University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

Cultural Studies meets Sports Studies

Power, Sport, and Popular Culture

Class Outline - Housekeeping!- Our Lecture !- Break (10 or so minutes)!- Discussion!- Tutorial Groups (breakout)!- Group Assessment Organization

kinesiology381@gmail.com

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

Coffee4as4popular4culture4

Coffee:44Brown4liquid4substance?4Polysemic4signiAier?4or4both

1.'The'

Representation''

of'Coffee'What4meanings4does4coffee4

evoke4for4you?'

How4does4coffee4acquire4its4

meanings?4

How4is4it4made4to4signify?

2.'The'Production'

of'coffee'Coffee,4capitalism,4and4

colonialism4

Where4does4coffee4come4from?4

What4does4it4promote?4

3.'The'

Consumption'

of'coffee'As4if4by4‘magic,’4our4

consumption4of4coffee4

obscures4the4process4of4

production4

How?4

4

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

“Commodity'fetishism4describes4what4happens4under4a4

capitalist4system4in4which4material4objects4are4bought4and4sold:4

commodities4come4to4stand4in4for4relationships4between4people4

as4symbols4of4meaning4and4value,4while4people4and4social4

relationships4themselves4become4objectiAied4(they4are4turned4

symbolically4into4objects)”44

(O’Brien4and4Szeman,42014,427)4

The4‘magic’4of4consumption

Karl'Marx,'a'key'@igure'for'us,'called'this'process'the'

fetishization'of'commodities'

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

How4is4it4that4objects4conceal4their4relations4of4production?4

(as4if4by4magic)

We'know'that'Starbucks'and'Nike'are'popular...but'this'doesn’t'tell'us'much,''

if'anything,'about'how'popularity'is'produced,'is'policed,'''

or'changes,'or'of'what%is%at%stake'in'studying'popular'culture

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

If4popular4culture4is4invested4with4power,4then4what4is4the4

character4of4power?4What4is4it4and4how4does4it4work?4

!What4is4the4difference4between4cultural4studies,4and4just4

studying4culture?4

!What4constitutes4the4‘popular’4in4popular4culture?4

!

Our questions for today’s class

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CONSUMER4EXPLOITATION? A4CASE4STUDY

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

Why do they still go? Why do soccer supporters continue to attend matches,

given this widespread dissatisfaction with ticket prices?

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

Three Theses on Power and Popular Culture

Or.......

Force x Distance Power =

Time

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THESIS #1 - INDIVIDUAL CHOICE AND THE ‘INVISIBLE HAND’ OF

THE FREE MARKETClassical'economics'views'all'of'as''

rational'consumers'who'act','purchase'things,''

and'make'decisions'out'of'our'own'selfJinterest

This4view4seems4selfaevident:4Humans4act4of4our4own4accord,4and4those4actions4have4consequences.

BUT4a4Science4simply4does4not4support4this4idea4that4we4all4act4freely,4rationally,4of4our4own4accord4

We4all4have4the4freedom4to4vote4with4our4dollars,4and4the4market,4and4society,4changes4accordingly44

(as4if4by4magic,4or4some4‘invisible4hand’)

For'example:''

The'Copernican'Revolution;'

Darwinism;'

Freudian'theory;'

plus'reams'and'reams'of'social'theory'

all'show'us'that'we'never'act'alone

“You'cannot'learn,'through'

common'sense,'how'things'

are;'you'can'only'discover'

where'they'@it'in'the'existing'

scheme'of'things”'

'J'Stuart'Hall

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

Generally, ideology is “the process by which the set of values and beliefs that bind individuals together become

‘naturalized’” (O’Brien and Szeman, 2014, 41)

For our purposes, in this example, ideology refers to the difference between how things appear to us (ideology)

and how they really are (reality)

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THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

--------------------------The Economic Base!

capitalism, socialism, feudalism, etc

The !‘Superstructure’!

!!

Religion, Education, Media, Family, Law, ....pretty much everything in society

outside of the economic base ... including Sport

He'attempted'a'science'

of'history'and'society

Marx'concluded'that'the'‘mode'of'

production’'J'that'is,'how'things'are'

produced'in'and'for'society'J'

determines'the'culture'of'that'society

Marx'wrote'about'the'

capitalism'through'the'

industrial'revolution'

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THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.

The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means

of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental

production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material

relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” (Marx, circa 1846)

Marx is saying here that our ideas about ourselves and the world around us are determined by those who own and control the infrastructure of our society; that is, those who own and control the modes of production

Marx on ideology:

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FOR EXAMPLE

• Nick Turse (2008) argues that the military invades our everyday lives in ways we simply do not register!

• If only we could see it, we would change...?

THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

According4to4Lamb4and4Hillman4(2014),4the4popularity4of44

Tough4Mudder4is4explained4by4its44

“capacity'to'serve'as'a'functional'site'that'produces'

rhetorical'proof'of'one’s'‘@itness’'to'survive'and'succeed'

within'the'milieu'of'corporate'capitalism”4(3).

THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

Does Tough Mudder, and perhaps sport in general, represent a deceptively simplistic and egalitarian model of performance and reward? And if so, who is falling for this?

FOR EXAMPLE

Because4the4course4thereby4becomes4a44

“metaphor'for'capitalism'and'organizational'culture'

themselves,'participants'may'mistakenly'believe'that'

they'are'autonomous'from'social'structures'that,'in'fact,'

hinder'the'full'exercise'of'their'agency”4(16).

In4conclusion4they4argue4that4Tough4Mudder44

“may'perpetuate'a'kind'of'false'consciousness'

among'those'who'feel'that'success'in'sports'

translates'into'professional'empowerment'in'

general”4(16).4

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

THESIS #2 - IDEOLOGY AS FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS

But, what about resistance, or chance, or change? !!

In Marx, because the ruling class determine the ruling ideas, the only hope for change is overthrowing the economic base: Revolutionary change. Consequential changes cannot be effected in culture (for example, sport) itself, because it is

determined by capitalism...!!

...so why study popular culture?

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

THESIS #3 - HEGEMONY AND THE CONSENT TO RULE (AND BE RULED)

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THESIS #3 - HEGEMONY AND THE CONSENT TO RULE (AND BE RULED)

*Hegemony4suggests4that4power4works4not4by4coercion,4but4

by4securing4consent4

!*...but,4consent4here4is4not4the4same4as4free4will4

!*Hegemony4is4a4state4of4domination4secured44by:4

!“winning'and'shaping'consent'so'that'power'of'the'dominant''

classes'appears'both'legitimate'and'natural”'(Hall,'1977,16)

Antonio Gramsci

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THESIS #3 - HEGEMONY AND THE CONSENT TO RULE (AND BE RULED)

%How%do%working%class%kids%get%working%class%jobs?

Paul%WillisTo'answer'the'question,'Willis'follows'working''

class'adolescent'boys'(‘the'lads’)'from'school'to'work'(he'conducts'an'‘ethnography’)'

!!“For%a%brief%period%in%their%lives%‘the%lads’%believe%they%live%in%towers%where%grief%can%never%come.%That%this%period%of%impregnable%conCidence%corresponds%with%the%period%when%all%the%major%decisions%in%their%lives%are%settled%to%their%disadvantage%is%one%of%the%central%contradictions%of%working%class%culture%and%social%reproduction%...%By%the%time%the%answers%are%known%it%is%too%late%to%apply%to%them”%(1977,%107).%

!Willis'concludes'that'‘the'lads’'are'complicit'in'their'own'selfJdamnation:'that'they'foster'and'value'a'

working'class'culture'in'the'classroom'that'corresponds,'and'consigns'them'to,'the'factory'@loor

FOR EXAMPLE

How%can%this%process%be%considered%hegemonic?%And%how,%if%at%all,%might%it%explain%our%case%study?

How%can%this%process%be%considered%hegemonic?20

THESIS #3 - HEGEMONY AND THE CONSENT TO RULE (AND BE RULED)

“Consuming4NASCAR4could4be4understood4by4the4masses4as4an4empowering4Aiction.44That4is,4for4those4workers4otherwise4disenchanted4by4the4social4means4of4production,4or4disenfranchised4by4a4political4machine,4NASCAR4Nation4presents4itself4as4an4important,4vibrant,4and4deeply4performative4space4for4forging4an4individualized4selfaidentity4(especially4around4issues4of4race4and4class)”4Newman4and4Giardina,42011,487)”4

FOR EXAMPLE

“1)4“why4(and4how)4has4NASCAR4

become4so4popular?”

Joshua4Newman4and4Michael4Giardina4studied4NASCAR4for4Aive4years.44They4devised4two4research4questions:4

2)4“why4would4so4many4Americans4consent4to4the44

seemingly4antidemocratic4policies4of4the4soacalled44

modern4day4‘conservative4movement’?””

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THESIS #3 - HEGEMONY AND THE CONSENT TO RULE (AND BE RULED)

*How,'if'at'all,'might'hegemony'explain'our'case'study?'

!!

Antonio Gramsci

!The !

‘Superstructure’!!!

Religion, Education, Media, Family, Law, etc!

!The Economic Base!capitalism, socialism, feudalism, etc

If4not4this:

Then4what?

According4to4Gramsci,4the4superstructure4a4culture4a4is4

where4consent4to4rule4(and4be4ruled)4is4won,4lost,4and4

negotiated...4

!...so4how4might4education,4media,4family,4identity,4and4so4

forth4play4a4part4in4why4consumer’s4consent4to4and4resist44

there4own4‘exploitation.’

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University of British ColumbiaKinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

Some Conclusions on Power, Sport, and Popular Culture

So,'is'power:'

!1)4Something4everybody4exercises4in4their4selfainterest,4for4better4and4worse?4

!2)4Something4that4those4‘in4power’4exercise4over4those4without?4

!3)4Something4that4is4contested,4and4negotiated,4but4ultimately4tends4to4favour444

44444dominant4groups?4

!4)4Something4else?4Or4not4even4‘someathing?’4

!...perhaps'we'can’t'know'precisely'how'power'works'in'advance'of'

studying'particular'popular'cultural'forms'and'practices...

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University of British Columbia

Kinesiology 381: Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture

GROUP ASSESSMENT

2. Tutorial Facilitation 20%!Presentation and Class Activity!- Weeks 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11, will conclude with student-led tutorials. You will be asked to undertake two broad tasks on the day that you and your group lead the tutorial. The first will be an approximately ten minute presentation, in which you will introduce, contextualizing, and elaborate the key concept(s) you have chosen from that’s week’s allocated readings. The second will be an activity in which the class can somehow experiment, apply, and otherwise learn about that key concept . How they do so is up to you. In detail:!First, an approximately 10 minute presentation. Each of the readings listed in this course outline are followed by, in brackets, key concepts that are crucial to, and discussed within, that particular article/chapter. Each of the readings listed in this course outline include key concepts, detailed by the author(s). For example, in week 2, commodity fetishism is a key concept in O’Brien and Szeman’s opening chapter from their Popular Culture: A User’s Guide textbook. As a group you will be asked to select one (or more) of these concepts, and prepare a presentation detailing it. This could include its origins, its history, its meaning and applicability, its context in the featured article, other instances in which it has been used in relation to popular culture (in journal articles or book chapters), and crucially, what it is intended to analyse or explain, and why it is important.!Second, an approximately 20-30 minute class learning activity. You will be asked to design an activity through which the class can experiment with that concept or concepts. This is meant to be a creative, pedagogical exercise that demonstrates and animates - brings to life - the ‘real world’ applicability of the concept, but also a chance to think critically about it and the material to which it is being applied. For example, you might show a video clip, hand out magazines, hand out the transcripts of an interview, show an advertisement or series of advertisements, use video game footage - the more creative and the more potential there is to experiment with the key concept(s), the better!!

IMPORTANT NOTE: will all be expected to meet with one or both of us in the build-up to your group’s tutorial to discuss your plans. The rest of the class need only prepare by reading that week’s articles. But, and crucially, we will all be active parts of these sessions, and your collective support and engagement will be paramount to making the tutorials enriching and rewarding.

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