Becoming a
Cultural Critic/Writing a Cultural Analysis
Cultural
Analysis Blog Posts
Understanding ideology is
the key to becoming a valuable cultural critic and writing an insightful
cultural analysis. Ideology is the shared values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes,
assumptions, and/or opinions that members of a society have about themselves
and the world around them. At any time, a particular ideology will be dominant
because it is shared by most members of the society, but, of course, other
values, ideas, etc still exist.
When you perform a cultural analysis,
you look closely at a work of culture (or several related works) and explain
how it reflects or resists the dominant ideology of a particular society and
how it might be helping shape or reshape that ideology.
A work of "popular" culture
can be significant simply because it is popular – because it is reflecting and
participating in a broad trend in society. Part of the job of a cultural critic
can be to explain why it is popular, how it taps into the dominant ideology and
appeals to the “masses.”
But if you enjoy popular culture, you
probably think it is meaningful for other reasons as well. A cultural critic
can also help us understand why some works of popular culture are “good” – why
they challenge preconceived notions and help us imagine a better world. If you
want to show that a work of popular culture is more than simply entertainment
candy – giving momentary pleasure but not much more – you need to make a
forceful, coherent and well-supported argument that the work is saying
something about the world or at least giving us a new, unique perspective on
that world.
Some quick tips:
Be careful not simply to provide a
review of the work. A cultural analysis must be more than simply a “thumbs up”
or “thumbs down” assessment. You are making a broader and more profound
argument about the work's significance to the world.
What a work of culture says might not
be positive – it might not be promoting a more just or tolerant world,
for example. Even a negative message, however, is important to analyze: a work
of popular culture has mass appeal and that negative message for you might be a
positive message to others – and it is crucial to understand why.
A work of culture might be reflecting
or resisting a variety of ideologies. The work might be very complex and have a
lot to say about many different topics. Or it might be confused or conflicted.
For example, maybe the first two-thirds of action movie present the lead female
character as strong and independent, but in the last third that same female character
becomes weak and ineffectual and needs to be rescued by a man.
Sometimes the creator of a work of
culture is conscious of what the work is saying. Sometimes she or he is not.
The creator of the example given above might have just thought she was creating
an entertaining shoot-'em-up movie, and they were unconscious of what the work
was saying about gender roles in society.
Most of the time we just don't know if
the creator is aware of the ideology in the work -- so we avoid, for the most
part, discussing the intentions of the author, artist or director. Talk,
instead, about what the work does: "The music video makes the statement
that …"
The
Assignment: Cultural Critique Blog Post
Paragraph 1 – Introduction and thesis
a.
Introduce the work of culture (very
briefly) by stating why it is relevant or important to discuss it
now. Did the movie just come out? Is the book discussing an issue that is in
the news recently? Is the piece of music causing a current controversy? Or is
the work simply part of a broader trend that has been building for a period of
time (in this case, you might briefly mention the other works of popular
culture that are part of this trend).
b.
After drawing the
audience into your analysis, provide a forceful, specific and detailed thesis
statement that outlines your argument: how does this work reflect the
ideology of a particular society and how
is it helping shape that ideology. In other words, discuss the message of the work and its impact. Consider,
among other things, if the work supports or break prevalent stereotypes in society. What
does this work show about America? What does it say about an American ideology
or American society as a whole?
Paragraph 2 - Summary
a. Summarize the work (very briefly!) for those who have not watched, read or
heard it. Assume your audience is not completely familiar with the work. If it
is a lengthy work – a film or a book – you might not want to give away any
surprises …
Paragraph 3 – Analysis
a.
Break down your
argument. As in a literary analysis,
organize your analysis around your most compelling supporting points. Don’t
tell us everything you like about the show. Choose one or two ways the show is doing what you say it is doing
(you might focus on certain characters, the show’s unique format or style,
etc).
b.
Most importantly,
support your argument by providing specific evidence – quotes or at
least references to specific moments or parts of the work – to back up
those points. If you are analyzing a song, you should quote specific lyrics. If
you are analyzing a TV show, you should make reference to a specific scene. If
you are analyzing a print advertisement, you should pick out particular visual
elements that make it effective.
A Link – be sure to include a link to your source:
a.
TV Show/Movie -
include a link either to a YouTube video (if done at home), the show
description on Wikipedia, or a link to www.imdb.com
b.
Song - include a
link either to a YouTube video (if done at home) or a link to the song’s lyrics
c.
Advertisement or
Other Sources – find descriptions, transcripts, etc., on the Internet, or
pictures and include links.
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