Popular Culture
A simple definition of popular culture is one that develops among ordinary people as opposed to the educated elite. Over time, cultural products, such as music art, literature, fashion, and dance, accumulated and generated a mass appeal that is termed as the elements of Pop culture. Prior to the 19th century, the term popular culture was associated with peasants and the lower class. Popular culture traces its routes to the middle class that sprung during the industrial revolution and improved as a result of innovations in mass media since the end of the World War II. Among the major elements of Pop culture is music. There have been a few genres of music that have stood out in time; among them is Punk rock that started in the mid-1970s in the US, UK, and Australia. This genre is argued to have brought out an entire rebellious sub culture. Therefore, this paper critically analyzes Punk rock using Marxism and Hegemony pop culture theories.
Most American socialists view popular culture with a limiting scope, mostly as the capitalistic means of manipulating the vast mass of the working class. While there is indeed manipulation in popular culture, there are more complex matters involved in the class struggle. The culture is not just a commodity pushed on the consumers for ingestion. According to the conceptions of Marxism and Hegemony on the question, people do not just work to enjoy life through entertainment and culture. The argument mainly highlights the ideological oppression of one social class (proletariat) by another (bourgeoisie) (Storey, 2016). Ideology is how humans perceive and explain their “lived experiences” during life as opposed to the concrete reality. Thus, ideology is both an illusion and an allusion at the same time depending on one’s view point. Ideological dominance, according to Gramsci, involves tricking the masses into adopting and believing in an ideology that serves the ruling class; That is, the automatic acceptance of the cultural and moral values and the overall world view and its control on various practical activities of the dominant class by the majority of the population of the subordinate class. This practice was prevalent in the mass media in the 1970s and is still being done in modern times; a phenomenon that Gramsci called hegemony. Accordingly, Marxism and Hegemony is an appropriate theory to use while analyzing the punk rock.
Within any complex society, music is relatively autonomous with the people. It is often a reflection of the current societal conditions which, include war, economic situation, and repression. Relevant examples include the prevalence of anti-war war sentiments in various mainstream Rock during the Vietnam War or the obvious anger in British punk music due to the economic situation at the time. The development of rock and roll can be traced to the fusion of rhythm and blues, country music, jazz, and other rock-able music of the time due to the significant interaction between various working classes. Noteworthy pioneers in the 1960s are Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry (Eriksen, 1980). Actual talent often got lost in the cracks due to the maze-like intricacies of music production. It relied heavily on the strict division of labor between technically ingenious studio session artists and the backing media, which resulted in “stars” with controversial musical talent. The diversity in the genre allowed the artist to explore a broad range of lyrical content, for instance, Bob Dylan’s songs condemning the war and the hypocrisy of the generals. However, after a while, the cycle of creativity and inspiration got repetitive during the 1970s. The fusion of various genres at the time gave birth to Rock and Roll to mirror society’s condition, but began to die out in the mid-1970s.
In 1970, an artistic movement sprung up among young British and American musicians. These energetic individuals were characterized mainly by their rebellious nature (Simonelli, 2002). As a result of the repetitiveness in Rock and Roll and its “stardom” exclusivity, they sought to find new origins of the genre. Simultaneously while Rock and Roll was dying, the peculiarities of the Jamaican lower class was generating interest globally. Jamaican immigrants introduced reggae to British musicians in the West Indies. Consequently, they began experimenting with the new sound and Rock and Roll. Eric Clapton later did a cover of Bob Marley’s ‘I shot the sheriff’, which solidified the influence of reggae on the genre. With reggae’s influence, emphasis on social criticisms began as a form lyricism (Simonelli, 2002). This lyrical style was conspicuously absent in previous music. A solid example is Elvis Costello’s complete adoption of reggae musical elements such as rhymes in his songs (Eriksen, 1980). Coincidentally, this form of criticism served later as a form of expression in Britain. The protests were generated by a decline of economic opportunities in Britain. Unlike previous protests against fascist regimes, the lack of alternatives in harsh economic times gave rise to a much angrier and violent activist. Significant musical leaps in the country were made by an unemployed working class and revolved around Punk Rock. At the same time, the US Punk movement was gaining momentum. Thus, further interaction with the “lower” class inspired social consciousness in lyrics of Rock and Roll, and Punk Rock later emerged riding on the wave of economic crisis among the British working class.
The name Pun Rock can be traced to John Sinclair, the man who coined it. The name was inspired by the aggression driven political White Panthers. The Ramones, in America, was the leading purveyors of the music for a while until British groups like Clash and the Sex Pistols caught up (Eriksen, 1980). The Ramones used high energy Punk ridicules of love, drugs, and mental institutions. Besides, the group was as instrumental as Reggae in influencing the rhythm and social protest of the British Punk. Although they took a while to catch up with their cultural revolution, British Punk groups began to generate high media attention. The Sex Pistols attracted media coverage because of their outrageous antics as well as their outright disrespect for, and cynical criticism of the country’s monarch and her Royal establishments. The media capitalized on the opportunity and transformed “punk rock” into a household name soon afterward as well as shining the spotlight on the new political rock and roll.
Sex Pistols are a representative example of what Punk embodies; the low class tired of exploitation by the “ruling class.” Rock and Roll used to be an expression of a sense of collective pride, enjoyment, self-confidence, and pleasant humor, which are all hegemony. This feature in said time was a “false consciousness.” The term is used to describe the illusion of ideology perpetuated by the media as popular culture to keep the society happy and distracted from the apparent unfairness in the system. In this case, predecessor music (rock and roll) was all jolly and suited the post war generation that perceived economic security and class growth as a natural phenomenon (Eriksen, 1980). This situation could no longer work for the financial circumstances at the time was getting extreme; thus, the need for punk rock. The music was a neat blend of anger, self-disgust, doubt, and boredom that are all evidence of a tired generation. The Sex Pistols were essentially fighting economic oppression through their music.
However, when it comes to deciphering the progressive agenda of this genre, it is crucial to examine a broad range of other musicians and music. Despite the comprehensive array of themes in the music, the general convergence point in this genre is its delivery technique. The music is described to have a tendency to gather a heightened presence of mind then surprised with a shock tactic. The music could orient someone progressively into the pursuit of liberal social goals. Although punk music was relatively progressive, prevalent mass ideologies, such as idleness and mindlessness, give it an internal contradiction of ideas. Thus, the genre is comprised of both the good and the bad indicating a struggle within the punk culture.
Lyrics from The Deadboys “Son of Sam” about surviving an electrocution disaffirm the progressiveness in the genre. Despite the positivity in some music, others emphasized mindless violence and misogynistic practices. US bands, in particular, regressed to old rock and roll subject matter by constantly flirting with sexism and male dominance. Some scholars have described it as the worst place for a woman to be during the time. Apparently, sexism was an attractive feature for the wealthy and powerful, which explains the constant deflection from social criticism. Even bands like Sex Pistols were occasionally distracted towards women. Considering that at the center of the American popular culture at the time was racism and sexism, the crossover of punk to the country provided a platform to merge racism with sexism (Eriksen, 1980). This hybrid was possible because of elements of sexism already existing in punk. As a result, songs like “Fascist dictator” and “Descendant nun” were released with very explicit lyrical responses. Therefore, when subjected to various contemporary cultures’ ideologies, punk culture conformed in one way or another.
In the beginning, punk music was all about rebelling and independence; a few steps down the road capitalist kicked in (Simonelli, 2002). The media highly popularized the music, thereby, creating a million dollar genre. Pop culture can take what someone perceives and turn it into a slogan for a commercial and artistic works of imagination into commercial hit songs. This manipulation is how business enterprises sprung up using artists as producers of the merchandise, which is art. With all its power, pop culture cannot produce art on its own; thus, it depends on the same creative people it suppresses. It was the work of the recording label to control distribution and marketing of the music then pay the artist, primarily hoarding the profits. This explicit separation of the artist from his art is the same basis of economic class control in Marxism. According to Marx, a bourgeoisie controls the profits by owning the means of production and separating the worker from their product (Storey, 2016). The creative spontaneity of the pioneering punk artists came from their life experiences. Furthermore, the ruling class maintains control over the cultural production process by using the star-cult marvel. The musician is completely isolated from their audience. When they attend a concert, they are spirited away by their security team. These goons are usually provided for by the music label to ensure a certain mysterious and star appearance. Regardless, as demanded by pop culture, businessmen took the art and turned it into a commodity for sale.
The popular culture industry manipulates not only producers, but also the consumers. A threat to the status quo is the living standard of the population. They can only stay distracted for so long before they realize they are hungry. Consequently, the primary task of popular culture is stabilizing the mood of the masses while tricking them to think they are benefiting through advertising. Should inflation fuel the need to choose between entertainment and eating, the food industry gets the money. When people find themselves with neither of the two alternatives, various protests begin; in this case, punk rock. As a form of protest, major recording labels would not back most artists; but after the assimilation of popular culture themes, it was turned into a billion dollar industry. Accordingly, under capitalist production of punk as a cultural product, the music was thinned into another entertainment outlet, controlling and shaping social norms.
The contrast between the US and UK punk rock is based entirely on two audiences. In American, the counter-culture was emphasized mainly by the dressing styles and the posturing. In the UK, there was more ideological space to assume punk as a lifestyle wholly (Eriksen, 1980). The economic positions of the “middle class” youth help facilitate the transition. It was fundamentally possible for individuals with enough money that they do not need to work. The orange, blue, and green punk hairstyles were impractical for the working class to work. The UK punk sub-culture had aesthetic and authentic origins among the grossly unemployed 1970’s youth, while the US population was just a consumer generation with a little organic working class background. The prevailing ideology that came up with the sub-culture is an age filled with nihilism and mindlessness as opposed to indicting the regime for lack of jobs. When it came to self-expression, many punks resulted to music, clothing, language, and outlook on society. Most of them put on a calculated dumb look meditating on the nil actuality of any foreseeable future. Additionally, they wore torn clothes, rubber and plastic getups, and safety pins perhaps as a parody of the alienation and emptiness. Lastly, there was an obsession with bizarre sex practices and sexuality in music themes and real life. All these sub-cultural images can be generalized as an unconscious class struggle as a consequence of economic, social, and political exclusion. Therefore, punk managed to produce a subculture of individuals with an exclusive lifestyle.
In essence, although various scholarly views try to explain pop culture, the Marxism and Hegemony theory provides a better analysis. Pop culture emerges among the ordinary people and includes a variety of aspects including music, art, literature, and fashion. Mass media often propel pop culture, and every generation has a stereotyped culture. The Marxism and Hegemony theory analyzes society from an outlook where one class rules over the other using various tactics. At the helm of the said tactics is hegemony, which are deceptions to make sub-ornate class subjective to the other’s authority. Punk rock can be adequately analyzed using this theory. While early rock and roll songs were mildly critical of events like the Vietnam War, it was not until the incorporation of reggae that the music became socially scrutinizing. This new found spirit led to the emergence of Punk rock in the UK first before the US. The music was a riposte of the hard economic times on the working class. The genre later grew to gain commercial success due to the attention it received from the media. The music began to influence pop culture while simultaneously conforming to some pre-existing elements of popular culture. Additionally, the genre also influenced a sub culture of authentic young punk individuals in response to the class struggles.
References
Eriksen, N. (1980). Popular Culture and Revolutionary Theory: Understanding Punk Rock. Theoretical Review, 8. Retrieved from
https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-6/punk.htm
Laing, D. (1978). Interpreting punk rock. Marxism Today, 22(4), 123-128. Retrieved from banmarchive.org.uk/collections/mt/pdf/04_78_123.pdf
Simonelli, D. (2002). Anarchy, pop and violence: Punk rock subculture and the rhetoric of class, 1976-78. Contemporary British History, 16(2), 121-144.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/713999447
Storey, J. (2015). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction. London: Routledge.
