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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

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MODULE 2: CULTURAL STUDIES

SENTRO NG WIKAAND POPULAR CULTURE
AT KULTURA

At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

a. define cultural studies;

b. explain the relationship between cultural studies and the study of popular culture;
c. differentiate the ‘popular’ from the high-brow culture; and
d. Appreciate the importance of popular culture in societal development.

Explore

What is Cultural Studies?

Cultural studies remain difficult to define as a

cohesive, unified academic subject with distinct
substantive issues, concepts, and methods that
distinguish it from other disciplines. Cultural
studies have always been a multidisciplinary or
post-disciplinary field of study, blurring the
distinctions between itself and other "subjects."

Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field that

studies how social structures shape culture. It
began in the late 1950s in the United Kingdom
and quickly extended throughout the world,
particularly to the United States and Australia. It is a discursive formation, defined as "a group (or
formation) of ideas, images, and practices that give ways of talking about, forms of knowing, and
action linked with, a certain topic, social activity, or institutional site in society (Hall, 1997a)”. Let
us examine how scholars like sociologists Tony Bennett (1998) and Stuart Hall (1992) define the
concept of cultural studies.

Bennett (1998):

“Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field in which perspectives from different disciplines can
be selectively drawn on to examine the relations of culture and power.” Cultural studies, therefore,
is concerned with all those practices, institutions and systems of classification through which there
are inculcated in a population particular values, beliefs, competencies, routines of life and habitual
forms of conduct.

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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

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Cultural studies investigate a wide range of power structures, including gender, racism, class,
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colonialism, and so on. Cultural studies aim to investigate the links between various types of power
and to develop ways of thinking about culture and power that may be applied by change agents.
Bennett (1998) added that the prime institutional sites for cultural studies are those of higher
education, and as such, cultural studies is like other academic disciplines. Nevertheless, it tries to
forge connections outside of the academy with social and political movements, workers in cultural
institutions, and cultural management.

Hall (1992):

“Cultural Studies has a variety of discourses and histories. It is a whole set of formations; it has
its own distinct conjunctures and historical moments. It included a wide range of work. It was
always a series of unstable formations. It had many trajectories, and many people had and have
different theoretical positions, all of which were in contention (Storey, 2010, p. 2)”. In other words,
Cultural Studies provide a forum for academic discourses that draw on anthropology, history,
literary studies, philosophy, political economics, and sociology to develop concepts and arguments
(George Mason University, para. 1). It aims to better understand, examine, and transform particular
cultural behaviors (George Mason University, para. 5).

Relationship between Culture and Cultural Studies

Cultural studies would not warrant its

name without a focus on culture. Hall
(1996) contended that culture refers to the
actual grounded terrain of practices,
representations, languages and customs of
any specific society. It pertains to the
contradictory forms of common sense
which have taken root in and helped to
shape popular life.

Culture is concerned with shared social

meanings, or the many ways in which we make sense of our surroundings. Meanings, on the other
hand, are formed through signs, the most prominent of which being those of language. Language
is not a neutral medium for the development of meanings and knowledge about a separate object
world that exists outside of language, according to cultural studies. Rather, it is a part of those very
meanings and understandings. That is, language gives meaning to the material objects and social
behaviors that it brings to our attention and clarifies in terms that language defines production. We
Main Office: Barangay Zabali, Baler, Aurora [email protected]

Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
 Republic of the Philippines

AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

need to look into how meaning is created symbolically. These signifying acts are the processes of
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meaning production. We must investigate how meaning is formed symbolically in language as a
'signifying system' in order to comprehend culture.

All sorts of culture are recognized in cultural studies (albeit most studies have focused on
the ‘popular'). Culture is regarded as a meaning-making entity in this field of research. It's about
how humans interact with nature (including their own biology); it's about the "shared meanings"
that people develop and encounter in their daily lives. Furthermore, humans make meaning from
the texts they encounter. Cultures emerge from the "creation, circulation, and consumption of
meanings" in this manner. As a result, “sharing a culture” means “interpreting the world in
recognizably similar ways” (Storey 2011, pp. 2-3). Cultural studies recognize that cultural
meanings are negotiated, thus that they might signify various things in different cultures. The
foundation of Cultural Studies is this negotiation between cultures and the function of power

Activity: Write a word in each box that you can related with the word below.

Main Office: Barangay Zabali, Baler, Aurora [email protected]

Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

Culture
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Ideology
AT KULTURA

As you have learned in the previous lesson, we defined culture as a system of symbolic
and expressive structures that a particular group of people developed and utilized to enhance
solidarity, understanding, and transmission of knowledge (Danesi, 2019). In other words, culture
suggests a particular way of life, whether of people, a period or a group’. Williams (1983) further
defined culture to refer to a general process of intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic development.

Another essential term in popular culture studies

is ideology. Just like culture, the term ideology
also has competing definitions. Ideology, just like
the term culture, is considered as a highly flexible
concept. To some, ideology is dogmatic, while to
others it carries connotations of political
sophistication; to some it refers to dominant
modes of thought, and to others it refers primarily
to those most alienated by the status quo. To
some, it is based in the concrete interests of a
social class while to others it is characterized by an absence economic self-interest.

Let us examine the following meanings of ideology and try to understand each.

1. Ideology is a systematic body of ideas articulated by a specific group of people. Consider

the various political parties in the country. Why do you believe certain arguments arise
when making decisions affecting the welfare of Filipino citizens?

2. Ideology is a set of guiding political principles for a society and/or its economy. In general,
an ideology is a practical organizing principle rather than a belief system or way of
thinking. An ideology is a belief system that serves as the foundation for a political or
economic theory. Ideologies serve as the guiding principles for governing a society. For
instance, think about the ideology of capitalism. It emphasizes the freedom to start
businesses, trade goods, and own the means of production privately. Capitalism produces
excellent market efficiencies but also excessive exploitation of the rich over the poor.
Because of government intervention in the market to protect consumers and curb
capitalism's excesses, no society is purely capitalist.
Other forms of these ideologies include agrarianism, authoritarianism, democracy,
environmentalism, globalism, among others.

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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

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3. Ideology is understood as false consciousness. This means that belief in the system stems
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from cultural messages that conceal and obscure the reality of exploitation. This ideology
is known as the "rose-colored glasses" viewpoint. For example, we may enjoy having a
variety of digital communication devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and/or Ipods. The
general consensus is that these digital devices are environmentally friendly. This, however,
is far from the case. These devices contain a variety of hazardous materials, including
chromium, mercury, and cadmium. In this case, ideology obscures the wasteful and
hazardous nature of digital gadgets, as well as the devastating health effects of hazardous
materials on the world's poor.

4. Ideology as a set of practices (by Louis Althusser). Ideology is defined as a social

mechanism that generates subject positions, or a place in the social environment where we
live our lives. Student, teacher, cleaner, CEO, and so on are all examples of subject
positions. The argument is that ideology gives social meaning to such subject situations. A
teacher, for example, makes sense of their current social situation by visualizing how it
links to the larger social world. Politically, the teacher's imagination can be conservative,
conformist, reformist, or revolutionary. In other words, What Althusser is referring to is
the fact that certain rituals and conventions have the effect of attaching us to the social
order, which is distinguished by massive wealth, position, and power inequalities. Think
of this: For example, if you live a wealthy lifestyle, your daily habits will be very different
from those of the poor. In what ways do you believe this societal difference will result in
inequalities?

MODULE 3: Philippine Popular Culture Studies:

A Historical Perspective

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

a. trace the history of studies on Philippine Popular Culture
b. identify the pillars of Philippine Popular Culture
c. appreciate the developments in reading Philippine Popular Culture

Read the following introduction by Gary C. Devilles from the book, “Kritikal na Espasyo ng
Kulturang Popular.”

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Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

Isang Pagdalumat sa Espasyo at mga Araling Pangkultura

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Hindi nalalayo sa isang pulong ang paghahain ng isang antolohiya ng mga aralin sa
Kulturang Popular. Kung dadalumatin ang kahulugan ng “pulong” hindi lamang bilang
pagtatagpo, pagkikita, o pakikipanayam, kundi ang mismong “pulo” na tumutukoy sa anyo at hugis
ng lupain na pinagdadausan nito, masasabing isang pagtatagpo at sabay na tagpuan ang
antolohiyang ito. Isang pagtatagpo ito dahil may pangangailangan na rin na magkaroon ng
malinaw na pagtalunton sa Kulturang Popular, mula pa sa mga pag-aaral nina Bienvenido
Lumbera, Nicanor Tiongson at Soledad Reyes tungo kina Rolando Tolentino at sa bagong
henerasyon sa larangang ito.

Sinasabi na nakaugat sa mga aralin nina Raymond Williams, Richard Hogart at Stuart Hall
ng University of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies ang mga araling
pakikipagtalastasan at pang-media noong dekada 80 kung kalian namutawi ang araling ito sa
akademya ng Pilipinas. Bago nito, nakaangkla ang araling pang-media sa US, sa ideolohiyang
liberal kung saan tinitingnan ang lipunan sa optimistikong pananaw, kung saan nagkakasundo ang
lahat, umiiral ang nakararami at pragmatiko. Dala ng ganitong pananaw, nakatuon lamang ang
pagaaral sa media sa idinudulot nito sa gawi at kilos ng tagapagtangkilik, ang masama at mabuting
bias ng media. Simplistiko kung gayon ang ugnayang itinatakda ng media at tagapagtangkilik at
hindi itinatanong ang mismong pinagmulan ng media at ang pwersang sangkot at kinasasangkutan
mismo sa buong produksyon. Lumabas na ang halos lahat ng araling pang-media ay nag-aanyong
tagapagsulong ng mga pagpapahalagang indibidwal, demokrasya at ang mismong pangarap ng
sinumang Amerikano.

Noong dekada 70, unti-unting nilansag ang ganitong pakiwari sa araling pang-media nina
Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, at Habermas at naghain sila ng ibang pananaw sa pagsusuri ng
kapangyarihan, pagbabago at tunguhin ng lipunan at media. Dito na rin pumapasok sa US ang mga
pag-aaral nina Hogart at Hall mula sa Britanya at sinasabing malaking impluwensya rito ang
pagkadismaya sa ideolohiyang liberal na namumutawi sa Humanidades at mga Agham
Panlipunan.

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Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

Sa Pilipinas, nagmula sa araling panitikan at hindi sa araling pang-media ang araling

SENTRO NG WIKA AT KULTURA
kultural. Bagaman ang nagsusulat na sina Bienvenido Lumbera sa pelikula, Doreen Fernandez
hinggil sa pagkaing Pilipino, at Valerio Nofuente tungkol sa dyip, si Soledad Reyes ang unang
masinop na nagtaguyod ng Kulturang Popular sa Pilipinas. Mula sa kanyang pag-aaral ng nobelang
Tagalog at sa pagtalunton niya sa genre na ito sa popular na babasahin na komiks, naging
pangunahing tanong ni Reyes ang usapin ng panlasa at kung paano ang panlasa o estetika ay
nakapaloob sa malawak na usapin ng tunggalian ng uri, mga tanong na ginagalugad din sa mga
araling kultural sa US at Inglatera noon. Mula sa pag-aaral ni Reyes nagkaroon ng

mga serye ng panayam at palihan sa Kulturang Popular noong 1988, na nagbunga ng mga
babasahin na pinamatnugutan din ni Reyes, ang Reading Popular Culture na inilimbag ng
Pamantasang Ateneo noong 1991. Tampok sa Antolohiyang ito ang mga sanaysay hinggil sa dyip,
komiks, soap opera, pelikula o Original Pilipino Music. Layunin ng antolohiya ayon kay Reyes na
maglaan ng puwang sa akademikong pagaaral ang mga bagay na ito at ilantad ang mala-burgis na
oryentasyon ng pag-aaral ng panitikan at kultura.

Sa Kanluran, nagmula rin sa mga panayam at palihan ang pagkakaroon ng mga antolohiya
sa Kulturang Popular. Isa na rito ang The Cultural Studies Reader ni Simon During na nailathala
noong 1999 at ang Cultural Studies na pinamatnugutan nina Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson at
Paula Treichler, at batay sa palihan na naganap sa Pamantasan ng Illinois Urbana-Champaign
noong 1990. Sa pagsusuri ni Ien Ang, malaking suliranin ng mga antolohiyang ito ang balintuna
ng pagkalat ng Kulturang Popular. Sa isang banda, nagkakaroon ng puwang ang diskursong
kritikal sa mga akademya, na may kakayanan na suriin ang usapin ng kapangyarihan, uri at panlasa.
Subalit kapansin-pansin din ang tila pagiging unibersal ng ganitong diskurso na sa halip na maging
mapagpalaya ay lalo pang nagpapatibay sa mala-kolonyal na bias ng kaalaman.

Sa ganitong konsepto ng pagtatagpo nais naming ipaliwanang ang espasyo ng Kulturang

Popular sa Pilipinas. Una, tila may pagkakahawig sa mga suliraning kinakaharap ng akademya

Main Office: Barangay Zabali, Baler, Aurora [email protected]

Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
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AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

dito sa Pilipinas at maging sa US kaya hindi nakapagtataka kung isang puwersa ang papel ng
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kasaysayan ng pananakop ng US sa Pilipinas at ang patuloy na pagiging dominante ng kulturang
Amerikano dulot ng globalisasyon. Kung tinurol na nina Soledad Reyes at Bienvenido Lumbera
ang usapin ng panlasa at ang kaakibat na tunggalian ng uri dito, ginalugad din sa US at Inglatera
ang mga usaping ito. Ayon kay Simon During, paksa na ang tunggalian ng uri sa araling kultural
sa Inglatera noong katapusan ng digmaang pandaigdig, batay sa pag-aaral ni FR Leavis. Ayon kay
Leavis, hindi lamang isang anyo ng libangan ang kultura, kundi isang tunggalian ng naghaharing
uri laban sa masa. Sinusugan nina Richard Hogart at Raymond Williams ang ganitong mga pag-
aaral ni Leavis at kung titingnan ang kalipunan na mga pag-aaral na ito tila nagkakaroon ng
“malapagtatagpo” ang mga kritiko sa iba’t ibang lupalop ng mundo.

Subalit kailangan ding idiin na hindi lamang pagtatagpo ang umusbong na espasyo ng
kulturang popular sa akademya. Kailangan ding makita na isang tagpuan din talaga ang espasyo
ng kulturang popular. Pansinin na sa mga pag-aaral nina Reyes malimit niyang ginalugad ang
tunggalian ng kapangyarihan sa panlasa at estetika at kadalasang madudukal sa laylayan gaya ng
komiks ang artikulasyon nito. Kaya para kay Reyes, isang espasyo kung tutuusin ang komiks kung
saan umiiral ang ideolohiya, panlasa ng naghaharing-uri, at maging ang kakaibang pagtanggap ng
mambabasa, na may sariling pakiwari at paggamit sa nasabing babasahin.

Pansinin din ang mga pagsusuri sa iba’t ibang media gaya ng telebisyon at pelikula nina
Lumbera, Tiongson, at Rolando Tolentino kung saan tinahak din nila ang ahensya ng mambabasa,
manonood at tagapagtangkilik nito at naghain ng masalimuot na konsepto ng kaakuan o popular.
Malimit mabatid sa mga akdang ito ang kakaibang pagturing sa popular na hindi lamang isang uri
ng tao sa lipunan kundi isang dinamikong gawain o pakikipagtalaban ng teksto at mambabasa.
Kung pagbabatayan ang sinabi ni Derrida na walang nasa labas ng teksto o walang labas ang teksto,
masasabing ang kulturang popular ay nasa tumatangkilik nito, ang patuloy na pagbabago nito ayon
sa panlasa ng manonood, at ang paggigiit ng kanilang mga hangarin sa konteksto ng umiiral na
suliranin ng kanilang panahon at lugar. Samakatuwid, isang espasyo ang mismong kulturang
popular at sa ganitong punto rin nagiging tagpuan ang pagtalunton sa kasaysayan ng kulturang
popular at ang iba’t ibang diskurso ukol dito. Hindi lamang pagbabalangkas ng panahon ang
pagsasakasaysayan ng kulturang popular. Higit na angkop na isang pagtawid, pagtahak, o
paglakbay sa mga lansangan at kalye ng kulturang popular. Naglalayag ang sinumang kritiko at
tagapagtangkilik ng kulturang popular at sa halip na magmula ang isang pasya o pananaw tungkol
sa pinanood o binasa sa isang atas o pamantayan, may nagaganap lamang na isang uri ng
pagtatagpo, isang uri ng pagamin na may angking bisa ang itinatanghal at sabay na pagtataya na
mauunawaan ng marami ang pagtatalaban ng mga teksto sa mambabasa ng mga sandaling iyon.
Batid ng kritiko o mambabasa na walang pamantayan ang isang paglalayag o paggalugad. May
kutob lamang siya, kinakapakapa lamang niya ang kanyang pinanuod o binasa. Hindi
nakapagtataka na sa ngayon dumarami ang mga espasyo na gingalugad sa kulturang popular—
nariyan ang pagtuunan ng pansin ang katawan bilang espasyo mismo at ang mismong lunan gaya
ng Maynila. Sa ganitong konteksto nais naming ihain ang kahulugan ng Kritikal na Espasyo ng
Kulturang Popular. Kritikal na Espasyo ito dahil tumutukoy ito sa pagtatagpo ng mga aralin at

Main Office: Barangay Zabali, Baler, Aurora [email protected]

Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph
 Republic of the Philippines

AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Brgy. Zabali,3200 Baler, Auror a, Philippines

iba’t ibang tagpuang ginagalugad sa antolohiyang ito.

SENTRO NG WIKA AT KULTURA

ACTIVITY:

Answer the following questions to aid your understanding of the text.

1. Based on the text, in what specific studies did cultural studies start in the West and in the
Philippines?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Who are the proponents of popular culture studies in the US and the UK?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. Who is the proponent of popular culture studies in the Philippines and what

did she focus on?

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______________________________________________________________________________

4. What do you think is the role of taste or “panlasa” in the study of popular culture?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

5. How does cultural studies and popular culture become a critical space for the discussion of
conflicting forces between the ruling class and the ruled or the masses? (Paano nagiging espasyo
para sa diskusyon ng tunggalian ng naghaharing-uri at pinaghaharian ang pag-aaral sa kultura at
kulturang popular?)

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Main Office: Barangay Zabali, Baler, Aurora [email protected]

Manila Office: #13 Flores De Mayo St., SFDM, Quezon City www.ascot.edu.ph