Argue Whether or Not Individualism Can Still Exist in Today's Society.
'In the 1980s, the following of fashion became thoroughly self-conscious; fashions were relentlessly recycled, parodied, and pastiched, with the full complicity of the mass media and the more specialised style magazines. In clothing, music, architecture and design the accumulated ideas and images of preceding generations were appropriated and stripped of their meanings; the idea of modernism- the idea of linear progress led my an aesthetic elite-finally submerged in a new reality dictated by high-techonology and competing consumer whims.' (Thorne, 1993 pviii). Individualism as a term can be described as a social theory advocating rights and individual action or the pursuit of individual interests rather than common and collective interests. I believe that Individualism is a revolt from the majority and therefor becomes is a minority. I aim to discuss weather individualism can exist in todays society using the theories or Adorno and Fouault referring to the dictatorship of a superstructure.
After his attendance to Frankfurt school, focusing on Marxist Ideologies, Theador W. Adorno writes on all aspects of society but on one part, Popular Music. This theory amongst many of his can be applied to elements of the mass media that are curated and dictated by the superstructure. The Marxist system of ideas and beliefs, or ideology, describes society in different parts known as the Superstructure and Base. The Base consisting of forces of production (the skills for society to exist), the employer and employee or the dominant and dominated. Karl Marx and Referich Eagles 1970 The German Ideology, London Lauwrence and Wishart, pp 64-6 The ruling class is 'the class which has the means of material production at it's disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production'. p 68 Conversely, 'The ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it'. The Superstructure cannot exist without the Base. '. It strengthens, reflects and solidifies the base by enforcing methods of control on to it. Despite being the majority, the Base conforms to the Superstructure's ideologies, methods and ideas of culture. 'There is a superstructure of ideas and beliefs which exist in opposition to a material infrastructure of economic relation', p98 Michael Foucault Clare o farrel. The Superstructure becomes and template of normality and standards. This is the difference between Popular Culture and Culture itself. Culture is dictated by the Superstructure's intellectual value, therefor being it's taste. It is now culturally important. However what the superstructure has given this title to, will most probably not be the same for the Base. This is Popular Culture, the taste of the masses. Identity, Zygmunt Bauman- "He who rules decides the nationality" p21. It seems that it is dictated what society wants to be not where it is and it's reality.
Adornos Theories have elements in common with some of the work of Foucault. Both of these philosophers talk of the dominant class's dictation. Michael Foucault addresses self regulation in todays society. He applies this to power and discipline but this again can be applied to many other examples of conforming. He describes society as conforming to the norm, that being that the norm is the dominant ideas of the dominant classes. We conform to these ideas by self regulating ourselves so that we live under automatic self discipline and have produced 'a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power' (Foucault, 1977 p65). There is no power without refusal or revolt' Foucault p100 This allows all areas of a conformed society to go about their business in a way that needs no constant supervision of power. On an individual basis, this can be described as being a 'docile body', meaning that we are conforming without questioning or revolting against the norm. This spreads through all parts of society. Politics, Law and Punishment, Education, etc, but most especially the media. Angela McRobbie In the Culture Society p118 'The mass media particualrly the press and style magazines do not just represent subcultures but activley construct them.'
When the docile body can realise and is exposed to these ideologies, that they are conforming in their lives to most things and especially their taste, it can then become challenged. 'Exposure of standardiastion provokes resistance' aDorno john storey. The reaction can cause a shift in their taste to the complete opposite from before. This then reinforces the power of the superstructure as 'Power can only exist when it is being exercised between different groups of individuals. It is a relation. p99 Foucault. To remain standardised the non docile body could then be under psuedo-indivualisation, meaning that they are 'endowing cultural mass production with the halo of free choice or open market on the basis of standardisation' (p79 Storey). That is to say that they are under the illusion of being individual whilst still standardising themselves and conforming to the ideas of the superstructure, as the rebellion has already been thought out as it opposes the norm. 'Some people want to exercise power and find pleasure in doing so, others find pleasure in resisting power' p101. One resistance to standardisation and superstructure then makes followers, making a minority in itself. This revolt is now no longer an act of individualism but is adopted by the superstructure's mass media and distributed amongst the masses and becomes a majority.
However, we talk of psuedo-individualisation as a fake sense of individualism. Does this mean that individualism has ever existed? 'You say fake identities but you can say that only if you assume that there is such a thing as true identity' p90. Is the true form of individualism a time where something is used for the first time and is unexpected. The matter that is supplying the person to be individual may not be the point. Perhaps it is the ambition and the thought of rebellion that makes the person individual. 'The idea is more important than the form' p44- fads. However, they seem to be ever changing as society and its standards change. and in such a media driven society it could be said that individualism is only ever seen on the outside, 'identities are for wearing and showing not storing and keeping' Bauman p39. An act by the government (the Job Seekers Allowance 1997) to make more use out of young creatives (which might have been examples of individuals) is a good example of the corruption of some potential existance of individualism. A plan was introduced where young creatives would be 'placed on work experience placements in the music industry'. That is to say that individualism may have existed but as there seemed no use for it it could no longer exist. This is a reflection of a theory of Michel Foucault which I shall discuss later.
It could be argued that we are all born individual and it is our upbringing and exposure to different things that form our individual identity. 'Identity is revealed as something to be invented rather than discovered'-Bauman p15. By this, our identity as individuals could be dictated by our roles in life. We are all expected to become useful individuals in society. It is our choice in how we do this, but whatever we have been exposed to and influenced by can dictate where we make our choices, and where they might take us. 'Human Identity of a person is determined primarily by the productive role played in social division of labour' Bauman p45. This could imply that we are all individually influenced by the mixture of things that we are exposed to and believe that we are taking an individually thought out path in life, when in fact have had these choices dictated for us in what we have been exposed to along the way to making these decisions. This covers a whole range of things on different scales from our career choices to what we wear everyday. 'There are no pockets of freedom-but instead resistance wherever power is exercised' Foucault.
One of many examples of a niche industry in today's society where Individualisation is argued to exist and not exist anymore is the fashion industry. There have been countless trends and groups of people that have been and gone or still exist as a result of either conforming or rebelling from the superstructure's dictated taste.
Hippies is an example of a revolt from standardisation which spread massivley. They 'galvanised by opposition to the vietnam war and to the aggressive materialism of society that was promoting it' p113, and naturally to rebellion, started to project the opposite message, this being peace, living on nothing, and 'flower power'.' Feeling extremely revolutionary the 'Hippies referred to themselves as 'freaks' p114, most likely to suggest such utter contrast to the norm or expectations and place and contribution in society. However like anything, 'The lifestyle had began to die out by about 1974 and were blamed 'for the commercialisation of youth culture'. p114. Civilians were becoming hippies to revolt and live a lifestyle which opposed what was expected. The minority had lost its meaning due to it's sheer groth in poplarity. 'Flowers dont have Power' Herbert Marcuse, speaking at dialects of liberation congress, London 1967. The term 'Counter Culture' Theador Roszack was introduced as ' The suggestion of a unified culture and alternative institutions formed by the dasperate elements of middle class youth rebellion was most enthusiastically promoted in the united States, where the term counterculture was commonly used. By 1973 the idea was subsided as anti establishment movements continued to fragment rather then cohere' p48.
Another example is the Maxi Skirt. It was a 'predictable reaction against the dominance of the mini skirt' and appeared at the end of the 1960s and was promoted by the fashion industry. You can see from that one reference all of the processes in which the minority becomes the majority and looses its pursuit of being and individual reaction. It is a revolt against the dictated norm (in which case at this time was the miniskirt). An individual opposition is made and then becomes the subject of dictation itself in the fashion industry.
Mods, originating from 'modernists', a genre of person created in the 1960s. It was a 'New cosmopolitan look was the result of a new affluence and independence or working class and lower middle class teenagers, and was a reaction against the prevailing drabness of the 1950s, an era when fashion, such as it was, was dominated by upper-class modes'. p160 Fads. It was a rebellion against the dictated and expected standard from the working class and upper middle class people. However, 'Once Popularised, the movement quickly changed from an elitist avant-garde statement to a conformist and eventually reactionary gang subculture' p160 fads. 'When we found out that the Mods were just as conformist and reactionary as anyone else, we moved on from that phase, too.' Pete Townshend, Rave Magazine, February 1966. Once again this individual (or even pseudo individual) pursuit is abolished by the broadcasting or even prediction of its existence .
'The image of 1960s swinging London updated to a 1997 picture on the cover of Vanity Fair shows what happens when cultural practices like fashion design and pop music get drawn up populist wave' In the culture society p3. This is a classic example of the rejuvenation of a past rebellion which became a trend in itself.
Design Example
Another example amongst many of a rebellion becoming a trend that becomes the dictation itself can be found in Graphic Design. Just like any other industry in society and under the same purposes and happenings, different styles of working come and go. In todays industry there is one style of working in particular that has caused a opposite rebellion much like in the Fashion industry. Minimalism is the 'deployment of lines, grids, dots in sensitive arrangements, at times so delicate as to be nearly invisible. It is a style stripped to the bone, down to the skeletal, elemental, visual structure' Marina Vaizey, Sunday Time, June 1974. It is a style of Design that has come from Europe and is seen as the slickest, sophisticated and most appreciated Graphic Design to be influenced by and work in. It has a perfectionist streak about it making it a fairly difficult thing to master and requires a rejuvenation of the importance of the theory of type. However, rebelling to the 'trendy' way of working, in this case minimalism would mean doing the exact opposite. That is exactly what has happened. The opposed style of working would be the hand rendered approach. As the Minimalist work projects a sense of clean and sophistication, the hand rendered Design works in a way that projects chaos, awkwardness and immaturity. It could seem as though it has been made with no precision what so ever and as though a child could have done the design. This has now been adopted on a wider scale. For example a popular current DJ named ' Mr Scruff' has an album cover (fig 2) where it could be said that a five year old illustrated it for him when in fact it was actually the musician himself. This could imply that he has been influenced by the introduction of such design which originated as a rebellion against the precision of minimalism, and has now projected it across a large audience where the same occurrence has happened. There are many other examples of this time of artwork done that has now been released into the masses. However, one point to be made is that this artist is selling an image, of which evidently judging by his popularity, people are buying in to.
Is society repeating itself?
Foucault talks of exclusion from society when referring to the usefullness of the person. By conforming to the government we are all expected to gain a job so we can provide for society. Abnormality is used to describe a person who cannot provide for society. By not conforming to the mass media and investing money into the trends, taste and expectations that is dictated are we then abnormal? Is this then why when a rebellion takes place which develops into a small trend amongst the masses to then broadcast it in the relevant medium so it is sold amongst the masses therefor generating use and profit for society from a rebellion made from their own dictation.
Conclusion
From this discussion it seems that individualism as a thought can exist but is something that comes from the masses as it only comes about as a reaction from the majority. That thought or stigma of thinking individually is then effected by the exposure of different conformist elements around the individual affecting the way in which that individual thought is expressed and then diluted. 'How can spontaneity of vision be preserved in a switched-off world?'(Thorne, 1993 p9).
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