Identity and Cultural Productions - Essay Example

Identity and Cultural Productions If I do not submit to the conventions of society, if in my dress I do not conform to the customs observed in my country and in my class, the ridicule I provoke, the social isolation in which I am kept, produce, although in an attenuated form, the same effects as punishment... Durkheim 1895 Rules of Sociological Method (pp 2-3). Introduction Anthropologists and Sociologists have always been interested in the subjects of culture and identity and the way in which they impact societies around the world. Central these sciences are the people themselves, as “people make society.”1 The inherent differences in their behaviour, thinking, and their lifestyles become the defining aspects and the very basis of culture. Culture is explained as the “shared, taught and learned patterns of behaviour2” and may differ according to location, time in which it is placed. For example, addressing their country as "Nippon" is peculiar to the Japanese3. This essay shall explain identity, the ‘concept-metaphor’ of cultural-productions, and then proceed to analyse how they shape us in the first part. The second part shall examine the role of culture in the construction of identity using three examples. The aim of this analysis is to understand the complex nature of the cultural constructs in the development of identity in a globalizing, heterogenous world. Cultural Productions – Social Control Considering that “human nature is socially constructed in and through dialogues,”4 the society may be understood as a series of relationship.5 Durkheim, the French sociologist, put forth the concept of the evolution of societies from mechanical form to organic form6. In this transformation from a small cohesive society to a complex one, people become conscious of two things 1) their own identity and 2) the existence of the ‘other,’ the alien or unfamiliar elements. So what is Cultural Identity? And how do cultural productions influence us in the post-modern era of globalization? In a society, “culture” then “is a communicative system7” that uses many common modes of analogies to convey and receive information, such as linguistic analogies, dramaturgical analogies that defines the structures of sociability8. Within the cultural framework, when people see a person, they construct a concept based on his/her phenotype – the external features of the body such as height, colour, age, body size and structure, sex, and on the naturalized behaviour (which is a part of one’s belief system and of which one is mostly unaware), such as age, gender, race and so on. They construct a concept of who a person is, from where are his/her origins, what is his/her behaviour, which approximately fixes the position of the person in the society, or fixes his/her cultural identity in the society. For example, one way of identifying Mr. George W. Bush - the American president, may be as a white, male of average height, who speaks English and winks at the Queen of England9! These concepts or structures through which social relationships are understood, appear to hold the key to what we identify as culture in everyday life, like in the above example, the cultural etiquette of the British does not deem it right for anyone to wink at their Queen, who is at the helm of the social hierarchy, and culturally Mr. Bush may have committed a faux pas there, whereas the Americans may view it as a harmless gesture. It is pertinent to understand what is meant by cultural productions. The term ‘cultural-production’ is a concept metaphor10. For example, sex and gender, and sexuality; sex denotes the physical aspect of the reproductive body, the phenotype, whereas gender is a cultural production based on sex, a naturalized understanding of performance; sexuality is an interpretation based on one’s behaviour.11 The latter can be thought of as a way of understanding the society, a sort of “conceptual shorthand12” and importantly, they are subjective, in the sense they allow for different interpretations according to the perception of the analyser, for example globalization may be viewed positively by some, and negatively by another section. In this case, cultural productions may be perceived as set of images, objects, ideas, or myths13 promoted by a group of people or a community, as means of linking, and strengthening of kinship and bond with in the community. At the exterior, these are features of cultural productions that have won them wide spread popularity. However, there also seems to be a deeper purport, though not always evident. How does the society through its cultural productions bring about social control? The answer seems to lie in the most important features of such productions themselves. The purpose of these productions (especially emphasized in heterogenous communities) is to promote amongst its consumers a unified language, facilitating exchange and interaction; it sometimes has a commercial impact too. In order to reinforce the bonds of kinship some ‘rites of passage’ become an essential part of these cultural productions. They are 1) a strong emotional appeal, 2) repetition of some pattern of actions - ritualistic, 3) impart lessons especially to the young, 4) associated with particular costumes, events, locations, and foods 5) include synesthesia14 typically. Simpson15, the ANZAC16 hero’s case may be cited as a perfect instance of a positive cultural production, promoted with the aim of producing more such philanthropic people in the society. The deeper underlying purpose, is one of control, one of authority and authenticity17, in integrating the individual into the society, fixing his/her role in the social hierarchy, and controlling his/her position, work and common goals – in short to gain social control over the individual, even while enabling him to define, shape, and meet his/her individual dreams and aspirations. Anyone who conforms to these concepts will be accepted as a member of the group/society. As for those who are onlookers or non-conformists18, they may simply be branded as non-members or the ‘other’ or aliens, geeks and in the extreme, as misfits in the society. Thus cultural productions intend to shape us, as individuals, who are members of the society/community/group, who have understand, and value the norms and rules of the community, accepting them as valid constructs within which they can attain collective happiness, as well as fulfill personal aspirations. The Role of Culture in the Construction of Identity As mentioned earlier, according to Durkheim small, cohesive, mechanical solidarity societies evolve into a complex, organic solidarity form of society, in which individuals are isolated and live with lesser social bonds of kinship resulting in Anomie19. In such a society, not all people may respond to the structural norms or the constraints in the same way. They exercise their choice20 and they manner in which the respond to constructs of the community, accepting or rejecting the goals and means to achieve them, gives rise to what is termed as ‘delinquent sub-cultures’ 21in the society; wherein individuals assert their individualities and try to assert their individualistic identities which may not always conform to the dominant cultural constructs. Thus, in the post-modernized world, where in globalization is melting physical boundaries, and moving towards multicultural global village type of scenario, culture and cultural identities are attracting more attention and focus. Furthermore, the sudden awareness of the ‘otherness’ seems to lead to an intensification of one’s own culture, and thus leads to culture playing a stronger role, and the same time getting strengthened, in the process of constructing identities. These concepts of cultural identity may be broadly analyzed under the frame work of the ‘4 B’s – “Badge, Behaviour, Blood and Belief”.22 This part of the essay shall discuss with relevant examples, the role of culture in the construction of identity. The first shall be ‘blood’ of the four ‘B’s. Blood, is a “metaphor for race23” and has always been one of the most predominant fixers of identity. The concept of ‘race’ is a social construct and has largely been the basis of building kinship in the real world. ‘Racism’ however, has negative connotations and leads to the marginalization of some sections of the population. Like for example, the concept of ‘Orientalism,’24 the concept that ‘whiteness’ of skin makes for superior intellectual capabilities than ‘red’ or ‘yellow’ or ‘brown’ skinned people has been the basis of ‘colonialism’ in the past. On an individual level too, it has led to discrimination and rejection, as can be seen the example of a Chinese homosexual, who describes his plight most vividly as “I wanted to be yellow on the outside and white inside25” referring to the notions of racism. Furthermore the bias of race and behaviours, and internal characteristics is accurately portrayed in his statement that he was ‘yellow’ outside and that mattered inside, and Asians were not sexually aggressive and so on. In this example, there is a sub-culture of sorts within culture (Gay, Asian), and the individual has been prevented from the fulfilment of his desires because he was of Asian origin. So here, his blood or descent or race has been instrumental in crafting his identity, and because he was an Asian, it was believed that he may not be as good as a sexual partner as his ‘white’ counterparts. The blood construct holds people to possess some internal characters based on their external characters which may not be valid. The argument that “to know the differences or taking into account merely the differences, is not racism26; it is what we deduce of these differences that leads to conflicts”, is indeed valid. Categorising people based on the physical features, such as height, weight, size, colour of skin, hair and so on, and setting a hierarchy or ranking them based on their phenotype, makes it discriminatory and racial in character. ‘Belief’ is another integral part of culture the bonds people. Not only do the build kinship, they also motivate the individuals to act or perform in a certain manner, in other words, modify behaviour. In the present era where religious beliefs have started loosing their grip on people, the void seems to be getting filled by ‘scientific insecurity27’ which may be explained as the faithlessness and distrust in religion brought about by scientific methods of questioning. Thus, as Bauman28 laments, though ‘identity’ evokes a notion of a well-integrated self, an image of consistent, logically harmonised being; however this is not at all the valid. Identity viewed under the framework of post-modern era of globalization, materialism, consumerism, and internet (the world of hyper-deception29) appears to have become a problem, as Bauman elaborates on what can be termed as an ‘identity crisis.’ People try to shape their happiness by going in pursuit of desires, by attaching themselves to changing objects of desire; this is transient and that results in a constant state of struggle (to meet their desires). Furthermore, problems arise because of the preoccupation of individual problems and the way in which individuals seek solutions to them have become “the sole public interest30.” It is an ironic reversal of ‘panoptcianism31’ and Foucaultian32 theories, wherein a large section of the population watch the lives of a few, adopting their ways as fashion statements (behaviour) which are sacrosanct and have to be followed at all costs, lest they lose their identity as a member of the group/culture (belief). This has significant commercial implications as explicated in the example of the sales of Tupperware33, primarily through parties, social networking and then through stores and internet. Significantly, the sales strategy for Tupperware, advised the vendors to use parties as a vehicle for selling their products. In parties, the peers of the society make their statement in terms of fashion – the dresses that are to be worn, the way food that they fancy, the way they keep their bodies and most importantly, the things that they buy and use. These statements are carefully watched by the rest of the group/community, who then imitate the life styles and actions of the peer group. Fashion becomes an obsession, because without that they lose their identity as a member of the group. Here the explanation of culture as “shared, taught and learned patterns of behaviour34” is especially relevant because they define the identity of such community members in the group, and the members learn the behaviour, in this case shopping. The rising number of shopping malls and popularity of chain stores like Wall-Mart, stand testimony to this ‘conspicuous consumption.’35 Thus, beliefs are a powerful tool that shape identities in the cultural context. Culture has very special implications in the present age of multiculturalism. Though migration is an age old concept, (may even be called primordial and responsible for the spread of humanity around the globe), the economic migration that is taking place today seems to present an interesting study in terms of an intensification of cultural identities36. Migrations can be partially categorized as pertaining to blood or descent. However, other important aspects of social structures such as class, the financial status are a part of migration and thus they deny exclusive categorization under blood. Economic migrations may viewed as a typical part of globalization, with people braving odds of loneliness, psychological, and emotional subversion in alien place in order to better their earning prospects. Hence, it makes sense to state that such a migrant is acutely aware of his cultural identity in midst of another culture; but that can they strengthen cultural identities back home sounds strange. However, on closer examination, the reasons not only become more explicit, but also sound very logical. Empirical evidences can be found in the Sunni Islam communities in Valiagrammam37 village in Kerala, Southern India, wherein the community has contributed to the betterment of prospects of the individual, or contributed to the migration of the individual to the Gulf States with better pay. A part of the migrant earnings are pumped back in to the welfare of the community that has helped bring such prosperity to the individual. This money is then redistributed through the system, to send abroad more such individuals and thus the cycle gets repeated. This may be viewed as a sort of ‘cultural relativism.’38 The community ties are strengthened back home too, by the surplus migrant money flowing in, by means of new community centres, mosques, hospitals and so on. Moreover, though the individual who has gone abroad suffers a diminutive status in his place of work, he is held in high esteem and respected in his own community, and his identity is that of a valuable, respectable member of the community who has contributed to the welfare of the society. The exalted status in their homeland, local communities even inspire others to emulated their examples. This example illustrates how the individual’s identity is shaped by migration a characteristic aspect of globalization, which has almost become a sub-culture in some parts of the world like, Kerala. Conclusion A society is undeniably built on the solidarity of its human relationships. Culture gives it the framework on which to build its constructs and thus may be described as shared and learned patterns of behaviour. Culture also helps define identities of individuals within the social hierarchy, and his/her role within the constructs of the society. While this allows for growth and meeting of individual aspirations, it also places certain constraints on the individual, for the progress of the community as a whole. Cultural productions are ways of comprehending social constructs. They have some predominant traits which mark them, and are formulated with the purport of strengthening bonds of kinship and community. However, the deeper purpose it to exercise social control over the individuals, to integrate them effectively as valued members or marginalize them as misfits. Cultural productions are intended to shape individuals by reinforcing community aspirations and inspiring them to seek fulfilment for both, the community and themselves. Three examples have been cited as examples of the role of culture in identity creation. The study has kindled fresh thinking on the subject, and opened new doors for future inquiry. For example, in the case of migration and cultural identities research states that the migrant money does not result similar in community strengthening in the Hindu Ezhava community39, but has helped elevate the social status. So then how are the cultural identities of the Information Technology migrants to the Western nations from counties like India, China, and Korea impacted and the like. They make for interesting research in the future. List of works cited Australian War Memorial (2007).The ANZAC Day Tradition. Online article accessed on April 20, 2007. http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm#what Bauman, Zygmunt (2000). “Liquid Modernity” Polity Press. Pp. 72-90. Bentham, Jeremy (1787). The Panopticon Writings. Ed. Miran Bozovic (London: Verso, 1995). p. 29-95 Chinese homosexual, film spokesperison, in ‘Yang China Doll’ film in “’Race’ and Identity” in Cultural Identities class lecture on April 02, 2007. Durkheim, Emile (1893). The Division of Labour in Society. Cited in “Durkheim's Anomie” online article accessed on May 19, 2007. http://www..sch.uk/curric/soc/crime/anomie.htm Foucault, Michel, (1974) “Eye of Power” Excerpts from “Power/Knowledge”. online article accessed on May 19, 2007. http://www.nicklewis.org/great- writings/the-eye-of-power Giddens cited by McCall,Grant (2007). “Mistaken Identities” in Cultural Identities class lecture on May 7, 2007. Grant McCall (2007). In class lectures, Lectopia from March 26, 2007 to May 25, 2007. University of New South Wales, Sydney. Lowther, William (2007). “Blundering Bush makes ANOTHER gaffe as he winks at the Queen” in The Daily Mail dated May 8, 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_i d=453199&in_page_id=1811 Martin, K.Robert cited by Andrew Sankoh (2007). “Youth culture, violence & global development” In Cultural Identities class lecture on April 16, 2007. Musil, Robert (1978) cited in Carrithers, Michael (2005). “Anthropology as a moral science of possibilities”. Current Anthropology 46(3): p 439. Osella, Filippo & Caroline Osella 2000. “Migration, Money and Masculinity in Kerala”. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 6 (1): 117-133. Rao, Ursula (2007). “Migration & Trans-cultural Identities” in Cultural Identities class lecture on May 14, 2007. Sankoh, Andrew (2007). “Youth culture, violence & global development” In Cultural Identities class lecture on April 16, 2007. Simpson, cited in Dawn of the legend: 25 April 1915, Australian War Memorial online article, accessed on April 20, 2007. http://www.awm.gov.au/dawn/boat/simpson.asp Turney, Laura (1999). “Ceci n'est pas Jimmie Durham.” Critique of Anthropology 1999; 19; 423-444. Vincent, Susan. 2003. "Preserving domesticity: reading Tupperware in women's changing domestic, social and economic roles". The Canadian review of sociology and anthropology. Revue canadienne de sociologie et d'anthropologie 40(2): 171-196. Why Japan is Japan online article accessed on May 19,2007. http://www.watanabesato.co.jp/jpculture/howmanyi/howjapan.html Read More