Mass and elite culture are examples. Elite culture

Features of the production and consumption of cultural values allowed culturologists to identify two social forms existence of culture : mass culture and elite culture.

Mass culture is a type of cultural production that is produced daily in large volumes. It is assumed that mass culture is consumed by all people, regardless of place and country of residence. Mass culture - it is the culture of everyday life, presented to the widest possible audience through various channels, including the media and communications.

Mass culture (from lat.massa- lump, piece) - a cultural phenomenon of the 20th century, generated by the scientific and technological revolution, urbanization, the destruction of local communities, the blurring of territorial and social boundaries. The time of its appearance is the middle of the XX century, when the funds mass media(radio, print, television, record and tape recorder) penetrated into most countries of the world and became available to representatives of all social strata. In its proper sense, mass culture manifested itself for the first time in the United States at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The well-known American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski liked to repeat a phrase that became commonplace over time: “If Rome gave the world the right, England parliamentary activity, France culture and republican nationalism, then modern USA gave the world a scientific and technological revolution and mass culture.

The origins of the widespread dissemination of mass culture in the modern world lie in the commercialization of all social relations, while the mass production of culture is understood by analogy with the conveyor industry. Many creative organizations (cinema, design, TV) are closely associated with banking and industrial capital and are focused on the production of commercial, box office, and entertainment works. In turn, the consumption of these products is mass consumption, because the audience that perceives this culture is a mass audience of large halls, stadiums, millions of viewers of television and movie screens.

A striking example of mass culture is pop music, which is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population. It satisfies the momentary needs of people, reacts to any new event and reflects it. Therefore, samples of mass culture, in particular hits, quickly lose their relevance, become obsolete and go out of fashion. As a rule, mass culture has less artistic value than elite culture.

The purpose of mass culture is to stimulate the consumer consciousness of the viewer, listener, reader. Mass culture forms a special type of passive, non-critical perception of this culture in humans. It creates a personality that is quite easy to manipulate.

Consequently, mass culture is designed for mass consumption and for the average person, it is understandable and accessible to all ages, all segments of the population, regardless of the level of education. In social terms, it forms a new social stratum, called the "middle class".

Mass culture in artistic creativity performs specific social functions. Among them, the main one is illusory-compensatory: introducing a person to the world of illusory experience and unrealizable dreams. To do this, mass culture uses such entertainment types and genres of art as circus, radio, television; stage, hit, kitsch, slang, science fiction, action movie, detective, comics, thriller, western, melodrama, musical.

It is within the framework of these genres that simplified “versions of life” are created that reduce social evil to psychological and moral factors. And all this is combined with open or covert propaganda of the dominant way of life. Popular culture in more focuses not on realistic images, but on artificially created images (image) and stereotypes. Today, the newfangled "stars of the artificial Olympus" have no less fanatical admirers than the old gods and goddesses. Modern mass culture can be international and national.

Peculiaritiesmass culture: general accessibility (comprehensibility to everyone and everyone) of cultural values; ease of perception; stereotypes created by social stereotypes, replicability, entertainment and fun, sentimentality, simplification and primitiveness, propaganda of the cult of success, a strong personality, the cult of the thirst for possession of things, the cult of mediocrity, the conventionality of primitive symbolism.

Mass culture does not express the refined tastes of the aristocracy or the spiritual searches of the people, the mechanism of its distribution is directly related to the market, and it is predominantly a priority of megacity forms of existence. The basis of the success of mass culture is people's unconscious interest in violence and erotica.

At the same time, if we consider mass culture as a spontaneously emerging culture of everyday life, which is created ordinary people, then its positive aspects are the orientation towards the average norm, simple pragmatics, appeal to a huge reader, viewer and listener audience.

As the antipode of mass culture, many culturologists consider elite culture.

Elite (high) culture - the culture of the elite, intended for the upper strata of society, possessing the greatest ability for spiritual activity, a special artistic susceptibility and gifted with high moral and aesthetic inclinations.

Producer and consumer elite culture is the highest privileged stratum of society - the elite (from the French elite - the best, choice, favorite). The elite is not only a tribal aristocracy, but that educated part of society that has a special "organ of perception" - the ability for aesthetic contemplation and artistic and creative activity.

According to various estimates, consumers of elite culture in Europe for several centuries have remained approximately the same proportion of the population - about one percent. Elite culture is, first of all, the culture of the educated and wealthy part of the population. Under the elite culture usually means a special sophistication, complexity and high quality of cultural products.

The main function of elite culture is the production of social order in the form of law, power, structures of the social organization of society, as well as the ideology that justifies this order in the forms of religion, social philosophy and political thought. An elite culture involves a professional approach to creation, and the people who create it receive a special education. The circle of consumers of elite culture is its professional creators: scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, composers, as well as representatives of highly educated strata of society, namely: frequenters of museums and exhibitions, theater-goers, artists, literary critics, writers, musicians and many others.

Elite culture is very high level specialization and the highest level of social claims of the individual: love for power, wealth, fame is considered the normal psychology of any elite.

In high culture, those artistic techniques, which will be perceived and correctly understood by wide layers of non-professionals many years later (up to 50 years, and sometimes more). For a certain period of time, high culture not only cannot, but must remain alien to the people, it must be endured, and the viewer must mature creatively during this time. For example, the painting of Picasso, Dali or the music of Schoenberg is difficult for an unprepared person to understand even today.

Therefore, elite culture is experimental or avant-garde in nature and, as a rule, it is ahead of the level of perception of it by an averagely educated person.

With the growth of the level of education of the population, the circle of consumers of elite culture is expanding. It is this part of society that contributes to social progress, therefore “pure” art should be focused on meeting the demands and needs of the elite, and it is to it that artists, poets, and composers should turn their works. Formula of elite culture: "Art for the sake of art".

The same types of art can belong to both high and popular culture: classical music - high, and popular - mass, Fellini's films - high, and action films - mass. The organ mass of S. Bach belongs to high culture, but if it is used as a musical ringtone on a mobile phone, it is automatically included in the category of mass culture, without losing its belonging to high culture. Numerous orchestrations

Bach's performances in the style of light music, jazz or rock do not compromise high culture at all. The same applies to the Mona Lisa on a toilet soap package or a computer reproduction of it.

Features of the elite culture: focuses on "people of genius" capable of aesthetic contemplation and artistic and creative activity, there are no social stereotypes, a deep philosophical essence and non-standard content, specialization, sophistication, experimentalism, avant-garde, complexity cultural property for understanding an unprepared person, sophistication, high quality, intelligence.

Conclusion.

1. From the point of view of scientific analysis, there is no more complete or less complete culture; these two varieties of culture are culture in the full sense of the word.

2. Elitism and mass character are only quantitative characteristics related to the number of people who are consumers of artifacts.

3. Mass culture meets the needs of people in general, and therefore reflects the real level of humanity. Representatives of the elite culture, creating something new, thereby maintain a fairly high level of general culture.

Instruction

Elite culture includes works different types arts: literature, theater, cinema, etc. Since its understanding requires a certain level of training, it has a very narrow circle of connoisseurs. Not everyone understands the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the films of Andrei Tarkovsky and Alexander Sokurov. A special type of thinking is needed to understand the works of Franz Kafka or James Joyce's Ulysses. The creators of an elite culture, like, do not try to achieve high fees. Much more valuable for them is creative self-realization.

Consumers of elite culture are people with a high educational level and a developed aesthetic taste. Many of them are themselves creators of works of art or their professional researchers. First of all, we are talking about writers, artists, art historians, literary and art critics. This circle also includes connoisseurs and connoisseurs of art, regular visitors to museums, theaters and concert halls.

At the same time, works of the same types of art can belong to both elite and mass culture. For example, classical music is for elite culture, and popular music is for mass culture, Tarkovsky's films are for elite culture, and Indian melodramas are for mass culture, etc. At the same time, there are literary genres, which always belong to mass culture and are unlikely to ever move into the category of elite. Among them are detective stories, ladies' novels, humorous stories and feuilletons.

Sometimes there are curious how works belonging to an elite culture can, under certain conditions, go into the category of mass. For example, Bach's music is undoubtedly a phenomenon of elite culture, but if it is used as an accompaniment to a figure skating program, it automatically turns into a product of mass culture. Or quite the opposite: many of Mozart's works for their time were, most likely, " light music”(i.e. could be attributed to mass culture). And now they are perceived, rather, as an elitist.

Most of the works of elite culture are initially avant-garde or experimental. They use tools that will become clear to the mass consciousness after a few decades. Sometimes experts even call the exact period - 50 years. In other words, examples of elite culture are half a century ahead of their time.

The term "classical music" is sometimes interpreted extremely broadly. It includes not only creations outstanding composers past years, but also world-famous hits popular artists. Nevertheless, there is a strictly authentic meaning of "classical" in music.

In a narrow sense, classical music is called a rather short period in the history of this art, namely, the 18th century. The first half of the eighteenth century was marked by the work of such outstanding composers as Bach and Handel. The principles of classicism as the construction of a work in strict accordance with the canons were developed by Bach in his works. His fugue became a classical - that is, exemplary - form of musical creativity.

And after the death of Bach, a new stage opens in the history of music, connected with Haydn and Mozart. The rather complex and heavy sound was replaced by lightness and harmony of melodies, grace and even some coquetry. And yet, it is still a classic: in its creative search Mozart sought to find the ideal form.

Beethoven's works are a junction of the classical and romantic traditions. In his music, passions and feelings become much more than rational canons. During this period of the formation of the European musical tradition the main genres were formed: opera, symphony, sonata.

A broad interpretation of the term "classical music" implies the work of composers of past eras, which has withstood the test of time and has become a standard for other authors. Sometimes classical refers to music for symphonic instruments. The most clear (although not widely used) can be considered classical music as the author's, clearly spelled out and implying performance within the given framework. However, some researchers urge not to confuse academic (that is, squeezed into certain limits and rules) and classical music.

In the evaluative approach to the definition of classics, as the highest achievements in the history of music, the possible is hidden. Who is considered the best? Can the masters of jazz, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other recognized authors and performers be considered classics? On the one hand, yes. That's what we do when we call exemplary. But on the other hand, in pop-jazz music there is no strictness of the author's musical text, characteristic of the classics. In it, on the contrary, everything is built on improvisation and original arrangements. There is a fundamental difference between classical (academic) music and the modern post-jazz school.

History of the term

Classical is a rather broad concept, since this type includes works of different eras and genres. These are universally recognized works, considered exemplary for the eras in which they were written. Many of them are included in the compulsory program.

The concept of classics has developed in three recent centuries epochs of antiquity. Then it denoted certain writers who, for various reasons, were considered role models. One of the first such classics was the ancient Greek poet Homer, the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

In the 5th-8th centuries AD. formed the authors of the texts, which determined the theories and norms transmitted in the learning process. In different schools, this canon differed minimally. Gradually, this list was replenished with new names, among which were representatives of the pagan and Christian faiths. These authors became the cultural property of the public, who were imitated and quoted.

The modern meaning of the concept

During the Renaissance, European writers turned their attention to the authors of antiquity, as a result of the liberation secular culture from excessive pressure. The result of this in literature was an era in which it became fashionable to imitate ancient Greek playwrights such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, and follow the canons of classical drama. Then the term "" in the narrow sense began to mean all ancient literature.

In a broad sense, any work that created a canon in its genre began to be called a classic. For example, there are eras of modernism, eras, realism, etc. There is the concept of domestic and foreign, as well as world classics. So, recognized classics domestic literature in Russia are considered A.S. Pushkin, F.M. Dostoevsky, etc.

As a rule, in the history of literature different countries and nations, there is a century in which artistic literature has found its greatest value, and such a century is called the classical one. There is an opinion that a work gains public recognition when it carries " Eternal values”, something relevant for all times, encourages the reader to think about any universal problems. The classics remain in history and are opposed to one-day works, which eventually fall into oblivion.

The ability of a person to emotionally-sensory perception of reality and to artistic creativity prompted him to express his experiences figuratively, with the help of colors, lines, words, sounds, etc. This contributed to the emergence artistic culture in a broad sense.

What is included in the concept

Artistic culture is one of the areas public culture. Its essence is a creative reflection of being (, society and its life) in artistic images. It has important functions such as forming aesthetic perception and consciousness of people public values, norms, knowledge and experience, and recreational function (rest and recovery of people).

As a system it includes:
- art as such (individual and group), works and artistic values;
- organizational infrastructure: institutions that ensure the development, preservation, dissemination of artistic culture, creative organizations, educational institutions, demonstration sites, etc.;
- the spiritual atmosphere in society - perception, public interest in artistic and creative activities, art, state policy in this area.

Artistic culture includes mass, folk, artistic culture; artistic and aesthetic aspects various kinds activities (political, economic, legal); regional artistic subcultures; artistic subcultures of youth and professional associations, etc.

It manifests itself not only in art, but also in everyday life, and in material production, when a person gives expressiveness to the objects he creates for practical and utilitarian purposes and, realizing his need for aesthetics and beauty, in creativity. In addition to the material realm and physical objects, it also concerns the spiritual realm.

Artistic culture in the narrow sense

The core of artistic culture is professional and household art. This includes Tip 6: Who are geisha, one of which is the word "man", the other - "art". Already from the etymology of the word, one can guess that geisha are not Japanese courtesans. For the latter, there are separate words in Japanese - jero, yujo.

Geishas were perfect at being a woman. They raised the spirits of men, creating an atmosphere of joy, ease and emancipation. This was achieved thanks to songs, dances, jokes (often with erotic overtones), teahouses, which were demonstrated by geisha in men's companies along with casual conversation.

Geisha entertained men both at social events and on personal dates. At the tete-a-tete meeting there was also no place for intimate relationships. A geisha can have sex with her patron, who deprived her of her virginity. For geishas, this is a ritual called mizu-age that accompanies the transition from apprentice, maiko, to geisha.

If a geisha marries, then she retires from the profession. Before leaving, she sends out to her clients, patron, teachers with a treat - boiled rice, thereby informing her about the break in communication with them.

Outwardly, geisha are distinguished by their characteristic make-up with a thick layer of powder and bright red lips that make the woman's face look like a mask, as well as an old high, lush hairstyle. The traditional geisha is a kimono, the main colors of which are black, red and white.

modern geisha

It is believed that geisha appeared in the city of Kyoto in the 17th century. The quarters of the city where the geisha houses are located are called hanamachi (“flower streets”). There is a school here, where from the age of seven or eight they are taught to sing, dance, conduct a tea ceremony, play the national Japanese instrument shamisen, conduct a conversation with a man, and also learn how to make up and put on a kimono - all that a geisha should know and be able to do. .

When the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo in the 70s of the 19th century, noble Japanese also moved there, who made up the bulk of geisha clients. Geisha festivals, which are held at regular intervals in Kyoto and have become its calling card, were able to save their craft from the crisis.

After World War II, Japan was taken over by popular culture, leaving Japanese national traditions. The number of geishas has dwindled significantly, but those who remain true to their profession consider themselves to be the guardians of true Japanese culture. Many continue to follow the old way of life of a geisha completely, some only partially. But being in a geisha society is still the prerogative of the elite segments of the population.

Sources:

geisha world

Elite or high culture long years remains incomprehensible to most people. This explains its name. It is created and consumed by a narrow circle of people. Most people are not even aware of the existence of this form of culture, are unfamiliar with its definition.

Elite, folk and mass - is there a similarity

Folk art is the founder of any other cultural trend in general. Her works are created by nameless creators, they come from the people. Such creations convey features of each time, image and style of life of people. This type of art includes fairy tales, epics, myths.

Mass culture developed on the basis of folk culture. It has a large audience and is aimed at creating such works that will be understandable and accessible to everyone. It has less value than any other. The results of its activities are produced in large volumes, they do not take into account the refined tastes or the spiritual depth of people.

Elite culture is created by professionals for a specific circle of people with a certain level of education and knowledge. It does not seek to win the sympathy of the masses. With the help of such works, masters seek answers to eternal questions, strive to convey depth human soul.

Over time, works high creativity can be appreciated by the masses. Nevertheless, leaving for the people, such creativity remains the highest step in the development of any kind of art.

Features and signs of elite culture

The best way differences and signs of elite works of art can be seen in their comparison with the mass.

All signs of elite art are opposed to mass or folk art, which are created for a wide range spectators. Therefore, its results often remain misunderstood and unappreciated by most people. Awareness of their greatness and significance occurs only after more than one decade, and sometimes even a century.

What works belong to the elite culture

Many examples of elite works are now known to everyone.

The group of people for whom such masterpieces of art are created may not be distinguished by an old name, nobility of the family and other differences that characterize the elite in everyday speech. It is possible to understand and appreciate such creations only with the help of a certain level of development, a set of knowledge and skills, a pure and clear consciousness.

Primitive mass creativity will not be able to help in the development of the level of intelligence and education.

It does not affect the depths of the human soul, it does not seek to know the essence of being. It adapts to the requirements of the time and desires of the consumer. That is why the development of an elite culture is very important for all mankind. It is such works that help even a small circle of people to maintain a high level of education and the ability to appreciate truly beautiful works of art and their authors.

Introduction

Culture is a sphere of human activity associated with the self-expression of a person, the manifestation of his subjectivity (character, skills, abilities, knowledge). That is why any culture has additional characteristics, since it is associated with human creativity, as well as with everyday practice, communication, reflection, generalization and its everyday life.

Culture is a specific way of organizing and developing human life, represented in the products of material and spiritual labor, in the system social norms and institutions, in spiritual values, in the totality of people's relations to nature, to each other and to themselves.

Within a society, we can distinguish:

Elite - high culture

Mass - popular culture

People's - folklore culture

The purpose of the work is to analyze the content of mass and elite culture

Work tasks:

Expand the concept of "culture" in a broad sense

Highlight the main types of culture

Describe the features and functions of mass and elite culture.

The concept of culture

Culture - originally defined as the cultivation and maintenance of the land in order to make it fit for human needs. In a figurative sense, culture is the improvement, ennobling of the bodily and spiritual inclinations and abilities of a person; accordingly, there is a culture of the body, a culture of the soul and a spiritual culture. In a broad sense, culture is a combination of manifestations, achievements and creativity of a people or a group of peoples.

Culture, considered from the point of view of content, is divided into various areas, spheres: customs and customs, language and writing, the nature of clothing, settlements, work, economics, socio-political structure, science, technology, art, religion, all forms of manifestation of the objective spirit given people. The level and state of culture can be understood only on the basis of the development of the history of culture; in this sense one speaks of primitive and high culture; The degeneration of culture creates either lack of culture or "refined culture". In old cultures there is sometimes weariness, pessimism, stagnation and decline. These phenomena make it possible to judge how much the bearers of culture remained true to the essence of their culture. The difference between culture and civilization lies in the fact that culture is the expression and result of the self-determination of the will of the people or individual (" man of culture”), while civilization is a combination of technological achievements and the comfort associated with them.

Culture characterizes the features of consciousness, behavior and activities of people in specific areas public life(culture of politics, culture of spiritual life).

The very word culture (in its figurative sense) came into use in social thought in the second half of the 18th century.

IN late XIX At the beginning of the 20th century, the established evolutionary concept of culture was criticized. In culture, they began to see, first of all, a specific system of values, placed according to their role in the life and organization of society.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of "local" civilizations - closed and self-sufficient cultural organisms - became widely known. This concept is characterized by the opposition of culture and civilization, which was seen as final stage development of this society.

In some other concepts, the criticism of culture, begun by Rousseau, was brought to its complete denial, the idea of \u200b\u200b"natural anti-culture" of a person was put forward, and any culture is a means of suppressing and enslaving a person (Nietzsche).

The variety of types of culture can be considered in two aspects: external diversity - culture on the scale of humanity, the emphasis of which is the progress of culture on the world stage; internal diversity is the culture of a separate society, city, subcultures can also be taken into account here.

But main task this work is, it is a concrete consideration of mass and elite culture.

Mass culture

Culture has gone through many crises in its history. The transitions from antiquity to the Middle Ages and from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance were marked by deep crises. But what is happening to culture in our era cannot be called one of the crises along with others. We are present at the crisis of culture in general, at the deepest upheavals in its millennial foundations. Finally faded the old ideal classically - fine art. Art convulsively seeks to transcend its limits. The boundaries separating one art from another and art in general from what is no longer art, what is above or below it, are being violated. Man wants to create something that has never happened before, and in his creative frenzy he transcends all limits and all boundaries. He no longer creates such perfect and beautiful works as the more modest man of past eras created. This is the essence of mass culture.

Mass culture, the culture of the majority, is also called pop culture. The main characteristics are that it is the most popular and predominant among the general population in society. It may include such phenomena as everyday life, entertainment (sports, concerts, etc.), as well as the media.

Mass culture. Prerequisites for the formation

Prerequisites for the formation of mass culture in the XVIII century. inherent in the very existence of the structure of society. José Ortega y Gasset formulated a well-known approach to structuring on the basis of creativity. Then the idea arises of the "creative elite", which, naturally, constitutes a smaller part of society, and of the "mass" - quantitatively the main part of the population. Accordingly, it becomes possible to speak of the culture of the "elite" - "elite culture" and the culture of the "mass" - "mass culture". During this period, there is a division of culture, the formation of new significant social strata. Getting the opportunity for a conscious aesthetic perception of cultural phenomena, newly emerging social groups, constantly communicating with the masses, make the “elite” phenomena significant on a social scale and at the same time show interest in “mass” culture, in some cases they are mixed.

Mass culture in the modern sense

At the beginning of the XX century. mass society and the mass culture associated with it have become the subject of research by the most prominent scientists in various scientific fields: philosophers José Ortega y Gasset ("The Revolt of the Masses"), sociologists Jean Baudrillard ("Phantoms of Modernity"), and other scientists in various fields of science. Analyzing popular culture, they single out main point this culture, it is entertainment, so that it has a commercial success, so that it is bought, and the money spent on it makes a profit. Amusement is given by the strict structural conditions of the text. The plot and stylistic texture of mass culture products can be primitive from the point of view of an elitist fundamental culture, but it should not be poorly done, but on the contrary, in its primitiveness it should be perfect - only in this case it is guaranteed readership and, therefore, commercial success. . Mass culture needs a clear plot with intrigue and, most importantly, a clear division into genres. We see this well in the example of mass cinema. The genres are clearly demarcated and there aren't many of them. The main ones are: detective, thriller, comedy, melodrama, horror film, etc. Each genre is a self-contained world with its own linguistic laws, which in no case should be crossed, especially in cinema, where production is associated with the largest number financial investments.

It can be said that mass culture must have a rigid syntax - an internal structure, but at the same time they can be poor semantically, they may lack deep meaning.

Mass culture is characterized by anti-modernism and anti-avant-gardism. If modernism and the avant-garde strive for a sophisticated technique of writing, then mass culture operates with an extremely simple technique, worked out by the previous culture. If in modernism and the avant-garde the focus on the new prevails as the main condition for their existence, then mass culture is traditional and conservative. It is focused on the average linguistic semiotic norm, on simple pragmatics, since it is addressed to a huge readership and audience.

It can be said, therefore, that mass culture arises not only due to the development of technology, which led to such a huge number of sources of information, but also due to the development and strengthening of political democracies. An example of this is that mass culture is the most developed in the most developed democratic society - in America with its Hollywood.

Speaking about art in general, Pitirim Sorokin noted an approximately similar trend in the middle of the 20th century: “How commercial item for entertainment, art is increasingly controlled by merchants, commercial interests and fashion trends. This situation creates the highest connoisseurs of beauty from businessmen, forces artists to obey their demands, which are also imposed through advertising and other media. IN early XXI century modern researchers state the same cultural phenomena: “Modern trends are fragmented and have already created a critical mass of changes that have touched the very foundations of the content and activities cultural institutions. The most significant of them, in our opinion, are: the commercialization of culture, democratization, the blurring of boundaries - both in the field of knowledge and technology - as well as the predominant attention to the process, not to the content.

The attitude of science to mass culture is changing. Popular culture is "the decline of the essence of art".

Table 1. The influence of mass culture on the spiritual life of society

PositiveNegativeHer works do not act as a means of authorial self-expression, but are directly addressed to the reader, listener, viewer, take into account his requests Differs in democracy (her “products” are used by representatives of different social groups), which corresponds to the time Meets the needs of many people, including the need for intensive rest, psychological row. It has its peaks - literary, musical, cinematic works that can be classified as "high" art Lowers the general bar of the spiritual culture of society, as it indulges the undemanding tastes of the "mass man" Leads to standardization and unification of not only the way of life, but also the way of thinking of millions people It is designed for passive consumption, as it does not stimulate any creative impulses in the spiritual sphere Plants myths in the minds of people (“the Cinderella myth”, “the myth simple guy”, etc.) Forms artificial needs in people through massive advertising Using modern media, substitutes for many people real life by imposing certain perceptions and preferences

Elite culture

Elite culture (from the French elite - selective, chosen, best) is a subculture of privileged groups of society, characterized by fundamental closeness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic self-sufficiency. A select minority, as a rule, who are also its creators. Elite culture consciously and consistently opposes mass culture.

Political and cultural elites differ; the first ones, also called “ruling”, “powerful”, today, thanks to the works of many sociologists and political scientists, have been studied in sufficient detail and in depth. Cultural elites are much less explored - strata united not by economic, social, political, and actually power interests and goals, but by ideological principles, spiritual values, socio-cultural norms.

Unlike political elites, spiritual and creative elites form their own, fundamentally new mechanisms of self-regulation and value-semantic criteria for activity choice. In the elite culture, the range of values recognized as true and “high” is limited, and the system of norms accepted by this stratum as mandatory and strict in the community of “initiates” is being tightened. The narrowing of the elite and its spiritual rallying is inevitably accompanied by its qualities, growth (in intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and other respects).

Actually for the sake of this, the circle of norms and values of the elite culture becomes emphatically high, innovative, which can be achieved by various means:

) mastering new social and mental realities as cultural phenomena or, on the contrary, rejection of any new and "protection" of a narrow circle of conservative values and norms;

) the inclusion of one's subject in an unexpected value-semantic context, which gives its interpretation a unique and even excludes meaning.

) the development of a special cultural language, accessible only to a narrow circle, insurmountable (or difficult to overcome) semantic barriers to complex thinking;

Historical origin elite culture

In a primitive society, priests, sorcerers, sorcerers, tribal leaders become privileged holders of special knowledge that cannot and should not be intended for general, mass use. Subsequently, this kind of relationship between elite culture and mass culture in one form or another, in particular secular, disagreements repeatedly arose.

Ultimately, the elitism of knowledge, skills, values, norms, principles, traditions that was formed in this way was the key to refined professionalism and deep subject specialization, without which historical progress, postulate, value-semantic growth are impossible in culture, contain enrichment and accumulation of formal perfection, - any value-semantic hierarchy. Elite culture acts as an initiative and productive beginning in any culture, performing a predominantly creative function in it; while popular culture stereotypes.

Elite culture flourishes especially productively and fruitfully at the “breakdown” of cultural epochs, with the change of cultural and historical paradigms, expressing in a peculiar way the crisis conditions of culture, the unstable balance between the “old” and the “new”. Representatives of the elite culture were aware of their mission in culture as "pioneers of the new", as being ahead of their time, as creators not understood by their contemporaries (such, for example, are the majority of romantics and modernists - symbolists, cultural figures avant-garde and prof. revolutionaries who carried out the cultural revolution).

So, the directions, creative searches of various representatives of modern culture (symbolists and impressionists, expressionists and futurists, surrealists and dadaists, etc.) - both artists and theorists of directions, and philosophers, and publicists - were aimed at creating unique samples and whole systems of elite culture.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that mass and elite culture has its own individual features and characteristics.

Culture is an important aspect in human activity. Culture is a state of mind, there is a totality of manifestations, achievements and creativity of a people or a group of peoples.

But one feature can be distinguished that can be attributed to an elite culture - the greater the percentage of residents who adhere to its ideology, the higher the level of a highly educated population.

In the work, the characteristics of mass and elite culture were fully given, their main properties were highlighted, and all the pluses and minuses were weighed.

mass elite culture

Bibliography

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Ortega - and - Gasset X. Revolt of the masses. Dehumanization of art. 1991

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Elite culture- this is "high culture", opposed to mass culture by the type of influence on the perceiving consciousness, preserving its subjective features and providing a meaning-forming function. Its main ideal is the formation of consciousness, ready for active transformative activity and creativity in accordance with the objective laws of reality. Historically, elite culture arose as the antithesis of mass culture and its meaning, the main value shows in comparison with the latter.

The essence of elite culture was first analyzed by X. Ortega y Gasset and K. Manheim. The subject of an elitist, high culture is a person - free, creative person capable of conscious activity. The creations of this culture are always personally colored and designed for personal perception, regardless of the breadth of their audience, which is why the wide circulation and millions of copies of the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare not only do not reduce their significance, but, on the contrary, contribute to the wide dissemination of spiritual values. In this sense, the subject of an elite culture is a representative of the elite.

Elite culture is a culture of privileged groups of society, characterized by fundamental closeness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic self-sufficiency. According to I. V. Kondakov, elite culture appeals to a select minority of its subjects, who, as a rule, are both its creators and addressees (in any case, the circle of both is almost the same).

Elite culture consciously and consistently opposes the culture of the majority in all its historical and typological varieties - folklore, folk culture, the official culture of a particular estate or class, the state as a whole, the cultural industry of the technocratic society of the 20th century. and so on.

Philosophers consider elite culture as the only one capable of preserving and reproducing the basic meanings of culture and having a number of fundamentally important features:

complexity, specialization, creativity, innovation;
the ability to form consciousness, ready for active transformative activity and creativity in accordance with the objective laws of reality;
the ability to concentrate the spiritual, intellectual and artistic experience generations;
the presence of a limited range of values recognized as true and "high";
a rigid system of norms accepted by this stratum as obligatory and strict in the community of "initiates";
individualization of norms, values, evaluative criteria of activity, often principles and forms of behavior of members of the elite community, thereby becoming unique;
the creation of a new, deliberately complicated cultural semantics, requiring special training and an immense cultural outlook from the addressee;
using a deliberately subjective, individually creative, “deleting” interpretation of the ordinary and familiar, which brings the subject’s cultural assimilation of reality closer to a mental (sometimes artistic) experiment on it and, to the extreme, replaces the reflection of reality in elite culture with its transformation, imitation with deformation, penetration into meaning - conjecture and rethinking of the given;
semantic and functional “closeness”, “narrowness”, isolation from the whole national culture, which turns the elite culture into a kind of secret, sacred, esoteric knowledge, taboo for the rest of the masses, and its carriers turn into a kind of “priests” of this knowledge, the chosen ones of the gods , "servants of the muses", "keepers of secrets and faith", which is often played up and poeticized in elite culture.

The concept of subculture and counterculture

Subculture is a specific way of life, it is the realization of a person's need for self-expression, for personal development, for satisfying the sense of beauty, for understanding one's purpose in the world. Subcultures appear regardless of politics, economics. Material needs, their quantity and quality associated with living conditions, cannot be essential to determine the reasons why a youth subculture appears.