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Critics, for a long time assessing modern mass culture, spoke only about its negative sides, emphasizing the low quality, vulgarity of its products, created for the needs of an undemanding and undeveloped public, its orientation not towards creativity, but towards consumption, towards the formation of a spiritual standard, the “dumbing down” of a person , to instill in him low needs in the field of art. Among the main negative qualities of mass culture, critics also include its predominantly entertaining nature; they note that only a few of its works address the question of the purpose and meaning of life, its values; they point to the low professional level of many of its works, which do not have aesthetic value and form a mass worldview with uncritical beliefs and views.

There is a certain amount of truth in these statements. But it is worth remembering the good that mass culture brings with it. Firstly, thanks to it, universal literacy of the population was achieved, cultural values ​​became accessible to a large number of people. Of course, quite a lot of low-quality products are created, but indisputable masterpieces are also reproduced, which can push a person to a deeper study of these and other works. Secondly, mass culture plays a significant role in the modern recreational mechanism for relieving stress and tension. Thirdly, mass culture should not be contrasted with the high culture of past eras. Then, too, there were middle and lower cultures that have not reached us, and masterpieces are an isolated phenomenon in any era, and their identification is always a matter of time; and in modern culture, most of the works will be eliminated, but real art will remain.

Modern research identifies three main levels of mass culture.

Kitsch culture is mass culture in its most base manifestation. If the first manifestations of kitsch became widespread only in the applied arts, then as kitsch developed, it began to capture all types of art, including cinema and television. The main characteristics of kitsch include: simplified presentation of issues; reliance on stereotypical images, ideas, plots; orientation towards the average person whose life is boring and monotonous. Keach does not pose questions, it contains only answers, pre-prepared clichés, and does not evoke spiritual quests or psychological discomfort. Currently, in industrialized countries, it is kitsch culture that predominates.

Mid-culture is a mass culture that has some features of traditional culture, but at the same time includes features of mass culture. In relation to kitsch, this form of mass culture is considered higher. We can say that it sets the tone; mass culture as a whole is guided by its standards.

Art culture is a mass culture that is not devoid of certain artistic content and aesthetic expression. This is the highest level of mass culture, designed for the most educated and demanding segment of the audience. Its main task is to bring mass culture as close as possible to the norms and standards of traditional culture.

Recently, mass culture has become more and more oriented towards mid-culture - a medium-level culture, within which classical literary works are filmed, fashion is introduced for examples of truly artistic creativity, popular science, and classical music. Therefore, the general level of modern mass culture is increasing. This conclusion can be drawn if we compare the works that were created at the beginning of the 20th century. and at its end. One can also notice a tendency towards the ethnicization of this culture, which leads to a certain rise in its moral level.

Among the main directions of mass culture of our time are:

childhood industry - production of goods and toys for children, children's clubs and camps, collective education of children;

mass general education school, which introduces children to the basics of scientific knowledge, forms a picture of the world based on the value orientations of a given society, as well as the same stereotypes;

the media, which communicate current information to the general population, evaluate it, form public opinion and manipulate people’s consciousness;

a system of national (state) ideology and propaganda that shapes the political reliability of the bulk of the population;

mass political movements and parties used by representatives of the political and state elite to achieve their goals by whipping up political, nationalist or religious psychosis;

world social mythology - quasi-religious movements and sects, pseudoscientific teachings, the creation of idols, the formation of gossip and rumors that provide simple explanations for all modern problems. This is how myths of a world conspiracy of a secret organization, aliens, etc. appeared;

the entertainment leisure industry, in particular mass artistic culture (all types of literature and art), entertainment performances, professional sports as a spectacle, clubs, discos, etc., which contributes to mental relaxation;

health leisure industry - resorts, sports tourism, mass physical education, cosmetic companies and services;

the industry of intellectual and aesthetic leisure - “cultural” tourism, amateur artistic activities, collecting, clubs and societies of interests, scientific and educational institutions, which continues to survive from the 17th century! V. educational tendency;

gaming complexes that develop reaction speed, accustoming a person to the modern pace and rhythm of life;

dictionaries, reference books, encyclopedias, electronic information banks, libraries designed for the mass consumer and popularizing modern knowledge.

Thus, mass culture represents a new, more developed form of cultural competence of a modern person, new mechanisms of inculturation and socialization, a new system of managing and manipulating his consciousness, interests and needs. This is the way of existence of modern culture. As such, it intersects with popular culture.

The term "mass culture" covers various cultural products, as well as the system of their distribution and creation. First of all, these are works of literature, music, fine art, films and videos (fiction, comics, pop music, thrillers, blockbuster films, posters, etc.). In addition, this includes patterns of everyday behavior and appearance. These products and samples come into every home thanks to the media, advertising, and the fashion institute.

Let's consider the main features and values ​​of mass culture.

Public availability. Accessibility and recognition have become one of the main reasons for the success of mass culture. They even talk about its primitiveness. But the lightness of these works was largely due to the objective conditions that gave rise to mass culture. The difficulty of adapting to an unusual urban environment, monotonous, exhausting work at an industrial enterprise increased the need for intensive rest, rapid restoration of psychological balance and energy after a hard day. To do this, a person searched on bookstores, in cinema halls, and in the media, first of all, for easy-to-read, entertaining performances, films, and publications.

The simplicity of works of mass culture cannot be unambiguously associated with their low level. The concept of “mass culture” is not equivalent to the concept of “bad culture”. Outstanding artists worked within the framework of mass culture: actors Charlie Chaplin, Lyubov Orlova, Nikolai Cherkasov, Igor Ilyinsky, Jean Gabin, dancer Fred Astaire, world-famous singers Mario Lanza, Edith Pi-af, composers F. Lowe (author of the musical “My Fair” lady"), I. Dunaevsky, film directors G. Alexandrov, I. Pyryev and others. The names of the creators of wonderful examples of “culture for the people” can be listed for a long time.

Entertaining. The above leads us to the conclusion that this feature is inherent in many works of mass culture. Entertaining is ensured by addressing such aspects of life and emotions that arouse constant interest and are understandable to most people: love, sex, family problems, adventure, violence, horror. In detective stories and “spy stories,” events replace each other with kaleidoscopic speed. The heroes of the works are also simple and understandable; they do not indulge in long discussions, but act.

Seriality, replication. This feature is manifested in the fact that mass culture products are produced in very large quantities, designed for consumption by a truly mass of people. Books are sometimes published in millions of copies, and the soap opera on television is also watched by millions of viewers. A certain seriality is also manifested in the certain repetition of plot moves and the similarity of the characters.

Passivity of perception. This feature of mass culture was noted already at the dawn of its formation. Fiction, comics, and light music did not require intellectual or emotional effort from the reader, listener, or viewer for their perception. The development of visual genres (cinema, television) only strengthened this feature. When reading even a light literary work, we inevitably imagine something, create our own image of the heroes. Screen perception does not require this from us.

Commercial in nature. A product created within the framework of mass culture is a product intended for mass sale. To do this, the product must be democratic, that is, suitable and appealing to a large number of people of different genders, ages, religions, and education. Therefore, manufacturers of such products began to focus on the most fundamental human emotions.

Thus, works of modern mass culture are created mainly within the framework of professional creativity: music is written by professional composers, film scripts are written by professional writers, advertising is created by professional designers. The mass culture market is more of a buyer's market than a seller's market. It is precisely the needs of a wide range of consumers that professional creators of mass culture products focus on. Indicators of demand are sales volumes, as well as various kinds of ratings - measurements of the audience's attitude towards a particular program or program. But sellers in this market (as in any other) are also active, trying to create demand for the product they already have, and advertising their product.

Mass culture is a tool of power
mass society over people.
V. Mezhuev

The emergence of mass culture

In the twentieth century, we observed the transition of a number of regions of the planet from traditional culture to mass culture, which gave rise to new social phenomena, such as same-sex marriage, gender reassignment, etc. Unambiguous assessments of these phenomena by humanity either at the political or at the scientific and ethical levels not given. Moreover, new social phenomena are taking on increasingly complex forms and are becoming practically imposed in some countries. In essence, globalization on the planet has posed a problem: where will the “new universal values" to development or to degradation?

Some European countries, such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Iceland, began to legalize same-sex marriage at the end of the twentieth century. By the way, it was Holland that proposed legalizing the wording “same-sex marriage.” In the 21st century, the list of countries has been expanded. Among them: countries such as Germany, Portugal, some US states, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Finland, Mexico, New Zealand, Croatia, France and others. A number of countries allow same-sex families to adopt children. But that’s not all. The social trend began to move towards conscious formation in a society of same-sex families. For example, in Germany, England, and Canada, sex education classes are being introduced, where same-sex relationships are revealed from a positive side. One of the manuals on sex education in Germany is given at the link. In particular, it talks about the human right to self-determination of gender. Also in 2015, teachers in Britain decided to talk about same-sex marriage “from a positive perspective.” The Guardian reports this. They came to this conclusion at the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers in Harrogate.

The trend is intensifying: now a “third gender” has appeared, that is, at birth, parents do not indicate the gender of the child in the documents, so that when he becomes an adult he can determine what gender he is. Rossiyskaya Gazeta wrote about this back in 2013: “On the recommendation Ethics Council of the German Ministry of Internal Affairs(emphasis added) decided to change the civil status law. From November 1, parents of infants have the right to leave the “gender” column blank. In other words, babies with primary male and female sexual characteristics and hermaphrodites will be given the right to choose. Later, grown-up people “without gender” will be able to introduce any gender if they undergo surgery or consciously decide to designate it clearly.” From the study of information sources, the conclusion follows that these issues are not spontaneous manifestations of some “new” will of modern citizens, but are promoted from the stands political power. The formation of a new stereotype of social behavior among children is controlled by the authorities and is formed as a trend in the future development of humanity. Attempts to preserve traditional foundations, according to the stories of eyewitnesses living in Germany and Canada, are hindered by the actions of the authorities, who are mandatorily introducing sex education classes in schools with explanations of “new” approaches to sexuality.

We, of course, understand that social trends have certain laws of their development, as many prominent scientists have written about. For example, the transition from traditional to popular culture has been considered in the context of scientific research since the dawn of the twentieth century. However, the sign of the cultural phenomenon being studied was often of a negative nature. O. Spengler in the book that he called “The Decline of the Western World” writes that “the total existence of any culture has, as the highest possibility, a symbolic prototype for this culture of its world as history, and all the attitudes of individual people and acting as living beings of sets are its reflection. If one person evaluates the views of another as significant or flat, original or banal, false or old-fashioned, this happens every time with an eye, and unconsciously, on currently required image as a constant derivative of time and man.”

Forming a crowd of minions

That is, the trend behind which the ruling circles stand and which is replicated by the largest media and cultural and artistic figures (remember, for example, the bearded winner of Eurovision 2014) is taking place further development and adoption of increasingly complex social images, displacing another - the tendency to preserve the traditional culture of relationships between men and women. And this will happen if social forces, which, understanding the harmfulness of such a trend, oppose the unification of man in global mass culture and his degeneration as a species, will not actively promote the need to preserve the traditional values ​​of humanity. Particularly in relationships between a man and a woman.

We must remember that “the social base of a mass society is not citizens who are free in their decisions and actions, but clusters of people indifferent to each other, brought together on purely formal grounds and grounds. It is a consequence not of autonomization, but of the atomization of individuals, whose personal qualities and properties are not taken into account by anyone.” Both men and women have their own psychophysiological qualities and properties. And, for example, the process of educating a child’s personality in a same-sex family is impossible while preserving the natural psychophysiological qualities and properties of the individual. That is, a reasonable person, in the end, will cease to be such, and will turn into a same-sex mass, reminiscent of a mass that has its evil master Gru, from the cartoon of the same name, which is very popular among children.

Special attention should be paid to some features of cultural reproduction. The famous Soviet and Russian researcher of this issue M.S. Kagan writes: “the main feature of social programs is that they are not inherited, but are acquired by each person during his lifetime and at the same time adjusted, improved, and modified by him. In order for such a non-genetic method of transmitting social information to become possible, special means are needed, unknown to natural existence, that would preserve the accumulated human experience and transmit it to new generations and each specific individual... we are talking about the ability acquired by a person to separate from himself, alienate, objectify - in short, give independent objective existence to everything that he has learned, what he knows and what acquires value for him...”

That is, if the most valuable thing for a person from childhood is not work, not the defense of the Fatherland, but his sex life and the search for himself in new sexual qualities: the transition from man to woman and back, from woman to man, becoming a man-woman, and the like nonsense, then creatures with what psychophysiological properties we will receive as a result of the development of humanity? Will such a creature be able to develop anything at all other than its organs responsible for the pleasure system? But not so long ago, for example, K.E. Tsiolkovsky dreamed of interstellar flights, J. Verne about conquering the depths of the sea, and many world writers dreamed of a just world of people. What will modern children dream about? About who they will become: a man or a woman? About a new sexual experience? And in general, will they dream...

I think that a sane person is unlikely to decide that the meaning of life for humanity as a whole, no matter who created it and when, is unlikely to boil down to self-destruction. Even without knowing the true purpose, we can assume that it exists for the development and transformation of the world around us; to realize new opportunities for human and world development. Therefore, considering this to be our initial axiological thesis, it is necessary not only to understand the threats to the development trends of such a phenomenon as “mass culture,” but also the mechanisms of its influence on the consciousness of the population. This will prevent a general cultural catastrophe and develop tools to counteract it.

Narcotization of society

V.M. Mezhuev also writes that “in the modern world, the media have acquired the importance of the main producer and supplier of cultural products designed for mass consumer demand. It is called mass culture because it does not have a clearly defined national coloring and does not recognize any national boundaries for itself... The masses are an impersonal collective formed by individuals who are not internally connected to each other, alien and indifferent to each other.” It should be added that today we have added to the usual media and it is its content – ​​content – ​​that is the tool that disseminates and replicates negative socio-cultural information. “The theory and practice of information and psychological influence on people has been improved since the two world wars of the 20th century and during numerous armed conflicts on a regional scale. The advent of radio, television and, finally, the Internet made it possible to carry out psychological operations both targeted and on a mass scale. At the moment, the world recognizes the very fact that there is a war or confrontation going on, which is called differently: cold war, soft power, information war, hybrid war, content war.” The war for the survival of man as a species on the planet.

As a result of the inability to work with huge flows of information entering the consciousness in a short period of time, a person develops a state called anesthesia. In the theory of modern communication, anesthesia is understood as the process of filling the consciousness of the mass consumer of information with news messages transmitted one after another without any sequence or possibility of understanding them. As a result of such transmission of messages, there is a gradual loss of logic, which is so characteristic of printed text, and after this comes emotional deafness and indifference to everything that happens.

But today's children spend hours on their gadgets, receiving information from the World Wide Web. And they are not taught what is “good” for them and what is “bad” there. This means that it is necessary to conduct an active information and psychological campaign aimed at preserving the traditional (national) cultural code. We need mass educational work with all levels of the population - children, youth, parents, teachers, representatives of government, science and the public. This is the very social mechanism on the basis of which it is possible to unite social institutions of different quality to achieve a common strategic goal: the preservation of humanity. Without resolving this issue, there will simply be no one to resolve many other issues with.

The role of religious institutions

The social situation continues to deteriorate. Those institutions that, by definition, seem to be the guardians of traditional values ​​began to undergo transformation in these matters. For example, in Canada, the Government has already begun to put pressure on the educational programs of the Catholic Church, demanding the introduction of sex education classes into the educational process. And the Scottish Episcopal Church allowed same-sex marriage! Why is the Vatican not more active in defending its core values? Of course, he advocates the preservation of traditional family values ​​and relations between men and women. This is evidenced by the final report of the 2015 Synod, which states that people with homosexual tendencies should not be discriminated against, but the Church cannot recognize same-sex unions, and in this it cannot succumb to any external pressure. The Domestic Church is based on marriage between a man and a woman. The family is the fundamental unit of society and an integral part of the "human ecology" that must be protected, supported and promoted. But the voice of the Church must be heard by the very masses who carry within themselves the values ​​of mass culture!

The reasons for the need to preserve the values ​​of traditional relationships between a man and a woman should be carried out everywhere: in all possible media, on all possible Internet resources. This is the very period in the life of mankind when the Church, science and state power can unite to conduct information and psychological counteraction to the catastrophic trend of destruction of the social foundations of society, expressed in the replacement of developmental values ​​with degradation ones. This is necessary for the Church because it is she who is responsible for religious faith. But it is precisely on the phenomenon of faith that the asocial theory of a person’s choice of his gender is built. How does he choose it? On faith, feeling. The Church can and should explain itself to the phenomenon of faith.

For example, the Church of Malta made a statement on the occasion of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the country. “By introducing a neutral concept of civil marriage open to all types of couples,” the statement said, “the law rejects distinction and the natural principle of reciprocity between man and woman.” When these differences are eliminated, the family is deprived of its anthropological roots. As a consequence, the prelates note, this leads to the impoverishment of the entire society. At the same time, the Maltese bishops insist that “the Church fully respects the dignity of every person, regardless of his choices and his connections,” because “every person is very important to the Church, since he is created in the image and likeness of God. The Catholic Church strives to welcome and carefully accompany those people who choose relationships or lifestyles other than Christian marriage.” In our opinion, this is an example of a conciliatory position, since in this situation the Church must recognize this way of life as asocial and carry out explanatory work to all citizens about its harm, openly explain the essence of sin"same-sex love" This is similar to how secondary prevention methods work with drug addicts and alcoholics - they are trying to cure them of a psychophysiological illness, scientific methods and approaches to solving the problem are being developed, and the phenomenon itself is considered disease of society.

Another example. In connection with the German parliament's approval of same-sex marriage on 30 June 2017, the President of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, stated that “marriage - and not only according to Christian beliefs - is a unity of life and love between a woman and a man, a union in accordance with the immutable the principle of fundamental openness to the continuation of life. We believe that the state has an obligation to continue to protect and encourage marriage in this form.” The cardinal expressed doubts about the constitutionality of the law, emphasizing that it is completely wrong to understand the special legal status of marriage and its protection as discrimination against people with homosexual inclinations. It would be right if in the near future we actively hear from representatives of the Church about official statements in the media and in government institutions about the need to abolish accepted legal norms regarding marriage unions in Germany.

It is also worth paying attention to the fact that in resolving this issue, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church have practical opportunities for interaction on an axiological basis. According to information in the Russian media, who came to Russia in August 2017 to meet with the President of the Russian Federation V.V. To Putin, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolina said that the Vatican was becoming a mediator between Russia and the rest of the world. However, due to the current situation, the Vatican Secretary of State may need to negotiate that the Vatican today is not so much a mediator as strategic partner to preserve traditional values, and we should not forget that Russia is one of those countries in which it is possible to rely on natural human values. We hope that Metropolitan Hilarion, who visited the Vatican in September 2017, had a conversation with the Pope not only about the role of transferring the relics of St. Nicholas to Russia, but also about how we can unite and practically resist the impending asocial evil. We don't have time. The emergence of new anthropomorphic creatures - creatures combining the characteristics of masculine and feminine principles leads us along the path of the emergence of new androgynes. And this is a revision of the doctrinal beginning of the Christian Church. So where is mass culture leading us: to a doctrinal split in the Church and a New Ecumenical Council?

It should also be noted that resolving issues of teaching and upbringing values ​​aimed at the development of the individual and society is a task not only of the church, but also of science and government. Its solution is, in principle, impossible without the unification of social institutions of different quality: scientists, representatives of the public education system, institutions of various Churches and public organizations and the implementation of practical steps.

Video materials on the topic of the article:

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

RYBINSK STATE AVIATION TECHNOLOGICAL ACADEMY NAMED AFTER P.A. SOLOVIEV

Department of Philosophy

Test work in the discipline "philosophy"

“Mass culture in its relation to the values ​​of traditional culture”

Rybinsk 2006

PLAN

Introduction 3

1.Mass culture 5

2.Traditional culture 9

3. The attitude of mass culture to the values ​​of traditional culture 20

Views on modern culture 39

Modern culture and civilization 40

Conclusion 53

Used literature 54

Introduction

Today, the diversity of types of culture can be considered in two aspects: diversity: culture on a human scale, emphasis on sociocultural supersystems, internal diversity: the culture of a particular society, city, emphasis on subcultures.

Within the framework of a separate society we can distinguish:

high (elite)

folk (folklore) culture, they are based on different levels of education of individuals and

mass culture, the formation of which was led by the active development of the media.

When considering subcultures, it is first necessary to separate those subcultures that oppose the culture of a given society.

The experience accumulated by humanity during its sociocultural history provides invaluable assistance in solving cultural problems at the present stage of transformation of our society based on the principles of humanism and democracy in the conditions of rapid scientific and technological progress. It should be noted that cultural problems are acquiring paramount, in fact, key importance today, because culture is a powerful factor in social development. After all, it permeates all aspects of human life - from the foundations of material production and human needs to the greatest manifestations of the human spirit. Culture plays an increasingly important role in solving the long-term program goals of the democratic movement: the formation and strengthening of civil society, the discovery of human creative abilities, the deepening of democracy, and the construction of a rule of law state. Culture affects all spheres of social and individual life - work, everyday life, leisure, area of ​​thinking, etc., on the way of life of society and the individual. Its significance in the formation and development of a person’s lifestyle is manifested through the action of personal-subjective factors (attitudes of consciousness, spiritual needs, values, etc.) that influence the nature of behavior, forms and style of communication of people, values, patterns, norms of behavior. A humanistic way of life, focused not on adaptation to existing conditions, but on their transformation, presupposes a high level of consciousness and culture, increasing their role as regulators of people’s behavior and their way of thinking.

Since the center of culture is a person with all his needs and concerns, a special place in social life is occupied by the issues of his mastering the cultural environment, and the problems associated with his achieving high quality in the process of creating and perceiving cultural values. The development of the cultural riches of the past performs an integrating function in the life of every society, harmonizes the existence of people, awakens in them the need to comprehend the world as a whole. And this is of great importance for the search for general criteria of progress in the conditions of an unstoppable scientific and technological revolution.

These questions are posed with extreme urgency by the very life of our society; orientation towards a qualitatively new state of society leads to a sharp turning point in the understanding of traditionalist and innovative trends in social development. They require, on the one hand, the deep development of cultural heritage, the expansion of the exchange of genuine cultural values ​​between peoples, and on the other, the ability to go beyond the usual but already outdated ideas, to overcome a number of reactionary traditions that have developed and been implanted over the centuries, constantly manifesting themselves in the consciousness , activities and behavior of people. In resolving these issues, knowledge and an adequate modern understanding of the history of world culture play a significant role.