Research about Mainstream Vs. non-mainstream
12/01/2011
Introduction
According to
dictionary.com (2011), it defined mainstream as the
principal or dominant course, tendency, or trend. It also belonging to or
characteristic of a principal, dominant, or widely accepted group, movement,
style, etc. (dictionary.com, 2011). Generally, the
common current thought of majority always referred as mainstream. Cultural
construct is often considered by the concept, mainstream which is far cohesive.
All popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media is included in mainstream.
Non-mainstream
The opposite of
mainstream is non-mainstream which also referred to non-commercial. Besides, it
also refers to subcultures, countercultures, cult followings,
and genre. Especially when delivered in a culture war speech, mainstream
is sometimes a code word used for an actual ethnocentric or hegemonic
subculture point of view.
Subcultures
Subcultures always use as a pejorative term
who view ostensibly mainstream culture as not only exclusive but artistically
and aesthetically inferior. It is often used as a pejorative term by
subcultures who view ostensibly mainstream culture as not only exclusive but
artistically and aesthetically inferior.
Media
Mainstream
media (MSM) are those media disseminated via the largest distribution
channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are
likely to encounter. The term also denotes those media generally reflective of
the prevailing currents of thought, influence, or activity. Print publications, such as
newspapers and magazines that contain the highest readership among the public,
along with radio formats and television stations that contain the highest
viewing and listener audience, respectively re generally applied by mainstream
media. This is in contrast to various independent publications, such as
alternative weekly newspapers, specialized magazines in various organizations
and corporations, and various electronic sources such as podcasts and blogs.
Film
Commercial
films also can be defined as mainstream
films. They are made by major entertainment studios or companies which
owned by international media conglomerates.
All these films can afford more expensive
actors because of better financing. Wide releases or limited releases, and sold at popular retail stores. Major
studios or companies that make films are not owned by a media conglomerate,
such as lions gate, are also considered to be mainstream and are often referred
to as mainstream independent films. Low budget films, art films, and
experimental films are the alternative to mainstream films.
Music
Popular music, pop music, middle of the road
music, pop rap or pop rock are the music that is familiar and unthreatening to
the masses which denoted by mainstream music. Besides that, mainstream jazz is
seen as an evolution of be-bop, which was originally regarded as radical. Opposing
mainstream music is the music of subcultures. This exists in virtually all
genres of music and is found commonly in punk rock, indie rock,
alternative/underground hip hop, anti-folk and heavy metal, among others. In
the 1960s this music was exemplified by the music of the hippie counterculture.
Punk music
Punk rock has
distinguished itself from other non-mainstream genres by self-asserting an
active anti-mainstream social movement that resists commercialism and
corporate control. The punk subculture generally frowns upon major label bands
that play punk music that disavows the DIY punk ethic, and views them as
synonymous with mainstream music. Several anti-corporate and not-for-profit
forms of alternative protest have surfaced in the punk underground, such as self-made
publications known as zines, where there is greater freedom to discuss
controversial political issues such as discrimination, LGBT community issues,
feminism, antitheism, and veganism. These principles have also been adapted to
a certain extent also in heavy metal and alternative hip hop cultures, amongst
others, but not to the same degree as punk.
Media and
Globalization
In a world of increasing
globalization, the media has much potential. It has the possibility of
spreading information to places where in the past it has been difficult to get
diverse views. It has the potential to contribute to democratic processes and
influences especially on countries and regimes that are not democratic. On the
negative side though, it also has the ability to push the ideas and cultures of
more dominant interest.
The
phenomenon of “cultural imperialism” raises concerns in many countries where
people fear that their culture gets diluted or given a back seat to the demands
of large media and corporate interests in the name of globalization, where
products and imagery, mainly from the west, make it into the televisions and
homes of people. The fear of many people is that if people around the world
are moulded into model consumers, following a western standard, then it is
easier for large companies to sell their products and know their buyer’s habits
etc., while eroding local cultures and traditions. There is often extensive
debate as to how likely this will be, whether local cultures and traditions
will exert their influence on local forms of globalization, or if there will be
more extremist backlash. In different parts of the world, many of these and
other reactions are already seen.
Conclusion
Mainstream media sometimes is also referred as mass
although it is in fact something different, due to the tendency of media
choosing to choose prominent, yet trivial, stories which will be of interest to
a general audience (such as celebrity break-ups), whilst ignoring controversial
or intellectually stimulating news. This trend is attributed to the fact that
media, though used to provide a service to the public to keep them updated, is
essentially a business and will naturally do what it must to sell newspapers or
magazines etc. Mass media has become one of the main sources of news and
entertainment for the general public, and over the past century, mass media has
become a globally huge industry.
Reference
Chomsky, N., (1997) What
Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
Available at: http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710--.html (Accessed at: 19 November 2011)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media
(Accessed:
20 November 2011)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mainstream
(Accessed:
1 December 2011)
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