W h a t this amounts t o is a belief i n consumer sovereignty - a d o c t r i n e that o f course has its o w n pitfalls, as consumers can o n l y make preferences as t o one p r o d u c t over another o n the basis n o t o n l y o f w h a t is available b u t w h a t is p r o m o t e d as being available. T h e choice o f w h a t t o p r o m o t e rests w i t h t h e p r o d u c ers a n d the Radio 1 playlist is a weekly expression o f their gatekeeping role. Playlisting has a curious h i s t o r y at Radio 1 . I t was o r i g i n a l l y i n t r o d u c e d i n 1 9 7 3 , i n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f the l a u n c h o f I L R , w h e n i t became clear that p r o d u c ers w e r e b e i n g too selective i n w h a t they played f r o m the Top F o r t y chart, t o the p o i n t t h a t certain chart discs were being heard t o o i n f r e q u e n t l y d u r i n g t h e peak d a y t i m e h o u r s . T h e playlist was b r o u g h t i n as a means o f encouraging a u n i f o r m station i d e n t i t y a n d o f ensuring that 'people w h o s w i t c h e d o n at r a n d o m k n e w exactly w h a t sort o f music they were g o i n g t o hear, that is some o f the t o p t e n hits o f the day at some t i m e w i t h i n t h e c o m i n g h o u r ' . T h e playlist 9
was l i m i t e d t o f i f t y records, three o f w h i c h w o u l d be p l a y e d i n any h a l f - h o u r , the r e m a i n i n g discs b e i n g the p r o d u c e r ' s o w n choices o f either n e w releases o r oldies; t h e list was a r r i v e d at i n ' d e m o c r a t i c ' fashion, w i t h producers r e c o m m e n d i n g p a r t i c u l a r n e w releases a n d stating their case i n o p e n discussion at a w e e k l y playlist m e e t i n g headed b y executive
p r o d u c e r D o r e e n Davies.
gave R a d i o 1 a m o r e cohesive s o u n d w h i l e f o r m a l i z i n g t h e station's
10
It
depen-
dence o n t h e T o p Forty, a n d w h a t was remarkable about t h e decision t o d r o p the list i n 1 9 7 9 was t h a t i t h a d actually become unnecessary; producers were a u t o m a t i c a l l y m a k i n g their choices f r o m the stance o f an unstated yet assimilated c o r p o r a t e policy, t h o u g h a n u m b e r o f guidelines r e m a i n e d , i n c l u d i n g t h e a m o u n t o f times that t h e N u m b e r
1 r e c o r d c o u l d be played i n a w e e k
( t w e n t y ) . A l t h o u g h p o r t r a y e d i n t h e press as a m o v e that w o u l d give p r o d u c ers a n d presenters greater f r e e d o m o f choice, i t made o n l y a m a r g i n a l d i f f e r ence - as b o t h C h i n n e r y a n d his successor, J o h n n y Beerling, later a d m i t t e d t o w h a t was p l a y e d . I r o n i c a l l y , Beerling's decision t o r e i n t r o d u c e t h e playlist d u r i n g 1 9 8 6 was actually t o encourage
a greater diversity i n Radio 1 music
rather t h a n restrict i t f u r t h e r , t h e feeling being that Radio l ' s s o u n d h a d once again become t o o n a r r o w f o r a n a t i o n a l , w e l l - p a t r o n i z e d station. Whereas i n 1973
t h e playlist h a d been i n t r o d u c e d t o ensure that t h e biggest
selling
records w e r e r e g u l a r l y p l a y e d , the n e w playlist system was m o u n t e d t o p r e v e n t t h e overplaying
o f t h e biggest selling records. T h e playlist came back
after an i n f o r m a l series o f meetings,
designed t o give an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r
evening s h o w presenters a n d producers t o suggest records f o r d a y t i m e play b y m a r g i n a l l y m o r e l e f t - f i e l d artists a n d groups, failed t o achieve t h e desired result.
11
A f o r m a l system at least ensured that a r e c o r d r e c o m m e n d e d i n this
w a y w o u l d receive a n u m b e r o f set plays rather t h a n a n y t h i n g f r o m o n e t o t w e n t y plays w i l l y - n i l l y . R a d i o l ' s new, revised version o f t h e playlist consisted i n i t i a l l y o f a ' f r o n t page' o f f i f t y records guaranteed at least a dozen plays per w e e k , c o m p r i s i n g i n t h e m a i n t h e T o p F o r t y ' c l i m b e r s ' a n d n o n - m o v e r s , a f e w singles ' b u b b l i n g u n d e r ' t h e chart a n d l i k e l y t o enter i t i n t i m e , a n d selected n e w releases. I n
Keepers of the Castle 279 late 1 9 8 7 , f o l l o w i n g the a p p o i n t m e n t o f Roger L e w i s t o t h e n e w post o f H e a d o f M u s i c , this was m o d i f i e d t o an 'A' list o f f o r t y p r i o r i t y records ( g r o u p e d i n fives a n d r o t a t e d i n 3 0 - m i n u t e blocks) a n d a ' B ' list o f t w e n t y records p l a y e d w i t h less f r e q u e n c y .
12
I n t h e U n i t e d States, w h e r e p l a y l i s t broadcasting was
first i n t r o d u c e d , playlists are t r a d i t i o n a l l y very n a r r o w , even at d e m o g r a p h i cally d e f i n e d 'specialist' stations ( c o u n t r y music o r L a t i n music stations in u r b a n areas, f o r e x a m p l e ) , because o f t h e i n t e n s i t y o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n : t h e t h e o r y is t h a t listeners w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y s w i t c h stations once they hear a r e c o r d t h e y d i s l i k e , a n d t h a t n a r r o w i n g d o w n t h e list o f records t o be p l a y e d t o a p p a r e n t p o p u l a r favourites (i.e. those t h a t are c u r r e n t l y selling w e l l ) l i m i t s this l i k e l i h o o d . B y c o m p a r i s o n , t h e R a d i o 1 playlist is bigger a n d broader, p a r t l y because t h e s w i t c h - o v e r factor is n o t so i m p o r t a n t - listener l o y a l t y t o r a d i o stations is c o n t i n u a l l y h i g h l i g h t e d i n b o t h B B C a n d I B A research - a n d p a r t l y because people listen f o r longer, o f t e n t u n i n g i n t o c o m p l e t e
pro-
grammes at a stretch. B u t t h e broadness is t o some extent illusory, as i t does n o t necessarily e x t e n d t o any great Catholicism i n music selection; at its w o r s t , a p l a y l i s t o f t h e size o p e r a t e d b y R a d i o 1 m a y s i m p l y result i n m u c h m o r e of the same m i x t u r e . E v e r y t h i n g depends, inevitably, o n t h e i n p u t o f the p r o d u c ers w h o c o m p i l e t h e playlist ( a n d i t is c o m p i l e d ' f a i r l y d e m o c r a t i c a l l y ' , i n Beerling's w o r d s , b y a c o m m i t t e e o f p r o d u c e r s ) , a n d o n e o f the early p r o b lems f a c i n g Beerling's m u c h - p u b l i c i z e d u p d a t i n g o f the s t a t i o n i n 1 9 8 5 - 6 was t h a t t h e process o f i n c u l c a t i n g R a d i o 1 values i n t o t h e practices a n d t h i n k i n g o f its p r o d u c e r s h a d been almost t o o successful: after years o f relative safety in music choices, p r o d u c e r s w e r e d i s i n c l i n e d t o change.
Beerling t a c k l e d t h e
p r o b l e m at its r o o t , dispensing w i t h some o f t h e m o r e established producers a n d t a k i n g o n a n u m b e r o f n e w c o m e r s , all o n a freelance basis rather t h a n as p e r m a n e n t members o f staff: N o w they're not all staff producers who play i t safe, we have a number of contract producers w h o are on a similar contract to the deejays, i f slightly longer term. So they do tend to be a bit more adventurous and a bit more freewheeling w i t h their programmes. 13
T o date, these n e w p r o d u c e r s have c o m e f r o m b o t h I L R a n d , w i t h s p l e n d i d i r o n y , R a d i o 2 : at t h e t i m e o f Beerling's a p p o i n t m e n t , t h e average age o f R a d i o l ' s p r o d u c e r s was actually o l d e r t h a n t h a t o f R a d i o 2's p r o d u c t i o n t e a m , w h i l e t h e latter's reshaping i n t o a t r a d i t i o n a l m i d d l e - o f - t h e - r o a d netw o r k d u r i n g 1 9 8 6 l e f t several o f its p r o d u c e r s seeking m o r e c h a l l e n g i n g w o r k elsewhere. I n 1 9 8 7 B e e r l i n g t o o k the still m o r e radical step (by R a d i o l ' s standards) o f reshaping t h e management structure o f the n e t w o r k a n d m o v i n g producers f r o m c o n t r o l o f individual programmes t o responsibility f o r c o m plete p r o g r a m m e sequences,
w h i c h w e r e designated as weekday m o r n i n g s ,
w e e k d a y a f t e r n o o n s , evenings a n d weekends. T u r n i n g t o a n analysis o f the playlist itself, t h e first a n d most o b v i o u s p o i n t is t h a t R a d i o
l ' s use o f t h e T o p Forty, whatever t h e belief i n consumer
280
Producers and Production sovereignty, is selective: records are n o t given an equal n u m b e r o f plays, chart p o s i t i o n s d o n o t a u t o m a t i c a l l y m e r i t a certain r a t i o o f airplay. N o t every T o p F o r t y r e c o r d w i l l even f i g u r e i n the playlist, a n d the list o f b a n n e d records includes those deemed salacious ( M a x Romeo's 'Wet D r e a m ' , Frankie Goes t o H o l l y w o o d ' s ' R e l a x ' ) , p o l i t i c a l l y contentious (Paul M c C a r t n e y ' s ' G i v e I r e l a n d Back t o the I r i s h ' ) o r offensive (the Sex Pistols' ' G o d Save the Q u e e n ' ) . These are r e l a t i v e l y clear-cut cases, a n d there have been occasions w h e n R a d i o 1 has been caught u p i n a p r e v a i l i n g m o r a l panic about certain issues, n o t a b l y i n J u l y 1 9 8 6 , w h e n the Jesus a n d M a r y C h a i n (a g r o u p treated very g i n g e r l y b y r a d i o p r o d u c e r s anyway, by v i r t u e o f t h e i r name) issued 'Some C a n d y T a l k i n g ' at a t i m e w h e n t a b l o i d headlines w e r e focusing o n the h e r o i n a d d i c t i o n a n d arrest o n possession charges o f Boy George o f C u l t u r e C l u b . M i k e S m i t h , at t h a t t i m e presenting the n e w release p r o g r a m m e Singled
Out,
t o o k the r e c o r d
o f f i n m i d - p l a y a n d a n n o u n c e d he w o u l d n o t play i t o n his breakfast t i m e s h o w because o f supposed references i n the song t o cocaine (the ' c a n d y ' o f the t i t l e ) . As i t h a p p e n e d , Smith's c o m m e n t s split o p i n i o n w i t h i n R a d i o l ' s p r o ducers a n d presenters, a n d J o h n n y Beerling t o o k the unusual step o f consulti n g J o h n Peel, one o f the g r o u p ' s early c h a m p i o n s , before f i n a l l y d e c i d i n g n o t t o b a n the r e c o r d . T h e significance o f the episode, h o w e v e r , lay i n R a d i o l ' s nervousness at t h e prospect o f p u b l i c censure i f i t was n o t at least seen t o have considered the issue seriously; i t f o l l o w e d h a r d o n the heels o f a R a d i o 1 'social a c t i o n ' c a m p a i g n against d r u g a d d i c t i o n . (One s h o u l d n o t e , t o o , t h a t suggesting the occasional r e c o r d f o r b a n n i n g is s o m e t h i n g o f a c o n v e n t i o n f o r breakfast t i m e disc jockeys o n R a d i o 1 : Smith's predecessor, M i k e Read, was b e h i n d the b a n o n ' R e l a x ' . ) 14
Such episodes are, nevertheless, o f o n l y p e r i p h e r a l i m p o r t a n c e t o R a d i o l ' s o v e r a l l a i r p l a y p o l i c y a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y its t r e a t m e n t o f ' d i s r u p t i v e ' musical styles o r fashions. R a d i o l ' s management is acutely aware that b a n n i n g a disc can cause m o r e p r o b l e m s t h a n i t solves, i n that a record's very n o t o r i e t y can encourage sales; a n d o f course there have been examples o f records o n h i g h l y d u b i o u s themes ( L o u Reed's ' W a l k o n the W i l d Side', f o r e x a m p l e , w h i c h c o n t a i n e d references t o transvestitism a n d ' g i v i n g head') being deemed acceptable s i m p l y because the playlist c o m m i t t e e made n o sense o f the lyrics. B o t h i n c h o o s i n g records f r o m the T o p F o r t y a n d i n selecting f r o m each w e e k l y batch o f n e w single releases, producers exercise j u d g e m e n t based o n t h e i r o w n perceptions o f w h a t the audience w i l l f i n d acceptable. T h e r e are p o i n t s t o be made a b o u t this selection process, b o t h o f w h i c h reflect d i r e c t l y o n the professional b a c k g r o u n d s a n d attitudes o f producers: t h e i r choices reflect a c o n t i n u i n g , nostalgic p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h the 1960s, a n d they w o r k (whatever f o r m a l attempts B e e r l i n g m a y make t o change i t ) t o a n a r r o w d e f i n i t i o n o f w h a t c o n stitutes g o o d d a y t i m e R a d i o 1 music, n a r r o w b o t h musically a n d i n terms o f its sources - the T o p Forty, the 3 - m i n u t e single, n e w releases by established chart 'names'. T h e r e is n o t h i n g l a i d d o w n , n o w r i t t e n guidelines by w h i c h a p r o d u c e r w i l l assess a disc's s u i t a b i l i t y f o r d a y t i m e play, a n d o n l y the m o s t
Keepers of the Castle 281 intensive, sustained m o n i t o r i n g o f t h e records p l a y e d a n d t h e frequency o f p l a y i n g (a m o n i t o r i n g w h i c h w o u l d r e q u i r e pre-categorization o f records i n t o m u s i c a l styles o r types - a dangerous k i n d o f p i g e o n - h o l i n g ) w o u l d p r o v i d e concrete e m p i r i c a l evidence o f these tendencies. Rather, general observations can be m a d e , a n d R a d i o l ' s a p p r o a c h t o t h e p u n k a n d n e w - w a v e music o f the 1 9 7 7 - 8 p e r i o d - a n i m p o r t a n t o n e i n p o p music history, i f n o t q u i t e t h e t u r n i n g - p o i n t t h a t some critics have c l a i m e d f o r i t - proves a n excellent case i n point.
The case of punk P u n k music was by n a t u r e deliberately d i s r u p t i v e , i n t h e sense t h a t i t
sounded
noisy, c a l a m i t o u s a n d v i o l e n t (the t y p i c a l early sounds o f p u n k w e r e t h e buzzsaw d r o n e o f guitars, t h e relentless r e w o r k i n g o f three c h o r d s ) , a n d i n its ideology, w h i c h v a l u e d a m a t e u r i s m over professionalism, e m o t i o n a n d energy o v e r technical p e r f e c t i o n , anarchy over o r d e r , a n d m a i n t a i n i n g closeness t o 'the street' i n t h e face o f t h e distancing, c o r r u p t i n g effects o f p o p s t a r d o m . I t was n o t ' e n t e r t a i n i n g ' i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l R a d i o 1 sense: J o h n n y Beerling, speaking i n 1 9 8 6 , e x p l a i n e d its relative exclusion f r o m t h e airwaves i n exactly these t e r m s : ' I t w a s n ' t v e r y e n t e r t a i n i n g o n t h e r a d i o , i t was l i k e a l o t o f disco m u s i c , just n o t v e r y e n t e r t a i n i n g because i t was so r e p e t i t i v e ' . P u n k b r o k e t h e 15
u n w r i t t e n R a d i o 1 (and I L R ) rules o f g o o d r e c o r d - m a k i n g , i n t h a t t h e music itself was t o o raucous f o r d a y t i m e l i s t e n i n g , t o o d u b i o u s i n t h e c o n t e n t o f its l y r i c s , a n d also t o o ' u n p r o f e s s i o n a l ' i n its p r o d u c t i o n t o stand alongside t h e s t a n d a r d p o p fare o f t h e t i m e - A b b a , Electric L i g h t Orchestra, D r H o o k , Q u e e n . I n d e e d , t h e reason m o s t r e g u l a r l y p r o f f e r e d f o r t h e exclusion o f p u n k records f r o m d a y t i m e R a d i o 1 was t h e i r p o o r 'technical q u a l i t y ' . (Even J o h n Peel's espousal o f p u n k o n his late evening shows was c r i t i c i z e d i n t e r n a l l y because he was h e l d b y some t o be w a s t i n g t h e station's l i m i t e d V H F f a c i l i t y o n technically appalling record productions.) P u n k posed a p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m t o R a d i o 1 because i t was subversive, a n d n o t just i n t h e sense o f c a r r y i n g anarchic lyrics. I t subverted R a d i o l ' s o w n criteria f o r playlist inclusion. W h i l e i t fitted uncomfortably into the daytime shows o n musical g r o u n d s , i t nevertheless d e m a n d e d representation there i f the d o c t r i n e o f consumer sovereignty was t o be respected: p u n k was, after a l l , essentially a 3 - m i n u t e singles f o r m a n d was w e l l represented i n t h e T o p F o r t y c h a r t . I t was a p r o b l e m a t i c music, b u t i n a m u c h d i f f e r e n t sense t o t h a t o t h e r p r o b l e m f o r m , progressive r o c k , i n t h e late 1960s, w h e n there w e r e readym a d e technical
reasons f o r t h a t music's separation f r o m d a y t i m e o u t p u t - t h e
l e n g t h o f t y p i c a l progressive tracks, its a v a i l a b i l i t y o n stereophonic
albums
(and t h e r e f o r e best appreciated o n V H F , w h i c h was available t o R a d i o 1 o n l y i n t h e evenings a n d at weekends). A d d i t i o n a l l y , there w e r e disc jockeys a v a i l able Q o h n Peel, B o b H a r r i s , A l a n Black, Pete D r u m m o n d ) ready a n d w i l l i n g t o oversee t h e music's t r e a t m e n t . Progressive r o c k was manageable,
i n addition
282
Producers and Production t o w h i c h i t h a d an intensely conservative streak, r e f l e c t i n g n o t p o l i t i c a l c o n cerns b u t religious d i l e t t a n t i s m , T o l k i e n - l i k e mystical quests, astrology, t h e l u r e o f t h e East, a l l t h e trappings o f a middle-class p u r s u i t o f personal f u l f i l m e n t . Progressive r o c k h a d artistic pretensions, w h i l e one o f the c r i t i c a l poses a d o p t e d b y p u n k supporters ( i n c l u d i n g Peel) was that p u n k musicians, by r e t u r n i n g t o a deliberately p r i m i t i v i s t a p p r o a c h , were actively r e b e l l i n g against the progressive, elitist values that R a d i o 1 i m p l i c i t l y endorsed. H o w , t h e n , d i d R a d i o 1 come t o terms w i t h punk? C e r t a i n records c o u l d be b a n n e d o u t r i g h t , o n t h e g r o u n d s o f offensiveness; t h e Sex Pistols' ' G o d Save the Q u e e n ' was t h e obvious example, p a r t i c u l a r l y because its release was deliberately t i m e d t o coincide w i t h B r i t i s h r o y a l t y ' s Silver Jubilee celebrations. M o s t c o m m o n l y , records w i t h less contentious lyrics w e r e p l a y e d b u t distanced b y t h e presenter, w h o w o u l d preface p l a y i n g a p u n k disc w i t h jokes a b o u t safety pins o r g o b b i n g o r - i n s o m e t h i n g o f a ' r e b e l ' R a d i o 1 t r a d i t i o n started b y T o n y B l a c k b u r n w i t h his c o m m e n t s about Black Sabbath a n d heavy m e t a l a n d c o n t i n u e d b y Johnnie Walker's remarks about t h e Bay C i t y Rollers a n d D a v i d Cassidy - w o u l d priggishly announce that they h a d t o play t h e records because they were p o p u l a r b u t that d i d n ' t mean they necessarily h a d t o like i t . I n One Chord
Wonders,
Dave L a i n g contrasts p u n k w i t h
disco
music, w h i c h was o f strictly m o r e c o m m e r c i a l i m p o r t a n c e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 7 7 - 8 p e r i o d , a n d as a general observation i t is certainly true that disco was m o r e f a v o u r e d , b u t t h e process o f e x c l u d i n g p u n k by various means was n o t static.
16
By m i d - 1 9 7 7 i t was clear t h a t p u n k was n o t a passing craze b u t the catalyst f o r i m p o r t a n t s t r u c t u r a l changes w i t h i n the r e c o r d i n d u s t r y itself, p r e c i p i t a t i n g the g r o w t h o f i n d e p e n d e n t companies a n d r e c o r d i n g studios a n d encouraging the p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f bands o n a c o u n t r y - w i d e basis. W i t h this a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t came a steady incorporation
- hesitant, selective - o f p u n k i n t o t h e
R a d i o 1 playlist. T h e process by w h i c h ' p u n k ' as a style a n d a m o v e m e n t m e l l o w e d i n t o ' n e w w a v e ' , a m o r e malleable a n d less subversive f o r m w i t h w h i c h the r e c o r d i n d u s t r y c o u l d operate, has been t o l d o n several occasions a n d is i n some respects s i m p l y a p a r a d i g m o f a regular process i n r o c k music, b y w h i c h increasingly p r e d o m i n a n t , t h r e a t e n i n g styles (like r o c k ' n ' r o l l itself i n t h e U n i t e d States i n t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s ) become t a m e d by r e c o r d c o m p a n y e x p l o i t a t i o n . T h e m e d i a play t h e i r o w n crucial role i n this, b o t h by r e s p o n d i n g t o r e c o r d companies' o w n tendencies i n this d i r e c t i o n ( f o r example, Top of the Pops w o u l d n o t agree t o have the Sex Pistols i n the s t u d i o f o r fear o f a r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e events o f t h e i r n o t o r i o u s appearance w i t h B i l l G r u n d y o n t h e I T V p r o g r a m m e Today,
b u t V i r g i n ' s p r o v i s i o n o f a v i d e o f i l m enabled t h e p r o -
g r a m m e t o feature 'Pretty Vacant'), and by a m o r e general i n c o r p o r a t i o n , such as b y n a t i o n a l newspapers r u n n i n g stories o n ' m y s o n , the p u n k ' , r e n d e r i n g t h r e a t e n i n g 'extremes' harmless b y stressing the ordinariness o f p u n k s o r t h e i r love o f animals. D i c k Hebdige's Subculture:
The Meaning
of Style
shows h o w
this h a p p e n e d i n t h e case o f p u n k , t h o u g h o n e o f the omissions o f t h a t b o o k is any account o f t h e r o l e t h a t r a d i o played i n t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f p u n k i n t o
Keepers of the Castle 283 the m a i n s t r e a m , arguably a considerably greater r o l e t h a n that p l a y e d either by the n a t i o n a l press o r b y t e l e v i s i o n .
17
H e b d i g e ' s a r g u m e n t echoes that o f R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s i n his essay T h e G r o w t h a n d Role o f t h e Mass M e d i a ' , w h i c h p o i n t e d o u t h o w media select a n d t r a n s f o r m p a r t i c u l a r facets o f working-class c u l t u r e a n d o f f e r t h e m back t o w o r k i n g - c l a s s audiences i n n e u t r a l i z e d f o r m .
18
H e b d i g e shows h o w , i n t h e
case o f p u n k , t h e process t o o k a c o m m o d i t y f o r m (subcultural signs c o n v e r t e d i n t o mass-produced objects) a n d an i d e o l o g i c a l f o r m , b y w h i c h deviant behavi o u r is labelled a n d r e d e f i n e d , t r a n s f o r m i n g difference i n t o sameness a n d t h e dangerous i n t o a c o m i c spectacle. T o this o n e can a d d a t h i r d f o r m , that o f r e l e g a t i o n t o a quasi-artistic, quasi-elitist periphery, t y p i f i e d as J o h n Peel t e r r i t o r y , b y w h i c h p u n k is d e f i n e d as a ' m e a n i n g f u l ' c u l t , w i t h its o w n claims t o cultish 'relevance' b u t i r r e l e v a n t t o t h e mass audience. O n e can see these three f o r m s i n a c t i o n at key p o i n t s i n p o p music h i s t o r y : the presentation o f teenage music as a c o m i c spectacle ( t y p i f i e d by t h e Ob Boy! p r o g r a m m e o n I T V ) i n the late 1950s, t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f difference i n t o sameness ( f o r e x a m p l e , the emergence o f Elvis Presley clones, especially C l i f f R i c h a r d , w h o were revealed i n t h e press as h o m e - l o v i n g boys w h o sent their M u m s f l o w e r s every Mother's
D a y ) , then
t h e i n v e n t i o n o f a c u l t u r a l category
(progressive
r o c k ) t o w a r d s t h e e n d o f t h e 1960s. T h e spread o f all-day music r a d i o since t h a t t i m e s i m p l y accelerated these processes: p u n k ' s t r u e heyday was very s h o r t - l i v e d , n o t so m u c h because o f i n d u s t r y e x p l o i t a t i o n (and t h e willingness o f certain p u n k g r o u p s t o s u b m i t t o i t ) b u t because o f the intensity o f (usually d i s t o r t a t i v e ) m e d i a coverage. Punk became ' n e w w a v e ' as J o h n n y R o t t e n o f the Sex Pistols' c o m i c sense became n o t i c e d by t h e press a n d p u n k fashions spread t o t h e d e p a r t m e n t stores, a n d t h e very fact o f its assimilation b y o t h e r m e d i a - p a r t i c u l a r l y television - made a similar assimilation o f i t b y R a d i o 1 n o t o n l y inevitable b u t necessary i f t h e n e t w o r k was t o m a i n t a i n a degree o f c r e d i b i l i t y w i t h a y o u n g listenership. C r e d i b i l i t y is an i m p o r t a n t concept here, as perhaps t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t legacy o f p u n k was attitudinal:
i t u n d e r m i n e d p o p music's love affair w i t h
t e c h n o l o g y f o r its o w n sake b y presenting a n e w set o f values, re-establishing r o c k ' n ' r o l l v i r t u e s a n d r e t u r n i n g p o p t o its (albeit r o m a n t i c i z e d ) r o o t s as a subversive, rebel music w i t h teen appeal a n d racial/class c o n n o t a t i o n s . I t readjusted t h e c r i t i c a l perspective o n p o p t o a p r o f o u n d degree: t h e p o s t - p u n k consensus a u t o m a t i c a l l y f a v o u r e d t h e i n d e p e n d e n t over t h e m a i n s t r e a m , t h e small label over t h e m a j o r company, t h e 'new, y o u n g ' b a n d over t h e ageing dinosaur, t h e p r i m i t i v e over t h e c u l t u r e d , d o - i t - y o u r s e l f over passive acceptance. S i m i l a r l y , acceptance o r rejection o f t h e p u n k ethos ( i f n o t o f p u n k music itself) became a yardstick b y w h i c h t h e c r e d i b i l i t y o f R a d i o l ' s disc jockeys a n d p r o d u c e r s was j u d g e d , i f o n l y b y t h e music press. 1 9 7 7 i n p a r t i c u lar was a v i t a l year f o r t h e n e t w o r k , w h e n its disc jockeys began either p i n n i n g t h e i r c r e d i b i l i t y t o t h e mast b y p i c k i n g t h e latest i n d e p e n d e n t releases as Records o f the Week o r setting themselves against p u n k altogether. I t was t h e
284
Producers and Production year i n w h i c h several o f t h e older presenters t o o k t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o m o v e f r o m R a d i o 1 ( i n c l u d i n g N o e l E d m o n d s , T o n y B l a c k b u r n , a n d Rosko) a n d some o f the others, n o t a b l y S i m o n Bates a n d A n d y Peebles, declared t h e i r n e w f a i t h . T h i s d i d n o t mean any o v e r n i g h t change i n R a d i o l ' s musical i d e n t i t y and c e r t a i n l y n o sudden a c c o m m o d a t i o n o f Peel-proselytized records, b u t i n a small y e t significant way, p u n k h a d the i n d i r e c t effect o f refocusing R a d i o l ' s a t t e n t i o n o n t h e music.
T h e p o s t - p u n k p e r i o d saw a subtle change i n t h e disc
jockey stereotype, f r o m t h e egotistical supermarket opener o f t r a d i t i o n t o f i g ures, perhaps equally self-obsessed, w h o made a v i r t u e o f their interests i n t h e music as music. Post-1977 Radio 1 personnel p r i d e d themselves
o n their
awareness; they w o r e their hipness o n their sleeves. W h a t u n d e r m i n e d t h e i r sense o f awareness - t h e eagerness w i t h w h i c h they sought t o persuade t h e i r listeners t h a t they w e r e themselves part o f the scene - was that t h e i r use o f the music, t h e i r c h a m p i o n i n g o f p o s t - p u n k p o p , was u l t i m a t e l y as u n t h i n k i n g a n d as u n c r i t i c a l i n its o w n w a y as Tony Blackburn's a u t o m a t i c c h a m p i o n i n g o f Tamla M o t o w n o u t p u t h a d been i n t h e early 1970s. Perhaps m o r e i m p o r t a n t ly, t h e enthusiasm o f presenters such as S i m o n Bates a n d Peter P o w e l l f o r i n d e p e n d e n t label releases was n o t necessarily m a t c h e d b y their p r o d u c e r s , w h o s e sense o f conservatism was i n f o r m e d b o t h b y a m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l v i e w o f p o p a n d b y t h e r e q u i r e m e n t o f t h e n e t w o r k , as d e f i n e d by the management t e a m , t o deliberately centre o n mainstream tastes at times o f peak l i s t e n i n g . R a d i o 1 l i v e d far m o r e c o m f o r t a b l y w i t h t h e a f t e r m a t h o f p u n k - the t r a n s i t i o n f r o m p u n k t o ' n e w w a v e ' m e n t i o n e d earlier - t h a n w i t h p u n k itself. T h e r e was a certain i r o n y i n this, as one o f the characteristics o f p o s t - p u n k p o p was a far greater, far m o r e vocal a n d visible p o l i t i c i z a t i o n o f the music t h a n p u n k h a d witnessed. T h i s extended t o chart music; the p o l e m i c a l records o f m i x e d black and
w h i t e groups l i k e t h e Specials A K A ( T o o M u c h T o o Y o u n g ' ,
'Ghost
T o w n ' ) , Selecter ( T o o m u c h Pressure'), the Beat ('Stand D o w n M a r g a r e t ' ) a n d U B 4 0 ( ' O n e i n Ten') were a i m e d quite deliberately at the musical mainstream represented b y Radio 1 a n d t h e T o p Forty, t o spread the a n t i - u n e m p l o y m e n t , anti-racist, anti-Thatcher message t o as w i d e an audience as possible. A s J i m B r o w n , d r u m m e r w i t h U B 4 0 , p u t i t , 'a dance b a n d is a package w i t h w h i c h t o sell y o u r p o l i t i c s ' :
19
i f p u n k was openly c o n f r o n t a t i o n a l , p o s t - p u n k music ( o f
the 1978 t o 1 9 8 1 p e r i o d at least) was m o r e insidiously challenging, o f f e r i n g subtle, usually non-specific b u t o f t e n barbed p o l i t i c a l c o m m e n t c l o t h e d i n i n n o c u o u s pop-ska colours. T h a t Radio l ' s playlist compilers rarely saw f i t t o actively exclude such records s h o w e d the success o f t h e strategy, t h o u g h this was arguably o n e o f the f e w times i n British p o p h i s t o r y w h e n non-broadcasti n g factors h a d t h e most direct bearing o n sales a n d o p i n i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e music press ( w h i c h universally endorsed t h e 2 Tone stance) a n d t h e crucial i m p a c t that t h e groups h a d o n audiences o n several intensive tours o f B r i t i s h pop
venues.
Post-punk music d i d n o t appear
t o d i s r u p t standard R a d i o 1
n o t i o n s o f p o p as listenable dance music, i t even carried musical c o n n o t a t i o n s o f those 1960s p o p styles ( M o t o w n , soul, ska, beat music) so beloved o f t h e
Keepers of the Castle 285 pirates; b u t i t f o l l o w e d w h a t Elvis Costello once defined as 'the golden rule o f subversive p o p ... d o n ' t say i t ' s subversive'. T h e other distinctive feature o f p o s t - p u n k music was its source o n independent labels: R a d i o 1 f o u n d itself d e a l i n g w i t h a succession o f m o s t l y completely n e w companies, some (like 2 T o n e , w h o s e roster i n c l u d e d t h e Specials a n d Selecter) r u n b y musicians t h e m selves, w h o actively sought airplay (as earlier album-based independents
like
V i r g i n a n d Charisma h a d generally n o t done) o n d a y t i m e r a d i o . T h a t a large a m o u n t o f the o u t p u t o f i n d e p e n d e n t labels very q u i c k l y became characterized by r a d i o ( I L R as w e l l as R a d i o 1) as ' i n d i e music' was arguably o n e o f the f a i l ures o f the p o s t - p u n k years, typical o f a standard process b y w h i c h any music w h i c h does n o t f i t t h e criteria f o r n o n - d i s r u p t i v e daytime fare becomes c o n f i n e d t o t h e elitist margins o f the airwaves. A t least i n p a r t because o f Radio 1 p o l i c y o n seeing d a y t i m e a n d evening audiences as diametrically d i f f e r e n t , ' i n d i e music' became invested w i t h p o s t - 1 9 6 7 progressive values, a negation o f w h a t p u n k i n i t i a l l y represented.
Postscript (written as an update for this book, December 1996) N o r a d i o s t a t i o n exists i n i s o l a t i o n , a n d t h e challenge f o r R a d i o 1 i n t h e 1 9 9 0 s has been t o c o u n t e r t h e t h r e a t t o its status a r i s i n g f r o m d e r e g u l a t i o n o f t h e a i r w a v e s . O v e r s e e n b y a n e w R a d i o A u t h o r i t y w i t h far less p o w e r a n d influence
than the o l d I B A , deregulation
proliferation
o f n e w radio
operators
has m a d e possible n o t o n l y a
at n a t i o n a l ,
local
levels b u t also t h e s a n c t i o n i n g o f p r o g r a m m e s p o n s o r s h i p ;
a n d regional the splitting o f
f r e q u e n c i e s t o a l l o w e x i s t i n g o p e r a t o r s t o r u n separate services o n A M a n d F M ; a n d t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f I L R t h r o u g h merger a n d t a k e o v e r f r o m a c o l l e c t i o n o f l o c a l l y c o n t r o l l e d stations t o a s t r i n g o f r e g i o n a l n e t w o r k s i n all but name. I n t h e years since t h e above extract was w r i t t e n , R a d i o 1 has changed sign i f i c a n t l y i n i m a g e , style, s o u n d a n d ethos. T h e m a i n catalyst f o r that change has been the advent o f a n a t i o n a l r i v a l i n V i r g i n , t h o u g h the a r r i v a l o f services w i t h n o d i r e c t c o m p e t i t i v e c o n t e n t - Talk R a d i o o r Classic F M , f o r e x a m p l e also gave listeners n e w choices a n d h e l p e d encourage a n e w v o l a t i l i t y i n r a d i o l i s t e n i n g . E x t e r n a l pressures, t o o , p r o m p t e d crucial changes i n B B C a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g the opening up o f programme-making t o independent p r o ducers a n d a comprehensive r e s t r u c t u r i n g t h a t c u l m i n a t e d i n the a p p o i n t m e n t o f R a d i o 1 c o n t r o l l e r M a t t h e w Bannister as overall head o f B B C r a d i o a n d T r e v o r D a n n as head o f t h e p o p music o u t p u t o f B B C r a d i o and television. The
changes at R a d i o
1 s h o u l d therefore
be seen as p a r t o f a c o r p o r a t e
response t o a n e w a n d e v o l v i n g broadcasting e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h n o t h i n g least o f a l l f u n d i n g via the licence fee - is guaranteed. Some k i n d o f shake-up at R a d i o
1 was t o be expected after
Johnny
Beerling's r e t i r e m e n t , b u t its scope a n d scale w e r e s u r p r i s i n g l y far-reaching. A s s u m i n g t h a t V i r g i n ' s ' a d u l t c o n t e m p o r a r y ' music p r o g r a m m i n g w o u l d r o b
286
Producers and Production the station o f a large n u m b e r o f o l d e r (25 years plus) listeners, R a d i o l ' s n e w management
team
t o o k t h e strategic
decision t o r e - p o s i t i o n t h e station
t o w a r d s a target audience m u c h younger i n age a n d n u m e r i c a l l y smaller t h a n its established m u l t i - a g e listenership. Beerling h a d l o n g w r e s t l e d w i t h t h e c o n u n d r u m t h a t , because R a d i o l ' s core listeners were p o p fans w h o stayed w i t h t h e s t a t i o n as they g r e w older, its music p o l i c y was t o o a l l - e m b r a c i n g t o be cohesive. Bannister's s o l u t i o n was t o alter R a d i o l ' s r e m i t as a p o p music station w i t h cross-generation appeal: t h e station w o u l d be r e i n v e n t e d as a service a i m e d squarely at u n d e r 25s, w i t h the inevitable d r o p i n listeners seen as a necessary, acceptable a n d even w e l c o m e price t o pay i n r e t u r n f o r a sharper image a n d enhanced l o y a l t y f r o m the listeners w h o r e m a i n e d . R a d i o 1 effect i v e l y conceded g r o u n d t o V i r g i n even before t h e t w o stations h a d h a d a chance t o p r o p e r l y compete f o r listeners. T h e strategy d i c t a t e d a radical o v e r h a u l o f the music p l a y e d b y R a d i o 1 , a n d o f t h e presenters w h o represented its p u b l i c face a n d voice. G a t e k e e p i n g processes w e r e r e v i e w e d , w i t h playlisting based o n a m o r e selective use o f t h e T o p 4 0 a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l preferences o f producers a n d presenters - o r rather, t h e i r ' p r o f e s s i o n a l ' skill i n selecting m a t e r i a l ( f r o m albums as w e l l as singles) l i k e l y t o keep a y o u n g a n d aware audience listening. R a d i o l ' s n e w music p o l i c y f o u n d v i r t u a l l y n o r o o m f o r a n y t h i n g p r o d u c e d before t h e m i d - 1 9 8 0 s ; actively e x c l u d e d w e r e records b y such artists as Status Q u o ( w h o t o o k the m a t t e r t o l i t i g a t i o n ) , Paul M c C a r t n e y , a n d Robson a n d Jerome, a n d even, d u r i n g the C h r i s t m a s season, p o p records o f t r a d i t i o n a l seasonal appeal. T h e o t h e r k e y w e a p o n i n R a d i o l ' s makeover was t h e fast a n d loose, i n your-face presentation o f C h r i s Evans, r e c r u i t e d f r o m C h a n n e l 4's ' T h e B i g Breakfast'. Established presenters were eased o u t - Dave Lee Travis resigned o n air, w h i l e Steve W r i g h t departed a n d eventually re-appeared o n R a d i o 2 . J o h n Peel (a l o n e s u r v i v o r f r o m R a d i o l ' s launch i n 1 9 6 7 ) was s h i f t e d f r o m w e e k d a y evenings t o weekends, a n d a clever advertising campaign p o r t r a y e d the y o u n g i n h e r i t o r s o f Peel's m a n t l e - M a r k R a d c l i f f e , Steve L a m a c q , Jo W i l e y - as t h e l i f e b l o o d a n d conscience o f t h e s t a t i o n . C o o l , h i p a n d streetwise, R a d i o 1 a t t e m p t e d t o re-locate itself at the c u t t i n g edge o f c o n t e m p o r a r y music, f o r example b y w h o l e h e a r t e d l y espousing ' B r i t p o p ' o f Oasis, B l u r , Pulp a n d others i n 1 9 9 5 - 9 6 ( i n c l u d i n g a week d e v o t e d t o B r i t i s h p o p music a n d exclusive live coverage o f Oasis' r e c o r d - b r e a k i n g K n e b w o r t h concert). A t t h e t i m e o f w r i t i n g , the process o f p o l i c y o v e r h a u l at Radio 1 is far f r o m c o m p l e t e - the p r o j e c t e d a p p o i n t m e n t o f a head o f music p o l i c y at t h e station w i l l r e f i n e its d i r e c t i o n still further. But f o r some t h e n e w R a d i o 1 has an a r r o gance every b i t as g a l l i n g as that w h i c h once dictated airplay choices according
t o chart
positions
a n d dubious n o t i o n s
o f ' a c c e p t a b i l i t y ' t o mass
audiences. I t depends, s t i l l , o n p r o g r a m m e - m a k e r s m a k i n g music choices i n line w i t h t h e self-image o f presenters a n d the 'professional' assessment of p r o ducers as t o w h a t its target listeners w i l l f i n d acceptable, w h i l e J o h n Peel f o r one has expressed unease at f o u n d i n g a music p o l i c y o n basically ageist lines.
Keepers of the Castle 287 Perhaps t h e real test o f R a d i o l ' s n e w - f o u n d hipness w i l l come w h e n t h e stat i o n is faced, as i t once was b y p u n k , by a n e w style o r m o v e m e n t w h i c h i n a t t i t u d e as w e l l as s o u n d opposes t h e easy assumptions o f those w h o c o n t r o l the station's o u t p u t . O n e f i n a l , general p o i n t s h o u l d be made. R a d i o l ' s m a k e o v e r offers a p r i m e e x a m p l e o f o n e o f t h e r e c u r r i n g features o f r a d i o b r o a d c a s t i n g i n B r i t a i n - w h a t I w o u l d d e f i n e as an engineered
complementarity
between
services. T h i s goes back a l o n g way. W h e n t h e B B C was t h e sole p r o v i d e r o f r a d i o services,
t h e concept
o f c o m p l e m e n t a r y p r o g r a m m i n g i n f o r m e d its
w h o l e s t r u c t u r e - f o r e x a m p l e , t h e s p l i t t i n g u p o f B B C services i n 1 9 4 5 i n t o t h r e e d i s t i n c t n e t w o r k s f o r three d i s t i n c t audiences, t h e L i g h t P r o g r a m m e , T h i r d P r o g r a m m e a n d H o m e Service, a n d t h e changes o f 1 9 6 7 t h a t saw a r e n a m i n g o f these n e t w o r k s as Radios 2 , 3 a n d 4 respectively a n d t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f R a d i o 1 itself. Even t h e Conservative G o v e r n m e n t o f 1 9 7 0 - 7 4 was c a r e f u l t o i n t r o d u c e c o m m e r c i a l r a d i o o n a l o c a l basis a n d t h e r e f o r e c o m p l e m e n t a r y t o t h e B B C ' s n a t i o n a l services. C o m p l e m e n t a r i t y dies hardest w i t h i n l o c a l r a d i o : w h e n I L R stations w e r e o b l i g e d b y t h e o l d I B A t o split t h e i r A M a n d F M frequencies, m o s t seized i t as an o p p o r t u n i t y t o p r o v i d e c o m p l e m e n t a r y services - a pop-based service o n F M a n d a ' g o l d ' s t a t i o n ( p l a y i n g '60s a n d '70s hits) a i m e d at o l d e r listeners o n A M . S i m i l a r l y , B B C l o c a l stations n o l o n g e r c o m p e t e d i r e c t l y w i t h I L R c o u n t e r p a r t s : m o s t have s w i t c h e d t o a l l - t a l k f o r m a t s i n t h e 1990s, f r e e i n g I L R s t o concentrate o n m u s i c p r o g r a m m i n g . R a d i o 1 n o w offers p r o g r a m m i n g t h a t c o m p l e m e n t s not
o n l y t h e B B C ' s o t h e r services - n o t a b l y R a d i o 2 , w h o s e
considerable
p o l i c y upheavals have been i n f o r m e d by t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t e x - R a d i o 1 listeners w o u l d t u r n t o i t i n droves - b u t also those p r o v i d e d b y c o m m e r c i a l o p e r a t o r s , especially at a n a t i o n a l l e v e l . T h e d e r e g u l a t o r y era has not seen a rash o f c o m p e t i t i v e services: i t has g i v e n us a p l u r a l i t y o f services t h a t d o v e t a i l i n a haphazard way, i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e R a d i o A u t h o r i t y ' s p o l i c y o f a w a r d i n g franchises a c c o r d i n g t o b o t h f i n a n c i a l v i a b i l i t y a n d the distinctiveness o f the p r o j e c t e d p r o g r a m m i n g . W h i l e this reflects an i d e o l o g i c a l c o m m i t m e n t t o e x p a n d i n g consumer choice, i t also reflects e c o n o m i c realities: radio's slice o f the a d v e r t i s i n g cake is t o o small a n d the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f frequencies t o o l i m i t e d t o s u p p o r t a r a d i o i n d u s t r y based o n c o m p e t i t i o n f o r t h e same mass m a r k e t . I t is still t o o early t o p r e d i c t t h e surv i v a l o f those stations whose c o m m u n i t i e s o f taste o r interest d o n o t c o m m a n d great a d v e r t i s i n g i n c o m e : t h e m a n y p r o g r a m m i n g swings experienced by Jazz F M , f o r e x a m p l e , f r o m d i e h a r d , specialist-appeal jazz t h r o u g h t o jazzinfluenced
sounds (jazz-funk, acid-jazz, R & B ) designed t o attract a broader
l i s t e n e r s h i p , u n d e r l i n e h o w d i f f i c u l t i t is t o m a i n t a i n a station's o r i g i n a l r e m i t i n t h e face o f f a l l i n g p r o f i t s . T h e real w i n n e r s o f the d e r e g u l a t o r y era have n o t been t h e n e w operators at a l l b u t t h e e x i s t i n g I L R o w n e r s , w h o have been a l l o w e d t o e x p a n d , m e r g e , take over t h e i r neighbours i n m a n y cases a n d r e m o u l d t h e i r p r o g r a m m i n g almost at w i l l .
288
Producers and Production
Notes 1. Quoted i n an interview by the author published as Trent: Bridging the Gap', Gongster, University of Nottingham Students Union (8 March 1977). 2. D . M . White, T h e "Gatekeeper": A Case Study i n the Selection o f News', Journalism Quarterly, 27 (1950), pp. 283-90. 3. For a brief critical discussion of the gatekeeper concept, see Margaret Gallagher, 'Negotiations of Control i n Media Organizations and Occupations', i n Culture, Society and the Media (London, Methuen, 1982). For an application of the concept to American radio, see T h e Gatekeepers of Radio', in R. Serge Denisoff, Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry (New Brunswick, Transaction, 1975). 4. Johnny Beerling, from an unpublished interview w i t h the author, 17 November 1986. 5. John Downing, The Media Machine (London, Pluto Press, 1980), p. 175. 6. Simon Frith, The Sociology of Rock (London, Constable, 1978), p. 9 1 . 7. Derek Chinnery, f r o m an unpublished interview w i t h the author, 24 January 1985. 8. Chinnery interview. 9. Chinnery interview. 10. For a fuller account of the playlisting procedure as i t existed at Radio 1 at this time, see Simon Frith, 'Playing Records', in Simon Frith and Charlie Gillett, eds., Rock File 3 (St Albans, Granada, 1975), pp. 38^43. 11. For the background t o the relaunch of the playlist, see Colin Shearman, 'Why Radio 1 Has Changed Its Tunes', Guardian, 5 May 1986. 12. See N i c k Higham, 'Plugging the Radio 1 Disc Promo Gap', Broadcast, 9 October 1987. 13. Beerling interview. 14. For an account of the Jesus and Mary Chain 'ban', see M a r k Cooper, 'The Blasphemy of Stardom', Guardian, 21 July 1986. See also M i k e Smith's riposte on the letters page of the Guardian, 29 July 1986. 15. Beerling interview. 16. Dave Laing, One-Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk-Rock ( M i l t o n Keynes, Open University Press, 1985). 17. Dick Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London, Methuen, 1979). 18. Raymond Williams, 'The Growth and Role of the Mass Media', in Carl Gardner, ed., Media, Politics and Culture (London, Macmillan, 1971). 19. Quoted in M a r k Williams, 'Signing O f f , in Ashley Brown, ed., The History of Rock (London, Orbis, 1984), p. 2215.
Questions 1
Summarise what you take to be the central point made by Barnard in this extract.
2
Research and outline some of the key changes which have taken place since the original extract was published - i.e. since 1989/90. In a later part of his discussion, Barnard indicates that what he calls 'the old homogeneity' between radio and popular music had begun to break down in the 1980s. What has happened to the charts, to musical forms and styles, to Radio 1, to independent local radio (ILR) and to new national radio stations in recent years? Refer to the discussion outlined in the postscript.
Priorities and Prejudice 289 3
Research either a local, regional or national music radio station in terms of its particular music policy and relationship to the mainstream music charts. In terms of musical selection, who is addressed, how and at what points in the broadcast day? Does popular music radio have any function other than the promotion of the music industry?
Further reading Burnett, R. 1996: The global jukebox. London: Routledge. Chambers, I . 1985: Urban rhythms: pop music and popular culture. London: Macmillan. Chapman, R. 1992: Selling the sixties. London: Routledge. Crisell, A. 1994: Understanding radio, 2nd revised edn. London: Routledge. Frith, S. 1988: Music for pleasure. Cambridge: Polity Press. Frith, S. and Goodwin, A . (eds.) 1990: On record: rock, pop and the written word. London: Routledge. Lewis, P. and Booth, J. 1988: The invisible medium. London: Macmillan. T h o r n t o n , S. 1995: Club cultures: music, media and subcultural capital. Cambridge: Polity Press. Wilby, P. and Conroy, A. 1994: The radio handbook. London: Routledge.
27 Priorities and Prejudice: 'Artist and Repertoire' and the Acquisition of Artists Keith Negus From Producing pop: culture and conflict in the popular music industry (Edward Arnold 1994)
In this extract, Negus looks at the work of Artist & Repertoire (A & R) staff in their acquisition and signing of bands for record companies, both large and small. Once more, it is demonstrated that a balance has to be found between financial priorities and encouraging creativity - in this case, translating the business requirements of the record company into a workable artistic policy. Negus establishes that A & R can be a lucrative profession, but that its practices are shaped by certain priorities and prejudices, inevitable in an industry dominated by middleclass grammar school and college educated white men who favour the rock music tradition which was predominant in the late 1960s and early 70s when they were students. Negus highlights the conservative and rather insular nature of the music industry and states that the well-established mainstream record companies have tended to recruit A & R staff with similar professional experience, cultural values and musical tastes. However, it is not only backgrounds and personal preferences which dictate the kinds of bands signed by A & R men. The business of launching a new musician or band is costly, and although they are
290
Producers and Production clearly shrewd enough to cover every potential market (provided it will recoup enough money to cover the initial outlay), the tendency is to play safe and sign acts which conform to a tried-and-tested formula. Similarly, aspiring musicians may be tempted to shape what they do to suit the demands of the recording industry. This tendency to discourage originality and encourage replication can be seen in the rise of the 'boy band' in Britain in the 1990s - all-male pop groups principally aimed at attracting a very young female audience (contemporary examples being Take That, Let Loose, Boyzone and Upside Down). The rather artificial construction of many of these pop groups, with the emphasis as much on the individual group members' looks and appeal to teenage girls as on musical talent or song-writing ability, underlines Negus' point about the significance of marketing personnel in record companies and his further arguments about the power and authority of managers.
A r t i s t a n d repertoire (A & R) staff are f o r m a l l y responsible for a c q u i r i n g artists, a n d have usually been described as 'talent spotters' - c o n t i n u a l l y engaged i n seeking n e w acts a n d material. H o w e v e r , this is o n l y a small part o f w h a t they d o . M o s t o f their t i m e is devoted t o w o r k i n g w i t h acts w h o are already under contract. A n A & R person can be i n v o l v e d i n every aspect o f an artist's relat i o n s h i p w i t h a r e c o r d company: f r o m the initial negotiations a n d signing o f the contract t h r o u g h t o the rehearsal, arrangement and r e c o r d i n g o f songs, t o liaisi n g w i t h staff e m p l o y e d i n m a r k e t i n g , video p r o d u c t i o n and p r o m o t i o n . I n the past A & R staff have o f t e n signed artists w i t h o u t reference t o t h e o p i n i o n s o f other personnel w i t h i n their r e c o r d companies. H o w e v e r , as t h e costs o f p r o d u c i n g and m a r k e t i n g popular music have increased, a n d as r e c o r d companies have been r e - o r i e n t i n g themselves towards entertainment rather t h a n just music, other divisions w i t h i n the corporations have begun exerting a greater influence over the type o f artists w h i c h are acquired. T h i s [article] has been w r i t t e n at a t i m e w h e n some o f these tensions - particularly between A & R a n d m a r k e t i n g - are b e c o m i n g m o r e sharply defined. H o w e v e r , as A & R staff have, historically, h a d the first say i n p r o p o s i n g the type o f artists and music acquired by r e c o r d companies, this chapter is about the distinctive activities and beliefs w h i c h guide the w o r k o f artist and repertoire departments.
Formal divisions and business affairs A l l r e c o r d labels, regardless o f their size, i d e n t i t y a n d specific history, d i v i d e t h e i r d e p a r t m e n t s o r staff i n t o t h e f o l l o w i n g occupations: artist a n d repert o i r e ; m a r k e t i n g ; p u b l i c relations; p u b l i c i t y a n d press; r a d i o a n d television p r o m o t i o n ; sales; business affairs/finance a n d legal; m a n u f a c t u r e a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n ; a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d secretarial. T h e organisation is c o o r d i n a t e d b y t h e directors o f the company, w i t h the managing d i r e c t o r o r president responsible f o r d a y - t o - d a y policies a n d practices. T h e w o r k o f r e c o r d c o m p a n y d e p a r t m e n t s is c a r r i e d o u t w i t h i n the general business p l a n o f the company. ... T h e business affairs d i v i s i o n ( i n c o r p o r a t i n g
Priorities and Prejudice 291 b o t h a c c o u n t i n g a n d legal staff) is i n v o l v e d i n setting parameters t o t h e deals t h a t c a n be o f f e r e d t o p r o s p e c t i v e acts, a n d t h e c o m p a n y l a w y e r w i l l o f t e n n e g o t i a t e t h e details o f a c o n t r a c t d i r e c t l y w i t h a n artist's lawyer. A s S i m o n F r i t h has n o t e d , a l l decisions a b o u t w h o t o sign a n d r e c o r d 'are basically financial
a n d calculations
have
t o be precisely
made'
(1983,
p 102).
H o w e v e r , t h i s does n o t s i m p l y m e a n t h a t t h e a c c o u n t i n g a n d business affairs d e p a r t m e n t s ' o u t w e i g h a l l t h e creative divisions i n w i e l d i n g c o m p a n y p o w e r ' ( D e n i s o f f , 1 9 8 6 , p 1 5 8 ) . C o m p a n y p o w e r is n o t s o m e t h i n g t h a t is e x e r t e d b y an i d e n t i f i a b l e f a c t i o n , such as accountants
o r lawyers. Record
company
p o w e r arises o u t o f a n d is exercised t h r o u g h t h e i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l relat i o n s h i p s w h i c h are stretched t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o d u c t i o n , m e d i a t i o n a n d c o n s u m p t i o n o f p o p u l a r m u s i c . Senior executives establish general policies a n d accountants a n d l a w y e r s advocate certain business strategies, b u t this does not
' d e t e r m i n e ' w h o is signed o r w h a t is r e c o r d e d . I n d a y - t o - d a y practice i t
means t h a t staff are i n v o l v e d i n c o n s t a n t l y n e g o t i a t i n g these demands as they translate t h e business r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e r e c o r d c o m p a n y i n t o a n artistic policy.
The Artist and Repertoire department Unless i t is a v e r y small c o m p a n y t h e A & R d e p a r t m e n t tends t o be d i v i d e d h i e r a r c h i c a l l y a n d staff accorded such titles as A & R d i r e c t o r , senior A & R manager, A & R manager a n d talent scout. These titles denote s e n i o r i t y a n d experience, a n d t h e w o r k - l o a d is o f t e n d i v i d e d so that t h e m o r e senior staff are responsible f o r t h e m o s t established artists. H o w e v e r , t h e roster o f artists f o r w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l A & R staff are responsible is o f t e n b u i l t u p i n a n ad-hoc way. T h e p e r s o n w h o ' f i n d s ' a n d has t h e i n i t i a l enthusiasm f o r an act w i l l t e n d t o f o r m a r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e artist a n d i n i t i a t e t h e process o f n e g o t i a t i o n for t h e m t o sign t o t h e r e c o r d company. O n c e the artist has been signed, this p e r s o n w i l l be responsible f o r overseeing t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d 'career' o f t h a t act f o r t h e A & R d e p a r t m e n t . T h e less experienced members o f staff w i l l usually d r a w o n t h e k n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a l guidance o r be u n d e r t h e e x p l i c i t s u p e r v i s i o n o f m o r e senior members o f staff. Successful artist a n d r e p e r t o i r e staff are some o f the m o s t h i g h l y p a i d personnel i n t h e r e c o r d i n g industry. I n 1 9 9 0 , one A & R d i r e c t o r q u o t e d m e t h e f o l l o w i n g figures as a n i n d i c a t i o n o f w h a t A & R staff w e r e e a r n i n g : t h e 'cheapest talent scout', a school o r college leaver w o u l d earn a b o u t £ 1 0 , 0 0 0 per a n n u m a n d a d d i t i o n a l l y be p r o v i d e d w i t h a car a n d have all t h e i r expenses p a i d . A 'reasonably successful' A & R manager w h o h a d w o r k e d w i t h acts f o r t w o t o three years w o u l d earn a p p r o x i m a t e l y £ 4 0 , 0 0 0 , a n d a senior A & R manager w i t h over five years o f success c o u l d earn a b o u t £ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 . T h e A & R d i r e c t o r w o u l d , needless t o say, earn considerably m o r e . I n a d d i t i o n t o these basic earnings, senior A & R staff receive cash bonuses w h e n t h e r e c o r d i n g s o f t h e i r artists achieve
h i g h chart p o s i t i o n s , a n d a
292
Producers and Production percentage o f the sales o f the recordings o f t h e i r artists - usually one per cent, a l t h o u g h a small n u m b e r o f ' n a m e ' A & R directors are r e p u t e d t o receive b e t w e e n t w o a n d three per cent. N o t o n l y d o these figures indicate the i m p o r tance placed o n A & R staff, a n d o n c o m m e r c i a l sales, they also act as an i n c e n t i v e f o r staff t o achieve success i n an area i n w h i c h there is considerable risk a n d uncertainty.
Investment, risk and uncertainty R e c o r d c o m p a n y staff assess p o t e n t i a l acts w i t h a w o r k i n g k n o w l e d g e t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y one i n eight o f the artists t h a t they sign a n d r e c o r d
will
achieve the level o f success r e q u i r e d t o recoup t h e i r i n i t i a l i n v e s t m e n t a n d start t o earn m o n e y f o r b o t h themselves a n d the company. T h e response o f the r e c o r d i n g i n d u s t r y t o this e c o n o m i c risk a n d c o m m e r c i a l u n c e r t a i n t y has o f t e n been e x p l a i n e d i n terms o f a strategy o f o v e r p r o d u c t i o n c o m b i n e d w i t h d i f f e r e n t i a l p r o m o t i o n , i n w h i c h r e c o r d companies a t t e m p t t o cover
every
p o t e n t i a l m a r k e t p o s s i b i l i t y ( H i r s c h , 1 9 7 2 ; F r i t h , 1 9 8 3 ) . A similar, b u t m o r e c y n i c a l v e r s i o n o f this is the ' m u d - a g a i n s t - t h e - w a l P m o d e l i n w h i c h r e c o r d companies
rather aimlessly t h r o w o u t as m u c h p r o d u c t as possible i n the
h o p e t h a t some o f i t w i l l stick. A l t h o u g h r e c o r d companies have u n d o u b t e d l y e m p l o y e d these techniques, they w e r e m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e at a t i m e w h e n the u n i t costs o f p r o d u c i n g r e c o r d i n g s was l o w e r a n d the m a r k e t i n g i n v o l v e d less sophisticated. T h r o u g h o u t the 1980s greater levels o f investment have been r e q u i r e d t o r e c o r d , m a r k e t a n d p r o m o t e artists. A t the b e g i n n i n g o f the 1990s a m a j o r
record company
in Britain anticipated having to
b e t w e e n £ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 - £ 3 3 0 , 0 0 0 over the first 1 2 - 1 8 for
a n e w act; r o u g h l y b r o k e n d o w n i n t o £ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0
artists, £ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0
spend
m o n t h s o f an average deal
f o r r e c o r d i n g costs a n d £ 8 0 , 0 0 0
f o r advances t o the
f o r basic p r o m o t i o n a l
expenses. I n a d d i t i o n t o the e c o n o m i c risk i n v o l v e d , a r e c o r d c o m p a n y must decide w h e t h e r t h e y have e n o u g h staff w i t h the relevant experience t o accommodate a p o t e n t i a l act. M o s t r e c o r d labels have clearly d e f i n e d the n u m b e r o f acts t h a t they can accommodate at any one t i m e . T h e acquisition o f a n e w act w i l l i n e v i t a b l y r e q u i r e the re-arrangement o f rosters a n d re-assessment o f the c o n tracts o f e x i s t i n g artists. I t is easier f o r a r e c o r d c o m p a n y t o assess the econ o m i c a n d personal investment necessary i f an act has already d e m o n s t r a t e d its p o t e n t i a l i n some way. H e n c e , t h e established r e c o r d labels have become r e l u c t a n t t o seek ' r a w ' t a l e n t i n d i n g y dance halls, s m o k y pubs o r amongst the c o n t i n u o u s stream o f unsolicited
recordings
(demonstration
tapes -
'demos')
that
they
daily
receive. T h e m a j o r r e c o r d companies have been increasingly l o o k i n g f o r acts w h i c h have already u n d e r t a k e n a significant process o f d e v e l o p m e n t , or w h o are able t o p r o v i d e a clear i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e i r c o m m e r c i a l p o t e n t i a l . As a result o f this an early 'discovery a n d d e v e l o p m e n t ' r o l e has been d e v o l v e d t o
Priorities and Prejudice 293 p u b l i s h e r s , p r o d u c t i o n companies, and
managers a n d s m a l l r e c o r d
companies;
these d i f f e r e n t parties actively mediate t h e boundaries b e t w e e n
corp-
o r a t i o n s a n d a s p i r i n g artists.
The unrecorded musicians Very l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n has been p a i d t o t h e vast n u m b e r o f amateur a n d semiprofessional bands, p e r f o r m e r s a n d singers m a k i n g music i n B r i t a i n . Research by Finnegan i n M i l t o n Keynes ( 1 9 8 9 ) a n d C o h e n i n L i v e r p o o l ( 1 9 9 1 ) suggested t h a t there was a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e b a n d f o r every t h o u s a n d members o f the p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e cities they s t u d i e d . B u t such estimates o n l y i n c l u d e those who
are s p o r a d i c a l l y visible at a l o c a l level, a n d d o n o t take account o f
n u m e r o u s singers a n d musicians w h o are creating music alone o r w i t h others i n the h o m e using cheap i n s t r u m e n t s a n d p o r t a b l e r e c o r d i n g e q u i p m e n t . A c c o u n t s o f these ' h i d d e n musicians' have t e n d e d t o concentrate
o n the
pragmatics o f c o m p o s i n g , rehearsing a n d p e r f o r m i n g a n d t h e degree o f personal
investment
i n v o l v e d ; emphasizing t h e w a y music m a k i n g p r o v i d e s
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i n d i v i d u a l a n d social expression a n d l e a r n i n g experiences (Bennett, 1 9 8 0 ; B a y t o n , 1 9 8 9 ; Finnegan, 1 9 8 9 ; Fornas, 1 9 8 9 ) . W h i l s t m a n y o f these musicians are p l a y i n g p u r e l y f o r t h e i n t r i n s i c satisfaction d e r i v e d f r o m t h e experience, a vast n u m b e r are c o m p o s i n g , rehearsing, r e c o r d i n g a n d p e r f o r m i n g i n t h e h o p e t h a t they w i l l secure a r e c o r d i n g contract. Yet, C o h e n ( 1 9 9 1 ) , i n h e r study o f r o c k bands i n L i v e r p o o l , is t h e o n l y w r i t e r w h o has d e v o t e d d e t a i l e d a t t e n t i o n t o t h e w a y i n w h i c h ' u n k n o w n ' musicians are a t t e m p t i n g t o shape w h a t they d o t o suit the demands o f the r e c o r d i n g i n d u s try, a n d the w a y i n w h i c h the logic o f ' m a k i n g i t ' i n f o r m s local music m a k i n g . T h e experiences o f these p o t e n t i a l stars o f t o m o r r o w goes largely u n r e c o r d ed,
unless t h e y are successful - i n w h i c h case their story is retrospectively
a c c o m m o d a t e d t o t h e ascending tale o f struggles, discovery a n d success f o u n d i n p o p u l a r biographies. These narratives, as S i m o n F r i t h once observed, are the ' d o m i n a n t source o f p o p i n f o r m a t i o n ' , a n d p r o v i d e a n e n d u r i n g source o f i n s p i r a t i o n t o tens o f thousands o f aspiring r e c o r d i n g artists, sustaining t h e m i n t h e belief t h a t at some p o i n t i n t h e near f u t u r e they w i l l be recognised by, and t h e n signed t o a m a j o r r e c o r d company. Such r e c o g n i t i o n is rarely as d r a m a t i c as m a n y biographies i m p l y a n d various interested parties may become i n v o l v e d w i t h a n u n k n o w n act p r i o r t o t h e signing o f a r e c o r d i n g contract. O f t e n a l o c a l manager
is t h e first person t o begin acting o n behalf o f an
u n k n o w n artist.
Managers F r o m L a r r y Parnes w h o w o r k e d w i t h T o m m y Steele a n d Billy F u r y i n t h e 1950s, t o T o m W a t k i n s w h o managed Bros, a n d M a u r i c e Starr w h o w o r k e d i n shaping N e w K i d s O n T h e B l o c k i n t h e 1980s, managers have o f t e n been p o r -
294
Producers and Production t r a y e d as 'starmakers a n d svengalis' - m o u l d i n g a n d m a n i p u l a t i n g t h e music and image o f t h e i r artists (Rogan, 1988). H o w e v e r , the m a j o r i t y o f managers t e n d t o operate as representatives a n d advisers, g u i d i n g rather t h a n m a n i p u l a t i n g artists. T h e manager plans the overall career strategy o f an act, d e f i n i n g objectives a n d setting standards. She, but m o r e frequently he, attempts t o m o t i vate b o t h t h e artist and the r e c o r d company, and intervenes t o resolve any disputes. R e c o r d companies have a number o f artists o n their books a n d the manager w o r k s b e h i n d t h e scenes, spending considerable t i m e ensuring that staff i n the r e c o r d c o m p a n y are w o r k i n g f o r an act, a n d i r o n i n g o u t any p o t e n tial p r o b l e m s . T h e manager is, i n t h e w o r d s o f S i m o n N a p i e r - B e l l w h o m a n aged M a r c B o l a n , W h a m ! a n d Japan, ' t h e balance i n the m i d d l e ' w h o sways b o t h artist a n d r e c o r d c o m p a n y t o see the other's p o i n t o f v i e w (Rogan, 1 9 8 8 ) A n u n s i g n e d act w h o are a t t e m p t i n g t o o b t a i n a r e c o r d i n g c o n t r a c t may o r m a y n o t have a manager. B u t most acts w i l l usually f i n d i t necessary, o r be r e q u i r e d b y r e c o r d companies, t o f i n d management soon after signing. Artists w i t h o u t a r e c o r d i n g c o n t r a c t w i l l o f t e n sign a management agreement w h i c h contains a clause s t i p u l a t i n g t h a t the manager must o b t a i n a deal w i t h i n a specified t i m e p e r i o d o r t h e agreement is t e r m i n a t e d . As t h e manager usually receives between 15 t o 25 per cent o f the artist's earnings, this p r o v i d e s an incentive - i f the artist does n o t o b t a i n a r e c o r d i n g contract t h e n t h e manager is n o t g o i n g t o make any money. An
experienced
manager
w h o can d r a w o n a n e t w o r k o f contacts can
u n d o u b t e d l y assist an act t o o b t a i n a contract. B u t , equally, there have been instances w h e r e a r e c o r d c o m p a n y have t u r n e d d o w n a p o t e n t i a l signing because t h e manager was considered t o be an unreliable o r u n t r u s t w o r t h y o p e r a t o r w i t h w h o m senior staff d i d n o t w i s h t o d o business. M a n y unsigned acts w h o a p p r o a c h r e c o r d companies have a manager w h o is o f t e n l i t t l e m o r e t h a n an enthusiastic, h u s t l i n g f r i e n d . I n such a case the manager is o f t e n learni n g h o w the i n d u s t r y operates at the same t i m e as the artists. O n e partner i n a management c o m p a n y w h o h a d achieved c o m m e r c i a l success w i t h a n u m b e r o f artists c o u l d l o o k back a n d w i t h a smile reflect o n some ' h o r r e n d o u s mistakes' t h a t he h a d made o n the way. O t h e r s , however, may n o t recover f r o m a lack o f k n o w l e d g e o r errors o f j u d g m e n t . . . .
The deal: recording contracts A l t h o u g h r e c o r d i n g contracts became m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d a n d h i g h l y specific t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1980s as m a j o r r e c o r d companies
increasingly dealt
with
artists t h r o u g h t h e m e d i a t i o n o f t h i r d parties, there is a basic character t o t h e artist-company relationship embodied i n a recording contract, u p o n w h i c h p a r t i c u l a r v a r i a t i o n s are inscribed. A r e c o r d c o m p a n y agrees t o advance an artist a specified a m o u n t o f m o n e y and
t o pay certain r o y a l t y percentage
' p o i n t s ' o n t h e sales o f t h a t artist's
recordings once t h e advanced s u m (and a l l expenses i n v o l v e d i n p r o d u c i n g
Priorities and Prejudice 295 t h a t artist's m a t e r i a l ) have been r e c o u p e d by the c o m p a n y o u t o f the artist's earnings. I n m a n y respects the c o m p a n y are advancing an artist a tax free l o a n w h i c h m u s t be p a i d back i f they are successful. For this the artist m u s t deliver to
the r e c o r d c o m p a n y
a specified a m o u n t o f r e c o r d e d m a t e r i a l , usually
a l b u m s , d u r i n g the p e r i o d o f the contract. T h e c o n t r a c t w i l l usually cover a p e r i o d o f 5 t o 7 years, b u t w i l l c o n t a i n an ' o p t i o n ' clause every 1 2 - 1 8
months
(or per a l b u m , w h i c h e v e r is l o n g e r ) . T h i s gives the r e c o r d c o m p a n y the r i g h t t o r e t a i n o r release an artist f r o m a contract. I f the c o m p a n y decides t o r e t a i n an artist they w i l l usually be r e q u i r e d t o pay a f u r t h e r advance. A n e w l y signed act w i l l p r o b a b l y receive a r o y a l t y o f between 1 0 - 1 4
points,
a n d m o s t contracts are s t r u c t u r e d i n such a w a y that the advances a n d percentage r o y a l t y p o i n t s payable t o the artist increase each year; the i m p l i c a t i o n b e i n g t h a t the r e c o r d c o m p a n y must have achieved a degree o f success t o make i t c o m m e r c i a l l y viable t o retain an artist a n d pay o u t f u r t h e r advances. I n p r i n ciple this is t o safeguard the artist against a company w h i c h m i g h t sign a n d r e t a i n t h e m o n an exclusive contract w i t h o u t investing i n t h e m . T h e c o m p a n y are placed i n a p o s i t i o n w h e r e they are financially c o m m i t t e d t o an act, so they either w o r k t o establish that artist a n d generate a r e t u r n o n investment, o r they save t h e i r m o n e y a n d free the artist f r o m the contract t o go elsewhere. T h e days i n w h i c h naive acts signed e x p l o i t a t i v e contracts have been w e l l documented
(Garfield, 1986;
Rogan,
1988)
a n d are
by n o means
over.
H o w e v e r , t h e y have become less w i d e s p r e a d as the music i n d u s t r y has c o n sciously a t t e m p t e d t o cultivate a m o r e professional image. I t has become stand a r d practice f o r contracts t o stipulate that the artists m u s t have received professional legal advice before signing. As was the case w i t h small jazz a n d r h y t h m a n d blues labels earlier this c e n t u r y some o f the most e x p l o i t a t i v e c o n tracts are o f f e r e d by s m a l l , i n e x p e r i e n c e d ,
o r just i n c o m p e t e n t
companies
i n v o l v e d i n s i g n i n g p o o r l y advised acts (Gray, 1 9 8 8 ) . Artists are n o w accredited w i t h b e i n g m o r e c o m m e r c i a l l y m i n d e d a n d aware o f w h a t the c o n t r a c t u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h a r e c o r d c o m p a n y entails. Artists are also s u r r o u n d e d by business advisers, lawyers a n d accountants w h o may engage i n some quite sophisticated s i g n i n g strategies. T h e y may a t t e m p t t o play the r e c o r d c o m p a nies o f f against each o t h e r by i n i t i a t i n g the r o u t i n e practice o f ' b i d d i n g w a r s ' . I n a d d i t i o n t h e y m a y a t t e m p t t o w i t h h o l d signing a p u b l i s h i n g ( s o n g w r i t i n g ) c o n t r a c t u n t i l the artist has secured a r e c o r d deal. W h i l s t a r e c o r d i n g c o n t r a c t pays royalties o n the discs a n d tapes s o l d (to p u t i t s i m p l y ) , a p u b l i s h i n g c o n t r a c t pays a m u c h higher r o y a l t y rate (on less average i n c o m e per song) o n the rights o f the m a t e r i a l c o m p o s e d by the songw r i t e r ( w h i c h is o f t e n collectively a band). A separate r o y a l t y is
collected
every t i m e a p a r t i c u l a r song is p e r f o r m e d o r broadcast i n p u b l i c . As a song w i l l n o t usually be p l a y e d u n t i l an artist/songwriter has a r e c o r d i n g released, an artist w i t h a r e c o r d i n g c o n t r a c t is i n a p o s i t i o n t o attract large advances a n d h i g h e r r o y a l t y rates f r o m the m a j o r publishers. T h e c o n t r a c t between r e c o r d companies a n d artists is, t h e r e f o r e , one w i t h
296
Producers and Production legal o b l i g a t i o n s o n b o t h sides, i n w h i c h a balance o f p o w e r is n e g o t i a t e d b e t w e e n artists, w h o are dependent u p o n r e c o r d companies t o reach p o t e n t i a l audiences, a n d r e c o r d companies w h o are dependent u p o n artists f o r images a n d musical m a t e r i a l .
Publishers and production companies A n u m b e r o f management companies simultaneously operate as p r o d u c t i o n companies, s i g n i n g artists a n d f i n a n c i n g the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i r music t o a p o i n t w h e r e i t is i n a f o r m suitable f o r p u b l i c c o n s u m p t i o n ( L a m b e r t , 1 9 8 0 ) . T h i s can t h e n be released t h r o u g h a ' p r o d u c t i o n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n ' deal w i t h a r e c o r d label. M a n y managers have taken this step because they c o u l d n o t get an artist signed p u r e l y o n the basis o f presenting ' d e m o ' recordings. T h e p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a n y is therefore f o r m e d t o develop the artist a stage f u r t h e r . T h i s m a y be t a k e n a step f u r t h e r again, a n d the c o m p a n y may develop i n t o a h y b r i d m a n a g e m e n t / p r o d u c t i o n / r e c o r d label, p u b l i s h i n g t h e m a t e r i a l t h e m selves a n d o p e r a t i n g t h r o u g h various licensing, p r o d u c t i o n a n d m a r k e t i n g arrangements w i t h larger companies. U n t i l t h e 1960s the w o r k o f music publishers i n v o l v e d s i g n i n g s o n g w r i t e r s a n d t h e n p l a c i n g t h e i r songs w i t h singers w h o w o u l d use t h e m f o r c o m m e r c i a l r e c o r d i n g s o r p u b l i c p e r f o r m a n c e s . T h e publisher w o u l d t h e n receive an i n c o m e f r o m sales o f t h e r e c o r d i n g s a n d sheet music, a n d revenue f r o m performance rights. T h e emergence o f r o c k music changed t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f publishers t o p o p u l a r music p r o d u c t i o n . I n the T i n Pan A l l e y t r a d i t i o n there was a clear cut d i s t i n c t i o n between w r i t e r s a n d publishers o n o n e side, a n d p e r f o r m e r s a n d r e c o r d companies o n t h e other. T h e success o f artists such as T h e Beatles a n d Bob
D y l a n a n d t h e emergence o f the r o c k aesthetic w h i c h placed
great
emphasis o n i n d i v i d u a l expression resulted i n p e r f o r m e r s increasingly w r i t i n g t h e i r o w n songs. A considerable b o d y o f m a t e r i a l n o w p u b l i s h e d is s i m u l taneously c o m p o s e d a n d r e c o r d e d b y artists a n d bands, rather t h a n t h e w o r k o f an i n d e p e n d e n t s o n g w r i t e r . I n the past i t was standard practice f o r songwriters t o enter i n t o agreements w i t h ' p u b l i s h i n g houses' based o n a 50/50 split. Every r o y a l t y earned w o u l d be d i v i d e d equally between the publisher a n d songwriter. I n r e t u r n , the publisher was p e r f o r m i n g an entrepreneurial role i n placing songs w i t h d i f f e r e n t singers a n d f u r t h e r i n g that w r i t e r ' s career. H o w e v e r , as m o r e a n d m o r e p e r f o r m e r s began w r i t i n g a n d r e c o r d i n g their o w n material the publishers were able t o ' p u b l i s h ' a song w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o place i t w i t h a singer o r invest m u c h energy i n g e t t i n g i t c o m m e r c i a l l y recorded and p e r f o r m e d . M u s i c publishers reached a p o i n t w h e r e they c o u l d derive a substantial i n c o m e f r o m p u b l i s h i n g prer e c o r d e d m a t e r i a l a n d h a d t o d o very little w o r k , merely a d m i n i s t e r i n g music t h r o u g h agencies c o l l e c t i n g c o p y r i g h t revenue. As artists a n d t h e i r managers realised t h a t publishers w e r e d o i n g less f o r
Priorities and Prejudice 297 t h e i r m o n e y , t h e y either began f o r m i n g t h e i r o w n p u b l i s h i n g companies a n d thus r e t a i n e d t h e r i g h t s t o t h e m a t e r i a l a n d t h e b u l k o f i n c o m e o r artists began
d e m a n d i n g t h a t publishers reduce
t h e i r c u t . I t became
common
p r a c t i c e f o r acts, p a r t i c u l a r l y i f they w e r e i n a s t r o n g b a r g a i n i n g p o s i t i o n with
recordings
agreements
split
released
a n d being
8 5 / 1 5 i n t h e artist's
purchased,
t o request
f a v o u r . A s publishers
publishing operating
costs a n d overheads can sometimes be as m u c h as 12 per cent, this l e f t a v e r y s m a l l m a r g i n o n w h i c h the p u b l i s h e r c o u l d m a k e a p r o f i t . H e n c e i t f a v o u r e d b o t h t h e successful acts w h o c o u l d generate a guaranteed r e t u r n o n investm e n t t h a t w o u l d cover these costs a n d t h e large c o r p o r a t i o n s w h o c o u l d a f f o r d t o acquire t h e m . O n e o f the ways i n w h i c h a small c o m p a n y can w o r k alongside a n d c o m pete w i t h a large c o m p a n y is t o gamble w i t h artists at an earlier stage o f t h e i r d e v e l o p m e n t : get t h e m u n d e r c o n t r a c t w h e n they have n o t clearly d e m o n strated t h e i r c o m m e r c i a l p o t e n t i a l a n d w h e n they w i l l settle f o r a modest advance a n d l o w e r r o y a l t y rates i n r e t u r n f o r the w o r k t h a t the m i n o r c o m p a n y is g o i n g t o d o o n t h e i r behalf. T h i s is w h a t smaller publishers, p r o d u c t i o n companies a n d r e c o r d labels increasingly a t t e m p t e d t o d o d u r i n g the 1980s. T h e m i n o r c o m p a n y can t h e n be a t h i r d p a r t y t a k i n g a n active interest i n a n act's progress, a n d i n t e r v e n i n g between the artist a n d the m a j o r c o r p o r a t i o n ; establishing c o n t a c t , presenting the act, m a k i n g a deal a n d e a r n i n g a cut, a n d perhaps establishing a r e p u t a t i o n i n the process.
[...]
Artist and repertoire and information networks T h e artist a n d r e p e r t o i r e d e p a r t m e n t is t h e r e p o s i t o r y o f k n o w l e d g e about past, present a n d f u t u r e musical trends a n d stylistic developments. Staff i n the A & R d e p a r t m e n t constantly m o n i t o r changes a m o n g established artists, t h e n e w acts t h a t are b e i n g a c q u i r e d b y o t h e r companies, a n d a t t e m p t t o f o l l o w d e v e l o p m e n t s a m o n g s t various audiences a n d subcultures. I n o r d e r t o deal w i t h t h e fast-changing musical styles a n d fashions w h i c h are a p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t characteristic o f p o p u l a r music i n B r i t a i n , A & R staff r e g u l a r l y utilise a c o n t a c t n e t w o r k c o v e r i n g a range o f p r o d u c t i o n companies, m i n o r r e c o r d labels, publishers, managers a n d lawyers. A c o m p l e x w e b o f i n f o r m a t i o n n e t w o r k s is e m p l o y e d so t h a t w h a t is h a p p e n i n g across t h e c o u n t r y can be c o m m u n i c a t e d t o a n d assessed by the c o r p o r a t i o n . A & R d e p a r t m e n t s i n the U n i t e d States operate i n a similar way. T h e m a i n d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n B r i t a i n a n d the USA i n this respect is one o f geography. As a senior A & R manager w h o was based i n A m e r i c a , b u t w h o h a d p r e v i o u s l y w o r k e d in L o n d o n explained: In England you can sit behind your desk and do bugger all i f you know a few people. If there's a hot act out there, within t w o to three weeks you've got to be an idiot if you don't know about i t . It's such a small community. Glasgow's an hour's plane ride. Dublin's an hour's plane ride. Whereas here, it's a case of
298
Producers and Production finding the real talent, out there in the great divide between New York and Los Angeles. Despite this difference the basic m e t h o d o f a c q u i r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t h r o u g h n e t w o r k s o f contacts, rather t h a n u n s o l i c i t e d approaches o r r a n d o m searching i n clubs, is very similar. W i t h i n these n e t w o r k s there is a regular exchange o f i n f o r m a t i o n , c o m m u nicated b y telephone a n d i n person. T h e A & R staff ask these various t h i r d parties w h a t they are d o i n g : w h o are they signing, r e c o r d i n g a n d developing? W h a t trends have they i d e n t i f i e d o r heard about? I n t u r n these smaller set-ups present w h a t they are d o i n g t o A & R staff. T h e y m i g h t enthusiastically ' t a l k up
5
certain artists. T h e y m a y i n f o r m a l l y play recordings t o staff at a m a j o r
c o m p a n y i n o r d e r t o gain feedback o r i n an e f f o r t t o generate interest i n a p a r t i c u l a r act. T h e y w i l l p r o b e t h e large c o m p a n y f o r i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e type o f acts a n d m a t e r i a l b e i n g sought. M i n o r labels c o n t i n u a l l y a t t e m p t t o f i n d o u t w h i c h staff a n d artists are j o i n i n g o r leaving a major company, a n d generally glean any gossip that w i l l enable t h e m t o assess the s i t u a t i o n w i t h i n the m a j o r c o r p o r a t i o n s . These smaller companies also have t h e i r o w n n e t w o r k s o f regional contacts. These m i g h t i n c l u d e DJs a n d mixers w h o are responsive t o trends o n t h e dance f l o o r a n d adept at i d e n t i f y i n g i m p o r t s t h a t m i g h t be w o r t h a c q u i r i n g . S t u d i o producers a n d engineers w o r k i n g w i t h unsigned artists m i g h t pass o n i n f o r m a t i o n , as w i l l people i n rehearsal r o o m s a n d local clubs,
magazines,
fanzines a n d r e g i o n a l r a d i o stations. People at all p o i n t s i n this ever-changing w e b are constantly c u l t i v a t i n g n e w contacts a n d c o n s o l i d a t i n g existing relationships, a n d i t is w i t h i n these netw o r k s t h a t interest i n a p a r t i c u l a r act o r r e c o r d i n g is usually i n i t i a t e d . Rarely do staff f r o m m a j o r r e c o r d companies approach p o t e n t i a l artists ' c o l d ' . For the s t u d i o - q u a l i t y tape they are about t o hear, t h e v i d e o they are about t o v i e w o r t h e showcase p e r f o r m a n c e they are about t o witness, the A & R staff _ have usually been p r e p a r e d w i t h p r i o r k n o w l e d g e w h i c h has been disseminated a n d a c q u i r e d t h r o u g h these n e t w o r k s .
Talent scouts R e c o r d companies also r e c r u i t y o u n g staff w h o are receptive t o i m m e d i a t e changes a n d e m e r g i n g trends amongst various y o u t h groups o r w i t h i n specific musical genres. T h i s is a practice w h i c h can be traced back t o the reorganisat i o n o f the music business i n t h e 1950s w h e n the i n d u s t r y began t o restructure i n o r d e r t o deal w i t h younger consumers i n a less a r b i t r a r y manner ( G i l l e t t , 1 9 8 3 ) . I n t h e late 1960s r e c o r d companies e m p l o y e d house hippies t o establish contact w i t h t h e counter c u l t u r e a n d u n d e r g r o u n d musical c o m m u n i t y ( D i i e l l o , 1 9 8 3 ) . I n the 1970s p u n k fanzine w r i t e r s were enticed i n t o r e c o r d companies, a n d disc jockeys were r e c r u i t e d f r o m n i g h t clubs d u r i n g the dance music b o o m o f the 1980s.
Priorities and Prejudice 299 T h e y o u n g p e r s o n n e l e m p l o y e d b y r e c o r d companies o f t e n have a dual r o l e o f b r i n g i n g m a t e r i a l i n t o the c o m p a n y a n d p r o m o t i n g t h e c o m p a n y ' s r e c o r d ings i n clubs o r amongst p a r t i c u l a r audiences. T h e e m p l o y m e n t o f these staff can enhance a c o m p a n y ' s image b y presenting a ' h i p ' a n d k n o w l e d g e a b l e face t o prospective artists, a n d i f w o r k i n g p a r t - t i m e as a disc jockey o r j o u r n a l i s t these staff m a y b r i n g a f u r t h e r n e t w o r k o f contacts w i t h i n t h e o r b i t o f t h e c o m p a n y . I n t h e course o f t h e i r w o r k talent scouts become acquainted w i t h the j u n i o r A & R staff at o t h e r companies a n d hence they are able t o p r o v i d e useful i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t w h a t is g o i n g o n elsewhere. Talent scouts spend t h e i r t i m e v i s i t i n g t w o o r three gigs o r clubs per n i g h t , and c o n t i n u a l l y l i s t e n i n g t o ' d e m o ' tapes. T h e y t e n d t o have v e r y l i t t l e responsibility
within
A & R departments,
a l t h o u g h they
m a y occasionally
be
i n v o l v e d i n b r i n g i n g an artist t o a r e c o r d c o m p a n y a n d m i g h t l o o k after m i n o r aspects o f t h a t artist's career. Talent scouts are p r i m a r i l y e m p l o y e d t o keep t h e c o m p a n y i n t o u c h w i t h musical changes a n d u p t o date w i t h developments a m o n g s t o t h e r companies. Despite t h e i r j o b t i t l e they t e n d t o b r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e c o m p a n y rather t h a n ' t a l e n t ' ; this they w i l l d o i f they manage t o stay at t h e c o m p a n y l o n g e n o u g h t o become an A & R manager.
[...]
British A b R culture and the rock tradition I n a n account o f r e c o r d c o m p a n y A & R departments based o n research c o n d u c t e d i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e 1970s, S i m o n F r i t h ( 1 9 7 6 ) described h o w staff w e r e d r a w n f r o m a variety o f b a c k g r o u n d s , i n c l u d i n g music w r i t e r s , disc jockeys, musicians, p r o m o t e r s a n d sales staff. Between 1 9 8 9 a n d 1 9 9 2 , w h e n m y o w n research was c a r r i e d o u t , A & R staff w e r e still d r a w n f r o m similar backg r o u n d s . H o w e v e r , t h e range o f occupations that A & R staff are r e c r u i t e d f r o m belies t h e characteristics a n d c u l t u r a l values t h a t they share i n c o m m o n . T h e m a j o r i t y o f staff i n v o l v e d i n a c q u i r i n g artists f o r m a j o r r e c o r d companies are w h i t e , male a n d have entered t h e i n d u s t r y f r o m w h a t m i g h t loosely be called t h e college-rock t r a d i t i o n . T h e d i r e c t o r o f a small management c o m p a n y t h a t represented r o c k , p o p a n d dance acts was o n e o f a f e w people t o r e m a r k o n this bias: You can get a third division rock act a serious amount of money. If you're dealing w i t h black dance, and I use the racial thing significantly, then quite often you're hard pushed to get any kind of treatment of the same order.... I n the record companies individuals come from the rock tradition. Hardly ever do they come strictly from a soul, r'n'b, dance tradition. Very, very rarely. You know, they've been social sees at college. What do social sees at college deal with? They deal w i t h bands, and they get used to that, and they come through the system and they go on. Or, they come out of bands themselves. Quite a lot of the staff in record companies were i n bands. Very rarely i n anything but a rock band. N o w and again producers, but generally they're producing white acts, w h o , by and large, w i l l be in the rock tradition. And there is a belief, a kind of belief that is really hard to break down.
300
Producers and Production These c o m m e n t s about the b a c k g r o u n d o f staff w e r e echoed i n an i n d u s t r y trade magazine p r o f i l e w h i c h appeared f o l l o w i n g the a p p o i n t m e n t o f Paul C o n r o y t o President o f T h e Chrysalis G r o u p i n 1989: Getting back to Conroy's roots in the business and some clues as to why he is so universally liked, he is one of a long line of college social sees of similar age (Conroy is just 40) w h o now man the middle and upper echelons of the UK music industry. For those unfamiliar w i t h the British education system, social secretaries are a breed of students most prevalent in the Sixties and Seventies heyday of the live college circuit who devoted more time to booking bands than to their studies. Chrysalis founders Chris Wright and Terry Ellis, as well as Conroy's W E A boss Rob Dickins, got hooked on the music business in just such that way. (Dalton, 1989, p. 10) D u r i n g the 1960s there was an expansion i n B r i t i s h higher e d u c a t i o n , a n d a change i n the c o m p o s i t i o n o f the audience f o r c o m m e r c i a l p o p u l a r music. Whereas the music o f the r o c k ' n ' r o l l era h a d been associated w i t h w o r k i n g class teenagers, d u r i n g the 1960s various elements o f p o p w e r e ' a p p r o p r i a t e d ' a n d re-christened ' r o c k ' by a recently enfranchised g r a m m a r school student a n d ' h i p ' m i d d l e class audience
(Chambers,
1 9 8 5 ) . Rock was n o t o n l y a
source o f pleasure f o r these consumers, b u t i t was i m b u e d w i t h l i b e r t a r i a n a n d artistic allusions as the emergent m i d d l e class audience (and artists) d r e w o n an aesthetic v o c a b u l a r y i n h e r i t e d f r o m an a p p r e c i a t i o n o f E u r o p e a n h i g h c u l t u r e . T h e 'increased l e g i t i m a t i o n o f r o c k music' d u r i n g the 1960s d i r e c t l y a c c o m p a n i e d a s h i f t i n the social class b a c k g r o u n d o f the audiences a n d perf o r m e r s (Vulliamy, 1 9 7 7 ) . T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between r o c k a n d the n e w l y educated m i d d l e class f r e q u e n t l y f o u n d expression i n events associated w i t h the student c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e , i n w h i c h music was o f t e n central. O n e consequence o f this was t h a t a n u m b e r o f educated,
m i d d l e class, m i l d l y b o h e m i a n y o u n g people
were
attracted i n t o a n d actively r e c r u i t e d by the music industry. I n a business w h i c h has a h i g h t u r n o v e r o f staff, reputations are established b u t are easily lost; executive careers f o l l o w artists i n t o obscurity. H i s t o r i c a l l y , those w h o entered the B r i t i s h r e c o r d i n g i n d u s t r y d u r i n g the late 1960s a n d early 1970s, a n d w h o h a d r e m a i n e d , w e r e i n higher corporate management, r u n n i n g an A &
R
d e p a r t m e n t o r m a n a g i n g a label by the 1990s. T h r o u g h o u t this p e r i o d a 25 year t r a d i t i o n h a d been established d u r i n g w h i c h staff were r e c r u i t e d i n t o A &
R departments f r o m similar backgrounds o r w i t h similar w o r k i n g e x p e r i -
ences, musical tastes a n d preferences.
[...]
In touch with the street, man I n 1 9 9 0 , Dave Massey, w h o was w o r k i n g f o r Chrysalis M u s i c , c o m p a r e d gett i n g i n t o A 8c R t o ' j o i n i n g the masons, d i f f i c u l t f o r everyone, nearly i m p o s s i ble f o r w o m e n ' . I n the course o f the research f o r this b o o k I spoke t o one
Priorities and Prejudice 301 w o m a n w h o h a d w o r k e d i n artist a n d r e p e r t o i r e i n B r i t a i n . A t t h e t i m e o f o u r m e e t i n g she was w o r k i n g i n t h e U n i t e d States. Reflecting o n t h e lack o f w o m e n i n A & R she said: Fll tell you why I think there are not many women i n it. Because, number one, it's a very chauvinistic industry, i t really is. Number t w o , the A 8c R lifestyle does not suit the majority of women at all. The fact of going out every night to clubs, being up all night i n sleazy, dodgy clubs or whatever. A l t h o u g h a n u m b e r o f y o u n g e r staff w h o h a d entered the r e c o r d i n g i n d u s t r y d u r i n g t h e 1980s, a n d w h o were m a i n l y i n v o l v e d i n dance, p o p a n d soul music, h a d begun t o question the usefulness o f seeking artists i n pubs a n d clubs, A & R departments still t e n d t o be d o m i n a t e d b y staff d r a w n f r o m r o c k c u l t u r e w i t h its emphasis o n p e r f o r m i n g live i n f r o n t o f an audience i n a ' n a t u r a l ' setting. I n a d d i t i o n , a n d cliched as i t m i g h t s o u n d , a n u m b e r o f people i n r e c o r d companies espouse a belief o f 'being i n t o u c h w i t h the street' a n d ' t h e k i d s ' . These terms were used quite seriously b y a n u m b e r o f artist a n d repert o i r e staff a n d senior executives w h o described their w o r k t o me. A s this female A & R manager herself r e p l i e d w h e n I asked w h e t h e r this type o f approach, a n d t h e lifestyle i t i m p l i e d , was still necessary: ' O h I t h i n k so. You have t o be o u t there, i n t o u c h w i t h t h e street. It's all about those kids o u t there.' T h i s emphasis o n t h e street - n o matter h o w r o m a n t i c i s e d , a n d w h e t h e r i t really is w h e r e m o s t artists are f o u n d - f u r t h e r reinforces t h e male c u l t u r e o f artist a n d r e p e r t o i r e . Because most o f 'the k i d s ' , o u t there, o n t h e street a n d i n the sleazy clubs are male. As A n g e l a M c R o b b i e has p o i n t e d o u t , w i t h its negat i v e m o r a l c o n n o t a t i o n s f o r w o m e n a n d t h e very real threat o f violence 'street v i s i b i l i t y ... b o t h p r o c l a i m s t h e p u b l i c i z a t i o n o f the g r o u p a n d at t h e same t i m e ensures its male d o m i n a n c e ... t h e street remains i n some ways t a b o o f o r w o m e n ' ( 1 9 8 0 , p 4 7 ) . H e n c e , this a p p r o a c h militates against f i n d i n g artists w h o m i g h t be ' i n t h e h o m e ' a n d is p a r t o f a w o r k i n g practice w h i c h operates t o exclude w o m e n f r o m this area o f the r e c o r d i n g industry. I n discussing w h a t she enjoyed a b o u t her w o r k t h e A & R manager q u o t e d above emphasised a m o r e personal a p p r o a c h t o t h e j o b t h a n t h e male A & R staff I spoke t o . H e r w o r k i n v o l v e d : dealing w i t h people, and their lives as well; their personal problems, their fuck ups, their mental whatever, their little quirks. A n d my A & R forte is understanding those people and respecting that and trying to w o r k w i t h that and being supportive to them. Supporting their musicality, and believing i n them, and being there to hold their hands when i t gets rough. That's what I ' m about. They'll bring me i n when there's problems w i t h artists. I ' m good at understanding them ... I do think that record companies would save themselves a bloody fortune i f they had an in-house psychiatrist. M a n y A & R m e n have been i n bands themselves a n d give t h e i m p r e s s i o n o f l i v i n g o u t t h e r o c k lifestyle b y p r o x y , t h r o u g h t h e artists they are w o r k i n g w i t h . T h e y t e n d t o stress t h e ' b u z z ' a n d excitement f r o m the music a n d are
302
Producers and Production o f t e n m o s t a n i m a t e d w h e n discussing the possibility o f f i n d i n g the ' n e x t - b i g t h i n g ' . A l t h o u g h just as i n v o l v e d i n ' n u r t u r i n g ' artists, this was usually discussed i n terms o f t h e pragmatics
o f s o n g w r i t i n g , studio p r o d u c t i o n a n d
a r r a n g i n g . I n contrast this female A & R manager emphasised the s u p p o r t i v e , c a r i n g a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g side o f the w o r k , a n d the w a y i n w h i c h this aspect was actively u t i l i s e d by the c o m p a n y w h o ' b r o u g h t her i n ' i f there was a p r o b l e m w i t h artists. A t t h e same t i m e she was just as i n v o l v e d i n c r i t i c i s i n g her act's songs, n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h producers a n d overseeing studio p r o d u c t i o n .
Priorities and prejudice D u r i n g a decisive phase i n the f o r m a t i o n o f the m o d e r n p o p u l a r music i n d u s try, the d o m i n a n t practices w i t h i n the artist a n d repertoire departments o f the m a j o r r e c o r d companies i n B r i t a i n have been established b y staff d r a w n f r o m backgrounds w i t h i n t h e r o c k t r a d i t i o n . These staff have been p r e d o m i n a n t l y w h i t e , male a n d college educated.
U n l i k e t h e U n i t e d States, w h e r e
record
companies have e m p l o y e d specialist, p r e d o m i n a n t l y black, staff t o acquire a n d p r o m o t e artists i n t h e areas o f rap, dance, soul a n d r h y t h m a n d blues, there has been a conspicuous absence o f black people i n the major labels i n B r i t a i n . O n e o f the f e w notable exceptions t o this has been Island Records w h e r e t h e distinctive character o f the c o m p a n y has developed under the influence o f its f o u n d e r C h r i s B l a c k w e l l a n d t h r o u g h a steady t r a d i t i o n o f w o r k i n g w i t h artists f r o m the Caribbean. I n most o f the r e c o r d labels i n B r i t a i n there is o n l y the occasional black messenger, talent scout o r accountant; t h e vast m a j o r i t y o f staff are w h i t e . H o w e v e r , i t is n o t s i m p l y that there have been h a r d l y any w o m e n o r black people i n key d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g positions; i t is that there have been f e w people f r o m a p o p u l a r music t r a d i t i o n other t h a n r o c k . T h i s has resulted i n a takenf o r - g r a n t e d w a y o f w o r k i n g i n w h i c h staff v i e w artists that can be a c c o m m o dated t o t h e naturalistic organic conventions
o f t h e r o c k t r a d i t i o n as l o n g
t e r m career acts, a n d p o p , soul a n d dance acts as short t e r m , fashion dependent artists. These are v i e w e d as artists w h o m i g h t attain l o n g e v i t y o r p r o d u c e a career, b u t by chance o r accident, rather t h a n t h r o u g h strategic p l a n n i n g . As Ian H o a r e ( 1 9 7 5 ) once p o i n t e d o u t , the naturalistic ideology o f r o c k has t e n d ed t o p r o m o t e a very s i m p l i f i e d and restrictive attitude w h i c h regards m u c h soul as a 'cheapened' a n d ' d i l u t e d ' version o f m o r e authentic f o r m s o f music. T h e r e has been an u n c r i t i c a l and selective acceptance o f the e n d u r i n g d o m i nance o f the r o c k t r a d i t i o n over other musical styles, a n d t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f the taste preferences, aesthetic values a n d p r e f e r r e d w o r k i n g practices o f this loosely aligned d o m i n a n t g r o u p have set the p r i o r i t i e s for the acquisition a n d f u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t policies o f the major r e c o r d companies. T h i s has been r e p r o d u c e d a n d m a i n t a i n e d by existing staff a n d t h r o u g h r e c r u i t m e n t policies. Staff t e n d t o be selected t o f i t i n t o t h e existing A & R c u l t u r e , w h e r e there is peer g r o u p pressure t o c o n f o r m , w h i c h is r e i n f o r c e d by
Priorities and Prejudice 303 constant c o n t a c t w i t h o t h e r A & R staff at gigs, i n studios a n d at music business events. T h e r e is also the risk o f f a i l i n g a n d m a k i n g a mistake, w h i c h results i n a tendency t o sign acts w h i c h can be easily a c c o m m o d a t e d t o existi n g c o n v e n t i o n s a n d routes w h i c h have p r o v e d successful i n the past. W i l l t h e n a t u r a l i s t i c r o c k aesthetic break d o w n t h r o u g h o u t the 1990s? A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f the decade some c o m m e n t a t o r s w e r e c l a i m i n g t h a t dance m u s i c h a d ' b r o k e n the m o u l d ' a n d t h a t the emphasis o n the live r o c k act was d i m i n i s h i n g . H o w e v e r , n o t m a n y B r i t i s h dance acts w e r e established b e y o n d a f e w records. Soul I I Soul w e r e one o f the rare exceptions, w h i c h b o t h excited a n d c o n f u s e d v a r i o u s r e c o r d i n g i n d u s t r y personnel d e p e n d i n g o n t h e i r m u s i c a l taste a n d t h e i r assumptions
about w h i c h
types o f artists c o u l d
achieve w i d e s p r e a d success w i t h albums. I t is clear t h a t considerable investm e n t is s t i l l b e i n g p o u r e d i n t o c o n v e n t i o n a l r o c k bands i n an a t t e m p t t o emulate
the w o r l d w i d e
c o m m e r c i a l success o f U 2 , Simple
Straits, R E M a n d Guns'n'Roses British
Minds,
Dire
a n d there has been, conspicuously,
e q u i v a l e n t t o M a d o n n a , Prince
no
or M i c h a e l Jackson. As C y n t h i a
C h e r r y f r o m the E t e r n a l r e c o r d label, p a r t o f Warner M u s i c , r e m a r k e d i n 1 9 9 1 : ' I f i n d t h a t f o r black music, a l o t o f companies s t i l l d o n ' t u n d e r s t a n d it. T h e record companies
are still n o t b e h i n d dance i n the w a y they are
b e h i n d the b i g live act. I f they gave dance acts the push t h a t r o c k acts get, it c o u l d r e a l l y break t h r o u g h . '
References Bayton, M . 1989: How women become rock musicians. Ph.D. Thesis, Warwick University. Bennett, H . 1980: On becoming a rock musician. University of Massachusetts Press. Chambers, I . 1985: Urban rhythms. Macmillan. Cohen, S. 1991: Rock culture in Liverpool: popular music in the making. Clarendon Press. Dalton, D . 1989: The marketing miracle worker. Europe Etc, Music Week Publication (September 1989), 10. Denisoff, R. 1975: Solid gold: the popular record industry. Transaction Books. Denisoff, R. 1986: Tarnished gold: the record industry revisited. Transaction Books. Dilello, R. 1983: The longest cocktail party. Pierian Press. Finnegan, R. 1989: The hidden musicians: music making in an English town. Cambridge University Press. Fornás, J. 1989: Papers on pop and youth culture. Working paper 1, Centre for Mass Communication Research, University of Stockholm. Frith, S. 1976: The A 8c R M e n . In Gillet, C. and Frith, S. (eds.), Rock file 4. Panther. Frith, S. 1983: Sound effects: youth, leisure and the politics of rock'n'roll. Constable. Garfield, S. 1986: Expensive habits: the dark side of the music industry. Faber & Faber. Gillett, C. 1983: The sound of the city. Souvenir Press. Gray, H . 1988: Producing jazz. Temple University Press. Hirsch, P. 1972: Processing fads and fashions: an organizational set analysis of cultural industry systems. American Journal of Sociology 77(4), 639-59. Hoare, I . 1975: Introduction. In Hoare, I . , Anderson, C , Cummings, T. and Frith, S., The soul book. Methuen.
304
Producers and Production Lambert, D . 1980: Producing hit records. Schirmer/Macmillan. McRobbie, A. 1980: Settling accounts w i t h subcultures: a feminist critique. Screen Education 34, 37-49. Rogan, J. 1988: Starmakers and Svengalis. Futura. Vulliamy, G. 1977: Music and the mass culture debate. I n Shepherd, J., Virden, P., Vulliamy, G . and Wishart, T. (eds.), Whose music? A sociology of musical languages. Latimer New Directions.
Questions 1
2 3
What are the main responsibilities of Artist & Repertoire staff, according to this extract? What is their relation to other departments within a record company, e.g. the marketing department and the distribution team? How do their roles change according to whether they work for large or small record companies? According to Negus, what are the limitations of the 'gatekeeping' model when applied to those who work in the music industry? As far as Negus is concerned, A & R men will frequently seek to replicate success with similar formulae, and groups may be 'artificially' created and marketed to this end (the Monkees being one of the first bands contrived to imitate and cash in on the success of another - the Beatles - in the 1960s). Yet music fans - particularly young fans - will often show strong allegiance to a band because of their perceived uniqueness and originality, their 'authenticity', and strongly reject or ridicule bands which may fall into the same musical style. In your opinion, to what extent are fans expressing real choice in following a particular group and to what extent are they manipulated by the marketing departments of the major record labels?
Further reading Cohen, S. 1 9 9 1 : Rock culture i n Liverpool: popular music i n the making. O x f o r d : Clarendon Press. Finnegan, R. 1989: The hidden musicians: music making in an English town. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Frith, S. 1983: Sound effects: youth, leisure and the politics of rock V roll. London: Constable. Frith, S. and Goodwin, A . (eds.) 1990: On record, rock, pop and the written word. London: Routledge. Hesmondhalgh, D . 1996: Rethinking popular music after rock and soul. I n Curran, J., Morley, D . and Walkerdine, V , Cultural studies and communications. London: Edward A r n o l d . Lewis, L . (ed.) 1992: The adoring audience: fan culture and popular media. London: Routledge. L u l l , J. (ed.) 1991: Popular music and communication, 2nd edn. London: Sage. Street, J. 1992: Shock waves: the authoritative response to popular music. I n Strinati, D . and Wagg, S., Come on down? Popular media culture in post war Britain. London: Routledge.
28 How Are Television Soaps Produced? Richard Kilborn From Television soaps (Batsford 1992)
Many media researchers have written about soap opera in recent years, but by and large the focus has been on the reception rather than the production of soaps. In this extract, taken from a study which looks at both processes, Kilborn extends the focus of interest to a number of production issues, including technical concerns, financial restrictions and the roles of scriptwriters and actors, and demonstrates, like previous writers included in this section, that producers are not entirely independent or autonomous but are subject to a range of institutional constraints and influences. He also notes that the viewers of soaps are equally active participants in the production process, often negotiating or producing meanings other than those intended by the writers, directors and producers. For Kilborn, many soaps in Britain and America play a vital role in the overall programme schedules and policy decisions of the institutions which broadcast them, being shown at peak times and delivering large audiences to advertisers and TV executives. The BBC is not exempt from such commercial' pressures, and soaps - or continuous drama serials as they prefer to call them - play an important role in enabling the BBC to justify the continuation and cost of the annual licence fee. The great appeal of producing soaps, then, as opposed to, for example, one-off period costume dramas, is the relatively low investment costs coupled with high returns in terms of audience figures and, in the case of the commercial channels, advertising revenue. The main problem for the producers of soap, however, lies in the task of maintaining high production standards (the days of wobbly sets and fluffed lines are long gone in British soaps) in the face ofrigoroustime schedules and strict deadlines - a problem made all the more acute as many soaps contemplate increasing the number of episodes to four or even five per week. The necessity to adhere to strict deadlines has resulted in producers of soap adopting an industrial mode of production, with all the connotations of routine, discipline and hierarchy which that implies. Nowhere is that more evident than in scriptwriting and direction, which, according to Kilborn, rank fairly low in the production hierarchy. Usually employed in large numbers and on fixed-term contracts, no writer or director has real autonomy or influence because, in the interests of historical continuity and consistency from episode to episode, a text cannot be stamped with any individual writer's distinctive character or a particular director's creative flair, and scripts must preserve the illusion of originating from an unauthored source. Finally, Kilborn addresses the role of actors in TV soaps, discussing the pros and cons of appearing in a long-running regular TV series. He notes that the 'killing off' of a popular soap character can elicit storms of protest from viewers, underlining his earlier comments about audiences being active producers of meaning, and he concludes that the
306
Producers and Production unpredictability of audience tastes means that there is no such thing as a guaranteed success, even in the overwhelmingly popular and competitive world of soap.
I n this chapter w e shall be e x p l o r i n g a number o f issues relating t o t h e m a k i n g o f television soaps, p r i n c i p a l l y the contexts a n d t h e m a i n processes Restrictions
i n w h i c h the p r o d u c t i o n takes place
i n v o l v e d i n the p u t t i n g together o f a T V d r a m a serial.
o f space mean that w e w i l l o n l y be able t o cover t h e broader
aspects o f p r o d u c t i o n , a l t h o u g h , where a p p r o p r i a t e , readers w i l l be directed t o accounts w h i c h give a far m o r e detailed description o f h o w i n d i v i d u a l soap operas reach o u r screens. A f u r t h e r objective o f the chapter w i l l be t o correct certain popular, b u t mistaken, notions o f h o w soaps are actually produced. This is n o t t o suggest that many viewers are o f the belief that soap actors and actresses are m a k i n g i t u p as they g o along, b u t there is a distinct danger - particularly given the style o f r e p o r t i n g i n some o f the t a b l o i d journals - that some phases o r aspects o f p r o d u c t i o n w i l l be given a m u c h higher p r o f i l e t h a n others. T h e constant stream o f t a b l o i d stories about the lives a n d loves o f leading players i n soaps may, f o r instance, give a very exaggerated impression o f their importance w i t h i n the larger p r o d u c t i o n cycle a n d obscure the role o f others i n the p r o d u c t i o n hierarchy. A m o r e accurate idea o f h o w soaps are made is p r o v i d e d b y the occasional behind-the-scenes television documentaries
a n d the chapters i n those ' o f f i c i a l
c o m p a n i o n ' volumes w h i c h address p r o d u c t i o n issues. H e r e again the picture that readers o r viewers get may w e l l be somewhat partial, since the w o r k s i n question are generally conceived as part o f a p r o m o t i o n a l drive t o sustain interest i n the soap i n question, so any major problems w h i c h have been encountered i n , say, financing the serial, t e n d n o t t o be given particular prominence.
Who produces what? A somewhat d i f f e r e n t approach t o the issue o f p r o d u c t i o n is t o start b y asking questions about w h a t is actually being p r o d u c e d . T h e common-sense response t o such an enquiry is that the c o m b i n e d evidence o f tens o f thousands o f T V soap episodes a l l emanating f r o m the same source should leave one i n little d o u b t as t o w h o is p r o d u c i n g w h a t . A d o p t i n g o n l y a slightly different perspective, however, i t is just as feasible t o conclude that the audience itself is crucially i n v o l v e d i n the business o f p r o d u c t i o n . Viewers are n o t so m u c h passive r e c i p i ents o f w h a t television offers, b u t rather are active participants i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n process - i n the sense that they d o n o t simply read o f f the meanings i m p l a n t e d there b y a producer-author
b u t produce
their
o w n meanings
t h r o u g h a m o r e active process, w h i c h can be t h o u g h t o f as o n e o f n e g o t i a t i o n .
1
T h e c l a i m that meanings are generated p r i n c i p a l l y i n t h e m i n d s o f viewers o r readers is o n e w h i c h can be a p p l i e d t o a w i d e variety o f b o t h literary a n d visual texts, b u t i t seems especially applicable i n the case o f soap opera....
fs]oaps
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 307 encourage a very active f o r m o f response f o r audiences. I t is o u t o f this constant exchange o f views a n d speculation that the 'meanings' o f soap opera are p r o d u c e d . As Taylor a n d M u l l a n observe i n their discussion o f audience v i e w i n g habits, largely based o n a study o f soaps: ' i t seems that television drama has o n l y p r o p e r l y o c c u r r e d , been t h o r o u g h l y realised, w h e n the plots a n d the m o r a l messages they c o n t a i n have been discussed a n d i n t e r p r e t e d a n d re-dramatised i n the c o m p a n y o f friends o r mere acquaintances' ( 1 9 8 7 , p . 2 0 6 ) . As w e l l as asking questions a b o u t how meanings are p r o d u c e d , o n e can also l e g i t i m a t e l y begin t o ask questions
about what
is being p r o d u c e d i n soap
o p e r a . A g a i n t h e o b v i o u s response is t o observe that t h e evidence, say i n t h e f o r m o f 3 0 years o f Coronation
Street,
is p l a i n l y there f o r all t o see. A n alter-
native v i e w , h o w e v e r , is t o say that i t is n o t a regular supply o f television e n t e r t a i n m e n t t h a t is being p r o d u c e d , b u t a large a n d l o y a l c o n t i n g e n t o f v i e w e r s . A s o n e c r i t i c o f the soap genre p u t i t most succinctly: ' O n e does n o t have t o be a cynic t o h o l d t h e v i e w that television t r a n s f o r m s viewers i n t o u n i t s o f e c o n o m i c exchange' ( A l l e n , 1 9 8 5 , p . 4 5 ) . Since o n e o f the highest p r i orities o f c o m m e r c i a l television has been t o deliver viewers i n t o t h e hands o f advertisers ( T V a d v e r t i s i n g rates are measured i n terms o f w h a t i t costs t o 'reach'
a t h o u s a n d viewers), i t is n o t d i f f i c u l t t o see w h y such
reliable
a u d i e n c e - p r o d u c i n g p r o g r a m m e s as soaps s h o u l d always have featured p r o m i n e n t l y i n c o m m e r c i a l schedules.
2
W h i l s t i t m a y be a p p r o p r i a t e t o t a l k o f audiences being p r o d u c e d f o r advertisers w i t h i n a television system largely financed o u t o f advertising, h o w is o n e t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e economics o f soap opera p r o d u c t i o n w i t h i n t h e n o n - c o m m e r c i a l sphere? A s w e have already h a d occasion t o c o m m e n t , over t h e years the B B C has h a d s o m e t h i n g less t h a n a t h o r o u g h - g o i n g c o m m i t m e n t t o soap o p e r a p r o d u c t i o n , b e l i e v i n g t h a t p a n d e r i n g t o o m u c h t o p o p u l a r taste m i g h t u n d e r m i n e its o t h e r i m p o r t a n t a i m o f p r o v i d i n g a measure o f c u l t u r a l e n l i g h t e n m e n t . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d the c o r p o r a t i o n has at times t u r n e d t o t h e c o n t i n uous d r a m a serial ( p r e f e r r e d B B C t e r m i n o l o g y ) w h e n i t felt i t needed t o c o m p e t e w i t h I T V f o r t h e television audience. M a n y observers, f o r instance, have seen the a r r i v a l o f EastEnders
i n the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s as d i r e c t l y r e s u l t i n g f r o m
the B B C ' s u r g e n t need t o p r o d u c e a b i g ratings success at a t i m e w h e n the corp o r a t i o n was b e i n g made t o feel t h a t i t was vulnerable t o various f o r m s o f attack ( B u c k i n g h a m , 1 9 8 7 , p p . 1 1 7 - 1 8 ) . T h e h i g h ratings o b t a i n e d b y EastEnders
have t h e r e f o r e , i n t h e o p i n i o n o f
m a n y observers, p r o v e d a valuable asset i n t h e c o r p o r a t i o n ' s c o n t i n u i n g quest t o o b t a i n adequate levels o f f u n d i n g t h r o u g h t h e government-supervised licence fee system. T h e p r o g r a m m e has also p r o v e d t o have e c o n o m i c p o t e n t i a l i n its o w n r i g h t . I t has sold w e l l a b r o a d ... a n d has also p r o v i d e d t h e B B C w i t h m a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r c o m m e r c i a l e x p l o i t a t i o n . T h i s can take t h e f o r m o f d i r e c t s p i n - o f f s f r o m t h e p r o g r a m m e itself (home-videos, books based o n t h e lives o f earlier generations o f 'East Enders') o r can be o n e o f various types o f m e r c h a n d i s i n g (sales o f T-shirts, mugs a n d other desirable c o m m o d i t i e s ) .
308
Producers and Production
Taking the lid off TV soap production Various factors have t o be taken i n t o account w h e n t a l k i n g about the p r o d u c t i o n o f T V soaps. O n e m a j o r consideration is that they are made f o r t h e most p a r t b y o r f o r large broadcasting i n s t i t u t i o n s o r companies a n d w i l l , f o r this reason, be subject t o a w h o l e series o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l constraints a n d influences. These range f r o m w h a t funds are i n i t i a l l y made available t o start a p r o j e c t , t o w h a t niche i t is envisaged t h e p r o g r a m m e w i l l occupy i n a p a r t i c u l a r b r o a d casting schedule, o r w h a t p r o d u c t i o n resources - i n t h e f o r m o f s t u d i o a n d technical facilities - can be allocated o n a fairly l o n g - t e r m basis. A l l this means that w h i l s t at a n y o n e t i m e creative m i n d s are s p a w n i n g m a n y n e w ideas o r scenarios f o r n e w soaps, o n l y a small p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e m stand a chance o f ever g e t t i n g b e y o n d the ' i n i t i a l o u t l i n e ' stage. As t o w h o determines w h a t p r o grammes actually g o i n t o p r o d u c t i o n , this decision usually lies w i t h a small g r o u p o f i n d i v i d u a l s at t h e head o f some o r g a n i z a t i o n a l hierarchy, w h e t h e r this be t h e management staff o f Procter a n d G a m b l e P r o d u c t i o n s I n c . o r t o p executives at the B B C . W h i l s t i t is n o t always possible t o account f o r a l l t h e forces - i n s t i t u t i o n a l and
o t h e r w i s e - w h i c h have affected t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r soap
o p e r a , o n e c a n n o t underestimate t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f budgetary matters. T h e glossiness o f t h e A m e r i c a n soaps, especially Dynasty,
supersoaps
like Dallas
and
has m u c h t o d o w i t h the generous budgets w h i c h are made available
( t h o u g h t h e p h e n o m e n a l i n t e r n a t i o n a l success o f these p r o d u c t s m o r e t h a n justifies t h e h i g h p r o d u c t i o n costs). O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w h e r e p r o d u c t i o n teams are w o r k i n g w i t h i n m u c h t i g h t e r budgets, modes o f p r o d u c t i o n w i l l have t o be e m p l o y e d w h i c h w i l l balance t h e d e m a n d f o r a q u a l i t y p r o d u c t w i t h t h e f i n a n c i a l l i m i t a t i o n s under w h i c h they are o p e r a t i n g . I n E u r o p e , f o r instance, w e are n o w seeing a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f examples o f soap operas made b y m u c h smaller p r o d u c t i o n teams o n relatively l o w budgets.
3
T h o u g h budgets have an i m p o r t a n t d e t e r m i n i n g influence o n t h e sort o f soaps t h a t are p r o d u c e d , there are also other factors w h i c h have t o be t a k e n i n t o account. D e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e structures o f broadcasting can i n t h e m selves o f t e n lead t o changes i n techniques o r modes o f p r o d u c t i o n . I n B r i t a i n , for instance, w e have witnessed over the last f e w years a significant increase i n the n u m b e r o f small o r m e d i u m - s i z e d television companies, as d e m a n d f o r o u t - o f - h o u s e p r o g r a m m e m a k i n g has g r o w n ( p a r t l y as a result o f the a r r i v a l o f C h a n n e l 4 a n d p a r t l y as a consequence o f g o v e r n m e n t encouragement o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t p r o d u c t i o n sector). These companies have n o t o n l y been responsible f o r various types o f n e w - l o o k p r o g r a m m i n g , they have also o n occasions devised certain i n n o v a t o r y p r o d u c t i o n techniques. T h e c o m p a n y w h i c h makes the C h a n n e l
4 soap Brookside,
Phil R e d m o n d ' s
Liverpool-based
Mersey
Television, is a g o o d example o f t h e successful i n t r o d u c t i o n o f n e w - a n d R e d m o n d w o u l d argue m o r e effective - procedures f o r p u t t i n g together a t r i w e e k l y serial.
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 309 I n the case o f Brookside
this has i n v o l v e d a c q u i r i n g a n u m b e r o f houses o n a
s m a l l p r i v a t e estate a n d f i t t i n g t h e m o u t i n such a w a y t h a t they c o u l d f o r m a p e r m a n e n t set. T h i s has n o t o n l y b r o u g h t benefits i n t h e shape o f r e d u c e d costs, i t also has enabled r e c o r d i n g t o take place i n a s i t u a t i o n far r e m o v e d f r o m t h e ' a r t i f i c i a l i t y ' o f the large studio-based television factories; t h e c l a i m b e i n g t h a t o n e is better able t o capture a live atmosphere i n this w a y a n d thus convey a greater sense o f realism.
Cost advantages of soaps T h e examples c i t e d above give some i n d i c a t i o n o f the d i f f e r e n t modes w h i c h can be e m p l o y e d i n the p r o d u c t i o n o f T V drama serials. A t one end o f the scale there are the A m e r i c a n supersoaps w h i c h are f o r the most p a r t n o t o n l y r e c o r d ed o n f i l m b u t use m a n y o f the techniques w e associate w i t h H o l l y w o o d - s t y l e f i l m m a k i n g . A t t h e other e n d o f t h e scale w e have relatively modest, smallscale p r o d u c t i o n s w h e r e t h e emphasis is o n cost efficiency a n d quite a short p r o d u c t i o n cycle. I n t h e f o l l o w i n g section w e shall confine ourselves m a i n l y t o l o o k i n g at w h a t goes i n t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f the m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l type o f b i - o r t r i - w e e k l y soap, such as EastEnders
o r Coronation
Street,
since these are t h e
p r o g r a m m e s w i t h w h i c h readers w i l l p r o b a b l y be most familiar. F r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i e w o f broadcasters, soaps always have t h e advantage o f b e i n g m u c h less costly t h a n o t h e r f o r m s o f T V d r a m a , especially i f t h e very large audiences w h i c h a soap can usually be r e l i e d o n t o generate are i n c l u d e d i n t h e calculations. T h e reasons f o r soaps' relative cost-effectiveness are n o t d i f f i c u l t t o f a t h o m . W h e r e a s i n t h e case o f series d r a m a each n e w
self-con-
t a i n e d episode w i l l n o r m a l l y r e q u i r e substantial investment i n n e w sets o r costumes, soaps - w i t h t h e i r restricted n u m b e r o f r e c u r r i n g settings a n d t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l emphasis o n t h e everyday w o r l d o f domestic i n t e r i o r s - make far fewer m a t e r i a l demands. Soaps are i n this respect e x t r e m e l y e c o n o m i c a l ,
even
t h o u g h there has been s o m e t h i n g o f a tendency i n recent years t o i n c l u d e a larger n u m b e r o f scenes shot o n l o c a t i o n w h i c h can i n some circumstances cause a substantial increase t o the o v e r a l l cost. T h e i n i t i a l s t a r t - u p costs f o r a p r o g r a m m e can o f course i n v o l v e substantial i n v e s t m e n t , so w i t h a l l n e w soap projects m u c h t i m e a n d t h o u g h t is d e v o t e d t o ' p r o d u c t d e v e l o p m e n t ' . W i t h A m e r i c a n soaps this w i l l o f t e n entail t h e p r e testing o f t h e p r o d u c t o n selected groups o f viewers a n d t h e n i n t r o d u c i n g w h a t e v e r changes are t h o u g h t necessary i n t h e l i g h t o f subsequent c o m m e n t s . I n a d d i t i o n , w i t h a l l n e w ventures i n t o soap opera t h e m o s t careful considerat i o n is g i v e n t o h o w the n e w p r o d u c t can be made s u f f i c i e n t l y distinctive a n d attractive t o c o m p e t e w i t h long-established
programmes
o n r i v a l channels,
w h i l e r e t a i n i n g m a n y o r a l l o f those features w h i c h audiences expect t o f i n d i n s t a n d a r d soap e n t e r t a i n m e n t . O n c e a n e w soap has been successfully l a u n c h e d , h o w e v e r , t h e benefits f r o m the broadcasters' p o i n t o f v i e w may w e l l be i n c r e m e n t a l . I n other w o r d s ,
310
Producers and Production the longer a p a r t i c u l a r soap r u n s , t h e m o r e economical i t can appear t o be. I n contrast t o o t h e r types o f p r o g r a m m e p r o d u c t i o n , an established soap opera is an i t e m w h i c h can be easily a n d regularly accounted f o r . I n these cost-conscious times the k n o w l e d g e t h a t expensive e q u i p m e n t a n d s t u d i o resources are b e i n g u t i l i z e d o n this regular a n d intensive basis can represent a p o w e r f u l econ o m i c a r g u m e n t t o those w h o decide w h a t p r o g r a m m e s are p r o d u c e d . A n a d d i t i o n a l factor w h i c h helps keep d o w n t h e cost o f soap opera p r o d u c t i o n is that t h e salaries p a i d can be l o w e r than f o r other types o f television p r o d u c t i o n . A c t o r s a p p e a r i n g i n t r a d i t i o n a l soaps, even t h o u g h they m a y become h o u s e h o l d names, are o n l y p a i d a f r a c t i o n o f t h e a m o u n t w h i c h t h e p r i m a donnas o f the supersoaps d e m a n d a n d receive. O t h e r members o f the p r o d u c t i o n t e a m , d i r e c t o r s , producers a n d w r i t e r s , have also been k n o w n t o voice t h e i r dissatisfaction o n occasions t h a t t h e level o f r e m u n e r a t i o n they receive does n o t always reflect the range o f skills they are called o n t o deploy. O n e s h o u l d perhaps hasten t o a d d , however, that c o m p l a i n t s about soaps b e i n g under-resourced are heard less f r e q u e n t l y nowadays t h a n they once w e r e . Yet there was a t i m e n o t so l o n g ago w h e n soaps w e r e v i e w e d as b e i n g v i r t u a l l y b e y o n d t h e pale i n terms o f p r o d u c t i o n standards. Soaps became almost s y n o n y m o u s w i t h t h e type o f p r o g r a m m e w h i c h h a d been t h r o w n together o n a shoe-string budget a n d w h i c h s h o w e d u p all manner o f deficiencies, w h e t h e r o f a c t i n g , s c r i p t i n g o r technical management. I n t h e early years o f television serials,
f o r instance,
parts o f t h e flimsy s t u d i o sets always
appeared t o be o n t h e verge o f collapsing a n d t h e w h o l e soap opera ' w o r l d ' seemed t o be characterized b y a distinct lack o f solidity. G i v e n t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h soaps were p r o d u c e d a n d t h e absence o f m a n y o f t h e technical aids n o w available, i t is small w o n d e r that a certain lack o f p o l i s h s h o w e d t h r o u g h . W h a t is far m o r e regrettable is that t h e m y t h about soaps' generally s h o d d y p r o d u c t i o n standards s h o u l d have persisted f o r so l o n g a n d t h a t this label s h o u l d have been a p p l i e d so i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y . O n occasions o n e feels 4
t h a t i t has been used b y critics as a general tactic f o r d e v a l u i n g o r r i d i c u l i n g w h a t they see as a h i g h l y d u b i o u s a n d addictive f o r m o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t .
Producing the goods T h e m a j o r p r o b l e m , o r rather challenge, that a l l makers o f T V serial d r a m a face is t h e task o f m a i n t a i n i n g a h i g h level o f p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e face o f a deadline pressure t h a t is greater t h a n w i t h most o t h e r f o r m s o f broadcast d r a m a . T h e necessary o u t p u t can o n l y be achieved by a d o p t i n g a b r o a d l y i n d u s t r i a l m o d e o f p r o d u c t i o n . T h e p r o d u c t i o n process is accordingly b r o k e n d o w n i n t o a c h a i n o f separate operations, a n d i n d i v i d u a l s o r groups are given responsibility f o r c a r r y i n g o u t specific tasks. I n this w a y t h e m a k i n g o f T V soaps can be l i k e n e d t o other m a n u f a c t u r i n g processes w h e r e each phase o f p r o d u c t i o n is r o u t i n i z e d t o t h e greatest possible degree. A considerable n u m b e r o f skills is being m o b i l i z e d i n t h e course o f m a k i n g a
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 311 soap o p e r a , b u t t h e success o f t h e o p e r a t i o n depends o n h o w w e l l a l l these skills are c o o r d i n a t e d . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h o u g h certain i n d i v i d u a l s m a y be m o r e conspicuous t h a n others, every successful soap remains essentially a team
e f f o r t . Responsibility f o r ensuring that a l l cogs i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n
m a c h i n e f u n c t i o n satisfactorily lies w i t h t h e p r o d u c e r . O n e person w i t h experience o f p r o d u c i n g soaps once l i k e n e d t h e w o r k t o t h a t o f a q u a n t i t y surveyor, i n t h a t the p r o d u c e r ' s m a i n task is t h a t o f t r a n s l a t i n g , w i t h a set n u m b e r o f resources, t h e b l u e p r i n t w h i c h t h e p r o g r a m m e ' s architects have p r e p a r e d i n t o a series o f f i n i s h e d u n i t s : the r e c o r d e d episodes ( R e d m o n d , 1 9 8 5 , p . 3 9 ) . T h e precise p o w e r s o f the p r o d u c e r w i l l d i f f e r a c c o r d i n g t o h o w the p a r t i c ular c o m p a n y is o r g a n i z e d a n d h o w t h e chain o f c o m m a n d operates. I n t h e U n i t e d States, the m o r e o n e peers i n t o the l a b y r i n t h i n e structure o f companies w h i c h c o n t r o l soap opera p r o d u c t i o n , t h e m o r e l i m i t e d t h e r o l e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l p r o d u c e r seems t o be. I n B r i t a i n producers o f T V d r a m a serials appear t o have m o r e o f a say i n the w a y things are organized a n d managed, b u t even so t h e i r p o w e r s are u l t i m a t e l y constrained b y those w h o have superior p o s i t i o n s i n t h e h i e r a r c h y : t h e directors o f p r o g r a m m e s f o r t h e c o m p a n y o r t h e T V d r a m a section chiefs. T h e first t h a t a television audience sees o r hears a b o u t a n e w soap tends t o be i n press items o r i n various f o r m s o f p u b l i c i t y p u t o u t b y t h e channel itself just p r i o r t o t h e l a u n c h o f t h e n e w p r o g r a m m e . As readers w i l l p r o b a b l y be a w a r e , h o w e v e r , this f i n a l p r e - l a u n c h phase is preceded b y a l o n g gestation p e r i o d , o f t e n several years i n d u r a t i o n , d u r i n g w h i c h a team o f w o r k e r s w i l l have been busily engaged i n t h e m a n y types o f p l a n n i n g a n d p r e p a r a t i o n w h i c h this t y p e o f p r o d u c t i o n demands.
Scriptwriting As m i g h t have been a n t i c i p a t e d , given t h e huge p o p u l a r i t y o f soaps, television companies are c o n s t a n t l y b e i n g a p p r o a c h e d - by b o t h established s c r i p t w r i t e r s a n d b y non-professionals - w i t h n e w ideas f o r soaps. O n l y a small n u m b e r o f these ideas o r o u t l i n e s is considered viable h o w e v e r , a n d even those w h i c h are a c q u i r e d w i t h a v i e w t o f u r t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t w i l l i n all p r o b a b i l i t y have been first o f f e r e d t o several o t h e r p o t e n t i a l buyers. Phil R e d m o n d , f o r instance, tells the s t o r y o f h o w i n 1973 he first came u p w i t h the idea f o r a d r a m a serial t o be c e n t r e d o n t h e lives o f residents o n a n e w h o u s i n g estate. H e d u l y s u b m i t t e d this o u t l i n e t o t h e five m a j o r I T V companies a n d t h e B B C , a l l o f w h o m j u d g e d there t o be n o mileage i n t h e idea. I t was n o t u n t i l C h a n n e l 4 was set u p i n 1 9 8 1 t h a t R e d m o n d f o u n d an o r g a n i z a t i o n w i l l i n g t o s u p p o r t the project. I n the course o f the i n i t i a l gestation p e r i o d o f a n e w soap, a n u m b e r o f p i l o t scripts w i l l have been p r o d u c e d , o f t e n b y just o n e o r t w o w r i t e r s . W h e n t h e p r o g r a m m e moves i n t o f u l l p r o d u c t i o n , h o w e v e r , i t is standard practice f o r a t e a m o f w r i t e r s t o be e m p l o y e d , i n o r d e r t o be able t o cope w i t h t h e demands
312
Producers and Production t h a t c o n t i n u o u s serial p r o d u c t i o n makes. T h i s is i n contrast t o t h e early days o f r a d i o soaps w h e r e i n m a n y cases just o n e w r i t e r h a n d l e d t h e script r e q u i r e ments f o r a d a i l y f i f t e e n - m i n u t e show. S c r i p t w r i t e r s , like a l l other w o r k e r s i n v o l v e d i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n process, occupy a set p o s i t i o n i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l hierarchy. O n e c r i t i c w i t h personal experience o f p r o d u c i n g scripts f o r soaps, p r o v i d e s t h e f o l l o w i n g sobering assessment o f s c r i p t w r i t e r s ' relative i m p o r tance: T h e w r i t e r ... comes b e l o w t h e script e d i t o r o r t h e c o n t i n u i t y departm e n t , w h o answer t o t h e associate producer, w h o is j u n i o r t o t h e p r o d u c e r , whose boss is t h e executive producer, w h o is e m p l o y e d b y t h e p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a n y , w h i c h is o w n e d o r c o n t r o l l e d o r f u n d e d b y t h e n e t w o r k o r sponsor' (Buckman, 1984, p. 94). W i t h i n t h e ranks o f t h e w r i t e r s themselves there is also a hierarchy. T h e r e are those w h o are m a i n l y responsible f o r d e t e r m i n i n g t h e general d i r e c t i o n w h i c h present o r f u t u r e story-lines w i l l take, a n d those whose p r i n c i p a l f u n c t i o n i t is t o translate these b r o a d outlines i n t o scripts f o r i n d i v i d u a l episodes. As always, there w i l l be certain c o m p a n y - d e t e r m i n e d variations as t o h o w d i f ferent s c r i p t w r i t i n g tasks are d i v i d e d u p between those concerned, b u t i n m o s t p r o d u c t i o n teams there is a d i s t i n c t i o n between those w h o m w e m i g h t call t h e strategic planners w i t h t h e longer v i e w a n d those whose j o b i t is t o flesh o u t these basic o u t l i n e s . T o illustrate h o w the logistics o f s c r i p t w r i t i n g are h a n d l e d i n a specific case, one m i g h t cite t h e example o f t h e l o n g e s t - r u n n i n g soap i n existence: The Guiding
Light.
I n c o m m o n w i t h most o f t h e A m e r i c a n d a y t i m e soaps The
Guiding
Light
is broadcast five times a week a n d has s i x t y - m i n u t e episodes.
T h e r e are three 'head w r i t e r s ' attached t o t h e p r o g r a m m e whose task i t is t o c o m e u p w i t h w h a t is k n o w n as t h e ' l o n g s t o r y ' . T h e story-lines a n d p l o t developments
covered b y t h e ' l o n g s t o r y ' are sufficient t o carry t h e p r o -
g r a m m e t h r o u g h t h e n e x t six m o n t h s . T h e head w r i t e r s also have t o supply a 'story calendar' w h i c h i n the w o r d s o f one o f the show's producers 'gives us a week-by-week
l i s t i n g o f e m o t i o n a l a n d physical events, so t h a t w e k n o w
w h e r e w e are b y story - n o t necessarily b y i n d i v i d u a l character, b u t b y story each w e e k ' (Barrett, 1 9 8 5 , p . 3 7 ) . T h e next stage i n t h e o p e r a t i o n is t o pass o n t h e ' l o n g s t o r y ' t o ' b r e a k d o w n w r i t e r s ' w h o carve u p t h e narrative i n such a w a y as w i l l c o n v e n i e n t l y f i t i n t o a five-day sequence o f episodes. O n e particular c o n c e r n is t o p r o d u c e an o u t l i n e w h i c h w i l l accommodate a l l t h e c o m m e r c i a l breaks (seven per h o u r ! ) a n d end o n a tense o r i n t r i g u i n g c l i f f - h a n g i n g note t o ensure t h a t the audience returns f o r m o r e o n t h e f o l l o w i n g M o n d a y . O n c e agreement has been reached o n these b r e a k d o w n s ( w h i c h is usually achieved i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e show's producers), t h e outlines are sent t o the dialogue w r i t e r s , w h o have between a week a n d ten days t o p r o d u c e t h e i r c o m p l e t e d scripts. The Guiding
Light
carries a team o f five such w r i t e r s a n d as
the p r o d u c t i o n staff readily a d m i t , t h e task o f t u r n i n g o u t this a m o u n t o f d i a logue o n such a regular basis can o f t e n lead t o p r e m a t u r e b u r n - o u t . W i t h so m a n y w r i t e r s w o r k i n g o n t h e scripts o f d i f f e r e n t episodes, there are also
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 313 i n e v i t a b l y certain p r o b l e m s w i t h c o n t i n u i t y . I n o r d e r t h e r e f o r e t o ensure that characters c o n t i n u e t o use t h e same sort o f language t h r o u g h o u t a n d t o a v o i d any n a r r a t i v e inconsistency, a story e d i t o r is e m p l o y e d t o p i c k u p a l l such lapses. D e p e n d i n g o n t h e n a t u r e o f the changes t o be m a d e , o n e o r m o r e o f t h e head w r i t e r s m a y again be consulted at this stage a n d t h e p r o d u c e r w i l l also have t o give his/her seal o f a p p r o v a l . V i e w e d i n this l i g h t , w o r k i n g as a dialogue s c r i p t w r i t e r o n o n e o f the m o r e p o p u l a r soaps is a heavily constrained activity. Story contours are clearly m a r k e d a n d m u c h o f the landscape detail a l o n g the r o u t e has already been p e n c i l l e d i n . T o some observers this m i g h t be - indeed has been - regarded as s o m e t h i n g o f a betrayal o f w h a t some c l a i m t o be t h e w r i t e r ' s prerogative, n a m e l y t o be a n i n s p i r e d begetter o f texts. As far as s c r i p t i n g soap opera is c o n cerned, h o w e v e r , i t is i m p o r t a n t that each member o f t h e s c r i p t w r i t i n g team resists any t e m p t a t i o n t o m a r k the t e x t w i t h the stamp o f their o w n i n d i v i d u a l i ty. T h i s n o t o n l y preserves a sense o f c o n t i n u i t y , b u t also maintains the i l l u s i o n t h a t the w h o l e soap narrative is emanating f r o m an u n a u t h o r e d source.
Directing soaps W h a t t h e above description o f s c r i p t w r i t i n g f o r soaps makes clear is that t h e m a k i n g o f a television serial demands a particular discipline f r o m a l l those i n v o l v e d i n the p r o d u c t i o n process. T h i s is n o less true o f the director, w h o , like s c r i p t w r i t e r s , is usually e m p l o y e d o n a f i x e d - t e r m contract basis w h e n w o r k i n g on
a T V soap. I n other f o r m s o f ' m o v i n g image' p r o d u c t i o n , especially i n
c e r t a i n types o f f i l m - m a k i n g , t h e d i r e c t o r ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n w i l l be measured i n p a r t b y t h e degree t o w h i c h t h e f i n i s h e d p r o d u c t bears t h e m a r k s o f t h a t i n d i v i d u a l ' s creative flair. T h e p r i m a r y r e q u i r e m e n t o f a T V soap d i r e c t o r o n t h e o t h e r h a n d is t h a t such i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c aspirations are constantly k e p t i n check. I t is m o r e a q u e s t i o n o f d i s c o v e r i n g a n d t h e n f a l l i n g i n l i n e w i t h t h e presentat i o n a l style a n d t o n e w h i c h has been developed i n the course o f t h e p r o g r a m m e ' s s h o r t o r l o n g history. As o n e c r i t i c p u t i t : 'Consistency o f t o n e is a l l - i m p o r t a n t , even i f the t o n e has t o be l o w ' ( B u c k m a n , 1984, p . 1 4 1 ) . T h e m a i n task o f the d i r e c t o r is t o translate the scripts - as p r o d u c e d i n t h e m a n n e r o u t l i n e d above - i n t o the f o r m o f episodes ready f o r transmission. T h e d i r e c t o r ' s r o l e is thus o n e w h i c h carries w i t h i t major responsibility a n d calls for a range o f skills, n o t the least o f w h i c h is the ability t o extract the best performance
o u t o f b o t h actors a n d technical personnel
i n situations
where
rehearsal t i m e is always g o i n g t o be short. W h a t all directors have t o bear i n m i n d is that t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e s t u d i o staff a n d the actors they are w o r k i n g w i t h have h a d i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t y a m u c h longer association w i t h t h e serial t h a n they have h a d themselves. Tact, c h a r m , enthusiasm, a f u n d o f relevant e x p e r i ence o n w h i c h t o d r a w a n d above all a steady nerve w h e n disaster threatens are all v i t a l prerequisites o f being a successful director o f soap opera. W i t h m o s t b i - o r t r i - w e e k l y soaps t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y levels w h i c h have t o be
314
Producers and Production m a i n t a i n e d m e a n t h a t several directors have t o be e m p l o y e d
simultaneously
a n d given responsibility f o r a set n u m b e r o f episodes. A t y p i c a l p r o d u c t i o n schedule f o r a b i - w e e k l y soap w i l l be geared t o a three-week cycle, w i t h , say, three directors i n harness, each at a d i f f e r e n t stage i n t h e cycle. T h e first t w o weeks are taken u p w i t h f i n a l preparations: w o r k i n g t h r o u g h t h e script a n d discussing w i t h set designers any special needs f o r the t i m e spent i n t h e s t u d i o . As already n o t e d , recent years have also seen a larger n u m b e r o f scenes shot o n l o c a t i o n , so o n e o r m o r e l o c a t i o n shoots w i l l have t o be i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o the p l a n o f c a m p a i g n . T h e d i r e c t o r also has t o f i n d t i m e d u r i n g this f o r t n i g h t t o prepare a camera
script,
w h i c h maps o u t i n some detail t h e shots a n d cam-
era moves w h i c h are best suited t o c a p t u r i n g that section o f the narrative. T h e d i r e c t o r w i l l also m a r k o n t h e camera script w h a t movements, actions a n d gestures are g o i n g t o be r e q u i r e d o f the players. M o r e t h a n perhaps any other f o r m o f television d r a m a p r o d u c t i o n , t h e d i r e c t i n g o f soaps necessitates various types o f c o m p r o m i s e , since there is s i m p l y n o t t h e t i m e t o i n d u l g e i n lengthy e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n w i t h w h a t shots w o r k best o r t o test w h e t h e r a change i n t h e l i g h t i n g set-up w o u l d b r i n g slightly better results. T h e consequence o f this is that most directors t e n d t o fall back o n t r i e d a n d tested f o r m u l a e , rather t h a n risk a c o m p l i c a t e d shot sequence w h i c h m i g h t a d d s o m e t h i n g t o t h e dramatic i m p a c t o f the scene, b u t o n l y at t h e cost o f i n v o l v i n g everybody i n a m a d scramble t o complete t h e rest o f the episode in the time allotted.
Rehearse and record T h e t h i r d w e e k o f the p r o d u c t i o n cycle is given over t o rehearsing a n d r e c o r d i n g . As m u c h as o n e w h o l e day i n this week can be set aside f o r t h e outside l o c a t i o n scenes. T h e r e are then n o r m a l l y t w o f u l l days o f rehearsals. These f r e q u e n t l y take place i n specially h i r e d rehearsal r o o m s , w h e r e tape m a r k i n g s o n t h e f l o o r indicate t h e p o s i t i o n o f certain items t o be f o u n d o n t h e s t u d i o set. T h i s preparative phase is quite i m p o r t a n t , because i n the t i g h t l y organized space o f the s t u d i o i t is just as i m p e r a t i v e that actors remember t h e i r positions as i t is they r e m e m b e r their lines. These final rehearsals also give t h e d i r e c t o r the o p p o r t u n i t y t o make f u r t h e r adjustments t o t h e camera script, since w h a t sometimes appears feasible w h e n p l o t t i n g things i n t h e m i n d ' s eye can o f t e n p r o v e t o be u n w o r k a b l e w h e n enacted i n f r o n t o f a camera. I t is also w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g that actors themselves may have suggestions t o make at this stage. I t can be t h e case that certain lines are d i f f i c u l t t o deliver, o r the actor m a y p i c k u p o n some narrative o r character inconsistency w h i c h n o o n e else h a d s p o t t e d before t h a t m o m e n t . T h e latter p a r t o f this week - usually at least t w o f u l l days - is given over t o the r e c o r d i n g o f the rehearsed episodes. Before t h e f i n a l m o v e i n t o t h e s t u d i o , there n o r m a l l y w i l l be a so-called technical r u n - t h r o u g h , again i n t h e rehearsal r o o m , this t i m e , however, w i t h key members o f the s t u d i o personnel present.
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 315 T h e p u r p o s e o f this r u n - t h r o u g h is t o check that t h e rehearsed episodes are viable f r o m t h e technical p o i n t o f v i e w a n d t h a t each episode does n o t s i g n i f i cantly exceed o r u n d e r c u t the prescribed l e n g t h . As already suggested, the success o f any soap opera depends o n the most careful p l a n n i n g a n d o n t h e w e l l - c o o r d i n a t e d efforts o f a large n u m b e r o f p r o d u c t i o n w o r k e r s . T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t e a m w o r k is at n o t i m e m o r e apparent t h a n d u r i n g s t u d i o days w h e n a w i d e range o f professional skills (acting, technical a n d p r o d u c t i o n ) are being deployed. I t is v i t a l therefore that o n studio days a g o o d w o r k i n g atmosphere is created i n order t o achieve m a x i m u m e f f i ciency. T h i s calls f o r considerable managerial as w e l l as d i p l o m a t i c skills o n t h e p a r t o f b o t h d i r e c t o r a n d producer, especially as i t involves b r i n g i n g together w h a t o n e c r i t i c has described as ' t w o d i f f e r e n t w o r k cultures i n television p r o d u c t i o n ' ( H o b s o n , 1 9 8 2 , p . 7 7 ) : the technical staff w h o are f o r t h e most p a r t s t u d i o - b o u n d a n d t h e p e r f o r m e r s w h o d i v i d e their t i m e between rehearsals, l o c a t i o n w o r k a n d s t u d i o r e c o r d i n g sessions. Regularly h a v i n g t o set u p a s t u d i o t o r e c o r d t h e r e q u i r e d n u m b e r o f soap episodes is n o t o n l y logistically d e m a n d i n g , i t is also quite t i m e - c o n s u m i n g . T h i s p a r t l y explains w h y some o f the m o r e recent soaps have a c q u i r e d o r h a d b u i l t f o r t h e m a p e r m a n e n t set. I n a c o n v e n t i o n a l T V s t u d i o , dressing a n d l i g h t i n g t h e r e q u i r e d sets w i l l sometimes take as m u c h as h a l f a day, w h i c h means i n t u r n s less s t u d i o t i m e f o r p e r f o r m e r s a n d crew. W o r k i n g practices i n t h e studio vary slightly f r o m soap t o soap, depending o n h o w t i g h t t h e schedule is, b u t most T V serial p r o d u c t i o n s nowadays a d o p t the 'rehearse a n d r e c o r d ' procedure. T h i s simply means that, after some p r e l i m i n a r y camera tests, each scene i n an episode is rehearsed before being r e c o r d e d o n v i d e o tape. I t is w o r t h n o t i n g , however, that w i t h this approach the scenes are n o t usually r e c o r d e d i n the o r d e r they w i l l eventually occur i n the t r a n s m i t t e d episode. T h e reason is the fairly obvious o n e that i t is m o r e efficient t o shoot all t h e scenes scripted f o r each set o n e after the other rather t h a n constantly h a v i n g t o s w i t c h between d i f f e r e n t parts o f the studio. O n c e t h e s t u d i o recordings have been made, the p r o d u c t i o n enters t h e f i n a l e d i t i n g phase. T h o u g h e v e r y t h i n g possible w i l l have been done t o get t h e t i m i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l episodes r i g h t at t h e rehearse/record stage, a certain a m o u n t o f fine t u n i n g can be d o n e b y means o f careful e d i t i n g . A n episode w h i c h m a r g i n a l l y o v e r - r u n s its a l l o t t e d t i m e c a n , f o r instance, be t r i m m e d t o size w i t h comparative
ease. M o r e d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m s
arise, h o w e v e r , i f t h e episode
u n d e r - r u n s , f o r i t is n o w t o o late t o take any type o f r e m e d i a l a c t i o n .
Acting in soaps F r o m t h e television public's p o i n t o f view, the most conspicuous participants i n the w h o l e p r o d u c t i o n process are the actors. Because they are so conspicuous
-
they are l i t e r a l l y so o f t e n i n t h e p u b l i c eye - they are especially subject t o t h e k i n d o f sensationalist exposure they frequently get i n the p o p u l a r press.
316
Producers and Production O n e result is t h a t t h e d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e i r personal i d e n t i t y as a n actor o r actress a n d t h a t o f t h e character they are p l a y i n g tends t o become progressively m o r e b l u r r e d . O n e m i g h t have p r e d i c t e d t h a t - as a result o f this b l u r r i n g - some actors m i g h t w e l l develop d i s t i n c t l y schizoid t r a i t s . A s far as o n e can j u d g e , h o w e v e r , most actors seem t o cope s u r p r i s i n g l y w e l l w i t h t h e pressures t h a t a p p e a r i n g i n a l o n g - r u n n i n g soap imposes. A n y possible disadvantages (about w h i c h m o r e i n a m o m e n t ) t e n d t o be o u t w e i g h e d b y the n o t inconsiderable
benefits t h a t b e i n g a soap actor can b r i n g . For o n e
t h i n g , a c t i n g is a v e r y u n c e r t a i n profession
w h e r e at a n y o n e t i m e
more
actors are o u t o f w o r k t h a n are g a i n f u l l y e m p l o y e d , so g e t t i n g a p a r t o n even a h a l f - w a y successful soap can mean relative j o b security. M o s t soap actors are also able t o gain a d d i t i o n a l i n c o m e f r o m various f o r m s o f p r o m o t i o n a l activity, m a d e possible b y t h e i r enhanced status as soap o p e r a
personalities.
T h e r e are o f course those w h o w i l l w i s h t o e x p l o i t t h e i r 'soap star' status as a w a y o f l a u n c h i n g o u t i n t o another b r a n c h o f s h o w business e n t i r e l y (this has recently
been
a favoured
option with
several
teenage stars w h o have
a p p e a r e d i n A u s t r a l i a n soaps). T h e k u d o s t h a t regularly appearing i n a T V soap brings s h o u l d n o t be a l l o w e d t o obscure some o f t h e less w e l l - p u b l i c i z e d , a n d possibly m o r e p r o b lematical aspects o f soap acting. M o s t p e r f o r m e r s are, f o r instance, h i r e d i n i t i a l l y o n short (often 13-week) contracts, w h i c h d o n o t exactly represent secure e m p l o y m e n t c o n d i t i o n s . A l o n g - t e r m i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r soap can, b y contrast, b r i n g problems o f a d i f f e r e n t k i n d i n that the actor c o n cerned becomes so i d e n t i f i e d w i t h their f i c t i o n a l character that he o r she gets v i r t u a l l y straitjacketed w i t h i n that r o l e . I t is f o r this reason that some actors decide i t is i n t h e i r best interests t o sever their connections w i t h t h e serial i n question i n o r d e r t o be able t o e x t e n d their repertoire o f acting roles. I t is sometimes possible f o r soap actors, especially those w i t h m i n o r roles, t o take o n o t h e r f o r m s o f T V o r f i l m w o r k w h i l s t still being contracted t o a p a r t i c u l a r soap. T h e pressures o f p r o d u c t i o n , however, are such that this type o f m o o n l i g h t i n g is n o t all t h a t frequent. A n actor's desire t o ' m o v e o n ' w i l l mean that their character has t o be w r i t ten o u t o f t h e script, t h o u g h occasionally i t w i l l be decided s i m p l y t o use another
actor i n t h e vacated r o l e . Being w r i t t e n o u t o f a script does n o t
always h a p p e n at an actor's request, however. As w e have seen, i t is t h e head w r i t e r s o r p r o d u c t i o n chiefs w h o determine i n w h a t w a y t h e p l o t a n d t h e various story-lines w i l l develop. I f i t is decided t h a t t h e f u t u r e course o f the soap n a r r a t i v e makes certain roles r e d u n d a n t , those characters w i l l be d u l y j e t t i s o n e d , using o n e o f t h e t i m e - h o n o u r e d devices w h i c h w r i t e r s have fashi o n e d f o r this purpose: r o a d accident; c o n t r a c t i n g a t e r m i n a l illness; emigrat i o n ; m u r d e r o r madness. O n other occasions i t w i l l have been t h e i n d i v i d u a l actor w h o - f o r a variety o f reasons - w i l l have i n c u r r e d the displeasure o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n chiefs a n d w i l l be subsequently w r i t t e n o u t o f t h e script. A l m o s t i n v a r i a b l y t h e ' k i l l i n g o f f o f a character w i l l lead t o c o m p l a i n t s f r o m viewers.
How Are Television Soaps Produced? 317 I f i t is a c e n t r a l character w h o is b e i n g f o r c e d t o d e p a r t , there can be a v e r i t a ble s t o r m o f protest. O n e o f t h e b e s t - k n o w n a n d m o s t h i g h l y p u b l i c i z e d departures o f a character i n B r i t i s h soaps was t h a t o f M e g M o r t i m e r o f Crossroads.
M e g , p l a y e d by actress N o e l l e G o r d o n , h a d been the central char-
acter i n this l o n g - r u n n i n g serial f r o m 1 9 6 4 u n t i l 1 9 8 1 a n d f o r m a n y viewers i t was b e y o n d belief t h a t she s h o u l d be a b a n d o n e d i n this way. F o r t h e p r o g r a m m e planners o n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e f u t u r e f o r m a t o f t h e p r o g r a m m e c o u n t e d f o r m o r e t h a n the audience's l o n g - s t a n d i n g attachment t o a character, a n d i n spite o f a l o n g campaign t o have t h e character 'saved', t h e planners e v e n t u a l l y h a d t h e i r way. M e g ' s d e p a r t u r e - l i k e m o s t t h i n g s i n soaps - was n o t i r r e v o c a b l e , as she m a d e a b r i e f r e t u r n visit t o t h e p r o g r a m m e t w o years later, b u t i t does p o i n t u p a general feature o f a l l T V d r a m a serials. T h i s is t h a t n o o n e character ( a n d t h e r e f o r e actor) is absolutely indispensable f o r t h e s u r v i v a l o f any soap (even t h o u g h some readers m i g h t consider t h a t Dallas
w i t h o u t J R is p r a c t i -
c a l l y i n c o n c e i v a b l e ) . T h i s has p a r t l y t o d o w i t h o n e o f the d i s t i n c t i v e design features o f soaps, t h a t - g i v e n t h e constant i n t e r w e a v i n g o f story-lines - a u d i ence interest is d i s t r i b u t e d amongst q u i t e a large n u m b e r o f characters. T h e o t h e r reason is t h a t characters i n t r a d i t i o n a l T V soaps are n o t , as w i t h c e r t a i n o t h e r f o r m s o f d r a m a , created w i t h t h e physical o r t e m p e r a m e n t a l attributes o f a p a r t i c u l a r actor i n m i n d . Characters are d e v e l o p e d a c c o r d i n g t o s t r i c t l y d r a m a t i c c r i t e r i a . T h i s is n o t t o say t h a t actors - especially those i n a l o n g r u n n i n g serial - w i l l n o t i n the course o f t i m e t o some e x t e n t make the character t h e i r o w n b y i n f l e c t i n g h i m o r h e r w i t h some o f t h e i r o w n personal idiosyncracies.
Concluding remarks T h e r e is clearly m u c h m o r e t h a t goes i n t o the m a k i n g o f a T V soap opera t h a n i t has been possible t o i n c l u d e i n t h e above sections. T h e r e are, f o r instance, elaborate p r o m o t i o n a l campaigns t h a t precede t h e l a u n c h o f a n y n e w soap a n d the c o n t i n u i n g efforts t o m a i n t a i n a h i g h p r o f i l e f o r the p r o g r a m m e i n the eyes o f t h e v i e w i n g p u b l i c . Television companies - especially i n v i e w o f t h e v e r y c o m p e t i t i v e e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h they f i n d themselves t o d a y - w i l l be continually o n the look out f o r new programme material. Developing a prog r a m m e f r o m scratch can be a very t i m e - c o n s u m i n g business a n d t h e success o f the p r o d u c t is b y n o means guaranteed. T h e h i s t o r y o f soap opera is theref o r e f u l l o f cases w h e r e successful manifestations o f t h e genre have been c o p i e d o r c l o n e d , i n an a t t e m p t t o secure f u r t h e r mileage f r o m a w i n n i n g f o r m u l a . Predictably e n o u g h - given t h e fortunes t h a t can be made f r o m a successful soap o p e r a i n the U n i t e d States - some o f the best k n o w n examples o f c l o n i n g occur w i t h the A m e r i c a n supersoaps. As t e l e v i s i o n executives a n d producers c o n t i n u e t o seek n e w ideas, they w i l l be c o n s t a n t l y c o n s i d e r i n g h o w the standard ingredients o f soap opera can be
318
Producers and Production freshly b l e n d e d i n t o a n e w p r o g r a m m e m i x . Assessing w h a t is l i k e l y t o go d o w n w e l l w i t h the c u r r e n t generation o f viewers is never an easy task, since audience tastes are n o t o r i o u s l y d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t (even w i t h such a p o p u l a r genre as soaps).
Notes 1.
For more on this idea of the 'active reader' see i n particular the w o r k of Roland Barthes, especially his essay T h e Death of the A u t h o r ' in Image-Music-Text (1977), pp. 142-8. One has only to look at the daytime schedules of American television to see the extent to which soap operas are indeed commodifying the television audience. I n 1984 Swiss German-language television (DRS) in Zurich started broadcasting a weekly T V drama serial Motel (was it inspired by Crossorads?) which was put together by a small production team working within the constraints of a very tight budget and operating w i t h late production deadlines (Bichsel, 1984, pp. 13-15). One of of the favourite targets for this sort of attack was the now-defunct British soap Crossroads. For years Crossroads was a frequent butt of popular jibes about all manner of supposed shortcomings, to the point where it was sometimes felt that if a stand-up comedian could not raise a laugh by any other means, then cracking a joke at Crossroads' expense might.
2.
<
3.
4.
,
References Allen, Robert C. 1985: Speaking of soap operas. Chapel H i l l , N.C., and London: The University of N o r t h Carolina Press. Barrett, Ellen 1985: Daytime soap in America. In European Broadcasting Union Review (Programmes, Administration, Law) 36(6) (November), 37-8. Bichsel, Hannes 1984: Motel - a low-budget series. European Broadcasting Union Review (Programmes, Administration, Law) 35(6) (November), 13-15. Buckingham, David 1987: Public secrets: EastEnders and its audience, London: BFI Publishing. Buckman, Peter 1984: All for love, London: Seeker & Warburg. Hobson, Dorothy 1982: Crossroads: the drama of a soap opera. London: Methuen. Redmond, Phil 1985: Brookside - a socially realistic twice-weekly drama. European Broadcasting Union Review (Programmes, Administration, Law) 36(6) (November), 39-42. Taylor, Laurie and Mullan, Bob 1987: Uninvited guests. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Questions 1
Not ail soaps have enjoyed the long-standing success of Coronation Street, EastEnders and Brookside, and some of the casualties you may remember are Eldorado, Empire Road and Castles (all on BBC1). Based on your understanding of the production routines outlined above, how would you explain the success of some soaps and the failure of others? Choose a soap new to British television and assess its chances of success.
Film Production in the Information Age 319 2
3
4
Given Kilborn's assessment that soaps are increasingly being produced in an industrial 'assembly-line' context, with all the constraints and conformity which that implies, do you feel that soaps are becoming 'safer' and more predictable or do you think that there is still evidence of experimentation? What story-lines (recent or otherwise) from contemporary soaps would you regard as genuinely innovative or risk-taking? Is there evidence that the more successful a soap is, the more formulaic it becomes? Are there any discernible differences in production values and routines between British, American and Australian soaps? What bearing might these production issues have on the narrative structure, characterisation and ideologies of different soaps? Soap operas are not confined to TV, and Britain's most enduring soap is The Archers on Radio 4. Based on your understanding of the production issues outlined in the extract, think of a scenario for a new radio soap.
Further reading Allen, R. 1994: To he continued... soap opera around the world. London: Routledge. Ang, I . 1985: Watching Dallas: soap opera and the melodramatic imagination. London: Methuen. Buckingham, David 1987: Public Secrets: EastEnders and its audience. London: BFI Publishing. Dyer, R., Geraghty, C , Jordan, M . , Lovell, T., Patterson, R. and Stewart, J. 1981: Coronation Street, BFI Monograph no. 13. London: BFI. Fiske, J. 1987: Television culture. London: Routledge. Geraghty, C. 1991 Women and soap opera. Cambridge: Polity Press. Hobson, D . 1989: Soap operas at work. I n Seiter, E., Borcher, H . , Kreutzner, G. and Warth, E - M . (eds.), Remote control: television audiences and cultural power. London: Routledge. Horrie, C. and Clarke, S. 1994: Soft soap, flywheels and the poisoned chalice. I n Fuzzy monsters: fear and loathing at the BBC. London: Heinemann.
29 Film Production in the Information Age Janet Wasko From Hollywood in the information age (Polity Press 1994)
Film production has many facets and the book from which this extract has been chosen is about the American movie industry and the production and distribution of films in the Information age'. As particularly illustrative of the dramatic changes which new technologies have allowed in film-making, we have chosen an extract on special effects in Hollywood movies.
320
Producers and Production Special effects have been used since the earliest days of cinema (perhaps most famously in King Kong in 1933), but it is the computer-generated images of the last 15 years which have radically extended the techniques that film-makers can employ. In fact, the pace of development is astounding and this decade has seen many groundbreaking innovations, from the 'morphing' sequences in Terminator 2 (1991) to the computer-generated dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993). Other recent landmarks in film production have been the images of Brandon Lee generated by computer after the actor's death during the filming of The Crow in 1993 which were used to complete the film, and the first entirely computer-animated feature film, Toy Story, released in 1996. Wasko emphasises that, like all forms of technical transformation, film production is grounded in economics and labour, and the downside of new developments such as these is that they are costly and they threaten jobs. When actors can literally be brought back from the dead, and when films can be made entirely using computer-generated characters, or when old films can be given a new lease of life through 'colourisation' techniques, what are the prospects for the budding actors of tomorrow? She also poses questions about the career prospects of many others in the film industry, including musicians, sound technicians and editors, all of whom face competition from technology. Furthermore, despite the success of some relatively low-budget, technically unsophisticated films, Hollywood's appetite for big-budget, high-tech movies seems to remain unsatiated, and the view among some film producers in the 1990s is that they have to make movies with ever more breath-taking special effects, in order to gain the audience's attention (and win the coveted industry awards) in an increasingly competitive marketplace. However, special effects do not necessarily guarantee the success of a film and there have been some notable failures in recent years (e.g. Kevin Reynolds' 1995 blockbuster Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner, where stunning effects were not sufficient to bring critical acclaim).
Special effects Perhaps t h e most obvious use o f n e w technology, at least f o r the audience, is i n the area o f special effects. W i t h their bag o f technological tricks, special effects experts n o w can create n e w w o r l d s , alien creatures a n d previously dangerous o r impossible actions o n f i l m . O n e visual effects supervisor has n o t e d that ' n o w v i r t u a l l y a n y t h i n g can be done visually. I f y o u can describe i t , y o u can d o i t . '
1
T h e a i m o f special effects has been t o create t h i n g s t h a t d o n o t a c t u a l l y exist. Some o f t h e techniques used b y t h e earliest f i l m m a k e r s , such as d o u ble exposures a n d m i n i a t u r i z e d m o d e l s , are s t i l l e m p l o y e d . King Kong n a l l y released
i n 1 9 3 3 ) represented
a l a n d m a r k i n special
(origi-
effects a n d
i n c o r p o r a t e d m a n y o f t h e same techniques used b y t o d a y ' s special effects teams: m o d e l s , m a t t e p a i n t i n g s f o r f o r e g r o u n d a n d b a c k g r o u n d s , rear p r o j e c t i o n s , m i n i a t u r e o r e n l a r g e d p r o p s a n d m i n i a t u r i z e d sets, c o m b i n e d w i t h live action. H o w e v e r , t h e use o f c o m p u t e r s , robotics a n d d i g i t a l technologies over t h e
Film Production in the Information Age 321 last 2 0 years has a d d e d t o t h e sophistication o f t h e effects process, a n d also enhanced t h e f i l m m a k e r ' s a b i l i t y t o create nearly a n y t h i n g imaginable o n f i l m . T h e r e is a w i d e v a r i e t y o f o p t i c a l o r special effects, w h i c h are constantly c h a n g i n g as every f i l m has its o w n set o f u n i q u e r e q u i r e m e n t s w h i c h inspire effects masters t o create n e w techniques. O n l y a f e w o f these techniques can be discussed here. First, t h e use o f c o m p u t e r i z e d cameras has made s t o p - m o t i o n techniques s m o o t h e r a n d m o r e believable, w h i l e image c o m p o s i t i n g has become m o r e complex.
2
E x a m p l e s i n c l u d e e v e r y t h i n g f r o m t h e f l y i n g sequences i n E.T. t o
undersea shots i n The Hunt Flight Framed
for Red October
a n d aerial c o m b a t footage i n
of the Intruder.
A m o r e o b v i o u s recent e x a m p l e , h o w e v e r , is Who
Roger Rabbit?,
i n w h i c h c o m p u t e r - d r i v e n camera m e t h o d s w e r e used
extensively t o a l l o w cartoons t o interact w i t h live actors. M e a n w h i l e , c o m p u t e r s have been used n o t o n l y t o assist i n m a n i p u l a t i n g images, b u t t o create n e w ones. C o m p u t e r Generated I m a g i n g ( C G I ) has reached a n e w level o f s o p h i s t i c a t i o n , as characters, objects a n d settings can be created a n d t h e n c o m p o s i t e d w i t h real images (or l i v e - a c t i o n ) . T h e spectacular results w e r e a p p a r e n t i n t h e t o p - g r o s s i n g f i l m f o r 1 9 9 1 , Terminator
2, which
p e r f e c t e d techniques called ' m o r p h i n g ' (short f o r m e t a m o r p h o s i s ) t o m e l d f i l m a n d c o m p u t e r - g e n e r a t e d images t h r o u g h d i g i t a l c o m p o s i t i n g , a n d ' m a k i n g s t i c k y ' t o g r a f t t h e characteristics o f o n e image o n t o another. W i t h t h e 1 9 9 3 f i l m , Jurassic
Park,
3
n e w heights i n special effects w e r e
reached w i t h t h e c r e a t i o n o f c o m p u t e r i z e d images o f ancient creatures. I n a d d i t i o n t o full-size m o d e l s , t h e f i l m includes about six a n d a h a l f m i n u t e s o f d i g i t i z e d dinosaur footage, w h i c h r e q u i r e d 18 m o n t h s o f w o r k b y 5 0 people using $15 m i l l i o n w o r t h o f equipment.
4
O t h e r types o f effect can be achieved t h r o u g h d i g i t a l image
processing,
i n c l u d i n g m a n i p u l a t i o n o f c o l o r , contrast, s a t u r a t i o n , sharpness a n d shape o f images. C e r t a i n elements o f images can be r e m o v e d , m a k i n g i t possible t o r e p a i r d a m a g e d f i l m , o r e l i m i n a t e u n w a n t e d parts o f scenes. Examples are t h e f l y i n g sequences i n Hook,
w h i c h u t i l i z e d heavy cable guides w h i c h c o u l d
be e l e c t r o n i c a l l y ' p a i n t e d ' o u t o f each shot. O n e p r e d i c t i o n is t h a t s t u n t peo5
ple w i l l be unnecessary w h e n ' r e a l ' actors are (seemingly) able t o a c c o m p l i s h these d i f f i c u l t feats.
6
A n o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y is t o create situations that seem real, b u t are actually c o m p u t e r enhanced. Rearranging scenes f r o m famous f i l m s o r newsreels is n o t o n l y a possibility, b u t a reality, as i l l u s t r a t e d i n f i l m s such as Zelig Men
Don't
Wear Plaid,
and
Dead
as w e l l as t h e 1 9 9 1 C o c a - C o l a c o m m e r c i a l , f e a t u r i n g
images o f H u m p h r e y Bogart a n d L o u i s A r m s t r o n g i n t h e same scene w i t h E l t o n J o h n a n d o t h e r c o n t e m p o r a r y players. Some have p r e d i c t e d t h a t these m a n i p u l a t i o n s w i l l become games o f t h e f u t u r e . A p h o t o a c c o m p a n y i n g a Discover
article features C l a r k Gable a n d C h e r i n Casablanca,
stating t h a t ' i n
2 0 0 1 w e ' l l be t o y i n g w i t h o l d movies o n personal c o m p u t e r s , c h a n g i n g actors a n d s t o r y lines t o f i t o u r o w n cinematic taste.'
7
322
Producers and Production For some f i l m s , t h e n u m b e r o f effects can be staggering. For e x a m p l e , the u n d e r w a t e r setting a n d alien creatures i n The Abyss
generated 2 9 0 effects
shots c o v e r i n g 2 1 minutes o f f i l m , w h i l e o n e shot i n Back r e q u i r e d c o m p o s i t i n g nearly 100 effect elements.
to the Future
II
8
Yet, some o f these techniques a n d technologies actually save t i m e , as effects can be done
quicker a n d i n v o l v e fewer people. O n e software p r o g r a m ,
Q u i c k t i m e , uses d i g i t a l a n d v i d e o compression t o p r o d u c e an inexpensive version o f an effects sequence o r e d i t .
9
C o m p u t e r i z e d h u m a n images also have been integrated i n t o f i l m s , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e v i l l a i n i n RoboCop various images i n The Lawnmower
2 , t h e skeleton images i n Total Recall,
and
Man. T h e possibility o f synthetic actors
has attracted t h e a t t e n t i o n o f m a n y f i l m m a k e r s . George Lucas p r e d i c t e d i n t h e late eighties t h a t ' m o r e advanced t e c h n o l o g y w i l l be able t o replace
actors
w i t h "fresher faces" o r alter d i a l o g a n d change t h e m o v e m e n t o f t h e actor's lips t o m a t c h . ' W h i l e these possibilities may raise serious ethical questions, t h e p r o b l e m may n o t be an i m m e d i a t e o n e f o r t h e acting profession. O n e o f t h e drawbacks o f computer-generated images has been t h e h i g h costs i n v o l v e d . A n d , even t h o u g h t h e price was f a l l i n g r a p i d l y a n d progress was b e i n g made at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e nineties, i t was still impossible f o r synthetic actors t o be m i s t a k e n f o r humans. I n other w o r d s , m o r p h e d cyborgs may be o n e t h i n g , b u t m o s t experts agree that a f u l l y computer-generated, ' n o r m a l ' h u m a n is somewhere i n t h e f u t u r e .
10
T h e special effects b o o m has l e d t o t h e creation o f a f e w n e w companies. A n e x a m p l e is Apogee P r o d u c t i o n s , w h i c h was f o r m e d i n 1 9 7 7 b y a g r o u p l e d by J o h n D y k s t r a , w h o h a d w o r k e d o n the special effects f o r Star Wars. Its first p r o j e c t was t h e television series, Battlestar
Galáctica,
but it went o n to pro-
duce 'spectacular images, models, mechanized p r o p s , and/or o p t i c a l c o m p o s ites f o r over 5 0 feature f i l m s a n d television p r o g r a m s . ' Apogee
also serves t h e v a r i e d interests
11
o f the e n t e r t a i n m e n t
business,
designing a n d m a n u f a c t u r i n g a w i d e array o f special effects devices a n d theme p a r k a t t r a c t i o n s , as w e l l as p r o d u c i n g commercials, feature f i l m s a n d t e l e v i sion movies. However,
one company
seems t o d o m i n a t e t h e special
effects scene.
I n d u s t r i a l L i g h t a n d M a g i c ( I L M ) , f o r m e d b y George Lucas w h i l e p r o d u c i n g Star Wars,
claims t o d o m o r e business i n t h e special effects f i e l d t h a n its five
major competitors combined.
12
T h e c o m p a n y has w o r k e d o n six o f the t o p t e n
b o x o f f i c e hits i n h i s t o r y a n d has created some o f the most spectacular effects i n t h e industry, i n c l u d i n g those i n Jurassic to the Future(s)
a n d Star
Trek(s).
Park, Terminator
2, The Abyss,
Back
I L M must be d o i n g w e l l : they r e p o r t e d l y
spent $3.5 m i l l i o n o n n e w e q u i p m e n t f o r w o r k o n Terminator m i l l i o n w o r t h o f e q u i p m e n t f o r Jurassic
2 a n d used $ 1 5
Park, as n o t e d p r e v i o u s l y .
13
Sound S o u n d editors also are assisted t h r o u g h the use o f c o m p u t e r i z e d storage o f s o u n d effects,
as w e l l as the m a n i p u l a t i o n o f sound via computers. N e w
Film Production in the Information Age 323 developments i n s o u n d r e p r o d u c t i o n have been i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g the last t w o decades, i n particular D o l b y A u d i o Recording a n d various digital s o u n d systems. I n t h e late eighties, 7 0 m m p r i n t s o f Dick
Tracy were d i s t r i b u t e d w i t h a six-
t r a c k system called C i n e m a D i g i t a l S o u n d . T h e c o m p a n y responsible f o r t h e n e w system is p a r t i a l l y o w n e d b y Eastman K o d a k a n d promises digital s o u n d f o r 3 5 m m p r i n t s (thus suitable f o r screening i n most theaters) i n the n e x t t e n years.
14
M u s i c c o m p o s i t i o n a n d p e r f o r m a n c e also has been i n f l u e n c e d b y c o m p u t e r i z a t i o n . Just as s c r i p t w r i t e r s are able t o e m p l o y c o m p u t e r s t o assist i n t h e i r w o r k , music composers are also using software t o a i d i n t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f screen scores. I n a d d i t i o n , there is t h e possibility o f the electronic o r i g i n a t i o n o f music, v i a sophisticated synthesizers.
Other production/post-production activities Animation renaissance C o m p u t e r s have been i n t e g r a t e d i n t o a n i m a t i o n w o r k , m a k i n g i t possible t o c o m p l e t e d r a w i n g s m o r e e f f i c i e n t l y a n d clean u p a n i m a t e d frames, b u t also t o create scenes f r o m n e w perspectives based o n o r i g i n a l d r a w i n g s . Because o f these technical developments a n d m a r k e t i n g factors, there has been a renaissance i n a n i m a t i o n .
15
A g o o d deal o f a n i m a t e d p r o g r a m m i n g is
c o m p l e t e d b y l o w e r - p a i d w o r k e r s i n E u r o p e a n d Southeast Asian countries. N o t o n l y can a n i m a t e d features be accomplished m o r e quickly, e f f i c i e n t l y a n d cheaply, t h e f i l m s t e n d t o be p o p u l a r w i t h a w i d e range o f audiences, m a k i n g t h e m p a r t i c u l a r l y suited f o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l markets. A s a recent New York Times
article c o n c l u d e d , ' L i k e so m u c h else i n H o l l y w o o d , t h e r e n e w e d
interest i n a n i m a t e d f i l m s after decades o f general neglect stems largely f r o m a h u n g e r t o d u p l i c a t e some very impressive b o x o f f i c e n u m b e r s . '
16
F r o m 1 9 8 6 t h r o u g h 1 9 9 0 , i t was estimated that a n i m a t e d f i l m s m o r e t h a n $ 4 0 0 m i l l i o n domestically.
17
grossed
Some o f the really successful a n i m a t e d
f i l m s (and t h e i r b o x o f f i c e revenues) t h a t have w h e t H o l l y w o o d appetites have i n c l u d e d : Who Framed m i l l i o n ) , Oliver
Roger Rabbit?
and Company
l i o n ) . M e a n w h i l e , Beauty
( $ 1 5 4 m i l l i o n ) , The Little
( $ 5 2 m i l l i o n ) a n d An American
Mermaid
($84
Tail ( $ 4 7 m i l -
and the Beast set a r e c o r d b y selling m o r e t h a n 14
m i l l i o n videocassettes, w h i l e Aladdin
p r o v i d e d even m o r e treasures f o r t h e
D i s n e y c o m p a n y . T h e goal is t o attract y o u n g a n d o l d audiences over a n d over again t h r o u g h p e r p e t u a l re-releases a n d v i d e o d i s t r i b u t i o n , a n d t o capitalize o n m e r c h a n d i s i n g possibilities. I n o t h e r w o r d s , o t h e r companies are t r y i n g t o emulate t h e Disney m o d e l .
Color me richer W h i l e special effects a n d o t h e r n e w processes have received l i t t l e b u t r a p t u r e d awe
from
t h e p o p u l a r press a n d H o l l y w o o d
fans,
another
process has
324
Producers and Production attracted n o t h i n g b u t controversy. A c o m p u t e r software system developed i n the eighties can d i f f e r e n t i a t e between
shades o f gray i n black a n d w h i t e
images, m a k i n g i t possible t o select a p p r o p r i a t e colors a n d thus colorize p r e v i ously black a n d w h i t e f i l m s .
18
W h i l e t h e technique apparently h a d been avail-
able f o r a f e w years, i t w a s n ' t u n t i l t h e mid-eighties that a c o m p a n y
called
C o l o r Systems Technology was able t o f i n d anyone interested i n t h e process. Even t h o u g h films have been altered i n numerous ways f o r television since the fifties, c o l o r i z a t i o n immediately d r e w the w r a t h o f H o l l y w o o d ' s creative c o m m u n i t y , legislators, a n d critics. T h e debate became especially heated after 1986, w h e n Ted Turner purchased the libraries o f M G M , R K O and pre-1950s Warner Brothers films a n d television programs. Turner immediately arranged f o r 1 0 0 films ( i n c l u d i n g Casablanca,
Father of the Bride and The Maltese
Falcon)
t o be c o l o r i z e d b y C o l o r Systems Technology. T h e H a l Roach Studios also started c o l o r i z i n g films i n t h e public d o m a i n ( i n c l u d i n g It's a Wonderful Topper)
Life a n d
at its (partially-owned) Toronto-based company, C o l o r i z a t i o n I n c .
19
For t h e m o s t p a r t , t h e H o l l y w o o d c o m m u n i t y was o u t r a g e d . T h e strongest c o m p l a i n t s came f r o m d i r e c t o r s , w h o w a n t e d t o d r a w a strict line between a r t a n d c o m m e r c e . Fred Z i n n e m a n c r i e d that i t was 'a c u l t u r a l c r i m e o f t h e first order.'
20
M a r t i n Scorsese called c o l o r i z a t i o n a 'desecration,'
'Casablanca
is art. You d o n ' t mess a r o u n d w i t h i t . '
21
e x p l a i n i n g that
I n a d d i t i o n t o directors
(and t h e D i r e c t o r s G u i l d o f A m e r i c a ) a n d f i l m stars, other groups opposed t o the
process i n c l u d e d t h e A m e r i c a n F i l m I n s t i t u t e , t h e W r i t e r s G u i l d o f
A m e r i c a West, a n d t h e A m e r i c a n Society o f Cinematographers.
D u r i n g con-
gressional hearings o n t h e issue, t h e A F I stressed t h e c u l t u r a l r o l e o f f i l m , w h i l e t h e ' m o r a l r i g h t s ' o f artists - the r i g h t t o a p p r o v e any changes made i n c o m p l e t e d f i l m s - eventually became the issue.
22
T h o s e w h o c o l o r i z e , however, saw t h e issue d i f f e r e n t l y . A f i l m can be changed
f r o m black a n d w h i t e t o c o l o r f o r as l i t t l e as $ 1 , 5 0 0 a m i n u t e ,
a l t h o u g h $ 2 , 0 0 0 - 3 , 0 0 0 is p r o b a b l y m o r e c o m m o n .
23
A c o l o r i z e d f i l m can t h e n
be s o l d t o syndicated television a n d cable channels a n d released o n videocas¬ settes f o r a t i d y p r o f i t . C o l o r Systems is said t o have attracted contracts w o r t h more than $20 m i l l i o n around 1985.
24
As one colorizer e x p l a i n e d , 'We're t a l k -
i n g a b o u t m a k i n g t h e m viable i n today's television a n d cassette m a r k e t . ' A n d , i n d e e d , t h e m a r k e t d i d seem t o r e s p o n d : It's a Wonderful
Life
25
sold a
t o t a l o f a r o u n d 1 0 , 0 0 0 copies i n t h e o r i g i n a l black a n d w h i t e version i n 1 9 8 5 - 6 , b u t between 5 5 , 0 0 0 a n d 7 5 , 0 0 0 copies h a d been sold o f t h e c o l o r i z e d version b y N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 6 .
26
As T e d Turner f i n a l l y c o n c l u d e d , ' T h e
vast m a j o r i t y o f people really d o n ' t give a h o o t w h e t h e r y o u colorize movies o r n o t . It's a h a n d f u l o f elitists i n H o l l y w o o d that d o n ' t l i k e i t . ' W h i l e t h e head o f the Directors G u i l d claimed that classic f i l m s were 'bastardized b y people i n t e n t o n squeezing the last possible penny o u t o f m a r k e t i n g those pictures,' others p o i n t e d o u t that H o l l y w o o d f i l m companies were m a k i n g t h e deals. wanted with
27
Turner n o t o n l y insisted o n his r i g h t t o d o a n y t h i n g he
t h e f i l m s he o w n e d , he also stressed t h e business side o f
Film Production in the Information Age 325 f i l m m a k i n g t h a t t h e directors w a n t e d t o i g n o r e : ' M o v i e s were made t o be p r o f itable. T h e y w e r e n o t made as a r t , they were made t o make money, a n d a n y m o v i e m a k e r w h o d i d make movies f o r art's sake is o u t o f business. A n y t h i n g t h a t c o u l d m a k e m o r e m o n e y has always been considered t o be O K . '
2 8
C r u d e , perhaps, b u t u l t i m a t e l y o w n e r s h i p r i g h t s a n d business sensibilities r u l e d . Casablanca
a p p e a r e d i n its c o l o r i z e d f o r m i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 9 , a n d
a r o u n d t h e same t i m e , Citizen
Kane
was o n its w a y t o t h e c o m p u t e r i z e d
paintbrush.
Reflections on the production process and new technologies Labor issues T h e q u e s t i o n o f n e w t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t u l t i m a t e l y involves a w i d e range o f questions c o n c e r n i n g t h e f u t u r e o f f i l m w o r k e r s . M a n y o f t h e developments discussed i n this chapter have t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r e l i m i n a t i n g jobs i n the f i l m industry. W i l l w o r k e r s be replaced by n e w technological developments o r w i l l their jobs become easier a n d m o r e efficient? As n o t e d previously, some e d i t i n g positions are threatened b y video e d i t i n g techniques. I n a d d i t i o n , musicians also may be replaced by increased use o f synthesized music a n d computers also m a y threaten t h e craft o f cinematographers. A n d , i t is even possible t h a t c o m p u t e r i z e d actors o r robots may one day replace real-life actors a n d actresses. O t h e r p r o b l e m s relate t o t h e rivalries between w o r k e r s a n d u n i o n s over j u r i s d i c t i o n a l p r o b l e m s . F i l m editors replaced b y v i d e o technicians have resulte d i n skirmishes b e t w e e n
t h e t w o technical
N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f Broadcast
Employees
u n i o n s i n t h e industry, t h e a n d Technicians
(NABET),
w h i c h t y p i c a l l y o r g a n i z e d v i d e o technicians, a n d the I n t e r n a t i o n a l A l l i a n c e o f T h e a t r i c a l a n d Stage Employees (IATSE), w h i c h generally o r g a n i z e d f i l m technicians. A n o t h e r e x a m p l e c i t e d b y M i c h a e l N i e l s e n is t h e c o n t r o v e r s y between s o u n d technicians
a n d f i l m editors using electronic e d i t i n g , w h i c h a l l o w s
s o u n d a n d p i c t u r e e d i t i n g simultaneously.
29
A n o t h e r question has t o d o w i t h education a n d reskilling. W h o s h o u l d be responsible f o r t r a i n i n g f i l m w o r k e r s t o use the newest technologies? P r o d u c t i o n companies, trade u n i o n s , e q u i p m e n t companies, universities, the g o v e r n m e n t , o r employees themselves? Nielsen cites an example o f a state-sponsored j o b r e t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m t o prepare f i l m editors f o r electronic e d i t i n g techniques. O t h e r issues p e r t a i n t o creative decisions, as t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r s h i f t i n g c o n t r o l o f a f i l m ' s creative elements is i n f l u e n c e d b y m a n y o f these n e w processes. For e x a m p l e , w i t h electronic e d i t i n g systems, there is the p o t e n t i a l f o r less i n f l u e n c e b y f i l m e d i t o r s , even o n t h e first c u t o f a f i l m . W h i l e u n i o n s a n d g u i l d s s h o u l d be able t o p r o t e c t jobs a n d t h e c o n t r o l o f the w o r k process, t h e l a b o r organizations i n t h e f i l m i n d u s t r y generally have n o t represented a u n i t e d f r o n t against t e c h n o l o g i c a l change. As N i e l s e n c o n cludes, T h e n e t result o f this dissension a m o n g t h e craft u n i o n s i n v o l v e d i n
326
Producers and Production broadcasting a n d f i l m is t h a t t h e producers have c o n t i n u e d t o have t h e u p p e r h a n d i n a l l negotiations. T h e u n i o n s seem t o o concerned w i t h t h e i r i m m e d i a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l needs t o recognize f u l l y the p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t o f n e w technologies.'
10
Independents/competition W i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f n e w technologies i n p r o d u c t i o n , the ability o f i n d e p e n dents t o p r o d u c e the slick, sophisticated l o o k o f the m a j o r p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a nies becomes m o r e d i f f i c u l t . T o compete, independents must locate the capital needed t o use these n e w (and o f t e n expensive) techniques a n d e q u i p m e n t . O t h e r w i s e , they are relegated t o m a k i n g l o w e r - b u d g e t f i l m s o r cheaper versions (or, perhaps, satires) o f the m o r e expensive, blockbuster f i l m s .
31
Yet t h e r h e t o r i c f r o m t h e H o l l y w o o d c r o w d is still that y o u d o n o t really need the t e c h n o l o g y t o make a successful f i l m . W e are t o l d over a n d over t h a t despite c o m p u t e r storyboards, shiny n e w e d i t i n g machines a n d elaborate special effects, m o v i e m a k i n g still demands storytellers, a n d t h e i n d u s t r y is i n need o f i m a g i n a t i o n a n d t a l e n t .
32
Technological genres I t m i g h t be argued t h a t these technological developments also influence t h e types o f f i l m p r o d u c e d b y H o l l y w o o d companies. Certainly, t h e n u m b e r o f science f i c t i o n o r space epics have increased w i t h t h e e v o l u t i o n o f sophisticated special effects techniques. I n d e e d , seven o f the t o p t e n hits o f the eighties w e r e 'effects' m o v i e s .
33
T h e b o x office successes o f action films i n c o r p o r a t i n g special effects a n d spectacular stunts entice filmmakers t o n o t o n l y continue using such techniques, b u t t o reach even f u r t h e r i n t o their special effects bag w i t h each f i l m . I t may even be possible that m a n y audience members may reject films w i t h o u t such high-tech adventures a n d action, f i n d i n g t h e m slow, uninteresting and even b o r i n g .
Notes 1. Kirk Honeycutt, 'Pushing the Envelope w i t h Visual Effects', Los Angeles Times, 19 March 1990, p. F l . 2. See '2001 Entertainment: Personal FX', Discover, November 1988; Richard Wolkomir, ' H i g h Tech H o k u m is Changing the Way Movies Are Made', The Smithsonian, October 1990; Richard Zoglin, 'Lights! Camera! Special Effects!', Time, 16 June 1986, pp. 9 2 - 3 . 3. Similar computer graphic techniques were used by Industrial Light & Magic for the film Willow. See Ron Magid, ' I L M Gets a Piece of the Action', American Cinematographer, January 1992; 'Make Sticky, M o r p h ! ' , Time, 8 July 1991, p. 56. Morphing also was used in The Abyss to create the undulating sea creature called the Pseudopod. See 'Lights! Action! Disk Drives!', Newsweek, 22 July 1991, p. 54; Bob Fisher, 'The Dawning of the Digital Age', American Cinematographer, April 1992, pp. 71-2; Janet Maslin, 'Movie Wizards Tell Cyborgs' Secrets', New York Times, 21 February 1992; David Hutchinson, 'Digital Dawn', SFX, 3, pp. 48-58; 'Technology in the Movie Industry: Special Report', Wall Street Journal, 16 September 1985.
Film Production in the Information Age 4. See David A. Kaplan, 'Believe in Magic', Newsweek, 14 June 1993, pp. 6 0 - 1 . 5. Bob Fisher, T h e Dawning of the Digital Age'; see also Alfred D . Harrell, AFI/Apple Alliance Bears Fruit', American Cinematographer, April 1992. 6. 'Lights! Action! Disk Drives!'. 7. '2001 Entertainment'. 8. Honeycutt, 'Pushing the Envelope'. 9. Harrell, 'AFI/Apple Alliance', p. 92. 10. One f i l m during the late eighties entitled Lookers dealt w i t h the idea of computerized actors. Also see Kathleen K. Wiegner and Julie Schlax, 'But Can She Act?', Forbes, 10 December 1990; Edith Myers, 'Behind the Scenes', Datamation, March 1982, pp. 3 6 - 4 2 ; Harrell, 'AFI/Apple Alliance', p. 92. 11. Mimeographed material from Apogee Productions. 12. Wolkomir, ' H i g h Tech H o k u m ' . Also, see Magid, ' I L M Gets a Piece of the Action'. 13. 'Lights! Action! Disk Drives!'; Kaplan, 'Believe'. See Thomas G. Smith, Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects (New York, Ballantine Books, 1986) (excerpt i n 'Reel Illusions', Omni, June 1987, pp. 71-6). For more on Lucasfilm, see Dale Pollock, Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas (New York, Harmony Books, 1983); Charles Champlin, George Lucas: The Creative Impulse (New York, Harry N . Abrams, 1992). 14. Chris Willman, '"Dick Tracy" Brings in Arresting N e w Cinema Sound System', Los Angeles Times, 30 May 1990. Also see Martha Groves, '"Star Wars" Scores Go Digital at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch', Los Angeles Times, 24 March 1990, p. F10. 15. Several special sections of trade magazines have focused on the animation revival: Variety, March 1992; The Hollywood Reporter, 26 January 1993, pp. S1-S76; Ray Bennett, 'Animation Draws Winning Hand', Daily Variety, 5 February 1993. Also see Aljean Harmetz, 'Video Alters Economics of Movie Animation', New York Times, 1 May 1985; Charles Solomon, 'That Won't Be A l l , Folks, as Cartoons Make a Comeback', Los Angeles Times, 25 March 1990, p. F l . 16. Larry Rohter, 'The Feature-Length Cartoon Returns', New York Times, 16 May 1991, p. c l 7 . 17. Solomon, 'That Won't Be A l l ' . 18. David Wilson, 'Colour Box: N e w Films for O l d ' , Sight and Sound, Summer 1985, p. 147. 19. Susan Linfield, 'The Color of M o n e y ' , American Film, January/February 1987. 20. Wilson, 'Colour Box'. 2 1 . Linfield, 'The Color of M o n e y ' , p. 30. 22. See Jack Mathews, 'Colorization Debate Takes on a N e w Hue', Los Angeles Times, 16 March 1989; D o n Shannon, 'Panel Weighs " M o r a l Rights" of Film Alteration', Los Angeles Times, 25 October 1989. 23 Robert S. Birchard, ' M y Hair Is Red, M y Eyes Are Blue', American Cinematographer, October 1985, p. 76; Linfield, 'The Color of M o n e y ' , p. 30. 24. Wilson, 'Colour Box'. 25. Birchard, ' M y Hair Is Red', pp. 75-7. 26. Linfield, 'The Color of M o n e y ' , p. 30. 27. Wilson, 'Colour Box'. 28. Greg Dawson, 'Into the 90s: Ted Turner', American Film, January/February 1989, p. 39. 29. See Nielsen, 'Labor's Stake'. 30. Nielsen, 'Labor's Stake', p. 83. 3 1 . Spaceballs is an example of a film which satirizes the sci-fi genre which is rich in
327
328
Producers and Production special effects, yet the film still had to incorporate some of the same special effects techniques in the process. 32. This sentiment is repeated consistently i n discussions w i t h Hollywood 'insiders', and is a common theme of those interviewed by Tom Brokaw for NBC's documentary on 'The New H o l l y w o o d ' , aired in March 1990. 33. Wolkomir, ' H i g h Tech H o k u m ' , p. 124.
Questions 1
2
3
Think about the films that you have seen over the last 12 months which use special effects. In which did you feel that the effects were detrimental to the film (in the sense of being distracting or trying to compensate for a weak plot, for example)? Wasko suggests that some of the larger media conglomerates have the power to squeeze out smaller independent film companies because of their ability to use dramatic and spectacular effects, yet some notable successes of recent years have included the relatively low-budget and technologically unsophisticated Four Weddings and a Funeral, Trainspotting and Secrets and Lies. How would you account for these successes in an industry which, as Wasko points out, is dominated by producers who feel the need to Yeach even further into their special effects bag with each film'. In view of current innovations in computer-based film technology, what future developments do you expect to see in film and other media (e.g. television advertising, where many film directors learn their craft)?
Further reading Coe, B. 1981: The history of movie photography. New Jersey: Eastview Editions. Hayward, P. and Wollen, T. 1993: Future visions: new technologies of the screen. London: BFI. Mealing, S. 1992: The art and science of computer animation. O x f o r d : Intelect. Smith, T. G . 1991: Industrial light and magic: the art of special effects. London: Virgin. Webster, C. 1996: Film: the place where art and technology meet. In Nelmes, J. (ed.), An introduction to film studies. London: Routledge.
30 Video Diaries: What's Up Doc? Peter Keighron From Sight and Sound 3(10), 24-5 (October 1993)
'Real life' television shows have increased in number and popularity over the last decade and the final two extracts in this section explore the range of programmes encompassed
Video Diaries: What's Up Doc? 329 by the term 'reality programming'. Most reality television relies on the audience's fascination with other people's lives and, in this reading, Keighron concentrates on those programmes which exploit a relatively new innovation in media technology and capitalise on its widespread use and popularity, the video camcorder. Fly-on-the-wall documentaries have been popular for more than 20 years and continue to provide entertaining and relatively inexpensive TV (BBC 2's The Village is a recent example) but although more 'natural' and often more revealing than traditional forms of documentary, these stories of people's lives are subject to considerable professional intervention and are 'packaged' for television with, for example, a presenter/narrator, accompanying music, careful editing and even a cliff-hanger on which to end every programme. Keighron's focus of study, the BBC's Video Diaries series, takes the production process one stage further, blurring the distinction between producers and consumers of television output, and giving ordinary people the opportunity to make personal and often very intimate documentaries about themselves or an aspect of their lives on a video camcorder. Far from being seen as a weakness, the amateur quality of these programmes is viewed by Keighron, and many others, as lending the series an integrity and authenticity which is absent from more traditional documentaries. Although new video technology has, in the past, been treated with hostility by some members of the broadcasting establishment, it seems that, on the whole, mainstream television has now enthusiastically embraced the camcorder aesthetic, to the extent that the video diary format has now been appropriated in a number of other genres, including advertisements (e.g. for Radion, Pot Noodle and Ryvita), travel programmes (like Channel 4's The Real Holiday Show) and light entertainment shows (such as Beadle's Hot Shots on ITV). Indeed Keighron suggests that these programmes are shaping and responding to the tastes of the audience who, he argues, are becoming increasingly cynical about slick, highly edited programmes, and view series like Video Diaries and Video Nation as raw, credible and offering a 'truth' which is absent elsewhere in news and documentary.
V i d e o is i n t h e v a n g u a r d o f a technological r e v o l u t i o n i n television. B u t exactly w h a t sort o f r e v o l u t i o n , a n d w h o ' s g o t t h e upper h a n d , is n o t clear. O p i n i o n s are d i v i d e d : either p o w e r f l o w s f r o m t h e barrel o f a camcorder, a n d D i x o n s is the people's a r m o u r y , o r o u r every m o v e is being surveyed a n d c o n t r o l l e d b y the v i d e o p o l i c e i n league w i t h a cabal o f m e d i a m o g u l s . I t w o u l d be easier just t o say t h a t t e c h n o l o g y is w i n n i n g . B u t t e c h n o l o g y is o n l y ever created, d e v e l o p e d a n d d e p l o y e d w i t h i n p a r t i c u l a r social, p o l i t i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l f r a m e w o r k s . T e c h n o l o g y enables certain f o r m s o f social, p o l i t i cal a n d c u l t u r a l m a n i p u l a t i o n b u t determines n o n e . A n d w h a t ' s i n t e r e s t i n g a b o u t v i d e o t e c h n o l o g y is t h a t i t is e n a b l i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y changes n o t just w i t h i n t h e t e l e v i s i o n i n d u s t r y b u t outside i t , n o t just a m o n g professionals b u t a m o n g amateurs. V i d e o is e n a b l i n g us t o t h i n k a b o u t t h e w a y w e define these categories a n d h o w b r o a d c a s t i n g divides its p r o d u c e r s f r o m its consumers. I n o t h e r w o r d s , i t enables us t o t h i n k a b o u t television a n d democracy, t o reflect u p o n t h e fact
330
Producers and Production t h a t t e l e v i s i o n is a source o f (unelected) p o w e r f o r those w h o w o r k i n a n d c o n t r o l t h e i n d u s t r y - researchers, directors, p r o g r a m m e - m a k e r s , p r o d u c e r s , schedulers,
broadcasters.
V i d e o is enabling us t o t h i n k again about w h o
s h o u l d have t h a t p o w e r , w h a t they are d o i n g w i t h i t , a n d w h y . Such questions are b e i n g raised b y t h e w h o l e ' r e a l i t y t e l e v i s i o n ' genre, so p o p u l a r i n t h e US a n d most successfully i m i t a t e d i n t h e U K i n B B C l ' s
999.
T h e y are also p e r t i n e n t t o ' p e o p l e ' shows such as You've
and
Caught
in the Act. B u t t h e political
b r o u g h t i n t o focus b y Video Diaries,
Been Framed!
nature o f t h e question is most clearly n o t least because o f the w a y t h e series is
a f f e c t i n g professional d o c u m e n t a r y - m a k e r s . W h e n The Man Who Loves
Gary
Lineker
w o n the Flaherty a w a r d at this
year's B A F T A s , i t was t h e clearest i n d i c a t i o n yet that Video Diaries
had moved
o u t o f t h e g h e t t o o f worthiness i n w h i c h access p r o g r a m m i n g is i n v a r i a b l y d u m p e d a n d was n o w residing i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f d o c u m e n t a r y p r o p e r . W h i l e some professional f i l m - m a k e r s m a y v i e w this as a case o f 'there goes t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d ' , f o r m o s t i t poses an e x c i t i n g challenge. ' W i t h o u t any question at a l l I t h i n k Video Diaries development
i n television
probably
since
says d o c u m e n t a r y - m a k e r Roger Graef.
is t h e most i m p o r t a n t
the h a n d - h e l d
camera
itself,'
'At the c u t t i n g edge o f a l l factual
p r o g r a m m e - m a k i n g , ' says C h a n n e l 4's C o n t r o l l e r o f Factual Programmes Peter Salmon. 'Absolutely b r i l l i a n t ... w h e n they w o r k they make people like m e r e d u n d a n t , ' says documentarist M o l l y D i n e e n . A n d so o n . I f the gist o f all this is t h a t w e c o u l d be l i v i n g t h r o u g h r e v o l u t i o n a r y times i n d o c u m e n t a r y - m a k i n g , the question is h o w , exactly, w i l l that r e v o l u t i o n be televised? A l r e a d y professionals are a t t e m p t i n g t o integrate, some w o u l d say a p p r o p r i a t e , t h e V i d e o D i a r y f o r m a t i n d i f f e r e n t a n d c o n t r o v e r s i a l ways. I n t h e recent series o f B B C 2 ' s 40 Minutes -
- the first u n d e r series e d i t o r Paul W a t s o n
t w o o f t h e d o c u m e n t a r i e s use camcorders. Will
Change
of Heart
They
Ring
Tomorrow/A
uses H i - 8 cameras t o f o l l o w f o u r heart patients w a i t i n g f o r
a t r a n s p l a n t , w h i l e s o m e w h a t m o r e controversially, Away
the Lads
integrates
v i d e o footage t a k e n b y some G e o r d i e 'lads' o n h o l i d a y i n B e n i d o r m w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l 1 6 m m footage. ' I t absolutely stank,' says Video Diaries Lads.
e d i t o r Jeremy G i b s o n o f Away
the
' T h a t ' s w h a t gets i t a bad n a m e . ' G i b s o n was c a l l i n g f o u l o n t h e w a y t h e
p r o g r a m m e e x p l o i t e d t h e 'lads' by using t h e i r footage b u t n o t g i v i n g t h e m any e d i t o r i a l c o n t r o l . T h e diarist's r i g h t t o e d i t o r i a l c o n t r o l is an essential p a r t o f the Video Diaries
project. But Watson denies any misuse o f the f o r m a t . T d o n ' t
t h i n k i t ' s been prescribed t h a t n o b o d y else s h o u l d use i t , ' he says. 'It's rather l i k e s o m e b o d y i n v e n t i n g an engine a n d saying i t can't be used f o r a n y t h i n g o t h e r t h a n a car.' W h a t G i b s o n is d e f e n d i n g ( t h o u g h Watson w o u l d deny that is w h a t he is a t t a c k i n g , since G i b s o n is t a l k i n g about an ethic whereas W a t s o n is t a l k i n g a b o u t a p r o d u c t ) is integrity. 'There is a k i n d o f a p p r o p r i a t i o n g o i n g o n a n d it's n o t just an a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f a t e c h n i q u e , i t ' s an a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f an
Video Diaries: What's Up Doc? 331 i n t e g r i t y , ' says Video Diaries
series p r o d u c e r B o b L o n g . I n p a r t , t h a t i n t e g r i t y
is a n aesthetic. I n m u c h t h e same w a y as the shaky b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e images o f cinéma
vérité
c l a i m e d t o be s o m e h o w closer t o reality t h a n H o l l y w o o d t e c h n i -
c o l o u r , so t h e v i d e o aesthetic can p r o m i s e the closest shave yet. T h e w o b b l e o f t h e i m a g e , t h e l u r c h o f the autofocus, t h e b l e e d i n g reds a l l a d d u p t o a n e w a u t h e n t i c i t y w h i c h , claims L o n g , is a very tangible quality. T t h i n k t h a t i n t e g r i t y comes t h r o u g h n o t just i n a k i n d o f discussion a m o n g m e d i a p e o p l e . I t h i n k t h a t i t is f e l t i n w a t c h i n g a d i a r y b y t h e audience,' he explains. T h a t ' s o n e o f the reasons w e ' r e l i k e d , people d o believe t h a t it's real, t h a t it's honest. I t h i n k p e o p l e have a deep sense o f seeing honesty ... it's such a subtle t h i n g , just t h e w a y someone l o o k s at the camera, the w a y t h e y ' r e t a l k i n g . ' T h e w h o l e ' w h a t y o u are a b o u t t o see is the w o r k o f an a m a t e u r ' aspect o f t h e series is n o longer m e r e l y a negative a p o l o g y f o r p o o r technical quality, b u t a p o s i t i v e advertisement f o r t h e i n t e g r i t y o f t h e amateur. A s viewers b e c o m e increasingly televisually l i t e r a t e , ever m o r e aware o f the t r i c k s o f t h e t r a d e a n d t h e c o n s t r u c t e d nature o f d o c u m e n t a r y o b j e c t i v i t y a n d balance, t h e amateur retains t h e p o w e r t o c u t t h r o u g h t h e layers o f scepticism a n d c y n i cism w i t h w h i c h w e have learned t o p r o t e c t ourselves f r o m t h e professional m e d i a , the great m a n i p u l a t o r . B u t Video Diaries
entails n o t so m u c h a replacement o f t h e professional b y
the amateur, as a changing relationship between those terms. I n some ways this is t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y l e d . T h e far higher ratios made possible b y the economics o f v i d e o (it is rare f o r documentary-makers t o exceed a r a t i o o f 3 0 : 1 w h e n using f i l m , whereas a t y p i c a l Video
Diary
w i l l use a r a t i o o f at least 1 5 0 : 1 ) can
change the w h o l e nature o f p r o d u c t i o n , since m u c h o f the research a n d prepar a t i o n can i n effect be done ' i n camera'. I n Video Diaries
the diarist is at d i f f e r -
ent times, a n d o f t e n at the same t i m e , researcher, director, p r o d u c e r , camera o p e r a t o r , s o u n d person a n d e d i t o r (not t o m e n t i o n subject) a n d the r o l e o f the professional p r o d u c e r is i n the process n o t so m u c h r e m o v e d as renegotiated. T h e real d r i v i n g force o f Video Diaries,
t h o u g h , is n o t technology b u t c o n -
t r o l . T h e u l t i m a t e e d i t o r i a l c o n t r o l o f the diarist - the amateur - is, says B o b L o n g , 'the o n l y t h i n g that's set i n stone.' But w h i l e diarists make the final editi n g decisions, t h e Video Diaries
professionals make the first a n d i n some ways
m o s t i m p o r t a n t ones. T h e y select (edit) t h e half dozen o r so diarists i n each series f r o m t h e thousands o f applicants a n d choose t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d ethical structure o f the series. So i f the professionals are still i n c o n t r o l at this stage, by w h a t a u t h o r i t y , a n d o n the basis o f w h a t ideologies d o they w i e l d that power? T h e t h e o r y a n d practice o f e d i t o r i a l c o n t r o l a n d the d i f f e r e n t ways i t can be m e d i a t e d have d e v e l o p e d over t h e last 2 0 years at t h e BBC's C o m m u n i t y P r o g r a m m e U n i t ( C P U ) . I n f l u e n c e d b y the t h e o r y a n d practice o f access t e l e v i s i o n i n t h e US i n t h e late '60s a n d a leftist r e a d i n g o f R e i t h i a n p u b l i c service b r o a d c a s t i n g ideals, t h e C P U was set u p at the B B C i n the early '70s f o l l o w i n g the success o f the first Open Door
p r o g r a m m e s . As m u c h as any p o l i t i c s dares
speak its name at the B B C , the C P U is, t h e n , l i b e r a l a n d o f the l e f t .
332
Producers and Production These politics clearly shape n o t just the selection o f the diarists, b u t the w h o l e p r o d u c t i o n process, a n d i n particular the e d i t i n g stage, d u r i n g w h i c h G i b s o n , L o n g a n d t h e Video Diaries
producers make n o pretence t o be disinter-
ested technical assistants. O n e o f their roles is t o dissuade the diarist f r o m w h a t G i b s o n calls 'ethically w o r r y i n g ' tendencies. 'You're i n c o n t r o l o f y o u r o w n d i a r y a n d i t ' s a great chance t o be able t o push yourself,' says G i b s o n . 'Your ego, a n d y o u r a t t i t u d e a n d approach, can come across f r o m the rushes i n a very o f f p u t t i n g w a y that an outsider w o u l d n ' t like. It's o u r j o b t o i d e n t i f y that a n d t r y t o t u r n t h e diarist t o take a less egocentric approach t o s o m e t h i n g a n d less p u s h i n g o f aspects o f their personality w h i c h are d i f f i c u l t o r c o n f r o n t a t i o n a l . T h e other t h i n g is they may be very m u c h i n love w i t h a very c o n t r i v e d m a t e r i al, t e r r i b l y i n love w i t h some parts that w e k n o w are a t o t a l contrivance.' As B o b L o n g explains: ' I t o f t e n happens that y o u say, " I believe that y o u felt this at the t i m e b u t w h a t I ' m seeing I d o n ' t believe." It's n o t just a question o f w e ' v e seen t h r o u g h i t a n d t h e gaff is b l o w n . T h e r e are times w h e n [the diarists] d o mean w h a t t h e y ' r e saying b u t t h e w a y t h e y ' r e saying i t ... as a v i e w e r y o u just sit there saying: I d o n ' t believe y o u . ' A g a i n i t comes back t o i n t e g r i t y , w h i c h , as G i b s o n a d m i t s , is 'very h a r d t o d e f i n e ' . B u t definable o r n o t , i t can be tested i n at least t w o ways. First, b y t h e diarists themselves ('All t h e diarists. I can say w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n , ' says L o n g , 'have been d e l i g h t e d w i t h t h e m i n the e n d , t h o u g h t h r o u g h the process very o f t e n t h e y ' r e n o t ' ) . A n d second, o f course, b y t h e television viewer. I f Video Diaries
is asking essentially p o l i t i c a l questions, t h e p r o g r a m m e itself
is an essentially personal f o r m a t , almost b y d e f i n i t i o n . A n d t h e c r i t i c a l a n d p o p u l a r acclaim recently accorded t o m o r e ' a u t h o r e d ' f o r m s o f d o c u m e n t a r y m a k i n g - M o l l y D i n e e n a n d N i c k B r o o m f i e l d being, i n d i f f e r e n t ways, t h e most o b v i o u s examples - c o u l d be taken as another sign o f a response t o p o l i t i c a l pressures w i t h i n d o c u m e n t a r y a n d c u r r e n t affairs. C e r t a i n l y t h e intense s u b j e c t i v i t y o f Video Diaries
has e l u d e d pressures t o
p r o v i d e ' b a l a n c e ' , either w i t h i n p a r t i c u l a r p r o g r a m m e s o r w i t h i n t h e series as a w h o l e . J e r e m y G i b s o n says t h a t over t w o series o f Video one
o f Teenage
Diaries
there
has never
Diaries
and
been any pressure f r o m above.
T h e t h i r d series, i n c l u d i n g as i t does t h e d i a r y o f a m i n e r ' s w i f e a n d t h e d i a r y o f a Spanish C i v i l W a r veteran I n t e r n a t i o n a l Brigadier, m a y test t h a t immunity further. T h e p o t e n t i a l f o r m o r e o v e r t l y p o l i t i c a l , perhaps m o r e collective, ( w h i c h w o u l d n o t necessarily be less personal) Stories
diaries
is obvious. T h e recent LA
( p r o d u c e d b y an i n d e p e n d e n t A m e r i c a n p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a n y i n c o n -
j u n c t i o n w i t h Video Diaries),
w h i c h c o m b i n e d nine diarists' accounts o f t h e
year f o l l o w i n g t h e Rodney K i n g r i o t s , s h o w e d one possible f u t u r e . T h e f o r t h c o m i n g Video Nation
( i n w h i c h some 6 0 people t h r o u g h o u t B r i t a i n w i l l c o l -
lectively p r o d u c e a v i d e o d i a r y o f the n a t i o n ) shows another. G i b s o n sees t h e most p r o m i s i n g aspect o f Video Diaries
as c o m i n g f r o m t h e
w a y i t can lead diarists o r w o u l d - b e diarists t o t h i n k b e y o n d t h e d i a r y f o r m .
Video Diaries: What's Up Doc? 333 T h e d i a r y f o r m a t w i l l g o o n because i t is a v e r y v a l i d w a y o f s t o r y - t e l l i n g / says G i b s o n , ' b u t t h e n e x t d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d o n e w h i c h i n m y m i n d has been r e m a r k a b l y s l o w i n c o m i n g f o r w a r d , w i l l be [people t h i n k i n g ] : " w e l l , w e have these cameras, w e can use t h e m ourselves, w h y d o w e need t o make a diary? Why
can't I g o a n d m a k e a d o c u m e n t a r y about a n y t h i n g I w a n t ? ' "
I t is i n fact over a quarter o f a century since t h e n e w technology o f video enabled us t o raise m a n y o f t h e issues o f access that are o n l y n o w c o m i n g t o the f o r e (so m u c h f o r t h e w h i t e heat o f technology). O n e reason f o r this slowness is the i n d u s t r y ' s fear o f the new. Television is, essentially, a very conservative m e d i u m . I t is a m e d i u m whose incessant c h u r n demands an u n b r o k e n i n p u t o f n e w ideas, n e w p r o g r a m m e s , n e w people, b u t i t ' s precisely because those ( o l d ) broadcasters w h o c o n t r o l t h e m e d i u m are so dependent o n t h e n e w that they distrust i t a n d fear the uncertainty a n d unpredictability i t entails. Perhaps a n o t h e r reason is t h a t n e w t e c h n o l o g y i n broadcasting cuts b o t h ways. W h i l e S-VHS a n d H i - 8 appear t o be o p e n i n g the d o o r s o f broadcasting t o m o r e o f its p r e v i o u s passive consumers, n e w barriers o f e n t r y are b e i n g raised b y t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s ' attempts t o establish H D T V as t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f broadcast q u a l i t y f o r t h e f u t u r e . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t debates t o emerge a r o u n d Video Diaries
a n d the f u t u r e
o f n e w t e c h n o l o g y i n television d o c u m e n t a r y are those w h i c h raise questions a b o u t social p o w e r . W h o s h o u l d have access t o precious broadcasting time? Who
is t o be a l l o w e d t o d o c u m e n t t h e i r stories, t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e
w o r l d w e live i n t h r o u g h t h e m e d i u m o f television? W h o s h o u l d be t h e m a n i p u l a t o r s ? O n e need o n l y consider t h e H D T V camera i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e H i - 8 camcorder, o r Video Diaries
i n r e l a t i o n t o You've Been Framed!,
t o realise
t h a t , as R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s said, ' t h e m o m e n t o f a n y n e w t e c h n o l o g y is a m o m e n t o f choice.'
Less than 10 things you didn't know about Video Diaries' •
'Video Diaries' it's
are cheap, b u t n o t that cheap. I f p r o d u c e d outside t h e B B C ,
estimated that they w o u l d cost an average o f between £ 6 0 , 0 0 0 a n d
£ 7 0 , 0 0 0 an h o u r , a r o u n d t w o - t h i r d s the cost of, say, a typical Channel 4 documentary. •
Diarists d o n o t get any fee f r o m the B B C .
• M o s t diaries are shot o n Panasonic M S S 4 (S-VHS) camcorders, w h i c h cost £ 1 , 4 0 0 . A f e w are done o n the smaller H i - 8 f o r m a t . S-VHS a n d H i - 8 are n o t yet u p t o t h e 'broadcast q u a l i t y ' o f Betacam SP, b u t broadcast news is increasingly augmented by S-VHS a n d H i - 8 footage. • T h e C o m m u n i t y Programme U n i t receives an average o f about eight applications a day f r o m w o u l d - b e diarists, far m o r e w h e n the series is being transmitted. •
O n l y about 1 i n 5 0 applications gets b e y o n d the waste b i n o f the C o m m u n i t y Programme Unit.
334
Producers and Production • Recording may take u p t o 12 m o n t h s and diarists sometimes have u p t o 4 0 0 hours ( w i t h an average o f a r o u n d 150 hours) o f material t o be w h i t t l e d d o w n t o one h o u r at the end o f shooting. • Diarists, o r the BBC, can w i t h d r a w f r o m the project at any t i m e . Diarists have c o n t r o l over t h e final edit a n d all footage is j o i n t ' p r o p e r t y ' o f t h e diarist and the B B C ; neither can use i t - for example re-edit i t or sell the p r o gramme t o other broadcasters - w i t h o u t the other's agreement.
Questions 1
Keighron describes television as a 'source of (unelected) power' but suggests that the use of camcorder footage in TV programmes represents the nearest that television has come to handing power to its consumers; indeed series like Video Diaries and Video Nation are widely known as 'access' television. What are the particular qualities of video as a medium which result in it being seen as inherently 'democratic'?
2
Given the significance of the entertainment imperative highlighted by Roger Bolton in an earlier extract (reading 25), how and to what extent is even reality TV 'packaged' for a mainstream television audience? What effect might this have on such programmes' claims to be authentic and democratic?
3
How do you think that reality TV might develop in the future? In your view should it be regulated?
Further reading Bondebjerg, I . 1996: Public discourse/private fascination: hybridisation i n 'true-life story' genres. Media, Culture and Society 18. British Film Institute 1994: Watching ourselves: real people on television. Conference transcript. London: BFI. Corner, J. 1995: Television form and public address. London: Edward Arnold. Dovey, J. 1993: O l d dogs and new tricks: access television in the UK. In Dowmunt, T. (ed.), Channels of resistance. London: BFI. Dovey, J. 1996: The revelation of unguessed worlds. In Fractal dreams: new media in social context. London: Lawrence ÔC Wishart. Kilborn, R. 1994: H o w real can you get? Recent developments in Reality' television'. European Journal of Communication. 9, 421-39. Vale, J. 1993: Captured on videotape: camcorders and the personalisation of television. In Corner, J. and Hawthorn, J. (eds.), Communication studies: an introductory reader, 4th edn. London: Edward Arnold.
31 Riding with Ambulances: Television and Its Uses Andrew Goodwin From Sight and Sound 3(1), 26-8 (1993)
Continuing the theme of reality TV, Goodwin considers the place in the American television schedules of two types of reality programming, both of which have their British counterparts: those whose content relies on viewers' home videos (for which Jeremy Beadle is famous in this country following the precedent set by America's Funniest Home Videos) and those which purport to offer the viewer a glimpse into the working lives of the police and emergency services, either through the use of camcorders or surveillance cameras (such as Police, Camera, Action! in the UK and Cops in the USA) or through dramatic reconstructions of real events (e.g. Crimewatch UK, 999 and their American equivalents America's Most Wanted and Rescue 911). Reality programming is, of course, cheap television but it is also enormously popular with audiences and frequently warrants prime-time scheduling. One of the reasons seems to be that reality TV is undeniably voyeuristic, giving us an insight into the lives, crimes and personal tragedies of other people. However, this rather morbid fascination is underscored by a message which is ultimately optimistic. Programmes like 999 rarely reconstruct stories which don't have happy endings, and why have nightmares when viewers of Crimewatch UK have helped to solve hundreds of crimes and given information leading to countless arrests? Even Police, Camera, Action!, by placing the viewer in the position of the police officers, reinforces the authority of the forces of law and order and the legitimacy of their actions. But despite being about heroism, and indeed despite the public service role that many of these reality programmes purport to have (Goodwin tells of how a child in the US knew to call 911 in an emergency after watching the programme and BBC 1's 999 has claimed to have improved this nation's emergency first-aid skills), Goodwin states that these programmes undermine the professionalism of broadcast journalism. He believes that in their quest to be entertaining as well as informative, many reporters and producers have 'broken the rules' of traditional journalism and deliberately misled the audience. Furthermore, he rejects the popular view that reality TV empowers the audience: far from empowering us, he believes that it is turning us into spies and voyeurs. Indeed, his tongue-in-cheek replies to the question 'what next?' have already been borne out, in part, by the enforced resignation in January 1996 of ten police officers in Sydney, Australia after surveillance footage of them accepting bribes, taking drugs and having sex while on duty was shown repeatedly (and to huge audience ratings) on mainstream TV. One other frequent criticism which Goodwin does not address, but which is related to the issue of empowerment, is that surveillance cameras and video camcorders have reduced the need for 'real' people to be vigilant and police their own communities. So while
336
Producers and Production cameras may help to catch criminals after the event they can do nothing to prevent it from happening or intervene to stop it. Two examples mentioned in earlier sections - the beating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles police and the abduction of toddler James Bulger from a Liverpool shopping centre - are forceful testament to the powerlessness of the video and those of us who rely on it.
Television i n A m e r i c a has r o u t i n e l y been disparaged a n d subjected t o m o r a l panics a b o u t its effects a n d i m p a c t . W r i t t e n o f f as t h e ' b o o b t u b e ' , t h e 'Great M o t h e r ' (the m e t a p h o r s are significantly gendered), as 'a vast w a s t e l a n d ' (by N e w t o n M i n o w , Federal C o m m u n i c a t i o n s C o m m i s s i o n chief, i n 1 9 6 1 ) a n d , m o r e recently, as 'a toaster w i t h pictures' (by M a r k Fowler, R o n a l d Reagan's F C C c h a i r m a n ) , television is rarely taken seriously b y c u l t u r a l c o m m e n t a t o r s . B u t j u d g e d even b y these l o w e r e d expectations, t h e t a b l o i d television shows a n d ' r e a l - l i f e ' p r o g r a m m i n g that first h i t o u r screens i n t h e m i d - 8 0 s represent a n e w l o w , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e m e d i u m ' s critics. I n t h e n e w f o r m a t s o f shows like Cops, America's 911,
Most
Wanted a n d
Rescue
' f a c t u a l ' o u t p u t is subjected t o a l l t h e razzamatazz o f a p r i m e - t i m e game
show. M e a n w h i l e , amateur v i d e o is increasingly p r o m i n e n t ( C N N recruits w o u l d - b e newsgatherers o r so-called ' C N N N e w s - h o u n d s ' , f r o m t h e v i d e o t a p e d beating o f Rodney K i n g t o t h e domestic pratfalls o f America's Home
Videos.
Funniest
T h i s m a t e r i a l is increasingly packaged like a c o m m e r c i a l o r an
M T V v i d e o c l i p , w i t h a l l n o t i o n s o f ' k e e p i n g f a i t h w i t h t h e v i e w e r ' (is i t 'fact' o r ' f i c t i o n ' ? ) subsumed u n d e r t h e need t o generate excitement. D o c u m e n t a r y and camcorder
images are electronically m a n i p u l a t e d a n d spiced u p w i t h
music a n d d r a m a t i c and/or c o m i c voiceover. Reporters are c h r o m a k e y e d i n t o d r a m a t i c reconstructions. A n d t a b l o i d news values increasingly cross over i n t o television's factual o u t p u t , t h r o u g h sensationalised l i k e Hard
Copy, A Current
Affair
a n d Inside
'human-interest'
shows
Edition.
'Reality p r o g r a m m i n g ' is, o f course, one o f television's least
expensive
f o r m s , a n d this has l e d some t o argue t h a t i t is, i n b o t h senses, its cheapest. M a n y o f these criticisms are w e l l placed. B u t there is also m u c h m o r e g o i n g o n i n t h e n e w ' r e a l i t y ' shows: a m o v e t o w a r d s a u t i l i t a r i a n v i e w o f t e l e v i s i o n , a n d a n u n d e r m i n i n g o f the i d e o l o g y o f n a t u r a l i s m .
Post-naturalism U n t i l a f e w years ago, y o u m i g h t c o n f i d e n t l y have asserted t h a t t h e d o m i n a n t i d e o l o g y i n television i n B r i t a i n a n d t h e US was n a t u r a l i s m - a c o m m i t m e n t t o an i m p a r t i a l , objective p o r t r a y a l o f t h e w o r l d v i a the veracity o f t h e camera. A n d as R i c h a r d C o l l i n s p o i n t s o u t i n an essay about t h e w o r k o f Roger G r a e f ( i n his b o o k Television:
Policy
and Culture),
the ideology o f the neutral
camera gells p e r f e c t l y w i t h t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f 'balance'. T h e radicals w h o c r i t i q u e d this v i e w d e m a n d e d an actively engaged television - t h e m e d i a as a
Riding with Ambulances f o r m o f social advocacy. Instead, w h a t w e have ( i n the US at least) is a break w i t h o b j e c t i v i t y t h a t p r o m o t e s a p o i n t o f view, b u t one w h i c h is p r o - t e l e v i s i o n , p r o - l a w a n d o r d e r a n d c o m m i t t e d t o a p o p u l i s t agenda o f technological determ i n i s m t h a t sees the spread o f the camcorder as a sign o f a v i b r a n t , p a r t i c i p a t o r y democracy. M a n y o f these shows began i n the late '80s. A n d yet the n e w post-naturalist t e l e v i s i o n shows t h a t are n o w c o m i n g o u t i n the w a k e o f Cops, Funniest
Home
Videos a n d America's
Most
America's
Wanted also reveal a c o n t r a d i c t o r y
p o l i t i c a l i m p u l s e , i f o n l y because they take the challenge t o d o m i n a n t n o t i o n s o f the camera-observer even f u r t h e r . A f t e r the success o f three special episodes last season, J Witness Video started its first r u n as a regular N B C series. L i k e Rescue 9 9 9 ) , J Witness
911
( i m i t a t e d by the BBC as
Video presents television a n d v i d e o as u n m i t i g a t e d blessings f o r
h u m a n k i n d . W r i t t e n o f f as 'snuff v i d e o ' by TV Guide, sees itself as the socially redeeming version o f America's
this n e w s h o w clearly Funniest
Home
Videos:
' M o s t o f us use o u r camcorders t o r e c o r d parties, vacations, the h a p p y times', says host Patrick V a n H o r n . ' B u t v i d e o is also used f o r m u c h greater purposes. T o help us see things i n ways w e never t h o u g h t possible. T o influence o u r b e h a v i o u r , alter o u r o p i n i o n s a n d even change o u r lives. T o n i g h t , v i d e o that has made a difference.' W h e n one o f these instances is the use o f a m i c r o - c a m i n the h e l m e t o f a f o o t b a l l player t o give us a skull's-eye v i e w o f the game, t h a t r h e t o r i c sounds c o m i c . A n d w h e n a camera is taken aboard a helicopter o n a l a s t - m i n u t e search f o r a kidney-transplant patient o n vacation i n the desert, the ambulance-chasing factor does b r i n g the snuff-video accusation t o the fore. Rescue
911,
o n the o t h e r h a n d , never chases ambulances, because i t rides
w i t h t h e m . W h e r e J Witness Video gives us live recordings o f real events, 911
Rescue
engages i n h a r r o w i n g reconstructions o f real-life accidents a n d dramas fea-
t u r i n g m a n y o f the o r i g i n a l participants. T h e show's f o u r t h season opener is an e x t e n d e d s i x t y - m i n u t e boast w h i c h begins unashamedly w i t h the slogan:
'100
lives saved'. 'A television p r o g r a m m e ' s success can be measured i n m a n y d i f f e r ent ways - ratings, awards, reviews. For us, the i m p o r t a n t measure has been i n lives', says host W i l l i a m Shatner. I n all his years as Star Trek's C a p t a i n James T. K i r k , Shatner has h a r d l y u t t e r e d m o r e preposterous w o r d s . B u t i f y o u believe t h a t p o p u l a r c u l t u r e cannot be u n d e r s t o o d unless y o u go b e y o n d cynicism, t h e n i t is w o r t h c o n s i d e r i n g this statement n o t o n l y f r o m the p o i n t o f v i e w o f N B C (as a lie) b u t also f r o m the perspective o f the audience (as a promise). W e m i g h t n o t believe C a p t a i n K i r k (cynicism is necessary, albeit n o t sufficient), b u t he has a p o i n t . W h a t is the c r i t i c , t r a i n e d i n the art o f analysing 'texts', t o d o w h e n television moves so s w i f t l y f r o m r e f l e c t i o n t o action?
Tabloid television W h e n television's appeal shifts so d r a m a t i c a l l y f r o m t r u t h t o use, i t places itself c e n t r a l l y as t h e n e w a u t h o r i t y f i g u r e i n a f r i g h t e n e d , a t o m i s e d society. T
337
338
Producers and Production realised at t h a t p o i n t t h a t I was t a l k i n g t o a c h i l d a n d I realised t h a t he was there b y himself. I k n e w t h a t he h a d n o t called his m o m at w o r k , he h a d n o t called his g r a n d p a r e n t s . H e h a d i m m e d i a t e l y called 9 1 1 , a n d t h a t was c r u c i a l . ' T h e p o i n t b e i n g made here, b y a f i r e dispatcher d e a l i n g w i t h a 9 1 1 c a l l , is t h a t t h e y o u n g b o y called that n u m b e r because he h a d seen t h e t e l e v i s i o n show. Rescue
911 is interested i n effects, n o t i n m y t h ; a l t h o u g h t h a t leaves
p l e n t y o f r o o m t o create t h e m y t h o f its o w n effects. Some o f w h i c h are t r u l y bizarre: a w o m a n u n k n o w i n g l y suffering f r o m carbon-monoxide
poisoning
generated b y a f a u l t y gas heater is taken t o h o s p i t a l b y her h u s b a n d . 911
Rescue
comes o n t h e television i n t h e emergency r o o m , f e a t u r i n g a story about a
w o m a n w h o has exactly t h e same s y m p t o m s , as a consequence o f i n h a l i n g fumes f r o m a gas heater i n t h e h o m e . T h e couple diagnose t h e p r o b l e m o n the basis o f w h a t they have just seen, a n d rush h o m e t o rescue t h e i r c h i l d r e n f r o m t h e b r i n k o f death. 'For m o s t o f us o u r homes seem so safe, w e c o u l d never imagine t h e m posi n g a t h r e a t t o o u r lives', Shatner tells us. O f course, t h e media c r i t i c wants t o take this as a m e t a p h o r . I n p a r a n o i d , p o s t - i m p e r i a l A m e r i c a , t h e f a m i l y has retreated t o t h e h o m e , w h e r e i t nests c o m f o r t a b l y i n f r o n t o f the television set ... o n l y t o f i n d t h a t here, t o o , there are d a r k threats i n every n o o k a n d cranny. W h e n t h e b i g bad w o r l d becomes a place w h e r e Americans fear t o t r e a d , t h e h o m e , t o o , becomes a haven o f insecurity. I f Saddam doesn't gas y o u , y o u r c o o k e r w i l l . B u t , as so o f t e n w i t h metaphors, w h a t does this explain? I f Rescue 911
is actually saving lives, a n d i f , as a t e x t , i t offers a l i f e - a f f i r m i n g promise
that television w i l l make t h e w o r l d a safer place, t h e n w h y reduce social use t o an allegorical figure? Rescue
911
is thus
a benign
version
o f America's
Most
Wanted,
the
s h o w that re-enacts crimes i n order t o set the general public o n t h e heels o f real-life felons.
Similarly, the CBS series Top Cops
( n o w i n its t h i r d
season) focuses n o t o n h u n t i n g d o w n bad guys (as i n Fox's Cops) b u t o n dramatising t h e personal stories o f i n d i v i d u a l police officers. W h e n an u n l i k e l y hero by t h e name o f D i c k Tracy foils a suicide b i d by a y o u n g w o m a n w h o plans t o t h r o w herself f r o m a bridge o n t o the freeway, the dramatisation looks like stand a r d stuff. But w h e n the real c o p (yes, his name is D i c k Tracy) is r e u n i t e d years later w i t h t h e w o m a n , w h o thanks h i m f o r saving her, the e m o t i o n a l p u l l is undeniable. H o w can y o u n o t choke up as the y o u n g w o m a n comes o n all emot i o n a l a n d D i c k stands there l o o k i n g all sheepish? Each o f these p r o g r a m m e s (J Witness Video, Rescue
911, Top Cops)
develops
the earlier m o d e l o f t a b l o i d television, circa 1 9 8 8 - 8 9 , by placing t h e v i e w e r even m o r e f i r m l y o n t h e side o f , a n d o f t e n physically i n t h e p o s i t i o n o f , l a w e n f o r c e m e n t officers a n d fire a n d rescue w o r k e r s . T h e camera sits there w i t h the 9 1 1 operators a n d witnesses their anguish as a c h i l d almost dies f r o m a d r o w n i n g accident. I t takes us t h r o u g h t h e s h o o t i n g o f a cop f r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i e w o f the police officer herself, r e c o n s t r u c t i n g the ghastly m o m e n t w h e n t h e v i l l a i n t u r n s t h e g u n o n me - I m e a n , her.
Riding with Ambulances O f course, f r o m the p o i n t o f v i e w o f the television industry, this is a b r i l l i a n t c o u p . Even as they garner respectable ratings shares f r o m the trashiest a n d m o s t m a n i p u l a t i v e televisual f o r m s yet i n v e n t e d , the n e t w o r k s can also lay c l a i m t o a sense o f social responsibility. These p r o g r a m m e s are a m o n g the m o s t v i o l e n t o n television, a n d yet they are also television's answer t o the c r i t ics w h o c l a i m the m e d i u m exploits the lowest c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r f o r a n t i social ends. B u t w h a t ' s i n i t f o r the audience? W i l l i a m Shatner's p r o m i s e (message: ' w e care') m i g h t echo the e m p t y gestures o f President Bush i n some respects, b u t i t also answers a need. T w o needs, actually. First, there is the c r a v i n g t o be released f r o m the g u i l t y burdens o f v o y e u r i s m . L i k e the g o o d Samaritans w h o stop t h e i r cars a n d p u l l o f f the freeway t o save the l i f e o f a y o u n g g i r l t r a p p e d u n d e r her o v e r t u r n e d vehicle, w e w a n t t o be i n v o l v e d . Shows l i k e Rescue a n d America's
Most
Wanted
rescue us f r o m the epistemology o f the
911 couch
p o t a t o ( n a t u r a l i s m ) . We d o n ' t w a n t t o sit there any longer, o g l i n g all those w a r s a n d famines w i t h n o t h i n g t o be d o n e . Americans are constructed as a people w h o adhere t o the a d m i r a b l e belief t h a t there are n o p r o b l e m s , o n l y s o l u t i o n s . T r a d i t i o n a l news is d i s l i k e d precisely f o r its failure t o pay l i p service t o that credo. Second, there is the desire f o r w h a t USA Today
calls the ' j o u r n a l i s m o f
h o p e ' . H e r e , at last, is broadcast j o u r n a l i s m w h i c h delivers solutions. I n b o t h areas, the n e w i n f o t a i n m e n t offers a Utopian appeal: first, t o a sense o f c o m m u n i t y , a n d second, t o a p r a g m a t i s m w h i c h rejects the idea that the w o r l d is hopelessly o u t o f c o n t r o l a n d w h i c h abhors television's usual i m p l i c a t i o n t h a t n o t h i n g can be d o n e . Is t h i s a n e w p o p u l i s t aesthetic p u r g i n g the bourgeois p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m
of
n e t w o r k t e l e v i s i o n i n the n a m e o f a p o s t - m o d e r n videocracy? O r is i t s i m p l y a n e w u r b a n i d i o c y , a n o t h e r t u r n o f the screw by the m o g u l s o f c o n s u m e r surveillance?
W h a t i s n ' t g o i n g t o w o r k here is a t r e n d y , p o p u l i s t c u l t u r a l -
studies take t h a t sees a l l t h i s i n t e r m s o f l i b e r a t o r y empowerment. i n c r e a s i n g l y a device f o r s t i t c h i n g us i n t o a d i g i t a l Gesellschaft
I f v i d e o is
(only d i s c o n -
nect?) t h a t t h e t e l e v i s i o n set h a d been accused o f d i s m a n t l i n g , t h e n just l o o k at t h e p a r t i c u l a r w a y so m u c h o f the n e w v i d e o tech addresses us - as spies and competitors. W h e n the F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l critics observed t h a t the c u l t u r e i n d u s t r i e s t e n d i n c r e a s i n g l y t o i n v a d e o u r p r i v a t e lives i n the name o f c a p i t a l , they w e r e accused o f pessimism. ' O n e c o u l d n o t a v o i d the suspicion t h a t " f r e e t i m e " is t e n d i n g t o w a r d its o w n o p p o s i t e , a n d is b e c o m i n g a p a r o d y o f i t s e l f , w r o t e T h e o d o r A d o r n o i n an essay w h i c h is a l m o s t a r e v i e w - b e f o r e t h e - f a c t o f America's
Funniest
Home
Videos.
B u t n o t even the m o s t c o m m i t -
t e d M a r x i s t p a r t y - p o o p e r c o u l d have i m a g i n e d a day w h e n p e o p l e
would
sell images o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n b e i n g i n j u r e d i n o r d e r t o g a i n fame a n d riches o n a s h o w w h e r e t h e t o p p r i z e is i n the o r d e r o f $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 . I f t h i s i s n ' t the c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f everyday l i f e , i n w h i c h K o d a k a n d Sony are n o t s i m p l y
339
340
Producers and Production essential t o o u r evenings a n d weekends, b u t also n o w agents f o r t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f ' l e i s u r e ' t i m e i n t o a p o t e n t source o f freelance i n c o m e , t h e n w h a t is? I t is also d i f f i c u l t t o a v o i d t h e conclusion t h a t i n a p e r i o d o f recession a n d r i s i n g c o n c e r n about c r i m e , t a b l o i d television has f o u n d a w a y t o give viewers a sense o f real e m p o w e r m e n t (the camcorder shoots - i t is a w e a p o n ) w h i l e d o i n g s o m e t h i n g concrete about c r i m e . I n o n e J Witness
Video
segment, a
retail-store camcorder captures images o f three burglars stealing t h e camera itself, a n d this footage is r u n over a n d over, a d i g i t a l m a n t r a , as i f i t has some special significance. W h i c h i t does. T h e videotape was s h o w n o n local T V news i n Des M o i n e s , I o w a , w h i c h t h e n l e d t o arrests. T h e camera p r o t e c t e d itself. M a y b e these magical p o w e r s w i l l p r o t e c t y o u , too? T h e v i d e o - t h i e f even gave t h e m e d i u m t h e u l t i m a t e soundbite-as-endorsement:
'As soon as I saw
t h a t o n T V I k n e w I was g o i n g t o get caught'. So i f t h e n e w shows are t o be w e l c o m e d t o t h e extent that they help c h i p away at H i s Majesty O b j e c t i v i t y (this is a matter o f meaning), there is n o d e n y i n g that their social
uses c o n t a i n d i s t u r b i n g possibilities, a n d
actualities. A s n e t w o r k s a n d independents affiliated
stations)
parade
their
(the increasingly p o w e r f u l u n -
post-production
techniques
a n d their
v i d e o vigilantes w i t h n e w cost-effective reality shows, w h a t ' s next? America's most h i l a r i o u s therapy notes? America's most i n c r i m i n a t i n g telephone records? America's m o s t embarrassing trash-can contents? America's strangest
X-ray
slides? Somewhere o u t there, a c h i l d is w a i t i n g t o capture parental substance abuse o n h o m e videotape, w h i c h w i l l t h e n be handed over t o the authorities. But w h o are the a u t h o r i t i e s today? Television, o r the police? Just w a t c h o u t , there's a c a m c o r d e r about.
What you feel is what you get I f the n e w t a b l o i d a n d h o m e - v i d e o p r o g r a m m e s are a b o u t p o l i c i n g , t h e n there is also t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e i r interesting transgressions o f c o n v e n t i o n a l b r o a d cast practice. T h e n e w p r o g r a m m i n g u n d e r m i n e s broadcast
journalism i n
three ways. First, t h r o u g h its advocacy, t h e fact t h a t i t takes a stand. Second, t h r o u g h t h e e m o t i o n a l techniques o f re-enactment,
d e p l o y m e n t o f music,
p o s t - p r o d u c t i o n v i d e o effects, etc. A n d t h i r d , via t h e anti-professionalism o f its D I Y camcorder images. N o n e o f these developments is unprecedented. T h e journalist-as-advocate has explicitly
pushed
60 Minutes the
debate about
'amateurism'
a
point
t o Crimewatch.
o f view
o n television
f o r decades,
from
T h e use o f dramatic techniques has shadowed
television drama-documentary since t h e '40s. A n d t h e
o f t h e w o b b l y vérité
camera
has been
made
famous b y
documentarians such as Roger Graef a n d Fred Wiseman. W h a t is n e w here is the pervasiveness o f these techniques i n p r i m e t i m e , t h e extent t o w h i c h they have begun t o leak i n t o m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l formats (the infamous A B C news
Riding with Ambulances 341 segment, aired i n August 1 9 8 9 , w h i c h recreated F B I footage o f alleged spy Felix B l o c h ) , a n d t h e n e w zest w i t h w h i c h they are edited. T h e e x p l i c i t goal o f m a k i n g a n e m o t i o n a l appeal is also m u c h i n evidence i n n e w current-affairs shows l i k e Inside
Edition,
Hard
Copy
a n d A Current
Affair.
Graef's naturalism was
i n t e n d e d as a t r u t h - t e l l i n g machine. Post-naturalism is all about w h a t y o u feel.
Fakery exposed While
there
are earlier
examples,
such
as G e r a l d o
Rivera's
primetime
d r u g - b u s t i n g s h o w American
Vice, screened i n 1 9 8 6 , i t was d u r i n g t h e 1 9 8 8 - 8 9
television
the
season
that
most
elaborate
breaks
with
broad-
cast-journalism techniques came t o t h e f o r e . I t was d u r i n g that season also that television began t o push at t h e boundaries o f acceptable journalistic practices, w h e n t h e s h o r t - l i v e d N B C p r o g r a m m e Yesterday,
Today and Tomorrow
went
b e y o n d re-enactments t o c h r o m a k e y its reporters i n t o reconstructed scenarios. T h i s is, i n fact, a perfect example o f a n electronic device w h i c h exposes a m o r e established practice. T h e s u p e r i m p o s i t i o n o f c h r o m a k e y was a piece o f fakery t h a t m e r e l y a m p l i f i e d t h e m o r e c o m m o n practice o f h a v i n g a r e p o r t e r i n , say, Paris, stand i n f r o n t o f a n image o f the E i f f e l T o w e r . I n a u t u m n 1 9 8 9 , a fascinating Times-Mirror
p o l l revealed w i d e s p r e a d m i s -
t r u s t o f news c o n v e n t i o n s . A m e r i c a n s c o n f u s e d b y pseudo-news shows o n T V ' screamed t h e San Francisco
Chronicle.
I n fact, this questionable c o n c l u -
s i o n w a s d r a w n f r o m e m p i r i c a l data suggesting t h a t v i e w e r s (quite c o r r e c t l y ) r e f u s e d t o believe t h a t ' n e w s ' a n d ' e n t e r t a i n m e n t ' p r o g r a m m e s are d i s t i n c t entities. So w h e r e ' s t h e c o n f u s i o n ? O b v i o u s l y i n t h e heads o f m e d i a critics a n d t h e c o n c e r n e d b u t h a r d l y disinterested professionals i n t h e industry, w h o are u n a b l e t o c o m p r e h e n d t h e fact t h a t t h e p u b l i c n o l o n g e r buys t h e selfserving rhetoric o f journalism. T r a d i t i o n a l l y , j o u r n a l i s m likes t o t h i n k o f itself as a r a t i o n a l beast. Since i t i s n ' t (dozens o f studies n o w adequately s h o w t h a t news is p a r t i a l , subjective a n d shaped b y t h e social a n d e c o n o m i c forces w h i c h g o v e r n its very d e f i n i t i o n ) , t h e n t h e o v e r t i n t r o d u c t i o n o f advocacy, affect a n d m a n i p u l a t i o n m a y be n o b a d t h i n g . C r i t i c s o f television's factual o u t p u t (as o p p o s e d t o i d e o logues w o r k i n g o n behalf o f Objective J o u r n a l i s m I n c . ) s h o u l d w e l c o m e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t e x t u a l strategies w h i c h u n d e r m i n e its c r e d i b i l i t y a n d l o o k f o r w a r d t o t h e day w h e n i t i n t r o d u c e s canned laughter.
Questions 1 2
What is the attraction of reality programming for both producers and viewers? Echoing Keighron's comments in the previous reading, Goodwin accuses the reality programming on American television of being self-interested, establishment-oriented and 'committed to a populist agenda of technological determin-
342
Producers and Production
3
ism that sees the spread of the camcorder as a sign of a vibrant participatory democracy'. Based on your reading of this extract and your knowledge of reality TV (both the British version and the American shows which you might have seen on satellite or cable) how would you assess this assertion? Stressing the role of reality TV as entertainment Barry Irving, director of the Police Foundation, was quoted in the Guardian (3 September 1990) as saying: 'a show like Crimewatch ... has everything. It panders to the British taste for a modicum of violence and nefarious activity, it's cheap to make, it promotes a whizz-bang action view of the police and encourages viewer participation. And over it all is a halo, because it is so evidently A Good Thing.' To what extent do you think that items are chosen for reconstruction in programmes like Crimewatch and 999 for their entertainment value, and where does this leave the much-lauded public service benefit and journalistic integrity of such shows?
Further reading See 'Further reading' section in reading 30, page 334.
Section 5
Global Media and New Media
In many ways Section 5 brings us full circle in that we return to, and develop, some of the issues introduced in Section 1 and elsewhere. In readings 32 and 33 we set up a debate between Michael Tracey and Herbert Schiller who take as their topic of discussion the impacts and consequences of cultural and media imperialism. Although their approaches and analyses are very different, they are both essentially concerned with the phenomenon of globalisation or, more accurately perhaps, the Américanisation of cultures around the world. Underpinning this theme are concerns which echo earlier extracts (e.g. by Thompson and Murdock in Section 1), namely, the organisation of global media and cultural systems and their position in, and impact on, the political, economic and social world order. In reading 34, David Morley recalls some of the issues raised by Meyrowitz in Section 1 and poses questions about the ways in which media define our social identities and relationships, and mediate our experiences, in the era of new technologies such as global satellite TV channels and the Internet. David Lyon extends this focus, arguing that our relationships with media technologies not only play an important role in the construction of our identities and our position in society but may actually be essential in allowing us to participate adequately in all areas of public and private life. As such, new media and communications technologies, according to Lyon, merely maintain and reproduce traditional power structures and inequalities, with some groups invariably having better access to information, greater control over the means of production and more consumption power and leisure time than others. Howard Rheingold then endorses the view that far from technologies democratising societies, they simply increase and intensify existing inequalities, and he draws on the ideas of some of the leading European philosophers and commentators of this century to illustrate his challenging forecast of the uses to which future media and communication technologies will be put. Many recent assessments of the contemporary media and cultural situation have used the idea of postmodemity to characterise the current state of affairs. In reading 37, Dominic Strinati defines and analyses postmodernism, and in doing so he reinforces the importance of understanding global media and communications technologies in terms of their impact on the dynamics and power structures of the world today. Just as earlier readings have helped us to gain insight into the power bases and organisational structures of 'modem' societies, so Strinati enables us to comprehend the ever more central position of media and communications systems in debates over the postmodern order. Finally, we turn our attention to a consideration of Media Studies itself and its position
344 Global Media and New Media and condition as an academic subject in the 1990s. Much criticised as a subject of study, ironically often by those who work in the media, Ian Connell and Geoff Hurd in reading 38 and John Corner in reading 39 look at aspects of the origins and development of the subject area and consider some of the reasons why Media Studies has frequently been derided by journalists and politicians, in much the same way as Sociology was in the 1970s. In their assessments they outline some of the problems and dilemmas which Media Studies faces in its current phase, and also suggest some of the directions that it might take in the future. As you approach the end of this book, you might wish to consider your own views on the study of the media in schools, colleges and universities; why you chose the course you are currently undertaking; what you hope to gain from studying the mass media and what the aims of media education in general, and Media Studies specifically, should be as we approach a new millennium.
32 The Poisoned Chalice? International Television and the Idea of Dominance Michael Tracey From Daedalus 114(4), 17-56 (Fall 1985)
In the first half of the twentieth century, media systems and institutions have played a vital part in the consolidation and mediation of distinctive national cultures. The respective roles and centrality of print, film and broadcast media in the construction of the 'imagined communities' of the nation state have been a key focus for much mass media and mass communication research. In the latter half of the century, however, writers and researchers have also had to recognise and respond to the growing importance of the media as players on the international, world-wide political and cultural stage. As a result, the significance of growing international and global patterns of media technologies, media ownership, media imagery and its consumption and reception has formed a key focus for debate and research. At the heart of such debates are a number of issues concerning the consequences of increasing global networks and systems, especially their impact upon the power structures and the dynamics of the world order. A particular theme at stake here has been associated with the idea of cultural or media imperialism. In brief, this implies that modem world media systems have provided an important and strategic means whereby dominant nations have attempted to extend and develop their economic, political and cultural forms of control and power in the global arena. In this extract, taken from a longer and more detailed article, Tracey sets out to challenge some of the methods and assumptions which have characterised the approaches of some researchers in this area. He focuses on television and specifically on the international flows and markets for television programmes. The original article was first published in 1985. That was before the break-up of the former Soviet Union, and before subsequent developments in global satellite systems and their impacts upon local, regional, national and global cultures and identities. As Tracey forecasts in his discussion, the expansion of DBS (direct broadcasting by satellite) technologies of international television has been one significant part of the emerging world communications map since the mid-1980s.
I n t h e last w e e k o f February 1 9 8 5 , 1 6 0 buyers f r o m f o r e i g n television stations assembled i n t h e Shakespeare C e n t r e at S t r a t f o r d u p o n A v o n . T h e y
were
a t t e n d i n g t h e B B C ' s 'Showcase,' o r g a n i z e d b y B B C Enterprises t o m a r k e t t h e c o r p o r a t i o n ' s p r o g r a m s a b r o a d . T h e p o p u l a r purchases this year were a series based o n t h e A g a t h a C h r i s t i e f i g u r e M i s s M a r p l e ; D a v i d A t t e n b o r o u g h ' s The Living
Planet;
a drama
based
in Norway
called
Maelstrom;
and the
Shakespeare cycle. A p o p u l a r c o m e d y p r o g r a m about t h e B r i t i s h c i v i l service,
346
Global Media and New Media Yes Minister,
has been sold t o thirty-seven countries i n c l u d i n g Sri L a n k a , Saudi
A r a b i a , Yugoslavia, a n d L i b y a . Sales o f this p r o g r a m t o the Eastern bloc were non-existent. East E u r o p e a n countries d i d , however, l i k e Alio Alio,
a comedy
set i n N a z i - o c c u p i e d France. T h e G e r m a n buyers at S t r a t f o r d declined t o b u y this o n t h e g r o u n d s t h a t ' i t w o u l d n o t travel w e l l , ' even t h o u g h they d i d b u y the b r i l l i a n t , i f c u r i o u s , Fawlty
Towers.
As any f a n o f this k n o w s , o n e o f t h e
s h o w ' s k e y figures is t h e Spanish w a i t e r M a n u e l . T h e Spanish buyer was t o l d t h a t , i n fact, M a n u e l was M e x i c a n , a n d he d u l y o b l i g e d b y b u y i n g t h e series. L o o k e d at f r o m one angle, this gathering was n o m o r e t h a n a w a y f o r the w o r l d ' s television channels t o b u y some rather g o o d p r o g r a m s very cheaply. F r o m another p o i n t o f view, however, here begins the insidious influence o f N o r t h A t l a n t i c c u l t u r e over t h e rest o f the w o r l d . A l o n g w i t h Basil F a w l t y a n d M a n u e l , Sir H u m p h r e y a n d J i m H a c k e r o f t h e m i n i s t r y , the detective as dame (in a t r a d i t i o n a l English sense, n o t that i m p o r t e d sense), the dramas o f a N o r w e g i a n f j o r d , t h e B a r d a n d all his w o r k s , a n d the m a n y o t h e r p r o d u c t s o f the B B C , f l o w values t h a t first enter a n d t h e n s l o w l y influence cultures t h a t w o u l d be better o f f w i t h o u t t h e m . W h a t can w e say about television as a process o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l c u l t u r a l d o m ination? W h a t can w e say about the idea o f dominance? W h a t can w e say about w h y A m e r i c a n p r o g r a m s are so m u c h m o r e ' p o p u l a r ' t h a n those o f o t h e r countries? W h a t specific influences can w e p i n p o i n t ? W h a t grasp d o w e have o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f television p r o g r a m s a n d t h e shaping o f i n d i v i d u a l lives a n d w h o l e cultures? W h a t can w e say even about t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f television programs? T h e answer t o a l l these questions is: n o t very m u c h . L e t m e begin w i t h that very basic f i n a l question: w h a t d o w e k n o w about the 'surface' structure o f the i n t e r n a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f television programs? To answer t h a t , i t is necessary t o recapitulate t h e f i n d i n g s o f the research o r g a n i z e d o n behalf o f U N E S C O b y Tapio Varis. T h i s study, w h i c h covered 1
some s i x t y - n i n e countries, was an update o f a similar survey c o m p l e t e d a decade before. Varis f o u n d f e w overall changes since 1973 i n t h e p a t t e r n o f p r o g r a m f l o w , b u t d i d indicate a t r e n d t o w a r d greater regional exchanges a l o n g w i t h t h e c o n t i n u e d d o m i n a n c e o f a few e x p o r t i n g countries.
[...] Varis's analysis is, w i t h o u t d o u b t , t h e best guide w e have t o t h e general dist r i b u t i o n o f television a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . O v e r a l l , i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s average o n e - t h i r d o r m o r e o f t o t a l p r o g r a m m i n g . T h e U n i t e d States i m p o r t s l i t t l e o n l y a b o u t 2 percent o f its t o t a l television o u t p u t , m a i n l y f r o m G r e a t B r i t a i n , M e x i c o , a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a . I n Canada, t h e vast percentage o f t h e m a t e r i a l i m p o r t e d is f r o m t h e U n i t e d States. I n L a t i n A m e r i c a , e n t e r t a i n m e n t d o m i n a t e d a l l t h e T V p r o g r a m m i n g s t u d i e d , a c c o u n t i n g f o r about 5 0 percent o f t o t a l transmission t i m e . M o s t o f these e n t e r t a i n m e n t p r o g r a m s are i m p o r t e d : 75 p e r c e n t f r o m t h e U . S . ; 12 percent f r o m L a t i n A m e r i c a ; a small p e r c e n t f r o m Europe.
The Poisoned Chalice? 347 In
Western
Europe,
there
are i m p o r t a n t differences
among
countries.
O v e r a l l , 3 0 percent o f television p r o g r a m m i n g is i m p o r t e d . F o r t y - f o u r percent o f t h e m a t e r i a l is i m p o r t e d f r o m t h e U.S., w i t h U.S. p r o g r a m s a c c o u n t i n g f o r 10 percent o f t o t a l transmission t i m e i n E u r o p e ; sixteen percent is i m p o r t e d f r o m t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m ; 5 t o 10 percent f r o m G e r m a n y a n d France; 3 percent f r o m Eastern E u r o p e a n d the Soviet U n i o n . I n t h e USSR 14 percent o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t p r o g r a m s are i m p o r t e d . Eastern E u r o p e i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s f r o m t w e n t y - s i x countries, 43 percent f r o m o t h e r Eastern E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s a n d 5 7 percent f r o m outside t h a t area. T w e n t y one percent came f r o m the Soviet U n i o n . I n Asia a n d t h e Pacific, 3 6 percent o f all television p r o g r a m s are i m p o r t e d , b u t t h e v a r i a t i o n s a m o n g countries are e n o r m o u s , r a n g i n g f r o m 75 percent f o r N e w Zealand's C h a n n e l 2 , t o 3 percent f o r a Calcutta s t a t i o n . T h e U.S. a n d U . K . are t h e m a i n source o f p r o g r a m s ; f o l l o w e d by Japan, w i t h c h i l d r e n ' s programs, documentaries, a n d movies; a n d India, H o n g K o n g , a n d Taiwan, w i t h f i l m s . C h i n a produces almost a l l its o w n TV, t a k i n g just a l i t t l e e d u c a t i o n a l a n d news m a t e r i a l f r o m the U n i t e d K i n g d o m . I n t h e A r a b c o u n t r i e s , 4 2 percent o f T V is i m p o r t e d : o n e - t h i r d comes f r o m o t h e r A r a b states; 3 2 percent o f n o n - A r a b i c i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s come f r o m the U n i t e d States. I n E g y p t , 5 4 . 5 percent o f i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s are f r o m t h e U n i t e d States. O f t h e rest o f n o n - A r a b i c i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s , France p r o v i d e s 13 p e r c e n t ; t h e U . K . , Japan, a n d G e r m a n y 5 t o 7 percent each; t h e USSR less t h a n 3 p e r c e n t ; a n d o t h e r socialist countries a b o u t 1 percent. O f t h e A r a b c o u n t r i e s , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t source o f i m p o r t s is t h e U n i t e d A r a b Emirates (10 percent o f i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s ) , f o l l o w e d b y E g y p t (6 percent), Saudi A r a b i a (4 p e r c e n t ) , a n d K u w a i t (4 percent). I n A f r i c a , about 4 0 percent o f programs are i m p o r t e d , a l t h o u g h there are quite w i d e differences a m o n g countries: Z i m b a b w e , f o r example, i m p o r t s about 6 1 percent o f its television. O f t h e i m p o r t e d material, 5 0 percent comes f r o m the U.S., 25 percent f r o m Germany, a n d the rest f r o m Western Europe. I n South A f r i c a , 3 0 percent o f programs are i m p o r t e d : 5 4 percent f r o m the U.S., 3 0 percent f r o m t h e U . K . , 9 percent f r o m France, 5 percent f r o m A u s t r i a , a n d 3 percent f r o m Canada. Seventy percent o f this p r o g r a m m i n g is entertainment. A t a g l o b a l l e v e l , m o s t i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s o r i g i n a t e i n t h e U.S. a n d , t o a lesser e x t e n t , Western E u r o p e a n d Japan. T h e f l o w is m a i n l y o f p r o g r a m s o f a r e c r e a t i o n a l k i n d - l i g h t e n t e r t a i n m e n t s , movies, a n d sports. I n b o t h Western a n d Eastern E u r o p e , m o r e t h a n 4 0 percent o f i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s o r i g i n a t e w i t h i n o t h e r countries i n t h e r e g i o n . I n b o t h regions, t h e superpowers p r e d o m i n a t e : t h e U.S. p r o v i d e s 4 0 percent o f West E u r o p e a n i m p o r t s w h i l e t h e USSR p r o v i d e s 2 0 percent o f East E u r o p e a n i m p o r t s . T h e m o s t n o t a b l e increase i n r e g i o n a l exchange over t h e past t e n years has occurred a m o n g the Arabs, w i t h o n e - t h i r d o f imports originating w i t h i n the r e g i o n , a n d a m o n g L a t i n A m e r i c a n countries w h e r e t h e f i g u r e f o r r e g i o n a l exchange is 10 percent.
348
Global Media and New Media T h e v e r y general p i c t u r e o f T V f l o w s described b y Varis is, h o w e v e r , n o t a o n e - w a y street; rather, there are a n u m b e r o f m a i n t h o r o u g h f a r e s , w i t h a series o f n o t u n i m p o r t a n t smaller roads. I n this sense, his d e s c r i p t i o n parallels t h a t o f t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f news. W h a t is clear is t h a t television as an i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n system is far m o r e c o m p l e x t h a n is sometimes assumed. We m u s t a l l o w f o r f l o w s w i t h i n f l o w s , patterns o f d i s t r i b u t i o n t h a t d o n o t f i t i n t o t h e f a m i l i a r a n d simplistic m o d e l that shows t o t a l d o m i n a t i o n o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l television b y t h e U n i t e d States. Even w h e n w e s i m p l y c o u n t w h i c h p r o grams are g o i n g w h e r e , t h a t idea does n o t h o l d t r u e . T h e r e are alternative sets o f influences a n d m o v e m e n t w i t h i n L a t i n A m e r i c a , w i t h i n E u r o p e , w i t h i n Asia, w i t h i n t h e G u l f States, w i t h i n the Pacific basin: o n e cannot p r e t e n d these d o n o t exist. I n assessing t h e p a t t e r n o f p r o g r a m d i s t r i b u t i o n , one must also consider v i d e o , a t e c h n o l o g y t h a t has been largely absent f r o m t h e general debate a b o u t i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e l e v i s i o n , a n d yet w h i c h is b e c o m i n g m o r e a n d m o r e i m p o r t a n t . A t t h e e n d o f 1 9 8 3 , there w e r e an estimated 4 0 m i l l i o n V C R s
(vidéocassette
recorders) i n t h e w o r l d , w i t h a g r o w t h rate m u c h faster t h a n t h a t o f T V T h e G u l f States, f o r e x a m p l e , are a n i m p o r t a n t area f o r t h e use o f vidéocassette recorders t o w a t c h television a n d f i l m s f r o m o t h e r countries. T h e penet r a t i o n rate o f V C R s i n Saudi A r a b i a is about 85 percent o f homes
with
televisions. A 1 9 8 1 study t h a t surveyed 120 people s h o w e d t h a t they all h a d V C R s ; a survey c o n d u c t e d i n t h e Red Sea c i t y o f J i d d a s h o w e d that 19 percent o f a l l homes h a d two machines. T h e r e are basically t w o types o f material available o n videotape. T h e first includes large quantities o f T V Westerns a n d feature films. A t the t i m e o f Douglas Boyd's research, the latest episodes o f Hill Street Blues, The A-Team,
as w e l l as such movies as E.T
a n d Terms
St.
Elsewhere,
of Endearment,
were
readily available. A l l o f these were pirated. Similarly, every evening's t o t a l B B C o u t p u t is taped a n d f l o w n t o the M i d d l e East the f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g i n a private plane. Pornographic material is acquired f r o m L o n d o n , Paris, a n d F r a n k f u r t . T h e r e are also A r a b television programs a n d films, obtained m a i n l y f r o m Egypt. As o n e observer n o t e d : ' I n the t u m u l t u o u s arena o f A r a b politics, the soaps are a soft-sell c o m m e r c i a l f o r Egyptian values, a n d thereby a vehicle f o r Egyptian influence. T h e y are a r e m i n d e r t o the Arabs that even w h e n Egypt's p o l i t i c a l course is i n disrepute, Egypt is still n u m b e r one a m o n g the A r a b states.' T h e success a n d influence o f E g y p t i a n television f o l l o w s i n t h e w a k e o f t h e success o f its f i l m s , w h i c h 'paved the w a y ... b y p r o m o t i n g t h e faces o f its stars, t h e voices o f its singers a n d t h e tales o f its w r i t e r s i n every A r a b c i t y a n d t o w n . Even m o r e i m p o r t a n t , i t spread a f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h Egypt's dialect. T h a n k s t o t h e movies, t h e A r a b i c spoken by t h e Egyptians has come t o d o m i nate a language spoken i n a h u n d r e d d i f f e r e n t ways i n t h e M i d d l e East. T h i s d o m i n a n c e n o w v i r t u a l l y precludes any other A r a b c o u n t r y f r o m successfully establishing a n e n t e r t a i n m e n t i n d u s t r y o f its o w n . ' A n E g y p t i a n T V p r o d u c e r observed: ' T h e r i c h markets f o r state T V are i n Saudi A r a b i a a n d t h e G u l f ,
The Poisoned Chalice? 349 a n d [ E g y p t i a n T V ] w i l l n o t p r o d u c e a n y t h i n g t h a t w i l l alienate the Saudis. T h e Saudis o n l y w a n t things t h a t c o u l d have been s h o w n i n t h e M i d d l e Ages. L i k e all A r a b g o v e r n m e n t s , they w a n t t o p r o m o t e t h e status q u o . So t h a t is w h a t w e give t h e m . ' I n m a n y A s i a n societies, g o v e r n m e n t s are b e c o m i n g w o r r i e d t h a t t h e use o f V C R s is u n d e r m i n i n g d e v e l o p m e n t goals. F o r e x a m p l e , i n M a l a y s i a 75 percent o f t h e viewers o f V C R tapes are t h e M a l a y s i a n Chinese p o p u l a t i o n . T h e g o v e r n m e n t is t r y i n g t o w e l d together a n u m b e r o f cultures t h r o u g h the use o f a n a t i o n a l language, Bahasa M a l a y s i a , b u t t h e Chinese prefer
Chinese-lan-
guage videotapes f r o m H o n g K o n g t o t h e Bahasa M a l a y s i a - d o m i n a t e d T V service, a fact t h a t is less t h a n pleasing t o t h e a u t h o r i t i e s . I n 1 9 8 2 , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n m i n i s t e r , A d i b A d a m , expressed his fears that g o v e r n m e n t messages w e r e n o t r e a c h i n g t h e p e o p l e , a n d t h a t t h e loss o f t h e T V audience t o v i d e o m i g h t ' h a m p e r g o v e r n m e n t efforts t o disseminate n a t i o n a l aspirations a n d values a n d channel i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e p e o p l e . ' I n a n article i n t h e M a l a y s i a n Star,
o n June 2 1 , 1 9 8 3 , he w a r n e d t h a t videotapes c o u l d expose people t o
policies c o n t r a r y t o g o v e r n m e n t policies a n d n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e , h u r t television news a n d i n f o r m a t i o n , a n d h i n d e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s efforts t o foster racial h a r m o n y . T h e counter-accusation, h o w e v e r , was o n e universally used w h e n an audience begins t o d r i f t away: T V is b o r i n g . T h e r e have recently been efforts t o m a k e television m o r e appealing b y i m p o r t i n g m o r e Western m a t e r i a l - a s o l u t i o n t h a t is itself o u t o f step w i t h t h e a m b i t i o n s o f the M a l a y s i a n g o v e r n m e n t f o r d e v e l o p m e n t a n d n a t i o n b u i l d i n g . I n s h o r t , t h e s i t u a t i o n was n o m o r e t h a n o n e v e r s i o n o f t h a t global p r o b l e m i n w h i c h , w h e n given free choices, p o p u l a t i o n s tend
(a w o r d I here use carefully a n d deliberately) t o
reject m a r c h i n g t o t h e heights o f a g l o r i o u s a n d e n r i c h e d f u t u r e n a t i o n , i n f a v o r o f h e a d i n g t o the p l a y g r o u n d . S i m i l a r l y i n I n d o n e s i a , t h e r e a c t i o n t o t h e T V service has been t o t u r n more
a n d more t o w a t c h i n g television programs a n d films o n V C R . I n
Islamic
cultures,
t h e V C R is p l a y i n g havoc w i t h
t r a d i t i o n a l values a n d
m o r a l s . M i d d l e - c l a s s I n d i a n s are also using V C R s extensively, w a t c h i n g a g o o d deal o f U.S. m a t e r i a l . . . . O n e f i n a l p o i n t needs t o be addressed i n this discussion o f t h e parameters o f T V as a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l process: t h e use, a n d p l a n n e d use, o f satellites t o dist r i b u t e television a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . I n July o f last year, t h e magazine Broadcasting
Asian
r a n a cover p i c t u r e o f t h e cargo bay o f t h e space s h u t t l e ; t h e
s t o r y headline r e a d , 'Satellites: E v e r y b o d y Wants O n e . ' T h e t h e o r y is that d i r e c t broadcast satellite (DBS) systems are ideal f o r countries t h a t are eager to
p r o v i d e t h e i r people
with
television a n d t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
w i t h o u t g o i n g t o t h e expense a n d e f f o r t o f b u i l d i n g land-based
systems networks
,. o f cables, t r a n s m i t t e r s , a n d m i c r o w a v e l i n k s . B e h i n d t h a t thesis lies t h e d a n gerous n o t i o n t h a t the a p p l i c a t i o n o f such technologies can enhance a m b i t i o n s o f boosting industrial g r o w t h a n d socioeconomic development. T h e other i m m e d i a t e advantage o f D B S i n t h e eyes o f d e v e l o p i n g societies is t h e a b i l i t y
350
Global Media and New Media t o m u l t i p l e x , o r split, t h e s o u n d signals t o serve a n a t i o n that may be g e o p o l i t ically a single entity, b u t w h i c h i n linguistic a n d c u l t u r a l terms is n o m o r e t h a n an aggregate o f d i f f e r e n t groups. I n d i a a n d C h i n a are obvious examples. I n I n d i a , t h e m a i n objective o f t h e satellite p r o g r a m is t o harness spacecraft techn o l o g y f o r t h e transmission o f T V broadcasts designed t o a i d t h e c o u n t r y ' s d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m . India's i n v o l v e m e n t began w i t h t h e l a u n c h i n g o f its Satellite I n s t r u c t i o n a l Television E x p e r i m e n t i n August 1 9 7 5 . A f t e r a n i n i t i a l f a i l u r e i n 1 9 8 2 , w i t h a n e w satellite I N S A T - 1 A , a successful satellite I N S A T - 1 B was l a u n c h e d i n August 1 9 8 3 . T h i s n o w transmits T V p r o g r a m s d i r e c t l y t o a u g m e n t e d sets, as w e l l as v i a a n e t w o r k o f ground-based receivers. I n d i a expected t o reach 7 0 percent o f its p o p u l a t i o n by the m i d d l e o f 1 9 8 5 . I t was estimated t h a t b y t h e e n d o f 1 9 8 4 there w o u l d be eight t h o u s a n d direct-recept i o n sets. T h e I n d i a n g o v e r n m e n t also plans t o b u i l d f o u r rebroadcast transm i t t e r s . By t h e late 1980s, I n d i a w i l l have its n e w p r o t o - I N S A T system, w i t h a significant T V c o m p o n e n t . Last year, C h i n a f o r m e d t h e C h i n a N a t i o n a l Satellite C o r p o r a t i o n u n d e r t h e M i n i s t r y o f R a d i o a n d TV, t h e purpose o f w h i c h was t o design a n d develop a T V r e c e p t i o n system using domestic a n d i m p o r t e d technology. C h i n a already has a n agreement w i t h the G e r m a n f i r m M B B t o acquire a D B S system. T h e reason is s i m p l e : o n l y o n e - t h i r d o f China's one b i l l i o n p o p u l a t i o n can c u r r e n t ly receive T V coverage t h r o u g h g r o u n d systems. T h e g o v e r n m e n t plans t o install three t h o u s a n d r e c e p t i o n a n d rebroadcast stations w h e n t h e DBS goes up i n 1 9 8 6 . A n a d d i t i o n a l t h i r t y t h o u s a n d receive-only stations w i l l go o n stream before 1 9 9 0 t o reach 9 0 percent o f the p o p u l a t i o n . S o u t h K o r e a is s l o w l y e x a m i n i n g the possibility o f establishing a DBS system t h a t w o u l d p r o v i d e three T V channels a n d f o u r t h o u s a n d telephone c i r cuits. Indonesia was the first Asian c o u n t r y t o develop its o w n domestic satellite system, Palapa, w h i c h w e n t i n t o o p e r a t i o n i n m i d - 1 9 7 6 t o p r o v i d e t e l e p h o n e , telex, a n d T V l i n k s f o r three t h o u s a n d islands scattered over five t h o u s a n d k i l o m e t e r s o f ocean. A second-generation been
developed,
shared
with
Singapore,
Palapa system has n o w
Malaysia,
Thailand,
a n d the
P h i l i p p i n e s . T h a i l a n d , m i g h t i l y impressed b y Palapa, has n o w decided t o d e v e l o p its o w n system. I n t h e M i d d l e East, t h e d e v e l o p m e n t by the A r a b League, a c o n s o r t i u m o f t w e n t y - o n e c o u n t r i e s , o f t h e Arabsat, w h i c h is capable o f eight T V channels for b o t h c o m m u n i t y sets a n d direct-receivers, indicates t h a t region's c o m m i t m e n t t o this p a r t i c u l a r f o r m o f T V transmission. F o r t y g r o u n d receiving stations are n o w b e i n g b u i l t at a cost o f $ 1 5 0 m i l l i o n . Pakistan is e x a m i n i n g t h e possibilities o f establishing its o w n direct television a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s satellites b y t h e e n d o f the decade. A n d so i t goes. I have n o t even t o u c h e d o n t h e m a j o r developments b y t h e i n d u s t r i a l societies t o establish DBS systems. Yet i t is quite clear t h a t i f o n e w e r e t o w r i t e this article a decade hence, p r o g r a m s , v i d e o , a n d D B S w o u l d have t o be at t h e very f o r e f r o n t o f the d e s c r i p t i o n a n d analysis. These are
The Poisoned Chalice? 351 p r o b a b l y t h e t w o technologies that w i l l u l t i m a t e l y shape t h e f u t u r e structure o f international television. W h a t e v e r t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s , i t w o u l d be l u d i c r o u s t o deny that there are dist o r t i o n s i n t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a r o u n d t h e globe. O n so m u c h w e c a n a l l agree. W h a t is less evident is that these patterns necessarily i m p l y structures o f d o m i n a n c e . I n other w o r d s , w e cannot take as given t h e n a t u r e o f t h e social experience w h i c h is i m p l i e d b y t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f , f o r e x a m p l e , A m e r i c a n television a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . W e cannot take as u n p r o b lematic t h e idea o f n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e n o r its alleged t r a n s f o r m a t i o n under t h e i m p a c t o f i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s . W r i t i n g f r o m w i t h i n t h e confines o f B r i t a i n i n 1985,
I w o u l d f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t even t o delineate t h e parameters o f m y o w n
n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e . W h o s e c u l t u r e is i t : t h a t o f M r s . T h a t c h e r o r t h e m i l i t a n t m i n e r s ' leader, A r t h u r Scargill; t h e south o r t h e n o r t h ; t h e r i o t i n g f o o t b a l l fan o r t h e Sunday cricketer? I f a c u l t u r e is t o be f o u n d i n shared symbols, t h e n w h a t symbols h o l d sway i n these islands a n y m o r e , i f i n d e e d they ever did? Precious few, I fear, a n d g e t t i n g fewer b y the day. A 1 9 5 3 U N E S C O p u b l i c a t i o n (TV, A World
Survey)
made t h e statement:
' I n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n is b e g i n n i n g t o o p e n u p n e w fields f o r t e l e v i s i o n a n d i t is i n c r e a s i n g l y r e c o g n i z e d h o w effective i t c a n be t o b r i n g a b o u t greater awareness a b o u t each o t h e r a m o n g n a t i o n s d i f f e r i n g i n language a n d c h a r a c t e r . ' T h e same r e p o r t spoke o f h o w t e l e v i s i o n c o u l d m a k e t h e ' t r e a sures o f m a n ' s c i v i l i z a t i o n ' available, a n d o f T V as a means o f ' g l o b a l peace a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g . ' Bliss w a s i t i n t h a t d a w n . T h e v i e w o f g l o b a l t e l e v i s i o n n o w espoused w i t h i n t h e chambers o f U N E S C O
is t h a t i t is a d i s t i n c t l y
p o i s o n e d chalice. By 1 9 7 2 , t h e G e n e r a l C o n f e r e n c e o f U N E S C O was suggesting t h a t there was a danger t h a t t h e mass m e d i a c o u l d become vehicles f o r ' t h e d o m i n a t i o n o f w o r l d p u b l i c o p i n i o n o r a source o f m o r a l a n d c u l t u r a l p o l l u t i o n , ' a n d that t h e o n e - w a y f l o w o f television f r o m a small n u m b e r o f countries
threatened
'the c u l t u r a l values o f most o f the r e m a i n i n g countries.' I n 1 9 7 3 , at t h e meeti n g o f t h e heads o f state o f n o n - a l i g n e d countries, there w e r e calls f o r t h e ' r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f e x i s t i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n channels w h i c h are t h e legacy o f the c o l o n i a l past, a n d w h i c h have h a m p e r e d free, direct a n d fast c o m m u n i c a t i o n between t h e m . ' I t was added t h a t ' c u l t u r a l a l i e n a t i o n a n d i m p o r t e d c i v i l i z a t i o n , i m p o s e d i m p e r i a l i s m a n d c o l o n i a l i s m , s h o u l d be c o u n t e r e d b y ... a constant a n d d e t e r m i n e d recourse t o t h e social a n d c u l t u r a l values o f the p o p u l a t i o n w h i c h define t h e m as a sovereign p e o p l e . ' A n d so o n , as large parts o f the i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y have become anxious about the adverse effects o f foreign television o n their countries. T h i s is n o t just t r u e o f the d e v e l o p i n g countries; many i m p o r t a n t and i n f l u e n t i a l voices can be h e a r d t h r o u g h o u t E u r o p e expressing concern over t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f ' f o r e i g n ' t e l e v i s i o n . I t is a d m i t t e d l y n o t an anxiety o v e r l y present i n A m e r i c a n society - w h i c h i n terms o f t h e p e n e t r a t i o n o f a n y t h i n g f o r e i g n a n d visual remains
i n a state o f virgo
intacto.
I n t e r n a t i o n a l television a n d c u l t u r a l
352
Global Media and New Media d o m i n a n c e have, h o w e v e r , become a n i m p o r t a n t issue o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i tics. O n t h a t agenda, i t is taken as given b y most societies t h a t adverse effects d o f o l l o w f r o m t h e i r p o p u l a t i o n s ' c u l t u r a l appetites, as expressed i n t h e T V they w a t c h . E q u a l l y i n f l u e n t i a l sections o f the academic c o m m u n i t y have argued v o c i f erously about t h e alleged p o w e r f u l influences o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l television. Cees H a m e l i n k , f o r e x a m p l e , ... speaks o f h o w i n recent years t h e delicate process by w h i c h d e v e l o p i n g societies evolve a n d adapt is being increasingly threatened b y t h e advanced i n d u s t r i a l states' large-scale e x p o r t o f c u l t u r a l systems t o T h i r d W o r l d countries. As a result, he suggests, t h e survival o f a u t o n o m o u s c u l t u r a l systems i n m a n y areas o f the T h i r d W o r l d is very m u c h i n q u e s t i o n . H e adds: ' I t is t h e a r g u m e n t o f this study that c u l t u r a l a u t o n o m y is essential f o r a process o f i n d e p e n d e n t d e v e l o p m e n t . H o w e v e r , c u l t u r a l a u t o n o m y is v i r t u a l l y impossible i n a system w h i c h attempts t o integrate t h e w e a k a n d p o o r countries i n a g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y that serves best t h e interests o f o n l y t h e r i c h a n d p o w e r f u l . T h i s a u t o n o m y has t o be secured t h r o u g h t h e f o r m u l a t i o n a n d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f n a t i o n a l policies based o n i n t e r n a t i o n a l dissociation w h i c h encourage self-reliant d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h e c o o p e r a t i o n o f d e v e l o p i n g countries a m o n g themselves.' T h e general effect he suggests, however, is f o r c u l t u r a l ' s y n c h r o n i z a t i o n ' the e r a d i c a t i o n o f diversity, a n d its replacement w i t h 'a single g l o b a l c u l t u r e ' i n w h i c h t h e c u l t u r a l t r a f f i c is o v e r w h e l m i n g l y one way, w i t h t h e result t h a t the ' w h o l e process o f social inventiveness a n d c u l t u r a l creativity is t h r o w n i n t o c o n f u s i o n o r is d e f i n i t e l y destroyed. U n i q u e dimensions i n t h e s p e c t r u m o f h u m a n values, w h i c h have e v o l v e d over centuries, r a p i d l y disappear.'
[-] H e r b Schiller has also become w e l l k n o w n as a theorist o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n as c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n . I n his first a n d most i n f l u e n t i a l w o r k , Mass ications
an American
Empire
Commun-
( 1 9 6 9 ) , he states: 'Mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n s are n o w
a p i l l a r o f the emergent i m p e r i a l society. Messages " m a d e i n A m e r i c a " radiate across t h e globe a n d serve as the ganglia o f national p o w e r a n d expansionism. T h e ideological images o f "have n o t " states are increasingly i n the custody o f A m e r i c a n i n f o r m a t i o n a l media. N a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y over attitude creation a n d o p i n i o n f o r m a t i o n i n t h e d e v e l o p i n g w o r l d has weakened a n d is being r e l i n quished t o p o w e r f u l external forces.... Everywhere local c u l t u r e is facing subm e r s i o n f r o m t h e mass-produced o u t p o u r i n g s o f c o m m e r c i a l broadcasting.' Fourteen years later, t h e tune r e m a i n e d essentially t h e same. I n a paper o n ' E l e c t r o n i c I n f o r m a t i o n F l o w s : N e w Basis f o r G l o b a l D o m i n a t i o n , ' Schiller develops, i n a s o m e w h a t p o l e m i c a l manner, his analysis o f t h e e v o l v i n g p o l i t i cal e c o n o m y o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l societies a n d t h e e n o r m o u s p o w e r o f a small n u m b e r o f m u l t i n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s . N o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h a l l t h a t , apart f r o m t h e occasional t o u c h o f h y p e r b o l e (at one p o i n t he talks o f t h e w e l f a r e state as 'already m o s t l y a m e m o r y ' - t h i s , a set o f i n s t i t u t i o n s that take u p a huge p a r t o f t h e gross domestic
product!). Where
I part f r o m
Schiller's
The Poisoned Chalice? 353 analysis is w h e n he slips i n t o such phrases as 'a vast extension i n c u l t u r a l c o n t r o l a n d d o m i n a t i o n t o say n o t h i n g o f e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l m a s t e r y ' a n d ' s a t u r a t i n g t h e c u l t u r a l space o f the n a t i o n . ' L e t m e ask again: w h a t does t h a t 7
m e a n , a n d , at t h e r i s k o f b e i n g accused o f outrageous p o s i t i v i s m , where's t h e evidence? C e r t a i n l y , he p r o v i d e s n o n e . W h a t , t h e n , a b o u t t h e idea o f domination}
A w h o l e l i b r a r y o f w o r k s exists
o n cross-national influences, trans-border data f l o w , t h e economics o f c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m , T V f l o w s , a n d so o n . H a m e l i n k a n d Schiller are just t w o o f t h e m o r e p r o m i n e n t members o f an extensive school o f t h o u g h t . Each tends t o 8
be l o a d e d w i t h sets o f assumptions about c u l t u r a l influences, a b o u t meanings a n d t h e s h a p i n g o f consciousness. Yet each equally tends t o h o l d those views i n t h e abstract, outside o f any grasp o f t h e i r place w i t h i n t h e life o f a society. As t h e late I t h i e l de Sola Pool observed: ' T h e r e is, i n fact, r e m a r k a b l y l i t t l e research o f any k i n d o n i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e r e is a great deal o f essay w r i t i n g a b o u t i t . B u t b y research I mean studies i n w h i c h data is collecte d t o establish o r r e f u t e some general p r o p o s i t i o n . . . . T h e t w o topics r e g a r d i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n t h a t have been m o s t extensively s t u d i e d , a n d v e r y badly, I m u s t say, are t h e balance i n t h e f l o w o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n a m o n g c o u n t r i e s , a n d t h e c u l t u r a l biases i n w h a t f l o w s . These are topics o n w h i c h there have been a f e w e m p i r i c a l studies, t h o u g h b y far t h e great b u l k o f t h a t l i t e r a t u r e consists o f p o l e m i c a l essays u n e n l i g h t e n e d b y facts.'
[...] Since its first appearance o n A m e r i c a n television i n 1 9 7 8 a n d its subsequent e x p o r t t o m a n y f o r e i g n countries, Dallas
has become t h e exemplar o f t h e
g l o b a l i n f l u e n c e o f A m e r i c a n t e l e v i s i o n , the apparent e m b o d i m e n t o f the t h e o r y o f c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m , a m e t a p h o r f o r an entire a r g u m e n t . Clearly, at o n e level Dallas
fits t h e stereotype: i t is available i n m a n y d i f f e r e n t countries a n d
is always s o l d at a l o w e r price t h a n any h o m e - p r o d u c e d equivalent. W h a t has been a l m o s t t o t a l l y i g n o r e d , h o w e v e r , is the r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e p r o g r a m a n d t h e v a r i o u s audiences t h a t , f o r whatever reasons, i n w h a t e v e r c i r c u m stances, w i t h w h a t e v e r consequences, actually sit d o w n a n d w a t c h i t . A n y e x p l o r a t i o n at t h a t l e v e l , n o m a t t e r h o w cursory, p r o v i d e s some i m p o r t a n t q u a l i f i c a t i o n s t o t h e i m p e r i a l i s m thesis. For e x a m p l e , i n most countries
Dallas
is n o t as p o p u l a r as h o m e - p r o d u c e d soaps, a n d i t is c o m p l e t e l y i g n o r e d i n c o u n t r i e s as diverse as B r a z i l a n d Japan, w h i c h nevertheless have well-establ i s h e d a n d h i g h l y p o p u l a r domestic dramas as p a r t o f t h e i r m a i n T V o f f e r i n g s . I n N e w Z e a l a n d , o t h e r k i n d s o f shows f r o m o t h e r countries are m o r e p o p u l a r t h a n Dallas
a n d its i l k . W h i l e a n u m b e r o f researchers have recognized t h e
need t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e d i f f e r e n t audience responses t o p r o g r a m s such as Dallas
- e.g., E l i h u K a t z a n d Tamar Liebes i n Israel, Jean B i a n c h i i n France,
David M o r l e y and Dorothy Hobson i n Britain
10
- these efforts have, t o date,
u n f o r t u n a t e l y been i n h i b i t e d b y a lack o f real resources. I t is, i n fact, s i m p l y u n t r u e t o say t h a t i m p o r t e d television p r o g r a m s , f r o m t h e U.S. o r o t h e r m e t r o p o l i t a n c o u n t r i e s , always have a d o m i n a n t presence
354
Global Media and New Media w i t h i n an i n d i g e n o u s television c u l t u r e . C e r t a i n l y they d o n o t always attract larger audiences
than homemade
p r o g r a m s , n o r d o they always t h r e a t e n
national production. I n B r a z i l , f o r e x a m p l e , w h i c h is t h e s i x t h biggest television m a r k e t i n t h e w o r l d , t h e level o f i m p o r t e d television m a t e r i a l fell by 3 2 percent between 1973
a n d 1 9 8 2 , largely due t o the activities o f T V G l o b o , w h i c h
captures
b e t w e e n 6 0 a n d 8 0 percent o f the television audience. Between 5 : 3 0 PM a n d 11:00
PM, 8 4 percent o f t h e p r o g r a m s o f f e r e d are in-house p r o d u c t i o n s . I n
August 1983, the t o p ten programs were all Globo productions, including three 'telenovellas.' As R i c h a r d Paterson p o i n t s o u t , i n Brazil o n e sees 'a telev i s i o n d e v o t e d t o n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e . T V G l o b o has f u l l y u t i l i z e d t h e possibilities created b y these circumstances t o develop a d i f f e r e n t sort o f television. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f an i n d i g e n o u s television puts i n t o question Schiller's
thesis
a b o u t t h e i n e v i t a b i l i t y o f t r a d i t i o n a l d r a m a a n d f o l k music r e t r e a t i n g before the likes o f Peyton Place a n d Bonanza.' Dallas,
11
b y the way, i n 1 9 8 2 occupied 6 9 t h p o s i t i o n i n the Brazilian ratings
and 1 0 9 t h i n M e x i c o .
12
I n the very different context o f B r i t a i n , however, w h i l e
successful, i t has never seriously challenged the domestically p r o d u c e d dramas Coronation
Street,
Crossroads,
a n d Emmerdale
Farm.
A n o t h e r illustration o f
h o w indigenous populations d o n o t respond t o i m p o r t e d material i n stereotypical ways can be seen i n South A f r i c a . T h e r e , T V 1 carries such i m p o r t s as Dallas and The A-Team, however,
w i t h vernacular services o n T V 2 a n d T V 3 . I n December 1 9 8 3 ,
Bophuthatswana
Television,
broadcasting
from
the capital
of
M m a b a t h o , began t o broadcast i n English b u t w i t h increasing amounts o f mater i a l o f a local nature i n Setswana. M o r e a n d m o r e o f the black p o p u l a t i o n o f South A f r i c a turns t o this channel. Indeed, the success has been so great that President M p e p h a o f the t i n y republic o f Venda has n o w announced that he wants his o w n television service, Radio Television T h o h o y a n d a u .
13
I n Singapore, w h e r e the g o v e r n m e n t ' s Singapore Broadcasting C o r p o r a t i o n runs three channels broadcasting i n English, M a n d a r i n , T a m i l , a n d M a l a y , a n d w h e r e 6 0 percent o f the p r o g r a m s are English-language (the b u l k o f w h i c h are i m p o r t e d ) , Chinese p r o g r a m s , p a r t i c u l a r l y f r o m H o n g K o n g , are consistently the m o s t p o p u l a r . I n I r e l a n d , w h i c h i m p o r t s 65 percent o f its t o t a l o u t p u t a n d w h e r e t h e B B C a n d I T V are readily available t o most o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , t h e m o s t p o p u l a r p r o g r a m s f o r m a n y years have been The Late,
Late
Show o n
Saturdays, hosted b y G a y B y r n e , f o l l o w e d b y the h o m e - p r o d u c e d d r a m a series The
Riordans,
Bracken,
a n d Glenroe.
I n countries such as N e w Z e a l a n d a n d
Sweden, w h e r e t h e local broadcasting services face e n o r m o u s p r o b l e m s t h a t necessitate t h e i m p o r t a t i o n o f f o r e i g n television, h o m e - g r o w n p r o g r a m s nevertheless compete i n p o p u l a r i t y . I n N e w Z e a l a n d , i n fact, there is evidence that t h e b u l k o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n actively dislikes the A m e r i c a n shows they see o n t h e i r screens. I n Z i m b a b w e i n 1 9 8 2 , locally p r o d u c e d p r o g r a m s such as The
Mukadda
Dynasty,
Family
a n d Falcon
h a d m u c h higher ratings t h a n t h e i m p o r t e d Crest.
Dallas,
O n e a u t h o r w r i t i n g about television i n Bangladesh
The Poisoned Chalice? 355 observed: ' I m p o r t e d p r o g r a m m e s are p o p u l a r , b u t d o n o t d o m i n a t e B T V I n the 1980s some w o u l d say t h a t t h e Incredible Shilpo-O'Shahilya
Hulk
does sit uneasily
[a series o n a r t a n d l i t e r a t u r e ] a n d Jalsa
classical m u s i c ] . Dallas,
Charlie's
Angels
a n d Chips
between
[a p r o g r a m m e o n
are cheaper f o r B T V t o
t r a n s m i t t h a n a n y local dramas - b u t local p r o d u c t i o n s challenge t h e m i n a w a y f e w outsiders w o u l d believe possible.'
14
O n e c o u l d g o o n . T h i s is n o t t o say that i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s are not a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e t o t a l structure o f m a n y countries' broadcasting, n o r , i n d e e d , t h a t i n some cases they are n o t very p o p u l a r . I t is m e r e l y t o observe t h a t even a l i m i t e d glance at t h e available evidence - such as i t is - about t h e m o s t s i m p l e facts o f television v i e w i n g , indicates t h a t the p i c t u r e o f the r o l e o f television i n any society is far m o r e c o m p l e x t h a n is o f t e n a l l o w e d for. As far as w e c a n t e l l , audiences d i s c r i m i n a t e a n d t e n d t o prefer h o m e - p r o d u c e d telev i s i o n , r a t h e r t h a n slavishly p u r s u i n g i m p o r t e d p r o g r a m s . T h e p o i n t o f this C o o k ' s t o u r , t h e n , is actually quite s i m p l e : i t is t o s h o w t h a t a rather m o r e discrete, subtle, a n d e m p i r i c a l a p p r o a c h is necessary before w e c a n begin t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e actual experience o f the f l o w o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e l e v i s i o n , a n d thus t h e n o t i o n o f television d o m i n a n c e . T h e question this i n t u r n raises is: w h a t m o d e l can best e x p l a i n c u l t u r a l influences i n t h e lives o f a g i v e n society, a n d w h e r e can w e f i n d the m e t h o d o l o g y t o test that model? T h e p r o b l e m w i t h t h e o l d m o d e l is that i t t o o k a n o t very g o o d i n v e n t o r y a n d p r e t e n d e d i t was an analysis. O n e can say n o t h i n g o f influences, o f h o w those p r o g r a m s engage w i t h a society s i m p l y o n t h e basis o f a surface descript i o n ; a n d y e t t h a t is a l l w e have t e n d e d t o have so far. A s a f o r m e r colleague o f mine quite rightly argued: The development o f theories about the i l l effects of the importation of American television programmes depends on the measuring devices of imports/exports and the income earned f r o m such sales for their substantiation. Unfortunately these measures, although useful, do not focus on the size and responses of the audiences w h o eventually see such programmes. There is an assumption that American T V imports do have an impact wherever and whenever they are shown, but actual investigation (or verification) of this seldom occurs. M u c h of the evidence that is offered is merely anecdotal or circumstantial. Observations of N e w Guinean tribesmen clustered around a set in the sweltering jungle watching Bonanza or of Algerian nomads watching Dallas in the heat of the desert, are often offered as sufficient proof. 15
O n t h e basis o f w h a t w e k n o w - really k n o w as opposed t o imagine w e k n o w - w h a t t h e n can be said a b o u t the n o t i o n o f d o m i n a n c e b y i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e l e v i sion? W h a t is t h e argument? W h a t is t h e problem? L e t m e begin n o t w i t h some h u m b l e , u n d e r d e v e l o p e d , e x p l o i t e d n a t i o n , b u t w i t h a huge, wealthy, p o w e r f u l o n e : Canada. Canada a p p a r e n t l y has o n e o v e r w h e l m i n g p r o b l e m w h e n i t comes t o t h e c u l t u r e o f television, a n d that is its p r o x i m i t y t o an even
more
p o w e r f u l , wealthy, a n d huge
society, t h e U n i t e d States. I n a
recent a c c o u n t o f the d e v e l o p m e n t o f cable T V i n Canada, T i m H o l l i n s made the f o l l o w i n g p o i n t :
356
Global Media and New Media Over 80 percent of the Canadian population lives within one hundred miles of the American border, and the realities of this situation have had a greater impact than somewhat abstract cultural aspirations. Although regulation has been imposed to promote both Canadian broadcasting and production, the Canadians themselves have consistently demonstrated a strong interest, even a preference for material f r o m the United States. Consequently, the Government has had to find a path between accepting the reality of the U.S. cultural imperialism and forcing a Canadian cultural chauvinism which appears antithetical to the rights and wishes of its o w n citizens. 16
T h e f i r s t , a n d rather t r i c k y , p r o b l e m f o r g o v e r n m e n t leaders, intellectuals, r e f o r m e r s , a n d p o l i t i c a l evangelists ( w h o m a y also be academics) a r o u n d t h e globe is t h a t , as H o l l i n s suggests about Canada, p o p u l a t i o n s d o have this u n f o r t u n a t e h a b i t o f choosing television programs that are n o t ' g o o d ' f o r t h e m . I n d e e d , o n e m i g h t construct t h e first l a w o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s : t h a t w h i c h is b a d f o r t h e m , they will insist o n w a t c h i n g . I a m , y o u w i l l detect, a t o u c h less w o r r i e d t h a n some about this situation described i n endless meetings o f U N E S C O
a n d k i n d r e d bodies, a n d enough
b o o k s a n d articles t o threaten t h e existence o f t r o p i c a l r a i n forests - p a r t l y because I suspect that assumptions about t h e extent o f exposure t o ' f o r e i g n ' m a t e r i a l are overstated, a n d m a i n l y because I believe that t h e assumptions about their 'effects' are certainly overstated, a n d d e v o i d o f decent evidence a n d g o o d theory. I t is d i f f i c u l t , f o r example, t o take t o o seriously t h e assumptions b e h i n d a phrase such as ' t h e Dallas-drugged viewers,' w h i c h I saw used recently i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a discussion o f Italian television. N o r t h e sentiment, however w e l l m e a n i n g , i n this observation: ' F o r the survival a n d development o f i m p o r tant h u m a n values, t h e study o f i n t e r c u l t u r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n may be o n e o f t h e critical areas o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n research. O n e has o n l y t o witness Kojak a n d Starsky and Hutch
b o u n c i n g o f f satellites into the intimacy
of minds and
homes
[ m y emphasis] i n cultures o f I n d i a a n d T h a i l a n d t o realize this.' Such, h o w e v e r , is t h e p o w e r o f the o r t h o d o x y o n these matters t h a t I w r i t e these w o r d s w i t h a feeling o f g u i l t , a certain t r e p i d a t i o n i n w a i t i n g f o r t h e h o w l s o f scorn t h a t o n e can d o u b t s o m e t h i n g so self-evident. I n d e e d , i t seems t o m e t h a t t h e Western w r i t e r , f r o m w i t h i n the c o m f o r t o f his w e a l t h , faces a d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m i n addressing objectively issues o f d o m i n a n c e a n d c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m . O n t h e o n e h a n d , he is i n danger o f either assuming u n c r i t i c a l l y the n o t i o n s a n d sentiments u t t e r e d b y T h i r d W o r l d leaders a n d their Western acolytes o u t o f a w i s h f o r t h e m t o be r i g h t . O n the other h a n d , i f he challenges those arguments, questions t h e m , suggests that maybe they are n o t t o t a l l y c o r r e c t , t h a t perhaps they are self-interested
o r just p l a i n i n n o c e n t l y
w r o n g , he is i m m e d i a t e l y o p e n t o t h e accusation o f h a v i n g a m e a l y - m o u t h e d , u n c a r i n g a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e p r o b l e m s o f d e v e l o p i n g societies. Yet, i n a l l honesty, o n e has t o say t h a t i t is possible t h a t , w i t h i n t h e realms o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , a p o v e r t y o f t h o u g h t has emerged t o m a t c h t h e real p o v e r t y o f resources t h a t afflicts d e v e l o p i n g societies.
The Poisoned Chalice? 357 I n seeking t o u n d e r s t a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l television, t h e n , o n e has t o ask: W h a t evidence is there? W h a t can w e say? W h a t d o w e k n o w ? I n researching this a r t i c l e , I constantly r e t u r n e d t o these questions a n d t o t h e simple statem e n t : ' I t is c l a i m e d t h a t this mass o f m a t e r i a l c o m i n g i n f r o m outside is b o t h erasing t r a d i t i o n a l cultures a n d i n h i b i t i n g t h e emergence o f authentic c u l t u r a l changes. T h e r e is n o clear evidence t h a t this is i n fact h a p p e n i n g , n o r i n d e e d any t h a t i t is n o t . '
17
[...] T h e q u e s t i o n t o pose is n o t w h a t is t h e nature o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n o r i m p e r i a l i s m , w i t h a l l the assumptions o f intellectual, psychological, a n d e m o t i o n a l i n f l u e n c e . T h e real question is w h y such simple, impressionistic analyses have c o m e t o h o l d such sway i n t h e debate about t h e character o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l as w e l l as domestic l i f e . W h y have such analyses - p a r a d o x i cally d r i p p i n g w i t h h u m a n concern - become so d i v o r c e d f r o m any h u m a n contact? T h e r e is a m a r v e l o u s l i t t l e article b y Irene Penacchioni about t h e v i e w i n g o f p o p u l a r t e l e v i s i o n i n p o v e r t y - r i d d e n northeast B r a z i l .
18
I t is a f i n e example o f
t h e v i e w t h a t t h e r o l e a n d use o f television o u g h t t o be v i e w e d e t h n o g r a p h i cally f r o m within
a c u l t u r e , rather t h a n condescendingly f r o m w i t h o u t . She
p u l l s n o punches: ' I n m y o p i n i o n ... t h e investigations i n t o television w h i c h are c a r r i e d o u t b y sociology are i n f o r m e d b y t h e amused condescensions o f intellectuals t o w a r d s mass c u l t u r e a n d b y t h e i r d a r k fear o f the alleged p o w e r o f images.... Intellectuals use t h e w r i t t e n w o r d t o p r o t e c t themselves
from
t e l e v i s i o n as t h o u g h i t w e r e a cross t o p r o t e c t t h e m f r o m v a m p i r e s . ' She w r i t e s o f the p o p u l a r i t y o f the telenovella w i t h the local people: It is important t o understand the pleasure of following a fiction f r o m day to day over a long period of time; pleasures associated w i t h the 'to be continued,' of curiosity and expectation about the unpredictable, which w i l l make itself heard again. What next? What w i l l happen to our hero? The genealogy of pleasure, this joy related to the telenovella, has to be sought i n the occidental history of folk poetry.... Television seems to correspond to a cyclical and everyday representation o f time as found in folk poetry.... The phenomenon of television cannot be comprehended here without a systematic investigation of the cultural context, and its different aspects, i n the Northeast of Brazil. O n e o f t h e m o m e n t s she describes is o f a g r o u p o f people s i t t i n g a r o u n d a TV
set i n t h e t o w n square,
n o t just w a t c h i n g telenovellas,
b u t laughing
u p r o a r i o u s l y at t h e e x p l o i t s o f C h a r l i e C h a p l i n . W h e n I read t h i s , another v e r y f a m i l i a r image came t o m y m i n d . I w a s b o r n i n a w o r k i n g - c l a s s c o m m u n i t y called O l d h a m , i n t h e n o r t h o f E n g l a n d . B e f o r e t h e First W o r l d War, O l d h a m p r o d u c e d most o f t h e w o r l d ' s s p u n c o t t o n . I t is a place o f m i l l s a n d chimneys, a n d I was b o r n a n d raised i n o n e o f t h e areas o f h o u s i n g - called St. M a r y ' s - b u i l t t o serve those m i l l s . I recently h e a r d a r e c o r d b y a l o c a l g r o u p o f f o l k singers called t h e O l d h a m T i n k e r s , a n d o n e t r a c k is a b o u t C h a r l i e C h a p l i n . T h i s song was a p p a r e n t l y
358
Global Media and New Media very p o p u l a r w i t h local c h i l d r e n i n the years i m m e d i a t e l y after the First W o r l d War. Was t h a t early evidence o f the c u l t u r a l influences
of Hollywood, a
p r i m e v a l m o m e n t o f t h e i m p e r i a l i s m o f o n e c u l t u r e , t h e subjugation o f a n o t h er? I t seems almost b o o r i s h t o t h i n k o f i t that way. Was the l i t t l e m a n n o t a deep w e l l o f pleasure t h r o u g h laughter, a pleasure that was s i m p l y universal i n appeal? Was i t n o t C h a p l i n ' s real genius t o strike some c o m m o n c h o r d , u n i t i n g t h e w h o l e o f h u m a n i t y ? Is t h a t n o t , i n fact, the real genius o f A m e r i c a n p o p u l a r c u l t u r e , t o b i n d together, better t h a n a n y t h i n g else, c o m m o n h u m a n i ty? T h i s is a l l t e r r i b l y heretical, a n d yet I a m m o r e a n d m o r e t e m p t e d i n this l i t t l e excursion t o propose t h a t the c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m thesis be s t o o d o n its head, a n d t o suggest instead an analysis, n o t o f e x p l o i t a t i o n , b u t o f service o f the p r o f f e r i n g o f c u l t u r a l imagery that is absorbed b y m o r e deep-seated c u l t u r a l strata. T h a t leads m e , n o t t o ask about the thesis, b u t t o pose questions about those w h o p r o f f e r i t . T h e r e has t o be an e x p l a n a t i o n w h y such a n i n t e l lectually u n d e r n o u r i s h e d t h e o r y holds such sway. I also ask w h y i t is that t h e u b i q u i t y o f the likes o f Dallas
is h e l d i n such
c o n t e m p t , whereas the u b i q u i t y of, say, the Beatles o r C h a p l i n himself is, o n e senses, h e l d i n awe. Perhaps w e need an alternative w a y o f l o o k i n g at t h e general p o p u l a r i t y o f m u c h television a r o u n d the globe... Is i t possible that i n o r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n d , at least i n p a r t , the p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e television o f t h e N o r t h A t l a n t i c basin o n e has t o understand the ways i n w h i c h i t successfully employs certain themes, situations, a n d figures, rather t h a n just p r i c i n g - m e c h anisms, pace, glossy sets, exotic locations, o r whatever? Is t h e interesting t h i n g about t e l e v i s i o n , i n s h o r t , perhaps n o t w h a t i t imposes
b u t w h a t i t taps?
[...] T h o s e w h o favor t h e idea o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a n c e t h r o u g h television have t e n d ed t o study c o m p a n y reports, rather t h a n the realities o f i n d i v i d u a l lives; t o describe t h e f l o w o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n the abstract, rather t h a n the c u l t u r a l meanings o f those f l o w s . T h i s idea is h i t c h e d t o a m o d e l o f influences w h i c h , f o r t w o decades, has been k n o w n t o be at best inadequate.
I t espouses a
t o u c h i n g belief i n t h e perfectability o f m a n , i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e apparent convict i o n t h a t h u m a n flaws, inadequacies, a n d problems f l o w f r o m the sociocultura l , A n g l o - S a x o n - d o m i n a t e d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o f t h e w o r l d economy, i n w h i c h t h e i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n is n o m o r e t h a n an i n n o c e n t fly caught i n a b e g u i l i n g , sticky, a n d o v e r p o w e r i n g spider's w e b . Supporters o f this t h e o r y have d e m o n strated a certain m y o p i a : their gaze has focused o n the inadequacies a n d awfulness o f Western society, w h i l e r e m a i n i n g b l i n d t o one o r t w o p r o b l e m s a n d d i f f i c u l t i e s the m o r e objective
eye m i g h t detect east o f t h e Elbe, a n d
i n d e e d w i t h i n the s o c i o p o l i t i c a l character o f m a n y d e v e l o p i n g societies. T h e y have f a i l e d t o develop a m o d e l that allows f o r resistance, f o r o p p o s i t i o n a l forces - a n d n o t o p p o s i t i o n by a captive p o p u l a t i o n t o t h e alleged d o m i n a n t p o w e r a n d its c u l t u r e , because such a captive p o p u l a t i o n never existed i n the first place. T h e y have o f f e r e d a p a t r o n i z i n g , pat-on-the-head p i t y f o r p o p u l a t i o n s they feel are n o t capable o f k n o w i n g their o w n m i n d . Finally, t h e
The Poisoned Chalice? 359 d o m i n a n c e m o d e l has f a i l e d t o recognize t h a t a t h e o r y that c a n n o t be translate d i n t o e m p i r i c a l l y apprehendable p r o p o s i t i o n s is n o t h e o r y at a l l , a n d tends t o dissolve i n t o the fevered imaginings o f the subjective observer.
[...] W h a t I have been suggesting t h r o u g h o u t this paper is that w e have barely b e g u n t o scratch t h e surface o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e f u n c t i o n a n d consequence o f T V as a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l c u l t u r a l process. I have also been suggesting t h a t i t is n o t g o o d e n o u g h m e r e l y t o reiterate t h e details o f o w n e r s h i p a n d c o n t r o l o n a g l o b a l scale a n d thereby i m p u t e a c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g t o t h e m .
Notes 1. Tapio Varis, T h e International Flow of Television Programs', Journal of Communication, Winter 1984. 2. D.A. Boyd, 'VCRs i n Developing Countries: A n Arab Case Study', Media Development, I (1985). 3. M . Viorst, T V That Rules the Arab World', Channels, Jan.-Feb. 1984. 4. Viorst, ' T V That Rules'. 5. J.A. Lent, 'Video i n Asia: Frivolity, Frustration, Futility', Media Development, I (1985). 6. Cees Hamelink, Cultural Autonomy in Global Communications (New York, Longman, 1983). 7. See Herbert Schiller's Mass Communication and American Empire (New York, Kelly, 1969); and his 'Electronic Information Flows: New Basis for Global Domination', paper given at conference at the Institute of Education, London, July 1984. 8. Colleen Roach, 'Annotated Bibliography on a N e w World Information and Communication Order', Media and Development, I (1985). 9. Ithiel de Sola Pool, 'The New Structure of International Communication: The Role of Research', i n New Structure of International Communication? The Role of Research, papers from the 1980 conference i n Caracas of the International Association for Mass Communication Research (IAMCR). Published by the I A M C R , 1982. 10. Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes, 'Once Upon a Time in Dallas', Intermedia (London), May 1984. Jean Bianchi, 'Comment comprendre le succès international des séries de fiction à la télévision? Le cas Dallas', Ministère de l'industrie et de la Recherche: action concertée Communication Audiovisuelle, July 1984. David Morley, The 'Nationwide' Audience: Structure and Decoding (London, BFI Publishing, 1980). Dorothy Hobson, Crossroads: The Drama of a Soap Opera (London, Methuen, 1982). 11. Richard Paterson, Brazilian Television in Context (London, BFI Publishing, 1982). 12. G. Lealand, American Television Programmes on British Screens (London, Broadcasting Research Unit, 1984). 13. Richard Paterson, ed., International TV and Video Guide (1985) (London, Tantivy Press, 1985). 14. Paterson, International TV and Video Guide. 15. Lealand, American Television Programmes. 16. Timothy Hollins, Beyond Broadcasting: Into the Cable Age (London, Broadcasting Research Unit, 1984). 17. R. Hoggart, 'The Mass Media and One Way Flow', in An English Temper (London, Chatto & Windus, 1982).
360 Global Media and New Media 18. Irene Penacchioni, T h e Reception of Popular Television i n Northeast Brazil', Media, Culture and Society, Oct. 1984.
Questions 1 2
3
Summarise some of the main criticisms that Tracey makes of the cultural imperialism arguments and evidence. How far do you find his position convincing? Choose some recent examples of popular American television programmes and series, and assess their impact on a world-wide basis. To what extent might they be said to embody and act as vehicles for American values and interests? Carry out a series of interviews with British television viewers about their attitudes towards American or Australian programming. How does access to satellite or cable forms of distribution and reception change the ratio of imported to home-produced television?
Further reading Ang, I . 1996: Living room wars: rethinking media audiences for a postmodern world. London: Routledge. Dowmunt, T. (ed.) 1993: Channels of resistance: global television and local empowerment. London: BFI/Channel 4. Downing, J., Mohammadi, A. and Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. (eds.) 1995: Questioning the media: a critical introduction, 2nd edn. London: Sage. D r u m m o n d , P., Paterson, R. and Willis, J. (eds.) 1993: National identity and Europe: the television revolution. London: BFI. Liebes, T. and Katz, E. 1993: The export of meaning: cross cultural readings of Dallas. Cambridge: Polity Press. M c Q u a i l , D . 1994: Mass communication theory: an introduction, 3rd edn. London: Sage. Morley, D . and Robins, K. 1995: Spaces of identity: global media, electronic landscapes and cultural boundaries. London: Routledge. Reeves, G . 1993: Communications and the 'third world'. London: Routledge. Tomlinson, J. 1991: Cultural imperialism. London: Pinter Publishers.
33 Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era Herbert Schiller From Critical Studies in Mass Communication 8,13-28 (1991)
This reading takes up the challenge issued in the previous one and provides a contrasting and critical account of global media systems in the recent period. Schiller first wrote about American world-wide cultural domination in the 1960s and in what follows he begins by
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 361 recognising that certain key changes have taken place in the world geopolitical order since then. Nonetheless, he seeks to restate the fundamental case for cultural dominance by arguing that the changes which have occurred have not radically altered the overall dispositions and inequalities of economic and cultural power. In fact, as he suggests, American and related transnational systems of cultural production and distribution may be more total - integrating across whole cultural sectors and markets - in their impact and presence. In his assessment, Schiller is especially critical of theorists who have failed to appreciate the underlying political and economic relations which have driven recent global tendencies. He is also scathing of ideas which, within this broader context, have emphasised 'active' or 'unpredictable' audiences, suggesting that there are a number of problems with this perspective as it has been applied to understanding the realities of the global reception of media products. The reading therefore offers an explicit challenge to some of the ideas outlined by Tracey.
A p a r t f r o m t h e persistent e x p l a n a t o r y a n d semantic e f f o r t s i n recent years t o m i n i m i z e o r d i s c r e d i t t h e idea o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n ( A n g , 1 9 8 5 ; Liebes & K a t z , 1 9 9 0 ) , c h a n g i n g c o n d i t i o n s m a k e i t desirable t o reassess the o r i g i n a l thesis. T w o g o v e r n i n g circumstances s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d the early e l a b o r a t i o n o f the t h e o r y o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a n c e i n the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s . T h e first was the t h e n e x i s t i n g w o r l d balance o f forces. T w e n t y - f i v e years ago, the i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r d e r c o u l d be d i v i d e d i n t o three m a j o r g r o u p s . T h e m o s t p o w e r f u l o f these was t h e so-called First W o r l d , i n c l u d i n g essentially those countries t h a t w e r e g r o u n d e d i n p r i v a t e p r o p e r t i e d r e l a t i o n s a n d w h o s e p r o d u c t i o n was u n d e r t a k e n by capitalist enterprise. T h e Second W o r l d c o m p r i s e d those nations t h a t w e r e o r g a n i z e d a l o n g state o w n ership o f p r o p e r t y lines a n d t h a t called themselves socialist. T h e last category ( i n every sense) was the T h i r d W o r l d , c o n t a i n i n g those countries that h a d just e m e r g e d f r o m the collapsed E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l empires. I n the case o f L a t i n A m e r i c a , these nations c o n t i n u e d t o suffer economic e x p l o i t a t i o n a l t h o u g h t h e y h a d been n o m i n a l l y i n d e p e n d e n t f o r over a century. I n m o s t o f the T h i r d W o r l d states, n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n m o v e m e n t s still existed, a n d the social structures h a d n o t yet been c o m p l e t e l y c a p t u r e d by new, p r i v i l e g e d elites. I n this general m a p , the U n i t e d States was by far the m o s t p o w e r f u l i n d i v i d u a l state i n the First W o r l d a n d i n the other t w o categories as w e l l . A l t h o u g h t h e Soviet U n i o n , after the Second W o r l d , c l a i m e d s u p e r p o w e r status o n the basis o f possessing nuclear weapons, its e c o n o m i c a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n was d e c i d e d l y s u b o r d i n a t e . T h e o t h e r d e t e r m i n i n g feature o f this p e r i o d i n the c u l t u r a l r e a l m was the r a p i d d e v e l o p m e n t o f television a n d its capability f o r t r a n s m i t t i n g c o m p e l l i n g i m a g e r y a n d messages t o vast audiences. These
geopolitical
a n d technological
conditions
p r o v i d e d t h e social
landscape f o r t h e era's c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n perspective. T h e essential assump-
362
Global Media and New Media t i o n s u n d e r g i r d i n g i t were
( a n d are) f e w a n d relatively s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d :
M e d i a - c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m is a subset o f the general
system o f i m p e r i a l i s m . I t
is n o t freestanding; t h e m e d i a - c u l t u r a l c o m p o n e n t i n a d e v e l o p e d , c o r p o r a t e e c o n o m y supports t h e economic objectives o f t h e decisive i n d u s t r i a l - f i n a n c i a l sectors (i.e., t h e c r e a t i o n a n d extension o f the consumer society); t h e c u l t u r a l a n d e c o n o m i c spheres are i n d i v i s i b l e . C u l t u r a l , n o less t h a n a u t o m o b i l e , p r o d u c t i o n has its p o l i t i c a l economy. Consequently, w h a t is regarded as c u l t u r a l o u t p u t also is i d e o l o g i c a l a n d p r o f i t - s e r v i n g t o t h e system at large. Finally, i n its latest m o d e o f o p e r a t i o n , i n t h e late t w e n t i e t h century, t h e c o r p o r a t e econo m y is increasingly dependent o n t h e m e d i a - c u l t u r a l sector. The
thesis assumed
that t h e state socialist
(Second) W o r l d w a s , i f n o t
i m m u n e t o Western c u l t u r a l - i n f o r m a t i o n a l pressure, at least t o some degree insulated f r o m i t a n d w o u l d , under certain circumstances, s u p p o r t l i m i t s o n its advance. T h e T h i r d W o r l d , i n contrast, was seen as an e x t r e m e l y vulnerable a n d deliberate target o f A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l exports. A t t h e same t i m e , i t also was v i e w e d as a p o t e n t i a l l y organizable force - n o t yet f r o z e n i n class r e l a t i o n ships - that m i g h t give leadership t o a comprehensive r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f t h e w o r l d i n f o r m a t i o n system. T h e m o v e m e n t f o r a n e w i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n o r d e r was o n e vehicle f o r such a m o b i l i z a t i o n . T h e charge that A m e r i c a n - p r o d u c e d c u l t u r a l commodities - television p r o grams i n particular - were o v e r w h e l m i n g a g o o d part o f the w o r l d h a r d l y needed d o c u m e n t a t i o n . But the data were there (Nordenstreng &c Varis, 1974).
Changes in the international geopolitical arena T w e n t y - f i v e years later, some o f this m a p has changed. M o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e Second W o r l d (the socialist 'camp') has all b u t disappeared. W i t h t h e ( t e m p o rary?) exceptions o f C h i n a , A l b a n i a , N o r t h Korea, V i e t n a m , a n d C u b a , there is n o longer a state socialist sphere i n the global arena. T h e Eastern E u r o p e a n states, a l o n g w i t h the Soviet U n i o n , are i n v a r y i n g stages o f capitalist r e s t o r a t i o n . Rather t h a n p r o v i d i n g an o p p o s i t i o n a l pole t o the First W o r l d , they are n o w eager adherents t o that w o r l d , as w e l l as its supplicants. T h e y o f f e r n a t i o n a l space t o t h e m a r k e t i n g a n d i d e o l o g i c a l message f l o w s o f t h e i r f o r m e r adversaries. I n a m a t e r i a l sense, t h e strength a n d influence o f the First W o r l d , especially that o f its most p o w e r f u l members, are less restrained t h a n they were i n t h e p r e c e d i n g p e r i o d . T h i s is observable
n o t o n l y w i t h regard t o t h e erstwhile
socialist bloc b u t even m o r e so w i t h respect t o t h e people a n d nations o f A f r i c a , Asia, a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a . A c t u a l l y , t h e c o n d i t i o n o f t h e T h i r d W o r l d vis-à-vis t h e N o r t h
(Western
E u r o p e , Japan, a n d t h e U n i t e d States) is one o f near-desperation. N o w u n d e r the c o n t r o l o f elites that accept a n d benefit f r o m the w o r k i n g s o f t h e w o r l d m a r k e t economy, the A f r i c a n , A s i a n , and L a t i n A m e r i c a n nations are deeply i n debt a n d stalled f o r the most part i n efforts f o r i m p r o v e m e n t . M o s t o f t h e
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 363 T h i r d W o r l d nations seem m o r e helpless t h a n ever t o resist t h e demands o f t h e i r c r e d i t o r s a n d overseers. Despite some v a r i a b i l i t y i n this c o n d i t i o n a n d occasional b a l k i n g b y a recalcitrant r u l i n g g r o u p , t h e general s i t u a t i o n reveals practically an abandonment
o f t h e challenging e c o n o m i c a n d c u l t u r a l p o s i -
t i o n s this g r o u p advanced n o t so l o n g ago. T h e r o l e o f television i n t h e g l o b a l arena o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n has n o t d i m i n i s h e d i n t h e 1990s. R e i n f o r c e d b y n e w delivery systems -
communica-
t i o n satellites a n d cable n e t w o r k s - t h e image flow is heavier t h a n ever. Its source o f o r i g i n also has n o t changed t h a t m u c h i n the last quarter o f a century. T h e r e is, h o w e v e r , one significant difference. Today, television is b u t o n e element, h o w e v e r i n f l u e n t i a l , i n a n all-encompassing c u l t u r a l package. The
corporate
m e d i a - c u l t u r a l industries have e x p a n d e d
remarkably i n
recent decades a n d n o w occupy most o f t h e global social space. For this reason alone, c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n t o d a y cannot be measured b y a simple i n d e x o f e x p o s u r e t o A m e r i c a n television p r o g r a m m i n g . T h e c u l t u r a l submersion n o w includes t h e English language itself, s h o p p i n g i n A m e r i c a n - s t y l e d malls, g o i n g t o t h e m e parks ( o f w h i c h Disney is t h e f o r e m o s t b u t n o t exclusive
example),
l i s t e n i n g t o t h e music o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y p u b l i c i z e d p e r f o r m e r s , f o l l o w i n g news agency r e p o r t s o r w a t c h i n g the Cable N e w s N e t w o r k i n scores o f f o r e i g n locales, r e a d i n g translations o f c o m m e r c i a l best sellers, a n d eating i n f r a n chised f a s t - f o o d restaurants
a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . C u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n means
also a d o p t i n g broadcasting systems t h a t d e p e n d o n advertising a n d accepting d e r e g u l a t o r y practices t h a t t r a n s f o r m t h e p u b l i c mails, the telephone
system,
a n d cable television i n t o p r i v a t e p r o f i t centers (Engelhardt, 1 9 9 0 ) . A l o n g s i d e this all-service-supplying c u l t u r a l - m e d i a e n v i r o n m e n t , t h e relative e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l p o w e r o f t h e U n i t e d States continues t o d i m i n i s h . T h i s suggests t h a t A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n is n o t guaranteed i n perpetuity. Yet i r r e f u t a b l y t h a t d o m i n a t i o n has been p r e e m i n e n t f o r t h e last f o u r decades a n d remains so t o this date, t h o u g h subsumed increasingly under transnational c o r p o r a t e capital a n d c o n t r o l . T h e c u l t u r a l p r i m a c y that t h e r u l i n g n a t i o n a l p o w e r i n t h e w o r l d e c o n o m y h i s t o r i c a l l y exercised m a y n o w be changing. T h e c o m m a n d i n g p o s i t i o n o f A m e r i c a n media p r o d u c t s i n t h e p o s t - W o r l d W a r I I era, t h e expertise d e r i v e d f r o m m o r e t h a n a century o f successful m a r k e t i n g activity, a n d t h e n o w near-universal a d o p t i o n o f English as t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l l i n g u a franca still confer cultural
commodities.
e x t r a o r d i n a r y influence o n U . S . - p r o d u c e d
H o w l o n g this
influence
can be sustained
while
A m e r i c a n systemic p o w e r declines is an o p e n question. B u t i n a n y case, A m e r i c a n n a t i o n a l p o w e r n o longer is an exclusive d e t e r m i n a n t o f c u l t u r a l domination. T h e d o m i n a t i o n t h a t exists today, t h o u g h still bearing a m a r k e d A m e r i c a n i m p r i n t , is better u n d e r s t o o d as transnational c o r p o r a t e c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n . Philips o f t h e N e t h e r l a n d s ,
Lever
Brothers
o f Britain, Daimler-Benz
of
G e r m a n y , Samsung o f K o r e a , a n d Sony o f Japan, a l o n g w i t h some f e w t h o u sand o t h e r companies, are n o w the m a j o r players i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l m a r k e t .
364
Global Media and New Media T h e m e d i a , p u b l i c relations, advertising, p o l l i n g , c u l t u r a l sponsorship, a n d consultants these i n d u s t r i a l giants use a n d s u p p o r t h a r d l y are distinguishable f r o m t h e same services at the disposal o f A m e r i c a n - o w n e d c o r p o r a t i o n s . S t i l l , a g o o d f r a c t i o n o f these i n f o r m a t i o n a l - c u l t u r a l activities c o n t i n u e t o be supp l i e d b y A m e r i c a n enterprises. These developments leave most o f t h e peoples a n d nations i n t h e w o r l d m o r e v u l n e r a b l e t h a n ever t o d o m i n a t i o n - c u l t u r a l , m i l i t a r y , a n d e c o n o m i c . F o r m e r o p p o s i t i o n a l forces have collapsed.
Cheerful surveyors of the current scene N o t a l l v i e w t h e developments described above w i t h skepticism o r dismay. I n d e e d , some see the phenomena that n o w characterize daily life i n a very large, a n d g r o w i n g , p a r t o f the w o r l d as evidence that c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n n o longer exists, o r that w h a t appears as d o m i n a t i o n actually fosters resistance t o itself. T h e idea o f c u l t u r a l diversity, f o r example, enjoys great p o p u l a r i t y a m o n g m a n y c u l t u r a l observers. T h e central assumption - that m a n y diverse c u l t u r a l tendencies a n d m o v e m e n t s operate, w i t h n o one element d o m i n a t i n g - is t h e f a m i l i a r p l u r a l i s t a r g u m e n t , n o w a p p l i e d t o t h e c u l t u r a l f i e l d . A m o r e recent construct is t h e n o t i o n o f ' g l o b a l i z a t i o n . ' I n this p r o p o s i t i o n , t h e w o r l d is m o v i n g , h o w e v e r haltingly, t o w a r d a genuinely global c i v i l i z a t i o n . T h e r e is also t h e very w i d e l y accepted hypothesis o f an 'active audience,' o n e i n w h i c h viewers, readers, a n d listeners make t h e i r o w n m e a n i n g f r o m t h e messages that c o m e t h e i r way, o f t e n t o t h e p o i n t o f creating resistance t o hegemonic meanings.
Most
comprehensive
o f a l l is t h e p o s t m o d e r n
perspective.
W h a t e v e r else this a p p r o a c h offers, i t insists that systemic explanations o f social p h e n o m e n a are f u t i l e a n d w r o n g - h e a d e d . M i k e Featherstone, e d i t o r o f Global
Culture,
writes:
Postmodernism is both a symptom and a powerful cultural image of the swing away from the conceptualization of global culture less in terms of alleged homogenizing processes (e.g. theories which present cultural imperialism, Americanization, and mass consumer culture as a proto-universal culture riding on the back of Western economic and political domination) and more i n terms of the diversity, variety and richness of popular and local discourses, codes and practices which resist and play-back systemicity and order (Featherstone, 1990, p. 2). Each o f these presently p r e v a i l i n g ideas asserts t h a t : 1.
I m p e r i a l i s m n o longer exists. (A v a r i a n t is t h a t U.S. i m p e r i a l i s m , i n p a r t i c -
2.
A n e w g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y is n o w e m e r g i n g - global c i v i l society, so t o
ular, is a spent force.) speak - t h a t is i n d e p e n d e n t o f the interstate system. I t is busily constructi n g alternative linkages a n d n e t w o r k s that p r o v i d e space f o r n e w c u l t u r a l environments.
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 365 3.
Finally, i t is o f l i t t l e consequence i f c u l t u r a l o u t p u t s f r o m o n e source occup y a p r e p o n d e r a n t share o f a n audience's a t t e n t i o n , because i n d i v i d u a l s reshape t h e m a t e r i a l t o t h e i r o w n tastes a n d needs. I n this schema, t h e i n d i v i d u a l receptor takes precedence over t h e c u l t u r a l p r o d u c e r . H o w d o these p r o p o s i t i o n s stand u p w h e n e x a m i n e d against t h e actual c o n -
t e x t o f observable conditions?
U.S. media-cultural dominance A m e r i c a n f i l m s , T V p r o g r a m s , music, news, e n t e r t a i n m e n t , theme parks, a n d s h o p p i n g malls set t h e standard f o r w o r l d w i d e e x p o r t a n d i m i t a t i o n . H o w l o n g this d o m i n a n c e can endure alongside a receding e c o n o m i c p r i m a r y is uncertain. Already, many
U.S. m e d i a
enterprises
have been a c q u i r e d b y
Japanese ( f i l m a n d T V ) , G e r m a n ( p u b l i s h i n g a n d music d i s t r i b u t i o n ) , B r i t i s h (advertising), a n d o t h e r c o m p e t i n g groups. Yet even w h e n this occurs, t h e n e w o w n e r s , at least f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , usually are i n t e n t o n k e e p i n g A m e r i c a n creative a n d managerial m e d i a people i n executive positions. A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n remains f o r c e f u l i n a r a p i d l y c h a n g i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o w e r scene. I t is also u n d e r g o i n g t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . T h i s occurs b y a c q u i s i t i o n a n d , m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , b y its practices being a d o p t e d b y t h e rest o f t h e t r a n s n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t e system. W h a t is e m e r g i n g , t h e r e f o r e , is a w o r l d w h e r e alongside t h e A m e r i c a n o u t p u t o f c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t are t h e practically i d e n t i c a l items m a r k e t e d b y c o m p e t i n g n a t i o n a l a n d t r a n s n a t i o n a l g r o u p s . For some t i m e , critics o f m e d i a - i m p e r i a l i s m t h e o r y have o f f e r e d , as e v i dence o f t h e d o c t r i n e ' s fatal flaw, t h e emergence o f n e w centers o f m e d i a p r o d u c t i o n . B r a z i l , i n p a r t i c u l a r , is h a i l e d as a s t r i k i n g l y successful example o f this d e v e l o p m e n t . Its achievement i n television p r o d u c t i o n a n d e x p o r t is supposed t o d e m o l i s h t h e n o t i o n o f a single center o f c u l t u r a l d o m i n a t i o n (Rogers & A n t o l a , 1 9 8 5 ; Straubhaar, 1 9 8 9 ; Tracey, 1 9 8 8 ) . In
reality, a c c o r d i n g
t o t h e w o r k o f Brazilian researcher O m a r
Souki
O l i v e i r a ( 1 9 9 0 ) , B r a z i l i a n T V n o w broadcasts a m i n i m u m o f U.S. p r o g r a m m i n g . T h e biggest audiences w a t c h a n d prefer Brazilian shows, w h i c h are w i d e l y e x p o r t e d a b r o a d . G l o b o , t h e m a i n Brazilian p r i v a t e T V n e t w o r k , curr e n t l y e x p o r t s shows t o 128 countries. ' I t s p r o d u c t i o n s o u t n u m b e r those o f any o t h e r s t a t i o n
[sic] i n t h e w o r l d . ' O l i v e i r a w r i t e s that o n e A m e r i c a n
researcher (Straubhaar, 1 9 8 9 ) has c o n c l u d e d t h a t Brazilian television p r o grams have been ' B r a z i l i a n i z e d almost b e y o n d (American) r e c o g n i t i o n . ' O t h e r U.S. researchers (Rogers & A n t o l a , 1 9 8 5 ) see Brazil's e x p o r t s as 'reverse m e d i a i m p e r i a l i s m . ' A t h i r d observer (Tracey, 1 9 8 8 ) w r i t e s t h a t ' i n Brazil o n e sees a television d e v o t e d t o n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e . ' I n O l i v e i r a ' s r e a d i n g o f t h e same evidence, Brazilian p r o g r a m m i n g is ' t h e c r e o l i z a t i o n o f U.S. c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s . I t is t h e spiced u p T h i r d W o r l d c o p y o f
366
Global Media and New Media Western values, n o r m s , patterns o f behavior a n d models o f social relations.' H e states t h a t ' t h e o v e r w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y o f Brazilian soaps have the same purpose as t h e i r U.S. c o u n t e r p a r t s , i.e., t o sell p r o d u c t s ' - a n d , i t s h o u l d be emphasized, t o sell goods made b y the same transnational c o r p o r a t i o n s w h o advertise i n Brazil as w e l l as i n the U n i t e d States. T h e ' l o c a l ' sponsors are C o c a - C o l a , V o l k s w a g e n , General M o t o r s , Levi's, etc. ' I n m o s t Brazilian soaps,' O l i v e i r a f i n d s , ' t h e A m e r i c a n lifestyle p o r t r a y e d by H o l l y w o o d p r o d u c t i o n reappears w i t h a " b r a z i l i a n i z e d face." N o w w e d o n ' t see w e a l t h y A n g l o s any m o r e , b u t r i c h w h i t e Brazilians e n j o y i n g standards o f l i v i n g t h a t w o u l d make any m i d d l e class A m e r i c a n envious.' O l i v e i r a concludes: ' G l a m o r o u s as they [ T V series] are - even o u t s h i n i n g H o l l y w o o d t h e i r r o l e w i t h i n Brazilian society isn't d i f f e r e n t f r o m that o f U.S. i m p o r t s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e refinements a p p l i e d t o the genre were n o t t o enhance diversity, b u t d o m i n a t i o n . ' D o m i n a t i o n is precisely w h a t c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m is a l l about. W i t h t h a t d o m i n a t i o n comes t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l p o w e r , N y e ' s 'soft p o w e r , ' t h a t sets t h e boundaries f o r n a t i o n a l discourse. M e a n w h i l e , despite t h e developments already n o t e d , the global p r e e m i nence o f A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t is b e i n g n o t o n l y m a i n t a i n e d b u t e x t e n d e d t o n e w locales. U.S. m e d i a incursions i n t o Eastern E u r o p e a n d the Soviet U n i o n are assuming t h e d i m e n s i o n o f a full-scale takeover, albeit shared w i t h G e r m a n a n d B r i t i s h m e d i a conglomerates. A m e r i c a n - o w n e d a n d -styled theme parks, w i t h t h e i r comprehensive i d e o logical assumptions l i t e r a l l y b u i l t i n t o t h e landscape
a n d architecture, are
b e i n g staked o u t across E u r o p e a n d Japan. ' E u r o - D i s n e y l a n d w i l l o p e n its first p a r k at M a r n e la Vallee i n 1 9 9 2 , w i t h a second possible i n 1 9 9 6 . AnheuserBusch
[ t h e second-largest
theme p a r k o w n e r after Disney] has l a u n c h e d a
t h e m e p a r k d e v e l o p m e n t i n Spain, a n d other U.S. c o r p o r a t i o n s are e x p l o r i n g projects elsewhere i n E u r o p e ' (Sloan, 1 9 9 0 , p . D - 3 ) . I t m u s t be emphasized t h a t t h e c o r p o r a t e takeover o f ( p o p u l a r ) c u l t u r e f o r m a r k e t i n g a n d i d e o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l is n o t a p a t e n t e d A m e r i c a n p r a c t i c e , l i m i t e d exclusively t o U.S. companies. I t is, h o w e v e r , c a r r i e d t o its fullest d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e U n i t e d States. C u l t u r a l - r e c r e a t i o n a l a c t i v i t y is n o w t h e very active site f o r s p r e a d i n g t h e t r a n s n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t e message, especially i n p r o f e s s i o n a l sports, w h e r e A m e r i c a n practice again p r o v i d e s t h e basic model. I n t h e U n i t e d States, p r a c t i c a l l y n o sports a c t i v i t y remains outside t h e interest a n d sponsorship o f t h e b i g n a t i o n a l advertisers. T h e irresistible l u r e o f b i g s p o n s o r s h i p m o n e y has become t h e l u b r i c a n t f o r a sport's n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t . A c c o r d i n g l y , sports events
a n d games have become
multi-
b i l l i o n - d o l l a r businesses, u n d e r w r i t t e n b y the m a j o r c o r p o r a t i o n s w h o stake o u t huge T V audiences. T h e h u n t f o r sports events t h a t can be made available t o advertisers n o w includes u n i v e r s i t y a n d , i n increasing instances, h i g h - s c h o o l games. A s s u m i n g t h e m a n t l e o f m o r a l c o n c e r n , The New York Times
editori-
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 367 alized:
'College
athletic
departments
have
abandoned
a n y pretense
of
r e p r e s e n t i n g cap a n d g o w n a n d n o w they r o a m t h e c o u n t r y i n n a k e d p u r s u i t o f h u n d r e d s o f m i l l i o n s o f t e l e v i s i o n d o l l a r s ' ( B r i g h t l i g h t s , b i g college money, 1990, p . A-22). U n s u r p r i s i n g l y , t h e practice has become i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z e d . A r e p o r t f r o m I t a l y describes t h e f r e n z i e d p u r s u i t , b y t h e largest I t a l i a n c o r p o r a t i o n s , t o o w n soccer a n d basketball franchises. 'A g r o w i n g t r e n d i n I t a l y ... [is] t h e wholesale takeover o f a s p o r t b y t h e captains o f i n d u s t r y i n search o f n e w t e r r a i n f r o m w h i c h t o p r o m o t e a c o r p o r a t e p r o d u c t o r i m a g e ' (Agnew, 1 9 9 0 , p . 14). T h e n e w p a t r o n s o f I t a l i a n sports i n c l u d e t h e agro-chemicals giant M o n t e d i s o n , w h i c h also o w n s t h e w i d e l y read R o m e daily II Mesaggero;
t h e A g n e l l i family,
o w n e r s o f t h e g i a n t Fiat company, w h o also o w n t h e successful Juventus soccer c l u b ; a n d S i l v i o B e r l u s c o n i , t h e Italian T V a n d f i l m m o g u l , w h o o w n s t h e A C M i l a n soccer c l u b a n d o t h e r teams. Recent d e v e l o p m e n t s i n East G e r m a n y illustrate t h e extent t o w h i c h sports have become a venue o f c o r p o r a t e image p r o m o t i o n a n d an aggressive m a r k e t i n g i n s t r u m e n t . Business
Week ( ' L o o k O u t ' W i m b l e d o n , 1 9 9 0 ) r e p o r t s t h a t
the women's Grand Prix tennis tournament scheduled for the final week of September [1990] is moving from Mahwah, N e w Jersey to Leipzig, East Germany.... the tournament [is] the first successful effort to lure big corporate sponsors into a major tourney behind the o l d Iron Curtain.... a number of heavyweight sponsors ... include Volkswagen, Isostar, Sudmilch, Kraft-General Foods and American Airlines. M a j o r sports are n o w t r a n s m i t t e d b y satellite t o g l o b a l audiences. T h e c o m m e r c i a l messages a c c o m p a n y i n g t h e broadcast, r i n g i n g t h e stadia, a n d o f t e n w o r n o n t h e u n i f o r m s o f t h e athletes constitute a concerted assault o f c o r p o rate m a r k e t i n g values o n g l o b a l consciousness.
The total cultural package and the 'active audience' T h e e n v e l o p m e n t o f professional a n d amateur sports f o r t r a n s n a t i o n a l c o r p o rate m a r k e t i n g objectives a n d i d e o l o g i c a l p a c i f i c a t i o n is a g o o d p o i n t at w h i c h t o r e t u r n t o a n o t h e r o n e o f t h e arguments c o n t r a d i c t i n g t h e c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l ist concept. T h i s is t h e belief i n t h e existence o f a n 'active audience,' a v i e w s u p p o r t e d b y a g o o d n u m b e r o f A n g l o - U . S . c o m m u n i c a t i o n s researchers. A c c o r d i n g t o this view, t h e audience is supposed t o make its o w n m e a n i n g o f t h e messages a n d images t h a t t h e m e d i a disseminate, thereby p l a y i n g a relat i v e l y a u t o n o m o u s r o l e t h a t is o f t e n i n t e r p r e t e d as resistance and
t o these messages
meanings (see B u d d , E n t m a n , & Steinman, 1 9 9 0 ; H . Schiller,
1989).
A c t i v e - a u d i e n c e t h e o r i z i n g has been largely p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h the analysis o f i n d i v i d u a l c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s - a p r o g r a m o r a T V series, a m o v i e , o r a genre o f f i c t i o n . T h e t h e o r y f o l l o w s closely i n t h e t r a d i t i o n o f 'effects' research, t h o u g h n o t necessarily c o m i n g t o t h e same conclusions.
368
Global Media and New Media L e a v i n g specific studies aside, i t can be argued t h a t one o v e r a r c h i n g c o n d i t i o n invalidates, o r at least severely circumscribes, t h e very idea o f an active audience, t o say n o t h i n g o f one resisting a f l o w o f messages. T h i s is t h e curr e n t state - impossible t o miss - o f Western c u l t u r a l enterprise. H o w can o n e propose t o extract o n e T V show, f i l m , b o o k , o r even a g r o u p , f r o m t h e n o w nearly seamless m e d i a - c u l t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t , a n d examine i t (them) f o r specific effects? T h i s is n o t t o say there are n o generalized effects - b u t these are n o t w h a t t h e r e c e p t i o n theorists seem t o be concerned w i t h . C u l t u r a l / m e d i a p r o d u c t i o n t o d a y has l o n g left t h e cottage i n d u s t r y stage. H u g e conglomerates
l i k e Time-Warner, w i t h nearly $ 2 0 b i l l i o n i n assets, sit
astride p u b l i s h i n g , T V p r o d u c t i o n , f i l m m a k i n g , a n d music r e c o r d i n g , as w e l l as b o o k p u b l i s h i n g a n d p u b l i c classroom education. T h e m e p a r k c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d o w n e r s h i p , s h o p p i n g malls, a n d u r b a n architectural design also are t h e d o m a i n o f the same o r related interests. I n this t o t a l i z i n g c u l t u r a l space, w h o is able t o specify the i n d i v i d u a l source o f an idea, value, perspective, o r reaction? A person's response, f o r example, t o the T V series Dallas
m a y be the o u t c o m e o f h a l f - f o r g o t t e n images f r o m a
dozen p e r i p h e r a l encounters i n t h e c u l t u r a l supermarket. W h o is t o say w h a t are t h e specific sites f r o m w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l behavior a n d emotions n o w derive? I n 1 9 9 0 , even actual w a r locales become t h e setting f o r t h e m a r k e t i n g message. Business
Week
('Publicity?' 1 9 9 0 ) announces:
W o r l d O r d e r , M a r k e t i n g D e p t . w h e r e companies
'Welcome
t o the N e w
are using h i s t o r y - m a k i n g
events as occasions t o p r o m o t e t h e i r p r o d u c t s . ' T h e magazine explains: ' W i t h U.S. t r o o p s d i g g i n g i n their heels i n Saudi A r a b i a , companies a l l a r o u n d t h e c o u n t r y are v y i n g t o supply t h e m w i t h e v e r y t h i n g f r o m n o n a l c o h o l i c beer t o v i d e o cassettes ... i f a soldier is g o i n g t o be p h o t o g r a p h e d s i p p i n g a c o l d d r i n k o r p l a y i n g p o k e r , most marketers agree that he o r she m i g h t as w e l l be using t h e i r p r o d u c t . ' I n this n e w w o r l d o f pervasive c o r p o r a t e message m a k i n g , t h e dispatch o f over 4 5 0 , 0 0 0 t r o o p s provides an o p p o r t u n i t y t o cultivate this o r t h a t taste f o r c o n s u m p t i o n , a l o n g w i t h a p o w e r f u l p a t r i o t i c b a c k d r o p f o r t h e c o m p a n y a n d t h e p r o d u c t . H o w does t h e audience engage this spectacle o f democracy a n d c o n s u m p t i o n ? T h e r e is m u c h t o be said f o r t h e idea that people d o n ' t mindlessly absorb e v e r y t h i n g t h a t passes before their eyes. Yet m u c h o f t h e c u r r e n t w o r k o n audience r e c e p t i o n comes u n c o m f o r t a b l y close t o b e i n g apologetics f o r p r e sent-day structures o f c u l t u r a l c o n t r o l .
Meaningful resistance to the cultural industries T h e r e is g o o d reason t o be skeptical about the resistance o f a n audience, active o r n o t , t o its m e n u o f media offerings. Yet this does n o t mean that t h e c u l t u r a l conglomerates a n d the social system they e m b o d y are w i t h o u t an o p p o s i t i o n . I t is a resistance, however, that differs e n o r m o u s l y f r o m t h e k i n d o f o p p o s i t i o n that is supposed t o occur i n r e i n t e r p r e t i n g the message o f a T V s i t c o m .
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 369 Some m a y believe i n t h e e n d o f h i s t o r y a n d others m a y insist t h a t t h e era o f r e v o l u t i o n is f i n a l l y over a n d t h a t social (class) c o n f l i c t is obsolete. T h e d a i l y newspaper headlines t e l l a d i f f e r e n t story ( t h o u g h o f course they d o n ' t e x p l a i n i t ) . W h a t is a p p a r e n t is t h a t aroused p e o p l e , i f n o t t h e i r leaderships, a l l a r o u n d t h e w o r l d are p r o t e s t i n g t h e i r e x i s t i n g l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s . I n t h e U n i t e d States itself, still t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l single u n i t o f t h e w o r l d , m a r k e t economy,
n u m e r o u s o p p o s i t i o n a l elements
force at least m i n i m a l
a c k n o w l e d g m e n t , a n d some l i m i t e d a c c o m m o d a t i o n ,
from
the g o v e r n i n g
c r o w d . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e congressional f i g h t over t h e n a t i o n a l budget i n t h e f a l l o f 1 9 9 0 was essentially a class c o n f l i c t , h o w e v e r obscured this was i n its m e d i a coverage. T o be sure, t h e class m o s t d i r e c t l y affected - t h e w o r k i n g p e o p l e - was largely absent f r o m t h e deliberations. B u t the m a i n question at issue w a s w h i c h
class w o u l d
be c o m p e l l e d t o shoulder
the burden o f
A m e r i c a ' s d e e p e n i n g crisis. T h i s debate, a n d others u n d e r w a y , reveal t h e fragile c o n d i t i o n o f the d o m i n a t i n g p o w e r i n t h e c o u n t r y . B e t w e e n 1 9 8 0 a n d 1 9 9 0 , t h e wealthiest 1 percent saw t h e i r incomes
rise by
75 p e r c e n t , w h i l e t h e i n c o m e o f t h e b o t t o m 2 0 percent actually d e c l i n e d . T h e richest 2Vi m i l l i o n A m e r i c a n s ' c o m b i n e d i n c o m e nearly equaled t h a t o f t h e 1 0 0 m i l l i o n A m e r i c a n s at t h e b o t t o m o f the p y r a m i d (Meisler, 1 9 9 0 ) . I t is t h e still g r o w i n g disparities between t h e advantaged a n d t h e disadvantaged c o u n t r i e s , as w e l l as the w i d e n i n g gap inside
t h e advantaged a n d disad-
v a n t a g e d societies, t h a t c o n s t i t u t e t h e f a u l t l i n e o f t h e still seemingly secure w o r l d m a r k e t economy. T o this m a y be a d d e d the ecological disaster i n t h e m a k i n g , w h i c h is t h e i n e v i t a b l e a c c o m p a n i m e n t o f t h e m a r k e t forces t h a t are r o a r i n g t r i u m p h a n t l y across t h e c o n t i n e n t s . A r o u t i n e headline i n t h e Western m e d i a reads: 'Indonesia: T h e H o t t e s t Spot i n A s i a . ' E l a b o r a t i n g , Business
Week
('Indonesia:
The Hottest
Spot,'
1990) rhapsodizes: ' W i t h a 7 % g r o w t h rate, a p o p u l a t i o n o f 1 8 2 m i l l i o n - t h e w o r l d ' s f i f t h largest - a n d a w e a l t h o f n a t u r a l resources, Indonesia is poised t o be t h e region's n e w success story.' As t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y w i n d s d o w n , success p r e s u m a b l y is achieved b y a d o p t i n g t h e l o n g - s t a n d i n g Western i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n m o d e l , p r o f l i g a t e w i t h resource use a n d wastage, a n d e x p l o i t i n g the w o r k f o r c e t o satisfy f o r e i g n capital's search f o r the m a x i m u m r e t u r n . Indonesia, w i t h an average wage o f $1.25 a day, is an irresistible site. T h e c h a i r m a n o f the A m e r i c a n Chamber
o f Commerce
i n Indonesia
explains:
'Indonesia w i l l have a cheap labor supply w e l l i n t o the 21st century.... N o b o d y else i n Asia except C h i n a can offer t h a t . ' N o t unexpectedly, ' T h e income gap between a f f l u e n t business people a n d t h e m i l l i o n s o f i m p o v e r i s h e d w h o eke o u t a l i v i n g i n t h e villages a n d Jakarta's teeming slums is w i d e n i n g ' (p. 4 5 ) . T h e I n d o n e s i a n 'success story,' a n d others l i k e i t , are h a r d l y c o n f i r m a t i o n for
the end-of-social-conflict
perspective.
M u c h more
c o n v i n c i n g is t h e
e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t t h e n e x t c e n t u r y w i l l be t h e t r u l y r e v o l u t i o n a r y era, accomp l i s h i n g w h a t t h e t w e n t i e t h began b u t c o u l d n o t f i n i s h . I n any case, c o m m u n i c a t i o n t h e o r y , t i e d t o t h e assumptions
of political or cultural
pluralism,
370
Global Media and New Media h a r m o n i z a t i o n o f interests between the p r i v i l e g e d a n d the d e p r i v e d , resistance t o d o m i n a t i o n residing i n i n d i v i d u a l i z e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f T V or f i l m shows, or, o v e r a l l , the l o n g - t e r m v i a b i l i t y o f capitalist i n s t i t u t i o n s , is a n d w i l l
be
unable t o e x p l a i n the l o o m i n g social turbulence. Certainly, there are n o grounds f o r complacency about the prospects o f the First a n d T h i r d W o r l d s (the latter n o w i n c l u d i n g the once-Second W o r l d states) i n the years ahead. Yet Western c o m m u n i c a t i o n researchers seem i n t e n t o n h o l d i n g o n t o these assumptions. James C u r r a n , surveying the English a n d c o n t i n e n t a l research scene over the last fifteen years, concludes that a major change has taken place. The most important and significant overall shift has been the steady advance of pluralist themes within the radical tradition, in particular, the repudiation of the totalizing, explanatory framework of Marxism, the reconceptualization of the audience as creative and active and the shift from the political to a popular aesthetic... A sea change has occurred in the field, and this w i l l reshape - for better or worse - the development of media and cultural studies in Europe. (1990, pp. 157-8) T h e same tendencies are w e l l advanced, i f n o t d o m i n a n t , i n the U n i t e d States, t h o u g h they have n o t t o t a l l y swept the f i e l d as they seem t o have d o n e i n E n g l a n d . T h e r e is still m o r e t h a n a l i t t l e life left i n those w h o l o o k at the m a t e r i a l side o f the e c o n o m y i n general a n d the c u l t u r a l industries i n p a r t i c u lar.
Expressing
approach
t o The
this
perspective
Condition
of
is
D a v i d Harvey,
Postmodernity
i n his
comprehensive
( 1 9 8 9 ) . R e v i e w i n g the same
years t h a t C u r r a n surveyed, f r o m the 1970s o n , a n d r e l y i n g o n m a n y o f the same basic sources ( t h o u g h n o t as focused o n the f i e l d o f
communication
research), H a r v e y also finds that 'there has been a sea-change i n c u l t u r a l as w e l l as i n p o l i t i c a l - e c o n o m i c
practices since a r o u n d 1 9 7 2 '
(p. v i i ) . H e c o n -
cludes t h a t these changes, and the rise o f postmodernist c u l t u r a l f o r m s , ' w h e n set against the basic rules o f capitalist a c c u m u l a t i o n , appear m o r e as shifts i n surface appearance rather t h a n as signs o f the emergence o f some entirely n e w post-capitalist or even p o s t - i n d u s t r i a l society' (p. v i i ) . Yet these 'shifts i n surface appearance' have c o n t r i b u t e d greatly t o the capab i l i t y o f the c o r p o r a t e business system t o m a i n t a i n , and e x p a n d , its global reach. For this reason, the a c k n o w l e d g m e n t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m are
more
necessary t h a n
o f a n d the struggle against c u l t ever i f the general system
of
d o m i n a t i o n is t o be o v e r c o m e .
References Agnew, P. 1990: Italy's sport madness has a very business like basis. International Herald Tribune, 4 September, p. 14. Ang, I . 1985: Watching 'Dallas': soap opera and the melodramatic imagination. London: Methuen. Bright lights, big college money 1990: The New York Times, 13 September, p. A-22. Budd, M . , Entman, R. M . and Steinman, C. 1990: The affirmative character of U.S. cultural studies. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 7, 169-84.
Not Yet the Post-Imperialist Era 371 Curran, J. 1990: The new revisionism i n mass communication research. European Journal of Communication 5, 135-64. Engelhardt, T. 1990: Bottom line dreams and the end of culture. The Progressive 54(10), 3 0 - 5 . Featherstone, M . (ed.) 1990: Global culture. London: Sage. Harvey, D . 1989: The condition of postmodernity. O x f o r d : Basil Blackwell. Indonesia: the hottest spot i n Asia. 1990: Business Week, 27 August, pp. 4 4 - 5 . Liebes, T. and Katz, E. 1990: The export of meaning: cross-cultural readings of'Dallas'. N e w York: O x f o r d University Press. 'Look out* Wimbledon, here comes Leipzig 1990: Business Week, 24 September, p. 54. Meisler, S. 1990: Rich-poor gap held widest i n 40 years. Los Angeles Times, 24 July, p. A-ll. Nordenstreng, K. and Varis, T. 1974: Television traffic - a one-way street. Reports and papers on mass communication 70. Paris: UNESCO. Nye, J. S., Jr. 1990: N o , the U.S. isn't i n decline. The New York Times, 3 October, p. A-33. Oliveira, O. S. 1990: Brazilian soaps outshine Hollywood: is cultural imperialism fading out? Paper presented at the meetings of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur semiotik, International Congress, University of Passau, 8-10 October. Publicity? W h y i t never even occurred to us 1990: Business Week, 24 September, p. 46. Rogers, E. and Antola, L . 1985: Telenovelas: a Latin American success story. Journal of Communication 35(4), 24-35. Schiller, H . I . 1989: Culture, Inc.: the corporate takeover of public expression. N e w York: O x f o r d University Press. Sloan, A. K. 1990: Europe is ripe for theme parks. Los Angeles Times, 22 August, p. D-3. Straubhaar, J. 1989: Change in assymetrical interdependence in culture: the Brazilianization of television in Brazil. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, San Francisco, 25-29 May. Tracey, M . 1988: Popular culture and the economics of global television. Intermedia, March, 19-25.
Questions 1
Summarise the main ways in which Schiller suggests that the world geopolitical order has changed since the 1960s. How does he relate the media to other forms of cultural production in this assessment?
2
Outline Schiller's principal objections to the idea of globalisation and world-wide diversity, and to the theory of 'active audiences' world-wide.
3
What kinds of research and evidence are needed to develop the key ideas and themes suggested in this extract? Suggest or design some particular research studies which might develop these ideas, themes and arguments.
Further reading Ang, I . 1996: Living room wars: rethinking media audiences for a postmodern world. London: Routledge. D o w m u n t , T. 1993: Channels of resistance: global television and local empowerment. London: BFI/Channel 4.
372 Global Media and New Media Downing, J., Mohammadi, A. and Sreberny-Mohammadi, A . (eds.) 1995: Questioning the media: a critical introduction, 2nd edn. London: Sage. Liebes, T. and Katz, E. 1990: The export of meaning: Cross-cultural readings of 'Dallas . N e w York: O x f o r d University Press. Reeves, G . 1993: Communication and the 'Third World'. London: Routledge. Tomlinson, J. 1991: Cultural imperialism. London: Pinter Publishers. 3
34 Where the Global Meets the Local: Notes from the Sitting Room David Morley From Television, Audiences and Cultural Studies (Routledge, London, 1992)
In this extract Morley considers the extent to which new communications technologies can simultaneously have a fragmenting and homogenising effect on their users. Recalling Meyrowitz (Section 1, reading 4), he notes how media redefine individual notions of social identity and place and create new communities across time and space, taking otherwise disparate groups out of the immediate confines of their locality and homogenising them in a common cultural activity. Morley is particularly interested in the part that television plays in the process of cultural homogenisation, but of course new computer-mediated communications technologies such as the Internet are allowing this to happen in a much more direct and immediate way - provided that people can pay for it. The fact that communication and culture are now mediated by means of technologies such as the television screen and the computer terminal, and are therefore restricted to those who can pay for them, is a common theme in much recent literature which claims to provide evidence for a widening gap between the Info-rich' and 'info-poor', and documents its implications for cultural knowledge and informed democratic participation (see Golding, 1989, and Murdock, 1990, referenced in the Further reading section of this reading; also Lyon and Rheingold in the following two readings). However, money is not the sole determinant of access to information or cultural capital and Morley's focus is on other discourses determining the use and application of media and communications technologies, not least that of gender (see also Gray, Section 3, reading 21). Morley ends with a defence of those audience studies which focus on television viewing in the domestic sphere (among the best known being his own 1978 Nationwide study, referenced under 'Further reading') on the grounds that it is in the average sitting room that television allows the immediate location to coexist with the transnational, blurring the distinction between the public sphere and private spaces and situations.
Where the Global Meets the Local 373
Communications technologies: scenarios of the future I n this section ... I w a n t t o t r y t o make a n u m b e r o f arguments c o n c e r n i n g (a) the q u e s t i o n o f t h e 'effects' o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies; (b) t h e ways i n w h i c h these technologies have been c l a i m e d t o be responsible f o r both t h e ' f r a g m e n t a t i o n ' a n d t h e ' h o m o g e n i z a t i o n ' o f c o n t e m p o r a r y c u l t u r e ; a n d (c) h o w abstract ( a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y d e t e r m i n i s t ) f u t u r i s t i c scenarios o f this k i n d need t o be i n f o r m e d b y t h e analysis o f the e c o n o m i c , social a n d c u l t u r a l determ i n a t i o n s o f t e c h n o l o g y ' s i m p a c t , ' t a k e - u p ' a n d use. E r n i argues b l u n t l y t h a t ' i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e e n o r m o u s changes i n t e l e v i s i o n t e c h n o l o g y ' (such as t h e increasing use o f v i d e o t e c h n o l o g y a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f ' t e l e v i s i o n - c o m p u t e r - t e l e p h o n e h y b r i d s ' ) audience w o r k focused o n broadcast
research
television 'becomes s o m e w h a t obsolete'
(Erni
1 9 8 9 : 3 9 ) . I n a n o t dissimilar v e i n , L i n d l o f a n d M e y e r ( 1 9 8 7 ) argue t h a t t h e ' i n t e r a c t i v e ' capacities
o f recent t e c h n o l o g i c a l developments f u n d a m e n t a l l y
t r a n s f o r m t h e p o s i t i o n o f the consumer. As they p u t i t , w i t h increasing adoption of technological add-ons for the basic media delivery systems, the messages can be edited, deleted, rescheduled or skipped past w i t h complete disregard for their original form. The received notion of the mass communications audience has simply little relevance for the reality of mediated communication. (Lindlof and Meyer 1987: 2) T h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l advances are o f t e n seen t o have t r a n s f o r m a t i v e ( i f n o t Utopian) consequences f o r t h e television audience. T h u s , i n t h e I t a l i a n c o n t e x t , R A I ' s ( I t a l i a n p u b l i c service channel) p u b l i c i t y claims: The new telematic services, video recorders and video discs ... w i l l make a more personal use of the medium possible. The user w i l l be able to decide what t o watch when he [sic] wants. I t w i l l be possible, then, to move beyond that fixed mass audience which has been characteristic of TV's history: everybody w i l l be able t o do his [sic] o w n programming, (quoted in Connell and Curti 1985: 99) T h e p r o b l e m , o f course, is t h a t m a n y o f these arguments r u n t h e danger o f a b s t r a c t i n g these t e c h n o l o g i e s ' i n t r i n s i c 'capacities' f r o m t h e social c o n t e x t s o f t h e i r actual use. I n u n d e r s t a n d i n g such t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t s , w e c o u l d u s e f u l l y f o l l o w Bausinger i n his c o n c e r n w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f h o w these t e c h n o l o g i e s are i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e s t r u c t u r e a n d r o u t i n e s o f domestic l i f e - i n t o w h a t he calls ' t h e specific semantics o f t h e everyday'. H i s basic thesis
is t h a t technologies
are increasingly ' a b s o r b e d '
i n t o t h e everyday
('everyone o w n s a n u m b e r o f machines, a n d has d i r e c t l y t o h a n d l e technical p r o d u c t s ' ) , so t h a t everyday r o u t i n e s themselves are c o n s t r u c t e d a r o u n d techn o l o g i e s w h i c h t h e n become effectively ' i n v i s i b l e ' i n t h e i r d o m e s t i c a t i o n . T h e e n d r e s u l t , he argues, is t h e ' i n c o n s p i c u o u s omnipresence o f t h e t e c h n i c a l ' (Bausinger 1 9 8 4 : 3 4 6 ) . T h e k e y p o i n t is t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e processes t h r o u g h w h i c h c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n technologies are ' d o m e s t i c a t e d ' t o t h e p o i n t w h e r e t h e y become i n c o n s p i c u o u s , i f n o t ' i n v i s i b l e ' w i t h i n t h e
374
Global Media and New Media h o m e . T h e f u r t h e r p o i n t is t h e n t o focus o n t h e c u l t u r a l l y c o n s t r u c t e d meanings o f these technologies, as they are ' p r o d u c e d ' t h r o u g h l o c a t e d
practices
o f c o n s u m p t i o n . I w i l l r e t u r n t o these p o i n t s later i n t h e chapter.
First,
h o w e v e r , I w a n t t o p o i n t t o t h e parallel between these arguments
about
the i n d i v i d u a l i z i n g effects o f these n e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies a n d those ' p o s t m o d e r n ' scenarios w h i c h simultaneously p o i n t t o t h e i r h o m o g e n i z i n g effects. L e t us begin w i t h t h e w e l l - k n o w n p o s t m o d e r n theorist M a r s h a l l M c L u h a n , w h o , o f course, argued that t h e effect o f television a n d c o m p u t e r t e c h n o l o g y was t o erase time-space differences a n d t o h e r a l d a n e w audio-visual age o f g l o b a l Gemeinschaft.
T h u s , M c L u h a n a n d Fiore ( 1 9 6 7 ) argued:
Electric circuitry has overthrown the regime of 'time' and 'space' and pours upon us incessantly and continually the concerns of all other men ... Ours is a brand new w o r l d of 'allatonceness'. T i m e ' has ceased, 'space' has vanished. We now live in a global village, (quoted in Ferguson 1989: 163). I n recent years, w r i t e r s such as Carey
(1989), drawing o n , among
other
sources, t h e w o r k o f I n n i s ( 1 9 5 1 ) , have r i g h t l y d r a w n o u r a t t e n t i o n t o t h e hist o r i c a l r o l e o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems, b o t h physical a n d symbolic (cf. also de l a H a y e 1 9 7 9 ) i n t r a n s f o r m i n g o u r senses o f space a n d t i m e . T h u s , at o n e p o i n t , f o r e x a m p l e , Carey speaks o f t h e United States [as] the product of literacy, cheap paper, rapid and inexpensive transportation and the mechanical reproduction of words - the capacity, i n short, to transport not only people but a complex culture and civilisation from one place to another ... between places that were radically dissimilar in geography ... and ... climate ... the eclipsing of time and space. (Carey 1989: 2-3) Carey is concerned w i t h , a m o n g other things, the role o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f e m p i r e a n d the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f p o w e r . T h u s ,
Carey
notes, t h e e c o n o m i c influence n o t o n l y o f t h e c o m i n g o f the railways b u t , m o r e d r a m a t i c a l l y perhaps, o f t h e c o m i n g o f the telegraph, w h i c h ' p e r m i t t e d f o r t h e first t i m e , t h e effective separation o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n f r o m t r a n s p o r t a t i o n ... a l l o w i n g messages t o be separated
f r o m t h e physical m o v e m e n t o f
objects' ( i b i d . , 2 0 3 ) , thus freeing c o m m u n i c a t i o n f r o m t h e constraints o f geography, a n d t o t h a t extent ' m a k i n g geography i r r e l e v a n t ' ( 2 1 7 ) a n d ' d i m i n i s h i n g space as a d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g c r i t e r i o n i n h u m a n affairs' ( 2 2 2 ) . I n o r d e r t o m a k e m y task easier here, rather t h a n a t t e m p t i n g t o deal w i t h Carey's c a r e f u l l y nuanced h i s t o r i c a l w o r k o n t h e m u t u a l i n f l u e n c e o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies a n d social d e v e l o p m e n t , I shall choose as an example o f c o n t e m p o r a r y
s c e n a r i o - w r i t i n g M e y r o w i t z ' s ( 1 9 8 5 ) fascinating ( i f
o v e r b l o w n ) analysis o f t h e i m p a c t o f electronic m e d i a o n social behaviour, i n t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e ' s i t u a t i o n a l geography o f h u m a n l i f e ' . M e y r o w i t z ' s c o n c e r n is w i t h t h e w a y i n w h i c h electronic m e d i a have u n d e r m i n e d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between physical setting a n d social s i t u a t i o n , t o t h e extent that w e are ' n o l o n g e r " i n " places i n q u i t e t h e same w a y ' ( M e y r o w i t z 1 9 8 9 : 3 3 3 ) , as these m e d i a ' m a k e us ... audiences t o performances t h a t h a p p e n i n o t h e r
Where the Global Meets the Local 375 places a n d give us access t o audiences w h o are n o t physically ( M e y r o w i t z 1985:
present'
7 ) . M e y r o w i t z ' s central a r g u m e n t is t h a t these n e w m e d i a
r e - d e f i n e n o t i o n s o f social p o s i t i o n a n d o f 'place', d i v o r c i n g experience f r o m physical location. H e argues t h a t the electronic m e d i a have t r a n s f o r m e d the relative s i g n i f i cance o f l i v e a n d m e d i a t e d encounters, b r i n g i n g ' i n f o r m a t i o n a n d experience t o everyplace f r o m everyplace', as 'state funerals, wars ... a n d space flights are dramas t h a t can be p l a y e d o n the stage o f almost anyone's l i v i n g r o o m ' ( i b i d . , 118)
a n d , i n H o r t o n a n d W o h l ' s ( 1 9 5 6 ) terms, viewers develop f o r m s o f
'para-social i n t e r a c t i o n ' w i t h m e d i a figures a n d 'stars' they have never m e t . I n this way, these m e d i a , a c c o r d i n g t o M e y r o w i t z , create n e w ' c o m m u n i t i e s ' across t h e i r spaces o f transmission, b r i n g i n g together
otherwise
disparate
g r o u p s a r o u n d the ' c o m m o n experience' o f television, i n a process o f c u l t u r a l 'homogenisation
of
here a n d there'.
Thus,
argues M e y r o w i t z , television
acquires a s i m i l a r status t o t h a t o f the weather, as a basis o f c o m m o n e x p e r i ence a n d source o f c o n v e r s a t i o n , as a sort o f 'metaphysical arena' ( i b i d . , 146), so t h a t ' t o w a t c h T V is t o l o o k i n t o ... the [ c o m m o n ] experience:
... t o see
w h a t others are w a t c h i n g ' . T h u s , M e y r o w i t z argues, the millions who watched the assassination of JFK ... were in a 'place' that is no place at all ... the millions of Americans who watch T V every evening ... are in a 'location' that is not defined by walls, streets or neighbourhoods but by evanescent 'experience' more and more, people are living in a national (or international) information-system rather than [in] a local town or city. (Meyrowitz 1985: 145-7)
Postmodern geography and the 'generalized elsewhere' I t is i n this sense, M e y r o w i t z argues, that the electronic m e d i a are d e s t r o y i n g o u r sense o f locality, so t h a t 'places are increasingly l i k e one another a n d ... the s i n g u l a r i t y ... a n d i m p o r t a n c e o f ... l o c a l i t y is d i m i n i s h e d ' ( K i r b y
1989:
3 2 3 ) . T h i s m a y be t o overstate the case, as M e y r o w i t z admits i n his r e p l y t o K i r b y , b u t , m i n i m a l l y , the f u n c t i o n o f these electronic m e d i a is certainly l i k e l y t o ' r e l a t i v i z e ' o u r sense o f place - so that ' l o c a l i t y is n o longer necessarily seen as the centre stage o f life's d r a m a ' ( M e y r o w i t z 1989: 3 3 0 ) . T h a t centre stage is, t h e n , a c c o r d i n g t o M e y r o w i t z , taken by n a t i o n a l television i n the h o m e , b r i n g i n g us news o f the 'generalized elsewhere' o f o t h e r places a n d ' n o n - l o c a l ' p e o p l e a n d t h e i r simultaneous experiences - thus u n d e r m i n i n g any sense o f the p r i m a r y o f ' l o c a l i t y ' , as the ' u n i f y i n g r h e t o r i c a l space o f d a i l y T V extends i n t o the l i v i n g r o o m s o f everyone' (Berland 1988:
47).
As M e y r o w i t z notes, p a r t o f the p o i n t is t h a t , f o r instance, access t o n o n l o c a l p e o p l e (for instance, v i a the telephone) is o f t e n faster a n d simpler t h a n access t o physical n e i g h b o u r s . T h e ' c o m m u n i t y ' is thus ' l i b e r a t e d f r o m spatial l o c a l i t y ' a n d m a n y i n t i m a t e ties are s u p p o r t e d by the telephone rather t h a n by face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n (cf. the telephone advertisement: ' L o n g distance is the n e x t best t h i n g t o b e i n g t h e r e ' ) . T h u s , i t seems, w e s h o u l d n o longer conceive
376
Global Media and New Media o f c o m m u n i t y so m u c h i n terms o f a local clustering o f relationships as i n terms o f types o f social r e l a t i o n s h i p , w h e t h e r local o r distant - a ' p s y c h o l o g i cal
n e i g h b o u r h o o d ' o r a 'personal
c o m m u n i t y ' as a n e t w o r k o f ( o f t e n
n o n - l o c a l ) ties ( W e l l m a n 1 9 7 9 ; q u o t e d i n M e y r o w i t z 1 9 8 9 ) . T h u s , ' c o m m u n i t y ' is t r a n s f o r m e d : l i v i n g physically near t o others is n o longer necessarily t o be t i e d i n t o m u t u a l l y dependent c o m m u n i c a t i o n systems; conversely, l i v i n g far f r o m others is n o longer, necessarily, t o be c o m m u n i c a t i o n a l l y distant. T h u s , i t seems, l o c a l i t y is n o t s i m p l y subsumed i n a n a t i o n a l o r global sphere; rather, i t is increasingly bypassed i n b o t h directions - experience is b o t h u n i f i e d b e y o n d localities a n d f r a g m e n t e d w i t h i n t h e m . Such f r a g m e n t a t i o n , however, is rarely r a n d o m ; n o r is i t a matter o f merely i n d i v i d u a l differences o r 'choices' (cf. M o r l e y 1980). Rather, i t is a question o f the socially a n d c u l t u r a l l y determined lines o f division along w h i c h fragmentat i o n occurs. C e n t r a l a m o n g these lines is, o f course, that o f gender. B o t h i n t h e ( H I C T ) research described earlier a n d i n that o f others i n the f i e l d , there is an increasing r e c o g n i t i o n o f the 'gendering' o f technologies such as the telephone, w h i c h is an effect o f the socially organized p o s i t i o n i n g o f gendered categories o f persons across t h e public/private division. As G a r m a r n i k o w a n d Purvis (1983) n o t e , the public/private split can, o f course, itself be seen as a f u n d a m e n t a l m e t a p h o r f o r the p a t t e r n i n g o f gender. 'Place' a n d 'placelessness' can certainly be seen t o be (among other determinations) h i g h l y gendered experiences. T h e v i s i o n o f an 'emergent placelessness' (cf. B e r l a n d 1 9 8 8 : 147) o f f e r e d (celebrated?) b y a n u m b e r o f p o s t m o d e r n c o m m e n t a t o r s can be c r i t i c i z e d o n a n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t counts. O n the one h a n d , i t offers l i t t l e r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e p a r t i c u l a r o p e r a t i o n s o f p o w e r , i n so far as w h a t emerges across this electronic ('placeless') n e t w o r k is w h a t M a t t e l a r t et al. i d e n t i f y as t h e ' t i m e o f the except i o n a l a n d t h e spectacular, t h e p r o d u c t o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n d u s t r i a l e n t e r t a i n m e n t c u l t u r e ' ( M a t t e l a r t et al. 1 9 8 7 : 97) - a heavily standardized televisual language w h i c h w i l l t e n d t o disqualify a n d displace a l l others. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , as Ferguson ( 1 9 8 9 ) argues, the ' t e c h n o - o r t h o d o x i s t ' w o r l d view, w h i c h proclaims
that
satellite
and other
n e w (ICTs)
have
effectively
reduced
time/space differences t o insignificance, is badly over-abstracted. Principally, this is because t h e a r g u m e n t has l i t t l e e m p i r i c a l g r o u n d i n g a n d operates at a level o f abstraction w h i c h does n o t p e r m i t us t o answer questions about how these m e d i a shift o u r everyday understandings o f t i m e a n d space, o r about which
m e d i a - f o r m s influence which
people i n which
ways i n t h e i r conceptual-
i z a t i o n o f d u r a t i o n a n d distance (cf. Bryce 1 9 8 7 ) . W h a t is needed, i n this respect, is ' q u a l i t a t i v e research i n t o how electronic c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m a g n i f y [or o t h e r w i s e - D . M . ] time-space imperatives a n d which
forms produce
which
k i n d o f i n t e n d e d a n d u n i n t e n d e d consequences' (Ferguson 1 9 8 9 : 1 7 1 ) . I f t h e h o m o g e n i z a t i o n o f space a n d t i m e i n c o n t e m p o r a r y c u l t u r e has n o t yet abolished a l l differences, still w e must attend t o t h e need t o construct a p r o p e r l y p o s t m o d e r n geography o f the relations between
communications
and power a n d the contemporary transformations o f the public and private
Where the Global Meets the Local 377 spheres. A s Ferguson notes, despite t h e g r a n d claims o f t h e t e c h n o - o r t h o d o x ¬ ist ' h o m o g e n i z e r s ' , i t remains t r u e t h a t 'just as they have d i f f e r e n t i a l access t o n e w a n d o l d c o m m u n i c a t i o n m e d i a , so d o d i f f e r e n t cultures, social g r o u p s a n d n a t i o n a l sources o f p o w e r perceive, categorise a n d p r i o r i t i s e t e m p o r a l a n d spatial boundaries
d i f f e r e n t l y ' ( i b i d . , 1 5 3 ) . T o take a ' E u r o p e a n '
example,
rather t h a n speculating, i n t h e abstract, as t o w h e t h e r o r n o t w e are seeing t h e emergence o f a u n i f i e d ' E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e ' u n d e r t h e i m p a c t o f p a n - E u r o p e a n m e d i a , i t m a y be m o r e i n s t r u c t i v e t o ask t o w h a t extent, f o r w h i c h groups (e.g. teenage viewers o f satellite-television music channels,
Euro-businessper-
sons, etc.) such a ' E u r o p e a n ' perspective is e m e r g i n g (cf. C o l l i n s 1 9 9 0 ) . Rather t h a n p r e s u m i n g a u n i f o r m effect i n w h i c h , f r o m a crudely technologically determinist perspective,
n e w ICTs impose n e w sensibilities o n peoples
across t h e globe, i t may be m o r e realistic t o conceive o f t h e m as overlaying the n e w u p o n the o l d (cf. Rogge a n d Jensen, i n L u l l 1988). T h u s , a n e w technology such as t h e h o m e c o m p u t e r may o f t e n be p r i n c i p a l l y 'made sense o f via its integ r a t i o n i n t o t h e very o l d ' t e c h n o l o g y ' o f the peer-gossip n e t w o r k . Rather t h a n the n e w m e d i a p r o m o t i n g a 'boundless media-land o f c o m m o n understandings', a variety o f senses o f ' t e m p o r a l elasticity a n d local i n d e t e r m i n a c y ' may be the m o r e l i k e l y result, w h e r e ' f o r m e r l y finite absolutes take o n a notably relativist character ... a n d o l d certainties ... [are u n d e r m i n e d , t o some extent b y ] n e w ambiguities' (Ferguson 1 9 8 9 : 155). T h i s seems b o t h a m o r e realistic (cf. M i l l e r , 1992)
a n d a richer perspective f r o m w h i c h t o analyse the interaction o f local
d e f i n i t i o n s a n d larger c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems. As M i l l e r (ibid.) argues i n his analysis o f t h e c o n s u m p t i o n o f A m e r i c a n soap opera i n T r i n i d a d , the ' l o c a l ' is n o t t o be considered as an indigenous source o f c u l t u r a l identity, w h i c h remains 'authentic' o n l y i n so far as i t is unsullied b y contact w i t h the global. Rather, the local is o f t e n itself p r o d u c e d b y means o f the ' i n d i g e n i z a t i o n ' (or 'domesticat i o n ' ) o f global o r ' f o r e i g n ' resources and i m p u t s . Massey makes t h e p o i n t eloquently, i n her c r i t i q u e o f the widespread t e n d e n cy t o counterpose a concept o f t h e local (usually conflated w i t h t h e concrete) w i t h t h a t o f the global (usually c o n f l a t e d w i t h the abstract). As she puts i t , the ... w o r l d economy is no less concrete than a local one [it] is 'general' i n the sense of being a geographically large-scale phenomenon, to which can be counterposed internal variations. But i t is also, unequivocally, concrete as opposed to abstract ... Those who conflate the local w i t h the concrete ... are confusing geographical scale w i t h processes of abstraction in t h o u g h t . . . [and] those who make this mistake then frequently ... confuse the study of the local w i t h description, which they oppose to theoretical w o r k ... this argument ... [confuses] ... the dimensions concrete-abstract and local-general ... The 'local' ... is no less subject to, nor useful for theorisation than big, broad, general things. The counterposition of general and local is quite distinct from the distinction between abstract and concrete. (Massey 1991: 270-1) I f ' g e o g r a p h y m a t t e r s ' , a n d i f place is i m p o r t a n t , this is n o t o n l y because t h e character o f a p a r t i c u l a r place is a p r o d u c t o f its p o s i t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o w i d e r forces, b u t also because t h a t character, i n t u r n , stamps its o w n i m p r i n t o n
378
Global Media and New Media those w i d e r processes. M o r e o v e r , places are n o t static o r f i x e d , easily d e f i n able, o r b o u n d e d entities i n t o w h i c h external forces s o m e h o w ( i m p r o p e r l y o r p r o b l e m a t i c a l l y ) i n t r u d e , as those w o r k i n g i n t h e H e i d e g g e r i a n
tradition
w o u l d o f t e n seem t o i m p l y . T h i s is s i m p l y t h e theoretical correlative o f M a r x ' s observation that people are n o t ' i n ' society as an object is i n a b o x , a n d o f V o l o s h i n o v ' s concept o f the 'social i n d i v i d u a l ' . As Massey argues, places are t o be seen as themselves processes; they are f r e q u e n t l y r i v e n w i t h i n t e r n a l c o n flicts a n d divisions (they are n o t i n t e r n a l l y homogenous) a n d are perhaps best seen n o t as ' b o u n d e d areas' b u t as 'spaces o f i n t e r a c t i o n ' i n w h i c h local i d e n t i ties are c o n s t r u c t e d o u t o f resources ( b o t h material a n d symbolic) w h i c h m a y w e l l n o t be at a l l local i n their o r i g i n . B u t t h e n perhaps, as M i l l e r ( o p . c i t . ) observes, w e s h o u l d define ' a u t h e n t i c i t y ' a posteriori,
rather t h a n a priori,
as a
m a t t e r o f local consequences, rather t h a n o f local origins. Similarly, t o t h e extent t h a t i m p o r t e d television p r o g r a m m e s penetrate local m e a n i n g systems, rather t h a n thereby ' h o m o g e n i z i n g ' diverse cultures, their p r i n c i p a l effect m a y be a rather variable one - i n so far as they i n t r o d u c e a r e l a t i v i z i n g perspective, as a n ' u n c e r t a i n t y p r i n c i p l e ' w h i c h m a y w o r k t o u n d e r m i n e established a n d d o m i n a n t f r a m e w o r k s o f m e a n i n g i n a variety o f ways (cf. H e b d i g e 1 9 8 8 a n d W o r p o l e 1 9 8 3 , o n the effects o f ' f o r e i g n ' c u l t u r a l artefacts i n u n d e r m i n i n g t h e hierarchies o f n a t i o n a l taste cultures; b u t cf. also C h e n 1 9 9 0 , o n the s i g n i f i cance o f the fact that the ' f o r e i g n ' is so o f t e n represented b y the ' A m e r i c a n ' ) .
From the sitting-room to the (inter)nation(al) I n recent years, o n e line o f criticism o f researchers such as L u l l , Silverstone a n d myself has been that, i n o u r concern w i t h the domestic c o n t e x t o f televisionv i e w i n g , w e were busy c o n d u c t i n g an ill-considered (if n o t hasty) 'retreat' i n t o the p r i v a t e r e a l m o f the ' s i t t i n g - r o o m ' a n d away f r o m the i m p o r t a n t ' p u b l i c ' issues o f p o w e r , politics a n d policy w h i c h constitute the p r o p e r subjects o f the study o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I shall argue that this critique is misguided, o n a n u m ber o f counts. I t is n o t o n l y that the average s i t t i n g - r o o m (in m y experience) is the site o f some very i m p o r t a n t p o l i t i c a l conflicts - i t is, a m o n g other things, one o f the p r i n c i p a l sites o f the politics o f gender a n d age. I t is also t h a t , i n m y view, the s i t t i n g - r o o m is exactly where w e need t o start f r o m , i f w e finally w a n t to understand the constitutive dynamics o f abstractions such as ' t h e c o m m u n i t y ' o r ' t h e n a t i o n ' . T h i s is especially so i f w e are concerned w i t h t h e role o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n the continuous f o r m a t i o n , sustenance, recreation a n d transf o r m a t i o n o f these entities. T h e central p o i n t precisely concerns television's role i n connecting, f o r example, the ' f a m i l i a r ' o r domestic, a n d t h e n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l spheres, a n d i n sustaining b o t h the image a n d the reality o f the ' n a t i o n a l f a m i l y ' and o f various trans-national ' c o m m u n i t i e s ' . F r o m this perspective, one o f the key f u n c t i o n s o f broadcasting is t h e crea t i o n o f a bridge between the p u b l i c a n d t h e p r i v a t e , the sacred a n d t h e p r o fane, t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y a n d the m u n d a n e . T h u s , as Silverstone argues,
Where the Global Meets the Local 379 In Durkheimian terms, television provides a forum and a locus for the mobilisation of collective energy and enthusiasm, for example, in the presentation of national events, f r o m coronations to great sporting fixtures, and it also marks a consistently defined but significant boundary in our culture between the domestic and taken-for-granted w o r l d and that of the unreachable and otherwise inaccessible w o r l d of ... show business, Dallas and the moon landings. (Silverstone 1988: 25) I n a similar v e i n , Chaney (1983) analyses the role o f broadcasting i n enabling the p u b l i c t o participate i n the collective life o f the n a t i o n . As Chaney p o i n t s o u t , a ' n a t i o n ' is a very abstract collectivity, i n so far as i t is t o o b i g t o be experienced d i r e c t l y by the i n d i v i d u a l . To that extent, the ' w e - f e e l i n g ' o f c o m m u n i ty has t o be c o n t i n u a l l y engendered by o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , as the sense o f ' n a t i o n ' is m a n u f a c t u r e d . Chaney is p a r t i c u l a r l y concerned w i t h the r o l e o f mass m e d i a i n r e l a y i n g civic rituals (coronations, r o y a l w e d d i n g s , etc.). As he notes, i f such rituals are 'dramatizations' o f the n a t i o n as symbolic c o m m u n i t y , t h e n the i n f i n i t e r e p r o d u c e a b i l i t y o f media performance
makes the
'audience' f o r t h e m possible o n a scale previously unimaginable (Chaney 1983 : 121). Recalling Silverstone's d e f i n i t i o n o f television's role i n establishing 'the space i n t i m a t e distance' ( 1 9 8 8 : 2 3 ) , Chaney analyses the 'quasi-democracy i n t i m a t e access' (cf. Dayan a n d Katz 1987:
of
88 ' T V is that w h i c h abolishes dis-
tance') created by the presence o f the television camera, 'representing' the p u b lic i n the most i n t i m a t e m o m e n t s o f symbolic r i t u a l . A t the heart o f the process is an ambivalence,
i n w h i c h p u b l i c figures are simultaneously
t h r o u g h vicarious observation
humanized
(and the camera o f t e n gives the audience at
h o m e a closer v i e w t h a n those physically present - D . M . ) b u t also distanced t h r o u g h the dramatic conventions o f media presentation (Chaney 1986: Chaney
is c o n c e r n e d w i t h the spectacular character o f c e r e m o n i a l
121). occa-
sions, a r g u i n g f i n a l l y ( i n a curious reversal o f Ellis' ( 1 9 9 2 ) c o m m e n t s
on
broadcast television as the ' p r i v a t e l i f e o f the n a t i o n state') that 'spectacular f o r m s o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n are the p u b l i c l i f e o f a mass c u l t u r e ' : (Chaney 1986:
132). C o n t r a r y t o the established v i e w that ' r i t u a l ' is less significant i n
secularized i n d u s t r i a l societies t h a n i t was i n earlier times, Chaney argues that, because o f the scale a n d nature o f these societies (where the entire citizenry s i m p l y c a n n o t be personally acquainted a n d a sense o f collective i d e n t i t y must be c o n t i n u a l l y i n v e n t e d ) , r i t u a l becomes m o r e salient as a m o d e o f d r a m a t i z i n g ( i n d e e d , c o n s t i t u t i n g ) ' c o m m u n i t y ' . T h u s , Chaney notes that
'collective
ceremonies have p a t e n t l y n o t disappeared f r o m the calendar o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l i d e n t i t y a n d r e p r o d u c t i o n ; i n d e e d they have been made m o r e accessible a n d less arcane t h r o u g h t h e i r d r a m a t i s a t i o n as m e d i a performances' ( 1 3 2 ) . T h i s is, i n some p a r t , a question o f 'access' - thus, Chaney notes the significance
of
the r a d i o broadcasting o f George V I ' s c o r o n a t i o n i n 1937 i n i n v o l v i n g a huge p r o p o r t i o n o f the n a t i o n a l p u b l i c , w h o 'spent the day listening i n a n d thus p a r t a k i n g i n the central events' (Jennings a n d M a d g e 1 9 8 7 ; q u o t e d i n Chaney 1986:
129). H o w e v e r , i t is n o t o n l y a question o f access. T h u s , i n his earlier
380
Global Media and New Media article, Chaney notes t h a t , i n the e n d , the media's role transforms
these
events, so t h a t ' n a t i o n a l festivals ... become ... media occasions, rather t h a n occasions t o w h i c h t h e media have access' ( i b i d . , 1 3 4 ) . I t is also a question, as Stam ( 1 9 8 3 ) argues, o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g the specific f o r m o f t h e pleasure o f f e r e d t o t h e viewer b y television, a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r b y television 'news' i n its most general sense. Stam is concerned w i t h w h a t he calls t h e 'metaphysics o f presence' o f television a n d the ways i n w h i c h t e l e v i sion news p r o m o t e s ' t h e regime o f the fictive ... " w e " ' ... (39) as a ' c o m m u n i t y ' . Stam's a r g u m e n t is that ' e p i s t e m o p h i l i a ' (the pleasure o f k n o w i n g ) can o f f e r o n l y a p a r t i a l account o f the m o t i v a t i o n o f news v i e w i n g . B e y o n d this, argues Stam, w e must attend t o t h e ways i n w h i c h the pleasures o f f e r e d are narcissistic a n d are 'designed t o enhance the self-image o f H i s o r H e r Majesty the Spectator' ( 2 7 ) . T h e p r i n c i p a l p o i n t , argues Stam, is that television transf o r m s us i n t o ' a r m c h a i r imperialists' a n d 'audio-visual masters o f t h e w o r l d ' (25). I n this respect, Stam argues, w h i l e ' l i v e ' television is o n l y a small p o r t i o n o f a l l broadcast television, i t 'sets the t o n e ' f o r m u c h o f w h a t television offers. As he puts i t , television allows us to share the literal time of persons who are elsewhere. I t grants us ... instantaneous ubiquity. The telespectator of a lunar landing becomes a vicarious astronaut ... The viewer of a live transmission, i n fact, can i n some respects see better than those immediately present on the scene, (ibid., 24) I t is this ' i n t e r f a c i n g ' o f the p u b l i c a n d the private that concerns us here. O n the o n e h a n d , t h e audience f o r such n a t i o n a l events is usually a t o m i z e d , either a t t e n d i n g i n d i v i d u a l l y o r i n small groups such as the f a m i l y o r peer g r o u p . O n the other h a n d , each such g r o u p sits i n f r o n t o f a television set e m i t t i n g t h e same representations o f this ' c e n t r a l ' event. T h e ' p u b l i c ' is thus experienced i n the p r i v a t e (domestic) r e a l m : i t is 'domesticated'.
B u t at the same t i m e t h e
' p r i v a t e ' itself is thus t r a n s f o r m e d o r 'socialized'. T h e space (and experience) created is neither ' p u b l i c ' n o r private i n the t r a d i t i o n a l senses. I n u n r a v e l l i n g these connections, the w o r k o f D a y a n a n d Katz ( 1 9 8 7 ) o n the representation o f t h e r o y a l w e d d i n g o f 1 9 8 1 o n B r i t i s h television may be o f some h e l p . D r a w i n g o n Austin's ( 1 9 6 2 ) t h e o r y o f ' p e r f o r m a t i v e ' speech acts, D a y a n a n d Katz are concerned t o analyse television's role i n c o n s t r u c t i n g (literally ' p e r f o r m i n g ' ) media events such as the r o y a l w e d d i n g . I n this c o n n e c t i o n , they argue, television s h o u l d be seen n o t as 'representing' the event b u t as c o n s t r u c t i n g the experience o f i t f o r the m a j o r i t y o f the p o p u l a t i o n . Television, they argue, is n o t so m u c h r e p o r t i n g o n t h e event as actively i n v o l v e d i n ' p e r f o r m i n g ' i t . Television is n o t s i m p l y t r a n s m i t t i n g such an event (or c o m m e n t i n g o n i t ) b u t is b r i n g i n g i t i n t o existence. G e n e r a l de Gaulle's concept o f television as the face o f the g o v e r n m e n t i n the s i t t i n g - r o o m c a n , o f course, be argued t o apply o n l y t o broadcasting u n d e r q u i t e p a r t i c u l a r c o n d i t i o n s , specifically w h e r e broadcasting is a l l o w e d very l i t tle a u t o n o m y f r o m direct g o v e r n m e n t a l c o n t r o l . H o w e v e r , i f w e take o u r lead
Where the Global Meets the Local 381 f r o m t h e w o r k o f C h a n e y a n d D a y a n a n d Katz (see above), w e can n o t o n l y begin t o see t h e c r u c i a l r o l e o f television i n a r t i c u l a t i n g ' g o v e r n m e n t a l ' (cf. Foucault 1 9 8 0 ) o r ' p u b l i c ' w i t h domestic space; w e can also pose t h e m o r e f u n d a m e n t a l q u e s t i o n as t o t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h i t still makes sense t o speak o f broadcast m e d i a as ' r e p o r t i n g ' o n p o l i t i c a l developments. T h e p r o b l e m is t h a t t o pose t h e q u e s t i o n this w a y is t o presume that there exists some separate r e a l m o f ' p o l i t i c s ' o n w h i c h television t h e n , subsequently, reports. I n a n age w h e n i n t e r n a t i o n a l s p o r t i n g events are r o u t i n e l y arranged t o suit t h e convenience o f broadcasting schedules a n d acts o f w a r are t i m e d w i t h reference n o t so m u c h t o m i l i t a r y requirements as t o m a x i m i z i n g PR advantage, this m a y seem o b v i o u s . T h e f u n d a m e n t a l issue is o f some l o n g standing. As early as 1974,
Pateman argued a similar p o i n t i n r e l a t i o n t o electoral p o l i t i c s . H i s
p o i n t was t h a t television can o n l y ' c o v e r ' a n election w h e n t h e campaign has an existence i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h e presence o f television, a n d t h a t
nowadays
these campaigns n o longer have any such existence, being p r i n c i p a l l y designed a n d p l a n n e d - i n terms o f ' p h o t o - o p p o r t u n i t i e s ' , 'sound-bites', etc. - w i t h reference t o t h e i r televisualization. T h u s , Pateman argues, ' w e d o n o t have t e l e v i s i o n coverage o f a n election, w e have a television e l e c t i o n ' ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Pateman's p o i n t can be e x t e n d e d w e l l b e y o n d t h e specific f i e l d o f 'elections' t o cover ' p o l i t i c s ' i n a m u c h m o r e general sense: f o r t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , ' p o l i t i c s ' is p r i n c i p a l l y a ' m e d i a event', a n d their p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n this r e a l m is a h e a v i l y m e d i a t e d one. We are back, once again, w i t h t h e p o l i t i c s o f 'being there'. T h i s is, increasingly, a c o m p l e x
issue. T h e Guardian's
South A f r i c a correspondent.
Beresford, o f f e r e d a t e l l i n g account (Guardian,
David
17 A p r i l 1 9 9 0 ) o f his a t t e m p t
t o r e p o r t N e l s o n M a n d e l a ' s speech i n Cape T o w n o n his release f r o m p r i s o n w h e r e ' b e i n g t h e r e ' physically u n f o r t u n a t e l y entailed being unable t o see o r hear M r . M a n d e l a . T h i s Beresford accounts as an experience o f 'being there a n d n o t b e i n g t h e r e ' w h e r e b e i n g t h e ' m a n o n t h e spot' has t h e perverse effect o f b e i n g unable t o witness t h e images available t o t h e rest o f the g l o b a l village. I n a s i m i l a r v e i n , D a y a n a n d Katz refer t o t h e seemingly p u z z l i n g (but increasi n g l y c o m m o n ) b e h a v i o u r o f those physically present at p u b l i c events w h o , i f they c a n , also take w i t h t h e m a p o r t a b l e television, so they t o o can see ' w h a t is h a p p e n i n g ' .
Physical
c o n t i g u i t y does n o t , t h e n , necessarily equate
with
effective p a r t i c i p a t i o n ; a n d , o f course, vice versa. F r o m this angle w e c o u l d also usefully reconsider the debates that arose conc e r n i n g t h e television spectaculars o f t h e 1980s - f r o m 'Band A i d / L i v e A i d ' onwards.
M e y r o w i t z comments:
'Live A i d was an event that t o o k
place
n o w h e r e b u t o n T V , the u l t i m a t e example o f the freeing o f communications experience f r o m t h e "restraint o f social and physical passage".' M a n y c o m m e n tators have been critical o f t h e ways i n w h i c h such 'trans-national' broadcasts expressed a ' m y t h o l o g y ' o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l (if n o t universal) c o m m u n i t y . H o w e v e r , i n a very i m p o r t a n t sense this was n o ' m y t h i c a l ' achievement. I f a sense o f c o m m u n i t y was created, this m a y have h a d something t o d o w i t h the fact that a l l
382
Global Media and New Media over the w o r l d m i l l i o n s o f people were (in reality) w a t c h i n g these 'simultaneous' broadcasts - a n d , t o that extent, i n Dayan a n d Katz's terms, p a r t i c i p a t i n g quite effectively i n a 'diasporic ceremony' w h i c h was a n y t h i n g but illusory. T h e question that D a y a n a n d Katz pose is w h a t happens t o p u b l i c ceremonies w h e n , instead o f being attended i n person, they are delivered t o us at h o m e . As they n o t e , being physically distanced f r o m the ceremonial f o r m s a n d isolated f r o m each other, television audiences d o n o t f o r m 'masses' o r ' c r o w d s ' except i n an abstract, statistical sense (cf. A n g 1991). T h e question they pose is that o f w h e t h e r w e can still speak o f a public event w h e n i t is celebrated at h o m e - a n d w h e t h e r w e can speak o f a collective celebration w h e n the collect i v i t y is scattered (cf. Siskind 1992). As they note, under these c o n d i t i o n s : The very hugeness of the audiences had paradoxically transposed the celebration into an intimate register. Ceremonial space has been reconstituted, but i n the home. Attendance takes place in small groups congregated around the television set, concentrating on the symbolic centre, keenly aware that myriads of other groups are doing likewise, in a similar manner, and at the same time. (Dayan and Katz 1987: 194) T h e analogy w h i c h D a y a n a n d Katz offer is that o f the Jewish Passover 'Seder' r i t u a l - a collective ceremony w i t h o u t a central 'cultic t e m p l e ' , w h i c h translates the p u b l i c celebration
i n t o 'a m u l t i p l i c i t y o f simultaneous,
g r a m m e d , h o m e - b o u n d , micro-events'
similarly p r o -
( i b i d . , 1 9 5 ) . T h u s , D a y a n a n d Katz
i m p l y , t h e television audience, as a dispersed c o m m u n i t y , can usefully be seen as being regularly u n i t e d ( b o t h by its occasional v i e w i n g o f special events a n d by its regular v i e w i n g o f the 'news' o r favourite soap operas) t h r o u g h precisely this k i n d o f 'diasporic ceremony'. W h i l e 'media events' such as a televised r o y a l w e d d i n g clearly constitute a special case, i n w h i c h this issue is b r o u g h t i n t o p a r t i c u l a r p r o m i n e n c e , this m o d e l can clearly be extended t o the q u o t i d i a n level - so that the regular v i e w i n g o f the n i g h t l y television news o r o f a l o n g - r u n n i n g soap opera can be seen i n the same light - as a discourse w h i c h constitutes collectivities t h r o u g h a sense o f ' p a r t i c i p a t i o n ' a n d t h r o u g h the p r o d u c t i o n o f b o t h a simultaneity o f experience a n d a sense o f a 'past i n c o m m o n ' (cf. the debates o n ' p o p u l a r m e m o r y ' : W r i g h t 1985).
References Ang, I . 1991: Desperately seeking the audience, London: Routledge. Austin, J. 1962: How to do things with words. O x f o r d : O x f o r d University Press. Bausinger, H . 1984: Media, technology and everyday life. Media, Culture and Society 6(4). Berland, J. 1988: Placing television. New Formations 4. Bryce, J. 1987: Family time and television use. I n Lindlof, T. (ed.), Natural audiences. N o r w o o d , N e w Jersey: Ablex. Carey, J. 1989: Culture as communication. London: Unwin Hyman. Chaney, D . 1983: A symbolic mirror of ourselves: civic ritual i n mass society. Media, Culture and Society 5(2).
Where the Global Meets the Local Chaney, D . 1986: The symbolic f o r m of ritual in mass communication. In Golding, P., et al. (eds.), Communicating politics. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Chen, K. H . 1990: 'Postmarxism'. Taiwan: Institute of Literature, National Tsing-Hua University. Collins, R. 1990: Satellite television in Western Europe. London: John Libbey Books. Connell, I . and Curti, L. 1985: Popular broadcasting in Italy and Britain. In D r u m m o n d , P. and Paterson, R. (eds.), Television in transition. London: British Film Institute. Dayan, D . and Katz, E. 1987: Performing media events. In Curran, J., et al. (eds.), Impacts and influences, London: Methuen. de la Haye, Y. 1979: Marx and Engels on the means of communication. New York: International General. Ellis, J. 1992: Visible fictions. London: Routledge. Erni, J. 1989: Where is the audience? Journal of Communication Enquiry 13(2). Ferguson, M . 1989: Electronic media and the redefining of time and space. In Ferguson, M . (ed.), Public Communication. London: Sage. Foucault, M . 1980: The eye of power. In Gordon, C. (ed.), M. Foucault: power/knowledge. N e w York: Pantheon. Garmarnikow, E. and Purvis, J. 1983: The public and the private. London: Heinemann Educational Books. Hebdige, D . 1988: Towards a cartography of taste. In Hebdige, D . , Hiding in the light. London: Comedia/Routledge. H o r t o n , D . and Wohl, R. 1956: 'Mass communications and para-social interaction'. Psychiatry 19. Innis, H . 1951: The bias of communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Jennings, H . and Madge, C. (eds) 1987. May the twelfth. Mass observation day survey, 1937. London: Faber and Faber. Kirby, A. 1989: A sense of place. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 6(3). Lindlof, T. and Meyer, T. 1987: Mediated communication: the foundations of qualitative research. In Lindlof, T. (ed.), Natural audiences. N o r w o o d , NJ: Ablex. Lull, J. (ed.) 1988: World families watch television. Newbury Park and London: Sage. McLuhan, M . and Fiore, Q. 1967: War and peace in the global village. New York: Bantam Books. Massey, D . 1991: The political place of locality studies. Environment and Planning (A) 23(2). Mattelart, A. et al. 1987: International image market. London: Comedia. Meyrowitz, J. 1985: No sense of place. New York: O x f o r d University Press. Meyrowitz, J. 1989. T h e generalised elsewhere'. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 6(3). Miller, D . 1992: The young and the restless in Trinidad. In Silverstone, R. and Hirsch E. (eds.), Consuming technologies. London: Routledge. Morley, D . 1980: The 'nationwide' audience. London: British Film Institute. Pateman, T. 1974: Television and the February 1974 general election, London: British Film Institute. Silverstone, R. 1988: Television, myth and culture. In Carey, J. (ed.), Media, myths and narratives. London: Sage. Siskind, J. 1992: The invention of Thanksgiving: a ritual of American nationality Critique of Anthropology 12(2). Stam, R. 1983: Television news and its spectator. In Kaplan, E. (ed.), Regarding television, v o l . 2. New York: American Film Institute.
383
384
Global Media and New Media Wellman, B. 1979: T h e community question*. American Journal of Sociology 84. Worpole, K. 1983: Dockers and detectives, London: Verso. Wright, P. 1985: On living in an old country. London: Verso.
Questions 1 2
Summarise the main ideas put forward in this reading. How do they relate to other extracts in this reader? In the first section we asked how electronic media have had implications for the public sphere and for private spaces and situations. Have your opinions been reinforced or challenged as a result of your further reading?
Further reading Cockburn, C. and Furst-Dilic, R. 1994: Bringing technology home: gender and technology in a changing Europe. Buckingham: Open University Press. Golding, P. 1989: Political communication and citizenship. I n Ferguson, M . (ed.), Public communication. London: Sage. Morley, D . 1980: The 'nationwide* audience. London: British Film Institute Murdock, G. 1990: Television and citizenship: i n defence of public broadcasting. I n Tomlinson, A. (ed.), Consumption, identity and style, London: Routledge. Silverstone, R. and Hirsch, E. 1992: Consuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces. London: Routledge.
35 The Roots of the Information Society Idea David Lyon From The information society: issues and illusions (Polity Press 1988)
This reading is from a book which investigates the many facets of the new information age and its primary premise is that success in almost every field is now reliant on the application of new communications technologies. In fact, Lyon goes so far as to suggest that a working knowledge of computer technology and what computers can do for us (as opposed to the determinist view of how we should adapt to them) may be essential to participate fully in the society of the future, radically altering the ways in which economic and social exchanges are created, the means by which we access information and obtain knowledge, and the character of work and leisure. But Lyon's vision of the new communications revolution is somewhat bleak. He suggests that technology is not being used in innovatory, creative ways, but is simply reinforcing old structures, existing power relations and established ideologies in new ways. He rhetorically asks: 'Does IT bring about a new society without precedent, or does it rather
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 385 help to intensify certain processes in today's society of which we are all too aware?' His further comments on industrial power relations, the opportunities offered to women by information technologies and issues concerning surveillance and protection go some way to answer this question. So, far from heralding a new kind of society (and has there ever been a generation which hasn't felt that it was at the threshold of a new kind of society?), Lyon argues that the emerging technologies of information and communication shape social and cultural experience along familiar lines and reinforce the power of some individuals over others, not only in terms of the processes of production, but also in the spheres of leisure and consumption. People started getting together and exploring the idea that there was going to be a revolution in technology which was going to change society so drastically. Wozniak (1986) 1
Suddenly, success i n just about a n y f i e l d has become impossible
without
i n f o r m a t i o n technology. I n f a r m i n g , manufacture, education, p o l i c i n g , medicine, e n t e r t a i n m e n t , b a n k i n g o r whatever, I T is apparently set t o change everything t h a t h u m a n beings d o i n advanced societies. Steve W o z n i a k , o f A p p l e computers fame, sees t h e real r e v o l u t i o n as p u t t i n g personal computers i n t o t h e h o m e . O t h e r s see i t i n direct broadcasting b y satellite, automated w o r k o p e n i n g u p n e w vistas f o r freed t i m e , o r i n the p o t e n t i a l f o r p u s h - b u t t o n democracy. W h i l e d i f f e r i n g over details, telecommunications spells the start o f a n e w age. I t appears t h a t t h i s is the o n l y w a y f o r w a r d . I n i t i a t i o n i n the processes o f i n f o r m a t i o n h a n d l i n g , transmission, storage a n d r e t r i e v a l is the key t o f u t u r e p r o s p e r i t y a n d t o q u a l i t a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t ways o f l i f e . Failure t o proceed i n this d i r e c t i o n carries d i r e consequences. P u n i s h m e n t f o r n a t i o n a l laggards, accordi n g t o a B r i t i s h N a t i o n a l E c o n o m i c D e v e l o p m e n t O f f i c e r e p o r t , w i l l be relegat i o n t o T h i r d W o r l d ' status.
2
N o t surprisingly, this 'one w a y f o r w a r d ' is greeted by others w i t h some sense o f f o r e b o d i n g . C h e e r f u l book-titles such as Silicon Micro
are answered i n Eletronic
Nightmare
Civilization
and Electronic
a n d The
Illusions*
Mighty
A n d fears
o f b e i n g sucked i n t o a n e w transnational empire or being technologically depend e n t u p o n the USA o r Japan are greater, f o r some smaller countries, t h a n the threat o f i m p e n d i n g ' T h i r d W o r l d ' status. Nevertheless, f o r better o r f o r worse, the a r r i v a l o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society is felt t o be i m m i n e n t . A r e w e at t h e t h r e s h o l d o f a n e w k i n d o f society? Discussions o f the ' w i r e d society' o r o f the 'wealth o f i n f o r m a t i o n ' certainly i m p l y this. A l v i n Toffler's 4
w e l l - k n o w n ' t h i r d w a v e ' concept is perhaps the clearest e x a m p l e .
5
T h e first
' w a v e ' is a g r i c u l t u r a l , the second i n d u s t r i a l , a n d the t h i r d , i n f o r m a t i o n society. S o c i o l o g i c a l debate has n o t yet c r y s t a l l i z e d a r o u n d this single concept t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society - b u t i t is i n s u f f i c i e n t l y p o p u l a r a n d social scientific use t o m a k e i t t h e focus o f this study. I t f i n d s a ready h o m e i n accounts o f t h e 'social i m p a c t o f n e w t e c h n o l o g y ' , is f r e q u e n t l y r e f e r r e d t o i n p o l i c y studies, a n d is s t r o n g l y r e l a t e d t o o t h e r e m e r g i n g concepts such as t h a t o f the
386
Global Media and New Media ' i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k e r ' . B u t s h o u l d i t be used as a basic means o f characterizi n g 'society' today?
[...]
From postindustrialism to information society T h e r o o t s o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society idea are i n t e r t w i n e d i n a c o m p l e x m a n ner. I t is h a r d t o disentangle t h e diverse strands o f a t t e m p t e d social p r e d i c t i o n , g o v e r n m e n t policy, f u t u r i s t i c speculation a n d e m p i r i c a l social
analysis.
For
for
instance,
Information
a
Canadian
Society
6
government
report,
Planning
Now
is clearly geared t o i d e n t i f y i n g a n a t i o n a l
strategy i n m i c r o e l e c t r o n i c s .
the
technology
B u t i t depends u p o n social scientific concepts
such as t h e ' i n f o r m a t i o n e c o n o m y ' , indulges b r i e f l y i n q u o t e d ' p r e d i c t i o n s ' (for instance that b y t h e year 2 0 0 0 'smart' highways f o r semi-automated
dri-
v i n g w i l l enter d e v e l o p m e n t ) , a n d refers t o e m p i r i c a l studies o f the i m p a c t o f m i c r o e l e c t r o n i c s o n , a m o n g other things, w o m e n ' s w o r k . O n e r e a d i l y i d e n t i f i a b l e strand, o n w h i c h h o p e f u l accounts o f i n f o r m a t i o n society o f t e n rely, is t h e idea o f p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m , especially the version associated w i t h D a n i e l Bell. T h i s is the v i e w that, just as agrarian was replaced b y i n d u s t r i a l society as t h e d o m i n a n t e c o n o m i c emphasis shifted f r o m t h e l a n d t o m a n u f a c t u r i n g , so p o s t i n d u s t r i a l society develops as a result o f t h e e c o n o m i c t i l t t o w a r d s the p r o v i s i o n o f services. T h e increased p a r t played b y science i n the p r o d u c t i v e process, the rise t o p r o m i n e n c e o f professional, scientific a n d technical g r o u p s , plus the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f w h a t is n o w called i n f o r m a t i o n technology, a l l bear witness t o a n e w ' a x i a l p r i n c i p l e ' at the core o f the econom y a n d society. T h i s axial p r i n c i p l e , 'the energising p r i n c i p l e that is the logic for a l l t h e others', is the centrality o f 'theoretical k n o w l e d g e ' .
7
Bell argues that t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society is d e v e l o p i n g i n the c o n t e x t o f p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m . H e forecasts the g r o w t h o f a n e w social f r a m e w o r k based on telecommunications
w h i c h ' m a y be decisive f o r t h e w a y e c o n o m i c a n d
social exchanges are c o n d u c t e d , the w a y k n o w l e d g e is created a n d r e t r i e v e d , a n d t h e character o f w o r k a n d occupations i n w h i c h m e n [sic] are engaged'. T h e c o m p u t e r plays a p i v o t a l role i n this ' r e v o l u t i o n ' .
8
Bell also sketches other significant features o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society. I T , b y shortening
labour
replaces l a b o u r
t i m e a n d d i m i n i s h i n g the p r o d u c t i o n w o r k e r ,
actually
as the source o f 'added value' i n the n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t .
K n o w l e d g e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n supplant labour a n d capital as the 'central v a r i ables' o f the economy. H e comments o n the w a y that i n f o r m a t i o n is being treated as a c o m m o d i t y , w i t h a price-tag o n i t , a n d h o w the 'possession' o f i n f o r m a t i o n increasingly confers p o w e r o n its o w n e r . U n l i k e some postindustrialists, Bell recognizes some o f the ambiguities i n v o l v e d i n i d e n t i f y i n g a 'service sector' a n d proposes that e c o n o m i c sectors be d i v i d e d i n t o ' e x t r a c t i v e , fabrication
a n d i n f o r m a t i o n activities'.
This
way, he claims,
one may
m o n i t o r t h e p e n e t r a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n activities i n t o m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l areas o f a g r i c u l t u r e , m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d services.
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 387 B e l l u n d e r l i n e s ways i n w h i c h these areas are e x p a n d i n g i n t h e w a k e o f I T d e v e l o p m e n t . H e foresees m a j o r social changes r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e establishment
of
n e w telecommunications
infrastructures.
Such
huge
changes w i l l o c c u r as ' t h e m e r g i n g technologies o f t e l e p h o n e , c o m p u t e r , facs i m i l e , cable t e l e v i s i o n a n d v i d e o discs lead t o a vast r e o r g a n i z a t i o n i n t h e m o d e s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n persons;
t h e transmission o f data; t h e
r e d u c t i o n i f n o t t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f paper i n transactions a n d exchanges; n e w modes
o f t r a n s m i t t i n g news, e n t e r t a i n m e n t
a n d k n o w l e d g e ' * a n d so o n .
These i n t u r n w i l l i n t e n s i f y c o n c e r n a b o u t p o p u l a t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n , n a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g , c e n t r a l i z a t i o n , p r i v a c y a n d so o n . For B e l l , t h e ' f a t e f u l q u e s t i o n ' , or, o n e m i g h t say, t h e consumerist q u e s t i o n , is w h e t h e r t h e p r o m i s e w i l l be realized that 'instrumental technology' w i l l open 'the w a y t o alternative m o d e s o f a c h i e v i n g i n d i v i d u a l i t y a n d v a r i e t y w i t h i n a vastly increased o u t p u t of goods'.
10
W i t h o u t d o u b t , Bell asks m a n y o f t h e r i g h t questions, a n d indicates w o r t h w h i l e lines o f i n q u i r y . T h i s is w h y his w o r k deserves t o be taken seriously. B u t i t also demands serious c r i t i q u e because, as I shall show, Bell's a t t e m p t t o f i n d a t h o r o u g h g o i n g alternative t o M a r x i a n class analysis underestimates b o t h t h e resilience o f some f a m i l i a r features o f m o d e r n societies, a n d t h e extent t o w h i c h n e w c o n f l i c t s a n d struggles c o u l d arise w i t h i n this ' i n f o r m a t i o n society'. T h o s e ' f a m i l i a r features'
include military, commercial
and government
p o w e r . N o small significance lies i n t h e fact that i t was m i l i t a r y requirements w h i c h gave b i r t h t o m o d e r n c o m p u t e r s . T h e massive m a i n f r a m e , E N I A C , b u i l t in
1 9 4 6 i n t h e electrical
Pennsylvania,
engineering
department
o f the University o f
was i n t e n d e d t o assist t h e a i m i n g o f guns, a n d was soon
i n v o l v e d i n calculations f o r t h e a t o m i c b o m b . N e i t h e r is i t i r r e l e v a n t t o note t h a t huge forces o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l capitalist commerce are t o d a y l o c k e d i n m o r tal c o m b a t t o capture markets a n d conquer o p p o s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e lucrative h i g h t e c h n o l o g y f i e l d . N o r is i t an accident t h a t governments are so active i n p r o m o t i n g I T a n d p u r c h a s i n g its p r o d u c t s . I T is a p o w e r f u l t o o l f o r m o n i t o r i n g a n d supervising people's activities. I n other w o r d s , one does n o t have t o l o o k far before this q u e s t i o n comes t o m i n d : Does I T b r i n g a b o u t a n e w society w i t h o u t precedent, o r does i t rather help t o intensify certain processes i n t o d a y ' s society o f w h i c h w e are a l l t o o aware? W h a t o f ' n e w c o n f l i c t s a n d struggles'? A r e w e e n t e r i n g an era, n o t o f Bell's rather s m o o t h l y h a r m o n i o u s i n f o r m a t i o n society, b u t o f n e w social f r i c t i o n s and
p o w e r alignments w i t h i n a d i v i d e d a n d c o n t r a d i c t o r y ' i n f o r m a t i o n soci-
ety'? A r o u n d t h e same t i m e as Bell's w o r k o n p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m a E u r o p e a n c o n t r i b u t i o n appeared w h i c h t o o k account o f t h e same social a n d economic t r e n d s : A l a i n Touraine's La Société
post-industrielle.
u
Touraine's study t o o k a q u i t e d i f f e r e n t tack f r o m Bell's. H e challenged the b l a n d p o s t i n d u s t r i a l assumption that class struggle was a t h i n g o f t h e past, a l t h o u g h he a r g u e d t h a t m a n y class images are t o o b o u n d u p w i t h t h e 'era o f capitalist i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n ' . H e i n v i t e d readers t o consider t h e ' f u n d a m e n t a l
388
Global Media and New Media i m p o r t a n c e o f class situations, conflicts a n d movements i n t h e p r o g r a m m e d society'. I n p a r t i c u l a r he h a d i n m i n d a major cleavage between
technocrats
a n d a m o r e disparate g r o u p i n g whose l i v e l i h o o d a n d lifestyles are g o v e r n e d by t h e m . P r o p e r t y o w n e r s h i p is less a bone o f c o n t e n t i o n t h a n t h e o p p o s i t i o n b r o u g h t about because ' t h e d o m i n a n t classes dispose o f k n o w l e d g e a n d c o n trol information'.
12
So d o c h a n g i n g technologies a n d shifts i n educational q u a l i f i c a t i o n a n d s k i l l lead t o n o v e l class alignments? ... [ T ] h i s question still concentrates u p o n t h e w o r k p l a c e a n d o n p r o d u c t i o n . T h e analyses o f Touraine a n d others h i n t at w i d e r m o v e m e n t s o f p o w e r . T h e use o f I T w i t h i n governments, e d u c a t i o n , t h e m e d i a a n d t h e domestic sphere as w e l l as i n t h e w o r k p l a c e means that m o r e a n d m o r e social relationships are m e d i a t e d b y machines. W h a t does this i m p l y f o r p o w e r ? M a r k Poster suggests that because ' n e w f o r m s o f social i n t e r a c t i o n based o n electronic c o m m u n i c a t i o n s devices are replacing older types o f social relations',
11
w e s h o u l d speak o f a n e w ' m o d e o f i n f o r m a t i o n ' . H e t o o is ques-
t i o n i n g t h e relevance t o d a y o f some M a r x i a n assumptions b u t f o r very d i f f e r ent reasons f r o m D a n i e l Bell's.
Social forecasters and social planners T h e roots o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society idea are f o u n d n o t o n l y i n sociology. Futurists a n d 'social i m p a c t o f t e c h n o l o g y ' commentators also c o n t r i b u t e . T h e y t e n d t o share t h e belief that technology 'shapes' social relationships. O n e o f the m a n y cheerful social forecasts comes f r o m T o m Stonier. ' L i v i n g i n a postindus¬ t r i a l w o r l d ' , he avers,
'means that n o t o n l y are w e m o r e a f f l u e n t , m o r e
resourceful a n d less l i k e l y t o go t o w a r , b u t also m o r e likely t o democratise'. Increasing
p r o s p e r i t y is a c o m m o n
i n f o r m a t i o n society
theme.
14
By ' m o r e
resourceful', Stonier means that I T w i l l enable us t o overcome t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d ecological problems associated w i t h i n d u s t r i a l i s m . A g a i n he touches o n a c o m m o n theme. James M a r t i n , i n The Wired Society,
also stresses t h e
' n o n - p o l l u t i n g , n o n - d e s t r u c t i v e ' q u a l i t y o f I T as a major p o i n t i n its f a v o u r .
15
N e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies h o l d o u t the n e x t promise - the demise o f w a r ('as slavery disappeared i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l e r a ' , says S t o n i e r ) . Some 16
even h o l d this o u t as a 'stage' b e y o n d i n f o r m a t i o n society: society'.
17
'communication
Lastly, I T ushers i n t h e w o r l d o f c o m p u t e r democracy. M o r e i n f o r -
m a t i o n availability, plus p u s h - b u t t o n referenda, o p e n t h e d o o r f o r t h e first t i m e t o genuinely responsive p a r t i c i p a t o r y g o v e r n m e n t . T h i s , a l o n g w i t h t h e b u r d e n o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n being t h o r o u g h l y a u t o m a t e d , is the c o n t e n t e d f u t u r ist's w o r l d o f i n f o r m a t i o n society.
[...]
The information society as problematic So w h a t are t h e prospects f o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society concept? T h e answer is n o t s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d . For o n e t h i n g , m o r e t h a n o n e image o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 389 society is available. T h e p o p u l a r image o f a social t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
along
T h i r d W a v e ' lines is n o t t h e same as t h e fuzzier image p r o d u c e d w i t h i n m o r e c a r e f u l social analysis o f societies c o m i n g t o terms w i t h a range o f m o r e a n d less p r o f o u n d p o l i t i c a l , e c o n o m i c a n d c u l t u r a l effects o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l ogy. I n h i s ' i n f o r m a t i o n society' essay D a n i e l Bell h i m s e l f has become silent a b o u t t h e affluence a n d leisure he once associated w i t h p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m . A n o t h e r c o m p l i c a t i n g factor is t h a t b o t h p o p u l a r a n d serious versions o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society thesis either r e l y u p o n o r p r o v o k e genuine questions o f tremendous importance. T h e idea o f a n i n f o r m a t i o n society is m o r e t h a n recycled p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m . To be sure, t h e t w o concepts d o share a n u m b e r o f c o m m o n features, n o t t o m e n t i o n several c o m m o n flaws. Popular versions o f i n f o r m a t i o n society f o r e casting, o f t e n g i d d y w i t h t h e astonishing progress o f microelectronics since t h e late 1970s, are infused w i t h t h e same technological d e t e r m i n i s m that i n f o r m e d m u c h p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m . W h i l e s t r o n g currents o f critical social investigation cause some r i p p l e s , m u c h present-day research focuses o n social adaptation t o I T , rather t h a n h o w I T m a y be designed t o suit people, w h i c h betrays t h e extent t o w h i c h technologically determinist views have been accepted. ... Several analyses start b y o u t l i n i n g i m p o r t a n t features o f o n e o r another aspect o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society idea w h i c h are t h e n sifted i n o r d e r t o r e t a i n w h a t is significant o r contrasted w i t h alternative i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . I choose this m e t h o d because I see l i t t l e p o i n t i n s u m m a r i l y d i s c a r d i n g t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society as t h e r o t t e n f r u i t o f f u t u r i s t fancy o r as i d e o l o g y i n t h e guise o f social analysis. Rather, t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society s h o u l d be g r a n t e d t h e status o f ' p r o b l e m a t i c ' . A c c o r d i n g t o P h i l i p A b r a m s , a p r o b l e m a t i c is a ' r u d i mentary organization o f a field o f phenomena investigation'.
18
w h i c h yields p r o b l e m s f o r
W i t h o u t s u c c u m b i n g t o t h e sociological s i m p l i s m w h i c h sees
the i n f o r m a t i o n society as a ' T h i r d W a v e ' o f e v o l u t i o n a r y progress, i t is nevertheless t r u e t o say t h a t some o f t h e most significant changes i n late t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y society are those i n h e r e n t i n , related t o , o r consequent u p o n I T . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n society concept p o i n t s t o that cluster o f issues a n d its better e x p o nents already use i t i n this sense. As a p r o b l e m a t i c its c o m p o n e n t s
refer t o changes i n t h e w o r k p l a c e a n d
e m p l o y m e n t a n d also t h e p o l i t i c a l , c u l t u r a l a n d g l o b a l aspects o f t h e d i f f u s i o n o f I T . W h e t h e r t h e s u m o f these changes a m o u n t s t o a s h i f t b e y o n d i n d u s t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m , m i l i t a r i s m o r male d o m i n a n c e is h i g h l y questionable. I m p o r t a n t c o n t i n u i t i e s , such as t h e c h r o n i c persistence o f i n e q u a l i t i e s a n d t h e g r o w t h o f state p o w e r u s i n g I T , seem t o suggest t h a t changes m a y be m o r e o f degree t h a n k i n d . I n i m p o r t a n t respects m a n y supposed changes highlighted
b y i n f o r m a t i o n society theorists
originated well
before i n -
formation technology! A t t h e same t i m e t h e category
o f i n f o r m a t i o n is u n d o u b t e d l y b e c o m i n g
v i t a l l y i m p o r t a n t as an e c o n o m i c factor i n its o w n r i g h t . T h e p h e n o m e n o n o f insider d e a l i n g o n i n t e r n a t i o n a l stock markets is an o b v i o u s i l l u s t r a t i o n . W h i l e
390
Global Media and New Media i t m a y n o t be s u p p l a n t i n g p r o p e r t y as a key t o t h e social structure o f m o d e r n societies, i n f o r m a t i o n is p r o v i n g t o be a crucially i m p o r t a n t element i n o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f social relationships. C e r t a i n l y at present i t lacks adequate d e f i n i t i o n , l e t alone i n c o r p o r a t i o n w i t h i n a coherent t h e o r y o f c o n t e m p o r a r y social change. Yet the n e w technologies w h i c h handle a n d process i n f o r m a t i o n simultaneously influence diverse b u t significant aspects o f social, c u l t u r a l a n d p o l i t i c a l reality. L e t m e n o t e t w o o t h e r features o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society p r o b l e m a t i c . O n e is t h a t social analysis must grapple w i t h t h e r a m i f i c a t i o n s o f the fusion
o f tech-
nologies w h i c h comprise I T . C o n v e n t i o n a l distinctions between c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d m e d i a studies, o n t h e o n e h a n d , a n d studies o f the social aspects o f c o m p u t i n g , o n t h e other, are e r o d e d . For example, i m p l i c a t i o n s o f the decline i n p u b l i c service broadcasting n o w e x t e n d far b e y o n d t r a d i t i o n a l concerns f o r broadcasting as such. I n t h e USA, t h e dissemination o f g o v e r n m e n t data, once a p u b l i c f u n c t i o n , is under increasing pressure as private p r o f i t - s e e k i n g f i r m s compete t o sell repackaged data. B u r g e o n i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n between c o m p u t e r s a n d t h e c o m i n g o f the c o m m e r c i a l database brings ' p u b l i c service' questions i n t o the h e a r t l a n d o f c o m p u t i n g . T h e o t h e r n o t e w o r t h y feature is that as social analysis exposes alternative o p t i o n s i n t h e a d o p t i o n o f n e w t e c h n o l o g y that are i n fact available t o g o v e r n m e n t , i n d u s t r y a n d t h e p u b l i c , discussions o f t h e strategy f o r shaping n e w technologies become m o r e relevant. D o government-sponsored slogans such as ' a u t o m a t e o r l i q u i d a t e ' represent genuine choices? Is i t 'data' o r 'persons' t h a t o u g h t t o be p r o t e c t e d b y law? H o w does o n e decide w h a t counts as a n a p p r o p r i a t e t e c h n o l o g y w h e r e microelectronics is concerned? Social analysis can serve t o indicate t h e c o n d i t i o n s under w h i c h ethical considerations a n d social hopes m i g h t be realized.
Information society: the major themes T h e i n f o r m a t i o n society concept inherits several symptoms o f the troubles that beset p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m . T h e postindustrialists largely failed t o justify the significance granted t o trends such as the g r o w t h o f theoretical k n o w l e d g e a n d o f services. A leisured society based o n automated manufacture, a vast array o f services a n d a c u l t u r e o f self-expression, p o l i t i c a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d an emphasis o n t h e q u a l i t y o f life does n o t seem t o have materialized - at least, n o t f o r t h e m a j o r i t y o f the p o p u l a t i o n s o f the advanced societies. W i l l this h e r e d i t a r y s y n d r o m e p r o v e fatal f o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society? T h e answer depends u p o n c a r e f u l i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t h e f o l l o w i n g areas.
Information workers in an information economy It
is clear
from
j o b advertisements
at least
that
i n t h e late
1980s
one's chances o f o b t a i n i n g e m p l o y m e n t are enhanced b y t h e possession o f
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 391 qualifications i n microelectronics, munications, operational
c o m p u t i n g , systems analysis,
research, s o f t w a r e
design,
fibre optics,
telecomexpert
systems a n d so o n . B u t w h a t does this p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f n e w j o b d e s c r i p t i o n s mean? T h o s e t h a t T o m Stonier refers t o as ' i n f o r m a t i o n o p e r a t i v e s ' seem t o appear i n a l l m a n n e r o f w o r k p l a c e s . T h e b i g questions a r e : w h o are these ' o p e r a t i v e s ' , a n d w h a t c o n t r i b u t i o n d o t h e i r activities m a k e t o t h e p a t t e r n o f social r e l a t i o n s h i p s ? C e n t r a l t o m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n society discourse is t h e c o n t e n t i o n t h a t ' i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k e r s ' are r i s i n g t o a m a j o r i t y w i t h i n t h e l a b o u r forces o f t h e advanced societies. As early as 1 9 6 7 , claims M a r c Porat, 5 0 per cent o f A m e r i c a n w o r k e r s were engaged i n t h e ' i n f o r m a t i o n sector', a n d they received just over 5 0 per cent o f t o t a l employee r e m u n e r a t i o n . B u t just w h o are these i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k e r s ? U n f o r t u n a t e l y , because he does n o t actually e x p l a i n w h a t ' i n f o r m a t i o n ' is (he o n l y defines i t as 'data t h a t have been o r g a n i z e d a n d c o m m u n i c a t e d ' ) t h e categories are b l u r r e d . Judges a n d rent-collectors
find
themselves i n this sector b u t d o c t o r s , f o r instance, have an 'ambiguous occup a t i o n ' , s t r a d d l i n g 'service' a n d ' i n f o r m a t i o n ' sectors!
19
Few studies o f ' i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k ' c o m m e n t o n its purpose, f u n c t i o n , o r c o n t e n t . W i t h o u t t h i s , h o w e v e r , w e cannot k n o w w h o makes decisions, o n w h a t basis, o r w i t h w h a t effect. Masses o f computer-generated i n f o r m a t i o n confers n o p o w e r whatsoever o n those w h o use i t , whereas at certain p o i n t s w i t h i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s i t m a y be crucial t o the maintenance o f p o w e r . As i t h a p pens, p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m also glossed over questions o f i n f o r m a t i o n , k n o w l e d g e a n d p o w e r , especially w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e social significance o f research a n d d e v e l o p m e n t ( R & D ) . T h e sheer a m o u n t o f R & D i n any given society tells us l i t t l e . W e l e a r n n o t h i n g a b o u t t h e social role o f scientific a n d technical k n o w ledge, t h e price p u t o n i t , a n d t h e p o w e r o f those w h o m a n i p u l a t e i t . T h e fact t h a t R & D is o f t e n f i n a n c e d f o r p o l i t i c a l rather t h a n social reasons, a n d develo p e d f o r m i l i t a r y rather t h a n economic purposes, pulls t h e r u g f r o m beneath the (Bell-inspired) idea that universities are crucibles o f p o w e r i n t h e m o d e r n world.
2 0
T h e c u r r e n t squeeze o n u n i v e r s i t y f u n d i n g a n d the p o l i t i c i z i n g o f
t e c h n o l o g y p o l i c y makes t h e idea laughable. That
said, changes are o c c u r r i n g i n t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l
structure o f t h e
advanced societies. W h i l e t h e r e l a b e l l i n g process n o t e d i n K r i s h a n K u m a r ' s c r i t i q u e o f p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m still occurs - t h o u g h t o d a y i t is p r o g r a m m e r s b e c o m i n g s o f t w a r e architects rather t h a n p l u m b e r s b e c o m i n g h e a t i n g engineers - there is expansion at managerial, professional a n d technical levels. T h e r e is, m o r e o v e r , a s t r o n g l i n k between i n n o v a t i o n a n d economic
growth;
hence t h e f r e q u e n t l y expressed B r i t i s h w o r r i e s about t h e lack o f domestic R & D f u n d i n g relative t o o t h e r countries. T w o m a j o r questions are raised b y t h e ' d i s c o v e r y ' o f i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k a n d an i n f o r m a t i o n sector i n t h e economy. First, are t h e a p p a r e n t l y n e w categories o f w o r k a n d o c c u p a t i o n l e a d i n g t o shifts i n p o w e r ? Is there an e m e r g i n g i n f o r m a t i o n 'technocracy'
w h i c h is w r e s t i n g p o w e r f r o m p r e v i o u s l y d o m i n a n t
392
Global Media and New Media classes? W h a t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r w o m e n are o p e n e d by t h e spread o f IT? W h a t is t h e l i k e l y effect o f I T o n i n d u s t r i a l relations? W h e n B r i t i s h R a i l c o m p u t e r ized its f r e i g h t system, f o r instance, m a n y ' m i d d l e managers' f o u n d their p o s i t i o n s w e r e s i m p l y r e d u n d a n t , a n d personnel i n subordinate positions actually discovered they h a d n e w p o w e r s o f c o n t r o l over t h e w o r k process.
21
T h e o t h e r question is t h i s : h o w accurate is t h e idea o f an ' i n f o r m a t i o n sect o r ' , a n d is there an h i s t o r i c a l ' m a r c h t h r o u g h the sectors'
22
as agrarianism
gives w a y t o i n d u s t r i a l i s m , a n d i n d u s t r i a l i s m t o i n f o r m a t i o n society? T h i s p o i n t affects n o t o n l y the advanced societies b u t also those t o w h i c h t h e p r o m i s e is a l l u r i n g l y h e l d o u t that they m a y be able t o j u m p straight f r o m a n o n - i n d u s t r i a l t o a n i n f o r m a t i o n society. Is this really possible, o r does ' i n f o r m a t i z i n g ' d e p e n d u p o n an already 'advanced' situation? [...]
Political and global aspects Echoes o f postindustrialism are again heard w i t h respect t o t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d g l o b a l aspects o f i n f o r m a t i o n society. A c o m m o n feature o f each is that o p p o r tunities f o r p o l i t i c a l choice a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n w i l l increase. T h e difference, however, is that t h e means o f i m p l e m e n t i n g these is n o w visible, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the possibilities o f t w o - w a y , interactive electronic n e t w o r k s . T h e extreme case is t h a t o f an 'instant r e f e r e n d u m ' i n w h i c h voters' views are canvassed via cable television w h i c h allows people t o receive as w e l l as t r a n s m i t signals f r o m their l i v i n g r o o m s . M o r e soberly, I T is seen as a means o f enabling an electorate t o be m o r e i n f o r m e d , o r f o r decision-making t o be m o r e decentralized.
23
T h o s e c o m m i t t e d t o ideals o f democratic p a r t i c i p a t i o n o n b o t h the r i g h t a n d t h e l e f t o f t h e p o l i t i c a l spectrum m a y advocate t h e harnessing o f n e w technologies t o such ends. W i t h o u t adequate access t o m o d e r n means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , any idea o f a just p o l i t i c a l c o m m u n i t y is i n d e e d a c h i m e r a . B u t a n u m b e r o f i m p o r t a n t questions are raised by this, n o t least h o w t h e necessary t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e is t o be set u p . W h i l e France is establishing a n a t i o n a l télématique
system w h i c h c o u l d i n p r i n c i p l e serve such
ends,
B r i t a i n has experienced some d i f f i c u l t i e s persuading domestic subscribers t o pay f o r a suitable cable television n e t w o r k , whereas i n t h e U S A o n l y local e x p e r i m e n t a l systems have been t r i e d . I n the absence o f a coherent p o l i c y w h i c h is i n t e n d e d t o ensure equal access o f a l l t o such a c o m m u n i c a t i o n s netw o r k i t is d i f f i c u l t t o imagine h o w dreams o f electronic democracy c o u l d be translated i n t o realities. T h e p r o m i n e n t source o f anxiety, however, is the threat o f an O r w e l l i a n society. Does t h e w i d e s p r e a d p o l i t i c a l a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e use o f extensive databases w h i c h a l l o w f o r t h e easy storage, retrieval a n d transmission o f personal i n f o r m a t i o n p o r t e n d a f u t u r e f r a u g h t w i t h t h e dangers o f electronic eavesdropping?
O n t h e o n e h a n d p o l i c e , defence, social security a n d o t h e r
p e r s o n n e l reassure t h e p u b l i c that n o i n n o c e n t person need have any w o r r i e s
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 393 a b o u t i m p r o p e r p r y i n g i n t o t h e i r p r i v a t e lives. O n t h e other, cases o f w r o n g f u l dismissal o r arrest w h i c h are t r a c e d t o erroneous c o m p u t e r files serve t o f u e l fears t h a t i n fact ' o r d i n a r y citizens' m a y w e l l be at r i s k . B u t are these c o m p u t e r i z e d f o r m s o f surveillance an intrinsically n e w departure? O r d o they rather represent an extension o f state garnering o f i n f o r m a t i o n o n citizens w h i c h has been o c c u r r i n g f o r m a n y decades? Is i t merely t h e use o f these databases b y l a w - a n d - o r d e r agencies w h i c h creates p o t e n t i a l perils f o r c i t i zens? O r is a deeper process at w o r k i n w h i c h m o r e generalized forces o f social c o n t r o l achieve m o r e p o w e r b y computerization? A n d w h a t exactly are t h e risks i n v o l v e d , against w h i c h 'data p r o t e c t i o n ' laws a n d policies are directed? Is w r o n g f u l arrest t h e t i p o f an iceberg, the submerged p o r t i o n o f w h i c h conceals a f u n d a m e n t a l issue o f invaded privacy and i m p u g n e d integrity? T h i s , o f course, is o n l y one aspect o f t h e state-and-IT c o n n e c t i o n . A s I have already m e n t i o n e d , t h e connections nomic-technological
developments
between g o v e r n m e n t a c t i v i t y a n d ecoare n u m e r o u s a n d significant. Whereas
p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s t Bell insisted u p o n t h e relatively i n d e p e n d e n t o p e r a t i o n o f e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l spheres, this p o s i t i o n is exceedingly h a r d t o justify. I t is q u i t e clear t h a t p o l i t y a n d e c o n o m y are i n t e r d e p e n d e n t , a n d that t h e r e l a t i o n ship b e t w e e n t h e t w o is far f r o m s i m p l e . Bringing
the global
s i t u a t i o n i n t o focus,
however,
other
connections
b e t w e e n t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d t h e e c o n o m i c become clear. T h e I T i n d u s t r y , as o t h ers,
is d o m i n a t e d
b y giant
transnational
corporations
-
I B M , Exxon,
M i t s u b i s h i , A T & T , P h i l i p s , Siemens a n d so o n - w h i c h o f t e n call t h e p o l i t i c a l t u n e . M a n y countries f i n d t h e i r n a t i o n a l sovereignty, n o t t o m e n t i o n t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e i r w o r k e r s , t h r e a t e n e d b y t h e activities o f these 'stateless' e c o n o m i c interests. Such companies increasingly rely u p o n t h e free flow o f data across n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s f o r f i n a n c i a l r e p o r t i n g a n d management, m a r k e t i n g , dist r i b u t i o n , R & D , a n d o r d e r processing. L a b o u r u n i o n s m a y debate t h e f u t u r e o f plants i n v a i n i f t h e crucial decisions are made o n a n o t h e r c o n t i n e n t . N a t i o n a l governments m a y f i n d t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o change d i r e c t i o n t h w a r t e d , as w h e n i n 1 9 8 5 A u s t r a l i a n p r i m e m i n i s t e r B o b H a w k e t r i e d t o stop A u s t r a l i a n bases being used t o m o n i t o r M X missile tests. D i s m a y e d f i n a n c i a l a n d transnational c o r p o r a t e interests w i t h d r e w c a p i t a l , p u t t i n g pressure o n t h e e c o n o m y a n d thus t h e g o v e r n m e n t .
24
It
w o u l d appear t h a t W a l t e r W r i s t o n ( w h o seems n o t t o treat this as a matter f o r regret) is r i g h t t o c l a i m t h a t ' t h e ancient a n d basic concept o f sovereignty w h i c h has been discussed since t h e t i m e o f Plato is being p r o f o u n d l y changed by i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y ' .
25
O f course i t is n o t o n l y t h e n a t i o n a l sovereignty o f t h e larger a n d m o r e p o w e r f u l c o u n t r i e s w h i c h is challenged b y t h e p o w e r o f transnational c o r p o rations. T h e phenomenon o f 'deindustrialization', for example, often viewed i n t h e n o r t h e r n hemisphere i n terms o f the s h r i n k i n g p r o p o r t i o n o f the l a b o u r force i n v o l v e d i n m a n u f a c t u r i n g , m a y be equally w e l l u n d e r s t o o d as t h e part i a l r e l o c a t i o n o f w o r k e r s t o ' o f f s h o r e ' plants i n t h e s o u t h . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n
394
Global Media and New Media society is n o t inaccurately depicted as a global p h e n o m e n o n . T h e c u r r e n t expansion a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f microelectronics-related industries r e q u i r e a w o r l d market. T h e r e is n o d o u b t t h a t the technological p o t e n t i a l f o r beneficial change 'deserts that b l o o m ' - is t r e m e n d o u s , a n d n o t h i n g [here] s h o u l d be taken as d e n y i n g o r m i n i m i z i n g that fact. T o m Stonier, A l v i n T o f f l e r a n d Jacques Servan-Schrieber make a l o t o f this angle. Stonier r e p o r t s great gains made i n the U p p e r V o l t a village o f Tangaye w h e n a solar p h o t o v o l t a i c - p o w e r e d g r a i n m i l l and water p u m p were installed.
26
(This is an example o f w h a t he calls t h e
'second s i l i c o n r e v o l u t i o n ' . ) Such advances, he states correctly, are dependent o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d i n f o r m a t i o n transfer. T h a t such changes w i l l take place a n d that ' t h e p o s t i n d u s t r i a l e c o n o m y w i l l p r o d u c e the w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o make i t a l l h a p p e n ' is rather m o r e o p e n t o question. A t present, as a matter o f fact, things are somewhat different. Despite dreams o f p o o r e r countries 'catching u p ' w i t h richer ones, o r 'leap-frogging' the indust r i a l era, the situation is o v e r w h e l m i n g l y n o t just one o f interdependence, but o f dependence.
W h i l e the advanced societies produce silicon chips c o m p r i s i n g
hundreds o f thousands o f elements, i n A f r i c a o n l y one person i n eighteen has a r a d i o . Far f r o m n a r r o w i n g the ' N o r t h - S o u t h ' divide, the evidence suggests that I T helps t o w i d e n i t . As Juan Rada sagely observes, 'Technological fixes o f w h a t ever nature are n o t h i n g b u t a d r o p o f water i n the sea o f r e a l i t y ' .
27
N o t r e a t m e n t o f the p o l i t i c a l a n d global aspects o f I T can a f f o r d t o i g n o r e the connections between n e w t e c h n o l o g y a n d the c o n t i n u i n g C o l d War. L i k e earlier postindustrialists, Stonier's focus is o n the ' w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n ' t h a t spells ' u n p r e c e d e n t e d affluence b o t h at the p r i v a t e level a n d i n the p u b l i c sector'.
28
B u t as K r i s h a n K u m a r laconically notes, ' t h e science-based " w e l f a r e "
state can be r a p i d l y reclassified as the science-based " w a r f a r e " state, a n d w i t h greater respect f o r the actual h i s t o r y o f the last f i f t y years'.
29
For e x a m p l e , t h e Japanese ' F i f t h G e n e r a t i o n ' c o m p u t e r project, w h i c h aims to
i n t r o d u c e t h e w o r l d t o o r d i n a r y language-recognizing ' a r t i f i c i a l
intelli-
gence' d u r i n g t h e 1990s, is ostensibly c i v i l a n d c o m m e r c i a l . B u t A m e r i c a n responses relate t o m i l i t a r y supremacy. As Feigenbaum and M c C o r d u c k p u t i t , 'the Defense D e p a r t m e n t needs the a b i l i t y t o shape t e c h n o l o g y t o c o n f o r m t o its needs i n m i l i t a r y systems. A Fujitsu o r a H i r a c h i marches t o a d i f f e r e n t d r u m m e r f r o m a R o c k w e l l o r a L o c k h e e d . O u r defense i n d u s t r y must o b t a i n and r e t a i n a s t r o n g p o s i t i o n i n the n e w advanced c o m p u t e r technologies.'
30
It
goes w i t h o u t saying t h a t these are n o t the kinds o f 'needs' w h i c h those c o n cerned f o r a ' w e l f a r e state' - o r w o r l d welfare - have i n m i n d .
An information culture? T h e n o t i o n o f a ' f i f t h g e n e r a t i o n ' o f computers raises another set o f questions besides those o f m i l i t a r y prowess. U n l i k e p r e v i o u s t e c h n o l o g i c a l
artifacts
w h i c h t y p i c a l l y have a u g m e n t e d h u m a n energy w i t h i m p r o v e d sources o f
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 395 p o w e r , those s p a w n e d b y I T augment - a n d , a c c o r d i n g t o some, transcend
-
the h u m a n capacity t o t h i n k a n d t o reason. Needless t o say, some references t o m a c h i n e intelligence are n o m o r e sophisticated t h a n those associated w i t h H a l , t h e ' t h i n k i n g ' c o m p u t e r f r o m t h e f i l m 2001, A Space
Odyssey.
Others,
h o w e v e r , are p o i n t e r s t o a series o f p r o f o u n d c u l t u r a l issues whose analysis c o u l d have far-reaching i m p l i c a t i o n s . I t m u s t be said, t h o u g h , that w h i l e debate over t h e w o r k p l a c e a n d e m p l o y m e n t aspects o f I T is w i d e s p r e a d , a n d awareness o f t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d g l o b a l d i m e n s i o n s is b e g i n n i n g t o make itself f e l t , t h e c u l t u r a l questions have n o t as yet received t h e a t t e n t i o n they deserve. I n w h a t f o l l o w s , t h e r e f o r e , I can d o n o m o r e t h a n set t h e scene. O n c e again, Bell's t h o u g h t s o n p o s t i n d u s t r i a l c u l t u r e make a suitable starti n g p o i n t . For h i m , 'a n e w k i n d o f m o d e r n i t y ' has been created b y t h e ' r e v o l u t i o n s i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n that have b a n d e d together t h e w o r l d society i n t o o n e great Oikoumene\
I t represents a break w i t h t h e past,
thus r e p l a c i n g c o n t i n u i t y w i t h variety, t r a d i t i o n w i t h syncretism. Its agent is t e c h n o l o g y w h i c h b y ' i n t r o d u c i n g a n e w m e t r i c a n d enlarging o u r c o n t r o l over n a t u r e ' has ' t r a n s f o r m e d o u r social relationships a n d o u r ways o f l o o k i n g at t h e w o r l d ' .
3 1
Bell m a i n t a i n s t h a t t e c h n o l o g y has been t h e 'chief engine' o f raised l i v i n g standards a n d reduced inequalities, created a ' n e w class' o f engineers a n d technicians w h o p l a n w o r k - t a s k s rather t h a n actually p e r f o r m i n g t h e m , b r o u g h t about
a n e w f u n c t i o n a l a n d quantitative w a y o f t h i n k i n g ,
created ' n e w
e c o n o m i c dependencies a n d n e w social interactions', a n d altered aesthetic perceptions o f t i m e a n d space. W h i l e he believes that c u l t u r a l issues are o f t h e u t m o s t i m p o r t a n c e , he p a r t i a l l y disconnects analysis o f t h e m f r o m p o l i t i c a l o r social l i f e . Each sphere has a d i f f e r e n t 'axial p r i n c i p l e ' ; that o f c o n t e m p o r a r y c u l t u r e b e i n g t h e desire f o r f u l f i l m e n t a n d enhancement o f the self.
32
O f course, w h e n w r i t i n g o f p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m ( i n t h e 1960s) Bell c o u l d have h a d l i t t l e clear idea o f t h e r a p i d i t y w i t h w h i c h t h e technologies o f c o m p u t i n g a n d t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s w o u l d m o v e t o centre stage (hence his later w o r k o n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society). B u t o t h e r theorists have taken f u r t h e r these k i n d s o f ideas a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n o f I T t o c u l t u r e . W h e r e Bell l i m i t e d h i m s e l f t o c o m m e n t s a b o u t concepts o f 'speed' o r t h e ' v i e w f r o m t h e a i r ' u n k n o w n t o p r e - m o d e r n s , w r i t e r s such as D a v i d Bolter have argued t h a t t h e c o m p u t e r itself is t h e h a r b i n g e r o f n o v e l c u l t u r a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g a n e w h u m a n sense o f self.
31
B o l t e r ' s a r g u m e n t is as f o l l o w s . Just as t h e clock is t h e key s y m b o l o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l era, as L e w i s M u m f o r d r i g h t l y h e l d , so t h e c o m p u t e r is b e c o m i n g the k e y s y m b o l o f the present. I t is a ' d e f i n i n g t e c h n o l o g y ' w h i c h b y its i m p a c t on
certain
basic relationships
-
o f k n o w l e d g e t o technical
power, and
m a n k i n d t o t h e w o r l d o f nature - occupies 'a special place i n o u r c u l t u r a l landscape'.
34
Thus
humans
begin t o t h i n k o f themselves
processors' a n d n a t u r e as ' i n f o r m a t i o n t o be processed'.
35
as ' i n f o r m a t i o n
396
Global Media and New Media Sceptical eyebrows m a y w e l l be raised about such speculations. A r e n o t those w h o define themselves as i n f o r m a t i o n processors l i k e l y t o be o n l y a t i n y m i n o r i t y o f a given p o p u l a t i o n ? By w h a t process does the c o m p u t e r become a d e f i n i n g technology? Bolter's thesis is w e l l w o r t h a t t e n d i n g t o , t h o u g h n o t , I shall argue, f o r t h e reasons he gives. T h r e e issues c o n c e r n i n g the ' c u l t u r e o f i n f o r m a t i o n ' are o u t l i n e d here. First, I d r a w together questions about c o m p u t i n g a n d t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ; t h e fact o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l 'convergence' is a significant o n e . W h i l e Bell's idea o f t h e ' o v e r f l o w i n g o f a l l t h e w o r l d ' s t r a d i t i o n s o f a r t , music a n d l i t e r a t u r e i n t o a new, universal container, accessible t o a l l a n d o b l i g a t o r y u p o n a l l '
36
is some-
w h a t i n f l a t e d , i t does flag a n i m p o r t a n t p h e n o m e n o n . A f o r m o f c u l t u r a l 'synchronization'
is i n d e e d t a k i n g
place,
as n e w c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
essentially s i m i l a r messages encircle the g l o b e .
37
carrying
W h o c o n t r o l s these messages,
a n d w h a t is t h e i r content? Does t h e o w n e r s h i p o f the means o f (increasingly c o m p u t e r i z e d ) c o m m u n i c a t i o n lead t o the c u l t u r a l d o m i n a n c e o f certain elite groups a n d societies over others? Secondly, is t h e ' d e f i n i n g t e c h n o l o g y ' idea an a p p r o p r i a t e means o f social a n d c u l t u r a l analysis? A r e the e m e r g i n g technologies o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n d e e d shaping t h e social a n d c u l t u r a l experience o f those societies affected b y them? D o the n e w technologies n o t confer o n those w i t h access t o t h e m considerable p o w e r t o c o n t r o l n o t o n l y t h e processes o f p r o d u c t i o n , a b o u t w h i c h M a r x was concerned, b u t also those o f leisure a n d c o n s u m p t i o n ? Is there m o r e t h a n passing significance i n the rise o f 'hackers' a n d c o m p u t e r gamesters, w h o get t o t a l l y absorbed i n t h e i r machines, o r i n t h e ways t h a t c o m p u t e r s may 'converse' w i t h each other about h u m a n destinies ( I am t h i n k i n g o f credit-worthiness or welfare-eligibility)?
38
T h i r d l y , c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the so-called c u l t u r e o f i n f o r m a t i o n is i n c o m p l e t e w i t h o u t reference t o its religious a n d i d e o l o g i c a l aspects. D o h u m a n beings r e m a k e themselves i n t h e image o f their technology? I f so, t h e n there are o b v i o u s i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r p h i l o s o p h i c a l debates
about t h e u n i q u e place o f
h u m a n beings i n t h e cosmos. F u r t h e r m o r e , there is scope f o r c r i t i q u e a l o n g ' r e l i g i o u s ' lines, as evidenced b y the d e n u n c i a t i o n o f I T as ' s i l i c o n i d o l a t r y ' .
39
I t also brings us back, finally, t o the o v e r - r i d i n g question o f this study: does I T usher us i n t o a n e w k i n d o f society? A n d at this p o i n t a f u r t h e r q u e r y is h i g h l i g h t e d : w h a t is t h e social meaning
o f t h e ' i n f o r m a t i o n society'? Is i t better
u n d e r s t o o d as a k i n d o f ' m y t h ' o r ' u t o p i a ' t h a n the social 'forecast' i t is m o r e f r e q u e n t l y taken t o be?
Critique of the information society For t h e sake o f clarity, a n d o v e r s i m p l i f y i n g , l e t m e make some d i s t i n c t i o n s . T h e r e are t w o k i n d s o f i n f o r m a t i o n society thesis, each o f w h i c h makes t w o k i n d s o f claims. T h e v i e w p o p u l a r i z e d i n m a n y m e d i a a n d p o l i c y accounts stresses t h e m a j o r social changes f o r the better that f o l l o w i n t h e w a k e o f I T .
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 397 T h i s p o p u l a r v e r s i o n m a y w e l l be buttressed by the ' f i n d i n g s o f social science'. T h e o t h e r use o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society concept is m o r e cautious a n d o p e n e n d e d . H e r e i t is a ' p r o b l e m a t i c ' rather t h a n a descriptive t e r m . T h e t w o images o f i n f o r m a t i o n society o v e r l a p . T h e claims made are b o t h a n a l y t i c a l a n d evaluative, a n d the t w o k i n d s o f c l a i m are i n t e r r e l a t e d . T h u s b o t h k i n d s o f i n f o r m a t i o n society thesis t r y t o a n t i c i p a t e t h e sorts
of social
through different economic,
change
w h i c h can be expected as I T is d i f f u s e d
p o l i t i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l spheres. A n d b o t h also
p r o v i d e at least s t r o n g clues as t o w h e t h e r such social changes are This b o o k draws together
desirable.
evidence f r o m a w i d e range o f sources i n an
a t t e m p t t o assess b o t h the analytical a n d evaluative claims o f each i n f o r m a t i o n society thesis. T h e i n f o r m a t i o n society idea has b o t h Utopian a n d ideological aspects. I discuss there i n t h e f i n a l chapter, b u t t o p u t things i n focus I c o m m e n t o n some o f the dangers associated w i t h using the i n f o r m a t i o n society concept, that is, its i d e o l o g i c a l aspects. T h r e e are p r o m i n e n t . Firstly, i t obscures vested interests t h a t are i n v o l v e d i n I T a n d t h a t i n fact d o m u c h t o shape its o v e r a l l d i r e c t i o n . T h e concept yields n o clues as t o w h o w i e l d s p o w e r . Repeatedly, f o r instance, the p o p u l a r r h e t o r i c assures us t h a t 'everyone can o w n i n f o r m a t i o n ' o r 'the real r e v o l u t i o n is personal c o m p u t e r o w n e r s h i p ' . B u t i n f o r m a t i o n is n o t steadily d i f f u s e d i n a general w a y t h r o u g h all social echelons. As Cees H a m e l i n k p o i n t s o u t , some i n f o r m a t i o n is specialist a n d thus restricted t o a f e w .
40
I n t e l l e c t u a l a n d managerial skills are r e q u i r e d
t o e x p l o i t i n f o r m a t i o n economically, a n d these are unevenly d i s t r i b u t e d i n society.
A d v a n c e d h a r d w a r e a n d software
f o r i n f o r m a t i o n processing
are
expensive, a n d t h e r e f o r e the f e w w h o can a f f o r d t h e m are scarcely challenged by others using i n f e r i o r machines. Such inequalities are felt g l o b a l l y between n o r t h a n d south i n the theatre o f t r a n s n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s a n d m i l i t a r y interests, a n d locally, w h e t h e r w i t h the word-processor criminal's
o p e r a t o r ' s lack o f c o n t r o l over her w o r k or the suspected
difficulty
in
gaining
access
to
information held
about
him.
' I n f o r m a t i o n p o w e r ' is o n l y a reality w h e n access exists t o the means o f c o l l e c t i n g , s t o r i n g , r e t r i e v i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i n g the i n f o r m a t i o n . Secondly, the inequalities a n d c o n f l i c t s discernible o n the surface are o f t e n r e l a t e d t o u n d e r l y i n g c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . These t o o may be disguised by the i n f o r m a t i o n society c o n c e p t . W i t h i n c a p i t a l i s m , p r i v a t e gain is constantly set against e f f o r t s t o 'socialize'
p r o d u c t i o n . I n the late t w e n t i e t h century, the
l a t e n t p o t e n t i a l f o r t r a d e i n i n f o r m a t i o n - f o r this e n t i t y t o b e c o m e a c o m m o d i t y - is b e i n g realized. W h i l e m a n y u n d o u b t e d l y gain f r o m this process, o t h e r s lose. Public libraries a n d p u b l i c service b r o a d c a s t i n g are b o t h t i m e h o n o u r e d concepts w h o s e ' p u b l i c ' status is u n d e r t h r e a t as i n f o r m a t i o n has a p r i c e p u t o n i t . L i k e w i s e , n e w i n t e g r a t e d services d i g i t a l n e t w o r k s
(ISDNs)
m e a n m o r e e f f i c i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n services, b u t higher costs f o r o r d i n a r y telep h o n e subscribers.
398
Global Media and New Media A n o t h e r discordant element, w h i c h may n o t q u a l i f y as a ' c o n t r a d i c t i o n ' i n the same sense, is the c o l l u s i o n o f m i l i t a r y w i t h microelectronic interests i n the m o d e r n w o r l d . T h e same technologies whose a v o w e d purposes (and actual achievement i n m a n y cases) are t o reduce drudgery, increase efficiency, c o n serve resources a n d p r o m o t e m u t u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n are also dedicated t o hostile, destructive a n d lethal ends. Regardless o f any justifications w h i c h may legitimately be presented
f o r e x p a n d i n g electronically a nation's
'defence'
capabilities, most discussions o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society conceal i n the backg r o u n d the huge m i l i t a r y impetus t o I T research and development. T h i r d l y , the a r r i v a l o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society appears as an e n t i r e l y n a t u r a l event, the o u t c o m e o f progressive tendencies w i t h i n Western i n d u s t r i a l societies. I t m a y be ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' i n its consequences, such that i t represents a n e w era i n h u m a n history. But i t is simultaneously the obvious a n d logical w a y f o r w a r d . Witness the postures struck against any w h o dare question the ways i n w h i c h I T is i m p l e m e n t e d ! T h e c h a i r m a n o f the B r i t i s h M a n p o w e r Services C o m m i s s i o n p r o v i d e d a clear i l l u s t r a t i o n i n a 1986
speech w h i c h
m e n d e d ' e m b r a c i n g w h o l e h e a r t e d l y the n e w technologies'.
recom-
He complained
that 'We still have latter-day L u d d i t e s a r o u n d i n all parts o f o u r society. T h e y threaten o u r f u t u r e , a n d the attitudes they reflect must g o . '
41
Very extravagant claims are o f t e n made f o r I T - 'Athens w i t h o u t the slaves' a n d so o n - w h i c h suggest that the aura s u r r o u n d i n g n e w t e c h n o l o g y is n o t m e r e l y that o f the 'gee-whiz' variety. Perhaps, as Jacques E l l u l a n d others have suggested,
42
n e w technologies are invested w i t h a 'sacred' quality. T h e awe a n d
v e n e r a t i o n once accorded t o the gods w h o supposedly c o n t r o l l e d h u m a n destinies n o w b e l o n g t o the machine. T h i s d i m e n s i o n - w h i c h M i c h a e l Shallis refers t o as ' s i l i c o n i d o l a t r y ' - w o u l d t e n d t o r e i n f o r c e views o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society as the obvious scenario. Against the b a c k d r o p o f the well-established Western belief i n social progress via u n l i m i t e d economic
a c c u m u l a t i o n , the i n f o r m a t i o n society does indeed
appear as a n a t u r a l development. I n f o r m a t i o n technology is its sacred guarantor. But g r a n t i n g i t this ' n a t u r a l ' status forecloses debate over and action t o w a r d s any alternatives t o that d o m i n a n t tendency. As such, i t invites c r i t i q u e . By a r g u i n g that the i n f o r m a t i o n society has significant ideological aspects I d o n o t f o r a m o m e n t w a n t t o suggest that i t is some k i n d o f ' d o m i n a n t i d e o l o g y ' , accepted by the 'masses' o f any given p o p u l a t i o n . O n the contrary, there 43
is p l e n t y o f evidence o f coolness, fear and resignation t o w a r d s , as w e l l as sober a n d realistic acceptance of, the n e w technologies. Likewise i t s h o u l d be stressed that using the t e r m ' i d e o l o g i c a l ' does n o t mean that there is a deliberate conspiracy t o 'deceive the general p u b l i c ' by using the i n f o r m a t i o n society slogan. I f the above analysis is correct, however, the effect o f using i t is t o disguise the reality o f p o w e r f u l interests a n d beliefs at w o r k w i t h i n i t . O n the o t h e r h a n d , i t is clear that n o t i o n s like the i n f o r m a t i o n society have become a w o r k i n g ' r e a l i t y ' f o r many. E d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s m e e k l y fall i n line w i t h pleas f o r closer ties w i t h industry. Businesses d o c o m p u t e r i z e , some
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 399 m o s t successfully,
some soon discovering they are encumbered w i t h d i g i t a l
w h i t e elephants. As Jennifer Slack admits. 'We are b u y i n g c o m p u t e r s t o have f u n a n d t o " k e e p u p " . A n d o u r c h i l d r e n w h o d o n o t learn t o operate c o m p u t ers are " f a l l i n g b e h i n d " . A n d i n f o r m a t i o n is being developed t o be b o u g h t a n d s o l d a n d p r o t e c t e d l i k e any other k i n d o f c o m m o d i t y . A n d i t does make a cert a i n a m o u n t o f " g o o d sense" t o t r y t o "get b y " i n that w o r l d . '
4 4
T h e p o i n t is
n o t t o deny t h a t i t is h a p p e n i n g , b u t rather t o examine h o w i t is orchestrated a n d by w h o m , t o w h a t p u r p o s e , a n d w i t h w h a t m e t h o d s a n d effects.
Beyond liberal and Luddite critique Just as there are d i f f e r e n t images o f the i n f o r m a t i o n society, so c r i t i q u e comes f r o m d i f f e r e n t angles. W h a t m i g h t be called ' l i b e r a l ' critiques, w h i l e r e f u s i n g t o be seduced by the siren songs o f h i g h - t e c h h y p e , still assume t h a t 'things c o u l d go either w a y ' . T h e y issue w a r n i n g s about the anti-social p o t e n t i a l o f some I T a p p l i c a t i o n s , b u t m a i n t a i n that as l o n g as people are alert t o t h e m , effective choices can be made t o ensure that I T d e v e l o p m e n t w i l l be a p p r o p r i ate a n d socially beneficial. For t h e m , the i n f o r m a t i o n society is the o u t c o m e o f an i n f o r m e d d e m o c r a t i c process. T h e L u d d i t e w o u l d r e t o r t q u i c k l y that the l i b e r a l seems t o have s w a l l o w e d the idea o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l neutrality. T h e n e w technologies already express part i c u l a r values a n d p r i o r i t i e s . Far f r o m choices being relatively free, they are i n fact t i g h t l y c o n s t r a i n e d by d o m i n a n t interest g r o u p s , above all by the p o w e r o f c a p i t a l . As f o r b e i n g ' i n f o r m e d ' , this is a sick joke. By insisting o n the n e u t r a l i t y o f technology, those d o m i n a n t interests ensure that its ' r e a l ' effects a n d biases are effectively obscured. T h u s the exposure o f those d o m i n a n t interests is o f p r i m e i m p o r t a n c e , before any choices can be made. I n so far as i t stresses the i m p o r t a n c e o f choice, a n d t h e r e f o r e o f value, p r i orities a n d d e m o c r a t i c p a r t i c i p a t i o n , the liberal c r i t i q u e makes a v a l i d c o n t r i b u t i o n . Such an emphasis is a v i t a l a n t i d o t e t o any technological d e t e r m i n i s m t h a t forecasts t h a t f u t u r e society w i l l be shaped by n e w technologies or t h a t ignores social factors i n technical change. O n the other h a n d , the L u d d i t e is c o r r e c t t o t e m p e r this by d r a w i n g a t t e n t i o n t o the ways i n w h i c h choice is l i m i t e d , o f t e n severely a n d systematically, by social, p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c d e f i n i t i o n . B u t the negative image o f L u d d i s m is h a r d t o live d o w n . L u d d i s m can be as pessimistic
as the p o p u l a r i n f o r m a t i o n society p u n d i t s are o p t i m i s t i c .
45
T h e i r f u t u r e m a y be s i m i l a r l y foreclosed. T h e k i n d o f c r i t i q u e t o w h i c h [ I aspire] catches b o t h the sense o f p o t e n t i a l for socially a p p r o p r i a t e development o f I T w i t h o u t p r e t e n d i n g that i t can occur w i t h o u t considerable
struggle o n several f r o n t s , and the sober realism o f the
L u d d i t e , w i t h o u t succumbing t o sheer negativism or pessimism. I do n o t hide the fact that some alternatives w i t h w h i c h I have sympathy - such as partnership between w o m e n a n d m e n f r o m the design stage o n w a r d s , or innovations o r i g i n a t i n g f r o m users' needs rather t h a n mere commercial p o t e n t i a l - represents a
400
Global Media and New Media radical departure f r o m present practice. By placing t h e m i n the context o f a n o r mative a n d critical social analysis, however, I hope t o show b o t h the e n o r m i t y o f the obstacles t o be overcome, and possible routes t o their realization. T h e y a w n i n g c r e d i b i l i t y gap between f u t u r i s t i c forecasts a n d fantasies a n d the h a r d realities o f g o v e r n m e n t , transnational a n d m i l i t a r y i n v o l v e m e n t i n I T demands a sense o f urgency w i t h i n the i n f o r m a t i o n society p r o b l e m a t i c . I t also p o i n t s u p a v i t a l r o l e f o r serious social analysis w i t h i n the p o l i c y - m a k i n g process, analysis w h i c h is n o t s i m p l y shut u p w i t h i n either o p t i m i s t i c o r pessimistic societies.
Notes 1. Steve Wozniak, Equinox (Channel 4 (TV), November 1986). 2. N E D O , Crisis Facing Information Technology (London, National Economic Development Office, August 1984). 3. Christopher Evans, Mighty Micro: Impact of the Computer Revolution (London, Gollancz, 1982); Geoffrey Simons, Silicon Shock (Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1985); John Wicklein, Electronic Nightmare: The Home Communications Set and Your Freedom (Boston M A , Beacon Press, 1981); Ian Reinecke, Electronic Illusions (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1984). 4. James M a r t i n , The Wired Society (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1978). 5. Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave (London, Pan, 1980). 6. Science Council of Canada, Planning Now for the Information Society: Tomorrow Is Too Late (Ottawa, Science Council, 1982). 7. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Postindustrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1974), p. 14. 8. Daniel Bell, T h e Social Framework of the Information Society', i n Tom Forester, ed., The Microelectronics Revolution (Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1980), and also i n Michael Dertouzos and Joel Moses, eds., The Computer Age: A Twenty Year View (Cambridge M A , M I T Press, 1980). 9. Bell, 'Social Framework', p. 533. 10. Bell, 'Social Framework', p. 545. 11. Alain Touraine, La Société post-industrielle (Paris, Editions Denoïl, 1969); English translation, The Postindustrial Society (London, Wildwood House, 1974). 12. Touraine, Postindustrial Society, pp. 28, 6 1 . 13. M a r k Poster, Foucault, Marxism and history (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1984), p. 168. 14. Tom Stonier, The Wealth of Information (London, Thames-Methuen, 1983), p. 202. 15. M a r t i n , Wired Society, p. 4. 16. Stonier, Wealth of Information, p. 202. 17. Jean Voge, T h e New Economic Information Order', in International Information Economy Handbook (Springfield VA, Transnational Data Reporting Service, 1985), pp. 39-40. 18. Philip Abrams, Historical Sociology (Shepton Mallet, Open Books, 1982), p. xv. 19. Marc Porat, The Information Economy: Definition and Measurement (Washington D C , US Government Printing Office, 1977). 20. Krishan Kumar, Prophecy and Progress: The Sociology of Industrial and Postindustrial Society (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1978). 2 1 . Patrick Dawson and Ian McLoughlin, 'Computer Technology and the Redefinition of Supervision: A Study of the Effects of Computers on Railway Freight Supervisors', Journal of Management Studies, 23 (1), 116-32.
The Roots of the Information Society Idea 401 22. This phrase comes f r o m Ian Miles and Jonathan Gershuny, T h e Social Economics of Information Technology', in Marjorie Ferguson, ed., New Communications Technologies and the Public Interest (London and Beverly Hills, Sage, 1986). 23. See, for instance, Ben Barber, Strong Democracy (Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 1984). 24. This example comes from Herbert Schiller, T h e Erosion of National Sovereignty', in Michael Traber, ed., The Myth of the Information Revolution (London and Beverly Hills, Sage, 1986), p. 28. 25. Quoted i n Schiller, 'Erosion of National Sovereignty', p. 23. 26. Stonier, Wealth of Information, p. 73. See also Toffler, The Third Wave and Jacques Servan-Schrieber, Le Défi mondial (Paris, Fayard, 1980). 27. Juan Rada, 'A T h i r d World Perspective', in Günter Friedrichs and Adam Schaff, eds., Microelectronics and Society: For Better or for Worse (London, Pergamon, 1982), p. 216. 28. Stonier, Wealth of Information, p. 32. 29. Kumar, Prophecy and Progress, p. 229. 30. Edward Feigenbaum and Pamela McCorduck, The Fifth Generation (London, Pan, 1984), p. 289. 3 1 . Bell, Coming of Postindustrial Society, p. 188. 32. Bell, Coming of Postindustrial Society, pp. 114-15. 33. David Bolte, Turing's Man: Western Culture in the Computer Age (London, Duckworth; Chapel H i l l , University of N o r t h Carolina Press, 1984). 34. Bolter, Turing's Man, pp. 8-9. 35. Bolter, Turing's Man, p. 13. 36. Bell, Coming of Postindustrial Society, p. 188. 37. See Cees Hamelink, Cultural Autonomy in Global Communications (New York, Longman, 1983). 38. Such issues are raised by M a r k Poster in Foucault, Marxism and History. 39. See Michael Shallis, The Silicon Idol (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1984). 40. Cees Hamelink, 'Is There Life after the Information Revolution?', in Traber, The Myth of the Information Revolution. 4 1 . Bryan Nicholson's speech, recorded in the Guardian, 16 September 1986. 42. Jacques Ellul, The New Demons (Londons, Mowbray, 1976) or Shallis, The Silicon Idol. 43. See Nicholas Abercrombie and John Urry, The Dominant Ideology Thesis (London, Allen &c Unwin, 1980). 44. Jennifer Daryl Slack, T h e Information Revolution as Ideology', Media, Culture and Society, 6 (1984), p. 250. 45. Pessimistic statements of Luddism include David Noble, 'Present Tense Technology', Democracy, Spring (8-24), Summer (70-82) and Fall (71-93), and Shallis, The Silicon Idol.
Questions 1
In this extract Lyon refers to Bolter's comment (see reference below) that the computer is a 'defining technology' which gives us a different sense of self in relation to each other, to information and to nature. What impact have new technologies had on our social relations? Do you think that a different kind of society
402 Global Media and New Media
2
3
is emerging from the ones preceding i t as a result of communications and information technologies? Lyon believes that 'public' institutions (e.g. public libraries, the public broadcasting system etc.) are in danger of losing their public status because information has a price tag. To what extent do you think that we will have to buy our cultural capital in the future (including information and entertainment resources) and who, if anyone, is likely to be classed as culturally impoverished? Central to the arguments put forward in this extract are the notions of 'knowledge' and 'information', and they are frequently used in conjunction or interchangeably. What do you consider to be the differences between the two terms, and does an 'information rich' society necessarily guarantee that its individual citizens are more knowledgeable?
Further reading Bolter, D . 1984: Turing's man: Western culture in the computer age. London: Duckworth. Cockburn, C. and Furst-Dilic, R. 1994: Bringing technology home: gender and technology in a changing Europe. Buckingham: Open University Press. Forester, T. 1980: The microelectronics revolution. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Heap, N . , Thomas, R., Einon, G., Mason, R. and Mackay, H . 1994: Information technology and society: a reader. London: Sage. Murdock, G. 1990: Television and citizenship: i n defence of public broadcasting. I n Tomlinson, A. (ed.), Consumption, identity and style. London: Routledge.
36 Disinformocracy
Howard Rheingold
From The virtual community: surfing the Internet (Minerva 1994)
This extract was chosen for a number of reasons: it introduces two important, and in many senses oppositional, philosophical ideas: one - public sphere - based on a belief in openness, democracy and the public good; the other - the panopticon - founded on notions of isolation, inequality and social control. Furthermore, in relating these concepts to new information and communications technologies, Rheingold continues the discourses of democracy and power which were introduced by Keighron (Section 4, reading 30), Goodwin (4, 31), Morley (5, 34) and Lyon (5, 35). Like these authors, Rheingold challenges the notion of technology being intrinsically democratic and an opportunity for widespread citizen involvement, and states that the deterioration of the public sphere, brought about by the rise of the mass media and the commodification of politics, privacy and knowledge, has had a dramatic impact on our sense of equality and participation. For Rheingold, reasoned discussion and informed
Disinformocracy 403 debate have been subsumed by the omnipresence of television, and the growth in new media and communications technologies will further erode authentic discourse as the consumer society takes hold, public participation is replaced by commercial desire and life becomes one long media event. Rheingold's pessimistic predictions for future democracy continue with his comments on privacy and surveillance. According to Rheingold, Bentham's plans for an architectural construction which he named the panopticon, and Foucault's subsequent appropriation of the structure as an ideological concept, further demonstrate the potential of new technologies as instruments of power and social control; as an idea, Bentham's prison tower was a blueprint for future surveillance technologies which would allow a small, unseen few to control the lives of large numbers of people. This gloomy scenario extends to computer databases and encryption technologies, and Rheingold raises a number of important points about who has access to this kind of information and for what purposes it is used. Like other writers in this section, Rheingold believes that the solution to the problems presented to us in this reading is to reject the technological determinism which has characterised so many of the debates about new media, and to take control of the technology to aid the democratic process and strengthen communities rather than fragment them.
The selling of democracy: commodification and the public sphere T h e r e is a n i n t i m a t e c o n n e c t i o n between i n f o r m a l conversations, t h e k i n d that take place i n c o m m u n i t i e s a n d v i r t u a l c o m m u n i t i e s , i n t h e coffee shops a n d c o m p u t e r conferences, a n d t h e a b i l i t y o f large social groups t o g o v e r n t h e m selves w i t h o u t m o n a r c h s o r dictators. T h i s social-political c o n n e c t i o n shares a m e t a p h o r w i t h t h e idea o f cyberspace, f o r i t takes place i n a k i n d o f v i r t u a l space t h a t has c o m e t o be k n o w n b y specialists as the p u b l i c sphere. H e r e is w h a t t h e p r e e m i n e n t c o n t e m p o r a r y w r i t e r about the p u b l i c sphere, social c r i t i c a n d p h i l o s o p h e r Jurgen Habermas ( 1 9 8 4 ) , h a d t o say about t h e m e a n i n g o f this abstraction: By 'public sphere,' we mean first of all a domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed. Access to the public sphere is open in principle to all citizens. A portion of the public sphere is constituted in every conversation in which private persons come together to form a public. They are then acting neither as business or professional people conducting their private affairs, nor as legal consociates subject to the legal regulations of a state bureaucracy and obligated to obedience. Citizens act as a public when they deal w i t h matters of general interest without being subject to coercion; thus with the guarantee that they may assemble and unite freely, and express and publicize their opinions freely. In
this
definition,
Habermas
formalized what
people
i n free
societies
m e a n w h e n w e say T h e p u b l i c w o u l d n ' t stand f o r t h a t ' o r ' I t depends o n p u b lic o p i n i o n . ' A n d he d r e w a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i n t i m a t e c o n n e c t i o n between this w e b o f free, i n f o r m a l , personal
communications
a n d the f o u n d a t i o n s o f
d e m o c r a t i c society. People can g o v e r n themselves o n l y i f they c o m m u n i c a t e
404
Global Media and New Media w i d e l y , freely, a n d i n groups - publicly. T h e First A m e n d m e n t o f the U.S. C o n s t i t u t i o n ' s B i l l o f Rights protects citizens f r o m g o v e r n m e n t interference i n t h e i r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s - the rights o f speech, press, a n d assembly are c o m m u n i c a t i o n r i g h t s . W i t h o u t those r i g h t s , there is n o p u b l i c sphere. Ask any citizen o f Prague, Budapest, o r M o s c o w . Because t h e p u b l i c sphere depends o n free c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d discussion o f ideas, as soon as y o u r p o l i t i c a l e n t i t y g r o w s larger t h a n t h e n u m b e r o f c i t i zens y o u can f i t i n t o a modest t o w n h a l l , this v i t a l marketplace f o r p o l i t i c a l ideas can be p o w e r f u l l y i n f l u e n c e d b y changes i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technology. According t o Habermas, When the public is large, this kind of communication requires certain means of dissemination and influence; today, newspapers and periodicals, radio and television are the media of the public sphere.... The term 'public opinion' refers to the functions of criticism and control or organized state authority that the public exercises informally, as well as formally during periodic elections. Regulations concerning the publicness (or publicity [Publizität] i n its original meaning) of state-related activities, as, for instance, the public accessibility required of legal proceedings, are also connected w i t h this function of public opinion. To the public sphere as a sphere mediating between state and society, a sphere in which the public as the vehicle of publicness - the publicness that once had to w i n out against the secret politics of monarchs and that since then has permitted democratic control of state activity. A s k a n y b o d y i n C h i n a about the r i g h t t o talk freely a m o n g friends a n d n e i g h bors, t o o w n a p r i n t i n g press, t o call a m e e t i n g t o protest g o v e r n m e n t policy, o r t o r u n a BBS [ B u l l e t i n B o a r d System]. B u t b r u t e t o t a l i t a r i a n seizure o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s t e c h n o l o g y is n o t the o n l y w a y that p o l i t i c a l p o w e r s can n e u t r a l ize t h e a b i l i t y o f citizens t o t a l k freely. I t is also possible t o alter t h e nature o f discourse b y i n v e n t i n g a k i n d o f p a i d fake discourse. I f a f e w people have c o n t r o l o f w h a t goes i n t o t h e daily r e p o r t i n g o f the news, a n d those people are i n the business o f selling advertising, a l l k i n d s o f things become possible f o r those w h o can a f f o r d t o pay. H a b e r m a s h a d this t o say about the c o r r u p t i n g influence o f ersatz p u b l i c opinion: Whereas at one time publicness was intended to subject persons or things to the public use of reason and to make political decisions subject to revision before the tribunal of public opinion, today i t has often enough already been enlisted in the aid of the secret policies of interest groups; i n the f o r m of 'publicity' i t now acquires public prestige for persons or things and renders them capable of acclamation i n a climate of nonpublic opinion. The term 'public relations' itself indicates how a public sphere that formerly emerged from the structure of society must now be produced circumstantially on a case-by-case basis. T h e idea t h a t p u b l i c o p i n i o n can be m a n u f a c t u r e d a n d t h e fact that electronic spectacles can capture t h e a t t e n t i o n o f a m a j o r i t y o f the citizenry damaged the f o u n d a t i o n s o f democracy. A c c o r d i n g t o Habermas,
Disinformocracy 405 It is no accident that these concepts of the public sphere and public opinion were not formed until the eighteenth century. They derive their specific meaning f r o m a concrete historical situation. I t was then that one learned t o distinguish between opinion and public opinion.... Public opinion, in terms of its very idea, can be formed only i f a public that engages i n rational discussion exists. Public discussions that are institutionally protected and that take, w i t h critical intent, the exercise of political authority as their theme have not existed since time immemorial. T h e p u b l i c sphere a n d democracy w e r e b o r n at t h e same t i m e , f r o m t h e same sources. N o w t h a t t h e p u b l i c sphere, cut o f f f r o m its r o o t s , seems t o be d y i n g , d e m o c r a c y is i n danger, t o o . T h e c o n c e p t o f t h e p u b l i c sphere as discussed b y Habermas
a n d others
includes several r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a u t h e n t i c i t y t h a t people w h o live i n democratic societies w o u l d recognize: o p e n access, v o l u n t a r y p a r t i c i p a t i o n , p a r t i c i p a t i o n outside i n s t i t u t i o n a l roles, t h e generation o f p u b l i c o p i n i o n t h r o u g h assemblies o f citizens
w h o engage i n r a t i o n a l a r g u m e n t , t h e f r e e d o m t o
express o p i n i o n s , a n d t h e f r e e d o m t o discuss matters o f the state a n d criticize the w a y state p o w e r is o r g a n i z e d . Acts o f speech a n d p u b l i c a t i o n t h a t specifically discuss t h e state are perhaps t h e most i m p o r t a n t k i n d p r o t e c t e d b y t h e First A m e n d m e n t t o t h e U.S. C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d similar c i v i l guarantees elsew h e r e i n t h e w o r l d . F o r m e r Soviets a n d Eastern Europeans w h o regained i t after decades o f censorship o f f e r t e s t i m o n y t h a t t h e most i m p o r t a n t f r e e d o m o f speech is t h e f r e e d o m t o speak about freedoms. I n eighteenth-century
America, the Committees o f Correspondence were
one o f the m o s t i m p o r t a n t l o c i o f the p u b l i c sphere i n t h e years o f r e v o l u t i o n a n d c o n s t i t u t i o n - b u i l d i n g . I f y o u l o o k closely at t h e r o o t s o f t h e A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n , i t becomes evident t h a t a text-based, horseback-transported s i o n o f n e t w o r k i n g was a n o l d A m e r i c a n t r a d i t i o n . I n t h e i r b o o k
ver-
Networking,
Jessica L i p n a c k a n d Jeffrey Stamps ( 1 9 8 2 ) describe these committees as a communications f o r u m where homespun political and economic thinkers hammered out their ideological differences, sculpting the f o r m of a separate and independent country in N o r t h America. Writing to one another and sharing letters w i t h neighbors, this revolutionary generation nurtured its adolescent ideas into a mature politics. Both men and women participated in the debate over independence f r o m England and the desirable shape of the American future ... During the years i n which the American Revolution was percolating, letters, news-sheets, and pamphlets carried from one village to another were the means by which ideas about democracy were refined. Eventually, the correspondents agreed that the next step i n their idea exchange was to hold a face-to-face meeting. The ideas of independence and government had been debated, discussed, discarded, and reformulated literally hundreds of times by the time people in the revolutionary network met in Philadelphia. Thus, a network of correspondence and printed broadsides led t o the formation of an organization after the writers met i n a series of conferences and worked out a statement of purpose - which they called a 'Declaration of Independence.' Little did our early networking grandparents realize that the
406
Global Media and New Media result of their youthful idealism, less than t w o centuries later, would be a global superpower w i t h an unparalleled ability to influence the survival of life on the planet. As t h e U n i t e d States g r e w a n d t e c h n o l o g y changed, t h e ways i n w h i c h these p u b l i c discussions o f M a t t e r s o f general interest,' as Habermas called t h e m slavery a n d t h e rights o f the states versus the p o w e r o f the federal g o v e r n m e n t w e r e t w o such matters that l o o m e d large - began t o change as w e l l . T h e t e x t based m e d i a t h a t served as t h e channel f o r discourse gained m o r e a n d m o r e p o w e r t o reshape t h e nature o f t h a t discourse. T h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m e d i a o f the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y were the newspapers, the p e n n y press, the first generat i o n o f w h a t has come t o be k n o w n as the mass media. A t t h e same t i m e , t h e b i r t h o f a d v e r t i s i n g a n d the beginnings o f the p u b l i c - r e l a t i o n s i n d u s t r y began t o u n d e r m i n e t h e p u b l i c sphere b y i n v e n t i n g a k i n d o f buyable a n d sellable p h o n y discourse t h a t displaced the genuine k i n d . T h e s i m u l a t i o n ( a n d therefore destruction) o f authentic discourse, first i n the U n i t e d States, a n d t h e n spreading t o the rest o f the w o r l d , is w h a t G u y D e b o r d ( 1 9 9 2 ) w o u l d call t h e first q u a n t u m leap i n t o the 'society o f the spectacle' a n d w h a t Jean B a u d r i l l a r d ( 1 9 8 8 ) w o u l d recognize as a milestone i n t h e w o r l d ' s slide i n t o hyper-reality. Mass media's c o l o n i z a t i o n o f c i v i l
society
t u r n e d i n t o a q u a s i - p o l i t i c a l campaign p r o m o t i n g t e c h n o l o g y itself w h e n t h e i m a g e - m a k i n g t e c h n o l o g y o f television came a l o n g . ('Progress is o u r m o s t i m p o r t a n t p r o d u c t , ' said General Electric spokesman R o n a l d Reagan, i n the early years o f television.) A n d i n the t w e n t i e t h century, as the t e l e p h o n e , r a d i o , a n d television became vehicles f o r p u b l i c discourse, the nature o f p o l i t i cal discussion has m u t a t e d i n t o s o m e t h i n g quite d i f f e r e n t f r o m a n y t h i n g the framers o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n c o u l d have foreseen. A p o l i t i c i a n is n o w a c o m m o d i t y , citizens are consumers, a n d issues are decided v i a sound-bites a n d staged events. T h e television camera is the o n l y spectator t h a t counts at a p o l i t i c a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n o r c o n v e n t i o n . A c c o r d i n g t o Habermas
a n d others, the w a y the n e w media have been c o m m o d i t i z e d
t h r o u g h this e v o l u t i o n a r y process f r o m h a n d - p r i n t e d broadside t o telegraph t o p e n n y press t o mass m e d i a has l e d t o the radical d e t e r i o r a t i o n o f the p u b l i c sphere. T h e consumer society has become the accepted m o d e l b o t h f o r i n d i v i d u a l behavior a n d p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g . Discourse
degenerated
into
p u b l i c i t y , a n d p u b l i c i t y used the increasing p o w e r o f electronic m e d i a t o alter perceptions a n d shape beliefs. T h e consumer society, the most p o w e r f u l vehicle f o r generating s h o r t - t e r m w e a l t h ever i n v e n t e d , ensures economic g r o w t h by first p r o m o t i n g t h e idea that t h e w a y t o be is t o buy. T h e engines o f w e a l t h d e p e n d o n a fresh stream o f tabloids s o l d at convenience
markets a n d television p r o g r a m s t o tell us
w h a t w e have t o buy n e x t i n o r d e r t o justify o u r existence. W h a t used t o be a channel f o r a u t h e n t i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n has become a channel f o r t h e u p d a t i n g o f c o m m e r c i a l desire. M o n e y plus p o l i t i c s plus n e t w o r k television equals an effective system. I t
Disinformocracy 407 w o r k s . W h e n t h e same packaging skills t h a t w e r e h o n e d o n a u t o m o b i l e t a i l fins a n d fast f o o d s are a p p l i e d t o p o l i t i c a l ideas, t h e highest b i d d e r can i n f l u ence p u b l i c p o l i c y t o great effect. W h a t dies i n t h e process is t h e r a t i o n a l discourse at t h e base o f c i v i l society. T h a t death manifests itself i n longings t h a t a r e n ' t f u l f i l l e d b y t h e r i g h t k i n d o f shoes i n this m o n t h ' s c o l o r o r t h e h o t n e w p r i m e - t i m e candidate e v e r y b o d y is t a l k i n g about. Some m e d i a scholars are c l a i m i n g a d i r e c t causal c o n n e c t i o n between t h e success o f c o m m e r c i a l t e l e v i s i o n a n d the loss o f citizen interest i n the p o l i t i c a l process. A n o t h e r media c r i t i c , N e a l Postman, i n his b o o k Amusing ( 1 9 8 5 ) , p o i n t e d o u t t h a t T o m Paine's Common
Ourselves
to
Death
Sense sold three h u n d r e d t h o u -
sand copies i n five m o n t h s i n 1 7 7 6 . T h e most successful democratic r e v o l u t i o n i n h i s t o r y was made possible b y a citizenry that read a n d debated w i d e l y a m o n g themselves. Postman p o i n t e d o u t t h a t the mass media, and television i n p a r t i c u lar, h a d changed t h e m o d e o f discourse itself, b y substituting fast cuts, special effects, a n d sound-bites f o r reasoned discussion o r even genuine argument. The
v a r i o u s hypotheses
a b o u t c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n a n d m o d e o f discourse
focus o n a n area o f apparent agreement a m o n g social observers w h o have a l o n g h i s t o r y o f heated disagreements. When
p e o p l e w h o have become fascinated b y BBSs o r n e t w o r k s start
s p r e a d i n g t h e idea t h a t such n e t w o r k s are i n h e r e n t l y democratic i n some m a g ical way, w i t h o u t s p e c i f y i n g t h e h a r d w o r k t h a t must be d o n e i n real life t o harvest t h e f r u i t s o f t h a t d e m o c r a t i z i n g p o w e r , they r u n t h e danger o f b e c o m i n g u n w i t t i n g agents o f c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n . First, i t pays t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w o l d the
idea
really is. N e x t ,
i t is i m p o r t a n t t o realize
t h a t t h e hopes
of
t e c h n o p h i l e s have o f t e n been used t o sell t e c h n o l o g y f o r c o m m e r c i a l g a i n . I n t h i s sense, C M C [ c o m p u t e r - m e d i a t e d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ] enthusiasts r u n t h e risk o f b e c o m i n g u n p a i d , u n w i t t i n g advertisers f o r those w h o stand t o gain f i n a n c i a l l y f r o m a d o p t i o n o f n e w technology. T h e critics o f t h e idea o f electronic democracy have u n e a r t h e d examples f r o m a l o n g t r a d i t i o n o f Utopian r h e t o r i c that James Carey ( 1 9 8 9 ) has called 'the r h e t o r i c o f the " t e c h n o l o g i c a l s u b l i m e . ' " H e p u t i t this w a y : Despite the manifest failure of technology to resolve pressing social issues over the last century, contemporary intellectuals continue to see revolutionary potential i n the latest technological gadgets that are pictured as a force outside history and politics.... I n modern futurism, it is the machines that possess teleological insight. Despite the shortcomings of town meetings, newspaper, telegraph, wireless, and television to create the conditions of a new Athens, contemporary advocates of technological liberation regularly describe a new postmodern age of instantaneous daily plebiscitory democracy through a computerized system of electronic voting and opinion polling. Carey was p r o p h e t i c i n at least o n e regard - he w r o t e this years before Ross Perot a n d W i l l i a m C l i n t o n b o t h started t a l k i n g about their versions o f electronic democracy d u r i n g t h e 1 9 9 2 U.S. presidential campaign. I f t h e U n i t e d States is
o n the road
to a
version
o f electronic
democracy
i n which
the
408
Global Media and New Media president w i l l have electronic t o w n h a l l meetings, i n c l u d i n g instant v o t i n g - b y t e l e p h o n e t o ' g o d i r e c t l y t o t h e p e o p l e ' ( a n d perhaps bypass Congress?) o n key issues, i t is i m p o r t a n t f o r A m e r i c a n citizens t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e p o t e n t i a l p i t f a l l s o f d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g b y plebiscite. M e d i a - m a n i p u l a t e d plebiscites as p o l i t i c a l tools g o back t o Joseph Goebbels, w h o used r a d i o so effectively i n the T h i r d Reich. Previous experiments i n instant h o m e p o l l i n g a n d v o t i n g h a d been c a r r i e d o u t b y Warners, w i t h t h e i r Q u b e service, i n t h e early 1980s. O n e c r i t i c , p o l i t i c a l scientist Jean Betheke Elshtain ( 1 9 8 2 ) , called t h e televisionv o t i n g m o d e l an interactive shell game [that] cons us into believing that we are participating when we are really simply performing as the responding 'end' of a prefabricated system of external stimuli.... In a plebiscitary system, the views of the majority ... swamp minority or unpopular views. Plebiscitism is compatible w i t h authoritarian politics carried out under the guise of, or w i t h the connivance of, majority views. That opinion can be registered by easily manipulated, ritualistic plebiscites, so there is no need for debate on substantive questions. W h a t does i t m e a n t h a t t h e same hopes, described i n t h e same w o r d s , f o r a d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f p o w e r , a deeper a n d m o r e w i d e s p r e a d citizen i n v o l v e m e n t i n matters o f state, a great equalizer f o r o r d i n a r y citizens t o c o u n t e r t h e forces o f c e n t r a l c o n t r o l , have been v o i c e d i n the p o p u l a r press f o r t w o centuries i n reference t o steam, electricity, a n d television? We've h a d e n o u g h t i m e t o live w i t h steam, electricity, a n d television t o recognize t h a t they d i d i n d e e d change the w o r l d , a n d t o recognize t h a t t h e Utopia o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l m i l l e n n a r i a n s has not yet materialized. A n e n t i r e w o r l d v i e w a n d sales j o b are packed i n t o t h e w o r d progress,
which
links the n o t i o n o f i m p r o v e m e n t w i t h the n o t i o n o f innovation, highlights the benefits o f i n n o v a t i o n w h i l e h i d i n g t h e t o x i c side-effects o f extractive a n d l u c r a t i v e technologies, a n d t h e n sells m o r e o f i t t o people v i a television as a cure f o r t h e stress o f l i v i n g i n a t e c h n o l o g y - d o m i n a t e d w o r l d . T h e h o p e t h a t the n e x t t e c h n o l o g y w i l l solve t h e p r o b l e m s created b y t h e w a y the last techn o l o g y was used is a k i n d o f m i l l e n n i a l , even messianic, h o p e , a p p a r e n t l y ever-latent i n the breasts o f the citizenry. T h e m y t h o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l progress emerged o u t o f t h e same Age o f Reason that gave us the m y t h o f representative democracy, a n e w o r g a n i z i n g vision that still w o r k s p r e t t y w e l l , despite the decline i n v i g o r o f t h e o l d democratic i n s t i t u t i o n s . I t ' s h a r d t o give u p o n one E n l i g h t e n m e n t ideal w h i l e c l i n g i n g t o another. I believe i t is t o o early t o judge w h i c h set o f claims w i l l p r o v e t o be accurate. I also believe t h a t those w h o w o u l d prefer t h e m o r e d e m o c r a t i c v i s i o n o f the f u t u r e have an o p p o r t u n i t y t o influence t h e o u t c o m e , w h i c h is precisely why
o n l i n e activists s h o u l d delve i n t o t h e criticisms that have been leveled
against t h e m . I f electronic democracy advocates can address these critiques successfully,
t h e i r claims m i g h t have a chance. I f they c a n n o t , perhaps i t w o u l d
be better n o t t o raise people's hopes. Those w h o are n o t aware o f t h e h i s t o r y o f dead ends are d o o m e d t o replay t h e m , hopes h i g h , again a n d again.
Disinformocracy 409 T h e idea t h a t p u t t i n g p o w e r f u l c o m p u t e r s i n t h e hands o f citizens w i l l s h i e l d t h e c i t i z e n r y against t o t a l i t a r i a n a u t h o r i t i e s echoes similar, o l d e r beliefs a b o u t c i t i z e n - e m p o w e r i n g technology. As L a n g d o n W i n n e r (an a u t h o r every c o m p u t e r r e v o l u t i o n a r y o u g h t t o read) p u t i t i n his essay ' M y t h i n f o r m a t i o n , ' Of all the computer enthusiasts' political ideas, there is none more poignant than the faith that the computer is destined to become a potent equalizer in modern society.... Presumably, ordinary citizens equipped w i t h microcomputers w i l l be able t o counter the influence of large, computer-based organizations. Notions of this kind echo beliefs of eighteenth-century revolutionaries that placing fire arms i n the hands of the people was crucial t o overthrowing entrenched authority. I n the American Revolution, French Revolution, Paris Commune, and Russian Revolution the role of 'the people armed' was central t o the revolutionary program. As the military defeat of the Paris Commune made clear, however, the fact that the popular forces have guns may not be decisive. I n a contest of force against force, the larger, more sophisticated, more ruthless, better equipped competitor often has the upper hand. Hence, the availability of low-cost computing power may move the baseline that defines electronic dimensions of social influence, but i t does not necessarily alter the relative balance of power. Using a personal computer makes one no more powerful vis-à-vis, say, the National Security Agency than flying a hang glider establishes a person as a match for the U.S. A i r Force. (1986) T h e great p o w e r o f t h e idea o f electronic democracy is t h a t t e c h n i c a l t r e n d s i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies can h e l p citizens break t h e m o n o p o l y o n t h e i r a t t e n t i o n t h a t has been e n j o y e d b y t h e p o w e r s b e h i n d t h e broadcast p a r a d i g m - t h e o w n e r s o f t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k s , newspaper syndicates, a n d publishing conglomerates.
T h e great weakness o f t h e idea o f electronic
d e m o c r a c y is t h a t i t c a n be m o r e easily c o m m o d i f i e d t h a n e x p l a i n e d . T h e c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n a n d c o m m o d i t i z a t i o n o f p u b l i c discourse is o n l y o n e o f t h e grave p r o b l e m s posed b y t h e increasing s o p h i s t i c a t i o n o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m e d i a . T h e N e t t h a t is a m a r v e l o u s l a t e r a l n e t w o r k can also be used as a k i n d o f i n v i s i b l e y e t inescapable cage. T h e idea o f m a l e v o l e n t p o l i t i c a l
leaders
w i t h t h e i r hands o n t h e c o n t r o l s o f a N e t raises fear o f a m o r e d i r e c t assault on liberties.
Caught in the Net: CMC and the ultimate prison I n 1 7 9 1 , J e r e m y B e n t h a m p r o p o s e d , i n Panopticon;
or the Inspection
House,
t h a t i t was possible t o b u i l d a m e c h a n i s m f o r e n f o r c i n g a system o f social c o n t r o l i n t o t h e physical s t r u c t u r e o f a b u i l d i n g , w h i c h he called t h e P a n o p t i c o n . H i s design f o r this b u i l d i n g was i n t e n d e d t o be very general, an a r c h i t e c t u r a l a l g o r i t h m t h a t c o u l d be used i n prisons, schools, a n d factories. I n d i v i d u a l cells are b u i l t i n t o t h e c i r c u m f e r e n c e o f a circular b u i l d i n g , a r o u n d a central w e l l . A n inspection tower atop the well, i n conjunction w i t h a method f o r lighting t h e cells a n d l e a v i n g t h e i n s p e c t i o n t o w e r d a r k , made i t possible f o r o n e person t o m o n i t o r t h e a c t i v i t y o f m a n y p e o p l e , each o f w h o m w o u l d k n o w h e o r she w a s u n d e r surveillance, n o n e o f w h o m w o u l d k n o w exactly w h e n . A n d
410
Global Media and New Media the inspectors are s i m i l a r l y w a t c h e d b y other unseen inspectors. I t was p r e cisely this m e n t a l state o f being seen w i t h o u t being able t o see t h e watcher that B e n t h a m m e a n t t o i n d u c e . W h e n y o u can induce that state o f m i n d i n a p o p u l a t i o n , y o u d o n ' t need w h i p s a n d chains t o restrain t h e m f r o m r e b e l l i n g . H i s t o r i a n a n d p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h e r M i c h e l Foucault ( 1 9 7 7 ) , i n and Punish,
Discipline
e x a m i n e d the social i n s t i t u t i o n s b y w h i c h p o w e r f u l people c o n t r o l
the p o t e n t i a l l y rebellious masses. Foucault felt that t h e Panopticon as an idea as w e l l as a specific architectural design was an i m p o r t a n t one, f o r i t was a l i t eral b l u e p r i n t f o r t h e w a y f u t u r e tyrants c o u l d use surveillance technologies t o w i e l d p o w e r . Just as t h e ability t o read a n d w r i t e a n d freely c o m m u n i c a t e gives p o w e r t o citizens that protects t h e m f r o m the p o w e r s o f the state, the a b i l i t y t o s u r v e i l , t o invade the citizens' privacy, gives the state t h e p o w e r t o confuse, coerce, a n d c o n t r o l citizens. Uneducated p o p u l a t i o n s cannot r u l e themselves,
b u t tyrannies can c o n t r o l even
educated
p o p u l a t i o n s , given
sophisticated means o f surveillance. When
y o u t h i n k o f privacy, y o u p r o b a b l y t h i n k o f y o u r r i g h t t o be
u n d i s t u r b e d a n d possibly unembarrassed
by intrusions i n t o y o u r personal
affairs. I t does n o t seem, o n t h e surface, t o be a p o l i t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t p h e nomenon.
Kevin
Robins
a n d Frank
Webster
(1988),
i n their
article
' C y b e r n e t i c C a p i t a l i s m : I n f o r m a t i o n , Technology, E v e r y d a y L i f e , ' m a d e t h e connection between Bentham, Foucault, a n d the evolution o f the telecommunications network: We believe that Foucault is right in seeing Bentham's Panopticon as a significant event i n the history of the human mind. We want to suggest that the new communication and information technologies - particularly i n the form of an integrated electronic grid - permit a massive extension and transformation of that same (relative, technological) mobilization to which Bentham's Panoptic principle aspired. What these technologies support, i n fact, is the same dissemination of power and control, but freed from the architectural constraints of Bentham's stone and brick prototype. O n the basis of the 'information revolution,' not just the prison or factory, but the social totality, comes to function as the hierarchical and disciplinary Panoptic machine. T h e P a n o p t i c o n , Foucault w a r n e d , comes i n m a n y guises. I t is n o t a valuen e u t r a l t e c h n o l o g y . I t is a t e c h n o l o g y t h a t a l l o w s a small n u m b e r o f people t o c o n t r o l a large n u m b e r o f others. J. Edgar H o o v e r used i t . So d i d M a o tse-Tung. Y o u d o n ' t need fiber optics t o i n s t i t u t e a surveillance state - b u t i t sure makes surveillance easier w h e n y o u i n v i t e t h e surveillance device i n t o your home. C r i t i c s o f those w h o p i n their hopes f o r social change o n c o m p u t e r t e c h n o l ogy also p o i n t o u t t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies
have
always been d o m i n a t e d by the m i l i t a r y , a n d w i l l c o n t i n u e t o be d o m i n a t e d b y the m i l i t a r y , p o l i c e , a n d intelligence agencies f o r t h e foreseeable f u t u r e . A c o m p u t e r is, was, a n d w i l l be a w e a p o n . T h e t o o l can be used f o r other p u r poses, b u t t o be p r o m o t e d as an i n s t r u m e n t o f l i b e r a t i o n , C M C t e c h n o l o g y
Disinformocracy 411 s h o u l d be seen w i t h i n t h e contexts o f its o r i g i n s , a n d i n f u l l cognizance o f t h e possibly h o r r i f i c f u t u r e applications b y t o t a l i t a r i a n s w h o get t h e i r hands o n i t . T h e first electronic d i g i t a l c o m p u t e r was created b y t h e U.S. A r m y t o calculate ballistics equations f o r artillery. T h e m i l i t a r y a n d intelligence c o m m u n i ties, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e U n i t e d States, have always b e n e f i t e d f r o m a t e n - t o t w e n t y - y e a r t e c h n o l o g i c a l lead o n c i v i l i a n applications o f t h e c o m p u t e r technology. T h e U.S. N a t i o n a l Security Agency, t h e ultra-secret t e c h n o s n o o p headquarters t h a t applies c o m p u t e r s t o signals intelligence a n d c o d e b r e a k i n g , a n d the U.S. N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r i e s at L i v e r m o r e a n d L o s A l a m o s , w h e r e t h e r m o n u c l e a r weapons a n d antimissile defenses are designed, have l o n g been t h e o w n e r s o f the m o s t p o w e r f u l collections o f c o m p u t i n g p o w e r i n the w o r l d . C o m p u t e r a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s technologies outside t h e m i l i t a r y sphere are a p p l i e d w i t h great effectiveness b y p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e police agencies. O n e e x a m p l e t h a t I saw w i t h m y o w n eyes is suggestive o f t h e range o f goodies available t o p o l i c e forces: at a l a b o r a t o r y outside T o k y o , I saw a v i d e o camera o n a freeway zero i n o n t h e license plate o f a speeder, use shape-recognition s o f t w a r e t o decode t h e license n u m b e r , a n d t r a n s m i t i t t o police c o m p u t e r s , w h e r e a w a r r a n t search c o u l d be c o n d u c t e d . N o h u m a n i n t h e l o o p - the camera a n d c o m p u t e r d e t e r m i n e t h a t a c r i m e has been c o m m i t t e d a n d instantly i d e n t i f y t h e suspect. Just as grassroots citizens' n e t w o r k s have been i n t e r c o n n e c t i n g i n t o a p l a n e t a r y N e t , police i n f o r m a t i o n n e t w o r k s have been e v o l v i n g as w e l l . T h e p r o b l e m there is t h a t l a w e n f o r c e m e n t officers have t h e a u t h o r i t y t o s h o o t y o u d e a d ; i f they shoot y o u o n t h e basis o f m i s i n f o r m a t i o n propagated o n a N e t (and i t is far easier t o broadcast b a d i n f o r m a t i o n t h a n t o recall i t ) , the N e t h e l p e d k i l l y o u . Jacques Vallee, i n t h e very b e g i n n i n g o f his p r o p h e t i c 1 9 8 2 b o o k The Network
Revolution,
t o l d t h e true c a u t i o n a r y tale o f the i n n o -
cent F r e n c h m e n w h o d i e d u n d e r police g u n f i r e as t h e result o f a g l i t c h i n a p o o r l y designed p o l i c e c o m p u t e r n e t w o r k . T h e m o r e spectacularly o v e r t images o f a Panoptic society - t h e m i d n i g h t k n o c k o n t h e d o o r , t h e h i d d e n m i c r o p h o n e s o f the secret police - are genuine possibilities w o r t h
careful c o n s i d e r a t i o n . N o w i t isn't necessary t o p l a n t
m i c r o p h o n e s w h e n a r e m o t e a n d i n a u d i b l e c o m m a n d can t u r n any telephone - w h i l e i t is o n t h e h o o k - i n t o a m i c r o p h o n e . T h e o l d scenarios aren't t h e o n l y ones, n o w . Privacy has already been penetrated i n m o r e subtle, c o m p l e x ways. T h i s assault o n privacy, invisible t o most, takes place i n t h e b r o a d dayl i g h t o f everyday l i f e . T h e weapons are cash registers a n d credit cards. W h e n B i g B r o t h e r arrives, d o n ' t be surprised i f he l o o k s like a grocery c l e r k , because p r i v a c y has been t u r n i n g i n t o a c o m m o d i t y , courtesy o f better a n d better i n f o r m a t i o n n e t w o r k s , f o r years. Yesterday, y o u m i g h t have gone t o t h e s u p e r m a r k e t a n d w a t c h e d someone t o t a l u p t h e b i l l w i t h a bar code reader. Perhaps y o u p a i d w i t h an A T M c a r d o r c r e d i t c a r d o r used o n e as i d e n t i f i c a t i o n f o r a check. Last n i g h t , maybe t h e data d e s c r i b i n g w h a t y o u b o u g h t a n d w h o y o u are w e r e t e l e c o m m u n i c a t e d f r o m t h e s u p e r m a r k e t t o a central c o l l e c t i o n p o i n t . T h i s m o r n i n g , detailed
412
Global Media and New Media i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t y o u r b u y i n g habits c o u l d have been c u l l e d f r o m o n e database a n d s o l d t o a t h i r d p a r t y w h o c o u l d c o m p i l e i t t o m o r r o w i n t o another electronic dossier somewhere, one that k n o w s w h a t y o u b u y a n d w h e r e y o u live a n d h o w m u c h m o n e y y o u o w e . N e x t w e e k , a f o u r t h p a r t y m i g h t p u r chase t h a t dossier, c o m b i n e i t w i t h a f e w tens o f m i l l i o n s o f others o n an o p t i cal d i s k , a n d o f f e r t o sell t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n as a m a r k e t i n g t o o l . A l l o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n o n the h y p o t h e t i c a l mass-dossier disk is available f r o m p u b l i c sources; i t is i n their c o m p i l a t i o n , the w a y t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n is sorted i n t o files l i n k e d t o real citizens, that i n t r u s i o n is accomplished. O n each C D - R O M disk w i l l be a file that k n o w s a l o t about y o u r tastes, y o u r b r a n d preferences, y o u r m a r i t a l status, even y o u r p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n s . I f y o u c o n t r i b u t e d t o a f r e e w h e e l i n g Usenet n e w s g r o u p , a l l t h e better, f o r y o u r p o l i t i c a l views, sexual preferences, even the w a y y o u t h i n k , can n o w be c o m p i l e d a n d c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n i n y o u r dossier. T h e capabilities o f i n f o r m a t i o n - g a t h e r i n g a n d s o r t i n g technologies that can harvest a n d sift m i n d - n u m b i n g quantities o f i n d i v i d u a l t r i v i a l b u t collectively revealing pieces o f i n f o r m a t i o n are f o r m i d a b l e today. T h i s Panoptic m a c h i n e r y shares some o f the same c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e that enables o n e - r o o m schoolhouses i n M o n t a n a t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h M I T professors, a n d enables overseas Chinese dissidents t o disseminate news a n d organize resistance. T h e p o w e r t o c o m p i l e h i g h l y specific dossiers o n m i l l i o n s o f people w i l l become even m o r e f o r m i d a b l e over the n e x t several years as the cost o f c o m p u t i n g p o w e r d r o p s a n d t h e n e t w o r k o f electronic transactions becomes m o r e r i c h l y i n t e r c o n n e c t e d . T h e c o m m o d i z a t i o n o f p r i v a c y is p i g g y b a c k i n g o n t h e same c o m b i n a t i o n o f c o m p u t e r s a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s that has given b i r t h t o v i r t u a l c o m m u n i t i e s . T h e p o w e r t o snoop has become democratized. When
our individual
i n f o r m a t i o n terminals
become
as p o w e r f u l as
s u p e r c o m p u t e r s , a n d every h o m e is capable o f sending a n d r e c e i v i n g huge a m o u n t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n , y o u w o n ' t need a d i c t a t o r s h i p f r o m above t o spy o n y o u r n e i g h b o r s a n d have t h e m spy o n y o u . Instead, y o u ' l l sell pieces o f each
other's
individuality
t o o n e another.
Entrepreneurs
are
already
n i b b l i n g a r o u n d t h e edges o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a l b o d y p o l i t i c , b i t i n g o f f small c h u n k s o f p r i v a c y a n d m a r k e t i n g i t . I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t y o u a n d m e is valuable t o c e r t a i n p e o p l e , w h e t h e r o r n o t w e actively choose t o disclose t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n . W e ' v e w a t c h e d o u r names m i g r a t e f r o m magazine
sub-
s c r i p t i o n lists t o j u n k m a i l assaults, b u t w e h a v e n ' t seen t h e h a r d w a r e a n d s o f t w a r e t h a t has e v o l v e d f o r g a t h e r i n g a n d e x p l o i t i n g p r i v a t e i n f o r m a t i o n for p r o f i t . T h e m o s t i n s i d i o u s attack o n o u r r i g h t s t o a reasonable degree o f p r i v a c y m i g h t c o m e n o t f r o m a p o l i t i c a l d i c t a t o r s h i p b u t f r o m t h e marketplace. T h e t e r m ' B i g B r o t h e r ' brings t o m i n d a scenario o f a f u t u r e d i c t a t o r s h i p h e l d together b y constant electronic surveillance o f the c i t i z e n r y ; b u t t o d a y ' s techn o l o g i e s a l l o w f o r m o r e subtlety t h a n O r w e l l c o u l d have foreseen. T h e r e are better ways t o b u i l d Panopticons t h a n t h e heavy-handed O r w e l l i a n m o d e l . I f
Disinformocracy 413 t o t a l i t a r i a n m a n i p u l a t o r s o f p o p u l a t i o n s a n d technologies actually d o achieve d o m i n a n c e i n t h e f u t u r e , I p r e d i c t t h a t i t w i l l begin n o t b y secret p o l i c e k i c k ing
i n your
doors
but by allowing
you to
sell
yourself
to
your
t e l e v i s i o n a n d l e t t i n g y o u r s u p e r m a r k e t sell i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t y o u r transa c t i o n s , w h i l e o u t l a w i n g measures y o u c o u l d use t o p r o t e c t yourself. Instead o f just t e l e p h o n e taps, t h e weapons w i l l i n c l u d e c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m s t h a t l i n k b a r codes, c r e d i t cards, social security n u m b e r s , a n d a l l t h e o t h e r elect r o n i c tell-tales w e leave i n o u r paths t h r o u g h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n society. A n d t h e m o s t p o t e n t w e a p o n w i l l be t h e laws o r absence o f laws t h a t enable i m p r o p e r uses o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y t o erode w h a t is l e f t o f citizens' rights t o privacy. ' M a r k e t p l a c e , ' a C D - R O M t h a t c o n t a i n e d t h e collected available i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t y o u , y o u r family, a n d 1 2 0 m i l l i o n o t h e r people, was a n n o u n c e d i n 1 9 9 1 b y L o t u s . A f t e r p u b l i c c r i t i c i s m , L o t u s decided n o t t o m a r k e t t h e p r o d uct.
I n t e r a c t i v e t e l e v i s i o n systems are b e i n g installed n o w , systems t h a t a l l o w
customers t o d o w n l o a d videos a n d u p l o a d i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e i r tastes, preferences, a n d o p i n i o n s . W i t h high-speed d i g i t a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n capabilities o f f u t u r e f i b e r - o p t i c n e t w o r k s , there w i l l be even m o r e ways t o m o v e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t y o u f r o m y o u r h o m e t o t h e databases o f others, w i t h a n d w i t h o u t y o u r consent. I n f o r m a t i o n a l dossiers a b o u t i n d i v i d u a l s are m a r k e t i n g g o l d mines f o r those who
k n o w h o w t o m a k e m o n e y b y k n o w i n g w h i c h magazines y o u subscribe
t o , w h a t k i n d o f y o g u r t y o u eat, a n d w h i c h p o l i t i c a l organizations y o u supp o r t . I n v i s i b l e i n f o r m a t i o n - y o u r name, address, o t h e r d e m o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n - is already e n c o d e d i n certain p r o m o t i o n a l coupons y o u get i n t h e m a i l . U l t i m a t e l y , advertisers w i l l be able t o use n e w technologies t o customize t h e television a d v e r t i s i n g f o r each i n d i v i d u a l h o u s e h o l d . A d v e r t i s i n g agencies, d i r e c t m a i l m a r k e t e r s , a n d p o l i t i c a l consultants already k n o w w h a t t o d o w i t h y o u r z i p code, y o u r social security n u m b e r , a n d a f e w o t h e r data. These p r o fessional p r i v a c y b r o k e r s have begun t o realize t h a t a significant p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n w o u l d freely a l l o w someone else t o collect a n d use a n d even sell personal i n f o r m a t i o n , i n r e t u r n f o r p a y m e n t o r subsidies. H e r e is o n e o b v i o u s answer t o t h e i n e q u i t y o f access t o N e t resources a n d the gap b e t w e e n i n f o r m a t i o n - r i c h a n d i n f o r m a t i o n - p o o r . Some people w o u l d be able t o a f f o r d t o pay f o r 'enhanced i n f o r m a t i o n services.' O t h e r s w o u l d be able t o use those services i n exchange f o r a l i t t l e i n f o r m a t i o n - m o n i t o r i n g . F o r a n s w e r i n g a f e w questions a n d a l l o w i n g certain o f y o u r transactions t o be m o n i t o r e d , f o r e x a m p l e , y o u w o u l d be g r a n t e d a certain n u m b e r o f h o u r s o f service, o r even p a i d f o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d t h e r i g h t t o use i t . W h y s h o u l d a n y b o d y g o t o t h e t r o u b l e o f seizing o u r rights o f p r i v a c y w h e n so m a n y o f us w o u l d be h a p p y t o sell them? Selling y o u r p r i v a c y is y o u r r i g h t , a n d I ' m n o t suggesting t h a t anyone stop you.
I n fact, i t m i g h t be a viable s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m s o f e q u i t y o f
access. T h e r e is, i n m e d i c i n e , t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m e d consent, h o w e v e r , w h i c h
414
Global Media and New Media obligates y o u r physician t o e x p l a i n t o y o u t h e risks a n d p o t e n t i a l side effects o f r e c o m m e n d e d m e d i c a l procedures. I ' d l i k e people t o k n o w w h a t i t is they are g i v i n g away i n exchange f o r convenience, rebates, o r o n l i n e h o u r s o n t h e latest M U D [ M u l t i - U s e r D u n g e o n ] . D o people have a r i g h t t o privacy? W h e r e does t h a t r i g h t begin a n d end? W i t h o u t adequate p r o t e c t i o n s , the same i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t can f l o w laterally, f r o m citizen t o citizen, can be used by p o w e r f u l central a u t h o r i t i e s as w e l l as by grassroots groups. T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t k i n d o f p r o t e c t i o n f o r citizens against
technology-
assisted i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y is a set o f principles that can help preserve i n d i v i d u a l a u t o n o m y i n t h e d i g i t a l age. Laws, policies, a n d n o r m s are t h e various ways i n w h i c h such p r i n c i p l e s , once articulated a n d agreed o n , are e n f o r c e d i n a d e m o c r a t i c society. B u t h i g h t e c h n o l o g y is o f t e n very g o o d at r e n d e r i n g laws m o o t . A n o t h e r k i n d o f p r o t e c t i o n f o r citizens is the subject o f c u r r e n t intense s c r u t i n y b y cyberspace c i v i l libertarians, a technical f i x k n o w n as citizen e n c r y p t i o n . A c o m b i n a t i o n o f principles, laws, policies, a n d technologies, i f i n t e l l i g e n t l y designed a n d equitably i m p l e m e n t e d , o f f e r o n e m o r e h o p e f u l scen a r i o i n w h i c h citizens can c o n t i n u e t o make use o f the advantages o f the N e t w i t h o u t f a l l i n g v i c t i m t o its Panoptic p o t e n t i a l . G a r y M a r x , a professor o f sociology at M I T , is an expert o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d privacy. M a r x ( 1 9 9 0 ) suggests that an important example of the kind of principles needed is the Code of Fair Information developed i n 1973 for the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The code involves five principles: There must be no personal-data record keeping whose very existence is secret. There must be a way for a person to find out what information about him is in a record and how i t is being used. There must be a way for a person to prevent information that was obtained for one purpose from being used or made available for other purposes without his consent. There must be a way for a person to correct or amend a record of identifiable information about himself. Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of identifiable personal data must assure the reliability of the data for their intended use and must take precautions to prevent misuses of the data. T h e h i g h l y i n t e r c o n n e c t e d , relatively insecure n e t w o r k s , w i t h t h e i r m i l l i o n s and b i l l i o n s o f bits per second, are a t o u g h e n v i r o n m e n t t o enforce rules based o n these suggested p r i n c i p l e s . M a n y o f the nuances o f p u b l i c c o n f e r e n c i n g o r private e - m a i l o r h y b r i d entities such as e-mail lists w i l l require changes i n these p r i n c i p l e s , b u t this list is a g o o d w a y t o focus societal debate about v a l ues, risks, a n d liberties. I f the p r o f i t o r p o w e r d e r i v e d f r o m N e t - s n o o p i n g proves t o be significant, a n d the technicalities o f the N e t make i t d i f f i c u l t t o t r a c k p e r p e t r a t o r s , h o w e v e r , n o laws w i l l ever adequately p r o t e c t citizens. T h a t ' s w h y a subculture o f c o m p u t e r software pioneers k n o w n as cypherp u n k s have been w o r k i n g t o make citizen e n c r y p t i o n possible. E n c r y p t i o n is the science o f encoding a n d decoding messages. C o m p u t e r s
Disinformocracy 415 a n d c o d e b r e a k i n g g o back a l o n g way. A l a n T u r i n g , one o f the intellectual fathers o f t h e c o m p u t e r , w o r k e d d u r i n g W o r l d War I I o n using c o m p u t a t i o n a l strategies t o break t h e codes created b y G e r m a n y ' s Enigma machine. Today, the largest assemblage o f c o m p u t e r p o w e r i n t h e w o r l d is w i d e l y a c k n o w l e d g e d t o be t h e p r o p e r t y o f the U.S. N a t i o n a l Security Agency, t h e top-secret c o n t e m p o r a r y h i g h - t e c h codebreakers. C o m p u t e r s a n d mathematical theories are t o d a y ' s m o s t i m p o r t a n t weapons i n t h e w a r between codemakers a n d codebreakers. L i k e c o m p u t e r s themselves,
a n d C M C , t h e mathematical complexities o f
e n c r y p t i o n have begun t o diffuse f r o m t h e specialists t o t h e citizens. A t o o l k n o w n as p u b l i c - k e y e n c r y p t i o n is causing q u i t e a stir these days, n o t just because i t enables citizens t o encode messages t h a t t h e i r recipients can r e a d b u t are n o t readable b y even t h e m o s t c o m p u t a t i o n a l l y p o w e r f u l codebreakers, b u t also because citizen e n c r y p t i o n makes possible t w o e x t r e m e l y p o w e r f u l a n t i p a n o p t i c weapons k n o w n as d i g i t a l cash a n d d i g i t a l signature. W i t h d i g i t a l cash, i t is possible t o b u i l d an electronic e c o n o m y w h e r e t h e seller can v e r i f y t h a t t h e buyer's credit is g o o d , a n d transfer t h e correct a m o u n t o f
