Week 2-Barker, Chapter 3 & 4 (Questions of Culture and Ideology, Culture, Meaning, Knowledge: The Linguistic Turn in Cultural Studies)

Are we simply a culture that is comprised of "ego weakness and the Authoritarian Personality"? Adorno suggests that we are merely a culture that has been manipulated into the capitalistic approaches by corporations with strong political influence. He suggests that we are a culture that has participated in the illusions that have been fed to us. That instead of being a society trying to be more diversified, unique, or different, we have merely bought into these influences and conformed to those influences. Instead we see a movement of the creative realm, in which people are now realizing they can create art, fashion, etc., for the sake of people. Because people are creative and understand how people will react to certain influences and thoughts, and understanding that in more of a practical way.

What is language if it has no meaning? Some have suggested that cultural language has no meaning, but others would argue the opposite. Barker suggests that language constructs meaning. It structures which meanings can or cannot be deployed under determinate circumstances by speaking subjects. It seems that cultural language has been influenced by the meaning placed upon it. "The unconscious is a place of meaningful activity that works 'like a language'." Barker also suggests, "At the same time, language itself is dependent on the functioning of the brain." We tell ourselves that things are meant to mean something in a specific manner, but we place what has been translated in our language to be the meaning in which we process. So then what does it mean that our culture is based upon the meaning of our language? Have we misinterpreted language in such a way that we have lost meaning in our culture? This was an in-depth approach to cultural studies and thinking through language and meaning has become difficult to comprehend in context of our culture today.