THE VALUES AND TYPE OF THE SOCIETY AS THE RESULT OF MASS CULTURE AND SOCIAL CONTROL IN RAY BRADBURY’S FAHRENHEIT 451

  

THE VALUES AND TYPE OF THE SOCIETY AS THE

RESULT OF MASS CULTURE AND SOCIAL CONTROL IN

RAY BRADBURY’S FAHRENHEIT 451

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

NICOLAUS GOGOR SETA DEWA

  Student Number: 074214015

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

THE VALUES AND TYPE OF THE SOCIETY AS THE

RESULT OF MASS CULTURE AND SOCIAL CONTROL IN

RAY BRADBURY’S FAHRENHEIT 451

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

NICOLAUS GOGOR SETA DEWA

  Student Number: 074214015

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

The question, O me! So Sad, recurring – What good

amid these, O me, O life?

Answer

  

That you are here – that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may

contribute a verse.

  

(Walt Whitman)

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to thank God for answering my prayers with guidance, so I can complete this thesis. I am so grateful because You granted all of my wishes and make me a really fortunate person.

  My great gratitude goes to Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. as my advisor. I thank him for giving me the best support and advice that I really need to finish this thesis, and for lending me some books to support it. I also thank my co- advisor, Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S., for the correction and suggestion for this thesis. I also address my special thanks to Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum. for the Fahrenheit 451 novel that I requested her to buy during her stay abroad.

  I thank both my parents, Toto Hedi and Christiana Handari, for their support during my study in Sanata Dharma University so I can do the best I could.

  For my sister, Raras, thanks for the laughter we had during my hard times.

  To my good friends, Robertus Yudha, David Restu Widiyanto, and Brahma Putra Pratama, thank you for the warm friendship. Special thanks to Azizah Nurul Laily for the tireless support, motivation, inspiration, ideas, and times that we had. For my wonderful friends from English Letters, especially the class of 2007, and to all of my friends that I cannot mention one by one, thank you for the experience and good times.

  Nicolaus Gogor Seta Dewa.

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

  ………………………………………………………………… i

  APPROVAL PAGE

  ………………………………………………………….. ii

  ACCEPTANCE PAGE

  ……………………………………………………… iii

  MOTTO PAGE

  ……………………………………………………………… iv

  STATEMENT PAGE

  ………………………………………….……………. v

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  …………………………………………………. vi

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  …………………………………………………… vii

  ABSTRACT

  …………………………………………………………………... ix

  ABSTRAK

  ……………………………………………………………………. x

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

  ……………………………………………. 1

  A. Background of the Study ……………………………………………. 1

  B. Problem Formulation ……………………………………………….. 4

  C. Objectives of the Study ……………………………………………… 4

  D. Definition of Terms ………………………………………………… 4

  CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW

  ………………………………… 6

  A. Review of Related Studies ………………………………………….. 6

  B. Review of Related Theories ………………………………………… 8

  1. Theories of Character and Characterization …………………….. 8

  2. Theory of Setting ………………………………………………… 11

  3. Theories of Popular Culture as Mass Culture and Mass Society … 12

  a. Popular Culture ……………………………………………… 12

  b. Mass Culture and Mass Society …………………………….. 14

  4. Theory of Social Control ………………………………………… 18

  5. Theory of Social Values ………………………………………… 19

  C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………. 20

  CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

  …………………………………………. 22

  A. Object of the Study ………………………………………………….. 22

  B. Approach of the Study ……………………………………………… 23

  C. Method of the Study ………………………………………………… 24

  CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS

  ………………………………………………… 26

  A. Characters in Fahrenheit 451 ……………………………………….. 26

  1. The Nonconformists …………………………………………….. 27

  a. Guy Montag …….…………………………………………… 27

  b. Clarisse McClellan ………………………………………… 29

  c. Faber ………………………………………………………… 31

  d. Granger ……………………………………………………… 33

  2. The Model Citizens

  c. Captain Beatty ……………………………………………….. 37

  B. The Setting of Fahrenheit 451 ………………………………………. 39

  1. Technology as a Vital Instrument ……………………………… 39

  2. Laws and Law Enforcers ………………………………………. 41

  a. The Laws ……………………………………………………. 41

  b. Police and Firemen as the Law Enforcers …………………… 43

  3. Daily Manner of the People …………………………………….. 45

  a. Pleasure Seeking and Ignorance …………………………….. 45

  b. Distant Relationships …………………………………………. 47

  C. Mass Culture and Social Control Affecting the Values and Type of the Society in Fahrenheit 451 ……………………………………. 48

  1. Mass Culture in Fahrenheit 451 ……………………………….. 50

  2. Social Control in Fahrenheit 451 ……………………………… 56

  3. The Values and Type of Society in Fahrenheit 451 …………… 60

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION

  ……………………………………………… 65

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 69

APPENDIX ................................................................................................... 71

  Summary of Fahrenheit 451 …………………………………………… 71

  

ABSTRACT

  NICOLAUS GOGOR SETA DEWA. The Values and Type of the Society as

  the Result of Mass Culture and Social Control in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit

451. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata

Dharma University, 2011.

  Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about censorship, mass culture, repression and

  their effects to the society. This study shows how mass culture and social control influence the values and type of the society in Fahrenheit 451.

  This study has three problems to be answered. The first problem is how the characters are described. The second problem is how the setting is described. The third problem is how the values and type of the society in Fahrenheit 451 as the result of mass culture and social control revealed through characters and setting.

  The method that is used in this study is library research. Most of the sources are about the theory of characters and characterization, theory of setting, theories of popular culture, theory of social control, theory of social values, and the novel itself. The writer uses sociological criticism to analyze the novel. The criticism is suitable because the writer wants to analyze the society in the novel based on theories of sociology without considering any history.

  The analysis shows that the description of the characters and setting reflect the values and the type of the society. The values and the type are the effects of mass culture and social control reflected in the novel. The writer divides the characters into two groups: ‘The Nonconformists’ which consists of Guy Montag, Clarisse McClellan, Faber, and Granger, and ‘The Model Citizens’ which consists of Mildred Montag, Mrs. Phelps, Mrs. Bowles, and Captain Beatty. In the description of the setting, the writer shows the social circumstances in the novel. In the last part of the analysis, the writer concludes the values and type of the society based on the description of characters, the description of setting, and mass culture and social control represented in the novel. There are three values found in the society. The first value in the society is equality. An individual has to be the same as everyone else in terms of everything. The second value is collectivity. It means that everyone occasionally has to do communal leisure activities together. The next value is acceptance of authority. People accept the authority because the authority just carries out what people actually want (the mass culture) and social control makes sure this value is accomplished. The type of the society in

  

Fahrenheit 451 is mass society. They are greatly influenced by mass culture and

their relationships are distant.

  

ABSTRAK

  NICOLAUS GOGOR SETA DEWA. The Values and Type of the Society as

  the Result of Mass Culture and Social Control in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit

451. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata

Dharma, 2011.

  Fahrenheit 451 adalah sebuah novel tentang penyensoran, budaya massa,

  represi, dan efek-efeknya kepada masyarakat. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bagaimana budaya massa dan kontrol sosial berpengaruh terhadap nilai-nilai dan tipe masyarakat dalam Fahrenheit 451.

  Penelitian ini terdiri dari tiga rumusan masalah untuk dijawab. Masalah pertama adalah tentang bagaimana tokoh-tokoh digambarkan. Masalah kedua adalah tentang bagaimana seting digambarkan. Masalah ketiga adalah tentang bagaimana nilai-nilai dan tipe masyarakat di Fahrenheit 451 yang merupakan hasil budaya massa dan kontrol sosial diungkapkan melalui tokoh-tokoh dan seting.

  Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Sebagian besar dari sumber-sumber yang digunakan adalah tentang teori penokohan, teori seting, teori budaya populer, teori kontrol sosial, teori nilai-nilai sosial, dan novel itu sendiri. Penulis menggunakan kritik sosiologi untuk menganalisa novel. Jenis kritik tersebut cocok untuk digunakan dalam penelitian ini karena penulis hendak menganalisa masyarakat dalam novel berdasarkan teori sosiologi tanpa memperhatikan sejarah apapun.

  Pembahasan memperlihatkan bahwa penggambaran tokoh dan seting menunjukkan nilai-nilai dan tipe masyarakat. Nilai-nilai dan tipe tersebut merupakan hasil budaya massa dan kontrol sosial yang digambarkan dalam novel. Penulis membagi tokoh-tokoh yang ada menjadi dua kelompok: ‘The Nonconformists’ yang terdiri atas Guy Montag, Clarisse McClellan, Faber, dan Granger, dan ‘The Model Citizens’ yang terdiri atas Mildred Montag, Mrs.

  Phelps, Mrs. Bowles, dan Captain Beatty. Pada bagian penggambaran seting, penulis menunjukkan keadaan sosial dalam novel. Pada bagian terakhir pembahasan, penulis menyimpulkan nilai-nilai dan tipe masyarakat berdasarkan penggambaran tokoh, seting, dan budaya massa dan kontrol sosial dalam novel. Ada tiga nilai yang ditemukan dalam masyarakat. Nilai pertama pada masyarakat adalah persamaan. Seorang individu harus sama dengan setiap orang dalam segala hal. Nilai kedua adalah kebersamaan. Hal itu berarti bahwa setiap orang kadangkala harus melakukan kegiatan waktu luang bersama-sama. Nilai berikutnya adalah dukungan pada otoritas. Orang-orang mendukung otoritas karena karena otoritas hanya menjalankan apa yang menjadi kehendak masyarakat (budaya massa) dan kontrol sosial memastikan nilai ini tercapai. Tipe masyarakat dalam Fahrenheit 451 adalah masyarakat massa. Mereka sangat dipengaruhi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study An individual person is always connected with his/her society, although one person is not essentially can be seen as a description of a society at large. Bryan S. Turner and Chris Rojek said on their book, Society and Culture: Principles of Scarcity and Solidarity that:

  “Being-in-the-world is always socially interconnected. Anxiety, frailty and pleasure can only be fully understood sociologically. The body is not a natural condition, but an accessory of society. The patterning of behaviour in individuals is fundamentally interconnected with social patterning” (Turner and Rojek, 2001: 1).

  The understanding that individuals are connected with the society is important in analyzing literary texts because it concerns with characters and the social environment of the story.

  According to Elizabeth Langland in Society in the Novel there are four commonly used basic arrangements or roles concerning the society of the novel.

  One of them says that characters enmeshed in a social milieu are presented as being in conflict with it (Langland, 1984: 11). Another says: Society can be depicted as inevitably destructive of human possibility. The sociological/naturalistic novels weight the conflict between individuals and society in such a way that the most admirable characters are most subject to destruction since their best qualities, rather than setting them apart from society’s inimical values, leave them more vulnerable (Langland, 1984: 12). This relationship and conflict between individual with the society is a major

  Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about censorship, mass culture, devious

  repression and their effects to the society. The story is set on the future of fictional America. Guy Montag, the protagonist of the novel, is a fireman. Firemen in the story are not people who extinguish fire. They are book burners who act as the secret police of the state. In this fictional America, books are forbidden and people are not allowed to read them. The fi remen‟s duty is to track and burn the books, along with the house where they are saved. People do not have the habit to think, and therefore when Montag is confronted with Clarisse McClellan, a girl from his neighborhood who talks about peculiar things to him, he begins to doubt everything, including himself and the society he lives in. For example, he forgets where and when he first met his wife, he feels strange that people do not talk to each other much and spend their time watching television or listening to the radio and accepts it as a social life.

  In short, the people in the story are ignorant and they do not question about the conditions that surround them. Montag himself becomes defiant. He reads books secretly and plots rebellious action. It makes him a wanted person and forces him to run away. Later he finds a new purpose of life in a community of the outcasts.

  Ray Bradbury, the author, intends Fahrenheit 451 as a warning of the danger of the development of new culture in the society, television and radio. In

  th

  an interview for the 50 anniversary edition of Fahrenheit 451 he said: Orwell was dealing with communism and his disillusionment with communism in Russia and what he saw the communists do in Spain. His social atmosphere: the impact of TV and radio and the lack of education. I could see the coming event of schoolteachers not teaching reading anymore. The less they taught, the more you wouldn‟t see books (Bradbury, 1991: 182).

  Although he said that he is more concerned about social atmosphere than political situations, it is clear that he also includes political situations as an important aspect of the novel. Government in the story is represented by the firemen and police as institutions which control the stability in the society. The government wants people to be obedient and ignorant, which mean they cannot question the government and therefore creating stability across the nation. That is the reason why books in Fahrenheit 45 is forbidden and have to be burned, along with other strategies, cultures, and deceptions in favor for the state.

  However, it is true that Bradbury is more concerned about the sociological condition of the people. The novel presents how mass culture, television and radio, can change the overall culture of the society. It is not entirely the government‟s fault that the people change, but the people change itself which then the condition is used by the government.

  The writer is interested to analyze Fahrenheit 451 because it is relevant to the world today, where many people have lost interest in reading books and heavily influenced by mass culture. Also, banning books or censorship is a common practice when the books do not agree with the ideology of the ruler or the common interest. The example can be found in Indonesia in New Order era when the government banned Pramoedya Ananta Toer‟s books because they were considered as promoting communism, which is against the national ideology. The authority. This study will try to reveal the values and type of a society which is influenced by mass culture and social control in Fahrenheit 451.

B. Problem Formulation

  Based on the background of the study, the writer formulates these three problems to do the analysis.

1. How are the characters described? 2.

  How is the setting described? 3. How do the characters and setting reveal mass culture and social control affecting the values and type of the society in Fahrenheit 451?

  C. Objectives of the Study This study has three objectives to answer the main issue of this research.

  The first is to describe the characters in the story. The second one is to describe the setting, especially the general environment of the story. The third objective is to find out the values and form of the society in the story as the result of mass culture and social control based on the description of the characters and setting.

  D. Definition of Terms

  There are several terms which have to be defined related to the title. These brief definitions need to be explained to give a better comprehension for this study.

  The first term that will be explained is values . The term „values‟ here refers to its definition in sociological study. It is defined as “criteria or standards

  of preference

  ” (in Rokeach, 1979: 16). “Values are simultaneously components of psychological processes, of social interaction, and of cultural patterning and storage” (in Rokeach, 1979: 17).

  The second term is type . „Type‟ here refers to a kind of society in sociology. “Sociologists and anthropologists (experts who study early and tribal cultures) usually refer to six basic types of societies, each defined by its level of technology

  ” (cliffsnotes.com, 2011). There are „hunting and gathering societies‟, „pastoral societies‟, „horticultural societies‟, „agricultural societies‟, „feudal societies‟, „industrial societies‟, and „postindustrial societies‟. Inside these basic types, there are still many other types based on its political, economical, relationship, or other aspects.

  The third term is mass culture.

  The term „mass culture‟ is a type of definition concerning „popular culture‟. There are several definitions of popular culture, and a way to define it is as „mass culture‟. Mass culture is a popular culture that concerns about the mass or large number or people.

  It is mass produced for mass consumption. Its audience is a mass of non- discriminating consumers. The culture itself is formulaic, manipulative (to the political right or left, depending on who is doing the analysis). It is a culture that is consumed with brain-numbed and brain-numbing passivity (Storey, 2009: 6). The second term is social control.

  Social control is “purposive mechanisms used to regulate the conduct of people who are seen as deviant,

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies Diane S. Wood in her article, Bradbury and Atwood: Exile as Rational Decision , presents a common theme between Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

  and

  The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. She says that both of the novels

  are about the limitation of freedom, dark future, and exile as the right answer to escape such oppressed society.

  Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s

  Tale depict the rational decision to go into exil

  e, to leave one’s native land, that is, the pre-exile condition. These novels present horrifying views of the near future where societal pressures enforce rigid limitations on individual freedom. Their alienated characters find their circumstances repugnant. Justice and freedom are denied them, along with the possibility for enriching their lives through intellectual pursuits (in Bloom, 2008: 43).

  In this essay, Wood compared the two novels and related them to show that both of them have similar theme about exile. She concludes that freedom must be guarded in order to be maintained, and so the danger of repressive society presented in the novel does not happen.

  In an essay entitled Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451, Brian Baker explains that there is a connection between censorship and book burning with the lost of cultural values and morality in Fahrenheit 451

  ’s society. He says that Bradbury sees books as cultural values worth preserving.

  In Fahrenheit 451, opposition to the repression and censorship of a dystopian state is focused on books (representing “high culture”), a locus frequented by Bradbury in his childhood. The book is, for Bradbury, a repository of those values worth preserving (in Seed, 2005: 489). Further, he says that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is a society without ethical base because of book banning.

  Bradbury‟s insistence upon the materiality of ideas indicates his conception of books is as central to human experience and human culture. When books are lost, so is humanity. Books, in Fahrenheit 451, are transmitters of the ethical knowledge that produces stable and liberal communities. The society of Fahrenheit 451 is one without this source of moral direction, and therefore with no ethical base (in Seed, 2005: 490).

  This study will see this issue more thoroughly, not only the effect censorship but also the mass culture that change the society.

  A paper from www.123helpme.com, Censorship in Fahrenheit 451, says that the government in Fahrenheit 451 is totalitarian and it uses its power to oppress the people by censorship.

  The theme of this story must be that censorship gets out of hand if used incorrectly. It should be used to keep certain materials away from minors, but adults should have access to a variety of materials. In Montag's world, a predominately totalitarian government has used censorship as a means to destroy anything they do not agree with . . . The author most likely intended to show how censorship and government control can get to be uncontrollable, similar to the stories of 1984 and Brave New World (www.123helpme.com, 2011).

  The author of the paper does not explain further how incorrectly censorship is used in the story, and rather writes too much summary.

  Peter Sisarios in his essay, Peter Sisarios on Literary and Biblical

  

Allusions , focuses on the use of literary and biblical allusions in Fahrenheit 451,

which is to show anti-intellectual culture and society in the novel.

  The literary allusions are used to underscore the emptiness of the twenty- that the nature of life is cyclical and we are currently at the bottom of an intellectual cycle (in Bloom, 2007: 47). Sisarios mentions some quotations of literary works or Bible that are used by the characters of Fahrenheit 451, and describes their functions. For example, the quotation from

  Gulliver’s Travels is used to show the struggle between

  reasonability with being saddled to tradition. This essay can show that Ray Bradbury sided with intellectual and literate culture rather than mass culture that is promoted by the state in Fahrenheit 451.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theories of Characters and Characterization

  According to Abrams, the meaning of characters are the persons represented in a dramatic and narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed by particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it

  —the dialogue — and from what they do — the action (Abrams, 1999: 32-33). This definition can be used to identify a character in the story.

  M. J. Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English

  

Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students (1977: 161-173) says that

  there are nine methods for the author to present or describe the characters in a story: a.

  Personal description. The authors can describe a person‟s appearance and clothes.

  b.

  Characters as seen by another. Instead of describing a character directly, the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of another.

  c.

  Speech. The author can give us insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what the person says.

  d.

  Past life. By letting the reader learn something about a person‟s life the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person‟s character (by direct comment by the author, through the person‟s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person).

  e.

  Conversation of others. The authors can give us clues to a person‟s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.

  f.

  Reactions. The author can also give us a clue to a person‟s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events.

  g.

  Direct Comment. The author can describe a comment on a person‟s character directly.

  h.

  Thoughts. The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. i.

  Mannerism. The author can describe a person‟s mannerism, habits, or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character. M.H. Abrams in his A Glossary of Literary Terms states: A broad distinction is frequently made between alternative methods for characterizing (i.e., establishing the distinctive characters of) the persons in a narrative: showing and telling. In showing (also called "the dramatic method"), the author simply presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the reader to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what they say and do. The author may show not only external speech and actions, but also a character's inner thoughts, feelings, and responsiveness to events; for a highly developed mode of such inner showing, see stream of consciousness. In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters” (1999: 33 - 35).

  In Reading and Writing about Literature, Rohrberger and Woods say that characterization is the process by which an author creates characters, the device by which he makes us believe that a character is the particular type of person (1971: 180).

  About the role of characters in the story, they say “Characters have an important role in a story since they help the readers participate explicitly in the experience of the story

  ” (Rohrberger and Woods: 1971: 19). Also, according to them, there are two ways in the way an author characterizes their characters: Direct Method is applied to describe the character‟s physical appearance and also to describe their intellectual and moral attributes or to explain the degree of the character‟s sensibility. Their description is based on the author‟s point of view. While in Dramatic Method, an author describes the character by placing him or herself in the situations to show what he or she is like from the way he or she behaves or speaks instead of describing the character directly. This description is drawn based on the characters‟ eyes and opinions.

2. Theory of Setting

  “The overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs” (Abrams, 1999: 284). In other words, settings deal with place, time, and the general/social environments inside the story. Usually, a literary work is also influenced by the author‟s surroundings, experience, and beliefs.

  Holman and Harmon in A Handbook of Literature state “the physical, and sometimes spiritual, background against which the action of a narrative (novel, drama, sho rt story, poem) takes place” (1986: 284). According to them, setting has four elements: a.

  The actual geographic location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room.

  b.

  The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters.

  c.

  The time or period which the action takes place.

  d.

  The general environment of the characters, for example: religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional condition through which the people in the narrative move. (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 284)

  This study will only use the elements of social circumstances, the occupations and daily manner, and the general environment of the characters to describe the setting.

3. Theories of Popular Culture as Mass Culture and Mass Society

a. Popular Culture

  In order to determine the meaning of popular c ulture, the term “culture” must be understood first. Raymond Williams, a critic and novelist, remarks that “culture” is one of the most complicated words in English. Williams suggests three broad definitions:

  1.

  “A general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development ”.

  2.

  “A particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group”.

  3.

  “The works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity ”. (Storey, 2009: 1-2)

  According to John Storey in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An

  

Introduction , there are six possible definitions of popular culture. The first way to

  define it is simply to say that Popular Culture is “culture that is widely favoured or well liked by many people

  ” (Storey, 2009: 5). It is seen from quantitative point of view.

  The second way of defining popular culture is to suggest that it is “the culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture

  ” (Storey, 2009: 6). Popular Culture in this category is considered as a left over category and does not meet the standards of high culture.

  “This definition of popular culture is often supported by claims that popular culture is mass-produced commercial culture, whereas high culture is the result of an individual act of creation

  ” (Storey, 2009:

  “A third way of defining popular culture is as „mass culture‟” (Storey, 2009: 8). Everything this culture concerns is about the mass, in large number of people.

  “It is mass produced for mass consumption. Its audience is a mass of non- discriminating consumers ” (Storey, 2009: 8). Further details about this category will be explained later in the next part.

  The fourth definition contends that popular culture is the culture that originates from „the people‟. “According to this definition, the term should only be used to indicate an „authentic‟ culture of „the people‟. This is popular culture as folk culture: a culture of the people for the people

  ” (Storey, 2009: 9). This definition is different with the other definitions because it considers popular culture as a folk or people culture. This may cause a problem of who are determined as „people‟ there.

  The fifth definition of popular culture is concerned with political analysis of Antonio Gramsci, particularly on his concept of hegemony. In short, popular culture in this definition is culture that is used by the dominant group in society to win over the subordinate group.

  Storey states that the sixth definition of popular culture is one informed by recent thinking around the debate on postmodernism.

  “The main point to insist on here is the claim that postmodern culture is a culture that no longer recognizes the distinction between high and popular culture

  ” (Storey, 2009: 12). This definition means that there is no distinction of culture. „Popular culture‟ is the same with any other kind of culture because of the

  “postmodern blurring of the distinction There is a common concept between th ose six definitions. “Finally, what all these definitions have in common is the insistence that whatever else popular culture is, it is definitely a culture that only emerged following industrialization and urbanization

  ” (Storey, 2009: 13). The point of this part is only to outline the six definitions of popular culture. The nearest definition that can be applied to

  

Fahrenheit 451 is the third, popular culture as mass culture, because the definition

  outlines the use of mass production and mass consumption, and also their effects to the people. It is the same in the novel where culture is mass promoted to the people. It will be explained further on the next part.

b. Mass Culture and Mass Society

  According to John Storey, mass culture is a popular culture that concerns about the mass, or large number or people.

  It is mass produced for mass consumption. Its audience is a mass of non- discriminating consumers. The culture itself is formulaic, manipulative (to the political right or left, depending on who is doing the analysis). It is a culture that is consumed with brain-numbed and brain-numbing passivity (Storey, 2009: 8). Dominic Strinati in his book, An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture, says that the coming of mass media and the increasing commercialization of culture and leisure gave rise to issues, interests and debates which are still with us today. The development of the idea of popular culture relates to the debates over mass culture. There are at least three main themes about the debates:

  The first concerns what or who determines popular culture? Where does popular culture come from? Does it emerge from the people themselves as control? ... The second theme concerns the influence of commercialization and industrialization upon popular culture. Does the emergence of culture in commodity forms mean that criteria of profitability and marketability take precedence over quality, artistry, integrity and intellectual change? Or does the increasingly universal market for popular culture ensure that it is truly popular because it makes available commodities people actually want? ... The third theme concerns the ideological role of popular culture. Is popular culture there to indoctrinate the people, to get them to accept and adhere to ideas and values which ensure the continued dominance of those in more privileged positions who thus exercise power over them? Or is it about rebellion and opposition to the prevailing social order? (Strinati, 2006: 3). Andreas Huyssen in the book After the Great Divide explains the relationship between modernism and mass culture.

  The first essay , „The Hidden Dialectic‟ argues in broad outline that technological modernization of society and the arts (through the media of reproduction) was used by the historical avant-garde to sustain its revolutionary political and aesthetic claims (1986: x).

  He further explains that mass culture depends on technology like transportation, household, and leisure.

  th

  Mass culture as we know it in the West is unthinkable without 20 century −media techniques as well as technologies of transportation (public and private), the household and leisure. Mass culture depends on technologies of mass production and reproduction and thus the homogenization of the difference (Huyssen, 1986: 9).

  In the theories of popular culture, media is used to transmit certain ideology to people or merely to commercialize something. Therefore, people are just objects, not subjects, to these reasons. They feel the needs of pleasure and media gives it to them, but without knowing it, they are controlled.