Another Response of Gary's Response to Dymo Tapes

Response of Gary's Response to Dymo Tapes

Gary highlights the kitsch transition of the use of dymo tapes from industrial use to hard wearing punk labels to inappropriate type on fuzzy greetings cards.  There are many parallels of this concept but one in particular that I always think about is the transition of the messages perceived through wearing of Doc Marten boots.

Doc Marten boots originate from a doctor in world war two.  He had injured his foot and came up with a more comfortable alternative to his army boot.  However by the early 1970s Doc Martens had been adopted by a youth subculture known as skinheads.  Whilst skinheads range from left to right concerning politcal views, they are not well known for being apolitical and have a massive association with racially motivated violence.  Other associations include an obvios skinhead, reggae and ska music and ofcourse the doc marten boots.  

Nowadays, being associated to racially motivated violence isn't on every bodies wish list, yet recently an injection of doc martens has occurred in todays retail splurging world and it seems everybody has a bit of skinhead fever.  Is this because of the ignorance of the violent association that the shoes bring or is it just because we like doc maten boots?  Like the dymo tape it could be argued that there was always a use before the main media involved association of a product was made.  That is to say that if the dymo tape was used as practical industrial labels, surely there is nothing wrong with going back to basics and using them as labels once more.  Revival is acceptable only before it becomes inappropriate revival. With the doc marten boots, perhaps it is infact a good thing that the retail market has grabebd onto the doc marten boots and they are being used for what they were made for, practical comfort.  

It is only when this is pushed too far that it becomes worthy of analytical torment.  Placing industrial label tape on a happy clappy card is bound to cause the kitsch word to pop out.  Much like when we see some flowery doc martens on the red carpet or peaches/apples/pears Geldof stomping down the street with a smug expression do we question how we got to this point and how very inappropriate it all is.

skinheads

A task starting from Gary

I will being looking at Gary's reflection on the first lecture, surveillance and Foucault.  He mentions that "graphic design helps in the formation of social and cultural identities, it is reasonable to suggest that class, racial/ethnic age and gender groups etc. are often represented by stereotypes within the graphic design industry".  I couldnt't agree more.  I recently submitted a book of posters as a fulfillment for an image module brief and the books were on sale to the public at the 2011 book fair (fig1).  By the public we really mean artists and designers on the prowl for competition and sources of inspiration.  As a student, I wanted to make a bit of money from this, who wouldnt when one hundred pounds was up for grabs as a maximum.  So, like many designers alike, I produced a design that was stereotypically likely to attract artists and designers at that time in the taste and trends of Graphic Design,  You can see that I used Futura and made a colour spectrum of binding threads to make the books more of a one off/special edition style. 


By doing this I have both thickened the stereotypical identity of current Graphic Design and stereotyped the audience in which I designed for in their interests and taste.  This happens on such wider fields in Graphic Design and has done ever since it arrived.  That is to say as an example that adverts for washing up liquid are gender aimed consistent since the start of it's advertisement (fig2 fig3).  As there is no change the competition and evolution remains in these stereotypes and its changing in the future is a mystery.

fig1

fig 2


fig3

'Second'/third Draft of Essay after a few Corrections and moves

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'

Marx K, Eagles R (1970) The German Ideology, London, Lauwrence and Wishart 

Williamson J, (1988) Consuming Passion, London, Marion Boyars Publishers LTd.

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

GLOBALISATION///SUSTAINABILITY AND THE MEDIA seminar

Capitalism and Sustainability Task

Sustainability as a buzzword represents ongoing biological production in all spheres of society but when referring to 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability and Hamilton Ontario' Sustainability gains a new reputation.  'Sustainability is a communal concept, However, in practice, the attempt to engage in sustainable lifestyles and make environmentally conscious decisions has largely fallen to the individual and through technology' (Balser, 2008, 1).  Here Erin Balser is saying that the perception of sustainability implies that if it were to work and succeed it is a communal activity when in practice in our everyday lives this is not so and that has fallen down to individuals and technological development.  It then becomes an unrealistic concpet to pursue as an individual financially and 'isolates and ostracizes various populations' (Balser, 2008, 1).

Continuing this concept in this text there is an introduction of a relationship between capitalism and sustainability and the dependance they have with one another.  It had just been said that sustainabilty is infact a heavily financial involved concept where money is needed to put it into practice but then can also have money made out of it.  Capitalism operates on profit.  In this passage it is referred to as  thriving on 'creating, then subsuming  the other' and is consistently 'looking for new things to commodify' (Balser, 2008, 1).  That is to say that it is a consistently growing thing that is continuously 'expanding and trapping things' across the most most diverse field of subjects possible.  This ranges from objects to problems.  By capitalising from problems or reinvented problems, it means that Capitalism is an ongoing source of potential profit and is a never ending cycle, 'instead of ending this cycle, it has only perpetuated it' (Balser, 2008, 1).

The Green Market is an area of Crisis' of Capitalism where a green associated problem that has been trapped is being capitalised off of.  Fairtrade is an example of a capitalised sustainable source.  The brand is known as producing products that offer a better livelihood for it's manufacturers.  However, even in it's list of objectives on it's main webpage profit and retailing aspirations is firstly mentioned.  This is a great example as it shows the importance of profit in it's existence even though it started out as a problem that wanted to be addressed.  So does making profit from a problem help?  There is an argument that awareness of the problem is significantly increased. But this doesn't necessarily mean that something will be done about it.  You could also argue that as we live in a society where it is down to the individual to tackle sustainability is it wrong to produce a profit involved company where the problem is solving itself by bringing it into our lives as individuals concerned by sustainability, rather than ours into theirs. Or are we just thinking that we are helping and just following a capitalist regime of false self satisfaction in doing something for ourselves by buying a fair trade chocolate bar and was set up for profit not for the problem.

The concept of sustainability is not compatible with capitalism but has to be as it is a financially driven concept.  We are at the stage now in society where to create a universally sustainable community it has to be something that is universally appreciated.  As a whole we are not all deeply concerned in sustainability so by creating these profit driven companies out of these problems interest is introduced.  This may change in time but I hope the facts and figures of the green market will correspond making communal objectives united.

 Balser, E (2008) 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability & Hamilton Ontario

Marie Claire March 2011 issue

Essay Bibliography

Bibliography

Identity

Zygmunt Bauman

First published in 2004 Polity Press

In the Culture Society, Art Fahion and Popular Music

Angela McRobbie

First Published 1999 Routledge

Fads Fashions and Cults

Tony Thorpe

First Published 1993 Bloomsbury Publiching Limited

Cultural Theory and Popular Culture A Reader

John Storey

First Publishedn1994, Third Edition Published 2006 Pearson Education Limited

Text taken from Cultural Theory and Popular Culture

Theodor W. Adorno

Adorno, T 1941 On Popular Music, Studies In Philosophy and Social Science'

 Karl Marx and Referich Eagles  1970 The German Ideology, London Lauwrence and Wishart, pp 64-6 

Consuming Passion

Judith Williamson

Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd; New edition edition (1 Jan 1988)

Michel Foucault

Clare O'Farrel

Sage Publications Ltd (16 Sep 2005)

Michel Foucault

Sara Mills

Routledge; annotated edition edition (8 May 2003)




ON ANOTHER NOTE
INTERESTING CHOICE OF GARMENTS FOR THIS GENDER NEUTRAL ADVERTISEMENT...

hmmm.. perhaps sliiightly biased...

F I R S T D R A F T -word vomit attempt at essay with subtitles

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).