lorepike

Bourdieu’s distinction offers a lot. By a lot, I mean 600 pages of analyses, graphs, and studies, in some of the densest prose imaginable. Bourdieu seems to be able to expand a simple sentence’s worth of information into entire paragraphs that flow like dense molasses. Distinction does have a lot to offer, though. I am reading it as a part of a look into hipster subcultures in the United States—obviously far removed from the 1980s French society that Bourdieu analyzed; most of the figures, tables, and statistical data are irrelevant to me. The analyses, however, are as sharp as a whip and provide insight into any modern Western society. Bourdieu delves deeply into the relationship between money and culture; why the upper class is more cultured, why certain demographics have different attitudes about culture—through art, music, fashion, literature, and everything else. Bouridieu essentially states that culture is foremost influenced by social class upbringing; a person’s attitude, consumption of, and production of culture is entirely dependent on their class upbringing. Bourdieu calls this relationship of class and taste “habitas” and describes it in detail through the lenses of different subcultures. Taste is essentially a device by which classes can be stratified; attitudes about taste (like the “snob” attitude of the rich and “smug” attitude of hipsters) are used to declare class and reinforce a social hierarchy. Essentially, rather than the coat-of-arms, the upper class now has taste to distinguish them from everyone else. Bourdieu also describes a two-tone system by which to classify people in society; he argues that a person’s worth in society is determined by their cultural capital (how cultured they are) and their economic capital (how rich they are). Distinction is the type of book that must be read slowly, carefully, and with frequent breaks in between. Its ideas are relevant and insightful, but wrapped in a dense academic casing that can seem daunting to break. I was able to get a lot out of reading only parts, and while I hated Bourdieu for his style, I greatly enjoyed seeing the relevance of his analyses.

2022-11-14 17:22