Kitsch: Key Word Inspection Of Popular Culture

Kitsch is appears frequently in the contemporary culture criticism and the research as "key word", it is generally used as the derogatory term. Kitsch became the key word of the cultural criticism and entered the public field of vision is in the late-1980s, its high frequency usage and rapid popularity was in the 90s, along with the expense culture emerged. As soon as through to this key word intrinsic implication's inspection, we may peep the contemporary China cultural and ideological trend the vicissitude, specially the ambiguous manner and immanent cause of criticism to China popular culture.This thesis is mainly right from four angles to carry on the analysis of the word -"Kitsch": First, tracing primary meaning and the use of this word from the refined language source study in the China and the West language, combing its significance and the successional variation process. Through this word's different use, discriminating the current cultural criticism, and proving the close relation and the interaction between culture criticism and the society realizations. Second, looking backward the origin reasons of kitsch, which defines clearly the phenomenon of Kitsch and the modernity, particularly with romanticism relations. Third, trying to prove the rationality of kitsch, and the inevitability the Kitsch's phenomenon appears, so we can understand thoroughly the complexity of this word, avoiding the simple manner about "the derogatory meaning". Fourth, summarizing kitsch's significance and the value to the popular culture, as well as the enlightenment for contemporary cultural study and cultural criticism.Exactly speaking, this thesis mainly discusses about the following several aspects: First, the general understanding of "kitsch" is refers to esthetic style, bad taste, and the deficient personal taste. But to inspect this word's China and the West etymology, we can see its meaning is quite complex, refers to fords really broadly. Therefore, it's necessary to trace to this word's China and the West etymology, thus we may understand this word in the contemporary concrete usage and know the questions. Second, the appearance of the Kitsch's phenomenon was closely related with the German romanticism, we should say, as soon as Kitsch appeared, it has the indissoluble bond with the popular culture.Third, kitsch is the essence of the mass culture, the two's relation is organic, in a sense, once understanding Kitsch, also understanding the mass culture. The phenomenon of kitsch and the modern mass society's appearance closely related, so we must distinguish clearly the society and the psychological reasons of Kitsch.Fourth, discriminating the critics and the denial manner regarding to Kitsch, actually it has had also other kind of sound about Kitsch, which believed for the social development and the human need, Kitsch has its own rationality and the inevitability. Especially in post-modern society, post-modernism has performed the ablation between lofty culture and the mass culture, when we criticize the kitsch culture, it causes us frequently to fall into a dilemma, which also give us more understandings and a more thorough ponder on kitsch.Fifth, goes a step further, through the dialectical analysis of the two manners and judgments about Kitsch, we may see clearly the paradox and reflexivity question about Kitsch. And this kind of contradiction is advantageous for us to think dialectically the popular culture's value and insufficiency, and it is also advantageous to know the significance of Chinese contemporary culture study, as well as the cultural criticism.This thesis is mainly following the Raymond Williams' method, carrying on combing and studying the key word of the cultural study and the criticism. The concepts, the terms are the cornerstone of the criticism and the research, particularly regarding cultural study had the intense criticalness and the practical character, it has more significance, working hard to define clearly the essential concept in the popular cultural study, which is the foundation work for the popular cultural study, perhaps this is precisely methodological significance of this thesis.