WHY THE DIVIDE?

Compared to the nickelodeon era where there was a clear divide between highbrow and lowbrow culture, I believe that we now have an amalgamation of both. Society has always drawn a clear line between these two cultures, with one being superior to the other. I argue that with the easy availability of media content, there would soon be no need to draw such clear divisions between the two cultures.

It has been assumed that a certain type of culture caters to a specific stratum of society. But with advances in technology, I believe that any type of media content can be accessed by any person, regardless of their social status. Nickelodeons will be compared to the conventional modern cinemas.

Nickelodeons

Modern Cinemas

The Audience
Firstly, historians have always emphasised that the majority of nickelodeons audience were from the ghettos (Merritt, 2002). For a cheap price and an opportunity to mingle with people of their kind, it meant that nickelodeons were a common gathering point (Merritt, 2002). People who frequented nickelodeons were often stereotyped to be them who lacked the social graces of high society.

This perception has changed over time if we were to compare them to the movie-goers who patronize the modern cinemas we have in Singapore now. There are no class barriers as to who can watch which movies. Patrons are rarely barred from entering the cinemas. The only restriction in place is the age limit that some movies have, which is perfectly reasonable. People from all walks of life can go to the cinema, and even children from the working class are exposed to the cinemas on class excursions. No judgement is passed on the movie-goers.

The Audience
Also, in our multicultural country, movies which are not in English would be subtitled to cater to our largely English-speaking audience. This is especially so for popular Singaporemade movies such as those by acclaimed director Jack Neo . Although the films are in Mandarin, it appeals to all Singaporeans, regardless of race or social status, due to the witty references to the Singaporean way of life.

The Media Content

Nickelodeons were used in a wide variety of functions, from sing-a-longs to lectures (Merritt, 2002). It may attract different sets of audiences for each function, such as lectures for the intellects. Cinemas now offer a more streamlined purpose- to show movies. This meant that the mass audience will be exposed to the same media content, be it popular culture or high culture. This relates to my argument that in cinemas, there is an amalgamation of media content, and it is easily available for the public to consume.

Sesame Street + Shakespeare

The Media Content

In cinemas now, all genres of movies are shown. For example, the Cinema Europa section in Golden Village Singapore shows independent, artsy films that are usually associated with the well-heeled in society. The mass audience can have a choice of watching these independent films or mass manufactured movies at the same price, and at the same location (GV Vivocity) for their convenience. Therefore, there is hardly a need to classify media content into which stratum of society it appeals to when it is easily available for public consumption.

The Media Content

There also seems to be a reinforcement of media content from high culture (Thorburn & Jenkins, 1990). Shakespearean plays, often associated with the elite and educated class, are now repackaged into movies that have a more mainstream appeal (1). People who previously shunned the intellectuallyengaging Shakespearean plays would now be able to appreciate Shakespeares storylines from watching the movies. Some may contend that there will be a dilution of the greatness that comes with Shakespearean plays, but I believe that the mass public should be given the chance to experience high culture, regardless of the class and identity associated with it.

2000

1999

1995

1) Hamlet (2000), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Othello (1995) from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/greatest_shakespeare_movies

To Conclude
In conclusion, the audience and media content are some of the factors that plays a part in ensuring that media content is not divided into the different classes for society. I believe that everyone should have equal access to all media content and it will be up to them to choose whether to utilize the content or not. Institutions should not confer to the system of cultural value and dictate who can consume what content. All media has the same value and it would be unfair to place them on a cultural-value spectrum.

References
Merritt, R. (2002). The Nickelodeon Theater, 1905-1914. Film: The Exhibition Reader, 21-27. Thorburn, D., & Jenkins, H. (1990). Towards an Aesthetics of Transition. Rethinking Media Change, 1-18.

Images (in order of appearance)

i. ii. Cover of: Popular Culture and High Culture by Herbert Gans, Gans, Herbert J Interior of a nickelodeon theatre in Pittsburg (www.memory.loc.gov); Interior of Golden Village Cinemas (www.gv.com.sg) iii. Children in the cinema in the early 1900s (www.filmeducation.org); Modern cinema audience (www.cinemastyles.blogspot.com) iv. Movie posters for I Not Stupid (2002), I Not Stupid Too (2006), Money No Enough (2008) and Homerun (2003) directed largely by Jack Neo v. Sesame street image - Discussie over "Low culture" en "High culture Sieb Posthuma NRC Handelsblad 9 May 2005 vi. Gold Class, GV Max, Cinema Europa from (ww.gv.com.sg) vii. Hamlet (2000), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Othello (1995) from (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/greatest_shakespeare_movies) viii. Skyscraper representing High Culture and Low Culture (kingsmasscommintro.wikispaces.com)