The Complexity Of Mass Culture

This paper pays attention to three major theories of mass-cultural criticism: the theories of "the homogenization of mass culture" (under the context of globalization), of "the vulgarization of mass culture", and of "the market-domination on mass culture". Through the empirical study focusing on Chinese pop music, this paper attempts to present the complexity of mass culture, which appeals to critically reconsider the validity of these theories.This paper is structured in five chapters. The first chapter "Introduction" offers a critical review on some relevant literatures in the field of Cultural Studies in both the West and China, formulates the major questions concerned in this research, and then explains its significance and approach. The critical review summarizes three major theories of mass-cultural criticism and their influences on Chinese Cultural Studies, and also presents another body of scholarly work that critically responds to theories of mass-cultural criticism. Based on the empirical analysis of Chinese pop music, this paper is intended to engage in some debates on mass culture and tries to argue for the complexity of mass culture and against any wholly-negative and generally-abstract criticism.The second chapter, "Reconsideration on the Theory of the Homogenization of Mass Culture", takes issue with the theory of "the homogenization of mass culture" and "Cultural Imperialism" and reflects on its influence on the field of Cultural Studies in developing countries including China. By using examples of Soul/Gospel, Rock & Roll/Rap and World Music/New Age Music, the author argues that there are three different forms of the globalization of western pop music in China. Theorists who uphold the view of the homogenization of mass culture may neglect the complexity of the relationship between globalization and localization, and also neglect the possibility that cultural subjectivity of developing countries is able to make its articulation in the process of cultural globalization.The third chapter, "Reconsideration on the Theory of the Vulgarization of Mass author points out that the accusation of vulgarization is based on an arbitrary and unjustified premise of equivalence between "popularity" and "vulgarity". This premise is questioned on the ground of its inconsistency with cases in art history. The criteria of judging cultural products should lies in the aesthetic and cultural values of specific work in question. By applying these criteria to Chinese pop music, we can find lots of cases (work by Luo Dayou and Ding Wei, for example) with great spiritual concern and aesthetic pursuit, which tend to refute the accusation of vulgarization.The fourth chapter is titled "Reconsideration on the Theory of Market-domination on Mass Culture". There is a tradition in western Cultural Studies insisting on the absolute conflict between the market logic and the artistic values. The Chinese version of this theory is especially influenced by "the theory of criticism on cultural industry" proposed by the Frankfurt School. But the author doubts the binary opposition between the principle of the market and that of the art. By analyzing the cases of Chinese "Super Girl" and many Chinese pop songs, the author argues that there are complex relations between the market logic and the artistic values, in which the market logic cannot totally determine the meaning of cultural work. More often than not the market can be also used to construct and express the subjectivity of mass.The final chapter reaches the "Conclusion" with the subtitle of "The Use and Abuse of the Theories of Cultural Criticism". Based upon the case studies focusing on Chinese pop music, this paper exposes the oversights and limits of the three major theories of mass-cultural criticism. The conclusion chapter attempts to explore the underlying reasons causing the faults of those criticisms on mass culture, which include "the habitus of cultural elitists", "the insufficiency of empirical studies", and "the latent influence by the traditional mode of appreciation". The author emphasizes on the necessity of the reflexive consciousness, the empathic understanding of cases in question, and the historical perspective in practicing cultural studies. This will help avoid the abuse of theories and continually overcome the methodological dogmatism.