Whatever Happened to Culture?

Whatever happened to Culture, Culture with a capital “C,” that is? At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, when anthropology was first being established as an academic discipline, the term Culture was used synonymously with Civilization. Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, who first defined the term, used it in this way, as did Sir James George Frazer and a few others interested in the subject at that time. Later, mostly because of the influence of Franz Boas, culture came to be seen as something different, something plural, something that all human groups possessed but in different forms. It became common to distinguish between Culture with a capital “C,” and culture(s). Culture or Civilization was seen as the apex of cultural evolution, the unique possession of white Western-Europeans, the standard towards which all societies were attempting to move. Culture as Civilization meant, among other things, table manners, etiquette, ladies wearing long white gloves, men tipping their hats to ladies, knowing the proper fork or spoon to use, patronizing the arts, never mentioning things like “legs” or “ankles” in public, wearing the proper attire, drinking the proper wine with meals, and all of the so-called “higher” behaviors thought indispensable to living a proper, civilized life. Culture was, of course, intimately connected to wealth as only the wealthy could afford to live in a proper civilized manner, and wealth was mostly in the hands of a few who possessed land and inherited money.

Interestingly enough, at least to me, culture with a capital “C” seems to have gradually disappeared. Social and cultural life seems to have gradually coarsened over time, and if there are small pockets of Culture remaining at all they are few and probably still associated with what has become known as “old” money. Certainly in our contemporary culture the possession of wealth does not necessarily correlate with Culture. Indeed, it seems sometimes the mere possession of great wealth gives one license to behave even more coarsely than ever, witness the behavior of many celebrities, rap stars, professional athletes, and others who have recently come by their wealth in one way or another, those often described as the “nouveau riche.”

The disappearance of Culture can be seen in our language that has indisputably be coarsened over the years, words uttered commonly in public that were absolutely taboo not so long ago. Table manners, too, have changed dramatically, how many people nowadays know a dessert spoon from a finger bowl, or a fish knife from a steak knife or even a teacup? Respect for age has pretty much disappeared, and deference to ladies is little more than a joke. Not only do people speak of their legs and ankles, now they talk publicly about their colons, suppositories, vaginas, and erections. Top hats and tails have been replaced by blue jeans and backwards baseball caps. As far as humor goes, nothing is sacred.

It is not my purpose here to claim these changes are necessarily all bad, merely that they exist. Why they exist, at least in the extreme form they do, is not entirely clear to me. The so-called “free speech” movement obviously had an important effect. What used to be a terrible perjorative has now become oral sex, other words that were previously avoided by all are now uttered commonly in public and on television nightly. Fast foods are no doubt related as our eating habits have changed dramatically over the years, fine dining, although it still exists, has become somewhat rare and very expensive. And when you have hot dog and apple pie eating contests, along with all-you-can-eat dining, it is hard to expect much in the way of table manners. Advertising has gone a long way toward turning us into slobs, with young women slurping down food and talking with their mouths full becoming a standard for breakfast cereals and potato chips and such. Of course our dining habits are related to the economy and economic necessity, with families having to have all members working in order to live, who has time to indulge in fine cooking? Supermarkets, too, have played a part. Where communities used to have butchers and bakers and fishmongers who tried to please, now we have row upon row of packaged meats and vegetables, instant potatoes, instant rice, instant gratification, and whatever can be prepared and consumed in a hurry.

The change in the definition of culture has also, I believe, had an effect on how we live our lives. Whereas there was formerly a more or less absolute standard against which to judge behavior (how closely it approximated upper class white society), now we have cultural relativism which implies no clear standards of behavior. The culture concept, although lacking a standard widely shared definition, has been extremely successful as a concept. Now we speak not only of cultural relativity, but also cultural geography, cultural psychology, cultural economics, corporate culture, a culture of poverty, street culture, Gay culture, American culture, German culture, Everyday culture, the culture of the FBI, and even a culture of contentment. It is because the concept is so imprecise that we are able to use it in these various contexts even though it mostly has little meaning. In any case, what started out as an anthropological concept has now entered the vernacular and we hear it constantly. I believe the concept has some potential that has never been completely tapped, but that is another story. With modern individuals far less likely to stick to rigid standards of behavior than ever before it is not surprising our culture has changed, either for worse or better, depending upon your preference. Perhaps someday someone will be able to decide which changes are better and which worse. I detect at least a slight tendency to return to a more civilized life, as there are apparently courses now being taught to children on table manners, courtesy, and such. And I saw an article the other day that claims some of our younger people are attempting a return to fidelity, marriage, and less uninhibited sex (apparently a reaction to the excesses of the 60’s). Perhaps the presence of ceramic port-o-potties with piped-in music at Chelsea’s wedding suggests a return to a more genteel era? Will there be a renaissance? Don’t bet on it.