Draft 2

Can popular culture be used as a tool for environmental and social change?

With a focus on globalisation manipulating cultures, the mass media’s effect on body image ideals, technological advances in our society, and the ways positive agendas for climate change can be promoted through use of mainstream outlets.

Introduction

Popular culture is a ‘commodity culture’ by the people and for the people (Danesi, 2008). Its nature of appealing to large heterogeneous masses of people (Delaney, 2007) makes it a powerful platform for influence and communication. It was industrialisation and the succeeding urbanisation of societal distribution (domestic migration) into concentrated build up areas, which fuelled the globalised consumerist economy we know today; where advertisement and trends thrive, and resultantly we all wear and eat the same things. These increasingly porous territorial boundaries (Storey, 2009) make globalisation a huge contributor to the environmental and social issues existing today. Still, globalisation would not be so widespread without the mass media and digital culture we currently absorb.  With this all-sharing and instant distributing structure, we begin to see a rise in mental health issues, especially amongst millennials who have never experienced life without digital technology (Livingstone, 2002). Additionally, mass production, consequence of the globalised economy, has led to mass consumerism, which has a substantial environmental and social impact. L.W. Levine (1992) labels pop culture as the people’s responses to consumer goods, thus by exploring the current reactions, it is possible to see how changing the way we advertise, distribute and sell produce in the mainstream media can bring about constructive change.

Globalisation

Globalisation is spreading western ideals globally, generating today’s mass culture and causing subsequent social consequences for eastern populations. In ‘Inventing Popular Culture: From Folklore to Globalization’, Storey writes about the “time space compression [that] brings into close contact images, meaning, ways of life, cultural practices, which would otherwise have remained separated by time and space”. Today this is exemplified through TNCs who do business in a world economy, enabling complex relations due to a relentless global flow of capital, commodities, and communications (Storey, 2009). However, Storey argues the positives of these relations, explaining that hybridisation is not a word for coping with cultural imperialism but that the west too adopts cultural practices from elsewhere. Best exemplified through the universal phenomenon that was The Beatles, and their interest in India in the late 60s. Their visit in 1968 ‘received widespread media attention’, and influenced the music and clothing they brought back into the limelight of western media, as well as the teachings they had learnt from ‘Transcendental Meditation’– definitely a stark difference to the fashions of the 60s at home. This could be considered a positive influence of pop culture in educating the masses of alternate perspectives.

Today more negative impacts of this hybridisation exist, with TNCs abusing the ill-informed perceptions of western ideals spread through a globalised system. The world’s largest fast-food chain McDonalds diversify their menus to appeal to a wider audience, spreading their world market by accommodating cultures. According to their Indian website "McDonald's has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit the Indian palate" (Schlossberg, 2015). Western values that are presented as idealistic to certain parts of the developing world provide an ideal environment for TNCs to infiltrate by exploiting their ignorance – in this case – to the health benefits of food.  Vice Documentary uncovered a pressing problem in Kuwait, stating: “as Americans become increasingly health-conscious and junk food sales plateau in the States, fast food companies are spreading to new global markets, expanding their revenue – and the waistlines of their consumers”. The latest World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show 66% of men and 90% of women in the UAE are either overweight or obese (Webster, 2016). The ensuing consequences include a heavy strain on these nations health services and the general quality of life for their populations. Nevertheless, with Vice being a populist news platform, ‘dumbed down’ for the masses, it could be seen that their choice to raise awareness of this issue exposes these corporations, placing pressure on them to adopt healthier menus in the East, as already seen in the West.

Mass Media

With the initial spread of the mass market enabling mass consumerism, growth in advertisement and urbanisation, we can begin to see an environment where a mass media can thrive. Jameson, 1979, responds in ‘Reification an Utopia in Mass Culture’ writing, “this is the conception of mass culture as sheer manipulation, commercial brainwashing and empty distraction by the multinational corporation who obviously control every feature of the production and distribution of mass culture today”. He thus states that mass culture is best understood by the marketing techniques of advertisement. The increasing stage for media personalisation and tendency to use the Internet for social purposes has led to millennials becoming invested in developing idealised online personas to present to the world (Gonzales and Hancock, 2011). Through universal connectivity, the Internet is spreading a unified popular culture over social media, whilst also customising advertisements to each active individual through their existing data. The consequential social impacts are leading to a growth in mental health issues amongst vulnerable populations, as well as an unnecessarily colossal consumer economy that is detrimental to the environment.

Body Image

Body image refers to the perceptions and attitudes that individuals hold about their own bodies in relation to larger cultural expectations (Davison and McCabe, 2005). The mass media are considered a particularly potent and pervasive source of influence in projecting unrealistic body types (Dittmar, 2009). Their portrayal of women being below average in weight, airbrushed and retouched, enables an unrealistic standard. Young women are thus comparing themselves against unattainable perceptions of physical beauty that are fictional against societal norms (Bergstrom, et al., 2009). Body dissatisfaction has been consistently associated with depressive moods and low self-esteem, leading to a range of physical and mental health problems (cf., Cash & Pruzinsky, 2002; Polivy & Herman, 2002; Thompson, 2004). Millennials have grown up in a culture where the mass adoption of mobile media devices has created a ‘bedroom culture’ in which they partake in highly personalised and private media worlds (Livingstone, 2002). As such their constant exposure to the ‘idealistic women’ in populist culture feeds their distorted perceptions. Studies show that approximately half of American girls aged 11-16 are unhappy with their body image (White and Halliwell, 2010). More recently, 2017 data from the University of New South Wales and Macquarie University has shown that as little as half an hour a day on Instagram ‘can make women fixate negatively on their weight and appearance’. Primary research gathered responsive to this investigation found that in a survey of 50 females aged 16-25, 81% agreed to wanting 'the perfect body’.

Our social concerns regarding body image have spread to eastern cultures which previously had no evidence of such issues. This is a result of the globalised structure spreading western media platforms to previously untouched areas. Eunice Park writes in Asia Week magazine; “as many Asian countries become Westernised and infused with the Western aesthetic of a tall, thin, lean body, a virtual tsunami of eating disorders has swamped Asian counties”. Presenting how the west’s morphed representations are impacting imbedded cultures, and how cultural merging resultant of pop culture is hindering female mental health; “media-promoted ideas of femininity and masculinity quickly and perniciously spread their influence over everyone who owns a TV or can afford a junk magazine or is aware of billboards” (Bordo, 2004). Still, anti-reactionary campaigns from populist outlets have driven change amongst a mass audience’s visual literacy. The 2006 Dove Evolution advertisement, promoting their new Dove Self-Esteem Fund, was revolutionary of its time in exploiting the unrealistic depictions of women in advertisement through digital alterations and ‘Photoshopping’. Its widespread coverage presents how populist outlets can use their platform to expose, educate and impact received body image ideals, thus fuelling social change. The ongoing transparency shed on the male gaze and Weinstein culture has fuelled a feminist backbone within the mainstream media that is becoming more representative and creating less sexualised female role models for future generations.

Fast Fashion

The growth of brands and advertisement has also led to the surge of fast fashion, with companies exploiting buyers to keep them regularly purchasing. Clothing is being produced at increasingly lower prices as a result of globalisation, which subsequently drives a mentality for the clothing to be disposable. Economic growth is dependent on the ‘continued marketing of new products and disposal of old ones that are thrown away simply because stylistic norms promote their obsolescence’ (Claudio, 2007). Matt D’Avella‘s documentary ‘Minimalism’ exposes the detrimental effects of fast fashion on environmental and social sustainability. The fashion industry has grown from 4 to 52 seasons a year, exposing highly transitory trends and a constant flow of production and distribution. The Guardian revealed alarming figures in 2017 about the UK’s consumerist market, stating that 1.13 million tonnes of new clothing was purchased in 2016 ­ an increase of 200,000 tonnes since 2012 - and that on average, a dress will stay in the owner’s wardrobe for only five weeks. High Street brands now outsource to maximise profits, manufacturing their clothes in developing countries for cheaper production costs, and often exploiting child labour.  The UN Commodity Trade Statistics database found China to be the largest exporter of fast fashion, making up 30% of world apparel exports. As a result of the immense transportation required, and the waste associated with the process, fast fashion is detrimental to the environment. The Technical Textile Markets record the demand for man-made fibres to have doubled in the last 15 years. This is having a huge environmental impact, with polyester, the most widely manufactured fibre, being made from petroleum. Large amounts of crude oil are needed for manufacturing synthetic fabrics that releases toxic emissions, all of which can cause respiratory disease. Polyester is a plastic, meaning all garments ever made from this material still exist on the planet today. The EPA, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, have labelled textile-manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators due to the dangerous by-products production.

Nonetheless outlets for change are starting to emerge, and with the assistance of pop culture, this mentality can be spread into the mainstream media outlets. Vetements, a current ‘it’ brand decorated their windows of Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, a commercial hotspot of global fashion retail, with waste garments being recycled to charity in place of their latest collection. Stella McCartney carries on the conservational ideals, advocating ethical and environmental clothing by shooting the advertisement for her 2017 autumn campaign 'AW17' in a Scottish landfill site. She explains to WWD (Woman’s Wear Daily) that "our man-made constructed environments are disconnected and unaware of other life and the planet, which is why there is waste”. Likewise, since 2005 Portland Fashion Week have focused on featuring sustainable designers in their productions. This and the increasing number of Hollywood celebrities that have been associated with sustainable Fashion like Natalie Portman and Jennifer Aniston, are all populist contributors to environmental and social change. Findings show that extending the life of a garment by an extra nine months reduces its environmental impact by 20-30%, and thus with the right promotional direction, there is scope for advancement.

Climate Change

Celebrity endorsement

Celebrity endorsement is a huge tool for influence over a populist audience. Despite the cost and risks involved with this technique of advertising, it has been used extensively in the present era (Jain, 2011). Now we see the full extent of its power with Donald Trump becoming the U.S. President, the need for such figures to use their status to promote positive causes to their mass followings is crucial. Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio dedicated his Oscars acceptance speech to raise awareness on climate change; “Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It’s the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating”. Watched by over 32 million people and broadcasted in 200 countries, the Oscars is a huge platform within popular culture. His involvement with tackling climate change led to his appointment as UN Messenger of Peace back in 2014, following which he produced ‘Before The Flood’ (2016), a documentary film that sheds light on the current state of our climate and what we can do to diffuse the impending threat.

Moreover, the unique stardom of environmental celebrities such as David Attenborough is another way that popular culture has and can be used to promote environmental education and political change. The huge popularity of Attenborough over social media, became a trend following his link to various nature documentaries. The ‘Planet Earth II’ opening episode gained 40.9% of the television viewing public, and the most recent series ‘Blue Planet II’ became the most viewed show of 2017, across all television (The Guardian). The show not only educates on wildlife, but in the newer releases evidences man-induced impacts on ecosystems. This delivery of epic numbers for the BBC impacted on British politics and the 2017 budget, with Chancellor Philip Hammond and Environmental Secretary Michael Gove announcing an investigation into charges on single-use plastic items to reduce waste, as well as a clean air fund to improve local air quality. The improvements in camera software and design outputs played a huge role in the scope at which the show was received, constructively seeing results for environmental protection laws to be put in place. When broadcasted, Planet Earth 2 attracted more viewers aged 16-34-years-old than The X Factor, implying that children are learning the links between the environment and their future. Attenborough spoke about how the growth in technology over the 10 years between Planet Earth 1 and 2 has expanded the appeal; with the HD shots, musical compositions and entire cinematography enhancing the realism of the subjects. Following the show’s release Attenborough became subject to huge internet discussion and 'meme culture' where social media platforms become filled with humorous content relating to events in the episodes. The subsequent free and instant promotion for the series only advertised it further, keeping it at the centre of both online and offline discussion.

Fiction

NBC has categorised its viewership based on their favourite shows and their level of concern about the environment. “Alpha ecos” are considered to be women who drive hybrids, eat organic and watch the Bravo channel, while “eco-logicals” are older viewers with Midwestern values, drink diet coke, drive domestic cars and watch basic-cable...By showing television characters “doing good” can not only enhance viewers’ feelings about the show but potentially sell more environmentally friendly products and services.” (Chozick, 2010).  Hit populist television series have focused specific episodes on climate change in order to depict extreme and poetic interpretations to press the need to act out on current environmental issues. Star Trek: The Next Generation most successful global-warming themed episode, 'The Inner Light' (1992) won a Hugo Award and is one of 5 out of 178 most popular episodes in the TNG series. South Park has spoofed global warming in several episodes, and with our intrinsic cultural need for the profane, and a humanistic crave for laughter, it is evident why the series has such widespread appeal (Berger, 2005). The sitcom raises awareness of issues through the subversive effects of laughter (Danesi, 2007). The idea alone that these shows are watched by millions of people and shown all over the world creates a forum where these issues are being discussed and promoted. This area of food for thought to a mass audience stimulates awareness, inaugurating areas for action, and thus can be done continually to promote change.

Climate change has grown in popularity within fiction, giving rise to the term cli-fi constituting a distinctive literary genre. There is now a growing corpus of novels setting out to warn readers of possible environmental nightmares to come (Glass, 2013). Cli-fi's most successful portrayal in spreading fears of climate change was the 2004 Hollywood blockbuster 'The Day After Tomorrow', where the catastrophic effects played out in the film captured the attention of the masses. Anthony A. Leiserowitz states that 'some predicted the film would do more to raise public awareness of global warming than any number of scientific papers or documentaries'. He found that the film generated more than 10 times the news coverage of the 2001 IPCC report. "This film could do more in helping us move in the right direction than all the scientific work and all the U.S. Congressional testimonies put together...Nothing I have done in the 23 years of my climate change career may have a greater impact than this film". A national survey conducted into the public impact of the film found that representations of risk in popular culture can have a powerful influence on public risk perceptions - in some cases more powerful than official risk communications from scientists or governments. Such was exemplified with the film Jaws (1975) and the following amplified risk perceptions of shark attacks (University of Cambridge Press, 2003). Hence the use of populist entertainment in spreading environmental awareness and sustainable urgency can be far more effective than that from highbrow institutions. 

Conclusion

With climate change becoming an increasingly pressing issue, and with the rise of politicians in prominent countries like the USA disregarding environmental protection at the cost of economic gain; the mass media and commercial culture that is so prevalent in modern society is an appropriate forum for promoting effectual change. The globalised culture that now exists allows for far-reaching communications. Utilising social media platforms and the power of celebrities in spreading awareness of the detrimental cognitive effects of the media’s false representations, allows for transparency and prevents ignorance for people distinguishing between screen and factual depictions. The level at which we are switched on is at an all-time high, thus the resultant mass audience can be used as a device for positive collective developments. It is design and how these messages are communicated that will drive the success of various environmental and social schemes. As seen environmentally with the improved success of ‘Planet Earth 2’, which utilised the Technological Age in bringing ecology into our living rooms and personalising our relationship with our surroundings; and more socially with British Vogues May 2018 cover, which is the most representative of ethnicity and body image to date.