Conceptualising Cultural Environments Lecture Three: Theorising Cultural Consumption

Understanding Cultural Consumption  We consume cultural products and services for a variety of different reasons  Our cultural consumption helps us to create a sense of identity both for ourselves and other people  Essentially, we can understand who we are and who are people are by examining cultural consumption  As such, cultural consumption is concerned with the production and circulation of symbolic meaning

Understanding Cultural Consumption  In order to interpret cultural consumption we first need to understand what we actually mean by the term consumption  Consumption refers to “the selection, purchase, use, maintenance, repair and disposal of any product or service” (Campbell, 1995:102)  Consumerism is “concerned with the hidden properties of consumption, and in particular, the ideological dimensions of consumer society” (Miles, 2001:60)

Defining ‘Leisure’ Time  As we have discussed previously cultural consumption is generally something that we do in our leisure time but we need to think about what we actually mean by this  We tend to think of leisure time as our free time but there are many things which may influence and impact upon this  Bull, Hoose and Weed (2003) suggest that there are four main ways in which we can examine and understand what we mean by leisure time

Time Based Approaches  It is often suggested that leisure time is time left over after work (demarcation of work and leisure)  But is it really as simple as this?  This definition fails to take into account time for necessary activities such as sleeping, eating, washing, etc  As such, sociologists prefer to define leisure time as the time that remains once all obligations have been fulfilled and the individual can make a choice about how they spend their time

Critiquing Time Based Approaches  Based upon industrial understanding of the work/leisure relationship  Fails to take into account those not in full time employment  Unemployed  Retired  Stay at home mums/dads  Assumes that the relationship between work and leisure is black and white  Overtime  ‘Social activities’  What about when leisure becomes an obligation?

Activity Based Approaches  Linked to the perception of leisure as time but the emphasis lies with the nature of the activity pursued  Here, we see leisure as an activity that is not required as a daily necessity but is pursued out of choice and lies outwith work, family or social duties  But, focusing on ‘activities’ may limit our understanding of how and why people in engage in leisure  It fails to take into account pastimes which may not be deemed as ‘activities’  Can be biased towards active and institutionalised leisure  What about deviant forms of leisure?

Attitude Based Approaches  In this instance we view leisure as a state of mind or being  Usually informed by the motive of the individual and what they define as their leisure  Everyone will experience leisure differently  This is particularly important to take into account in the events industry  A persons definition of leisure may change – one day it might be a chore, the next a great leisure experience

Quality Based Approaches  Whether or not somebody views an activity as leisure will depend upon the quality of the experience  Leisure is seen to be earned as a reward from work  But for some it may just be a time filler  Leisure may be used as an escape from work  May help fulfill needs that are not met via work  Leisure as free time??

Freedom v Control  Are we free to do what we like in our leisure time?  There are various things that restrict us:  Money  Access  Knowledge/skill  Legality  Society also places restrictions on us in terms of what is viewed to be acceptable and what is not viewed as acceptable  Norms of behaviour  As consumers we may be influenced my marketing, branding and subliminal messages  More of this in the coming weeks!