Wednesday, March 18, 2009

ginger griffin, hebdige

Culture is many different things and like this article states, it is often contradictory. "cultivation, tending, in Christian authors, worship...the artificial development of microscopic organisms...the intellectual side of civilization."(Oxford Dictionary,144) Culture is something that has many meanings and is different to everybody else. Culture changes around the world and its meaning also changes around the world. I feel that the hegemonic views of every society define what their culture is and how it is played out. Culture is everything dominant in a society and it is also everything that goes unseen to the outside world. I really didn't understand this article so I am not quite sure what else to write on. Hopefully in class tomorrow I will better understand exactly what Hebdige was talking about when writing this article.

4 comments:

CMC300 said...

After reading this post and Hebdige's piece, I began to think about the contradictions in Western culture. While our culture harbors sexual behavior and sexual promiscuity through films and music, we seem to be more conservative on the topic of sex than any other nation. Our society shuns those who are sexually promiscuous and sexuality as a whole to some extent. I say this because it seems as though other countries, specifically in South America and Eastern countries like Spain, have good reputations but strip clubs and prostitution are a common occurence. Additionally, bars or clubs typically close at 2am, while in places like Spain are open 24 hours a day. In countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, the women have to cover every part of their body except for their eyes, but when they travel to the States, they throw on jeans right away. My great uncle lives in the Saudi Arabian palace and he says that the princesses are only allowed to listen to American music behind closed doors (in their room). Why are these customs present in one country, but not another? How can cultural norms be followed on one side of a door, but not another? These are questions that I think would be an interesting topic to bring up on behalf of Hebdige because he talks a lot about the roles of culture and society in regards to religion and other sects.

CMC300 said...

oh and i am "merrychristmas!"

CMC300 said...

You make some good points about culture but your post is very short. You have good ideas but we want to hear more!

-Starfish

CMC300 said...

Interesting post Merry Christmas. You made a good connection. It would have been good to use a quote from Hebdige that supported your ideas.

-Starfish