In this essay we are going to discuss the roles of creative products and how they have a role within stimulating social transformation. Starting with identifying the creative products and what they involve, secondly we will look at some examples the mentioned creative products have in real life situations and finally we will discuss the impact of these creative products on society. Last but not least, I will finish with my conclusion on whether or not I agree or disagree with the statement that ‘creative products have a role in stimulating social transformation’.
Starting this discussion on creative products, Mikhail Bakhtin(1981 [1935],pp.270-2) who has been influential in exploring politics and language suggests that no matter the cultural differences, each generation/age group has its own its own language, vocabulary and own accentual system; Bakhtin uses the term’ ideology’ to define the variation in language.
Ideology is a set of beliefs that an individual or a social group holds, particularly linked to economic or political theory and policy. However, as for Bakhtin, he uses the term ‘ideological’ to discuss linguistic variation, for him any one at any time will have to explain the meaning in their language, which means having to explain the previous speakers’ intentions and meanings as well (which can be difficult if you are not familiar with the origin of the language you are using).
However, Pam Morris (1994) makes a point that in Russia, Ideology refers to a more general sense in which members of a certain social group view the world.
Bakhtin, (1981 [1935],pp.270-2) theorises that language is in a state of ideological struggle; that it has uninterrupted tension between two forces, the centripetal, which focuses on the standardisation of language and the centrifugal which focuses more on diversification and variation. He suggests that anything we write or say is logically ‘political’ as it unavoidably conveys social and ideological significance in that it either resists or reinforces social norms.
In Politics the art of persuasion is used very frequently to help persuade one another in current affairs. Politics has two different meanings in this discussion-
a. Politics: narrow definition, ‘the art and science of government; public life and affairs involving authority and government’ (Allen, 1990).
b. Politics: broad definition, activities relating to the struggle by different social groups and institutes to communicate their views and beliefs.
The ancient Greeks which includes Aristotle was well aware of the importance of the art of persuasion (rhetoric), Aristotle further suggested that there are three components to rhetoric:
a. Logos: the appeal to reason
b. Pathos: the appeal to emotion
c. Ethos: the appeal to the good reputation of the speaker
According to Aristotle, the speaker can apply a number of rhetorical devices to increase the attraction of their message such as metaphors, similes and manipulation of rhythm by various means which includes repetition. Aristotle (2004 [350 BCE]) argues that when it comes to political rhetoric: ethos, logos and pathos must be in equal balance in order to be successfully effective and also to be able to support the needs and interests of the community.
Widdowson (2006) differentiates non-literary from literary texts by regarding the former as referential and the latter as representational. Literary texts are formed from imagination and may not have any direct referential connection to reality as opposed to non-literary texts which are more political due to the direct link with daily occurrences in real life. Russian Formalist Mukarovsky (1964[1958]), saw literary language as defamiliarising in nature due to being ‘unexpected, novel and innovative’; often associated with creativity (Kaufman and Sternberg, 2010).
Creativity itself is often connected with arts and also with extraordinary artists (High culture, Arnold, 1869, p. viii) for example, Shakespeare, one could say that he is today a part of our nation’s cultural heritage. Bakhtin(1981 [1935]) emphasises that language is drawn upon previous uses and intentions, he suggests language is heteroglossic which means it has been voiced by many before and that it is altered slightly differently each time (novelty in creativity, Kaufman and Sternberg, (2010) so that the message still carries the contextual intentions as the previous speaker. He also suggests that any written pieces are dialogical, responding to something that has already been written or said and in return expecting a new response back. Thus recycling and redeploying information to form a new text, which produces two concepts:
a. Entextualisation: The encoding of some aspect of our lives including the cultural marking through representation as a new text (including spoken, written and multimodal).
b. Recontextualisation: the movement of one piece of a text (from which context it closely relates to) to another.
Thanks to the development of the digital media, it is becoming easier to share social and political information thus the public becoming more active in the media environment and making the shift from consumption to production (Gunther Kress, 2010). Henry Jenkins described this as ’convergence culture’ (2006), resulting in both being a cultural and technological phenomenon; as globally, the public is becoming part of the media landscape as a result of sharing and producing media rather than just remaining a national occurrence (for example, the use of social media means for any text, image or meme to be spread quickly and differently over and over again)..
Next we will look at the different kinds of linguistic and semiotic resources that are used for political purposes whilst considering the extent of which they are ‘creative’. Here we have creativity in political discourse presented in three ways:
a. At the level of creation or production: paying particular interest to the aesthetic and appealing features. A couple of examples considered are as follows; to be fun(ny), pleasing, interesting or surprising.
b. At the level of purpose: to consider ‘why’ certain kinds of creativity are chosen for political discourse or purposes. Some aspects may involve persuasion and doing so in different ways such as language, humour and also image and by way of upholding moral or ethical standpoints.
c. At the level of value and impact: whether different kinds of creativity in political discourse have different impacts upon the audience.
Whether or not they enable, facilitate, affect, influence or even shape the audience’s involvement or engagement in social and public-life.
This then brings us on to CDA (critical discourse analysis), which involves revealing hidden or ideological objective in texts. In CDA, creativity is used mainly to indicate the possibilities for discursive change; to transform ideologies and practices through replicating and reconfiguring texts.
Linking us to intertextuality (Bakhtin 1981 [1935]; Kristeva, 1986) which suggests the language we use and the way we use it is all linked back to earlier language use and texts, presupposition being one aspect of intertextuality. However, it is not just words in texts that can reveal ideological objectives, one approach is indexical, this also points to a social meaning associated with specific objects or phenomenon (for example suits often point to power).
Another approach is multimodality, this pays particular attention to the different modes used in communication such as images, colour, and shape, and even material (for example certain colours can be used in political propaganda to draw the eye, to contrast between two sides to make that visual impact). Jowett and O’Donnell (2006) have negativity towards propaganda as they believe that as a result propaganda can often be misleading and manipulating to the audience.
The last approach we will touch upon is aesthetics, the study of beauty and valuation, particularly when it comes to ‘art’. ‘Taste’ is subject to variation from person to person and is very much a social phenomenon; particular ‘preferences’ often reflect our own ethical and moral values.
Previously, we mentioned that the audience is becoming more involved in production as well as being a consumer; Fairclough et Chouliaraki (1999, p. 95) suggest that the public are paying more consideration to discourse both in production of discourse (buying, selling, persuading etc) as well as in the production of the self (how we dress, talk etc.) they call this the ‘heightened reflexivity’. Here we have creativity and language in the concept of globalisation through two examples, call centres and hip hop.
Hip hop is a good example of creativity in globalisation as its practices are being exported through global media (for example, YouTube, music channels on the television, radio etc) and ‘hip hoppers’ each consider themselves to belong to the same ‘community’.
Call centres have also become a global sensation due to the rise in demand in the 1980’s as a result of economic and political decisions. The decision to outsource for call centres across the globe came across as these services can be cheaper for commercial use in some countries than others, which as a result is strengthening globalisation and the global interconnectedness.
Hip hop is generally considered to be a creative process, thus coinciding with at least one of the three characteristics of creativity set out by Kaufman and Sternberg (2010, p. xiii), whereas call centres are probably one of the least ‘creative’ aspects one could think of. In fact call centres are today commonly known for being, for the most part scripted, due to the way in which they are ‘evaluated’ by the managerial team – referred to as synthetic personalisation (Fairclough, 1989, p. 62)- and only being able to build a friendly rapport with the customer through their tone of voice and choice of words.
Agency in language (Duranti, 2005) focuses on the extent of which people are able to speak freely in a way they like without their language choices being constrained. In hip hop, the creators are able to choose freely of what they want to talk about in any way that they want in order to express themselves. Whereas in call centres it has to be questioned how much one can be creative when their agency in language is carefully monitored?
In regards to Hip hop, as previously mentioned, the music is spread across the globe by the means of YouTube, radio etc. (globalisation), they use the language that they like, to convey the message they like, not taking into consideration who this could offend in the process due to cultural differences (this would be glocalisation). Localisation would be creating music and being mindful for their agency in other cultures (not to offend anyone) although the message they want to deliver may not have the same affect in another culture if different words are used.
a. Globalisation: refers to ‘a phenomenon which emphasises interconnectedness across the globe and which encompasses a number of significant economic, technological and cultural aspects’ (Swann et all., 2004, p.125).
b. Localisation: refers to ‘the maintenance and development of local practices and identity’ (Swann et al., 2004, p. 126).
c. Glocalisation: refers to ‘the simultaneity – to co-presence – of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies’ (Robertson, 1997, p. 4).
As per call centres, as previously mentioned the interconnectedness of having call centres placed globally due to being cost effective for the business, is Globalisation. One could argue that Glocalisation and Localisation go hand in hand for call centres as the workers speech is scripted and there is not much room for personalisation, this means that it should respect most cultures and differentiates only as per the product in discussion and for the problem at hand.
We have previously touch upon cultural heritage, how the public are becoming more and more involved with the production process and are not just consumers and lastly Hip Hop and the method in which it is shared across the globe through digital media. This brings us to the next point, looking at the extent of which the internet has enabled a new model of authorship and distribution due to the ease of online sharing and production.
There are economic, political, technical and legal regulations in place today to help with the publication and distribution of works to help creative publications remain true to the creator.
Fans of books and films frequently form communities based on their shared passion for characters which often involves writing sequels or prequels to the known story, this has become an international phenomenon in many different languages (even those languages that have been created by the author, for example Elvish). A very popular fanfiction community involves the characters from Harry Potter and also Lord of the Rings for example.
Most fanfiction is published without the author’s permission, where the original material has been copyrighted and is also branded, thus leading to many legal issues.
Some problems that could arise involve copyright and intellectual property rights disputes, claims of corrupting a brands public appearance and concerns for the author’s future plans as one could argue the story has been taken or inspired by fanfiction.
Some texts are censored through the Obscene Publications Act (OPA). In the early twentieth century, literary texts were subject to evaluation and if it was deemed obscene, it was banned. For example D.H Lawrence with The Rainbow (1915) and Lady Chatterly’s Lover (1928), whereby in both were expressions of sexuality which then meant the book was banned as a result. Coetzee (1996) suggests that although some systems of censorship are no longer utilised due to the change in political landscapes, new censorships have emerged. For example Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988) was deemed as offensive and therefore as a result many tried to supress the publication, this was compromised by violent government edicts, threats to businesses as well as individuals and dangerous public protests. There was no legal court process and therefore one was not able to argue his case.
As per online sharing, today we have creative commons (CC) which is referred to as ‘copyleft’, thus declaring ‘authorship’ of a digitised, creative work, whilst authorizing free distribution and sharing. CC is an alternative method of licencing to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) which was designed for digital environments copyrighting.
To conclude this discussion, I do agree that creative products have a role in stimulating social transformation, if we refer to the points we have discussed it appears that in general we follow a set of rules and regulations when it comes to language (not just laws but also rules involving language agency), what language we decide to use day to day (as Bakhtin suggests each generation has their own language within each culture), when is it deemed appropriate or not (perhaps your day job requires a different agency to that of which you use at home) and how may this affect others, if it is appropriate to everyone (globalisation, localisation and glocalisation). A quote from the Open University textbook (the politics of language and creativity, Hann, D et Lillis, T,.2017) is ‘Language is never neutral, even when we might want it to be. There is significance not only in what we say, but in how we say and write it’, and based on what we have discussed I strongly agree with this statement and the topic of discussion.