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Focus Study: The Future
Bernie Howitt, Narara Valley High School
Linking the future to your focus study
Outcomes
H4: evaluates continuity and change, and assesses social futures and strategies for change and the implications for societies and cultures
Remember also, that whenever you are writing about this topic, you are aware of
H7: applies appropriate language and concepts associated with society and culture
Focus
The syllabus requires a consideration of continuity and change within your particular focus study, and recognition of the effects of globalisation and technology.
Linking the future to your focus study
It is important that your are aware of the requirement of a future component for your focus study right from the start. In this way, it will be easier to place your focus study in a continuum. You should be very aware of how and why your popular culture started, as well as what it is like today. Then look for links that can explain its development in that way. For example, why has rock ’n’ roll fragmented into a number of specific genres or why did Barbie need Ken, or a job? Once you understand the development of your popular culture, you will have established a basis to hypothesise about its future.
Continuity and change
These are significant concepts throughout the course. The syllabus requires you to reflect upon what has changed and what has remained the same in your popular culture. This is something you must be continually aware of throughout your study.
In rock music, you could look at the way the essential creative process of writing a song and expressing your feelings has remained a constant, but the style, fashion and technology of doing so have changed several times since Elvis Presley in the 1950s.
Looking at Barbie, the strongest continuity is the basic product, a girls’ doll. The changes have come as a result of changes in the society that consumes her. As feminism became a significant ideology, Barbie came to express different female aspirations, such as being created in jobs that would previously have been only for males.
Considering globalisation
According to the syllabus, globalisation is “the emergence of a global culture”. To what extent is your focus study a global culture? You will have already considered this when you applied the distinguishing characteristics found in The Nature of Popular Culture. The question you now need to consider is how and why your focus study became global, and what that has met for the popular culture.
In rock music, a few major companies have tied up control of the industry. It has become increasingly difficult for small, local companies to compete against multinational companies with production and marketing facilities across the globe.
For Barbie, globalisation has meant extraordinary market penetration. With such a strong visual image Barbie has been able to become an internationally recognised symbol of American success, prosperity and popular culture. Thus if a young girl particularly, wished to identify with all the values Barbie symbolises, purchasing a Barbie doll enabled her to participate in this global popular culture.
The impact of technology
Just what impact has technology had upon your particular popular culture? You should already have considered this when trying to explain continuities and changes. It is important that you can produce specific examples to support your argument.
Again looking at rock music, technology has influenced a number of areas. To some extent, technology has allowed the replacement of real musicians. The development of sampling technology has been fundamental to the success of dance music. The arrival of the Internet has certainly disturbed traditional balances between producers and consumers. More artists are turning to direct marketing of their music to consumers over the net. The Napster vs Metallica court case of 2000 was about the rights to copy music without the consent of the producers. The advent of the MP3 technology was responsible for that particular change.
It is your responsibility to make sure you can produce specific examples of the impact of technology on your focus study.
Considering future directions
Where is your focus study heading? Will it still be around in five, ten or fifty years? Remember that many people, including artists, predicted that rock ’n’ roll would be finished by 1960. The syllabus doesn’t require you to have a crystal ball. Rather it wants you to look at where your focus study has come from, and using that information to make reasoned predictions about where it might be heading. It is vital that your considerations of the future are based on recognisable trends in the past, rather than simply plucked from your imagination.
Thinking about rock music, you would have to consider the impact of technology to develop future scenarios. Will the Internet destroy the power of record companies to decide which records get released? Will bands continue to tour to promote new releases? Will MP3s be the favoured medium of the future?
During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, there were major restrictions placed on what could be broadcast over the Internet. This was implemented largely because of the power of the International Olympic Committee, but many commentators believe it will be the last time a major international event will be controlled in that way. If there is unfettered global access to information and entertainment through the Internet, what implications will there be for your popular culture?
Activities
- Prepare a timeline of your focus study popular culture. Once you have prepared it, use two colours to highlight material, one for continuities, and another for changes.
- Prepare a diagram to show the global links of your popular culture. Include where it is popular and how it gets there.
- Prepare a possible and probable scenario for future developments in your focus study. Make it clear what current developments your scenarios are based on.
More
Your sources of information will be
dependent upon what your focus study actually is. It is always worth typing your
focus study into a reliable search engine like Google
(www.google.com 
)
to see what comes up. You could then follow links, and use these to refine your
search. It is important though, that you are aware of the unsourced nature of
much material on the net. Always make sure you can differentiate between fact
and opinion.
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