Raymond Williams’ Cultural Marxist Study Of Mass Culture Theory

Raymond Williams is an important representative of the British New Left,with a broad academic vision,long-term attention to the cultural life of the British lower classes,and is committed to revealing and criticizing the cultural oppression and control of the people at the bottom by the dark capitalist society,and forming a mass culture theory based on the overall lifestyle.Williams Cultural Marxist mass culture theory has enriched Marxist cultural theory to a certain extent,and also broadened the research horizon of British cultural Marxism.This paper takes the mass culture theory of Williams cultural Marxism as the research object,and dialectically analyzes the mass culture theory of Williams cultural Marxism.First,it explores the background and theoretical sources of Williams’ theory of mass culture.After World War II,Britain’s social and economic recovery,the establishment of a welfare state gradually established,and social contradictions showed a trend of easing.At the same time,the crisis of the socialist movement was exacerbated by the great power hegemony of the Soviet Union,which gave rise to the New Left movement that called for peace and advocated fairness.Faced with the intersection of class contradictions and cultural contradictions,Williams criticized cultural conservatism,drew on Marxist cultural theory and Gramsci’s theory of cultural leadership,and hoped to construct a theory of mass culture in order to get out of the socialist crisis.Second,it examines Williams’ critique of cultural elitism.Williams criticized the British tradition of cultural elitism,he criticized Arnold’s dissident ideas,pointed out that the masses of the people walked side by side with culture,and affirmed the power of the working class;attacking Eliot’s ideas of high culture and advocating for a truly open and equitable education for all;Refute Levi’s minority cultural ideology and safeguard the cultural rights of the masses.Third,analyze the content of Williams’ theory of mass culture.Williams redefined the meaning of masses,arguing that masses are not gangsters,and that mass culture is not a beast.In Williams’ view,the main body of the construction of mass culture is the masses of the people,the masses are progressive groups,and mass culture is a progressive culture.Democratic communication is an important feature of mass cultural dissemination.Culture is holistic and material.The ultimate demand of mass culture is to create a common culture with equality.Fourth,consider the contemporary value of Williams’ theory of mass culture.On the one hand,Williams Cultural Marxist theory of mass culture dissolves the binary opposition between elitism and mass culture,promotes the development of mass culture,and expands the field of Marxist research.Williams,on the other hand,exaggerated the role of culture and ignored the decisive significance of material production,making mass culture utopian.Although Williams’ Marxist theory of mass culture has some limitations,its adherence to the Marxist position,emphasizing culture as an integral way of life and putting forward important ideas such as cultural materialism still have certain reference significance for us to build socialist culture with Chinese characteristics today.In the new journey,we must adhere to the guiding position of Marxism in ideology,take the people as the center,adhere to the people’s position,and meet the needs of the people’s spiritual and cultural life;Strengthen media governance and promote the sound development of mass culture;Pay attention to the development of education,promote cultural co-construction and sharing,and promote all-round human development.Strengthen cultural self-confidence and cultural responsibility,forge ahead with vigor and courage,and provide spiritual support for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.