The connection between political thought and popular culture

I think that the change of political thought is symbolized in popular culture. This is because some kinds of popular cultures have been changed after French revolution.  Before French revolution, the clergy and nobility completely controlled the rest of people by absolutism. The right of third estate was completely ignored, and ordinary people just had to obey the clergy and nobility. However, after French revolution, people started to regard the existence of high dominant people as a central problem. This was because ordinary people aimed to realize the social structure that they could have liberty and right. At the same time, they also tried to reform the traditional absolutism politics to popular sovereignty. This political change is symbolized in some popular culture after French revolution. For instance, as shown in last class, people came to enjoy chess and card games without kings or queens. Kings and queens has been actually the symbol of absolutism. This was because they actually dominated the society and controlled everything in the past. People stopped using those chess pieces. This cultural movement means that people came to have different political idea from past one, which is absolutism. In the case of women clothes, women came to wear different kinds of clothes from the past. Before the French revolution, they just wore simple and manlike clothes. However, after French revolution, they came to wear more splendid dress than before. In the past, people were not guaranteed to wear what they would like to. However, women came to have some choices.I thought  this fact symbolized that ordinary women came to have increasing liberty and right under the new political system.

 

 

 

5 thoughts on “The connection between political thought and popular culture

  1. I wholeheartedly agree with your point that with political change, comes change reflected in pop culture. My mind immediately jumps to contemporary America, in which gay marriage and acceptance of different sexualities is becoming increasingly more accepted. This progression in acceptance is being reflected throughout the pop culture media, including television, fashion, literature, magazines, radio, and other forms of widespread communication.

  2. Very thoughtful. I agree that people want to get away from their past if it bothers them (King and Queen pieces), it helps them forget about the poor things that had happened to them before and forces them to think to the future, where things can be better. As a result of the Revolution, people began to think for themselves, which I think is the single most important effect it had on life.

  3. Your mention of the way women began to dress reminded me of what Professor Qualls was discussing on Wednesday; about how clothing can mask people’s social class and can be used as a method of disguise. You said that “ordinary women” were able to dress in splendid dresses that would otherwise only be available to the wealthier individuals, however, following the revolution, women were able to dress themselves in ways that alluded to a higher social class.

  4. It’s interesting to think that women were given more freedom to dress as they pleased, yet still were not given proper rights until much later. It makes me wonder how this came to be a major change in culture during the revolutionary period without women being given proper rights as well.

  5. The change in popular culture along with political culture truly shows that the Third Estate is “everything” as Sieyes wrote. As you mentioned before the French Revolution the Third Estate was absolutely nothing. It is very impressive that the group, even as a large number of the population, rose to prominence so quickly. It is so easy to just equate that rise to the political culture and force and popular culture usually goes unnoticed in its role.

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