Abstract This is a book review of David Brooks' book, "Bobos in Paradise:The New Upper Class and How They Got There." This paper examines David Brooks' concept of the "Bobo," a compound of bourgeois and bohemian, which is the new emerging class of the millennium. This class is made up of bankers, baby boomers and the new generation that is running the billion dollar dot-com industries. The author also points out several weaknesses in Brooks' thesis, and traces this back to his own background which makes him biased in his writing about "Bobos."
From the Paper "Till there it is okay. But the problem starts when Brooks attempts to give authenticity to this newfound culture with all its new sense of taste and style. He starts appreciating the Bobo culture because of its "sober" bourgeois achievement, which takes into it the creative, and the spontaneous element of the sixties. On one level he scoffs at those Bobos who think $ 10K outdoor Jacuzzi is crass but $20K slate shower reflects simple rhythm of life. Yet on another level he appreciates this new upper class style which is based on the display of sufficient taste to know what the best is and to choose it--whether the best coffee, the best food, the best building materials, or whatever. He has his full support for them who find that it is not okay to spend extravagantly on something for display along; it is okay to spend extravagantly on something that is useful in enhancing one's authentic personality."
An analysis of the way in which the Frankfurt School viewed the sociology of culture and a discussion of Jurgen Habermas' "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society."
Abstract This paper reviews the key texts of the Frankfurt School on the sociology of culture. It also discusses Jurgen Habermas' writings on the subject, particularly in "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society." Finally, it discusses the works of French critical theorists such as Guy Debord, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, and Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari and examines the ways in which the Frankfurt School impacted their thought.
From the Paper "The French radical philosophers and sociologists built upon the foundation laid by the Frankfurt School in developing their own critique of culture. They extended the Frankfurt School theorists' attack on mass culture, liberal tolerance, and the decay of the public sphere to include such key areas a language, discourse, and the psyche. Thus, it can be said that the French theorists were much more interested in the ways in which culture played out on the semiotic or symbolic level. Debord's Society of the Spectacle articulated the fact that no true social interactions could take place, as all interactions are now mediated. Foucault introduced the notion of discourse as a tool for maintaining power-as-knowledge via specialization in the professional realm. In a similar vein, Bourdieu's analysis of language was meant to show us "our place" in the social sphere. He connected language with what he deemed "symbolic capital"; just as Foucault linked knowledge with currency, Bourdieu would assert that those in possession of "symbolic capital" were the same who possessed enough power to perform acts of "symbolic violence" against those with less symbolic capital. But the greatest destabilization would come from Deleuze and Guattari, who would reject the Freudian-Marxist axis upon which the Frankfurt School theory had developed altogether in favor of a whole new freedom that would be based on the libidinal flow of desire."
Abstract This paper discusses the lives of Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson by focusing on two examples of their artwork, which demonstrates feminism's entanglement with modern art in the United States. The author investigates, from an art history and cultural context, one representative large-scale work from each artist: Bourgeois' 1996-1997 sculpture "Spider" from the National Gallery of Art and Nevelson's most famous sculpture 1958 "Sky Cathedral" in the Smithsonian American Art Museum . The paper discusses how each of these two works challenges traditional notions of the "feminine" in positing new ideas of what it means to be female in the 20th century. The paper includes color photographs.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Louise Bourgeois' Spider
Louise Nevelson's Sky Cathedral
Comparison
The Sculptures in Context
Conclusion
From the Paper ""Sky Cathedral" can readily be seen to fit in with the tradition of Abstract Expressionist painting in America; indeed, it was executed in the 1950s, when Abstract Expressionism as a movement was in full swing. What is unusual, of course, is the fact that it is not a painting at all, but a sculpture. Still, one sees traces of the influence of Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, and other artists who used a large-scale "all over" form of expression in their works. At the same time, one sees traces of the Cubist influence in this sculpture, as well."
Abstract This paper attempts to introduce Karl Marx's view of capitalist exploitation, which states that the bourgeoisie is the ruling class in capitalist society, which owns the means of production, while the proletariat is the working class, whose sole commodity is his labor power. It examines the issue of how division of labor further increases the exploitation of the worker and how the exploitation of the worker is not confined simply to the bourgeois capitalist who employs him, but also to all the other capitalists who form the society around the proletarian worker.
From the Paper "In order to keep the worker subjugated, the bourgeois capitalist only provides the laborer with the basic requirements for continued existence. In evidence of this, Marx claims, ?The costs occasioned by the worker are limited almost entirely to the subsistence which he requires for his maintenance and reproduction of his race. The price of a commodity, and therefore of labor, is equal to its costs of production.? By giving the worker the minimum one can possible allow him, only barely allowing enough for the necessities, the proletarian can never acquire any property of his own, and thus never has any hopes of gaining the means of production for himself."
Abstract This paper discusses the way women were represented in paintings of the period 1875-1915. It shows that women were revealed in one of three ways; they are either nudes or semi-nudes, working women (urban and rural) in relaxed or revealing clothing, or fashionable women (respectable or otherwise) whose adherence to the strange costume of the bourgeoisie contorts and reveals their bodies in bizarre ways. The writer discusses how the implications of bourgeois dress for women in this period are manifold and painters' various approaches to costumed women bring out the range of meanings in this form of attire.
From the Paper "Leaving aside the complex questions of men's direct dominance in fashion choices, the fashionable female figure of the nineteenth century possessed various attributes that intensified by the mid-1870s. In the period when crinolines dominated and into the 1860s the fetishistic emphasis of male voyeurs was "decidedly on the feet [but] by the mid-70s it moved with even greater decisiveness to the corset" and this fashion was to prevail until the advent of World War I (Kunzle 135). As the corset's importance increased so dramatically waists were lengthened, skirts tightened, and the hip-contour was defined and revealed as never before. The French magazine La Vie Parisienne offered guidance to the women who were subjecting themselves to the new fashion (and no little delight for the male voyeur whose tastes could be formed by the journal as much as his wife's or mistress' were). The magazine promoted the new fashion and, in hyperbolic fashion-magazine language, raised the corseti?re to the dignity of a sculptor."
Tags: fashion, clothing, attire, bourgeois, nude, art
A comparison between the treatment of the father role in Sartre's "Les Sequestres d'Altona" and Cixous's "Portrait de Dora" ,using psychoanalytical, feminist and gender based perspectives.
Abstract This essay deals with the philosophical themes underlying two of the most influential French plays of the twentieth century, placing them in the context of the latently similar thinking of their authors. From a close reading of a very small sample of their theatrical output, with sustained reference to existentialist, Marxist, and psychoanalytical (that of Irigaray and Levi-Strauss in particular) philosophies, it makes a detailed interpretation of the engagement with bourgeois, patriarchal values the two authors share.
From the Paper "This essay will make a comparative analysis of the treatment of the role of the father in Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Sequestr's d'Altona (1959) and H?l?ne Cixous's Portrait de Dora (1976). At first sight this may seem to be an unusual choice of texts ? one might be justified in wondering where any common ground can lie between the two plays. It is true that Sartre and Cixous seem to have little in common, aside from both being prolific writers who use the largest possible variety of media to communicate the philosophies they hold as being important truths. In terms of their periods of activity, their aims in writing theatre, and most importantly their treatment of the feminine in their work, they are indeed very different. Most importantly as regards the feminine, for as Cranston remarks, He [Sartre] is revolted by women. There is something sickening about all the female characters in Sartre's plays and stories.1 Although Dora is a difficult character, even impenetrable, it could not be said that she is repulsive, as Freud's determination to solve her apparent neurosis shows. Even given the context of their production, though, this essay will seek to show similarities in theme and objective in the two plays. There are, in effect, latent points in common between Cixous's 'theatre of the body' and Sartre's existentialist writing, and this has an important bearing as to the role of the father as being first and foremost the role of a male human being, with sexual desires and sexual desirability. This in turn has important consequences on the notions of subjectivity and the "look" or "gaze" of the "other" - in other words how characters identify themselves through the other characters on stage. This essay will explore these concepts, which are the essence of characterisation in the two plays, examining the consequences of the father's influence in the child's self identification, and the negative outcome that this has. If the role of the father is thus seen in a negative light, then this is not without social and political consequences, and an exploration of the engagement of the two plays in interpreting the social role of the father will form the final part of this essay."
Abstract This paper examines how "The Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels explore the concepts of communism, capitalism and class and how Marx asserts that capitalism only leads to a society of overworked people that are incapable of expressing thoughts. It looks at how there are several readings that confirm Marx? notions of class and the negative effects of mass production within a capitalist society such as "The Lawrence Textile Strike" in which Marx precepts that the proletariat class would revolt against the bourgeois comes to fruition. In this case the textile workers strike because they feel that they are not receiving enough pay for the amount of time that they work.
From the Paper "Another example of Marx theories of class and capitalism is found in the "Corporate Man". This article confirms Marx notion that capitalism cripples an individual's ability to think for himself. The author explains that all of the endeavors of the corporate man are done for the sake of the organization that he works for. The article asserts that the demands of the corporation become more important to the executive than family, recreation, sex and health. (Golbraith) In addition, the notion of the corporate executive perpetuates the division between the classes. The article asserts that the corporate executive is overeducated and overpaid while the working class is overworked and underpaid. The article explains that in the end the corporate executive is forgotten and his hard work is underappreciated."
Tags: capitalism, bourgeois, corporation, mass, production
Abstract This paper describes how, while working within the most innovative period in Soviet cinema, before the coming of sound, Dziga Vertov created the film "Man with a Movie Camera", a tribute to the newly formed Communist State, urban environments and technological advancement. It analyzes how in order to create a variety of themes, including those comparing the bourgeois and working classes, man and machinery and the nature of film itself, Vertov uses editing to relate a series of seemingly unrelated shots. It looks at how these shots are comprised of five types of images: industrial construction, traffic, machinery, recreation and citizen-workers. It also shows how he constructs meaning through editing in the film to form an argument in favour of the newly formed soviet state by juxtaposing disjunctive images, but also linking the images through composition.
From the Paper "The main theme of Vertov's film is a cameraman performing his daily routine in an urban environment, and this meaning is produced through the films ability to show both the cameraman at work and the reaction he receives from the people he films. The entire film is reflexive in the sense that the audience is constantly reminded that film is a constructed environment, designed by the filmmaker. Mixing in shots of the camera, the cameraman, and the editing process maintain the idea that the film is just a part of Vertov's usual routine. The sequence opens with a shot of the cameraman reflected in the camera's lens, continues with a shot of the urban setting in which the events will unfold, and then returns to the filmmaker's "work" of filming traffic."
Abstract This paper argues that German expressionist cinema is the product of socio-cultural conditions in World War I and interwar Germany. It uses the history of Germany during this period in order to explain expressionist style, obsession with themes involving science, in particular psychoanalysis and overt depictions of anti-authoritarian and anti-bourgeois attitudes. Two films are used heavily to proof the influence of socio-cultural conditions, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (Robert Weine, 1919) and "Nosferatu" (F.W. Murnau, 1922).
From the Paper "Although contemporary critics viewed the distorted scenery of Caligari as a physical representation of the disturbed mind of the film's protagonist, Francis (Friedrich Feher), the writers intended it to represent the collective conscious of a Germany torn by war and instability (Kracauer 70). Supporting the latter claim is the fact that the framing story does not restore a "normal" perception of the world, but continues to be punctuated by expressionist elements; the psychiatric hospital is reminiscent of expressionist architecture, with three staircases running upwards from arched doorways, and the actors maintain their expressive acting styles with overemphasized facial movements. Since the framing story acts to remove the viewer from the supernatural tale told by Francis, in order for it to be a visual representation of his mind, logically it should restore the world to one resembling ?reality,? or the way that the average spectator would view their own external world."
Abstract The paper argues that the evolution of the concept of domesticity - and its associated impact upon furniture design - was closely associated with the rise of the bourgeois or middle class and the gradual preeminence of urban living as the defining lifestyle of the Middle Ages. The paper shows how the merchant classes of medieval European cities were the primary agents of historical and social change and innovations in furniture design.
Outline:
Introduction
The Rise of the Middle Class
The Early Medieval Home and Furniture
The Evolution of the Language of Domesticity
The Signification of Furniture
From the Paper "It must be acknowledged that in making the argument that it was the early European middle classes in their small city dwellings, and not the medieval nobility in their huge, picturesque castles, who were primarily significant in terms of the evolution of domesticity and furniture design one is challenging a popular image of medieval history. However, while the nobility were undeniably the ruling class in medieval Europe, the history of the Middle Ages can also be read as a history of the decline of aristocratic power and the rise of the middle class."
This paper contrasts the importance of female friendships as described in J. Bauman's "Winter into Spring" and despaired of in "The Existential Paralysis of Women" by Simone de Beauvoir.
Abstract This paper explains that, although male dominated society excludes and exploits women, as portrayed in Ibsen's "A Doll House", the importance of friendship between women can overcome their marginality and restore women to the center of a husbanding society. The author compares Bauman's work to Beauvoir's and points out that Beauvoir writes about the exploitation of women in Western bourgeois society; whereas, Bauman recounts the trials of women in the void of that society smashed to pieces by the Nazis. The paper relates that Beauvoir sees the "eternal feminine" nature of a woman as shaped by the male dominated, patriarchal social structure even if women join together to off set the "masculine universe". The author thenstates that, in contrast, in Bauman's existential account of WWII, the friendship of five women who do "band together" to establish a "counter-universe" and survive is not only important but also vital.
From the Paper "The women in Mrs. Pietrzyk's room joined their common longings for life and love to link themselves back into the woman's world of hope, mystery, the sway of her body moving through the ebbs and tides, and the attainment of woman's wisdom. They did this with nothing but their hearts in a time of death. The rejected martyrdom and the paralysis mold. De Beauvoir says the lot of woman's life is passive waiting, but in truth nothing is more powerful: "I've been thinking now about this glorious future that I dreamed up last night. Will it come true? Shall I ever live a free, useful, happy life with someone I love and who loves me? "
Abstract The paper explores whether the principles in the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" were for the better or for the worse of the French people and the French Revolution. The paper examines the progressive ideas of the Declaration as well as its essentially bourgeois nature that withheld freedom of assembly and liberty of association from the masses. The paper then assesses the role of the Declaration in the development of modern ideologies, including liberalism, nationalism and socialism, that all came about as a result of the French Revolution. The paper concludes that the historical, political and humanistic significance of the Declaration of Rights is of paramount importance in the law and political thought of the following centuries.
Outline:
Introduction
The Declaration as Embodiment of the Enlightenment Ideas
The Role of the Declaration in the Development of Modern Ideologies
Conclusion
From the Paper The Declaration contains no word about actual realization by people of their civil freedoms proclaimed in it, which is typical for all bourgeois constitutional documents. The Declaration withholds freedom of assembly and liberty of association due to the bourgeoisie's fear of excited revolutionary masses. Any professional associations were treated negatively, as they were considered to be vestiges of the guild system and to hinder individual liberty. These thoughts and attitudes were soon clearly expressed in the Le Chapelier law of June 14, 1791 that barred any craft guilds and trade unions.
"The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (hereafter "the Declaration") was issued on August 26, 1789 to declare the future principles of the first French constitution when it should be completed and to be embodied as its preamble. The distinction between a constitution - an established system of government - and a declaration of rights was carefully laid down. In order to prepare a good constitution, it was "necessary to recognize the rights which natural justice grants to every individual, to recall all those principles which must form the basis of every kind of society." The text of the Declaration was prepared by the members of the Constitutional Committee, and signed by the king, though under duress. The content of the Declaration was ideologically influenced by the American Bills of Rights , remonstrations of the parliament of the times of ancient regime crisis, and ideas of the National Assembly. Its text consists of a short preamble, which states that ignorance, disregard or contempt of natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortunes and governmental corruption;
"French Revolution of 1789-1799 was thus a culmination of the Enlightenment philosophy. By the 1780's, the absolute French monarchy was in overall crisis due to political and financial collapse, complemented by establishment of the "third estate" as a new socially active power. The French Revolution comprised a series of events that transformed the political, social, and ideological atmosphere of modern Europe. These events were set in motion when the aristocracy, refusing to be taxed, made it necessary for King Louis XVI to revive the moribund Estates-General in the spring of 1789. Few suspected that this decision would unleash elemental and irresistible forces of discontent. Although they had different ends in view, aristocrats, bourgeois, sans-culottes (the urban poor), and peasants were united in their determination to alter the conditions of their existence. Accompanying this assertion of self-interest was a body of abstract ideas of Enlightenment that gave direction to revolutionary energies. When the National Assembly promulgated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in August 1789, "it intended to serve notice to the rest of Europe that it had discovered universally valid principles of government."
"Philosophers and enlighteners of the XVIII century undermined the foundations of their contemporary states where political power and enormous share of wealth belonged to nobility and clergy, while masses were impoverished. They proclaimed supremacy of reason instead of faith or tradition, and advocated faith in human nature, confidence that humans will be able to manifest their good qualities when they are given freedom and justice is restored. Ideas of equity of all humans, of duty of all citizens whether a king or a peasant to obey the law established by representatives of the people, free contracts between people exempt from feudal duty and serfdom - all these demands of philosophers united and penetrated into masses of the French people paved the way to the fall of ancient regime in their minds."
This paper discuses the work of Albert K. Cohen and his theory of status frustration, which maintains that the proverbial "Man" (stereotypical black man) is essentially a function of sub-culture.
Abstract This paper explains that Cohen's theory of status frustration, which explains that lower class boys are failures at bourgeois roles because they do not fit the bourgeois mold physically or through their learned mindset and thus tend to invert defensively the dominant norms, viewing them in a negative manner. The author relates that, although Cohen's' notion of status deprivation and the middle class measuring rod help to answer questions that remain unresolved by strain and cultural deviance theories, his theory fails to explain why some delinquent subcultures eventually become law-abiding, even when this social class position is fixed. The paper states that Cohen's theory also fails by standards of economists, who explain criminality, in particularly theft and robbery by gangs, by economic standards.
From the Paper "In 1955, Cohen wrote "Delinquent Boys" to examine how a subculture emerged. He noted that delinquency among young men was more prevalent among the lower classes, and most commonly took the form of a juvenile gang. Cohen found that the values of delinquent subcultures are adverse to those of the dominant culture. The subcultures emerged in the slums of the nation's largest cities and are rooted in class differentials, parental aspirations and school standards, indicating that the root problem was a desire for recognition and respect, and the search for an accepted place in society."
Abstract The paper analyzes the Marxist French film "Germinal" (1994) and concludes that the premise of the proletariat and the bourgeois remain the central issues of class division that occur within. In the struggles that occurs between the workers and the company, there is a developing realization by the leading character, Etienne, and those around him that they must fight for their rights. Thus the film explores the relationships between the exploited proletariat and the ruling bourgeois. The conditions are atrocious and the employers do not care. The paper looks at Marxist philosophy and shows how this applies to the plot of the plot.
From the Paper "This study will analyze the film Germinal (1994), directed by Claude Berri, and based on the self-titled novel Germinal by Emile Zola. In this film, the problems of Marxist philosophy explore the relationships between the exploited proletariat and the ruling bourgeois that run the mining village these people live within. In this manner, the clash between the owners of the mining company and the workers becomes a Marxist problem related to the exploitation of the proletariat and their plot to overthrow their bourgeois employers, as well as the government. The beginning of the film has Etienne Lantier wandering hopelessly around France without a job and without food and shelter. Zola has him begging for food at times, and also, he becomes enrapt in the idea of employment in coal mining when he sees newspapers and signs."
This paper explores the role of students in the Chinese Cultural Revolution in late 1960's. The paper goes into detail about the various experiences of Chinese youth. It talks about fanatics of the Cultural Revolution, as well as victims of it.
2,215 words (approx. 8.9 pages), 7 sources, 2000, $ 68.95
Abstract In China the document that started the Cultural Revolution is known as the ?Sixteen Articles.? It began the development of the new stage in the proletarian revolution, listed the reasons for Cultural Revolution, the targets of the revolution, and set up the guidance for carrying out the revolution. According to Mao, the bourgeoisie was still "trying to use the old ideas, culture, customs, and habits of the exploiting classes to corrupt the masses, capture their mind, and endeavor to stage a comeback". Thus, the main goal was to struggle against (1) people who are ?taking the capitalist road,? (2) to criticize ?bourgeois academic authorities? and (3) to transform education, literature, and art that are not in correspondence with the socialist society. Mao's plan was taken seriously by many young students, who became vigorous supporters of the new plan. This paper explores the various experiences of Chinese youth during those years.
From the Paper "From August 1 to August 12, 1966, the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party was taken place in Peking. Mao Tse-tung was presiding. The meeting, which lasted for twelve long days, was ignored by some of the regular Central Committee members but was full of revolutionary leaders, students and teachers. In fact the plenum was attended only by 80 out of 120 Central Committee members. The decision of the Cultural Revolution involved a prolonged debate. Mao and his reforms faced heated opposition (Lee 65). Nonetheless, on August 8, the Plenary Session adopted, with barely enough votes, the ?Decision of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,[1]? and in August 12 issued the "Communiqu" of the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China? (Fan 161)."
Introduction
The Red Guards
Final Remarks
Map of China
Short timeline of the Cultural Revolution
A letter from a Student to his ParentsBibliography
