Page 219 - Cultural Studies Dictionary
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DICTIONARY OF CULTURAL STUDIES
clients. Thus contemporary life has increasingly been put under surveillance through
the use of electronic technologies such as CCTV cameras in urban centres, security
systems surrounding houses, police helicopters using infra-red cameras and the use
196 of electronic shopping cards that record information for store management regarding
consumer spending patterns. Indeed, this is not simply the province of capitalism but
is also a marked activity of the state which has taken increased authoritarian powers
over questions of ‘law and order’, morality and internal surveillance.
Links Capitalism, city, modernity, reflexivity, urbanization
Symbolic A symbol is a mark that appears to stand in for another object or meaning.
Thus, symbolism is a form of representation founded on signs. As with all sign
systems, meaning is not generated because the object of symbolic reference has an
essential and intrinsic meaning but rather is produced because signs/symbols are
different from one another. The use of metaphor, which involves the replacement
of one signifier by another, is a symbolic act. Indeed language is clearly a symbolic
system that relies on metaphor to the point that all language use is metaphorical.
The relationship between the sounds and marks of a symbolic system and its
meanings is not fixed or eternal but rather is governed by the cultural conventions
of usage within particular contexts.
Links Language, metaphor, representation, semiotics, signs, symbolic economy, symbolic
order
Symbolic economy (a) One meaning of the term symbolic economy refers to the
organization of symbols into meaningful representations That is, the grammar of
language and other forms of signifying system. To explore this sense of the concept
see the following links.
Links Language, meaning, representation, semiotics, signs
(b) Another use of the term symbolic economy refers us to the way in which the
symbolic practices of culture are also productive activities of a monetary economy.
This has been particularly marked in urban redevelopment practices such as the
transformation of old wharfs and canals into shopping centres or areas of leisure
activity during and since the 1980s. Here the symbolic economy is manifested as
material economic power. Indeed, the redevelopment of urban spaces and places is
commonly forged through the synergy of capital investment and cultural meanings.
Symbolic culture plays an economic role in branding a city by associating it with
desirable ‘goods’; for example, movie representations of the New York skyline and
the Sydney Opera House. Further, culture industries such as film, television and
advertising lend glamour to cities, bringing direct employment and other economic
benefits. Finally, symbolic houses of culture such as museums and theatres provide
convivial spaces of consumption for business meetings and tourism. Thus, Paris is
famous for its architectural history and gastronomic reputation rather more than
its manufacturing base.