Argue whether or not Individualism can still exist in today’s society.
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 aim to discuss whether individualism can exist in today’s society, applying the theories of Adorno and Foucault referring to the dictatorship of a superstructure.
Adorno wrote on all aspects of society but one in particular was on the medium of popular music. The theories manufactured from this can be applied to other elements of the mass media that are curated and dictated by the superstructure, for example Fashion and the Arts.
Adorno attended the Frankfurt school where he focused on Marxist theories. The Marxist ideology and its system of ideas and beliefs describes society in different parts known as Superstructure and Base. The Base consists of the forces of production (the skills for society to exist), the employer and employee, the dominant and the dominated. “The ruling class is the class which has the means of material production at its disposal and has control at the same time over the means of mental production.” (Marx in Storey, 1994, 68) Conversely, “The ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it.” (Marx in Storey, 1994, 68)
The Superstructure cannot exist without the Base. It strengthens, reflects, and solidifies the Base and in doing so enforces 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” (Foucault in O’Farrel, 2005, 98) The Superstructure becomes a template of normality and standards. Meanwhile the Base may form their own opinions and interpretations of the dictated ideas, taste or 'culture'.
This is the difference between Popular Culture and Culture itself. Culture is defined by the Superstructure’s intellectual values and tastes but these values may not be the same for the Base who have the means to develop their own popular culture. Despite having the majority and the means of production 'He who rules decides the nationality' (Bauman, 2004, p21).
Despite the fact that development of society evolves from the base, it seems that it is dictated what society wants to be not where it is and its reality. That is to say that there is a dictatorship of ideas occurring which may not be in the the interest of the receivers at that given time or place.
Adorno’s 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 today’s society. He applies this to power and discipline but this again can be applied to many other examples of conforming in society. Foucault describes society conforming to the norm, that being the norm being decided by the dominant classes. We conform to these ideas by self regulating so that we live under an automatic self discipline and have produced a “state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power”. (Foucault in O’Farrel, 2005, 65 ) This allows all areas of a conforming society to go about its 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 and education, but most especially the media. 'The mass media particularly the press and style magazines do not just represent subcultures but actively construct them' (Mc Robbie, 1999, 118).
When the docile body is aware of these ideologies and can realise that they are conforming their lives and tastes to them, they could then challenge. “Exposure of standardisation would provoke resistance” (Adorno in Storey, 1994, 78)
The reaction can cause a shift in their taste to the complete opposite to the previous norm. The hippy movement is an example of revolt from standardisation which spread massively. Hippies were “galvanised by opposition to the Vietnam War and to the aggressive materialism of society that was promoting it” (Thorpe 1993 p113) Their 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, most likely to suggest such utter contrast to the norm or expectations and place and contribution in society. This revolt 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.” (Foucault in O'Farrel, 2005 p99) “There is no power without refusal or revolt” (Foucault in O'Farrel, 1977 p100)
To remain standardised the non docile body could then be under pseudo individualism, meaning that they are “endowing cultural mass production with the halo of free choice or open market on the basis of standardisation.” (Adorno in Storey, 1994, p79) That is to say they are under the illusion being individual whilst still standardising themselves and conforming (by reacting to) the ideas of the superstructure as the rebellion has already been thought out as it directly opposes the norm. “Some people want to exercise power and find pleasure in doing so, others find pleasure in resisting power” (Foucault in O'Farrel, 2005, p101) One resistance to standardisation and superstructure then makes followers, making a minority in itself. The 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.
In this case of the 'hippies' more civilians in large numbers were becoming hippies to revolt and live a lifestyle which was opposed to what was expected. The minority had lost its meaning due to its sheer growth in popularity. ”Flowers don’t have power” (Herbert Marcuse speaking at Dialects of Liberation Congress London, 1967). The term ‘counter culture‘ was introduced, “The suggestion of a unified culture and alternative institutions formed by the disparate elements of middle class youth rebellion was most enthusiastically promoted in the United States, where the term counter culture was commonly used. By 1973 the idea was subsided as anti establishment movements continued to fragment it rather cohere.” (Roszack in Thorpe, 1993, 48). That saying this Counter Culture had drawn up so many followers as it was an attractive thing in the youth culture to revolt against the norm. However 'the lifestyle had begun to die out by about 1974 and was blamed for the commercialisation of youth culture' (Thorpe, 1993, 114). This is a perfect example of automatic self discipline. The sheer adoption and commercialisation of the original revolt turned into such a majority that it killed itself off by becoming something it didn't want to be in the first place. It could be argued that this revolt (what with it being the opposite of the norm) was pre meditated making any reactor be under psuedo individualisation.
Another example of a revolt from standardisation that turns into a standardisation in itself can be found in Graphic Design. Just like any other industry in society, different styles come and go. In today’s graphic design industry there is one style of working in particular that has caused a opposite rebellion. 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” (Vaisey , Sunday Times, 1974). It is a style of design that originates from Europe and is seen as the slickest, most sophisticated and appreciated Graphic Design to be influenced by and to work in at this current time. It has a perfectionist streak about it, making it a fairly difficult thing to master and it requires a rejuvenation of the importance of the theory of type. Rebelling against the currently dictated popular way of working, in this case Minimalism, would mean doing the exact opposite and that is exactly what has happened. The opposed style of working is the hand rendered approach. As the Minimalist work projects a sense of cleanness and sophistication, 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 whatsoever, as if a child could have done the design. This has now been adopted on a wider scale. For example, a popular DJ named ‘Mr Scruff’ has an album cover (fig 1) where it could be said that a five year old illustrated it and not 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 amongst many others projected across a much wider audience. Once again the opposite the norm becomes popular as a sense of control in the culture of society, when really it is just the pre meditated opposition to a dictatorship of taste already made
It might not always be the the opposite to the conformist regime. It could just be 'the rejuvenation of a past rebellion' which 'can become a trend in itself'. 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 into populist wave', (McRobbie, 1999, 3) making pseudo individualism amongst those who believe in this rejuvenation.
However, we talk of pseudo individualism as a fake sense of individualism. Does this mean that individualism has ever existed? You say fake identities but you can only say that if you assume that there is such a thing as true identity.” (Bauman, 2004, 90) “ 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 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.” (Thorpe, 1993, 44)
Ideas 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 2004 p90)
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. 2004 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 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 the social division of labour”. (Bauman, 2004, 45)
This could imply that we are all individually influenced by the mixture of things that we are exposed to. We believe that we are taking an individually thought path in life , when in fact we have had those choices dictated for us in what we have been exposed to along the way. This covers the whole range of decisions from what to wear to career choices. 'There are no pockets of freedom but instead resistance wherever power is exercised.' (Foucault in O'Farrel, 2005, 99). An example of a corruption of attempt of individuality is the Jobseekers Allowance Act 1997. A plan was introduced where unemployed “young creatives would be placed on work experience placements in the music industry”. (Mc Robbie, 1999, 5). Are young creatives to allowed to exist unless they have a usage in society?
Foucault talks of exclusion from society when referring to the usefulness of the person. By conforming to the expectations of the government and the law we are all expected to gain a job in order to provide for ourselves and society. Abnormality is a term used to describe a person who cannot provide and therefore cannot play a full part in society. By not conforming to the mass media and and investing money into the trends tastes and expectations are we then abnormal? As we have seen, ‘abnormal’ behaviour may develop into a small trend amongst the masses and if broadcast in the relevant medium so it is sold to the masses. This may generate profit resulting from a rebellion against society’s own dictation.
It has been said that “In the 1980’s , the following of fashion became thoroughly self conscious ; fashions were relentlessly recycled , parodied , and with the full complicity of the mass media and the more specialised style magazines. In clothing, music, architecture and desigh 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 by an aesthetic elite finally submerged in a new reality dictated by high technology and competing consumer whims. “ (Thorpe, 1993, pviii). This is a bleak view of society now days but it does draw parallels with Adorno and Foucault's theories which I agree with. Added to these theories however I do think that exposure has a massive role to play in individualism in todays society. I think that although on the outside it seems impossible to be an individual, thoughts of wanting to revolt and to pursue some form of individualism is a form of individualism itself. However these thoughts are mostly just reactions of rebellions of others and that these thoughts are not valued for their own sake but are judged on commercial value and power that they create.
Bauman Z (2004) Identity, Oxford, Polity Press
McRobbie A (1999) in the Culture Society, Art, Fashion and Popular Music, London, Routledge
Thorpe T, (1993) Fads Fashions and Cults, London, Bloomsbury Publicing Limited
Storey J (third edition 2006) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture A Reader, United States, Pearson Education Limited
Adorno T, (1941) On Popular Music, Studies In Philosophy and Social Science'
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O'Farrel C, (2005), Michel Foucault, London, Sage Publications
Vaisey M, (1974 July 5) Minimialist Review, Sunday Times
Mills S, (2003) Michel Foucault, New York, Routledge
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