Mass Culture Assignment PDF

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Question 1: In class, we talked about three kinds of culture: Folk Culture, Mass Culture, and Popular Culture. In your group or alone, walk around the mall and try to identify at least one example of Folk Culture. Can Folk Culture survive in a place with so much Mass Culture? (note: there is no ‘correct’ answer to this question. I want you to think about the concept of Folk Culture, and try to find an original example.)

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Metrotown is in Burnaby, a city that is predominantly Asian. One example of folk culture is T&T Supermarket, a grocery store that sells Asian foods and products. Although it is always busy inside and full of people, I would argue that it is an example of folk culture because it is not designed to appeal to everyone. Rarely do I see anyone who isn’t Asian or accompanying an Asian person shopping inside the store. The meat section alone is enough to scare off most western shoppers who probably aren’t used to seeing chicken feet (nails and all) at their local butcher shop. At T&T, I noticed an advertisement for Shen Yun, a traditional Chinese dance show that is performed every year in Vancouver. I would consider Shen Yun to be another example of folk culture.

Question 2: In class we talked about the ideas and tastes of the RULING CLASSES. Karl Marx said that the ideas of the ruling class… become the ruling ideas. That is, we all end up copying what rich and powerful people think/say/do. Look for at least 3 of “the ideas of the Ruling Classes”. Are stores selling things that you really WANT, or are they trying to convince you that you SHOULD want these things? Don’t just list three stores: explain what YOUR ideas/tastes/values are, and then look for examples of ideas/tastes/values that seem to belong to a ‘higher’ class. How are these things sold to you, and why?

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The first example of ruling classes that I found in Metrotown was in Sephora, a store known for selling high-end makeup, skincare, and other beauty products. When I was 18 and working at Triple O’s on the weekends, I’d estimate about 80% of paycheques went towards my purchases from this store. This was all thanks to pre-billionaire Kylie Jenner who, at the time, had just gotten her lips cosmetically enlarged (but hadn’t admitted to it yet). I’d like to think that was a time when the makeup industry experienced a major surge in celebrity makeup and celebrity/Youtuber/Instagram influencer-endorsed makeup. Today, almost every brand Sephora carries features either a celebrity’s name (Rihanna’s wildly popular makeup line, Fenty Beauty, is situated at the front of the store where everyone will notice it as soon as they walk in) or a product that was made “in collaboration” with an Internet figure (The brand Anastasia Beverly Hills features eyeshadow palettes bearing the names of popular YouTube beauty gurus Carli Bybel and

Jackie Aina). I found myself browsing Sephora, not really interested in purchasing anything until I read Jackie Aina’s name on the palette, at which point I almost considered buying it without even looking too closely at the eyeshadows themselves.

Another example I found was just walking past the Swarovski store, where supermodel Miranda Kerr’s face was plastered on the front display. I don’t remember the last time I heard anyone talk about Swarovski like it was cool, but I did think to myself, “Wow, Miranda Kerr is so pretty. She was married to Orlando Bloom.” And if a pretty model like Miranda Kerr can rock Swarovski, maybe it is stylish?

Lastly, I don’t think I could answer a question about “ruling classes” without mentioning the big kahuna itself – Apple. Inside the Apple store, a display of Apple Watches quickly caught my eye. I had been curious about the watches since I began noticing my favourite fitness Youtubers wearing them to track their activity. At the store, I noticed that most of the watches were set to show this fitness activity tracking feature right away, basically selling the idea that an Apple Watch is essential to staying fit.

Question 3: In class, we discussed Walter Benjamin, the idea of ‘Aura’, the difference between originals and copies, and the concept of “Democratization of Luxury”. Almost every single item for sale at Metrotown was made in a factory. That means there are thousands, or millions more of them. If you purchase one of them here, do you feel like you are part of an audience/crowd, or are you ‘one of a kind’? How do businesses help make you feel like you’re special, like YOUR purchase is different from everyone else’s? Find at least one example from Metrotown– discuss a specific way that businesses try to pretend that you aren’t just another shopper in another mall buying another mass-produced item.

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There is a store called Things Engraved, which specializes in customized gifts like rings and picture frames. These products were undoubtedly made in factories, but the business model – the ability to engrave whatever the customer likes – into the product makes it personalized and meaningful. A regular jewelry box mass-produced in Taiwan is just that; but a jewelry box that features your wife’s initials on it becomes a thoughtful present.

Question 4. The Frankfurt School was very concerned that mass culture would lead to ‘Atomisation’. You are in the largest shopping mall in B.C. You are surrounded by thousands of other shoppers. Do you feel like you’re part of a crowd, or part of a community? Do you interact with other shoppers in any meaningful way? Identify at least THREE ways that the Metrotown Mall tries to bring people together – to create a community out of the people shopping here.

When typing up your own answers, think about this: Why do you think Metrotown wants to create a community? Why might it be important for shoppers to feel like they’re part of a social group? Discuss the specific examples you identified at the mall.

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I definitely do not feel like part of a community at Metrotown. I spend most of my time there trying to cut through crowds of large families who feel the need to walk in a row, or groups of teenagers who decided the middle of the mall was a great place to compare vapes. That said, one of the ways Metrotown tries to establish a sense of community is: 1) The mall train. The mall features a small train that runs from one side of the mall to the other and can carry little children and their parents (and if it’s not too busy, college students with heavy shopping bags who are very nice to the train conductor).

Most people like seeing the mall train go by with the little kids inside because little kids are cute. 2) Santa’s workshop during Christmastime. Again, cute little kids are great at building a sense of community. Parents line up for hours to get that perfect picture with Santa and there’s definitely a sense of community for anyone who dares to brave that line. 3) The food court. Food courts are designed to look like giant cafeterias and leave everyone exposed while they’re eating. Some tables are designed so you have to sit beside a stranger while you’re having your pad Thai. Afterwards, your tray can be taken to a little designated area where custodians sort through your scraps and clean the tray for you. You can’t help but feel taken care of when you give your tray to the cleaning staff in a food court.

I think Metrotown wants to create a sense of community because they know that most people don’t like being stuck in a crowd or bumping elbows with strangers during lunch.

Question 5. This is basically just a collection of stores, selling products, for money. So why are there so many comfortable chairs here? Why are there (at least) 3 Starbucks? What are some of the OTHER things you can do here, at the mall, beyond buying clothing? Identify as many as you can. Don’t just pick the obvious ones. Actually walk around the entire mall, and ask yourself what activities or events are at

Metrotown that have nothing to do with the stores at Metrotown. Why are they here? You could spend your entire day here, if you wanted to. How does Metrotown encourage you to do so? When you type up your answers at home, think about spending several hours at Metrotown... would you want to spend the day there with your friends? Why, or why not?

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When I shop alone, I tend to browse for about two or three hours at most before heading out. But when I’m with friends, I find that it takes about twice as long to shop around. I don’t usually mind, because those hours spent with friends are usually pretty fun. Aside from actually shopping and trying on clothes, we take turns smelling every candle inside Bath and Body Works (asking each other which smells good and which don’t – we usually don’t end up buying anything), people-watch in the food court, and make fun of ugly clothes or weird beauty products in the clearance section at Winners. The comfortable chairs are likely for older people, like my dad, to sit in while me and my mom and sister feel the need to try on every perfume inside Sephora. When my grandmother was still alive, I remember she would sit and rest at Starbucks while the rest of us went around the mall. She could have coffee at home, but she wanted to spend the day with us in public, and the many Starbucks located in the mall allowed her to feel included.

Question 6. Take 5-10 minutes at the end of this assignment to simply walk around the mall itself. DON’T go into stores. DON’T look at your phone. DON’T think about your grade on this assignment. Just walk around the space of the mall itself, and pay attention to the architecture, to the design of the mall itself.

Does this mall remind you of any other places you’ve been in your life, OTHER than shopping malls? Do you think this mall is trying to feel like other places, OR, do you think other places in the world are trying to feel like shopping malls? Think about... airports, for example...

You can discuss this with other students in this class, but you will each type up your own response. Why are malls designed in this specific way? What are you being encouraged to do at the mall?

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Food courts inside malls remind me of the cafeteria at school. Everyone’s carrying a tray and looking around the room for their companions. Actually, even walking around a mall is similar to walking around campus; every shopper is doing their own thing and has their own reason for being at the mall that day. Airports are a good comparison, but I feel as though there is more of a frenzy inside a mall, especially during this time of year, when most people are rushing to get a head start on Christmas shopping. Lastly – although I haven’t been to hell – I suspect that it is very, very similar to Metrotown’s underground parkade....