 Much like we could ask that you know angel riddle which came first the chicken or the egg We could ask the same type of Question or riddle about the media which came first the culture or the media does culture influence the media or does media influence and Drive culture and the answer to both of those things really is yes. I think you know to all of that Really almost as unanswerable as The chicken and the egg question so But regardless that doesn't excuse us from being aware Culturally of what's happening in the media and the impact the culture has on media and vice versa. So in this video We will examine the critical media perspective of cultural Analysis in our continuing examination of critical media studies So let's start as we always do by taking a look at what is cultural analysis a cultural analysis examines artifacts from a Perspective that seeks to understand how media influence the way we think about the world as political and social beings so Essentially, how does media? Use and impact culture and almost kind of vice versa because they are really very interconnected That's that's cultural analysis. That's the framework that we're going to use and and and take a look at in this video so the major premises of Cultural analysis are pretty straightforward first that cultures and ideologies Normalize and privilege certain perspectives as we talked about when in our previous video We talked about culture and ideology and laid that foundation one of the things we talked about or a couple things We talked about where how ideologies normalize things and they enhance privilege, right? we use Ideologies to structure our society and our culture through things like privilege so cultures and ideologies normalize and privilege Certain perspectives when you have them they are seen as normal and they are given the advantage over Ideologies and cultures that don't have those perspectives Media is frequently used to reinforce and exclude then other Cultures and ideologies So we use that we we see that these cultures and ideologies are what are Quote-unquote normal and it's and preferred those perspectives are what we want so media then is you is frequently used to to reinforce that and to to More broadly Express that this is normal. This is what is desirable. This is what we should want And this is the cultural and ideological norm And and so and we do that to to reinforce some of those things and then of course Through the exclusion of other things say that these are not normal and these are or by negative portrayals say that these are Are not normal things are not desirable things for our culture so Cultures and ideologies normalize and privilege these perspectives and then we use media to reinforce or exclude those other cultures and ideologies Uh, it's also social the socially powerful or privileged groups typically create and or control the media so media is used to reinforce these things and it's also usually controlled by those socially powerful things to Indicate and to and then reinforce that That those are desirable things that what they have and what they want are desirable So, you know, it kind of creates this cycle We see but we have this dominant culture group and then they are the ones who then create the media Okay, they dominate the culture. They dominate the media So they create the media and then these cultural norms are established through those media outlets as you know This is what's desirable. This is what's good and then society adjusts and seeks to normalize Based on what they're being told is normal. What they're being told is desirable and good Which then feeds into the dominant culture group. Okay and reinforces that particular group So it creates this cycle of and helps people maintain that power in that situation So as an example, let's take a look at the 90s Let's take a look at the 90s just in general on the media the 90s and and how that reinforced some of these things So in the 90s the dominant culture group as we kind of touched on in a previous video were The heterosexual white males right that's been the dominant power group and dominant culture group for a long time So by and large straight white men are making media decisions and and and establishing that culture So they are the ones creating the media for the most part So and we see that reflected in the media the most popular show in the 90s or shows In the 90s we could see er for example, it's very very popular Very very white very very heterosexual and and largely male dominated Seinfeld same type of thing right we got Three straight white guys and and one woman there but all all of whom are white and All of whom are heterosexual friends You know that it's been much discussed when you look at media about just how white Friends is and now how what a big deal it was anytime they had somebody on there who was A person of color or a person who was different from that dominant culture group These are the shows that ruled the 90s So these are the shows that we look at that were created that dominant culture group said, okay, this is what's normal This is what we know and so we're going to create this and and this is the media that was put out there And as as a result, of course, we tried to emulate the people trying to emulate this So these are the norms that were established right So there was there was a A shift away kind of from if we look at those things that there was a shift away from First of all family-based sitcoms to do things like young professionals who worked or kind of worked I think the friends kind of worked a little bit in some ways they had jobs I don't know but and so we saw a shift away from family-based sitcoms that we had in the 80s For example like the Cosby show and things like that growing pains family ties Those were you know family-based shows we had in the 80s to 90s. We saw These norms being established of a shift away from those things into young professionals who kind of work right like friends A new way to think about family that family isn't just about Genetic times but families also about you know the Seinfeld characters or a family really in a sense for the friends cast Certainly we're considered a family for example And then we saw a change in speech that comes along with that language is a part of culture And so we see changes in patterns of speech based on those media right um like you know Saying something is so whatever that was not something to happen for that use of so as a magnifier Like very or really that was not something that that was common. So we This is so different or so whatever you're so fancy. You're so whatever That's a that's a language change in the 90s based on media really that came from the media Um the the heavy use of sarcasm Not that sarcasm was created in the 90s But through the media really came out and was put in the forefront in the 90s and some and then up speak How we you know kind of had to end everything like a question You know at the end of every sentence It he kind of had to go up at the end even if it wasn't a question of if it was a statement That was not something that really happened before then Okay, so so we saw those changes cultural norms where we had these again young professionals to move away from Family the strictly family and into different kinds of family and changes in speech then as well as a result we saw these things again, these were enormously popular television shows so Created by that dominant culture to create that media then these cultural norms were established through these these artifacts And then as a result society seeks to normalize society seeks to catch up and say okay, so now we need to to To catch up with this if this is what the normal is then we need to find that so society Saw it to do that and and did that in a variety of ways first of all We saw the formula repeated in the media That became the norm in the media once something became popular became the norm So we saw the same type of formula used in shows like sex in the city how I met your mother We had these again predominantly white casts that are alternative types of families and talking a funny way Big bang theory came along then and later as well and so we decided so we sought to Repeat the success of those things and repeat that formula We also saw things like society seeking to normalize coffee houses were not really a popular thing before Friends, I know that sounds weird, but you know, we went from From having you know, these these you know, bunch of old guys sitting around the every that's a coffee shop That's what it would have been Before the 90s, you know, that's what we thought when we said coffee shop It's where old guys go to share stories and and drink coffee until all hours of the day because they don't have anything else to do Right, but then After the success of that media and that society seeking to normalize Everybody wanted to drink at this fancy coffee shop and everybody wanted the fancy coffee And so you you saw these things pop up all over the place and now not only do you have a star box on every corner But you have these really unique Kind of coffee shops that that are cool Right and and they really came about as a result of that media development during the 90s And then we also saw society seeking to normalize like the things like the rachel Which is what this haircut was called the rachel right after the character that jennifer aniston played on friends This haircut was such a huge deal when it first happened Every woman wanted the rachel every girl wanted the rachel that made became a haircut style That the society sought to emulate these people so much that that they wanted the same haircut As as she had right so it became became known as its own thing And all of that then fed back into this dominant culture group, of course, right? It all that feeds back into Oh, this is working so So we're able to establish this as a norm to the exclusion of other things and reinforce And that those things are what is good and what is right and and exclude Other perspectives then and make them seem abnormal Yeah So it creates this sort of the sort of system that takes place when we do these things so Okay, so we have to keep that in mind that that's that's you know the major premises of Of cultural analysis include a recognition of these things So from a perspective of today from the contemporary perspective, we look at we look at things in terms of cultural analysis We do examine things like class which may make you think back to our buddy marks, right? And and that's was his thing. We looked at that in a previous video and when we looked at marxist analysis and That was all about class. Well class is still important And in fact, uh, so marx kind of believed that there were these the Different classes the bourgeoisie the petite bourgeoisie and the proletariat, right? And that the proletariat was the the largest group the most important group but the bourgeoisie Kind of ruled the roost and and set the set the tone for everything in the petite bourgeoisie We're kind of in between the middle class was sort of in between but what we see in a contemporary sense is that in our culture the petite bourgeoisie is The largest part of society Okay, and we're still influenced by the bourgeoisie and the proletariat's still there the working people so to speak working class We're still there, but the petite bourgeoisie really dominate the culture and and and so but so are both creating the culture but also Following in that culture and as we look back at that cycle, right? So we see that that For example, uh, technology how that influences class and and uh, and we think about that The haves and haves knots in terms of the digital divide and and technology so We think about things like the american dream for the class the class that that we have created the american dream This idea that anybody can can reach any height Right that you can move between those classes marx would have said no you can once you're in the proletariat You can never get out of the proletariat, right? But but but but you know contemporarily we would say no That's not really true that Though, you know, the american dream is that anybody can can Can become famous can become wealthy can can achieve what it is they want If they just work hard enough, right? That's the idea of the american dream Is that anything is possible and so we have to consider that as a part of our culture This idea of a conspicuous consumption too that the shopping is cool. It's desirable It's desirable to own things and and we've become very materialistic. So we need to keep those things in mind that class dominates our culture Also the the impact of race In our culture and the idea of exclusion we we I mentioned this briefly as we talked about friends idea that I mean rarely, you know, certainly weren't very many lead Characters on for none of the six for black or of a minority of any sort, right? But uh, But certainly even the secondary lead characters. It was pretty rare to have Somebody of color or have a minority represented in in that role even so it was very white straight middle class type of things so excluding Other races and representation of other other races obviously and then stereotyping We stereotype people in the media all the time. That's a contemporary thing. We need to consider that we stereotype people based on race and and based on You know cultures and things like that that we that are represented Then in our media artifacts and the way the stereotype is used to classify large groups of people accurately or interact inaccurately This idea of assimilation is is important to us. That was that was part of the As we discussed again in a previous video We looked at this but the idea of the Cosby show was such a An important show culturally in some ways because it represented just saying, you know, the black family could be middle class Could be professional even upper class, right? They were professionals They're a doctor and a lawyer as parents and and this idea of assimilation into The media but it stands out because it's so rare, right? That's you know And then media also creates a society of othering Society of othering when we when we label things and we think we're doing You know, I think we're doing well on things and but we other them by The label for example, you know when we say a director and we don't just say directors. Oh and this female director She's she's outstanding this outstanding female director We don't point that out about Steven Spielberg or Morton Scorsese. We don't say well, they're really outstanding male directors These are these are great Male directors, you know, they do all this and they're and they're men We do that with others. We do, you know, this outstanding female director this outstanding African-american director we other people we label instead of just looking at wow, that's a fantastic director Right, they're doing a fantastic job and and but we label them and we and as a result we other people So media has that impact as well. So we need to keep these things in mind As we're as we're looking at cultural analysis Okay, so let's dig in real quick to some common questions and look at one artifact or one, you know Kind of thing real quickly to illustrate some of these Common questions and cultural analysis. What are the dominant cultural elements under which this artifact was created? So again, what was the culture remember a culture is historical It's it's bound to that time and that perspective and and so so we need to consider What was the dominant culture of the time that that artifact was created? How are those cultural? How are those cultural ideologies represented in that artifact? How does this artifact seek to protect or challenge the dominant culture? You remember the dominant cultures when creating the media and really influencing that so How does this artifact seek to protect that or is it seeking to challenge that dominant culture? And then what other cultures or ideologies are limited or excluded in this artifact? So real quickly I mentioned this show a couple times a bit but let's just take a look at the Big Bang Theory As an artifact here the Big Bang Theory very popular show So through much of the the 2008 I can't remember exactly when it started but But it was very popular very very popular show in fact spawned a spin-off now and young Sheldon and things But we're going to focus on the Big Bang Theory So the common questions that we want to look at first of all What are the dominant cultural elements under which this artifact was created? Well, you know as I mentioned this came along in the in the wake of the post-friends movement where So everybody was shifting kind of as we talked about to that People are professionals and you know, so they may have jobs and instead of family based and family may take on an alternative meaning Right and so and then you have those different elements the way that people talk and That you Sark has them and things so Those are the dominant cultural elements with those post-friends type things that we knew that everybody was Of the friends and Seinfeld era this came directly after that. So you see you have this alternative family, right? They're not genetically related, but they are a family in a sense. They act like a family They behave like a family. They treat each other like a family And so we see a lot of family dynamics, but not an actual family We see that they're young professionals that they are, you know that and they're we see that they're really I'm representing the value of education and predominantly, you know, they're an educated group with the exception of of A wider name just slipped my mind Kaylee Cuoco's character Shoot, what was her name? Okay, it'll come to me when I'm not trying to think but you know everybody else was educated highly educated right, but so the dominant cultural elements, but were You know alternative family, but still largely heterosexual white Predominantly male leads of course So those are the dominant cultural elements that that are in play then How are they represented in that artifact? Well through the show in we see that they are predominantly White heterosexual and educated men professional men and women then eventually are integrated into the show So we you know that we see more and more Women added but weren't there initially, right? They had the one woman initially and then they added some later to balance things out But all of them straight all you know despite the fact that the one of the primary leads who played Sheldon Was in fact a gate in in real life, but in the show everybody is straight and predominantly that's those are the main characters are You know white heterosexual And with the exception of Raj, you know, it's pretty white and very very little Minority representation in the show in general So it's really reinforcing those dominant cultural Ideologies and norms that that are associated with that How does the artifact seek to protect or challenge the dominant culture again? The way it's cast the way the characters are written it really is protecting that dominant culture of Of heterosexual white men and adding in education that it's okay to be educated It's okay to be smart that the nerds are taken over right that it's cool to be a nerd it's cool to be into those kinds of things and and so You kind of want to slip that in a little bit too. I think because you know most people creating these shows are Probably nerds themselves right what we would call nerds. They're into science fiction They're into these types of things So they wrote characters that are based on them and they were funny as well But but trying to normalize those things and make it cool to be Going to a science fiction Convention or something like that doesn't seem so weird now that they've done done it on the big bang theory so many times Right, so so they're really protecting that dominant culture with with this show though really not not challenging it too much You know challenging that aspect of it. I guess in terms of introducing the nerd thing but But really protecting a lot of the different cultural aspects And then cultures and ideologies that are limited or excluded well first of all cultures and ideologies If we talked about race, which is not really an element of culture, but Is excluded predominantly white cast and and so that is excluded predominantly I guess I guess I wouldn't say predominantly christian there were there were several jewish characters But you know religion wasn't really a part of it anyway, so but but excluding Certainly other types of religions that that weren't represented as strongly at all you know excluding The lgbtq community really not represented despite the fact that they had several Well, I mean, you know people who were Known in real life to be gay But weren't portraying gay characters not that they have to be you know They're actors they can portray all kind of thing, but Those types of things you really didn't see any gay characters on the show Not not certainly not predominantly featured and Despite the there was a heavy sexual component to the show, but it was all really heterosexual type things so Those are excluded You know you see the exclusion of kind of uneducated people really lower working class People these are these are professionals and they're focus focusing on their lives and their issues or whatever so You see those excluded and and just really You know, even though roge was there you don't really see a lot of his culture represented in that show It focuses on other aspects of predominantly traditional american cultures and ideologies So despite the fact that it's a good show. I really love that show. There are some it is a very Um strong representation of the dominant cultural elements at that time and protecting those and And really featuring those and limiting it or excluding other items that could be addressed Hopefully this gives you an idea of what looks like with cultural analysis when we do that And so now you can keep an eye after those. They're really very very important And we can also note that when things are going against The culture and seeking to challenge the culture those things become more obvious than as a result If you have questions about cultural analysis or anything related to critical media studies, please feel free to email me Love to hear from you there in the meantime. I hope this adds into your toolbox of Critical lenses for critical media studies now that you know a little bit more about cultural analysis