Ethics of Technology and How it Influences Human Culture

For century’s man-kinds insatiable thirst for knowledge has pushed the boundaries of morality. Whilst certain ethical lines may be crossed however, there always seems to be some scientific justification. It is this that I intend to examine; to what extent does ‘scientific justification’ balance the crossing of those moral boundaries.

I will begin by looking at one of the most extreme examples I can find in recent history. At the University of California researchers led by Dr. Yang Dan chemically paralyzed and anesthetized a cat, secured it to a surgical frame and then glued its eyes open forcing it to watch a short film over and over again. As horrific as this experiment sounds, the technology that could be developed as a result of this could be huge. By inserting fiber electrodes into the vision processing centre of the cats brain, the scientists were able to view the images (albeit very blurrily) exactly as the cat was seeing them. Whilst this technology could be commercially massive, realistically this is not for some sort of ‘greater good’; this is solely to satisfy mans need for an easier and more advanced lifestyle. However it is definitely incredibly exciting to imagine the impacts this technology would have on our culture, as it would potentially give us the ability to see exactly as others do. I can already see issues arising however. The main one in my opinion being privacy; with the ever-increasing amount of wireless connectivity in our daily life, how long will it be until someone can hack directly into your brain?

That is an extreme example of where the pursuit for technological greatness over looks questions of ethics and morals, as in more recent years scientists deliberately avoid creating ethical debates and arguments. A good example of this is an article on BBC news about searching for the origins of life. The article talks about the use and development of the technology that allows scientists to see into the far reaches of space searching for life other than ourselves, putting them in a better position to answer that question. They claim that as they are not creating life, it avoids any ethical concerns. In my opinion it doesn’t totally avoid this, as they are attempting to turn theories into facts that directly conflict with certain religions. However, it could be said that the ethical arguements created by the use of these technologies can be countered by one of the positive uses. Apparently, searching for alien life is incredibly similar to trying to detect a virus in a human. In this instance, all ethical concerns are minor in comparison to the positive impacts of technology; however it is important to know where to draw that line.

At the same time as this article was published there was another interesting one from BBC news that talks about the development of technology with a lot of ethical issues surrounding it; the attempt to grow meat without the killing of any animals. This is done by using stem cells from live animals to create what is essentially ‘test-tube’ meat. In the article Professor Post justifies his experimentations by outlining current issues surrounding farming, such as the fact that 18% of greenhouse gases come from livestock and of course the animal welfare argument. These are valid points, as the use of this ‘fake-meat’ would prevent those problems. However, what are not mentioned in the article are the negative impacts. The most important of these has to be what will this meat potentially do to the farming industry, a sector that is already struggling as it is? Also will it ever be as good as the real thing? These two important questions have both been overlooked by the article. In my opinion, and this may be slightly biased as I come from a long line of farmers, it will take away countless jobs and not actually solve anything. The laws surrounding the ways animals are treated on farms in the UK at the moment are incredibly strict, and despite the animals eventually being killed they live a very decent life. Food is not the issue that I believe needs tackling, instead try and come up with a solution for more morally gray industries such as leather? Saying that however I do not think the world would ever allow one its oldest trades, farming, to become extinct.

The diagram above is a diagram often referred to by philosophers of the basic components that make up a moral system. One philosopher in particular who commonly focuses on ethics and technology is Hans Jonas who gave this statement as a moral code; ‘Act so that the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life.’ By looking at this quote and the diagram it should provide an decisive rule of thumb when trying to see where to draw the line of pursuing technological greatness whilst upholding human morals. Or so you would think…

References:

1.       Elephants on Acid by Alex Boese, published in Orlando, Florida by Harvest Publishing in 2007

2.       Ethics and Technology Third Edition by Herman T. Tavani, published in the USA by RDC Publishing Group in 2007.

3.       http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15402552 accessed on 15/01/12

4.       http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15618759 accessed on 15/01/12

Images:

1.       http://www.graphicshunt.com/funny/images/big_eyed_cat-11969.htm accessed on 15/01/12

2.       http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html accessed on 15/01/12

3.       Ethics and Technology Third Edition by Herman T. Tavani, published in the USA by RDC Publishing Group in 2007.

The Future of the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

The celebration of the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge was started by a group of new-age travellers known as ‘The Peace Convoy’. Moving in 1973 to a nearby field, once a year they gathered in their numbers to hold a free festival at the stones, practicing pagan rituals as the sun rose on the longest day of the year. Today, these same travellers still come together at the stones around the 1^st of June, but with some very obvious differences.

The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge was originally intended as a special and exclusive event for those who had out-grown the mainstream festivals and were looking for something deeper. After 11 years of holding the event reasonably successfully with little to no organisation from anyone apart from the travellers residing nearby, the government finally intervened with force. Before 1985, there had been various attempts to rid Stonehenge of its ‘Peace Convoy’ by the local community, none of which proved to be successful. However, on June 1^st of that year an event transpired that would change the summer solstice at Stonehenge significantly; the Battle of the Beanfield. Wiltshire police came in full riot gear to aggressively remove the travellers, with several major casualties. This statement given to the press by one traveller best describes the incident; ‘the police came in and they were battering people where they stood, smashing homes up where they were, just going wild.’^[1] That marked the end of the summer solstice at Stonehenge as it was in those days, until eventually enough support was gathered for its rebirth in 2001.

After reading an article about the event in 2001 by Zoe James ^[2] it is clear that there were some very obvious changes to the festival since 1985. For a start, there was of course a police presence from the beginning of the event to its end. However, 1985 provided a certain rule for all future police intervention that they had to keep their distance, meaning that in the festival grounds the police occasionally would turn a blind eye to any minor unlawful behaviour. Since 2001, police intervention has been ever increasing, as was apparent when I went in 2008. This of course meant some discontent from the hippies as they look at any police presence as being the start of another Battle of the Beanfield. Will it ever get to that point? In my opinion no, almost certainly not, however the festival does seem to be heading in a very different direction; the base of a mainstream festival. How long will it be before a large ticket price is introduced with strict search policies on the entrance? A spokesman from a pagan group that attends the festival said ‘There's a shroud coming down on our freedom. There is more and more control over our lives. It's a monster coming into our society.’^[3]

Another noticeable change written in Zoe James’ article that gives further indications towards that path is the increasing amount of young people attending. When I went in 2008 I enjoyed myself and there was definitely a sense of harmony between all attendees, but again what happens when the young take over? The amount of new-age travellers and hippies that now attend the summer solstice today are definitely in a significant minority, and I believe this definitely could be a possibility. Despite the common view of pagans and travellers being odd and out of the ordinary, people should still in my opinion have the right to practice what they believe, so who are we to take that away from them? In a sense it is the destruction of culture, albeit slightly dated and controversial but still definitely a culture.  

A quote by the recent philosopher Albert Camus that I found whilst reading Cultural Theory and Popular Culture by John Storey in my opinion best describes this point; ‘Without a culture, and the relative freedom it implies, a society, even when perfect, is but a jungle.’^[5] This quote, like any, is up for interpretation, my personal understanding of it in this context being that without having the freedom to practice their culture these travelers and hippies would be lost in the modern world. Whilst Stonehenge can be and is listed on UNESCO’s world heritage sites, the recent cultural heritage surrounding the stones cant, meaning that the history of the festival and the people upholding it would become extinct. It is almost ironic that the original purpose of the event was to get away from the mainstream festivals, however now it definitely could be doing just that.

On the other hand change could be considered a good thing. I certainly enjoyed myself and would definitely go again, however I cannot shake my suspicions that the invasion of my generation is slightly wrong. There are many directions that the festival could go, perhaps even towards being similar to Glastonbury, however personally I do not believe that that change would be for the better.

References

1.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beanfield accessed on 28/01/12

2.       http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/stonehenge/2001/historyopinion.shtml accessed on 28/01/12

3.       http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/07/stonehenge-police-g20-jon-tapper accessed on 28/01/12

4.       http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/ceremony.php accessed on 28/01/12

5.       Cultural Theory and Popular Culture Fifth Edition by John Storey, published by Pearson Education Limited in 2009 in Edinburgh.

Images

1.       http://libcom.org/history/1985-battle-beanfield accessed on 28/01/12

2.       http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/stonehenge/2001/historyopinion.shtml accessed on 28/01/12

The Power of Cultural Symbols

Symbols are one of the world’s oldest means of communication, dating back as far as historically possible. Today, symbols still play a vital role in society, displaying beliefs, values, morality and many other things crucial to civilisation. The social anthropologist Raymond Firth wrote “It is assumed that symbols communicate meanings at levels of reality not accessible through immediate experience or conceptual thought. These meanings are often complex and of different layers.”^[1] I intend to focus on exactly that, and how these symbols have gone beyond their original purpose to become something much more.

One of the main examples of this is the symbol used for the Campaign of Nuclear Disarmament, displayed on the right. The reason behind me using this as my primary example is down to previous research on the Glastonbury Festival, an event that was once strongly connected with the CND. Established in 1957 as a result of the increasing testing and development of nuclear weapons in Britian, the CND soon became known as a declaration of peace, the symbol being at the front of this movement. Alongside being the semaphore signals for ‘N’ and ‘D’ (Nuclear Disarmament), originally the designer intended the sign to represent despair, with the image of arms outstretched downwards and the circle representing ‘the unborn child’. By the end of the 60s however, the creator of the symbol came to regret its original meaning. Spreading overseas to the states, the sign soon became known internationally as an antiwar icon, going on to be known as the worldwide peace symbol we know it as today. It is this incredible growth of an ideology through a symbol that shows just how powerful they can be. As I discovered when I asked several of my friends, few people (certainly in my generation) had any idea that the symbol came from the CND. This in my opinion is one of the best examples of symbols developing for the better into worldwide significant icons.

Symbols becoming universally recognised and accepted in cultures other than their origins is not uncommon. The Tajitu, symbol for the basis of the Chinese culture of Yin and Yang again represents two opposing factors existing in harmony with one another. This symbol has been adopted comfortably into the western world and similar to the CND sign, is now an icon of peace. Alongside this, there is also Roerich’s banner of peace, a symbol created to protect cultural artefacts such as monuments and buildings, representing the ‘totality of culture’. Throughout the duration of history symbols of peace have always provided strong bases for values and beliefs, growing in that sense the more time passes.

With the idea of yin and yang being two polar opposites, it seems only fitting to talk about the other end of the spectrum. A symbol that, unlike the signs of peace previously mentioned, was and still is feared, powerful and known all over the world; the swastika. Whilst travelling around India, I noticed the symbol on countless buildings and temples, and naively made the quick judgement that this was a result of Nazi occupation. However, just a small amount of research on the matter tells you how far beyond the swastika goes than World War II. The origin of the symbol is more or less unknown due to it being able to be traced back to a multitude of cultures; however it can be pinpointed to civilisations such as ancient Troy and Egypt over 3000 years ago. Pre-Nazism the swastika was indeed used as a religious symbol by both Indian Hinduism and Buddhism. It is partly from India where Hitler apparently based one of the main ideologies of Nazism on; the creation of an Aryan race.

After investigating the swastika, I found myself feeling almost guilty at the fact that I had made such a snap-judgement. I may be generalising, but it would not surprise me if this judgement is not uncommon in the western world, which in my opinion is slightly tragic. Due to the events that transpired in World War II, this symbol is now mainly recognised for its crimes and atrocities, rather than its initial meanings such as wealth and good-fortune, the original word ‘swastika’ actually translating in Sanskrit as ‘good to come’. It seems a shame that one the world’s most ancient symbols is most likely now perceived in such a dark way by modern western society.

An interesting psychologist to look at when studying symbols is Carl Jung. He has his own theory on the swastikas creation believing it to be down to his idea of collective unconscious, where the human mind seems to have a natural attraction to the form of the symbol. This may explain why through history it has been used in cultures all over the world independently. Kenneth Burke, an American philosopher, describes man as a “symbol using, symbol making, and symbol misusing animal” ^[5]. In my opinion this definition provides an effective conclusion. Both the way in which symbols change and have so much meaning in the world today despite being fundamentally so simple is, and will remain throughout the course of humanity, an incredible feat.

References:

1.       Symbols and Meaning: A Concise Introduction by Mari Womack, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. in the USA in 2005.

2.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_Nuclear_Disarmament accessed on the 04/12/11

3.       Lin, Qi and Shu: An Introduction to Science and Civilisation in China by Peng Yoke Ho, published by Dover Publications in the USA in 2000.

4.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol accessed on the 04/12/11

5.       http://www.jstor.org/pss/3848123 accessed on the 04/12/11

6.       http://history1900s.about.com/cs/swastika/a/swastikahistory.htm accessed on the 04/12/11

Images:

1.       http://www.artrepublic.com/prints/14376-cnd-soldiers-silkscreen-signed-limited-edition- of-350.html accessed on the 04/12/11

3.       http://flagspot.net/flags/qt-p-ro.html accessed on the 04/12/11

4.       http://www.luckymojo.com/swastika.html accessed on the 04/12/11

A History of The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts: What makes it the event we know today?

As I live only half an hour away from the festival grounds and can hear its music from my house, which in itself tells you just how big the event is, I decided to do some research into why this festival is one of the biggest of its kind in the world. In addition to the information available both in books and online, a documentary (see reference 1) was broadcast in 2000 that provides an in depth history of the festival. Alongside this, I did work experience for the Marketing Director of the 40^th anniversary festival in 2010, giving me a better understanding of the mechanics of the festival and compelling my interest further.

In 1970 on the day after Jimi Hendrix died Michael Eavis, a Somerset dairy farmer, set up what was to be the first of many Glastonbury festivals. With a considerably large number of hippies and locals turning up, 1500 people paid £1 to enjoy the sounds of Marc Bolan and drink Eavis’ fresh cow’s milk from his dairy. The festival, despite being the start of something that would later be known worldwide, was a complete financial disaster. However, news somehow spread to London where Andrew Kerr, at that time Randolph Churchill’s personal assistant, thought something could be made of the event. Joined by Winston Churchill’s granddaughter Arabella, the company Solstice Capers was formed and with Kerr’s help the festival enjoyed another year. This time it was free and around 12,000 people turned up to hear David Bowie and others on the first ever pyramid stage. After that, it wasn’t until 1979 when the festival was given another go, and despite a £5 entry fee it again resulted in financial disaster and Eavis having to take out a loan using the deeds to his farm. After another year without the event 1981 saw the first real Glastonbury Festival. I say real, as this time it had a purpose; disarmament.

However whilst the numbers of attendees through the ten years leading up to the nineties were ever increasing, the political motives of the festival began to see rising government influence. Violence and riot squads were then involved, with Eavis’ now running what was seen as a left wing political movement. This however did not stop the festival, as throughout the nineties this subsided to provide an original image of the festival today. In 2000 it saw its biggest numbers yet, but this was not a positive factor for the festival Gatecrashers of Glastonbury 2000 doubled the licensed capacity to an estimated 200,000 people on site, leading to the cancellation of Glastonbury 2001, due to increased safety fears in the wake of the Roskilde tragedy and prosecution of the organiser for alleged breach of licence. Since then, the event has become far more domesticated and safe, with numbers still rising but in a controlled and successful manner.

In my opinion, what makes Glastonbury what it is today is the personality built up over decades of different generations. This could not be more clearly displayed by what I witnessed on my 2010 visit to the festival. On the final day, as I was helping with the clearing up around the ‘Stone Circle’, a friend and I found an odd, hidden path leading past a wooded mound of earth. Looking closer, this mound had a small hole on the side, only around a metre tall. Curious, we went inside, only to find we were crawling into a large underground amphitheatre built of wood and earth with a very different crowd to normal festival goers looking down on us. After some commotion, we were allowed to sit and enjoy one of the most peculiar and unorganised shows I have ever seen, involving a real army veteran in full combats and other very strange characters.  After the show, they made their way to another opening at the back of the room, so again curious we decided to follow.

It was there that we witnessed the true personality of the festival; permanent Glastonbury festival residents. These people have somehow been allowed to camp here for as long as 20 years, thriving as a natural community and providing a base for the personality that creates ‘the Glastonbury experience’. To me, that summed up exactly how and why it is the way it is today.

 References:

1.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kG0wqiJlXo accessed on the 20^th November 2011.

2.       http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/history/1986/ accessed on the 20^th of November 2011.

3.       Successful Events Management Third Edition by Anton Shone and Bryn Parry, published in Great Britain by Cengage Learning in 2010.

4.       Events Management Third Edition by Glenn Bowden, Johnny Allen, William O’Toole, Rob Harris and Ian McDonnel, published in Great Britain by Elsevier Ltd. in 2011.

Images:

1.       http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2055881.stm accessed on the 20^th November 2011.

2.       http://brentleeregan.blogspot.com/2011/08/glastonbury-2011-unassimilated-review.html accessed on the 20^th November 2011.

3.       http://www.sophiebarker.com/hello-glastonbury/ accessed on the 20^th November 2011.

Video:

1.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2bXzuB7sZw accessed on the 20^th November 2011.

Mussolini’s Contribution to Cultural Heritage: Architecture

One of the main cultural influences from the ancient world on the modern world today is architecture. This is displayed all around the world, with ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian architectural and structural concepts showing their presence in society today. Whilst beautiful, these concepts have been adapted from their original designs to form buildings that, in a manner of speaking, blend in with the cities of today.

We value this cultural link to the ancient world very highly, which is why organisations such as UNESCO (The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation) exist. UNESCO protects cultural heritage, with one of its main aims being to prevent cultural atrocities by preserving historical buildings and monuments. However, during the early stages of UNESCO’s development, there is one example of both the protection and destruction of cultural heritage that was over looked; the architectural movements of fascist Italy under the control of Benito Mussolini.

Mussolini, credited as one of the creators of fascism, based a lot of his political movements around those of both Julius Caesar and Augustus. One of the best examples of this is his March on Rome, likening it to Caesar’s march from Gaul over the Rubicon. As a result of the march, Mussolini was then in a position to state his aims for the future of Rome. The underlying theme to all of the movements of this fascist government was to quite simply regain the once great Roman Empire, seen as Italy’s true heritage. Alongside this, Mussolini wanted to not only re-enforce the roman empire but to bring Rome back to the culturally and architecturally superior age of Augustus;

Within five years, Rome must appear wonderful to the whole world, immense and powerful as she was in the days of the first empire of Augustus. The approaches to the Theatre of Marcellus, the Campidoglio and the Pantheon must be cleared of everything that has grown up around them during the centuries of decadence.

Mussolini’s speech to the Roman City Council in 1925

Mussolini attempted to recreate Augustan Rome into a fascist context. In order to do this, he restored buildings from that time period but with fascism carefully intertwined with everything he did, again further linking himself to the Emperor and selling the image of building a better, fascist Rome, similar to what Augustus was praised for during his reign. This is apparent in the 1938 construction, the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, or the ‘Square Collosseum’, thought of as one of the best examples of fascist architecture from that period. The destroying anything from ‘the centuries of decadence’ part of the above speech is a reference to Mussolini’s work in 1938 on the Mausoleum of Augustus. Here, mainly for propagandistic reasons he attempted to purge the surrounding areas of anything constructed after Augustus, such as churches from the early Christian period and Papal government railway stations and factories. Alongside this, the construction of a parade route called the Via dell’ impero (now known as the Via dei Fori Imperali) to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the march on Rome, the excavations destroyed five thousand housing units, with Mussolini breaking the first ground declaring ‘Let the pick-axe speak!’. These two examples of having little regard for any history other than ‘the future fascist Rome’ displays in my opinion one of the greatest losses of cultural heritage.

Mussolini had his own ideas about cultural preservation, interestingly promoting the destruction of cultural heritage as restoration. Whilst, this is an extreme example, the restoration part of his work could be seen as quite beneficial, as it has helped shape Rome today. However with so many of post-Augustan constructions destroyed, the negatives out-weigh the positives.

References:

1.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Fascism accessed on the 18th of November 2011

2.       http://honorsaharchive.blogspot.com/2007/03/mussolini-propaganda-and-fascist.html accessed on the 18th of November 2011

3.       Email concerning Mussolini from Claire Hearn received on the 16^th of November 2011

4.       Donatello among the Blackshirts: History and Modernity in the Visual Culture of Fascist Italy by Claudia Lazzaro and Roger J Crum, published by Cornell University Press, New York in 2005.

Images:

1.       http://jspivey.wikispaces.com/Younsuk-Mussolini accessed on the 18th of November 2011

2.       Email concerning Mussolini from Claire Hearn received on the 16^th of November 2011

Video:

1.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xIk8jlpMFg accessed on the 18^th of November 2011

Does Tourism have Negative or Positive Impacts on Culture?

Western civilization has intruded on other cultures throughout history, from the expansion of the British Empire to the more recent Americanization of cultures worldwide. This is most effectively defined by Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony; ‘that a culturally diverse society can be dominated (ruled) by one social class, by manipulating the societal culture (beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values) so that its ruling-class worldview is imposed as the societal norm’^[1]. In this blog I will explore the results of the intrusion of tourism, both positive and negative, by drawing upon personal experience.

In 2010 I travelled to India, actively seeking to learn about the country’s culture and heritage. Taking the train down from the top to the bottom of the east coast seemed like the best way to pursue this goal, and whilst a lack of funds made the experience somewhat uncomfortable, the overall aim was achieved and the trip was culturally enlightening. From there, the last stop on our journey was Goa. On arrival it was clear that this part of the country was unlike any other in India. While places like Chennai and Calcutta have strongly maintained their cultural origins despite being massively influenced by the west and especially Britain, Goa has not. Goa, after originally being ruled by various different Indian empires over the ages, eventually wound up under Portuguese control and separated from the other Indian states. In 1987, Goa was finally made the 25^th state of India, however there were a lot of lingering cultural ideologies from its past Portuguese occupancy.

This background made Goa what it is today, with the majority of famous architectural sites being of Portuguese origin. There is some evidence of cultural regeneration, such as the Mahasala Temple, which before was altered to fit the Portuguese’ preference but has recently been restored. Despite this, it is perhaps this western atmosphere alongside beautiful beaches that prompted Goa’s booming tourist industry. What also needs to be considered is that whilst there may still be Goan culture such as theatre, dance and music, the question has to be asked as to whether or not this is now for the tourists’ benefit, and how much of its other culture has been sacrificed? Although an important consideration, it is dominated by a much more important issue; assisting the economy and overall well-being of Indian citizens. This is clearly illustrated as today Goa is the richest state generating the most income per year in India, with the highest standard of living. On the whole I think India still holds enough of its cultural heritage to let Goa become what it is today, but in a cultural sense it was definitely a disappointing end to my travels.

It is definitely clear that tourism has also had in my opinion totally negative impacts, for example in Thailand.  The islands of Phi Phi, situated off the western coast of Thailand, used to be incredibly secluded and unheard of, a place that of natural beauty and natural cultural heritage for the locals. This fact is ironically advertised by the film ‘The Beach’, however today that could not be further from the truth; the islands are now almost permanently swarming with tourists. Whether or not the film was a direct cause of this is another matter; however it definitely must have had some negative effects. The beach from the film in particular is a prime example of tourism’s negative influence, as now it can only be viewed for 30 minutes at a time due to there being so many people wanting to view it. In my opinion this area did not need more anymore tourism because the surrounding area and islands were already some of the main tourist locations in Thailand, for example Phuket, therefore it seems totally unnecessary that more should be created.

What I would like to make clear is that this blog is not a direct attack at tourism as I am well-aware that I was one of those tourists, however I do personally believe that overall the results of tourism on culture are generally negative, as most of the time it destroys cultural heritage to make way for western society. It is true that this invasion does have a lot of benefits, some of them occasionally incredibly necessary, but again it is a question of how much we value culture over other important considerations.

References:

1.       10^th of October Matt Kirby 210 Lecture Slide 3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_hegemony accessed on the 14^th of November 2011)

2.       http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/ accessed on the 14^th of November.

3.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa accessed on the 14^th of November

Images:

1.       http://www.goacom.org/ accessed on the 14^th of November

2.       http://www.mobilemoviesite.com/2011/06/beach-2000-dvd-mp4.html accessed on the 14^th of November

3.       http://opazz19.blogspot.com/ accessed on the 14^th of November

The Influence of Drugs on Culture: Mass Culture (1980s to Today)

Before the 1980s, drugs have never really created mass culture. Substances such as LSD had an influence in inspirational and motivational ways such psychedelic art, displayed here through Brian Exton’s Land of Psychedelic Illuminations, and the creation of a small music genre called ‘Acid Rock’. Marijuana had a strong connection with Reggae and the Caribbean; however people did not have to be a user of drug to enjoy the sounds of the genre. The point I am trying to get across is that, until the late 1980s, these cultures were albeit strongly connected with drugs, but had never affected mass culture.

Towards to the end of the 1980s however, all cultural scenes were changing, as were the drugs. One part of this in particular was the music scene, introducing to the public rave culture and the drug that apparently created it; ecstasy. The fast tempo beats of the dance music in the late 80s were specifically designed, according to Paul Manning, ‘to stimulate the ecstasy user’ by increasing the beats per minute to suit the heartbeat of said user. Contrary to what I have read online and in literature, I personally believe that this culture was not a result of drugs, rather it remains in the same field as generations of drug related cultures before it; an influential factor not the creator. Illegal substances may have enhanced the experience, but the music can’t have been brought into the world solely for the enjoyment of drug users. This opinion is formulated by a number of factors. Firstly, due to the media and government’s reactions to raves, where in my view they have simply linked the attendees to the music quite unfairly. To illustrate this I again refer to Paul Manning, who claims that ‘criminals were among the organisers’, which would obviously display an infamous image of all those associated and thereby give the media something to talk about. In addition to this, why if these dance raves were directly and obviously linked to drugs are dance clubs and events now world widely accepted? Even if this demonstrates some form of control, surely something created by drugs and for drug-users cannot be made into a legal act while drugs remain illegal? It is for those reasons why I don’t believe that drugs create culture.

However, rave culture was created and continues to thrive today, but in a different way to how it did in the late 80s and early 90s. The answer to why this is the case could again possibly be connected to drugs. In 1995, the death of an ecstasy user at a rave was being strongly pushed by the government in order to illegalize the substance and those similar to it. The government succeeded, which as one of the consequences marked the arrival of ‘Britpop’ and the apparent end of the ‘ecstasy generation’. What is also interesting is, again according to Manning, this apparently also gave way to the alcohol culture we see today, with results such as ‘massive increases in male-on-male and female-on-female violence and allegations of date rape’. This point aside, what is peculiar is that it is only recently that rave culture has become much more commercial, with music from the current version of that genre now making a firm place for itself in the national mainstream charts. It is doubtful that this has any relevance to the use of drugs; however it would definitely be fair to say that there are some lingering hungers for that past culture that still make it into the cultural world today.

As I mentioned earlier and to conclude, acid and its effects seem to have had a significant impact on past cultures such as the art community and music scene of the 60s and 70s, but truly the most astonishing and in turn most influential is actually much more recent. Steve Jobs, one of the worlds’ most highly respected and well known people of our time is reported to claim LSD as a massively important factor concerning his success. “Doing LSD was one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life,” Jobs told a journalist also mentioning that “Bill Gates would be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once”.  In a manner of speaking, despite drugs influencing the rave scene and being the driving force behind countless musicians and artists throughout 20^th century, the fact that drugs played a major role in the success of a now globally recognized brand, it’s items comfortably settled in millions of households, in my opinion answers best how drugs have really influenced culture.

References:

1.       Drugs and Popular Culture by Paul Manning, published by Willan Publishing in Devon, England in 2007.

2.       http://www.thefix.com/content/steve-jobs-think-different-and-lsd-9143  accessed on the 14^th of November 2011

Images:

1.       http://www.designdazzling.com/2010/09/25-amazing-examples-of-psychedelic-artwork/ accessed on the 14^th of November 2011

2.       http://childrenofthenineties.blogspot.com/2010/02/raves.html accessed on the 14^th of November 2011

3.       http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml accessed on the 14^th of November 2011